I left the ending ambiguous, because that is the way life is.
The problem in Hollywood is that they try to become the only kind of cinema in the world, okay? The imposition everywhere of a unique culture, which is Hollywood culture, and a unique way of life, which is the American way of life.
I saw 'Avatar' and liked it very much. It was a great achievement.
What always made me proud - almost blushing with pride - is that Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg all told me that 'The Conformist' is their first modern influence.
Commuting in a wheelchair is not easy. I live in a very old part of Rome. These cobbles everywhere... terrible! In London, it is the same. Every pavement is uneven.
The conformist understands that the reason of his desperate look for conformism is that he realises he is different and that he never accepted his difference.
I wanted to have a reaction from the audience. I wanted to be able to talk to somebody, and not be talking just to myself. That's when I did 'The Conformist,' 'Last Tango in Paris,' etc. And I found it was incredibly rewarding, something new.
I think politics is a higher build in life. You know? If you diffuse under normal, common sense of a story, you make it political. If you choose a conventional way for a story, or refuse to use the conventional way, you make it political.
I think that I used to love Hollywood movies. I remember great phases and moments. But, unfortunately, now is not the moment.
I accept all interpretations of my films. The only reality is before the camera. Each film I make is kind of a return to poetry for me, or at least an attempt to create a poem.
For American filmmakers, the Oscars is like a mystic thing. For me, it was being in a mirror of my dreams when I was dreaming of Hollywood when I was an adolescent.
I don't film messages. I let the post office take care of those.
Sometimes you are in sync with the times, sometimes you are in advance, sometimes you are late.
If you mention any ideological thing about shooting 'Last Tango in Paris,' I was thinking I was doing a political film.
I don't think you can in any way export culture with guns or tanks.
