I want to explore new ideas and put myself in a place where I can finish a project that is more unusual or that doesn't seem doable.

I like the days when all the filmmakers had was a film roll, a camera and a gangster. The Mack Sennett comedies were all like that. They'd create little teams to go out and shoot films.

Competition impedes creativity because you present yourself in a way that's going to been seen by somebody outside of you. You're not very much yourself and it limits you.

I think the purpose of test screenings is different for the studio and for the filmmaker. For the studio, I think they want to know whether the film works or not.

My goal was to show that even if people work in a garage or a supermarket, they have very funny things to say. We never hear their voices.

The MTV Video Awards were never about the video, but about the song. Most of the time it was just to glorify people for the wrong reason.

I shoot people in a way that makes the audience feel equal to them. And it's hard to express and it's hard to execute but I think it works on every level - the choice of the material the choice of the actor, my relationship with the actor, and so on.