The movies I like to make are very rich and full of passion. Some people see me as an action director, but action is not the only thing in my movies. I always like to show human nature - something deep inside the heart.

I have found my heaven in musicals. When I watch a musical, it makes me believe life is still beautiful.

There is absolutely no Wuxia or martial arts in 'Red Cliff.' I want all the action to look realistic.

I think I have been stereotyped as an action director in Hollywood, so all I got were the action scripts.

Everything I write is meant to share what I'm struggling with. I hope that it helps other people. I benefit from that a great deal because I always hear new ideas from my readers. It's a very symbiotic relationship.

Politics is a matter of human transaction. I consider absolutely everything political, because all fiction involves relationships between people, and relationships between people always include matters of power, of equity, of communication.

The dearest people around me are my family and friends.

I had a friend who worked at a hospice, and he said people in their final moments don't discuss their successes, awards or what books they wrote or what they accomplished. They only talk about their loves and their regrets, and I think that's very telling.