Above all, I dislike vulgarity.

I get offered a World War II movie at least once a week just because I speak German and was born there. I have always stayed away from it because I didn't want to be put into that box.

I feel as if sometimes women can't deal with what's going on and they have no one around who actually understands.

In Paris, I rent a bike in the street and cycle around, and in L.A. I live up in the hills so I go hiking a lot.

Berlin is still going through a transition since the Cold War - both in what used to be East and West Berlin. I can still sense the confusion and the struggle for identity there in the streets. There's a pulse to it.

I made a French film called "Merry Christmas" which is a very European film. It's a World War I piece.

I don't make movies thinking: 'Oh, this is going to be a huge box-office hit.'