I see my face in the mirror, and I said, 'No, my ambition is not to be an actor.'

I’ve been very lucky in my long life. On three continents, in diverse cultures, through happy moments, not-so-happy moments, and moments as marvelous as this one, I’ve had the privilege of working with the cinema’s greatest masters.

Nobody taught Picasso how to paint – he learned for himself. And nobody can teach you to be a producer. You can learn the mechanics, but you can’t learn what’s right about a script or a director or an actor. That comes from instinct and intuition. It comes from inside you.

The audience wants to be attracted not by the critics, but by a great story. You must deliver to the audience emotion – and when I say emotion, I mean suspense, drama, love.

I have the rights to all the books where the character of Hannibal Lecter appears, I acquired these by buying the rights to Red Dragon.

You have to kill the bad guy.

I always say my age is connected with three Cs. In here, cuore, which means the heart. Up here, cervello, which is the brain. And, of course, down here: the coglioni. I no feel my age, I tell you.

If no producer, no movie.

The pope dies, you get another pope.

When I cook, my brain stops completely.