So Where has John Woo Been, Anyway?

We’ve heard from John Woo here and there in the past few years, but he’s mostly been off the international radar, presumably because he fended off the high-budget Hollywood movies that defined his later career after twin disasters Windtalkers and Paycheck.

Woo has slowly returned to Chinese-language features, and according to a new interview with Movieline, that’s pretty much for the exact reason you’d expect. “After Paycheck, I couldn’t get better scripts,” he told the website. “I’ve been working in Hollywood for over thirteen years. I’ve learned a lot from so many great people, and I thought it was about time to bring the experience of what I’ve learned here to China, for the young people.”

Woo’s new film is Red Cliff, a massive war epic that he designed essentially as a Hollywood blockbuster made in China (it was originally released as two films but became one for its American debut). Perhaps unsurprisingly, he ultimately paid for a big chunk of it himself: “Well, you know, the movie was over-budget, so I paid for it. All I wanted was for everyone to finish the movie. Anyway.”

But will he be back to American movies? John Woo never says never.

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