I don't like showing the technique. I don't like people who say, "Here, I'm going to act, but first I have to bounce off this wall." If you have to bounce off the wall, do it by yourself. Don't feature the technique. My old drama coach used to say, "Don't just do something, stand there." Gary Cooper wasn't afraid to do nothing.

I've never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates. Anybody can do well at something he loves - it's just a question of finding the subject.

When I see a story, I ask: is this something I'd like to be in? Is this something I'd like to see? And if I'd like to see it, would I like to tell it?

It's hard to tell what will stimulate curiosity nowadays because looking at some of the things that do excite people, you kind of go, "Ohh, OK. So this hasn't a chance." But we made it anyway. I think if people see the picture, they'll find a lot of parallels to today, ever since 9/11 and everything, that kind of fear that's going on in disturbance of the country.

Directing is more like you're being a psychologist and you're kind of analyzing the situation and evaluating each person for their idiosyncrasies.

I'm interested in the fact that the less secure a man is, the more likely he is to have extreme prejudice.

When you think of a particular director, you think you would have liked to be with them on one particular film and not necessarily on some other one.