Film is abstract, not definite. It is a dream.

If you look at American studios, the big productions have nothing to do with reality.

The cinema that interests me departs from realism.

Cool? Am I cool? I don't know, but I hope my characters are cool, in the sense of iconic. That's my job, at its very essence.

Do we root for Michael Corleone in the 'Godfather' films? I think so, even if he is a monster.

An archetypal gangster is always at a remove. We can't get into his mindset.

What interests me about genre is that the public connects immediately with it, it has certain rules, certain codes the audience recognizes. I can use that to create something very big.