The main problem is that the Hollywood system has already made the film before the director shoots a single frame.

The problem with the British film industry is the nervousness and insecurity about - and genuflection toward - Los Angeles.

I am very happy to be part of European and world cinema as a British filmmaker.

It's an unhealthy habit to say that life is what you make of it, and if you want to be happy, then you can be happy. That's just rubbish, basically.

I can't negotiate and collaborate with a character to create a distilled dramatic investigation of the raw material. I need to work with an actor. That stuff about actors who stay in character all the time is nonsense.

I can't really see how anybody could be particularly optimistic about the future in general because we are destroying the planet.

The reason my films work is because every actor on set is very secure. They're able to fly.