The French have got to understand that a film is so expensive that it can no longer afford to be regional or even national in scope.

Today's cinema is a global art form, it is impossible to make movies for a market the size of France, representing no more than 4% of the world's total.

I had to choose between American and British actors, and it didn't take me more than a second to decide: Russians are Europeans and should be played by other Europeans.

I think it is a mistake to identify a movie according to its language, as if movies were literature.

When Americans shoot movies they aim at the entire planet. When the French make movies, they aim at Paris.

British actors behave like Europeans; they are also extremely well trained.

There is a broad cultural current that conveys the idea that a film is like a football team, it represents a nation, it is illustrated literature, filmed radio. These are outdated concepts, totally out of touch with today's realities.