Interesting interview

http://www.asiasource.org/arts/zhangyimou.cfm#


What are your favorite American movies? What do you think of Asian Americans in Hollywood?
There are many genres of American films and I spend most of my film time watching American films because American films really takes up a large part of the world film market. Wherever you go in the theaters around the world, what you see are mostly American films, especially American commercial films. There are many American directors and actors that I like a lot. But of course, there are good ones, and not so good ones. I am not against Hollywood's commercial films, and I watch them very often and often find good ones there. One can't really make a generalization about Hollywood. I am not like the French and the Italians who are hostile to Hollywood, calling it all junk. I have varied taste, and watch a lot, whatever catches my attention. The most recent one that I saw was in Hong Kong. It is a sci-fi, ghost kind of film, mixing ghosts, vampires, etc., all together. I don't really remember the name of the film because it was translated in Hong Kong. But I really like the computer animations and special effects.
There are many foreign directors who are seeking to develop in Hollywood. It is true in many countries that directors, once they make their names known in their own country, are immediately bought over by Hollywood, or rather, they are drafted to Hollywood. I think these are all the personal choices of the directors themselves. The large market that Hollywood could provide constitutes a great temptation to many directors. An audience of 20,000 is very different from an audience of 2 million. It's natural that lots of directors want to seek their development in Hollywood so they'll have a larger space and a larger audience.
There are examples of Asian American directors, such as Ang Lee and John Woo, and successful examples too. It all shows their success. I think they made the right choice in coming to Hollywood. But often, I have been asked whether I wanted to come to Hollywood myself. My answer is that I am not suitable for Hollywood. First I don't know the language. Second, the films I make are all based in China. If I come here, I can't really make the films here. I won't even be able to make a third-rate film. So I know myself, and know that I can't really be separated from the land I grew up in. I can only stay in China. There are many genres of American films and I spend most of my film time watching American films because American films really takes up a large part of the world film market. Wherever you go in the theaters around the world, what you see are mostly American films, especially American commercial films. There are many American directors and actors that I like a lot. But of course, there are good ones, and not so good ones. I am not against Hollywood's commercial films, and I watch them very often and often find good ones there. One can't really make a generalization about Hollywood. I am not like the French and the Italians who are hostile to Hollywood, calling it all junk. I have varied taste, and watch a lot, whatever catches my attention. The most recent one that I saw was in Hong Kong. It is a sci-fi, ghost kind of film, mixing ghosts, vampires, etc., all together. I don't really remember the name of the film because it was translated in Hong Kong. But I really like the computer animations and special effects.
There are many foreign directors who are seeking to develop in Hollywood. It is true in many countries that directors, once they make their names known in their own country, are immediately bought over by Hollywood, or rather, they are drafted to Hollywood. I think these are all the personal choices of the directors themselves. The large market that Hollywood could provide constitutes a great temptation to many directors. An audience of 20,000 is very different from an audience of 2 million. It's natural that lots of directors want to seek their development in Hollywood so they'll have a larger space and a larger audience.
There are examples of Asian American directors, such as Ang Lee and John Woo, and successful examples too. It all shows their success. I think they made the right choice in coming to Hollywood. But often, I have been asked whether I wanted to come to Hollywood myself. My answer is that I am not suitable for Hollywood. First I don't know the language. Second, the films I make are all based in China. If I come here, I can't really make the films here. I won't even be able to make a third-rate film. So I know myself, and know that I can't really be separated from the land I grew up in. I can only stay in China.

Hero is not a major contender for the Oscars given its late release in the US. How do you feel about it being marketed as a Quentin Tarantino film, not a Zhang Yimou?
This film's release had been delayed a long time in the US. I think this is Miramax's own plan, and I can't really intervene. My manager also told me that the contract says the timing for the release is also set by them. We could only worry. Jet Li told me that at least $20 million dollars were lost as a result of the delayed release. He did a calculation, saying that all the Chinese people in the US had all seen it on DVDs, or VCDs, so they won't go to theaters. But timing is still their commercial choice, and I can't really do anything.
Miramax asked me before whether it would be okay for them to market it as "Quentin Tarantino presents." Quentin and I are friends, and when he was making Kill Bill in Beijing, I went to see him. I found out that his staff is mostly the staff of Hero, and I joked with him that he is using my people and we are really one family. I think this is really an American marketing scheme, and I don't have any problem with it. Quentin is also a director who I really like. It is only natural that they use an American way for marketing, for each region has its own way of marketing.