中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
In addition to his numerous crowns, such as "the first Chinese film director to conquer Hollywood" or "Asia's highest-grossing film director", John Woo has won his latest, perhaps biggest, honor as "the most influential Chinese person in the world" in the cultural area.
Amid applause and cheers, Woo wore a confident smile as he strode to the glittering stage at Peking University during the March 27 You Bring Charm to the World event, sponsored by Phoenix Television and other Chinese media outlets.
The 64-year-old filmmaker attracted a burst of flashbulbs, far more than the other winners, who included Nobel physics prize winner Charles K. Kao and biologist Pan Wenshi.
Woo's acceptance speech surprised the audience.
"My wife is so pretty," Woo said, giving a nod to his wife, Niu Chun Long, as he lifted the golden cup.
It revealed the soft side of the Hong Kong-based director, who struggled - and finally succeeded - in Hollywood.
"When I went to the United States in 1993, some Americans judged Chinese with prejudice," he said. "I changed their bias with my films."
Speaking little English and being a freshman in the world's biggest dream factory, Woo in the early years in the US found he had no right to rewrite a line of script as a chief director, even though he had already reached the summit of Hong Kong's movie scene with the film A Better Tomorrow, which starred leading Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat.
With so many obstacles, Woo's first Hollywood movie foundered and suffered biting criticism. "A coarse Hong Kong movie dubbed in English", one reviewer wrote.
"My employer lost confidence and I had to stay there without an income. I waited almost two years for the next chance," Woo said.
But Woo never gave up. He proved that Chinese directors could produce blockbuster movies. The first piece of evidence was the popular action thriller Broken Arrow, which featured John Travolta and Christian Slater.
That kicked off a successful sweep of global hits, including the Travolta-Nicolas Cage movie Face/Off, the Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible II, and Paycheck.
Woo returned to the Chinese film world with the epic Red Cliff, which fulfilled his 20-year-old dream of making a movie adapted from the Chinese classical novel Three Kingdoms.
Red Cliff, a two-part series, is the highest-grossing Chinese movie in Asia.
The director has been busy making preparations for a World War II epic, Tiger, which explores the friendship between Chinese pilots and the 1st American Volunteer Group, the fighter pilot mercenaries nicknamed the Flying Tigers.
Questions:
1. What is the latest honor for director John Woo?
2. When did Woo go to Hollywood?
3. What is his next project?
Answers:
1. "The most influential Chinese person in the world" in the cultural area.
2. In 1993.
3. A World War II epic, Tiger, which explores the friendship between Chinese pilots and the 1st American Volunteer Group, the fighter pilot mercenaries nicknamed the Flying Tigers.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is fluent in Korean and has a 2-year-old son.
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