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Who Is John Woo? Everything to Know About Iconic Director of The Killer
Even if you don't know his name, you're almost certainly familiar with his style of filmmaking!
Doves flying across the screen. Highly-stylized fight choreography. Prolific use of slow-motion.
Even if you don't know the name "John Woo," you're almost certainly familiar with the man's unique style of action-based filmmaking that has enthralled audiences and other moviemakers alike for decades. Without him, for instance, there would be no Matrix franchise, and you can take that one all the way to the bank.
Following an extended hiatus from the mainstream Hollywood scene, the celebrated Chinese director is back — and better than ever! — with The Killer, a reimagining of his 1989 movie of the same name. Game of Thrones and Fast Saga veteran Nathalie Emmanuel leads the project as Zee, a feared underworld assassin forced to run for her life after she refuses to murder an innocent witness named Jenn (Diana Silvers).
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“I had never made a movie that had a female-centric character, so to me, this felt very new and challenging,” Woo says in the studio production notes. “I have always wanted to create a strong and tough female character. I believe that women are just as tough as men, but they have more romanticism than men.”
Omar Sy (Jurassic World), Sam Worthington (Avatar: The Way of Water), Eric Cantona (The Fragile Colossus), Saϊd Taghmaoui (Wonder Woman), Tchéky Karyo (A Very Long Engagement), Grégory Montel (Thirst for Life), Angeles Woo (Silent Night), and Aurélia Agel (Black Widow) round out the principal cast.
“I think this is something that is really innovative," Woo continues. "Instead of just bad men all the time, we can show that women fighting women can be just as exciting. In this film, some of the main character’s fiercest opponents are women."
For the uninitiated, here's everything you need to know about the legendary and trailblazing director.
Who is John Woo?
John Woo is a famous film director known for action classics like Hard Target, Face/Off, Mission: Impossible II, and The Killer.
Woo was born in the city of Guangzhou, China in 1946, though a specific date remains unknown. He and his family moved to a crime-ridden Hong Kong neighborhood four years later. In an effort to escape his glum surroundings, Woo frequented a local movie theater, developing a love for the works of cinematic titans like Akira Kurosawa, Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, and French New Wave trailblazer Jean-Pierre Melville. That was his film school.
He broke into moviemaking as a script supervisor in the late 1960s before making his feature-length directorial debut with The Young Dragons, circa the mid-'70s. From there, he was off to the races, building an impressive reputation in his native China and forging professional relationships with soon-to-be international stars like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat. The latter starred in five Woo projects, including The Killer and Hard Boiled.
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"I don’t play by the rules; basically, I do everything by instinct," he told The Ringer in 2023. "Somebody had called my action as having the beauty of violence, something like that. But I don’t know how to describe that kind of action—I just love to make everything look beautiful. Even if it’s a tragic story, I still want to make the tragedy feel more romantic."
What movies has John Woo directed?
American audiences were first introduced to Woo's special brand of cinema via 1993's Hard Target. Subsequently, the director was tapped to helm a number of high-profile studio titles like Face/Off, Mission: Impossible II, Windtalkers, and Paycheck. He then took a two-decade break from Hollywood, returning to Chinese features, until 2023's John Wick-style revenge thriller, Silent Night.
"After Paycheck, I couldn’t get any good scripts anymore, so I went to China to make a couple of movies. Some worked. Some didn’t work well. But I was still looking for a new script to direct," he explained during an interview with Rolling Stone. "When I came back to America about four years ago, I got the script for Silent Night. I was so excited. In Hollywood, I had been established as a 'big movie' director, and there are so many good smaller-scale scripts that never came to me. My partner would always say, 'John, you’re a big director! These are too small for you!' But I like trying things that are smaller and more personal. And not just action. I really enjoy making a human story, but I’d never get it [until this came along]."
John Woo's Family Life
Woo has been married to his wife, Anne, since 1976, according to his IMDb page. The couple welcomed three children over the years, including actress Angeles Woo, who plays an assassin hired to take out Zee in The Killer.
RELATED: The Killer Pulls No Punches in First Trailer For Peacock's John Woo Action Film
"Angeles is a very professional and talented actress already so when I work with her, it’s just like working with any other actors,” John Woo says in the production notes. "The only time I’m more concerned is when she does her own stunts, but overall, it is great working with her professionally."
How to watch The Killer (2024)
The Killer is now streaming exclusively on Peacock.
The NBCUniversal platform offers two monthly subscription plans: Premium ($7.99 a month with ads) and Premium Plus ($13.99 a month with no ads and download access for certain titles). If you're a student, you can enjoy the Premium plan for just $1.99 for an entire year!
