What science-fiction premises do is it gives you a "what-if" prism to look at the contemporary world with a wack on the side of the head.

If you have your movies so that everyone understands everything, I think that's probably not a very good movie.

It seems that our politicians see the world in black and white, so why not our artists? Did Woody Allen's 'Manhattan' have to be in black and white? No. But is it fantastic that it was? To see New York like that? Yes!

I want all of my films to belong to me.

Forgiving yourself may be for many people, at least for myself, extremely difficult. And then in a larger context, I will say that I'm constantly astonished by those who pray daily, "Forgive me my sins as I forgive those who sin against me," and beat very loudly the war drum.

A pitfall of making a comedy with a studio-and it's also an American cultural thing-is that I get tired of being encouraged to go always for laughs.

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