Biografia

Was offered the job of directing Harry Potter e il prigioniero di Azkaban (2004), but declined and did Neverland - Un sogno per la vita (2004) instead.

Declined a $500,000 offer to direct a film despite having no income at the time and living from money he borrowed from friends. He didn't believe the script was good and was afraid his reputation as a director would suffer.

The first movie he saw in cinema was Apocalypse Now (1979).

Born to Dr. Wolf Forster, a German doctor, and his wife Ulli Forster. He was born in Germany, but grew up in Davos Switzerland.

Turned down the chance to direct I segreti di Brokeback Mountain (2005).

When you grow up like that, and suddenly you decide you intend to make movies, everybody says, 'It's impossible.' And I'm here and I'm living my dream.

[on Neverland - Un sogno per la vita (2004)] It's not the exact accurate story, but for me the film really isn't about reality. It's about the transformation of imagination, about creativity, about belief. That basically, if you believe, you can make anything happen.

What I'm passionate about is telling stories which mean something to me.

Cities like Atlanta are very advanced, but once you get outside the city, it feels like 100 years ago. Our producer is black, and we were standing in this room and somebody actually said, in front of him, "Can you tell the colored man to wait outside?" It's shocking.

That's why I jump from genre to genre, because I always feel I'm doing something new and fresh. I can always fail, but I don't try to repeat myself. I felt, with Bond, doing something so completely different after Il cacciatore di aquiloni (2007) would be refreshing and challenging. That's how I try not to fall into parody myself.