John Woo wants to keep doing action films

BUSAN -- Hong Kong director John Woo and actress Ha Ji-won, who stars in Woo’s latest action thriller “Manhunt,” met with Korean reporters at the Busan International Film Festival.

“I plan to keep doing action films,” said Woo, recognized as a master of the Hong Kong action genre, at a press conference at the Busan Cinema Center on Saturday.

“I think it’s a very appealing type of movie. It makes you feel energy, you can work with lots of different people and it’s a challenge. You can also express a lot of emotion,” Woo said. “I want to try introducing different cultures in the future. That’s why I’m planning to shoot my next film in Europe.”

“Manhunt,” which screens at the Gala Presentation category at BIFF this year, is a remake of the Japanese novel of the same title by Juko Nishimura.

In the film, a Chinese lawyer, played by Zhang Hanyu, is framed for murder after winning a lawsuit involving a huge conglomerate in Osaka. Ha plays a deadly killer named Rain.

“I wanted to show what was great about Japanese films during that era,” Woo said.

Ha said there was excellent chemistry among the cast while filming.

“We worked with Japanese and Chinese actors, but despite the language barrier, there were many physical scenes, so it was not a problem,” said Ha. “It was a pleasure and honor to work with director Woo.”

“Manhunt” will hit local theaters in December.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)