Modern, not bottom-dwelling literature like a carp.

I couldn't be a cameraman or a designer or an actor - I have to be a director because I learned how to do that from my dad.

I think my dyslexia was a vital part of my development because my inability to read and write meant that I had to find knowledge elsewhere so I looked to the cinema.

I see the job of directing as being one of creating the right atmosphere, creating an environment where people can realize their full potential.

Every time I make a film, I feel it gives me the chance to learn something new.

Fairy tales to me are never happy, sweet stories. They're moral stories about overcoming the dark side and the bad.

I was known for a while for doing very long takes, especially after Atonement.

I don't make a division between an art film and commercial art.

I feel more in touch with the world when I'm filming.

Generally, I've never known quite how to fit in in civilian life, but on set, making a film, I know exactly where to go, how to behave and how I fit.

I like the idea of doing something outside my comfort zone.

Experience is the only subject worthwhile of study.

I want to know God's thoughts.

The greater the length, the more beautiful will the piece be by reason of its size, provided that the whole be perspicuous.

Most of my pictures are really small statements. There's a banality to them.

If vanity does not entirely overthrow the virtues, at least it makes them all totter.

I wanted to give people an experience. I wanted them to get their money's worth.

The most important possible thing you can do is do a lot of work.

I use a really simple calendar program on my computer.

I do seem to have a bit of a predilection for movies that say something transgressive.

Attachment is the shadow of the ego. Attachments are immediately created wherever you see 'I am'.