When actors are being defensive and defending their position, that is when you get less than good acting.

I'm trying to suggest a kind of Middle Earth, in Tolkien terms. It's a contiguous world; it's like ours but different.

I think most films are too predictable. They follow familiar patterns. I suppose audiences like to know where they stand but I like films that take me by surprise, take unexpected turns and twists.

And you poor creatures--who conjured you out of the clay? Is God in show business, too?

The resistance to black-and-white is huge, in the way that you have to sell the film. It's difficult to distribute around the world.

Movie-making is the process of turning money into light. All they have at the end of the day is images flickering on a wall.

There's always been this strand of filmmaking in Britain which is like socialist neo-realism. That's always been there. I've never been part of that, really; I've been much closer to fantasy.