My first teacher was Steven Spielberg. I worked on Amazing Stories. That was my first job, as a writer and as a story editor. Watching him and his command of the tools of filmmaking, and his admiration for writing and the story itself, was the greatest lesson I ever had.

The filmmakers are very much in their own kind of bubble. It was kind of a revelation to me and I realized why so many of the great filmmakers are one of a kind people. You know, they have a vision. They may be influenced by other filmmakers, but they don't work with them on anything.

It's exciting not knowing what I'm doing next, but it won't be long before I'm going to feel like I needed to be doing something, whatever it is.

Having been a singer in a band, back in my youth, music is really important to me.

Fighting the wild branches of a haunted tree is not something that every actor is confident enough to attack, literally and figuratively.

For me, it's important that a movie is the congregate of all art forms, from writing to art composition to music to performing. Trying to keep a balance of all those is what I think a director's job is.

The whole point is you're telling a story to an audience. So when there's no audience, it's like cinematic masturbation.