There are the relationships you make. All of the friends I made in grad school are the closest ones that I have.

I don't set out to do something weird, but if you see something a certain way and it's a little left of center, and you can realize it, that's a real thrill.

The fun of directing for me, other than working with the actors, is trying to extract those ideas that you have in your head and make them real.

I started in the P.A. world and craft service and storyboard artist, with the eye on the prize of directing. When I was directing second unit on Babel, I ended up casting most of the unknown parts. In these weird circles, I was this guy who found these kids on the streets.

If someone already knows you from being in the trenches with you on this TV schedules, and then you have a little bit more time, it's a treat for them, as well, because they can give you more.

On some kind of unspoken, deep, deep level, I think we [with Ryan Murphy] have an aesthetic that we both understand or connect to. It's not that we see the world in the same way because we have very different points of view, but we're both visual stylists.

Horror allowed me to quickly switch gears.