John Woo

John Woo ({{zh-cp|c=吳宇森|p=Wú Yǔsēn}}) (born May 1, 1946 in Guangzhou, China) is a Chinese film director known especially for the ballet-like violence in his movies.

United States career history

In 1993, John Woo found himself in a new land with a new culture. He was commissioned by Universal Studios to direct the Jean Claude Van Damme film Hard Target. While Woo was used to creative freedom in Hong Kong, he was forced to deal with a compressed production schedule. He also faced studio-imposed restrictions such as how many people could be killed in each scene, how many bullets Van Damme could pump into somebody, how Van Damme could behave and so on. When initial cuts failed to yield an "R" rated film, the studio took the film from Woo's hands and pared it down themselves in order to produce a cut that was "suitable for American audiences".

Related Topics:
1993 - Universal Studios - Jean Claude Van Damme - Hard Target - "R" rated film

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It would be three long years before Woo made another American directorial attempt. Starring John Travolta and Christian Slater, Broken Arrow was a frantic chase-picture with a bigger budget. Unfortunately, Woo once again found himself hampered by studio interference and editors who did not share his sense of aesthetics and filming style. What resulted was a film that, despite modest financial success, lacked Woo's trademark style.

Related Topics:
John Travolta - Christian Slater - Broken Arrow

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Still smarting from his bitter experiences, Woo cautiously rejected the script for Face/Off several times until it was rewritten to suit him (by shifting the futuristic setting to a modern one). With Paramount Studios offering him significantly more freedom this time around, Woo set out to craft a complex story of two enemies— a law enforcement agent played by John Travolta and a terrorist played by Nicolas Cage—who embark on a fantastical surgical procedure that allows them to switch faces. Trapped in each other's identities, they play a cat-and-mouse game that allowed Woo to do what he did best: emotional characterization and elaborate action. Face/Off opened in 1997 to critical acclaim and performed well at the box office, grossing over $100 million in the United States alone. As a result, John Woo became the first Asian director to hit mainstream, paving the way for other Asian filmmakers to follow in his footsteps.

Related Topics:
Face/Off - Paramount Studios - John Travolta - Nicolas Cage - 1997 - United States

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John Woo has made three additional Hollywood films: ', Windtalkers and Paycheck. While Mission: Impossible II was a huge hit in 2000, Windtalkers and Paycheck have been box office duds that were lambasted by critics. It is unclear whether Woo will be able to bounce back from these disappointments.

Related Topics:
Windtalkers - Paycheck - 2000

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At the moment John Woo has many projects in mind, including three remakes of French famous thrillers starring Alain Delon and a videogame called Stranglehold for Xbox 360. However he had to give up two projects of videogames' adaptations, Spy Hunter, which was already in production, and Metroid. In 2006 he will go back to China with Chow Yun-Fat to shoot his next major project, the highly anticipated The War of the Red Cliff.

Related Topics:
Alain Delon - Stranglehold - Spy Hunter - Metroid - The War of the Red Cliff

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