Tony Leung Chiu-Wai Quotes

As the days progressed, I felt as if YNK' was my first film. That is because the director was hellbent on perfectionism. He was insistent about getting the best out of me.

Films are a director's medium. We're all stemming from the director.

Other times you can get showy for three minutes, and that's OK with certain films. But that isn't right with an Ang Lee movie, you have to fit right in. You have to understand Ang, respect him and be part of the team and not be in charge of it - he is in charge of it.

The Weinsteins believe in test screenings. I don't. I don't think good films are made that way. Call me crazy, but I'd like to think you need a singular vision to make good art.

And I think one way or another it's evident to those who work with me that as a writer, a director, a friend, as somebody's there that's very anxious to get the movie made.

All the director wants is their idea of the movie to be believed in.

Every prop, every shot, every pearl that rolled across the floor was exactly how I wanted it to be.

I love doing features, but it's a very different ballgame. Sometimes I yearn for short films again, working with a small team, getting my hands on the clay.

The only person who has artistic control is the director, and 'director' is how you spell God in Hollywood.

When you're actually making the film, you're constantly battling to maintain its integrity.

Studios never put pressure. They know the kind of films I want to make.

As a director, my job is to spend money, and the producer's is to save money. Masoom, Bandit Queen and the first Queen Elizabeth have been my most uncompromised films.

When you create a movie, you create something in your image.

A film goes through so many hands, that by the time it's done, it might not resemble what you thought you were making.

Actors are accustomed to doing exactly what the director or writer requests us to do, and rarely get involved in that part of the process.

There is a director for a reason, because a director knows what's best for the movie. You just give your director as much as you can to work with, and hopefully, the decisions they make are going to be great.

I have always believed that when a film is being made, it has to be the director's vision.

I make one film in three years, if I go wrong it will take me another three years to prove myself.

'Swan Lake' can be a nightmare. To make a 'Swan Lake' that is worth it, every single movement and breath has to be perfect. When you have an idea of 'Swan Lake' that is as high as that, it's almost impossible.

I don't think you are ever really done working on something, especially if you can get back into rehearsal.

No film ever ends up exactly as you would like it to, but with minor exceptions, THX came out pretty much as I had visualized it, thanks to some excellent assistance -- and a whole lot of luck.

Making a movie is the same as an orchestra; it's moving all the different instruments and the sounds, the kinetic and the auditory and the visual all together. I'm probably the trombone.

I would love to try my hand at directing and even producing in some kind of way. Something about that intrigues me, but for directing I could completely see myself trying.

I like working with directors I respect, who give me freedom but also give me a good base from which to work.

As a filmmaker, I make the films that I love, that are in my heart. That's what I care about.