Every generation deals with the breaking down of its tradition, and I think that they rediscovered the film.
I reckon I closed down at least two films companies, one of which was in Ealing in the mid 1950s.
Nothing in my background has anything to do with films. In that sense, I am a complete outsider.
In a way, film and television are in the same sort of traumatic trance that print journalism is. The technology has outpaced our comprehension of its implications.
Every time I start a film I feel like I'm starting the first time, ever.
Because there is actually something very interesting in Goodfellas, how the style of the film changes as time goes by and based on the mental state of the protagonist.
One problem with relying on existing concepts is that it could stifle innovation, weakening the film sector over time.
When you film a reality show, it's so jumbled. They shoot episodes in all orders!
I think film is a very powerful advocate and message carrier.
The psychiatrists examine you and ask you about your life and work, and then they decide whether your film can be shown or not. It's a horrible experience.
The making of 'Naked' was an absolutely phenomenal, mind-bending experience. That film was life-changing and put my career onto a whole different level.
It's hard to see a film that's been made from a book that you really loved because it's such a different experience.
Each time you do a film you gain a lot of experience and build a visual resume where people get to know who you are.
Television and film are such streamlined story mediums. You can't really meander about, whereas a novel is an interior experience.
I did theatre all my life and then went into the film world. I then kind of segued into TV land, which is a different experience.
I never feel any pressure about a film. What is meant to happen will happen. I have seen failure as well as success several times.
I come from an everyday middle class family in India. The film industry reached us only through our television sets and cinema halls.
The beauty of doing film is that you construct whatever you do block by block and you can build something that will stay.
Every film may not be appropriate for a theatrical release, and the theatrical business is not a very good business for anybody except the distributor.
Sometimes film is just the family business. Some families are generations of carpenters or farmers, or they make clothes, or they're all lawyers. I'm in the family business.
The business is so international now; you'll be working on an American film, and you'll start chatting to someone, and it's like: 'Oh, you're English, too.'
