Spider-Man is a genuine American myth with a dark, primal power, but it's also got this great superhero, and - hey! - he can fly through the theater at 40 miles an hour. It's got villains, it's got skyscrapers, it's colorful, it's Manhattan. I knew it would be a challenge, but I saw the inherent theatricality in it, and I couldn't resist.

We're really having a problem right now in our culture. I haven't seen one movie lately in which the story and visuals have been equally good.

You just have to throw fear out the window. If there's anything that's going to hold you back, it's fear.

An artist is an entertainer, number one - a storyteller who takes people someplace, who gives them what they didn't know they wanted.

People will justify whatever for a good cause.

When I was growing up, there were a lot more arts in the public schools. Politically, America has screwed up on that.

In America, the word art has become like the word adultery. It's this big scarlet letter. When you say you're an artist, people are like, "Ugh."