“I think each movie-making process is a very exhausting and satisfying and fulfilling experience for me.”
Experience
“Thinking back to those earlier days, I felt I was weak when I wasn't making movies, and then when I was, I thought I was weak as a family member.”
FamilyAll Quotes by Ang Lee
“When I grew up, in Taiwan, the Korean War was seen as a good war, where America protected Asia. It was sort of an extension of World War II. And it was, of course, the peak of the Cold War. People in Taiwan were generally proAmerican. The Korean War made Japan. And then the Vietnam War made Taiwan. There is some truth to that.”
Truth“Summer blockbusters are very expensive to make. They have things that have to be expensive, such as 600 effects shots or CG characters that have to go a certain way, or a film design that is different but expensive.”
Design“In the past I've made movies that were pretty universally liked. You can't really hate them. You can discard them, but you can't really hate them.”
Movies“I don't have incredible knowledge about films or of filmmaking history I'm not that kind of person.”
History“You can get rich or famous by doing the same thing.”
Famous“I have a lot of repression. So repression is what I make movies about.”
Movies“I look at American movies, the big muscles, and try to apply that to Chinese film-making.”
Movies“The fear factor actually brings the genuineness.”
Fear“Sensitivity and money are like parallel lines. They don't meet.”
Money“I hope people don't compare 2D and 3D because 3D's new, it's unfair to compare to 2D which is really sophisticated, even when we're jaded about it. 3D just began, give it a chance, let the equipment and projection system catch up and be better, let the price go down, let more filmmakers get a hold of it more easily.”
Hope“Over the years Woodstock got glorified and romanticised and became the event that symbolised Utopia. It's the last page of our collective memory of the age of innocence. Then things turned ugly and would never be the same again.”
Age“After making several tragic movies in a row, I was looking to do a comedy, and one without cynicism.”
Movies“Sexuality is a big issue, but there are others - how much you commit to a relationship, to social obligation, to honesty and being honest with yourself.”
Relationship“I think the American West really attracts me because it's romantic. The desert, the empty space, the drama.”
Romantic“I'm actually living my life with the material I choose to work with.”
Work“Thinking back to those earlier days, I felt I was weak when I wasn't making movies, and then when I was, I thought I was weak as a family member.”
Family“I did a women's movie, and I'm not a woman. I did a gay movie, and I'm not gay. I learned as I went along.”
Women“When I sent those scripts, that was the lowest point of my life. We'd just had our second son, and when I went to collect them from hospital, I went to the bank to try and get some money to buy some diapers, the screen showed I've got $26 left.”
Money“The source of all the material comes from nothingness, illusion is working more on things you can prove. That's the principle, the essence of life, it is actually an illusion, not immaterial. That's worth pursuing. So illusion is not nothing. In a way, that is the truth.”
Truth