Video: Ang Lee mentions Kristen at the 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Taiwan Press Conference

(Mandarin) Ang Lee, director - on casting newcomer Joe Alwyn:

"When you've got the talent, then ou've got it. I've been pretty good about that. If a new actor has talent, I can probably smell it from two miles away."

Emcee: "Just by smelling?"

Lee: "After one or two minutes of the audition, I already knew… "

Emcee: "Just one or two minutes?"

Lee: "But we kept going for one or two hours. Right from the beginning, I had a feeling that he was going to be the one."

(Mandarin) Ang Lee, director - on casting Vin Diesel and Kristen Stewart:

"(Vin) is very similar to the character as described in the book. They are both like a Buddhist Rambo. The character was also like a leader of the group. He's bald and looks like a mushroom. He was a great fit for the role. I believe that he can act. When I spoke to him, I knew we had a good chance of getting him. I spoke to him on the phone first. In the hour (we spoke), he was very excited. He didn't stop talking. He wanted to talk about philosophy, religions and went on and on. So I knew we weren't going to have a problem. You know, the movie stars all have the entourage, of course they had to take care of that themselves. We wouldn't be able to afford him if he did the job for free. But he just really wanted to be a part of this film. He had quite a few scenes. Kristen…we didn't cast her through a casting director. When I read the book, I thought of her. She was also my first pick."

Source via plus YT Korita05