The more you can create that magic bubble, that suspension of disbelief, for a while, the better.

I'm a New Yorker, you know.

I think there is a serious corruption in the idea sold through advertising that you can attain spiritual peace through lifestyle and the notion of building your happiness from the outside-in by acquiring things . . . which if you think about it, is the essence of advertising

I've always liked the idea of taking old dramatic ideas and devices and making them feel relevant or contemporary or whatever.

With Edward Norton you'd never say, "This is the one we're going with whether you like it or not." It has to be agreed upon.

If two people are at completely different stages in their spiritual life, that can present a real problem.

All people are paradoxical. No one is easily reducible, so I like characters who have contradictory impulses or shades of ambiguity. It's fun, and it's fun because it's hard.