The cinema is there to heighten the imagination; I have always tried to make sure it does so.

With Kubrick and most film directors, they are in complete control, but one can influence them.

One thing that I think works in 'Casablanca' and which I've lectured a lot about - in terms of what I've been trying to achieve as a designer - is the film's creation of its own form of reality.

What I felt at that time - we're talking about '61 - was that I couldn't remember seeing a film that reflected the age we were living in.

I have never been sorry to see my sets being struck, provided they are well photographed. They're not works of art but part of making a film.

My house is not James Bondish at all. Sorry.

I'm an incurable romantic, and 'Casablanca''s one of the most romantic pictures I've ever seen - the combination of Bogart and Bergman is just magical.