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Q: A great aspect of this film is overcoming prejudice and getting to know each other and crossing cultures. Did you and Terrence experience any prejudice or difficulty when you came from Hong Kong together? Was that a difficult transition for you? Did you come up against any walls?

John Woo (JW): No. The people here ( in Hollywood) were very nice to me. They gave us a lot of great respect. They wanted me here.  Before I came here, I never dreamed of Hollywood. In Hong Kong, I was focused on doing my own thing. I was never thinking about coming here. Because my movies go so much attention, I got so many calls from Hollywood. They all wanted me to come over here and to try and make an American movie. Then, it was great. I always like to learn something more. I like to do something I've never done before. I also could see this great opportunity for me to try something special.

When I got here, I was shocked that people were so nice to me. I also found in America that they are really open and open to all kinds of people. They also give great opportunities to all kinds of people. I made lots of friends here. I was surprised to have so many fans here. They were supportive, warm and nice to me. I never that in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we were pretty low key. I always felt I was just a filmmaker. Not a movie star.

Q: What about "Hard- Boiled?" You were an actor. Did you ever want to be an actor or pursue that path at one time?

JW: Yes, only when I was young, in high school. I worked on the stage as an actor. But I never felt I was a good actor. I was lousy. I was in "Hard-Boiled" with my good friend Chow Yun Fat (star of Woo's films "A Better Tomorrow" and "The Killer" most recently seen in the Academy Award nominated film "Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon"). Since we have a great friendship, he asked me to do a part. He just wanted to show our friendship on the screen. I must say---there was a lousy performance. I am not a good actor. [laughs]

Q: So when did you decide? As a young kid in school, you were thinking about being an actor and you were involved in theatre. When did you decide to go into directing and be behind the camera, instead of focusing on being in front of the camera?

JW: Well, I fell in love with movies when I was eight years old. I was so crazy about movies. My first dream wasn't to be a filmmaker. My first dream was to be a minister. I go to church and I love the church. I'm a Christian, you know. I got a lot of help and support from the Church. I just wanted to do something to pay back society. I wanted to help other people. The missionary school found I was too artistic. They encouraged me to go for the arts, rather than ministry. When I was in high school, I was so active. I liked dancing, like those kinds of ballroom dance. I love painting, music and writing.

When I was out of high school, I found I really loved movies. There weren't any film schools in Hong Kong in the old times. All I could do was learn from the movies. I learned everything by myself. In Hong Kong, we were so lucky to see all kinds of movies from all over the world. We could see a lot of great masterpieces--French, English, Italian, American and Japanese films. That's how I learned. I grew up in the slum. Our family was extremely poor and they couldn't afford for me to go to school anymore. I loved the arts and movies so much. Besides watching movies, I needed to read. I needed to learn. All I could do was go to every library and bookstore and steal books. I dressed in a long coat. I stole all kinds of books about film, about arts, painting books. I grabbed it! I must confess, that wasn't good behavior, but I couldn't help it. It was the only way I could learn because I was so poor.

Q: In your work with "Windtalkers," did you find any co-relation with your own spirituality and beliefs and that of the Navajo [Way]?

JW: Yes. That's pretty deep! laughs I think what I found is that we have a lot of things in common. It seems like we all have the same kind of belief, we all have the same kind of dream, same kind of love.

When I was about 20 years old, I made quite a few experimental films--16 millimeter, Super 8, with my friends. I had never dreamt to become a film director. I just wanted to be an editor or a cinematographer. But somehow, that's my luck. I had a chance to direct my first movie when I was 25 years old. That was really rare in Hong Kong in the old time. The director used to be around 50 or 60 years old. I was the first young director in Hong Kong.

One of my friends got financed by another good friend. His friends only wanted to date a movie star. All he could do was to make a movie. My friend wanted me as a co-director, because he didn't know how to direct. I had a chance to direct the whole movie. That movie drew a lot of attention. It was called "The Young Dragons." We sold it to Golden Harvest [a well-known movie studio in Hong Kong] and they loved it. They hired me as a contract director. That's how I started.

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