Fernando Meirelles Quotes (22 Quotes)

I did want to expose the pharmaceutical industry a bit, ... The industry promotes itself very well. I think the film helps people see it in a different way, not through its press releases.

When I first read the script, the political side of the story really interested me. I was interested in talking about pharmaceutical companies, and how corporations and government work together,

I knew I wouldn't have another day off for a while, so I needed to get to London immediately,

Sometimes, you read a script, and you believe passionately that you must play this character. And I needed to show that passion to him, although I think I downplayed my passion a bit because I didn't want to scare him off. I didn't want him to think I was

This is the sequel. Geography makes them seem separate, but eventually the connections between them will become clear.

In 'City of God,' it was more complicated, because we were shooting in areas controlled by drug dealers, so we always had people around, boys with guns, ... It was sort of threatening, not totally relaxed. Kenya was more relaxed. There was no organized crime inside the slums, and we were well received.

I think, in the next two or three years, we are going to see a lot of films set in Africa, or about Africa,

We're supposed to capture what's in the air and give a form to it. The artist is like an antenna, always searching for new ideas and ways to express them.

This is the part that I like most, in the process, is to edit and try to find (the story). Sometimes you think you have a film, and then you change something and it becomes different. It's a wonderful job. Because it surprises you.

In Kenya, the faces of the people, the colors, I wanted to bring as much of the landscape to the screen as I could, ... That's why I thought we should shoot in Kenya with a small crew - you just turn the camera around, and the real thing is happening here. If you do it big - lights, crew - you turn around and there's only crew, and it affects everything all around.

That little village that's raided in the film, it's just lost in the desert. There's nothing there. We came in and turned it into a big operation, like an al-Qaida training camp in the middle of the desert.

Ralph deserves an award for this performance. He's so relaxed, so natural. We're used to seeing Ralph Fiennes as cold, rational. Here he's lighter. He brings a humanity to the role. He's played a lot of edgy characters. Here he plays an average character.

But at the same time, they are very powerful and extremely profitable, because they produce these great pills. It is the second most profitable industry in the world. Just arms manufacturers -- who only kill people -- ironically are the only industry more profitable than drugs.

We forgot this continent for a long time - and now, finally Africa is being rediscovered.

She told me, 'It's just sex,' ... She flew to London to let me know how interested she was in the part. She knew so much more about Tessa than I did. I saw several other actresses, but she was the one who inspired me. It would be easy to play Tessa as a caricature, but there's a humanity in this character.

The actors feel very free. The actor, he doesn't need to think about where the camera is, he just has to focus on what he's doing and forget the camera. The camera is never in the perfect position, and I think this is what keeps this feeling of reality. The frame is not perfect.

This plot in this film is based on this particular case in Nigeria -- but it's very usual to test drugs in Africa because it's less expensive for big companies, ... City of God.

Of Dunces, ... I felt that I wouldn't know how to do that film. It's very American ... and I thought I could spoil a good script.

But then, watching the whole film, it was like hearing my own voice - like the director preaching to the audience. So I started to cut and in the end, I think it became more of a love story.

When we finished filming I had a political drama, a love story and a documentary. But the love story was so strong I decided to make it the axis of the film.

I think I was very lucky with this. Not only because they're good actors but because of their commitment. I was not expecting that level of commitment with stars.

No country, ... is as harsh as the world.