I lived long enough in a society where freedom of speech was nonexistent, and I know what kind of misery that creates - starting with the fact that life becomes very boring for people who just try to survive, and are quiet, and try not to buck the system. And, of course, it can be devastating for people who try to speak against it.

The Czech movies, the quality movies, are trying to show the life in the country as it is, in an entertaining way, while in America, the majority of movies are wonderful fairy tales.

Because I just loved to spend two years of my life in the company of Andy Kaufman and other characters.

So I left with Jean Claude and went to Paris, so when the Russians came to Prague, I was in Paris.

So, thanks God, our films, our first films were suddenly being appreciated by the Western media; especially France was very good, and Switzerland was very good.

When I came for the first time to the United States, visiting, I was absolutely fascinated by New York.

Communists love to make films about composers, because composers compose music and don't talk subversive things.