You'll get unsociable people whatever the nationality, colour, race or creed. I guess the British abroad have probably got the worst record of anyone.

A movie isn't a political movement, a party or even an article. It's just a film. At best it can add its voice to public outrage.

Maybe if we tell the truth about the past, we can tell the truth about the present.

The duty of a film director is to focus more on the soul of the spectator.

About Thatcher's death: Let's privatise her funeral. Put it out on competetive tender and accept the cheapest bid. That's what she would have wanted.

The most depressing thing is the political slogan: there is no alternative. But there is.

A film is one small voice among other large ones. The film is a tiny part of the discourse. You do what you can but under no illusions of what a film can do.

One lesson to learn is that the press and the broadcasters are not neutral. And it seems we have to learn it each time there is a dispute: they are actually committed to one side.

Shaping it is something I would expect to do together with a writer, because that's a director's job.

The more time you spend thinking, the less time you spend doing. The less time you spend doing, the more you watch others do. This formula never equals success.

I only accept your mistakes and flaws to the degree that I accept my own.

An empty canvas is full.

We have almost a city has probably two or three hundred committees. Every committee is dealing with just one problem and has nothing to do with the other problems.

I liked sculpting better than painting. You have more freedom in sculpting.

I'll joke all day, but once I get in the gym, I'm going to work hard.

It puts things into perspective when we realize that people can live without the luxuries we grow accustomed to having.

Though I was careful never to mention it, I began to see a new dimension in everything that happened.

If you want something you have to wait.

I don't think that it's possible to have a truly rewarding experience in travel if it's simple.