Sex and violence was never really my cup of tea; I was always more into sax and violins.

So I am getting a little bored with defining one type of film as American and the other European or from somewhere else because the division is no longer true.

For years all I seemed to be doing was lobbying politicians and others to persuade them that European culture needed movies, and that we had to protect it.

Many of the critics today get airline tickets, hotel accommodation, bags, beautiful photographs, gifts and other expenses paid by the distributors, and then are supposed to write serious articles about the movie.

Whoever came up first with that saying a picture is worth a thousand words didn't understand the first thing about either one.

The most important question for me when I begin working on a film is where to start. For a book, what makes you convinced there is a story that is worthwhile?

Filmmaking is really connected to life and all of the expressions that different arts found to allow access to life. Filmmaking touches on all of it.