Ultimately, what audiences respond to is truth. Even as fantastical as the story can be, and out there, at its core, it's dealing with loss, madness and mortality.

Ultimately, what audiences respond to is truth. Even as fantastical as the story can be, and out there, at its core, it's dealing with loss, madness and mortality.

All the things that live within you find their place, in character and story, once you tap into that other space that is the creative writing space.

Casting is very instinctual. I really like to meet people. To me, it's about their essence more than their audition.

What I love is when I'm in the theater with audiences and I hear them laugh. That's such a relief to me. They're going on the ride and they're allowing themselves to enjoy it, even though we're traversing some dark waters.

If you're gonna take people on a journey that deals with some pretty heavy themes, I think you best have a sense of humor, here and there.

The test for me, when I read other people's scripts, is whether I feel like there's something about me that is the best person to tell this story. I have a pretty high bar for myself. There's a lot of scripts that I read and think, "Oh, this is great, but I think there are 50 other directors who could bring this to the cinema."