Hong Kong director John Woo talks about his experiences in making films on Sunday at the first Pingyao International Film Festival. [Photo by Wang Kaihao/China Daily]

Woo is not someone who follows fads. When he first began doing action films in Hong Kong in the mid-1980s, the industry was dominated by comedies, which were considered the only way to make money then.

Woo's experiments were not expected to be successful. Also, in the past decade, his productions like Red Cliff and The Crossing, both with huge budgets, have been failures at the box office.

Commenting on his propensity to go against the grain, Woo says: "Nowadays, overwhelming studies about filmgoers' habits actually harm the industry.

"Whether a film is good or not should be decided by what people say online," he says.

Despite his successes globally, Woo in Pingyao－a UNESCO World Heritage site－is a modest student paying homage to other filmmakers. For instance, he says his inspiration for The Killer came from The Godson (1967), a movie made by French crime film guru Jean-Pierre Melville.

The ongoing film festival has a special section comprising Melville's major films.

Besides, he says many scenes in his films are a tribute to American director Martin Scorsese.

Speaking about his regrets, Woo says he never got a chance to work with Japanese actor Ken Takakura, who died in 2014.

So, could Woo's upcoming Manhunt, about a framed procurator who wants to clear his name, be a way to make up for a missed opportunity?

The original Japanese film, starring Takakura, was released in China in the late 1970s.

Then, it was very popular. Asked if his version of this familiar story will feature typical "Woo's scenes", like flying pigeons and heroes carrying two pistols, he smiles, saying: "Why not? These are my trade marks."

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn