When we talk about Oscars it's almost as a symbol of excellence and the American public and the worldwide public accept that symbol. So a movie like 'The Artist' that costs $14 million has to go out and compete with movies that cost $140 million. How does David deal with Goliath?

We didn't care if we were well-liked as long as the movies were good. We served the movie - that was our master at Miramax. In our second incarnation the movie is still the master but we're getting the same results in more subtle ways.

I've been involved with violent movies and then I've also said at a certain point 'I can't take it anymore. Please cut it.' You know you've got to respect the filmmaker and it's a really tough issue.

I think I took my eye off the ball. From about 2005 2006 2007 I was out of it. I thought I could oversee movies and have it done for me so to speak.

I hadn't made a big-budget film and in Hollywood there's a sort of man and boys situation. You're a man you make $80 million movies! As if it's harder to make an $80 million movie. Well I guess businesswise it is because you have more executives to argue with.

I've made over 20 movies and 5 of them are good.

It's just as hard... staying happily married as it is doing movies.

The nature of the movies is different than it was five years ago and they're all driven by the possibilities of CGI which means you can make anything happen on screen that you can possibly desire.

I remember being a kid and sleeping over at my friend's house and staying up late and watching 'Nosferatu.' Vampire movies are supposed to be secret and bad. They should be rated R.

There are some movies that I would like to forget for the rest of my life - really! But even those movies that I'd like to forget teach me things.

I cry a lot you know. Which is very difficult for a man to recognise but I do. I cry in movies you know just watching movies.

Listen I think movies serve many different purposes from those movies that are frivolous and just an entertainment to movies that just go to exploring the complexities of the human soul. Everything is valid if it's done with honesty and dignity and I actually do both of those types of movies in my career.

I've done many different movies in many different contexts.

Making movies is difficult and you get disorientated sometimes - even when you're working with fantastic talent.

When I started to watch some of the films I'd done I realized I was doing movies that I might not actually want to see.

I want to make timeless movies.

I think ever since I was preteen I wanted to direct movies and tell stories.

I've always wanted to make movies.

A lot of movies treat kids like idiots.

I remember looking through magazines or watching movies even just a couple of years ago and being like 'I really want to be part of that ' but not realizing what that was.

But then I go through long periods where I don't listen to things usually when I'm working. In between the records and in between the writing I suck up books and music and movies and anything I can find.

I've turned down twentysomething million dollars for movies.

I play Xbox. I have a little boy to look after. I have dogs. You know I have things to do. I would love to be able to sit down and watch something like a movie. I watch my own movies because I have to.

The person that made me want to make movies and the reason I do films is Bruce Lee. He was an incredible actor and he had a lot of charisma. Handsome action you know everything was there. I loved Bruce Lee.