And as a filmmaker, I'm trying to unhook myself from this idea that unless you have a brilliant, long, enormously lucrative theatrical run, that your movie somehow failed. And I don't believe that.

I sometimes don't know what I'm writing when I start writing it, on some level.

Acting on stage is still my favorite thing to do. And everyone who's been in musicals knows that there is nothing more fun.

We're like a gardener with a hose and our attention is water - we can water flowers or we can water weeds.

When I write a film, there's a particular thing I am wrestling with and the question or concern I'm dealing with has to be big enough for me to dedicate a year or two of my life. If the question isn't big enough, or rich enough, I'll lose interest.

Time off from the news is always something I welcome.

Talk about what you love and keep quiet about what you don't.