My best male friend is my best friend until he crosses me. We're all protective of the self.

There were certain things that I watched, and I screened a series of period films as well, not because I wanted to copy those, because I wanted to be different. “Far from the Madding Crowd” was one I looked to because I thought it looked so good. “Doctor Zhivago.” Unrequited love is always a great thing. “Tess” was something I looked at, I thought Polanski got the period right.

We humans are a fairly barbarous bunch.

I have a healthy view of what one can do with art.

You start as an audience member and create a world you're interested in, and then you move into the telling of those stories, bringing what has interested you as an audience member.

Without In The Company of Men, I could still be teaching, so who knows if this would've existed.

I make movies I want to see.