A lot of new American directors have had mentors who have given them advice. And some of them have had the way paved for them by huge Hollywood directors who saw a younger version of themselves.

I'm a very independent person, I love being alone, writing and doing music and stuff.

I did a film that I shot in 24 hours that was self-financed for $5,000. It was a feature called Looking For Jimmy that I shot with a bunch of friends. I spent eight months editing because we had 24 hours of footage that made no sense and I learned a lot about directing while editing that film.

And I realized that directing actors is really important because that's what ends up on screen.

I went to film school to make films just because you're in control of the story.

It's easier for Europeans to give money to a movie that says a blow job is what brought down American democracy.

I wasn't born an artist. I was really good in science as a kid. I probably shouldn't have been an artist because I'm much more interested in science. But I was raised by artists. I can't really escape it.