I really dislike it when women reject feminism; that's ridiculous. I am a product of feminism. Without feminism I would not be making films.

My films have elements of genre in them, which prevents them from being purely art films.

It's hard when your first thing is something everyone loves. Actually, that never happened to me. I was lucky that my first film, which is actually the best reviewed of all my films, didn't have that success.

When people see the conventions, they think they're going to get the straightforward genre - I don't give them that and they get mad. People see that and they think I don't understand the conventions because I'm not a good filmmaker.

I don't think there is any one route to directing.... Other than that I think you just have to think 'By any means possible' and take any job you can that will get you experience. I also did a lot for free. I got paid virtually nothing for my first film, but it changed my life.

It's interesting that gay men and young women have been the twin engines of the Bettie [Page] cult.

There was a lot of anger among critics that I had not made a sexy movie.