Why can't people just say they were moved? Why do they have to say it's sappy?

In my movies, there has been little to do in the way of animal rights. I have never worked in a movie with animals. No horse-riding, no trained dogs, lions, bears. A few actors, but what could I do? We had to have them.

My aim was not to fool. My aim was to provoke thought and stir emotion.

My mom has a good way of engaging me in a conversation about the choices I make, listening, being objective and open-minded, and respecting those choices so long as they don't put me in danger.

Sometimes I feel like every movie I make could be the last. I know that's not really the case, but if I think about it that way and I'm very careful, then maybe I can build a career, movie by movie, that I'm happy with.

You're encouraged to do the same kind of movies. But I would like to keep doing different things.

I had a public school education - 3,000 kids when I was there. And there were a lot of teachers who would just sit there. You'd come in and sign your name and the teacher would just sit there at the head of the class and you would literally just have to stay in your seat for 40 minutes and that was the only thing you'd have to do in class.