I live in New York City, and I'm making huge action movies. The people that make huge action movies live in L.A., and they're surrounded by other people who make huge action movies. I'm surrounded by people making documentaries!

I realize I am contradictory: I have an independent filmmaker's sensibility and a Hollywood director's short-attention span.

When I'm working on a film, I think about how it will play with a tiny audience of friends whose opinions I respect, basically a 40-bloc radius from my apartment in Manhattan.

In particular, I'm drawn to the stories that have big, high concepts and real characters at their heart. And I love where those two worlds meet, and 'Edge of Tomorrow' is the perfect canvas to explore that.

In the real world, if you're in a car chase, you're going to hit a million things and your car is going to end up a total wreck by the end.

When you can come across a piece of material that's totally original and fun and completely satisfying, you jump on it.

If I'm not in love with the script, there's nothing. It doesn't matter what you give me. It has to start with the script.