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 Born in southern China, John Woo grew up in Hong Kong, where he began his film career as an assistant director in 1969, working for Shaw Brothers Studios. He directed his first feature in 1973 and has been a prolific director ever since, working in a wide variety of genres before A Better Tomorrow (1986) established his reputation as a master stylist specializing in ultra-violent gangster films and thrillers, with hugely elaborate action scenes shot with breathtaking panache. After gaining a cult reputation in the US with The Killer (1989), Woo was offered a Hollywood contract. He now works in the US.
Bio:
Born in southern China, John Woo grew up in Hong Kong, where he began his film career as an assistant director in 1969, working for Shaw Brothers Studios. He directed his first feature in 1973 and has been a prolific director ever since, working in a wide variety of genres before A Better Tomorrow (1986) established his reputation as a master stylist specializing in ultra-violent gangster films and thrillers, with hugely elaborate action scenes shot with breathtaking panache. After gaining a cult reputation in the US with The Killer (1989), Woo was offered a Hollywood contract. He now works in the US.
Tivia:
He has never owned a car.Woo's many American admirers include the likes of Martin Scorsese, Sam Raimi (who compared his mastery of action to Alfred Hitchcock's mastery of suspense) and Quentin Tarantino (who, replying to a studio executive saying "I suppose Woo can direct action scenes" said "Sure, and Michelangelo can paint ceilings!").Trademark: Birds: Many Woo films include slow-motion sequences of birds (usually doves)He uses doves as a symbolic device. They represent the character's soul as being saved.He is the first Asian director ever to make a mainstream Hollywood film (Hard Target (1993)).When trying to convince Universal to get him to direct Hard Target (1993), Jean-Claude Van Damme championed Woo as "the Martin Scorsese of Asia".He cites Akira Kurosawa as an influence.He was asked to direct GoldenEye (1995). He turned it down, but was honored to be asked.Despite the intense gunfighting in his films, he claims that in real-life he has a pacifist temperament and does not even own a gun.His film The Killer (1989) (alongside City on Fire (1987) by Ringo Lam) was one of the inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). Although the plot came from "City on Fire", a lot of the style of "Reservoir Dogs" (e.g., the suits, the Mexican standoffs, the double guns) came from "The Killer" as well as Woo's work in general.French director Jean-Pierre Melville has had the most influence on Woo; he based his film The Killer (1989) on Le Samoura? (1967).Two of his films are listed in the Hong Kong Film Awards' List of The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures on March 2005. They are The Killer (1989) and A Better Tomorrow (1986) (ranking 42 and 2, respectively).His favorite type of handgun to use in films is the Beretta 92.His favourite films of his own are The Killer (1989) and Bullet in the Head (1990).Brandon Lee wanted him to direct Rapid Fire (1992) but the producers were strongly against it, as they wanted a martial arts film and not the stylized films that Woo made.First job was working for Shaw Brothers studios as an assistant director to Cheh Chang. Martin Scorsese and Sam Peckinpah are his favorite directors.Is production partners with Terence Chang.Lives in Pacific Palisades, California.He is good friends with Sam Raimi who was hired as a supervisor of Woo's US debut Hard Target (1993) and worked to protect his film from executive interference.His family's roots are in Guangxi in southern China.He has cited the final scene of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969) as being a major influence on his works and something he has alluded to many times.His three favorite films are Lawrence Of Arabia (1962), Seven Samurai (1954) and Le Samurai (1967).He didn't attend film school.Father of Angeles Woo.At age three he was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Following surgery on his spine, he was unable to walk correctly until eight years old, and as a result his right leg is shorter than his left leg.He wanted to be a minister as a child.His family was rendered homeless by the big Shek Kip Mei fire of 1953.In the late 90's John Woo was planning Phantom of the Opera with John Travolta.He is the fifth Chinese director after Hark Tsui to join the board of judges for Cannes Film Festival (the 58th, in 2005). |
| Name: |
John Woo |
Type: |
Director,Producer,Writer (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
|
Business scope: |
Director,Producer,Writer |
| Products for sale: |
Director,Producer,Writer |
| Model rank: |
318 |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 04:34:00 |
| Height: |
5' 4?' (1.64 m) |
| Biography: |
Born in southern China, John Woo grew up in Hong Kong, where he began his film career as an assistant director in 1969, working for Shaw Brothers Studios. He directed his first feature in 1973 and has been a prolific director ever since, working |
| Trivia: |
He has never owned a car.Woo's many American admirers include the likes of Martin Scorsese, Sam Raimi (who compared his mastery of action to Alfred Hitchcock's mastery of suspense) and Quentin Tarantino (who, replying to a studio executive saying "I suppose Woo can direct action scenes" said "Sure, and Michelangelo can paint ceilings!").Trademark: Birds: Many Woo films include slow-motion sequences of birds (usually doves)He uses doves as a symbolic device. They represent the character's soul as being saved.He is the first Asian director ever to make a mainstream Hollywood film (Hard Target (1993)).When trying to convince Universal to get him to direct Hard Target (1993), Jean-Claude Van Damme championed Woo as "the Martin Scorsese of Asia".He cites Akira Kurosawa as an influence.He was asked to direct GoldenEye (1995). He turned it down, but was honored to be asked.Despite the intense gunfighting in his films, he claims that in real-life he has a pacifist temperament and does not even own a gun.His film The Killer (1989) (alongside City on Fire (1987) by Ringo Lam) was one of the inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). Although the plot came from "City on Fire", a lot of the style of "Reservoir Dogs" (e.g., the suits, the Mexican standoffs, the double guns) came from "The Killer" as well as Woo's work in general.French director Jean-Pierre Melville has had the most influence on Woo; he based his film The Killer (1989) on Le Samoura? (1967).Two of his films are listed in the Hong Kong Film Awards' List of The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures on March 2005. They are The Killer (1989) and A Better Tomorrow (1986) (ranking 42 and 2, respectively).His favorite type of handgun to use in films is the Beretta 92.His favourite films of his own are The Killer (1989) and Bullet in the Head (1990).Brandon Lee wanted him to direct Rapid Fire (1992) but the producers were strongly against it, as they wanted a martial arts film and not the stylized films that Woo made.First job was working for Shaw Brothers studios as an assistant director to Cheh Chang. Martin Scorsese and Sam Peckinpah are his favorite directors.Is production partners with Terence Chang.Lives in Pacific Palisades, California.He is good friends with Sam Raimi who was hired as a supervisor of Woo's US debut Hard Target (1993) and worked to protect his film from executive interference.His family's roots are in Guangxi in southern China.He has cited the final scene of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969) as being a major influence on his works and something he has alluded to many times.His three favorite films are Lawrence Of Arabia (1962), Seven Samurai (1954) and Le Samurai (1967).He didn't attend film school.Father of Angeles Woo.At age three he was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Following surgery on his spine, he was unable to walk correctly until eight years old, and as a result his right leg is shorter than his left leg.He wanted to be a minister as a child.His family was rendered homeless by the big Shek Kip Mei fire of 1953.In the late 90's John Woo was planning Phantom of the Opera with John Travolta.He is the fifth Chinese director after Hark Tsui to join the board of judges for Cannes Film Festival (the 58th, in 2005). |
| Trademarks: |
Uses pleasant music that heavily contrasts with some of the more violent action on screen.
Frequently works with Chow Yun-Fat
Scenes of hyperkinetic, chereographed action
Since making films in the U.S., Woo has started to use doves as a symbol for peace in his films. They are often pictured flying away as the shooting begins.
Slow motion or freeze-frame sequences |
| Quotes: |
I'm not a master; I'm just a hard-working filmmaker. I would like everyone to see me as a friend rather than a master.
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I like doves. They look so beautiful, like a woman. For me they represent peace and love and purity. And sometimes they're seen as the messengers of God, so they're important to me because I'm a Christian.
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[on Tom Cruise] When he talks, he has so much energy it's almost like he's dancing. So I used that to choreograph his action scenes.
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[on working in Hollywood] Even though I enjoyed the opportunity to work in Hollywood, I never got used to their system. I didn't like much of the studio people. Well, there are too much politics and so much going on, and a lot of them have nothing to do with the movie. It's all about power, it's all about egos.
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[on his childhood living in a Hong Kong slum] I had to fight to survive. Whenever I got beat up, I got upset, I also ran into the theater to watch a movie. But I have a very strong character, I never surrender, I [am] never afraid, no matter how big they are, how cruel they are, they never beat me down. I didn't have money. I just sneaked in or watched the movie from the peephole. I have found my heaven in musicals. When I watch a musical, it makes me believe life is still beautiful. There are still a lot of beautiful people in the world. So I like the costumes, I love the song, I love all those smiles, I love those dance. In theater I found my heaven. |
| Job title: |
Director,Producer,Writer |
| Others works: |
Commercial: Nike Brazilian Football Commercial (1998)
Print advertisement for Nortel Networks (2001) |
| Spouse: |
Anne Woo (1976 - present) (3 children) |
| Children: |
Angeles Woo |
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