I do feel, like everyone, there's not enough female directors out there, there's not enough female producers, and would like to see more people get more opportunity, more opportunity for roles for women.

Everybody can justify their actions. We all think that we're doing things for reasons that are meaningful to us. Maybe not to other people, but to us.

It's very difficult to put together an independent movie and a lot of times people really don't hire casting directors for that. Instead, they look for people that they've seen in other movies or they're friends with.

I love reading scripts and offering notes and opinions. I'd like to be an advocate for the emerging filmmakers whom I'm working with.

Don't watch people's individual performances. Watch the energy that's being passed between them, and then you'll see if the scene is really working or if the actors are really doing their job. If they're playing with the energy that's between them, they're not just acting in their own little bubble.

Real equality in films is going to take time and will directly reflect our society. So ladies, please speak up at home, at work, at school, everywhere. As more women continue to find their place in Hollywood we have to keep pushing for more dynamic and strong women's roles.

There was a period in my late 30s where work slowed down for me, as it does for a lot of women. You're no longer the young, cute thing anymore and maybe you're not quite old enough to play (what others think of) in terms of women in charge.