My mother and father were interested in the arts.

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.

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.

Remember, the early '60s in London was something - which must have been like Berlin in the '30s when the arts flourished. You didn't have the differences in class, and so on.

My mother and father were interested in the arts.

It takes courage to stay young, to make your enthusiasms work for you. Don't let anyone drag you down.

To be successful, you really have to put your ego in the background and try to be diplomatic to achieve what you want to achieve.