As the years go by and I make more films, I am increasingly interested in capturing place as a vivid backdrop for my films.

A book suggests a whole world and story that I could have never thought of in a million years.

All three parts of filmmaking [writing, shooting, editing] contribute to rhytm. You want the script to be a tight as possible, you want the acting to be as efficient as possible on the set, and you have enough coverage to manipulate the rhythm in the editing room, and then in the editing room you want to find the quickest possible version, even if it's a leisurely paced film. I definitely in filmmaking more and more find writing and directing a means to harvest material for editing. It's all about editing.

I'm attracted to short screenplays. Nobody really wants a film to be over two hours, or at least I don't.

My editor and I remain very disciplined. It's just sometimes when you're making a film, you get into the cutting room and you see a scene that's slowing you down in a certain section, but if you remove that scene then, emotionally or story-wise, another scene a half-hour later won't have the same impact. You just get stuck with it.

If you have your movies so that everyone understands everything, I think that's probably not a very good movie.

Acting is a lot easier than people think it is.