John Woo is a director, producer, screenwriter, editor, actor who began his career in Chinese cinema and continued his career in the United States. For his work he was awarded the Hong Kong Film Award and the MTV Movie & TV Awards. John Woo became famous for his paintings "The Battle of Red Rock", "Tough Target", "Broken Arrow", "Face Off", "Mission Impossible 2".
At first, John could not achieve success and popularity, but his dedication helped the young filmmaker to stand on a par with the famous directors of Hollywood. His first successful works were films made in the genre of Hong Kong action films: "Hard Boiled", "Hired Assassin", "Bright Future", "Bullet in the Head".
early years
John Wu was born in China in the spring of 1946. At an early age, he suffered from a serious spinal disease and underwent a complex operation, after which he could not walk on his own for a long time. Only a few years later, the boy was able to restore his health and begin to live a full life.
After the end of the Chinese civil war, the family moved to Hong Kong. The family had no savings and the parents had to start all over again: look for work and try to feed themselves and their child. The boy's father suffered from tuberculosis and, although he had an education in the field of pedagogy and philosophy, it was extremely difficult for him to find a job, because he spent most of his time in hospitals. In this regard, John's mother had to support not only the child, but also her husband, and, having found a job at a construction site, worked there almost seven days a week.
Two years later, a disaster struck the family: their apartment was completely burned down and they were left without a livelihood. Thanks to donations from a charitable foundation, the family was able to get housing again and not die of hunger. John's childhood was difficult, he saw war, blood and violence. Perhaps it was these childhood memories that became the reason why there is a lot of cruelty in almost all of John Woo's films.
The family where John grew up was very religious, and in his youth he thought about becoming a priest, but gradually, carried away by cinema and especially American Westerns, John decided that he also wanted to work in films and make his own films.
Film career
The creative biography of John Woo began in the late 60s, when he was hired by one of the local studios. He worked as an editor and proofreader for future films. Two years later, John successfully took up the position of assistant director, and three years later he directed his first film, Young Dragons. It is impossible to find his last name in the credits due to the fact that John filmed his debut works under the fictitious names of Wu Yusheng, and a little later - John I. Ts. Wu.
The following years were a failure for John, and several of his films at once received only negative reviews from film critics and viewers. Having met the producer Ts. Hark, who helped him decide on his future professional activities and gave him money for a new film, John begins filming the "Bright Future" project. The picture turned out brilliant and broke all possible records at the box office. This film was followed by several more: "Hired Assassin", "Bullet in the Head" and "Hard Boiled", after which John leaves for the USA.
Work in the USA
John signs a contract with Universal Studios and, starting work on a new project, immediately faces all sorts of restrictions: from funding to the number of violent scenes. The footage that had already been filmed was completely re-edited and the film "Hard Target", starring Van Damme, appeared on the screen. The film did not become successful for the director, but he continued his work with the studio.
Three years later, the film "Broken Arrow" was released, where the famous John Travolta starred, followed by the thriller "Faceless", where J. Travolta, and Nicolas Cage also appeared. The studio's attempt to remove from the film once again violent, in their opinion, scenes led to the fact that Wu enters into an agreement with Paramount Pictures, where he is given more freedom. As a result, the film was released and grossed over 200 million dollars, and was also nominated for an Oscar.
John's next famous film was the action movie Mission: Impossible 2, where Tom Cruise played the main role. Film critics took the picture coldly, but at the box office the tape grossed more than $ 500 million.
Currently, John has many plans for the future, and fans of his work are eagerly awaiting his new projects.
Personal life
Very little is known about John's family and personal life. Annie Wu Ngau Chin-Lun became his wife. They sealed their union in 1976 and to this day they live together. During this time, the couple had three children.
