Chinese director lights up Cannes with "Nights"

The Cannes Film Festival's best director award winner in 1997 for "Happy Together" and president of the Competition jury in 2006, Wong Kar Wai returns to the Croisette Wednesday to open the 2007 festival with his first English-language film, "My Blueberry Nights."

Starring Jude Law and singer Norah Jones in her first big-screen role, "Nights" took Wong -- who has long worked from his home base in Hong Kong -- nearly all the way across America, from New York to Tennessee to Nevada. Busy editing the film, Wong pulled away over several days to catch up with The Hollywood Reporter Beijing bureau chief Jonathan Landreth.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT DREW YOU TO THE "BLUEBERRY

NIGHTS" STORY IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Wong Kar Wai: After spending five years on "2046," I felt like doing something entirely different. I also wanted to make a film about distance and see how I would work in a new environment. It was a personal challenge and also an excuse to see the real America.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: MUSIC HAS BEEN A POWERFUL PART OF

THE FEEL OF FILMS OF YOURS LIKE "HAPPY TOGETHER," AND NOW

YOU'RE WORKING WITH A FAMOUS SINGER AS AN ACTRESS. WHAT MUSIC

FEATURES IN "BLUEBERRY NIGHTS?" WILL ANY OF NORAH JONES' OR HER

FATHER'S MUSIC BE IN THE SOUNDTRACK, AND, IF SO, IS IT

ORIGINAL?

Wong: I'm not using any of Norah's music in the film. We both agreed that we want the audience to see her as Norah Jones, the actress. Music plays a large role in the film, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: DO YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR

LEADING LADIES, AND ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH JONES? WHAT ABOUT HER

FINISHED ACTING ONSCREEN IS DIFFERENT FROM YOUR EARLY

EXPECTATIONS?

Wong: I love all my actors. There would be no reason to work with them otherwise. Norah truly defied my expectations. She is a very natural actress with great emotional instincts.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ON CANNES?

DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO RETURNING? WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE IN

THE CITY? A BAR? A THEATER? A CERTAIN STRETCH OF BEACH? A

RESTAURANT?

Wong: Cannes is always an interesting experience for me. Last year I was the jury president, and two years before that I was rushing to the festival with the print of "2046." Fortunately, this year, the opening-night slot guarantees I will be there early. Either that or the organizers are just taking an incredible leap of faith. I have a favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. Do I really have to give you the name?

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT DOES THE TITLE OF THE FILM

REFER TO?

Wong: The meaning is actually quite literal.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: NOW THAT IT'S DONE, HOW DO YOU RATE

THIS FILM IN RELATION TO YOUR PREVIOUS WORKS? WHAT ABOUT IN

RELATION TO OTHER RECENT FILMS, BOTH FROM HONG KONG AND

ELSEWHERE?

Wong: Personally, I like it very much. I consider it a sort of homage to the American cinema and literature that influenced my decision to become a filmmaker. It's very different from "Spider-Man 3."

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: DID YOUR BASIC DIRECTING PROCESS

CHANGE MUCH IN DIRECTING YOUR FIRST WHOLLY ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

FILM? HOW? WAS IT HARDER? A WELCOME CHALLENGE?

Wong: It was definitely interesting and a concern at first since I was working with a different language and in a new landscape. But I fortunately discovered that certain emotions transcend words.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT'S NEXT FILM-WISE? LIFE-WISE?

JONES-WISE? WILL YOU WORK WITH HER AGAIN?

Wong: I have a few projects in development, but it'll be a while before I make any final decisions. I'd love to work with Norah again. I'm curious to see the road she takes as an actress.