There were a lot of contradictions between Marcello's[ Mastroianni] public persona and who he was in private. The fact that Italy chose to incarnate him as a model of beauty stupefied him.

I am a big fan of[Barak] Obama.I'd like to lie on the ground and have him walk over me.

Always care for the writing part first. Every good film project starts with good writing. If you have a good script, everything else follows. Writing is crucial.

I surely haven't only dealt with film people. As a lawyer, I also fought against evictions, or worked on leases - the unglamorous side of the business.

Today's consumerism has changed things. I think children are much less creative now.

My father was everything to me. Unlike my mother - I didn't have a special affinity with her.

Work is a great thing. This is something my father taught me. He didn't want me to grow up to be somebody's wife.

He[ Italo Calvino] always said it would be impossible to try to make films out of his books, though he hoped it would happen because that's where the money was.

She [Monica Vitti] was a great actress, but a very difficult person. I am not in contact with her at the moment because she is very sick. Not a generous woman, I have to say. I don't see her much.

I was born in Rome on March 11, 1923. Because of my age, I've become a piece of this country's history, but it's also true that a certain strand of Italy's film history has passed though me.

Everything has changed now. The world has changed. It surprises me to be on the forefront. I've lost all dignity! I give interviews! I make movies! I'm amazed at myself.

All men are great for they convey something through their deeds and while most of them do from their misdeeds!

The present is the blocks with which we build.

You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what's that? Come up with a smiling face, It's nothing against you to fall down flat But to lie there - that's a disgrace.

I used to have a pony but I outgrew it and I do dream that one day I will live in the country and have lots of horses and be like a proper English lady who goes hunting and everything.

The number one job facing the middle class. And it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: Jobs. J-O-B-S.

I get my inspiration from everyday life, things people my age are going through in life, good and bad experiences.

If you do not feel the bitter cold inside you when you look at the poor trembling out of cold, it means you are lack of compassion; in other words, you are lack of everything!

I have, as you know, the utmost respect for President Obama as a person.

A good Havana is one of the best pleasures that I know.

All art does but consist in the removal of surplusage.