|
John Woo (Director/Producer)
began his illustrious career as a filmmaker in Hong Kong,
where he spent more than two decades at the center of a thriving
film industry directing nearly 30 feature films. He was known
primarily as a comedy specialist until the mid-1980s when
he created a series of inspired romantic gangster dramas
that broke box-office records.
Born in Guangzhou, China in 1946, Woo moved to Hong Kong
with his family when he was four years old. He was educated
at Matteo Ricci College and, at age 19, began making experimental
films. In lieu of film school, Woo sought entry-level positions
in the flourishing Hong Kong film industry.
In 1971, he began working as an assistant
director at Shaw Brothers. Just two years later he made
his directorial debut
with “The Young Dragons.” He was then signed
to an exclusive contract at Golden Harvest. Two more successful
martial arts films followed, “The Dragon Tamers” and “The
Hand of Death,” the latter featuring action superstar
Jackie Chan in his first major screen role.
Woo found equal success with a Cantonese
opera film, “Princess
Chang Ping,” after becoming a major force in Asian
filmmaking with a string of eight hit comedies, including “Money
Crazy” and “From Riches to Rags.”
Woo left Golden Harvest in 1983 and
joined a new company, Cinema City, where he directed the
romantic gangster film “A
Better Tomorrow” starring Chow Yun-Fat and Leslie Cheung.
Woo’s lush crime thrillers with Chow -- which also
include the brilliantly choreographed, character-driven action
film “The Killer” and Woo’s last Hong Kong-produced
film, “Hard Boiled” -- won enthusiastic fans
among audiences and filmmakers around the world. Woo also
directed “Bullet in the Head,” set in wartime
Vietnam, the comedy action caper “Once a Thief” and “A
Better Tomorrow II.”
Woo made his U.S. feature film debut
with “Hard Target” starring
Jean-Claude Van Damme. In 1994, he formed WCG Entertainment
with his producing partner, Terence Chang. Under this banner,
Woo directed “Broken Arrow” starring John Travolta
and Christian Slater and “Face/Off” starring
John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The latter was an enormous
|
