On the little money I had collected I lived in Berlin very cheaply, ate very cheaply. And already in 1920 I saved the first salaries I received to go to Munich.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I myself have already spent a third of my life in Germany, first in Cologne and then, since 1994, in Berlin.
When I was 16, I went to Berlin - West Berlin, since at that time a wall still divided the city - to live for three months with a family on an exchange program.
No matter what happens to me and my career in the future, Berlin is always going to be my hometown.
The best thing about Berlin was that I got to be surrounded by people who pursue their ideas for themselves.
My mother and I were part of a deal in the mid-'60s between Romania and Israel. Israel bought freedom for Romanian Jews for $2,000 a head. Ceausescu made a bundle in hard currency. He also 'sold' ethnic Germans to West Germany. Instead of going to Israel, my mother and I came to the United States.
I am grateful for the great education at a public university that Germany gave me, and that - added to a little luck - allowed me to achieve. Education is the key to a career, and its basis has to be provided by government.
The German public knows me quite well. I have been in their kitchens and living rooms for years.
It's financially advantageous to make a picture in Berlin, Germany. They have a very effective rebate system.
It is a fact that, if I single out Germany, our rate of growth is too low and we have very high unemployment.
When I was younger I was completely without money - when I was studying in Budapest, when I was a refugee.