John Woo was surprised to receive an award honoring trailblazers who have made outstanding contributions to the art of filmmaking.
"I have made a lot of films, but it hardly qualifies as making a special contribution. I'm just a hard-working filmmaker," the Hong Kong director said in Tokyo before the award presentation. "I'm very thankful to receive this award and also very surprised."
Past recipients of the Tokyo International Film Festival's Samurai Award include fellow directors Takashi Kitano and Tim Burton.
Woo said when he began his career in the 1960s, he watched films from other countries, especially Japan, and is still inspired today by Japanese cinema. "Japan has had so many great filmmakers, actors and writers," he said at Monday's ceremony.
The 1986 action drama "A Better Tomorrow" cemented Woo's place in Hong Kong cinema, breaking box-office records at the time. "The Killers" and "Hard Boiled" followed.
The director's signature style of bullet-flying action scenes or slow-motion gunfight sequences defined Hong Kong cinema in the '90s and led to Hollywood projects like "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible II."
The box office results of his first love story, last year's "The Crossing," were disappointing, but Woo was undeterred.
"Life has its ups and downs. If the people who collaborated with me are defeated, then I feel bad, and a bit sad."
His next film, a remake of the Japanese action classic "Manhunt," is in pre-production with the cast still to be set.
"I idolize Ken Takakura very much. I wanted to make a film in his memory that pays tribute to him. I also wanted to find an actor that has his aura and has a similar performing style. It is very hard to find someone like this."
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More