There's lots of good movies where you feel that the dialogue could be improvised, but very little was. The "Big Lebowski" was like that where people say "oh, you know, that sounds so..." and we'd always go back and get every man, every ellipses in there the way these guys write it. Because not only is it saying what Michael wants the character to say but the way they all speak kind of creates this tone because it's not exactly real.

I'd maybe done about 12 movies when I decided that this was what I was going to do.

Making films is sort of like you're pulling off a magic trick. It's sort of like an illusion. It's not real but you want it to appear real, and all kinds of things go into that, from the clothes you're wearing to the make-up, to the light.

A lot of people don't really understand what rehearsal's about. People are afraid they're gonna leave it in the dressing room, or you're gonna shoot your wad in rehearsal.

You have that Frank Capra kind of side to it and the characters are really well drawn, so I think everybody tried their best to stay faithful to the script.

Seeing David Mackenzie's work in "Starred Up," I thought that was a wonderful film.

I'm also working closely with a group called the Amazon Conservation Team, helping with the rainforest in South America.