With his Chinese epic Red Cliff hoving over the horizon like some ginormous epic thing, John Woo took time out to tell us about his next project, and give us an update on Hard Boiled 2 and the return of twin handgun-toting supercop, Tequila.
Next up for Woo is another Chinese-language epic that sees him make a rare foray into romance. "It's like a Romeo and Juliet love story," he says. "A love story, but with war scenes." It will be set 2000 years and Woo is promising something on a similar scale to Red Cliff. Big, in other words.
So what of 1941, Woo's previously-announced historical epic? "I had to pass because we had so many problems with the people who owns the rights," the director told us. "We couldn't make a deal so I had to give it up. It's a little painful since we spent so long developing the story and we found very good actors."
There was good news and bad news for anyone yearning for another dose of bullet-spraying Inspector 'Tequila' Yuen. Hard Boiled 2 is in the works but may take some time to hit our screens. "I'm involved as producer. We're working on the script and I'm sure it's gonna be a very interesting movie, but it won't be ready until years from now." Action god, and Woo alter-ego, Chow Yun-Fat's involvement is still in the balance, according to Woo.
It's been six years since Woo's last Hollywood pic, and although he's settled in Beijing and has no immediate plans to return to the US, he's not ruling it out. "I will make more Chinese movies, but if I get a better script [from Hollywood] I will do it again."