Having kids is a full-time job. And I don't know any woman who isn't constantly fighting between the exquisite selfishness required to be an artist and this exquisite selflessness that's required to be a parent.

When you are trying to get a shot, you can't be pleasing everybody. And I tend to be sort of collaborative and a bit of a pleaser. And when I'm directing, people just sort of call me Black Hat Gabriela. Because suddenly they're like, "What happened to you?" Because I stop listening. And I feel strident. I feel rude. And I feel un-collaborative.

The camera is your way to see what you want to see - it's an extension of the director's fantasy. I'm executing my personal fantasy, whether it's a fantasy of pleasure or of pain and fear.

I think that there is just a deep and abiding sexism that's part of your life from the moment that you're conscious as a female.

I'm never trying to make a statement about morality ever. If there's a statement to be made, it's "People are complicated. They do things that may hurt other people, or exploit other people, but they may do them for the right reasons, or out of desperation." I don't judge that sort of "bad" behavior. I'm only interested in a world where people break outside of the norm, and I believe people do whatever they have to do to relieve themselves of pain. I just want to watch and see how that plays out.

I think it's hard for everyone to find their way as an adult and to match up their expectations from their youth to what their adult life looks like.

Something you discover as a writer is that actresses who are successful are incredibly smart. For some reason, there's this myth that if you're a beautiful actress, you're not bright, you're a puppet. But it's completely the opposite. These are people with a finely tuned sense of story, and who are also strong and articulate. You have to be, to be a woman holding your own on TV and film sets.