The Best Thing About Writing Has Been

I Looked Around And We Were About A Mile-and-a-half From Land, And I Thought, 'ok, I'm Going To Drown Now.' And Then I Started To Flail Out And Panic. I Gradually Calmed Down And I Got Home. But The Reality Was That In That Moment I Was Panicking And I Feel Like That To Me Was The Clue About Ripley, That Ripley Constantly Finds Himself Out Of His Depth In The Film And Then Reacts Very, Very Badly.

No Studio In Hollywood Wanted 'cold Mountain.' None. No One Wanted 'ripley,' No One Wanted 'the English Patient.' That Tells You There Isn't Really An Appetite For Ambitious Movie-making Out There.

I Have Always Believed That There Is A Need For Life-affirming Films.

My Grandmother Was A Huge Influence On Me And The Fact That There Was This Very Strong, Rather Formidable Presence Of Women In My Life Has Been An Enormous Value.

I Am A Teller Of Stories. A Weaver Of Dreams. I Can Dance, Sing, And In The Right Weather I Can Stand On My Head. I Know 7 Words Of Latin, I Have A Little Magic... And A Trick Or Two. I Know The Proper Way To Meet A Dragon, I Can Fight Dirty But Not Fair. I Once Swallowed Thirty Oysters In A Minute. I Am Not Domestic, I Am A Luxury And, In That Sense, Necessary.