Gabriele was really passionate about the material. But what sold us is when he said to us, 'As Americans, you guys don't really understand the American Dream. To really appreciate the essence of the American Dream, you have to be a foreigner.' That's when we realized that his impression of the American Dream would be original and give the movie a unique take–Will Smith on Muccino

What really impressed me about Ed Zwick and the film was that he wanted to make an entertaining adventure film, but mixed in were some complex, highly charged political statements–DiCaprio.

As a boy, I found it interesting and exciting to feel the fear of adults. My parents were afraid when they crossed the border: they were both born in the East and thus were more closely controlled by the police. And our friends from East Germany were afraid when other people saw that they were speaking with us, Germans from the West. Without these early experiences I would have had trouble finding the right approach.

Cannes Film Fest 2006–In this version of Fast Food Nation, it‚Äôs through seeing real lives and jobs and what people actually strive for that the issues behind the story emerge. I‚Äôm most proud that the movie makes you care about all kinds of people that you might never even have thought about before–Linklater

It has been my belief that political awareness can be raised as much by entertainment as by rhetoric. There is no reason why
challenging themes and engaging stories have to be mutually exclusive‚Äîeach can fuel the other. As a filmmaker, I want to entertain people, but if out of that comes a greater awareness and understanding of a time or a circumstance, then the hope is that change can happen. A single film can‚Äôt change the world but what you try to do is add your voice to the chorus–Ed Zwick