I happen to be a hopeaholic. I tend to look at problems as an opportunity to do some work.

You know, real artists, we expose our flaws. We long for intimacy.

People who are sick, or who have been sick, or have come close to death have a lot to say - and they want you to hear it.

I would love to have been a documentary filmmaker; I just didn't have the resources to do that.

Some people study a text very deeply. The people are my text. I study their words and what their words sound like, over and over again. When I was a kid, my grandfather said that "if you say a word often enough, it becomes you." Thinking of that later in life gave me this idea that I could try to become America by learning the words of people from many aspects of the country. It doesn't matter how educated they are. By living in the world and living their experiences, they bring extraordinary truths. I try to do those truths justice.

Discipline — both mental and physical — is crucial.

Movies, as evidenced by a chorus of protesting and celebrating Americans, influence broader trends.