The down to earth director who mixes colour, music, costumes and metaphysic in his films was actually feted earlier at the other festivals like Berlin, Toronto, Venice and Locarno before the French cottoned on to him. The Hong Kong based director spoke to the press after his screening at the Cannes film festival. Indiantelevision.com's Anil Wanvari was there. Excerpts from his statements to the press:

Why did you make your first English language film?

I have always wanted to make an English language film. However, I have mostly made them in Chinese. I have seen many English language films by Chinese directors and found them embarassing. Hence, I had to be careful, a kiss in Chinese is different from a kiss in English. I wanted to do justice to the movie in America. The fact is we can share emotions across cultures, across countries. And that's what made me take that step.

How is a kiss in Chinese different from a kiss in English?

The act is the same. What comes before the kiss and what comes after it is what makes a kiss different. And if you want to know more, we can chat later.

Isn't the film a remake of a short film starring Maggie Cheung that you screened in Cannes in 2001?

Yes it is. In fact, I like the story a lot. But it is not a remake, it is an expansion of the short film. In fact, the short film is just the first chapter of My Blueberry Nights. The short film begins and ends with the diner, but My Blueberry Nights takes off from there. The film is about a journey of life. About distances. Elisabeth (Norah) runs away from New York and when she gets to the furthest point, she knows he (Jude) is someone she is missing.

Why did you use Norah Jones in the film as the main protagonist?

Every director gets attracted to an actor. I saw her pictures. Her voice was what attracted me. It is like a fine instrument which can be strummed into different characters. I felt I could weave a story around it. I had to finish the film based on the schedules and time they could give to me.

Did she live up to your expectations?

It has been a long journey for her. In the beginning, she was very nervous. She is in every chapter. And in each chapter she has to face up with an experienced actor. She became relaxed later. She does not know the rules as she has never acted before. I remember one scene where she has to cry. All the time I was telling her not to act, for this scene I told her to. And I gave her some hints. She cried. She then asked me if she could do it again. And I said no, no, It is fine. She got a safe environment from Rachel and Natalie and it helped make her trip smooth.

What about Jude and his character Jeremy?

New York is quite like Hong Kong; only it is much larger. People from different countries, cultures. I tried to find someone not necessary American. I thought of Jude then and asked him to play the part of an ex- marathon runner. In the movie, he continues being a marathon runner as he stays in a place for his girlfriend, for him it is another marathon as it is a long wait. Jude is connected to Norah. He is a rain dog (Tom Waites song Rain Dogs). She reminds him of himself. She ran away from New York like he ran away from running.

Why was Norah's music not used in the film?

Norah is known as a musician. I did not want people to perceive her as that. I wanted everyone to see her as an actress. So we used different music in every city New York has one type, Vegas another, Nevada another type. It is American music. But I will retain one piece of Japanese music in the film.

How was the film scripted?

I wrote the film with Lawrence Block. He is a writer I admire. I cannot write in English as my English is not so good. Larry is also a marathon runner and he knows the cities the movie covers. The story came from me. I wrote the treatment with story lines and left him to write the dialogues and the nitty gritty. I then sat down with the script and the two actors. Jude and Norah brought a lot to the characters. Until they felt at home. We could not forget we have short schedules. But if we felt something was not working, she wrote some lines, I wrote some. It was a collaborative effort.

Why were blueberry pies used in the film?

I asked Norah Jones what she did not like in desserts and she said blueberry pies. Hence we used blueberry pies. It was like a torture for her (laughing).