The influence of 'Hidden Fortress' comes up a lot because it was printed in a book once. The truth is, the only thing I was inspired by was the fact that it's told from the point of view of two peasants, who get mixed up with a samurai and princess and a lot of very high-level people.

If the boy and girl walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand in the last scene, it adds 10 million to the box office.

I'm the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they're going to throw rocks at me, they're going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.

I am a giant proponent of giant screens. But I accept the fact that most of my movies are going to be seen on phones.

Attention should be paid to this question of our soul, and not simply to accounting procedures. Attention should be paid to the interest of those who are yet unborn, who should be able to see this generation as it saw itself, and the past generation as it saw itself.

I grew up in the era, 'Don't trust anybody over 30.' And, you know, I still feel that. Don't trust me.

There wasn't anything in my life that was going to stop me from making movies.