The thing is, even though you think a lot about your movie, and there's a lot of preparation behind it, the final end result completely goes beyond it. It's not something you're aware of.

There are contemporary artists that I hate with all my heart. These are provocateurs that are without feeling. Where is the real emotion?

Thank you to Italy. That is a crazy country but beautiful.

I think cinema has this beautiful component. It's a universal language.

There's one thing that I like about Rome that was stated by Napoleon: that from sublime to pathetic is only one step away. And in Rome there's a constant shifting between sublime and pathetic.

The way I work with my cinematographer is not based on general principles, but the ideas are triggered by the locations where we shoot.

Wasting time is something that people do or feel all over the world, not just in Italy.

The fear of old age is something that one feels when they're younger. Once you get to being old, you're already there, so you don't even think about it anymore.

I don't use Twitter. I'm a serious person.

I usually don't say anything to the actors. It works better for me because when they come to the set, they are at the same time scared and excited because they are not well aware of what will happen.

I hibernate. I hibernate until the next project takes shape in my mind.

There was a young man who said though, it seems that I know that I know, but what I would like to see is the I that knows me when I know that I know that I know.

I remember wishing there was snow in L.A. And how jealous we used to get of those Christmas specials with kids playing in the snow.

I say I am stronger than fear.

I've been a fan of 'Rocky Horror'... my mom let me see it at a really early age.

I make no apologies for being reasonable.

I tried to avoid looking at the dress full on, lest it burn out my retinas with its glittering hideousness.

I'm not the marrying kind -" St. Vincent snorted. "No man is. Marriage is a female invention.

O Lord, Sir - when a heroine goes mad she always goes into white satin.

This idea that being youthful is the only thing that's beautiful or attractive simply isn't true. I don't want to be an 'ageless beauty.' I want to be a woman who is the best I can be at my age.

But it's possible to love more than one person at a time, Bella. I've seen it in action.