As a writer, you have to be willing to kill your darlings, and I'm a writer first. As a director, I've got no problem cutting the scenes.

I'm all about real drama, real performance, and real people, so my twist on this is: I'm creating a family, a brotherhood here. I'm creating a very real chemistry and I have this incredible ensemble of actors led by Will Smith, who are basically playing dimensional characters with lives and souls.

I feel like, as a filmmaker, I'm at my strongest when I write the script and when it comes from me, out of whole cloth. My best work has always been self-generated.

When I make a movie, it's almost a relief to get shooting 'cause the hell is over, or part of the hell is over.

Even the scrutiny is good because it lets you know the world cares about your movie, and there is interest in it.

I think great acting is about inhabiting a skin and transforming yourself.

The most terrifying thing in my life is a blank sheet of paper.