I'm first and foremost interested in the story, the characters.

I'm a storyteller, not a prophet. I'm just interested in a good story.

I think first and foremost we wanted to see out of C.C. was that he's healthy and that he could finish his outing. That was the most impressive thing about him. He attacked his hitters and he was in mid-season form.

Competence is first and foremost. You want to be seen doing something well.

[But he earned particular attention in Hollywood for his tenacity in making the grand-scale] A Passage to India, ... the most difficult thing of my life.

My distinguishing talent is the ability to put people under the microscope, perhaps to go one or two layers farther down than some other directors.