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.

The world distribution of French movies is a laughing matter. That is a fact.

My way of remaining French was the financing scheme I used for Quest for Fire, with Fox funds, since it started as a 100% American production. The film was not in French and yet was French in style, reflecting my personality.

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

When Picasso painted in Paris, was he a Spanish or a French painter? It does not matter, he was Picasso, whatever the influences surrounding him. He simply chose Paris because it was the ideal place for him to sell his creation.

America is the only country capable of producing national movies: its culture has become a global culture.

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 These are outdated concepts, totally out of touch with today's realities.