I like to think of film-making not just as an act of personal self-aggrandisement but rather as an act of public service.

I read reviews of critics I respect and feel I can learn something from. Right now there are a lot of bottom-feeder critics who just have access to a computer and don't necessarily have an academic or cinema background that I can detect, so I tend to ignore that and stay with the same top-tier critics that I've come to respect. I like reading a good review - it doesn't have to be favorable, but a well-thought-out one - because I very much appreciate the relationship of directors and critics.

I think if you watch most of my films with the sound off, you could still tell what's going on.

This is how good movies get made and always have: from the gut instinct of the financiers, not just by committee and research.

The worst thing for people to say about your movies is, "Yeah, it was pretty good, but it was too damn long.".

I like actors who, when you see them on screen, you sense a person, not just an actor.

Even if we die at 100, we're still dying young. I want at least 700 years. There's a lot of travelling and books to read and movies to see. I'm not going to squeeze it all in in 85 years.