I have a lot of repression. So repression is what I make movies about.

For a filmmaker, it's a rare chance to do a personal film on a big canvas.

Directing, I get all kinds of inspiration. It's working with people. It's a lot more fun.

When I have a full schedule like that, I don't see myself sitting there for a couple of months, doing the research, going through a painful process, it's just not my thing anymore.

I did a women's movie, and I'm not a woman. I did a gay movie, and I'm not gay. I learned as I went along.

After making several tragic movies in a row, I was looking to do a comedy, and one without cynicism.

Making this movie as a period piece about a period that was very recent in people's minds. I was in Taiwan [during the 1970s], so I hope I did all right. Otherwise, it could be the biggest embarrassment of my life. Also, the story is not linear, it's patchy, like a cubist painting, and there is always the possibility it will not hold together, it will fall apart. The tone is part satire, part serious drama, part tragedy, all mixed together, and it has to hit an emotional core. That's also very scary.