You've got to believe as a filmmaker that if a movie's good enough, it's going to survive; and if it's not, well, it won't.
If you're doing a classic play, where if you do a Chekhov, you do the words as written. You can't do that with a novel; you have to do your version of the words as written.
The joy of a road movie is its very simple narrative nature, which is that you know you're going to go through different places and you're going to meet new people. At the same time, you have to not make it feel too obvious and too crudely episodic.
I still can't quite believe it. Although there was something about the fact that it was a first-time writer, a first-time producer, and a first-time director all at the same time.
All I know is that I operate by going out to each of them and trying to learn the territory in which they operate. My language to each of them has to suit their brain.
I deliberately, in a way, went for something that was a huge challenge and was a big period film. I was excited about the canvas on which I could tell the story as much as the story itself.
When I drive through a field, I want to see green grass sometimes, and I don't want to see black and white.
Listen, you make a big movie, you're going into the Coliseum, and people are going to give you the thumbs up or the thumbs down. And that's part of the game. It's part of the fun as well.
The perceived wisdom is that people do not go in large numbers to black-and-white movies anymore - which is a great shame, but I'd love to make a black-and-white movie one day.
This is the first time in 10 years I don't know what I'm doing next and I'm rather enjoying it. Soon I'll be climbing the walls no doubt, but right now, it's not clear, I'm just enjoying the freedom.
I think with Blair Witch and The Sixth Sense, people are much more open to something that is different.
As a first-time director in America, I feel I've been very fortunate.
I want to try and work in different genres with different types of actors, on small movies and big movies.
I feel like the American years were my apprenticeship for doing a Bond movie.
I don't think of it as a competition - which might surprise you, given the way movies are reported constantly.
You freeze with the number of opportunities given to you and just decide to do nothing at all.
I like throwing snowballs at small children.
If you lived through the shooting of Jaws, you can live through anything.
Kevin and Annette... I wanted them to do it together. They clearly wanted to work with each other.
The moment you have kids, you are prey to judgment, but you also become a judge. You find yourself going, "Can you believe what she did with such-and-such?" at school.
One of the reasons I loved working with Tom is people feel they know who he is... I think working with an actor who the audience already has a relationship with actually helps you in a film like this.
I've made movies that cost less than one car chase. But that's part of the pleasure of doing it, pushing yourself in new directions.
Every Bond is different and every generation needs a different Bond and it's been able to move with the times.
You're in the lap of the gods. If people go, they go, and if they don't.
Now Im back home, living in London, running my theater. I just want to enjoy all that.
