It's very hard to go to Monument Valley and not think of John Ford's films.

Occasionally I do movies with other directors. I did 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' for Julian Schnabel. I did a movie with Jim Brooks ('How Do You Know'). I did a movie with Judd Apatow ('Funny People'). So I do get a chance to work with other people, which is always enjoyable, always pleasant. But still, Steven [Spielberg] makes the types of movies that I'm interested in as well.

You can't really micro-manage. You'll never make the movie in 52 days, if you micro-manage. If you do that, you take the creativity away from people because people just really quickly become disinterested when they're always being told how to do it.

There are films that are difficult. There are films that would actually affect your personal life because of the length of the production, how long [you're away] from the family.

[Spielberg] surrounds himself with great crew members who are at the top of their game and know their stuff. He motivates us by liking what we do, and he doesn't get paralyzed by the process or by new ideas. He embraces them and uses them.

We have not looked at any particular movies [in creating War Horse], but again, it's hard not to see the similarities between those movies [because of those filmmakers' influence on the industry].

Very few people make exterior movies anymore. It's always action films driven by action and quick editing.