YAHOO SERIOUS

Movies are usually difficult, often insane, constantly challenging and always strangely amusing to make.

Hollywood is horrible... it's beyond satire.

We cheer everyone who goes off to Hollywood and tells American stories but telling Australian stories is the greatest thing you can do.

In 1905 Albert discovered Relativity, in 1906 he invented Rock and Roll.

I kind of worry about that a little bit - we lost our film culture for 30 years because the Americans came in and bought up all the cinema chains and wouldn't show any Australian films.

All the jokes in my films, the comedy, they're not me, I just try to hold a big mirror up to us.

Getting your screenplay right is the most important thing you'll ever do on your film.

Making your first feature film is actually impossible.

So we have to be careful because if you don't protect your culture you won't have it for very long.

If government and media and all of us in the Australian tribe got together, and the rock industry, we'd just be the greatest cultural force the world has ever seen - we're such an amazing race.

We've got so many stories to tell, you know, we could take on the world.

There are a thousand weird untold stories in the Australian film industry, this has been one of them.

You go overseas and people are oppressed and scared and worried but we're not like that... we're more like my films and how people come out at the end of seeing them - they feel good.

It's because we are so flooded with American culture that we're startled when we see ourselves up there on the screen.

Australians don't have a preconceived notion of what things have to be... we can go on a fantastic journey.

I support all Australian films.

Find your own specific voice in filmmaking and go for it. Either people will get it or they won't and that's what it's all about.

It's an infinite creative universe to explore so why chase conservative options?

Can you imagine what it would be like if all the Aussie film talent was able to make Australian stories?

Movies are a complicated collision of literature, theatre, music and all the visual arts.

It was always easy for me. I was born very rich and lucky.

In a kind of a way there's a bit of that happening now so we have to be careful to preserve our culture.

While the eyes of the world will be on us let's show everyone that we have a great sense of humour.

I just wanted to do this all Australian film and we didn't want to give creative control to overseas 'cause whoever comes on my sets, whether you're sweeping the floor or an actor, it doesn't matter who comes up with the ideas, it's a collaboration.

The American formula things are out there but they don't have any stories to tell - we have all the stories to tell - but they're all formula.