Paolo Sorrentino quotes:

Thank you to Italy. That is a crazy country but beautiful.

There's one thing that I like about Rome that was stated by Napoleon: that from sublime to pathetic is only one step away. And in Rome there's a constant shifting between sublime and pathetic.

There are contemporary artists that I hate with all my heart. These are provocateurs that are without feeling. Where is the real emotion?

Rome is a city where in every corner you have a reminder of the sacred world. That's why I have sacred music, minimalist sacred music, which is also music I like, because at the end of the day, that's what I want to do.

I do read a lot. I read more than I watch movies.

Going around Rome, you can find beauty because, quite simply, Rome is very beautiful. But the beauty of the people is sometimes harder to discover.

I don't use Twitter. I'm a serious person.

Wasting time is something that people do or feel all over the world, not just in Italy.

Rome is a city I love very much. I have lived there since I was a child.

Andreotti had style and class; Berlusconi does not

I think cinema has this beautiful component. It's a universal language.

I have learned that I will not pay any attention to anything people say about my movies, because people say things that are all over the place.

The way I work with my cinematographer is not based on general principles, but the ideas are triggered by the locations where we shoot.

I hibernate. I hibernate until the next project takes shape in my mind.

The fear of old age is something that one feels when they're younger. Once you get to being old, you're already there, so you don't even think about it anymore.

I watch a lot of football.

What I'm interested in is human beings alone.

I usually don't say anything to the actors. It works better for me because when they come to the set, they are at the same time scared and excited because they are not well aware of what will happen.

The thing is, even though you think a lot about your movie, and there's a lot of preparation behind it, the final end result completely goes beyond it. It's not something you're aware of.