Humans are vulnerable, messy little animals and that's normal. And all I want to do is make a space for that in my films.

Grief and memory go together. After someone dies, that's what you're left with. And the memories are so slippery yet so rich.

The littlest thing can have the strongest connection when you're grieving. Your Proustian, poetic nerve is turned up to ten.

People ask 'How does doing a film compare to doing an ad?' Well, when you're doing a commercial you don't have to sell tickets. You have a captured audience. Which is actually completely rare and great; it gives you a lot of freedom. When you make a film, you have to do advertisements for the film.

I definitely believe in the energy of the set and the energy of the actor, way more than your written word.

Being a good Hans Haacke student, part of his influence on me is that there's no difference between a gallery show and a film - or even an ad and a T-shirt-in terms of cultural legitimacy. They're just different contexts in which to have some sort of communication.

L.A. is so isolated and unhip in a way; it gives you room to figure out who you are and explore more personal stuff.