Films are subjective - what you like, what you don't like. But the thing for me that is absolutely unifying is the idea that every time I go to the cinema and pay my money and sit down and watch a film go up on-screen, I want to feel that the people who made that film think it's the best movie in the world, that they poured everything into it and they really love it. Whether or not I agree with what they've done, I want that effort there - I want that sincerity. And when you don't feel it, that's the only time I feel like I'm wasting my time at the movies.

I studied English Literature. I wasn’t a very good student, but one thing I did get from it, while I was making films at the same time with the college film society, was that I started thinking about the narrative freedoms that authors had enjoyed for centuries and it seemed to me that filmmakers should enjoy those freedoms as well.

I never considered myself a lucky person. I'm the most extraordinary pessimist. I truly am.

Film is the best way to capture an image and project that image. It just is, hands down.

I've always believed that if you want to really try and make a great film, not a good film, but a great film, you have to take a lot of risks.

To me, any kind of filmmaking that's reactive is not going to be as good as something more inventive and original.

Heist movies tend to be a bit superficial, glamorous, and fun. They don't tend to be emotionally engaging.