On stage, the audience watches from a fixed viewpoint and the director cannot retake something he doesn't like. It has to work straight through.

Quite a few operas are still being commissioned around the world, although nothing apart from audience popularity can ensure more than a few performances.

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

With Cold Sassy Tree having its first production, I saw no necessity to do anything other than produce it with the correct setting.

With a film, I do my best to understand the author's intentions and try to bring the characters to life.

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.

In Australia, they set up a special fund to kick films off. It was quite an enlightened sort of move. You could go to this government bureau with scripts and and get finance for films.