Even though one of them is about an Edinburgh junkie and ones a little boy of eight in Manchester, you want them to always portray their world in such a vivid way that the audience can disappear inside the story.

It's interesting, the worse things get in cities, the tougher that cities get, the more brutal the humor is. The tougher things people face, the darker the sense of humor gets and I find that incredibly optimistic.

I want people to leave the cinema feeling that something's been confirmed for them about life.

Most films that I do, whether successful or not, just fade away. They have their moment in the sun, then they are gone. 'Trainspotting' did not, and especially with journalists. So whenever I launched a new film, I'd end up talking about 'Trainspotting.'

You can't tell someone they are wrong about their own life.

Brian Cox is the nicest guy, but he's so arrogant.

The extraordinary thing about India is that it's such a family place. It's full of families everywhere.