The attitude of the director is really important, in terms of setting tone.

You can say something that can really help and actor and you can say something that can really get in the way of an actor's performance, kind of cut them off from their instincts and really get into their heads. And every actor's different. Every actor requires something different. Being an actor, for me, was the greatest training to be a writer and director.

I learned a lesson which I didn't heed: Don't put yourself in your movies. It's too much.

I actually have a thing about proper nouns. They clang on my ear in a weird way when I hear them dropped into movies.

I learned to choose my battles. Sometimes I let my producer deal with something that I didn't want to deal with.

What I write is very personal, but not autobiographical. It's more 'thematically personal' - what's up in my life in terms of themes at the moment.

The attitude of the director is really important, in terms of setting tone.