“I looked at Brief Encounter very closely, to be honest.”

What I think is interesting is that the more you do.

Well, Brief Encounter is certainly one of my top five favorites of all time.

You know them so well, almost as well or better than their spouse. You have to know them, warts and all.

The challenge, really, on any new film is to try to avoid that and achieve a few moments that aren’t cliche.

Especially living in the South of France.

Where you can be in their shoes and therefore be more involved if they’re people that you recognize.

It’s the sort of subject that always interests me: jealousy and the language of suspicion and guilt. I think it interests people.

Always, with any movie that I do, I have a book of ideas that I’ve heard, or seen, or whatever, and I always try to incorporate it in the film.

Well, I think just the fact that you are making your first film is a huge step.

You have to invent a book of rules of what you can do and what you can’t do.

I’ve always been interested in films where you can identify with the actors.

I was watching Monster’s Ball, which is a fabulous movie. It’s just a little gem: beautifully shot, and shot in a way I never would have done.

Their every instinct – and I have to say this is without exception – is to iron out the bumps, and It’s always the bumps that are the most interesting stuff.

Foxes was a movie that didn’t do a lot of business but it didn’t do too badly critically and eventually they offered me other things.

I think that there are points where you become so close to an actor,

The interesting thing was that next I tried a film called Star Man, which Michael Douglas was producing.

He had heard people speak contemptuously of money: he wondered if they had ever tried to do without it.

But only a brief moment is granted to the brave one breath or two, whose wage is the long nights of the grave.

Faith is much better than belief. Belief is when someone else does the thinking.

No man pleases by silence; many I please by speaking briefly.

In our brief national history we have shot four of our presidents, worried five of them to death, impeached one and hounded another out of office. And when all else fails, we hold an election and assassinate their character.

The briefest moment shared with you-the longest on my mind.

Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot.

Having lost the last war, they are currently enjoying a “Wirtschaftswunder,” which can be briefly translated as “The best way to own a Mercedes is to build one.”