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Time & Perspective Quote by Zhang Ziyi

"We're still working out the details, but I'd be delighted to do the film. The problem at the moment is my busy schedule. Shooting on this film has been extended by a month, but I need to be in the U.S. by Dec. 20"

About this Quote

Commitment and distance do a neat little dance here: Zhang Ziyi is saying yes while building a professionally polite exit ramp. "I'd be delighted" is the classic industry balm, a line that signals eagerness without surrendering leverage. It flatters the project, reassures the other side, and keeps her image intact as someone who wants to collaborate. Then comes the real message, delivered with the soft force of logistics: the schedule is the boss.

The phrase "still working out the details" is doing double duty. On the surface, it’s routine development-speak. Underneath, it quietly relocates agency. The decision isn’t purely hers; it lives in negotiations, contracts, dates, and budgets. It also buys time, which in film is a form of power. If you’re indispensable, you can afford to be vague; if you’re replaceable, you can’t.

The specificity of "extended by a month" and "need to be in the U.S. by Dec. 20" adds credibility while raising the stakes. Deadlines make her sound responsible, not difficult. They also frame her as global talent with transnational obligations, a subtle reminder of her market value at a moment when Asian stars were increasingly courted by Western productions yet still squeezed by rigid shoot calendars.

Culturally, this is celebrity diplomacy: enthusiastic tone, hard boundary. She keeps the door open, keeps her brand agreeable, and signals that her career is bigger than any single film - not through ego, but through the unromantic truth of a passport stamp and a call sheet.

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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Ziyi, Zhang. (2026, January 17). We're still working out the details, but I'd be delighted to do the film. The problem at the moment is my busy schedule. Shooting on this film has been extended by a month, but I need to be in the U.S. by Dec. 20. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/were-still-working-out-the-details-but-id-be-65762/

Chicago Style
Ziyi, Zhang. "We're still working out the details, but I'd be delighted to do the film. The problem at the moment is my busy schedule. Shooting on this film has been extended by a month, but I need to be in the U.S. by Dec. 20." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/were-still-working-out-the-details-but-id-be-65762/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"We're still working out the details, but I'd be delighted to do the film. The problem at the moment is my busy schedule. Shooting on this film has been extended by a month, but I need to be in the U.S. by Dec. 20." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/were-still-working-out-the-details-but-id-be-65762/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

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Zhang Ziyi (born February 9, 1979) is a Actress from China.

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