Perseverance has kept me going over the years. Things rarely happen overnight. Filmmakers should be prepared for many years of hard work. The sheer toil can be healthy and exhilarating.

I am someone who takes everything very literally. I simply do not understand irony, a defect I have had ever since I was able to think independently.

I think a state should not be in the capacity of killing anyone with the exception of warfare.

Everything that I've done was prudent and never has anyone gotten hurt in my films - not a single actor, not a single extra, ever.

You have to be completely open to what people would tell you. You do not shape them; you do not force the materials into your ideas. You have to have all windows and doors open.

I think the worst that can happen in filmmaking is if you're working with a storyboard. That kills all intuition, all fantasy, all creativity.

Of course, as a German, I wouldn't like to tell the American people how to handle their criminal justice.