I always think it's interesting to switch genres, because if I read a script and I know exactly how to manifest a story, I don't really want to do it anymore, because I've already done it in my head. It becomes less interesting. If I read something that's challenging, I get really passionate and usually fall in love with it, because I feel I need to do it. I need to tell the story; I need to find a way to make it happen.

The goal is to align with your core group of collaborators, who understand your vision and aesthetics. I usually show them visual material of what I have in mind, as well as a color spectrum of mood boards.

You do a lot of press, but getting to talk and discuss movies with your peers is the best and most fulfilling part.

I always try to stay objective, and to remove myself from the process and look at the film again.

The key thing is that you start every film from sort of a blank page, almost like you discover it like a child discovers a new world.

When you boil it down, it's all a visual expression. In a sense we are all storytellers through what we wear, who we want to be, how we want people to perceive us. Life, people and the stories they consciously or unconsciously tell inspire me everyday.

For me, The Kite Runner became about a guy who’s emotionally shut down because he hasn’t confronted his past.