I always feel that a viewer has an expectation about every moment of the film and where it's going, so if I act against that, I've created a twist. In fact it becomes a kind of game with the expectations of the viewer. This is the superficial appearance. In the layer beneath there is a hidden theme. The result of each twist is that the judgment of the audience member is challenged.

I see screenwriting as a bit like a math equation which I have to solve.

Whenever I write a part, I think there's this person somewhere in the world that this part is specifically for and all I have to do is go searching to find that particular individual.

Sometimes we feel like life is like theater, really.

One of the biggest blessings in my life is that I have a very wonderful family, a lovely wife and two lovely daughters.

Because I write the screenplay entirely and precisely, there is the danger that an actor might feel that this finite role is being imposed on them. I want the actors to feel that this is their own role, and that they can go back to point zero and develop this character.

I gained a great deal from the period during which I worked in theater and I value those things a great deal.