Christopher Doyle

“When Cantonese speakers want to insult a White Guy, they call him Gui Lo. When the crew on a Wong Kar Wai set want to convey a suggestion or an idea, they might say ‘Gui Lo wants this…’ or ‘Gui Lo says that.’ I don’t take offense; in fact, I take it as a compliment. I feel it’s a confirmation that I am the original ‘Gui Lo’ in the Hong Kong film world. And they can't help but accept that this world is where I belong.

The only time I feel out of place on set is when WKW calls me ‘Chris.’ It’s like the way my mother only called me by my full name ‘Christopher’ when I had done something wrong. For WKW, Chris is part of a question: one of the most important questions I or any other artist must ask and be asked. At least once or twice a day when we are filming, WKW will look at what I am doing or have just shot and ask: ‘is that all you can do, Chris?’… Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s not, and both of us know I can do better. So we try. And something more comes out of what came before.

So now, no matter who and what I work on, I make sure to ask myself: ‘is that all you can do Chris?’ a la Wong Kar Wai.”