There's a whole system in Hollywood where the director never speaks to the studio, but I like to engage them in a discussion. I listen.

I mean, '8½' to me is such a great dissertation on the whole, you know, act of filmmaking and creativity.

I feel like a member of any group comprised of outsiders.

I never see things I make in the same way that the audience does. You can never do that.

I don't have fights with actors. In absolute honesty, I've never fought with any actor ever.

Opera was the cinema of its time, so to bring back that popular appeal, you just need to unleash its visceral immediacy and excitement. Most productions don't manage that - but when an opera does do it, you never forget it.