To seduce a woman famous for strict morals, religious fervor and the happiness of her marriage: what could possibly be more prestigious?

My problem is I'm a man of no convictions - at least, I think I am.

Often I think the novels I read won't make very good movies - I better not say which I'm looking at for potential films! - but it's nice to have an excuse to just sit and read for a whole day.

I became a virtuoso of deceit. It wasn't pleasure I was after, it was knowledge. I consulted the strictest moralists to learn how to appear, philosophers to find out what to think and novelists to see what I could get away with.

If I had to give a definition of capitalism I would say: the process whereby American girls turn into American women.

There is a sort of theory that you should adapt bad books because they always make more successful films.

Since my adaptation of Ian McEwan's 'Atonement,' I get sent a lot of novels that people think will work as movies. So every now and then I make a point of sitting down and reading a couple of them.