I went to college, I went pre-med, I thought I was going to be a doctor.

'Juno' really changed things for me and I get a lot of screenplays come in now, but I like to self-generate and I like to kind of pursue my own ideas. And I think the more personal the better.

My writing voice is very much like 'Thank You for Smoking.' It's a guy's voice. It's very masculine.

I want my audiences to be as open-minded as my characters.

It's easy to get caught up in a moment and think, 'Oh, I've been offered some giant studio film or a superhero franchise or some actor wants to meet with me about a project they want to do.' And it's easy to get caught up in a moment because it's flattering. But you can't do a movie because it's flattering.

Each one of my films is personal; each one of my films is emotionally autobiographical. And I like directors who do that.

There are only so many movies you can direct. And yet there are movies that I want to make sure make it to the screen in as honest a way as possible.