China's cinema has been rising for some time; it has more exposure, so my chances of becoming internationally known are better. But the first thing I have to do is learn English. If I can grasp the language, then perhaps I can think about the U.S.

Whatever you see - any good results - are all from the pressure.

China's cinema has been rising for some time; it has more exposure, so my chances of becoming internationally known are better. But the first thing I have to do is learn English. If I can grasp the language, then perhaps I can think about the U.S.

I knew nothing about martial arts. And I don't really like it! But in the film, I not only had to pretend that I knew all about it, I had to be the best at it. That was very difficult.

It's not that I wanted to be an actor; it's that I didn't want to be a dancer! I was trained in traditional Chinese dance, and after working so hard it seemed unfair to just disappear into a group.

In China, we don't consider someone truly beautiful until we have known them for a long time, and we know what's underneath the skin.

I wanted to become a kindergarten teacher like my mother.

I suspect people always thought I had a boyfriend, so nobody came after me.

My parents sent me to a dance class, so it was a road chosen by them, not me. But I enjoyed it so much I knew I would become a performer.

Chinese women are much more modest than American women when it comes to clothes. We tend to show less flesh.

Even though I've done Hollywood films, I still don't think of myself as a Hollywood actress.

For myself I don't like the geisha look. It's like a mask.

I always think it's really hard if you are Asian or Chinese to be really in Hollywood. There are not so many really great characters for you.

I really want to do something in Europe. With a small movie, it can be an interesting challenge. But I have to get the right project. I don't think it's so important to go to Hollywood. All that trash that comes out of there! I don't want to do that.

I want, through my roles, to express the parts in the hearts of Chinese women that they feel unable to let out.

I was really interested in geishas' work, and wanted to meet real geishas.

I've discovered that I value simplicity above all in dressing. I don't like anything I wear to be too complicated or fussy.

My profession has helped me to grow up.

There's nothing in Chinese culture that is an equivalent of the geisha. It's so different, so special to Japan.

Working in Hollywood, it's clear the more money you have, the more technology you can get. So you can build a whole Japanese set. Only in Hollywood!

I was utilized because I have a certain face that works well in cinema, and I'm used to making myself look as good as possible.

The whole aspect of cinema and film festivals should be a moment to come together and celebrate art and humanity. It would be a shame if there was such a divide.

I think the cinema you like has more to do with silence, and the theater you like has more to do with language.

I also wanted to express the strength of cinema to hide reality, while being entertaining. Cinema can fill in the empty spaces of your life and your loneliness.

I've been very lucky in my long life. On three continents, in diverse cultures, through happy moments, not-so-happy moments, and moments as marvelous as this one, I've had the privilege of working with the cinema's greatest masters.

For example, in painting the form arises from abstract elements of line and color, while in cinema the material concreteness of the image within the frame presents - as an element - the greatest difficulty in manipulation.

I don't go to the cinema much.

Foreign capital to build new cinemas will help modernize China's aging cinema infrastructure, attract Chinese consumers back into cinemas, and increase demand for U.S. films.

I went to the Tokyo Film Festival in Japan because I love Japanese cinema.

No, I like today's cinema a lot. But I've spent so many decades only making movies. There's so much that I still want to do. Like, live. It's only up to me.

Of course the French are making very credible movies and it is still one of the greatest nations in terms of world cinema but the real problem is the decay in film criticism.

Cinema will always have an important role to play in society.

I hate that people think going to the theatre is a special occasion. I wish people would treat it as normally as going to the cinema.

I really love sort of classical cinema where people were telling stories with very little dialogue, and people were using the camera in a really interesting way.

But I think that the spirit of protectionism would be the grave of European cinema. You cannot protect something by building a fence around it and thinking that this will help it survive.

I prefer ordinary girls - you know, college students, waitresses, that sort of thing. Most of the girls I go out with are just good friends. Just because I go out to the cinema with a girl, it doesn't mean we are dating.

Well, you cannot think of cinema now, and you cannot think of cinema in the UK and not place Chaplin in the most extraordinary elevated context, if there can be such a thing, in that he was a genius, he was unique.

If a violent act towards a woman takes place, and the inspiration for that act is violence in cinema, the inspiration for that act would have come from somewhere else if movies didn't exist.

Cinema is still a very young art form with extraordinary techniques and very impressive special effects but sometimes it seems the soul has been taken out of things.

It's up to the courage of the filmmakers to make art in cinema, not just business. John was rejected by studios, he borrowed money and did movies with his own money. You're either courageous or not. You have to find a way.

I like cinema. I am very fond of it. But from time to time I feel like having some time on my own.

In cinema, the leading player is the director.

I like cinema audiences. I respect them, and I talk to them just like I would anybody I know.

Cinema has become a global economy, totally international.

I happen to love working in cinema, but the theater is always there... you know, and I would never shut the door on it. Even though it's been quite a bit of time since I've done a play, last one was in New York.

It's shocking to say, but the cinema is quite a while away from me, and I haven't got a car yet.

That's what I like about film-it can be bizarre, classic, normal, romantic. Cinema is to me the most versatile thing.

Strangers used to gather together at the cinema and sit together in the dark, like Ancient Greeks participating in the mysteries, dreaming the same dream in unison.

On Being John Malkovich and the cinema of the absurd, I do enjoy it. I wish there were more like it. The very fact that there can't be more like it is one of the reasons it's admirable.