“I'm actually living my life with the material I choose to work with.”
Work
“I think I can work with any type of actor.”
WorkAll Quotes by Ang Lee
“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“If there's something that can be formulated, regulated, give you security, then nobody would lose money. Every movie would be successful. And that's certainly not the case.”
Money“Making movies is a way of understanding myself and the world.”
Movies“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“I think I can work with any type of actor.”
Work“I have a lot of repression. So repression is what I make movies about.”
Movies“These days I'm mostly familiar with two parts of L.A.: one is movie culture, and the other is Asian culture. The Westside is work, and the Eastside is Chinese - which means my friends.”
Work“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“I'm not a romantic. In life I didn't have much experience with romance.”
Experience“Economically, it's more expensive to make movies. I hope digital movies change that.”
Change“The fear factor actually brings the genuineness.”
Fear“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“Sensitivity and money are like parallel lines. They don't meet.”
Money“After making several tragic movies in a row, I was looking to do a comedy, and one without cynicism.”
Movies“I think a lot of people do big movies not because they are talented artists but because they can function in the circumstances.”
Movies“My father was the center of the family, and everyone tried to please him.”
Family“I think the American West really attracts me because it's romantic. The desert, the empty space, the drama.”
Romantic“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“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