The Oscar-winning director admits his films have a very limited audience as he only wants to appeal to those who are keen to be challenged when watching films.

He said: "I make films for literate people. I have to assume there are many millions of people in the world who are educated and literate and want sophisticated entertainment that does not cater to the lowest common denominator and is not all about car crashes and bathroom jokes."

New York-based Woody also revealed how he likes to shoot his movies in Europe and insist the language barrier is not a problem.

The 'To Rome with Love' filmmaker said: "I always wanted to be a foreign film maker. But I'm from Brooklyn so I couldn't be because I wasn't foreign. All of a sudden, through happy accidents, I've become one, to such a degree that I'm even writing subtitles. So I'm thrilled with that.

"The language is never a problem because when you're making a movie there are only a few things you ever talk about and you learn them right away. I did three pictures with a Chinese cameraman who didn't speak a word of English - not a word. And it didn't matter at all because we were only talking about lighting and the angle."