The art of motion pictures is pictorial and language comes a distant second.
Jean-Jacques Annaud

When you create a movie, you create something in your image.
Jean-Jacques Annaud

To do the writing, I have to have time to do research.
Jean-Jacques Annaud

I make movies just as painters paint: I work where I can.
Jean-Jacques Annaud

There is a broad cultural current that conveys the idea that a film is like a football team, it represents a nation, it is illustrated literature, filmed radio. These are outdated concepts, totally out of touch with today's realities.
Jean-Jacques Annaud

When Picasso painted in Paris, was he a Spanish or a French painter? It does not matter, he was Picasso, whatever the influences surrounding him. He simply chose Paris because it was the ideal place for him to sell his creation.
Jean-Jacques Annaud

My way of remaining French was the financing scheme I used for Quest for Fire, with Fox funds, since it started as a 100% American production. The film was not in French and yet was French in style, reflecting my personality.
Jean-Jacques Annaud

I had to choose between American and British actors, and it didn't take me more than a second to decide: Russians are Europeans and should be played by other Europeans.
Jean-Jacques Annaud