You can't explain success in retrospect. The moment you leap into the void, that moment is impossible to negate, after success.

I have a sort of a fetish for insects, clockwork, monsters, dark places, and unborn things

I really wanted the house to be a character. And I knew, I said, I'll produce that one, but if I direct it, I need to build a house.

The reality is that I feel that fear is a very spiritual emotion.

I don't want to move over to Beverly Hills. My goal is to make the movies I want to make and support the people I want to support. That's it.

I really believe that in the larger sense, not only today but at all times, you only find yourself when you disobey. Disobedience is the beginning of responsibility, I think.

There's something worse than not making a movie. It's doing it for the wrong reasons. Then you end up putting three, four, five years of your life into it and you come out with a thing that you're not proud of.