Jon M. Chu Quotes

I get influence from everybody and everything.

One of my philosophies as a director is to listen to other people's great ideas because they'll help make you better.

The great thing about living in New York is the constant change of things. It inspires me to keep moving, push forward, question ideas. I have a heavy travel schedule so being in a new environment always gives me another perspective to see things from.

Here's a simple truth: When you surround a good idea with brilliant people, it changes. No matter how much you plan, great ideas have a mind of their own.

I'm always open to new stuff. I don't sit and try to figure out what to do, I just wait for an idea to come.

Adapt your techniques to an idea, not an idea to your techniques.

Man, he is constantly growing and when he is bound by a set pattern of ideas or way of doing things, that's when he stops growing

If you go through life convinced that your way is always best, all the new ideas in the world will pass you by.

When you work with an actor and then you discover new things that are better, I think you gotta be free to be able to go with the new things that you're finding. I think that's very important. I have a strong idea when I go to shoot a movie but I also love to discover things when I'm on set as well.

Be open to other people's ideas. Don't get arrogant about your ideas. Shoot a lot of options so you're not stuck with just one version of something.

[My work] just develops and develops, and I'm very nicely served by the universe: just as I'm ready to take the conversation further with myself, some other individual pops up, like David McKenzie did, with this idea of making this film [Teknolust], and provides exactly the leap to the next adventure.

I'm essentially the result of other people's imagination. And that's fine. Because of other people's imagination, I've played parts I would never have thought I could do. Still, I've never had a hankering or an ambition for any particular role.

I always try to keep the circumstances in my life fresh. I like to change the physical environment I live in, change the people around me and try to experience things for the first time. I think that keeps one on their toes, creatively and spiritually.

I come from a background where I like collaboration and improv. I think that it is important.

As a writer, you owe it to yourself not to get stuck in a rut of looking at the world in a certain way.

People who work with me say I have a four-step response to new ideas: rejection, reconsideration, acceptance, ownership. I need to listen more patiently.

Because of all the various people who've come in and out and brought along ideas, I've been on a learning curve throughout all these years. Of course, everyone that's been involved has influenced me as well. And I'm grateful for that.

Whether I am collaborating with different people, I like changing projects conceptually so I can grow.

I'm not a sponge exactly, but I find that something I look at is a great opportunity for ideas.

You gotta be able to change worlds.

I think being open-minded about what Nature is trying to tell you is the key to being creative and successful.

It's so inspiring to be around other people who have ideas you haven't thought of, and all of a sudden you're like, 'Wow! That's so amazing!' I definitely want everything I do to just get better and better.

I like changing the pace of my life, changing my discipline. It gives me ideas for how to see the world differently.

I quite like the element of surprise, and as much as I have my ideas, I always appreciate ideas that come from other people as well, and I love the mystery of not knowing.

The most original minds borrowed from one another.