Bill Forsyth

My two elder sisters married Englishmen and went abroad.

I went to the Glasgow Youth Theatre and they just let me in. But I was so shy that I was there for about six weeks without actually introducing myself.

The movie business is very much like that: people in authority making purely emotional decisions instead of interesting rational ones.

I didn't think Comfort and Joy was going to be a box-office smash.

The studio system reminds me of the stock market.

Perhaps naively I thought people understand what humor was, that it was invented by the human race to cope with the dark areas of life, problems and terrors.

I was quite surprised how easily people wanted to pigeonhole things I've done.

It's easier for me to get three times the amount of money I really want.

There are things that Scotsmen get and other people don't get in the dialogue. Scottish characters can be pinpointed by a phrase, targeted very quickly.

I'm not fond of any of my films in an intimate way, but Gregory's Girl would be number 4 on my list.

I'd made these experimental films but I thought the major chore of a filmmaker was to relate to actors.

At the moment, my mother is the only one left in Glasgow, although it's certainly my home.

I don't really enjoy filming.

It means that if they misunderstood Comfort and Joy, they misunderstood my other films.