What is the most difficult thing about co-producing a film with a Chinese cast and crew?

I have been coming to China since the 1990s. First, I went to Guangzhou. I attended Shanghai International Film Festival as a member of the jury in 1993. So I am always interested in Chinese movies. But it is difficult to co-produce, because the ideas and languages are difficult. Using international actors in China has to make sense and there has to be realistic bases, especially for adventure movies. I think co-production is awkward sometimes, mostly because it is motivated by money, but not motivated by ideas.

I like to work with Chinese crews. But language is the most difficult thing. I could not be the director of Chinese films. If there is not a translator, how would they really understand? I have to repeat myself in co-production, even though I know some Chinese actors can speak English well.

What should Chinese and American filmmakers do to achieve success in co-production?

Co-production should be based on good ideas. There are such different histories between China and the United States. It is very important to touch people. When we do history in movies, it is always difficult. Even in my country, there are many disagreements. For example, The Untold History of the United States shows the dark side of American history, which was ignored by many people. So history is always battleground. In China, your recent history of the last 50 years is certainly contentious, but more fascinating than anywhere else. I hope one day I could work on a film about China's "cultural revolution" (1966-76), for example, which was a fascinating period in Chinese history. Many of my contemporary Chinese friends grew up in that period. Their lives were completely changed. History can be dramatic. So the more real you can treat the history, the better co-production can be. Everybody wants to know their past.

Last year, the Chinese mainland became the world's second largest box office. However, Chinese films were not well received in the overseas market. How can the Chinese movie industry make their releases better appeal to Western cinema-goers?

I can't give the right answers. I love Chinese movies, for example, The Journey to the West. Hollywood films like Iron Man or Transformers made big money at the Chinese box office. They are commercial. People are attracted to big money investments and 3D. My first big success was about the Viet Nam war. No people wanted to make a Viet Nam war movie at that time. My films were too realistic.

To some extent, there are some things Chinese movies do better than Hollywood. They change styles too, over the years, and they give birth to new styles that inspire the West. There are so many treasures in Eastern culture, such as acrobatics, philosophy, The Art of War, classic stories like The Journey to the West, and The Dream of the Red Chamber. I learnt a lot from Chinese philosophy. The Art of War, I think, is to avoid of war. If you are trying to be No. 1, you make enemies. So you need to learn to retreat.

The history of China is 5,000 years long. Chinese filmmakers can take on classics going into the past. That was done by kungfu movies. The nature of the movie business is that everyone wants to imitate the success. The problem is that sometimes you can only make so many copies. It drives out the power of the original. Successful movies come first and then copies follow. People get bored. Movies don't get done well, and they have to go back to another type of film. What I am saying is that films are always changing and they never stay still.

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