I'm sure part of the fascination with the film is voyeuristic - that we go to see somebody who's been struck by lightning.

I'm from the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of screenwriting. I just like to preserve what works and ignore what doesn't work.

It's a wonderful thing to go to work and have no idea what you're going to do.

As a filmmaker, it's important to sit there and feel embarrassed. If you feel embarrassed by something, you cut it.

I like violence to be upsetting. The only reason to do it subtley is if doing it subtley makes it more effective somehow.

I think the film gives you a picture of a person. It gives you a complete picture.

Jesse James is like a Leonard Cohen song, I wanted to do something that was like a pop song.