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Well we took it apart scene by scene. We examined every sentence, every full stop, every comma. He has a most wonderful eye for detail, Roman, and you know, he's a very good artist.

I like to really know what every scene is about, what the text is, what the subtext is. Then I figure out how to express that when I'm shooting.

I'll agonize over sentences. Mostly because you're trying to create specific effects with sentences, and because there are a number of different voices in the book.

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.

I have to really think hard about how to structure sentences, and do more mapping when I sit down to write, so it does impose a certain discipline, intellectual and linguistic.

Keep everything in context, and try to have each line doing more than one thing - not just giving exposition but also revealing character and history, etc.

I love long sentences. My big heroes of fiction writing are Henry James and Proust - people who recognise that life doesn't consist of declarative statements, but rather modifications, qualifications and feelings.

It's almost better most times to not talk in a scene. I think you can actually express a lot more without words.

The best movies have one sentence that they're exploring, a thesis, something that people can argue about over dinner afterward.

I think it is important to begin with a statement in your speech that grabs the attention of the audience. I try to make my opening line 15 words or less.