I actually have come to believe that if people were more connected to their fellow human beings, if we all felt more centred and fulfilled in our lives, maybe we would be pointing our cameras at a lot less social ills.

I like to blow up stereotypes, like taking the icons of metal, the epitome of male testosterone and showing them as regular people.

If people spend two hours thinking about the direction of their own lives and can relate to the stories they see on screen, to me that's a success.

I never believe I'm presenting objective reality; I also don't want to delude people into thinking that my subject is talking directly to them.

What you hope, what you're trusting the filmmaker to do, is to capture the emotional truth of the situation.

I felt like the universe was tapping me on the shoulder saying, "You're the guy who has to tell this story because nobody else is."

One of the great ironies of my career is that people imagine me as some sort of hardcore metal guy because of the Metallica film.