Given the events of even the 19th century, Zionism was inevitable. Given the events of the 20th century, Israel was inevitable.

But films should be voyeuristic. What else is a film if you’re not snooping into somebody else’s lives?

If a film or any piece of work doesn't entertain, it fails - and that is using the word entertain literally, meaning it holds you there and you become absorbed by it so that you don't walk away and get bored and so on.

I wonder if I would have been capable of producing anything if I worked in a more conventional way with a prewritten script, because I'm of the procrastinator class.

I think Michael Caine is a perfectly good actor but it's obvious he's not going to be in one of my films.

People have been very resistant to giving me more than the standard amount of money. So I keep making films on a similar scale. Which is fine, but also frustrating.

When I was young I used to sit in the cinema thinking wouldn't it be great if you could have a film in which the characters were like real people instead of being like actors.