I'd really been interested in opera when I was about 16, and I really like staging them.

For a director, the most challenging scenes are the dialogue scenes.

Film is shot in fragments, and the same moments can be shot again and again until the director is satisfied.

Everyone has seen photographs of Mexicans wearing those big sombreros. When you come to Mexico, the astonishing thing is, nobody wears these hats at all.

Directing an opera is similar to directing a play. The singing must not get in the way of the drama.

At HBO, they seem to be well-informed. They make what I think are really quite mature films.

I don't rehearse films as much as opera or theatre. When I began directing films I thought a long rehearsal was a good idea. Experience showed me that the best performance was often left in a rehearsal room.