PATRICE LECONTE

I've always done 20 things at once. It's my way of staying alive, not to keep one dish cooking, but several dishes going. And I'm pretty organized.

What I expect of a movie reviewer is that he should love cinema as much as I do.

No, but it's not because I'm getting older that I'm trying to accelerate. But something very curious is happening: The older I get, the more ideas I'm getting.

But I won't work with the exact same crew film after film because I feel the work would get a little complacent.

I like films to be complete in their written form.

I like cinema. I am very fond of it. But from time to time I feel like having some time on my own.

I never storyboard. I hate it. I don't understand why so many directors want to make comic strips of their films.

Working with the same people is so much quicker and frees up your energy for other things.

I like films that are well-written and concise and with not a lot of room for improvisation.

Yes, I am very prolific.

Married people from my generation are like an endangered species!

You can work, shop, do everything from home, and I find this unsettling.

I am not a fan of westerns particularly.

Working with a bunch of actors is like trying to tune each violin.

My movies are, more or less, very short. I'm terrified of boring an audience.

I would rather my films be well-known than I be well-known.

When I was young, my idea was to become a filmmaker.

If a film is very clever and well-written, that's what gives you freedom as a director.

I can zero in on subtle things because I'm holding the camera.

I'm not one to dwell on rehearsal or preparation.

You may think it's very presumptuous, but I really hope that my movies are going to turn people into better people.

What stirs my passion is making cinema, and that means doing different things, making different types of films.

Love stories that are too simple don't deserve to have films made about them.

I did the drawing and writing - for five years. I made a lot of short films the whole while and I made a promise to myself in front of the mirror that I would stop drawing when I signed my first contract for a feature film.

I'm not one to dwell on rehearsal or preparation. I like to just go out and do it. Of course, that doesn't mean actors are free to do whatever they like, they're always being directed.