Wong Kar Wai Quotes

I never had a problem with genre because a genre actually is like a uniform - you put yourself into a certain uniform. But if you dress up in a police officer's uniform, it doesn't mean that you are an officer; it can mean something else. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

I think the martial arts tradition has a big influence on our generation - we all read these novels when we were very young. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

What makes international cinema so interesting is that each territory has its own sensibility. When you look at an Indian or French film, there's a certain flavor. And even though the language is different, if the film is successful, it has something very common and understandable. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

My mother has a very big family in Shanghai, so I have, like, almost 40 cousins, so we stayed together all the time. So by the time I get to Hong Kong, I become the only child and the only one surrounded by adults, you know. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

In a way, this is what the difference is between Hong Kong and Chinese cinema - Chinese cinema was made for their own communities. It was for propaganda. But Hong Kong made films to entertain, and they know how to communicate with international audiences. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

Most of my films deal with people who are stuck in certain routines and habits that don't make them happy. They want to change, but they need something to push them. I think it's mostly love that causes them to break their routines and move on. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

I'm not very aware of styles. We never talk about styles before we start shooting, or even during shooting, because I think the film will bring you there. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

I'm not afraid to delay the schedule to make sure that this is the film that I want, that this is the best that I can do at that point. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

Sometimes, when you're on the streets, certain music inspires you, and then you have a vision. But, at the end of the day, it's a synthesis of visions, so you have to think, as a director, of a scene, or how to deliver a line, or how do this visually. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

Some actors like encouragement. Some actors prefer to have pressure. And sometimes, for some actors, its better to give your comment by silence, because they are so skillful, so gifted, that they understand without talking too much. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

What makes cinema so attractive, so fascinating is that it's not just a one plus one process. It's a chemistry between sounds, words, ideas and image. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

Heritage is something martial-arts films don't often talk about. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

I always think to shoot action scenes is not really about the stunts. It's more about an expression and about imagination. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

He remembers those vanished years. As though looking through a dusty window pane, the past is something he could see, but not touch. And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct. ~ In The Mood For Love 2000 Wong Kar-wai

Love is all a matter of timing. It's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

Wong Kar Wai is a very intense character, very personable, and I believe in general he does not like and he would not want his actors to show their true looks and their true personality on screen. ~ Andy Lau

There are certain types of genres that are impossible in China. Ghost stories, something too graphic, too violent, and of course if it's too political. Other than that, it will be fine. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

My films are never about what Hong Kong is like, or anything approaching a realistic portrait, but what I think about Hong Kong and what I want it to be. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

During shooting, you have the idea, like, of this certain dress on this actress, but it's not to fit, so you have to make all of these alterations and modifications. So in a way, I build the characters with the cast, and it's sort of custom-made, the whole process, and then you have to make all of these adjustments. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

I was born in Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong the year I was five. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

I like so many different directors: Scorsese, Coppola, Cassavetes, Jarmusch, Gus van Sant, Woody Allen and the greats like Fellini, Bergman, Tarkovsky and among current filmmakers von Trier, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai. ~ Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

I never studied film formally at school, but as a kid, I spent most of my time in cinemas. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

1936 is a very important year: a golden time for martial arts, right before the Japanese invasion. ~ Wong Kar-Wai

We love what we can't have, and we can't have what we love ~ Wong Kar-Wai

Wong Kar-wai and Ang Lee are two Asian directors I'm really fond of. ~ Bai Ling

I always believe that Kar-Wai has a complete script: he just doesn't show it to us. He wants us to experience and explore the character. He gives you a lot of space, and you know every time will be a very long journey. You just live in the character, and that's very different from other directors. ~ Tony Leung Chiu-Wai

You have suffered enough." That became my mantra for motherhood from there on out. You have suffered enough. If you can make it easier, make it easier, and don't feel guilty about it. ~ Ali Wong

I think that's one of the most unique and potentially powerful things about reddit - people come for the news, and stay for the community. ~ Yishan Wong

Tried to escape, to block out the fact that I was being eaten alive by arachnids. For some reason the only thing I could replace it with was the image of being eaten by tiny clowns. ~ David Wong

Avoid jumping into conclusion! This may cause your idea fractured. Authority will not be responsible! ~ Abhijit Kar Gupta

Got it. Look, the way I see it, two people walk in the restaurant, a Methodist and an atheist. The Methodist says, I'm not going to tip because I just came from church and I've already done my good deed for the day. The atheist says, I'm not tipping because life is meaningless and we're all just animals. To me, they're both members of the same religion, because they're doing the same thing. Whatever little story they tell themselves to justify it is irrelevant. It goes the other way, too - if a Muslim and a Scientologist come in and both leave a tip, they're on the same team. It doesn't matter to me if one did it because of Allah and the other was obeying the ghost of Tom Cruise, what matters is it resulted in doing the right thing. ~ David Wong

Every man is blessed with his gifts from the Lord. One of mine happens to be a penis large enough that, if it had a penis of its own, my penis's penis would be larger than your penis. ~ David Wong

The stories surrounding eating durians remind us that literature should incorporate low culture, bringing it closer to lived reality. These legends come not from the pens of the elite, but are assembled from the words of the masses, both written and spoken, passed from one person to another - the only way to create a text this deep and compelling. ~ Wong Yoon Wah

Chaap Tilak

Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Prem bhatee ka madhva pilaikay
Matvali kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Gori gori bayyan, hari hari churiyan
Bayyan pakar dhar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Bal bal jaaon mein toray rang rajwa
Apni see kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Khusrau Nijaam kay bal bal jayyiye
Mohay Suhaagan keeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay


Translation
You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.
By making me drink the wine of love-potion,
You've intoxicated me by just a glance;
My fair, delicate wrists with green bangles in them,
Have been held tightly by you with just a glance.
I give my life to you, Oh my cloth-dyer,
You've dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.
I give my whole life to you Oh, Nijam,
You've made me your bride, by just a glance. ~ Amir Khusrau

Crotch-punchingly real! ~ David Wong

She wasn't some little princess from the suburbs who just graduated college with a humanities degree, she knew what people were really like. ~ David Wong

Oh noes, kitteh haz major angriez!" I said. I turned around to share a laugh with my companions and found them glaring at me. "What?" I asked.
Leif shook a finger and said in a low, menacing tone, "If you tell me I have to talk like an illiterate halfwit to fit into this society, I will punch you."
"And I'll pull out your goatee," Gunnar added.
"Lolcat iz new happeh wai 2 talk," I explained to them. "U doan haz 2 be kitteh 2 speek it. ~ Kevin Hearne

Sometimes it's not how much light you use to get an effect, it's how
little you use and still make it work. There are a lot of rules to be
broken in photography, and you've got to have courage. ~ James Wong Howe

I remain on 'SVU' because it is an incredible opportunity. ~ BD Wong

You have to talk through the bratwurst from now on. ~ David Wong

seriously, listen up because this is important and this is where we'll leave it. Your boy, my guess is he never stopped thinkin' you were beautiful. The only thing that changed was he started worrying that other people didn't think you were. So now he's gonna spend his life with a gorgeous, boring woman who'll make him miserable, all so that he can wear her on his arm to parties, thinkin' that'll show other people how great he is. He'll pick the career and car and mansion that he thinks other people expect him to have, put all his energy into building up that front. Then one day he'll find out his life is all wrapping paper and no gift. ~ David Wong

The truth that we hide is naked, the one that we flaunt is so well dressed! ~ Abhijit Kar Gupta

Everything ultimately becomes the CEO's problem, no matter where it starts. I can see why some CEOs crack under the pressure. ~ Yishan Wong

Without the burdens and problems associated with fame and fortune, Lieh-tzu could live leisurely and be free to do what he liked and go where he wanted. To Lieh-tzu, being an unknown citizen was better than being a person of power and responsibility. In a time when politicians played games of intrigue, Lieh-tzu felt it was better to remain silent and be truthful to oneself. ~ Eva Wong

Ridley Scott is a cinematic master and a great man. It was a real honour working with him on 'Prometheus.' ~ Benedict Wong

No. He says when you're dealing with any kids of supernatural beings, Gods and Devils and angels, you tend to think about them like hurricanes or earthquakes, some kind of mindless force of nature. But if they're real, then they have minds. They know your name. So even reading about the Devil tips him off, he knows instantly he's being read about and that you're somebody he may have to deal with. And I'm thinking what you did in Vegas went way, way beyond that."
"What 'I' did? What about us? We were both there."
"Yeah but I cut my hair since then. They probably think that was a different guy. ~ David Wong

Antidepressants. The thought of this girl actually being depressed made me want to grab the whole planet and throw it into the sun. Well, more than usual anyway. ~ David Wong

A realization washed over her in that cold, dark space: this was how virtually all living things born on earth have died - with teeth tearing through their muscle and bones. We humans have computers and soap and houses but it doesn't change the fact that everything that walks is nothing but food for something else. ~ David Wong

If I were to limit myself to the opportunities that were presented playing only Chinese-American parts, I would be virtually without a career. ~ BD Wong

Book Time
When you find
yourself
hungry
again
And there's
nothing good
to eat--

This is book time.
Pull out a book--
Sink your teeth
into the think
of it.
~ Janet S. Wong

Soon we were downloading ourselves
into laptops, phones or pads, freer
than we had hoped,

floating centrifugally across the Internet
to swim alongside forgotten
selfies, spam emails and porn ~ Cyril Wong

Start working on whatever you hesitate Because there is an ending to every beginning. When you make it to the end, You will realize the hesitation was a waste of time. ~ David Wong

One of the greatest gifts a caring teacher can contribute to children is to help them learn to sit when they feel like running, to raise their hand when they feel like talking, to be polite to their neighbor, to stand in line without pushing, and to do their homework when they feel like playing. By introducing procedures in the classroom, you are also introducing procedures as a way of living a happy and successful life. ~ Harry Wong

Folding chairs were flying through the air as if propelled by dozens of invisible Bobby Knights. ~ David Wong

But here's the thing - lying would have become useless thousands of years ago if countering it was as simple as dismissing the liars completely. The really good liars were like chemists, brewing formulas that were mostly truth, the toxins undetectable in the mixture. ~ David Wong

They passed a law that said I couldn't put my hands in my pockets. Do you know why? Because they would become concealed weapons. I can kill a man with these hands. ~ David Wong

Therein lies the potent, challenging gift afforded to us brave, lucky few, fortunate enough to be roasted onstage night after night by your mother: that of self-realization through comedic ego destruction. Your mother showed me with her comedy how to let go of who I thought I had to be and allowed me to embrace a life rooted in my love for you girls. ~ Ali Wong

Every time your picture is taken, you lose a part of your soul. ~ Anna May Wong

Why that was the stars, my little ones,' growled Kar, lifting his proud eyes to the endless heavens. 'For in the beginning, there was light. ~ David Clement-Davies

With a bassy thump and a smell like burnt sulfur, Shitload farted himself far into the air. ~ David Wong

Well," I said. "Nothing to do right now but wander the fuck into that abandoned building, totally unarmed. ~ David Wong

You want to hear a story? Well, buckle the fuck up."
From: What the Hell Did I Just Read ~ David Wong

One more victim sucked in by John. You get into the room with him and you just fall into a warm pool of beer and video games and penis jokes, staring at the universe with him and saying, Do you believe this shit? ~ David Wong