If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic.

Every time I make an American film I just trust the American director and American writer. Myself, I would never make this kind of film. For me, those kinds of films are ridiculous. They don't make sense.

I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want.

Coffee is a language in itself.

I want to really stress this, I am a director, an actor, producer, action choreographer, and I'm also an investor.

I asked each if [Yao Xingtong and Zhang Lanxin] was afraid of heights. Each said no, and although they had never had the action movie experience they were willing to be trained. Then I asked if they could swim, and each said yes, but she (gestures toward YX) is better. She said, I can also dive, in fact I once won a diving championship in an international competition. Then she said, "But big brother, I'm not very strong," and I said that's all right.

In the past decade, there have been a lot of friends or directors, either gossiping or telling me directly, "What you're doing now is the right thing, your main concern should be taking care of yourself, and not doing action at your age." Well, after first feeling angry, I'd think, to be honest, I really am older. So I thought, all right, but before I retire I'd like to make one last major action film, one good one.