I Didn't Just See Myself As A

I Don't Generally Derive My Stories From Novels. I Try To Turn Into Film Things I Have Felt Or Experienced.

I Remember When I Came Out Of An Exam Thinking I Had Done Well And Then I Had A Clue That Maybe One Answer Was Wrong, I Remembered That I Rather Stop Knowing, Stop Thinking About It, Appreciating Life Instead. So First, It Was Just A Memory. But Then I Realized That In Life, It's A Much More General Sentiment - That Instead Of Waiting For Other People's Judgment, I'd Rather Focus On My Own Feelings, That Everything Is Fine. To Go On With My Life Rather Than Anticipating Other People's Judgements That Might Be Negative.

What I Am Trying To Say Is That It Is Not Without Any Value. The Value Of Copies Is That They Can Direct Us Towards The Original. I Was Recently At The Louvre Museum And I Was Filming People Who Were Viewing The Mona Lisa. I Noticed The Number Of Ordinary People, Astonished, Mouths Agape, Standing Still For Long Stretches Looking At The Work, And I Wondered, "where Does This Come From? Are These People All Art Connoisseurs?" They Are Like Me; Through The Years, We've Seen This Work In Our Schoolbooks Or Art History Books, But When We Stand Before The Original, We Hold Our Breath.

Close-up Has Affected Later Films That I've Made.

When We Start Shooting I Don't Have Rehearsals With Characters At All. So, Rather Than Pulling Them Towards Myself, I Travel Closer To Them; It's Very Much Closer To The Real Person Than Anything I Try To Create. So I Give Them Something But I Also Take From Them.