Working with Zhao Wei and Huang Xiaoming, they're not just Chinese stars, they're movie stars.

Like, action to me is no fun if it's not built around character.

The harder we push forward into the unknown the more it intensifies the reflection of humanity. That's what I really love about 'Star Trek.'

I've always admired Bruce Lee for his trailblazing efforts opening doors for Asians in entertainment and beyond.

I loved basketball and grew up with the Lakers and Magic Johnson. That was a big part of me.

We came over when I was 8 from Taiwan. That was my life: going to school, working at the restaurant, playing basketball.

Definitely the hardest thing is to find time to be grounded with real life, but without it, I don't think I'd be able to continue to grow as a filmmaker.

I loved 'Fast,' but I'm not a car guy.

All of my definitions of family were heavily influenced by my 'Star Trek' experience.

Growing up, I felt there was nothing my dad couldn't do, but didn't get the chance to do when we moved. I think he latched on to 'Trek' because of the sense of exploration and discovery, and hope. I think that's what he connected to.

Hollywood should be global.

As soon as I saw 'Chinglish' on Broadway, I began to envision this smart and insightful cross-cultural comedy as a film.

I'm extremely proud to be part of the 'Fast' franchise, it is an experience I will always treasure.

My parents were unconventional for Asian parents.

I've sat in so many meetings where they talk about converting movies to 3D just for the China market and just to make more money. I saw that people in China work long, long hours and that it's expensive to go to the movies, and you want to rip them off for even more money? I don't think that's right.

All my friends were 'Star Wars' kids but I didn't go to the movies, so I was the 'Star Trek' kid.

You want to have pressure and tell stories that you find a real reason to tell, aside from any business reason. If business is your only reason, that always goes badly.

For me, when I was growing up, everybody I knew was a 'Star Wars' kid.

I grew up, from ages 8 to 18, watching reruns of 'Star Trek' with my dad and my mom when they got home from work.

When you have an opportunity to do something again, the money goes up and people get more conservative.

When I was making the 'Fast and Furious' movies, I wasn't trying to make a 'Fast and Furious' movie.

I consider everybody on 'Fast' my family, you know we grew up together.

Obviously, 'Fast' has been a big part of my life.

Without 'Annapolis,' I wouldn't have gotten 'Tokyo Drift' - I wouldn't be here today. And, so, it's part of who I am.

Terminator' was one of my favorite films growing up.

I think one of the great things is that when I got started, no one would return my calls, and now I get a lot of phone calls, which is good. I have options.

Technology has grown so much that there's a whole idea of gluttony. Sometimes you get carried away because you can have a camera go through the window, but do I need a camera go through the window? Those choices are up to the director.

I kind of approach action/non-action very much similarly. It has to be character-based and it has to kind of come off the theme and the overall arc.

I'm the child of immigrants.

People I work with are part of my family now: I feel like that's the new sense of family around the world.

Film is similar to a basketball game. When that buzzer sounds, win or lose, the only thing you can control is how much effort you put into it.

I always end up in these volatile situations.

I've been fortunate to be able to try everything. But I have to say 'Warrior' has been my pride and joy.

Cinema is actually very backward. When we see gay characters or people of color, they're always there for that reason. I'm personally kind of sick of that. I love to see characters who just live and breathe and are comfortable in that space.

When I was growing up, the honor role kids were picked on by the jocks. And those kids said, 'You know, 15 years from now, I'm going to be their boss and own them.'

It's dangerous to buy the American Dream without questioning. We need to ask, 'Why do I want this dream?'

When I think of high school, stills are so important: it's all about the wallet with the kids - they define themselves with pictures, who they know, whose pictures they have. Yearbook pictures.

When I was in film school I had this great professor, Jerzy Antczak, a Polish filmmaker, and Joe Russo of the Russo Brothers were in my class. It was this kind of Easter European philosophy of motivating camera only through character and motions, and just exploring with lenses. That was the best year of my education in my life.

You can't cheat comedy. You know, it either is going to be there on the day you capture or it's not.

I love films where even if you don't like the film, it doesn't matter. It's about respecting a point of view.

I love Kubrick.

It's about supporting the many talented artists and filmmakers out there trying to create work from that marginalized point of view. Go out and buy tickets to their movies and plays, support their crowd sourcing campaigns, show the industry that there is a viable audience for this work.

Working with actors is actually something I treasure a lot.

The great thing about a big studio movie is that you get to work with the best, the most talented craft people in the world. But you have to be able to communicate, trust, and empower everybody.

Fast and the Furious' is really a postmodern Western.

For me, I always loved summer movies. I love indie movies, foreign films, but there's definitely a part of me that loves summer movies, ever since I was a kid.

Boxing is one of the very few things left in life that you know who you are as soon as you step into the ring.

Annapolis' is a very personal journey about this working-class kid trying to find out who he is, and every time he steps into the ring we get a sense of who he is as a person.

Boxing is a big part of American cinema.

As an Asian immigrant coming in, for the longest time I still had problems getting in the lot because they're just not used to seeing someone like me who's directing these films. I do think ultimately there's a point where we can kind of just shed that label and become filmmakers.