I think as a filmmaker you try not to have any expectations other than that the film have a fairly substantial beginning, middle and end.

The fact is that war films, by their very nature, are pitched at a high dramatic range.

For better or worse, most of my writing life has been about people that work behind the scenes. I'm interested in finding extraordinary moments in otherwise normal people.

I write on a computer, on a laptop or whatever.

I actually think every war movie is an antiwar movie in its own way - with the exception of some of the propaganda movies.

You're trying to dramatize events to tell a story most effectively. That doesn't mean the events aren't true, it just means you're making them as dramatic as you possibly can.

For weeks after 9/11 you could smell the dust and pulverised concrete in New York, and the National Guard came in, so there was a military presence on the streets. It was intense. Overwhelming. Heartbreaking.