Eric Fellner

“Technical problems are like gremlins. They come and go.”

“Making movies is like herding cats.”

“For us in England, the relative value of the pound against the dollar, that has a huge impact on how easy it is to get our films made in the U.K.”

“'No Country for Old Men' was epic.”

“'Billy Elliot' embodies the idea that anyone can achieve anything regardless of their socio-economic background.”

“The idea that the Tony committee and the New York theater community as a whole have embraced 'Billy Elliot' is very, very exciting.”

“When you watch a Coen brothers movie, it is always so certain about what it is trying to portray. That is their strength. The minute they write a word, they know how it will look on-screen. They are very purposeful, with no kind of mistakes.”

“It's fantastic to see 'Les Miserables' become the top-grossing film at the U.K. box office.”

“It might sound a small thing, but if you want to get Tom Cruise into your movie, without a track record or without those agents knowing you, it's almost impossible. Now I can get through to pretty much anyone I want. Of course, 90 per cent of the time they still say no.”

“If there's a British film in the marketplace that is successful on a worldwide basis - whether it's 'A Room with a View,' 'Four Weddings' or 'The Full Monty' - money follows, and everyone tries to emulate that success.”

“Film is not a national business. It's international. And its centre will always be Hollywood.”

“Apart from 'Stoned,' I can't think of a film that's made me think, 'Blimey, that should have been at Cannes.'”

“Do we have good writers, producers and actors in the U.K.? Yes we do.”

“You can't develop a great car and sell it as an independent. You can develop a great car and make a deal with Mercedes.”

“With 'Anna Karenina,' I just think it's a stunning visual tour de force for a director who is at the top of his game.”

“I have always thought we should think less about the British film industry as an entity, and more about getting British talent working.”

“The U.K. needs more first class studio space to encourage the growth of the film and TV sector.”

“The writer Richard Curtis is a genius.”

“You can get swept away by a musical, but real tears are rare.”

“Mike Leigh and Ken Loach are the people I look up to. They are quality film-makers making interesting, controversial, ground-breaking movies with very little eye on the marketplace.”