Experience teaches you that there are no external forces capable of preventing you achieving what you've set your mind to. I've come up against some pretty intransigent forces in my time, but the only true obstacles are internal ones like self-doubt and pessimism. Once you've conquered these, the outside world is a relative pushover.

The film industry is built on a cultural fault line where the tectonic plates of art and commerce meet. As a filmmaker you should anticipate and be prepared to tough out frequent tremors and the occasional earthquake.

The big screen is cinema's natural habitat. There are convenient zoos like television, video, and the Internet, but they can never emulate the experience of seeing a film on the big screen.

Hollywood is like a fortress everyone wants to get into and there are all these different levels you have to get through. At the moment I feel as if I've scaled the walls and I'm looking in. The first step is getting this movie made (Foundation) and getting the right response.