Bruce Beresford

“In opera, everyone's watching from a fixed viewpoint, and that really challenges you. Lighting, the sets, stage groupings, the music-but doesn't relate too much to film.”

“In silent movies, they tended to put the camera down, and everybody walked in front of it and acted, and then they all walked off. Cutting was quite infrequent.”

“I didn't get upset because I wasn't nominated, but I was a little surprised.”

“I don't rehearse films as much as opera or theatre. When I began directing films I thought a long rehearsal was a good idea. Experience showed me that the best performance was often left in a rehearsal room.”

“In my view, the operas of Carlisle Floyd will find a place in the permanent repertoire.”

“With a film, I do my best to understand the author's intentions and try to bring the characters to life.”

“Perhaps the most difficult thing is shooting scenes set 6,000 feet up in the mountains of Mexico.”

“Tender Mercies is a very low-budget film, but it was a huge budget compared to anything I had done in Australia. My fee for Tender Mercies was something like five times all of my Australian films combined.”