I woke up one day and I realized I wasn't born beautiful, but my wife was, so I decided to make a horror film about it: what it would be like to be born beautiful.

I've done collaborations in all my movies, and I think it's part of what I enjoy about the process. This kind of intimacy that you create. Because it becomes very intimate.

In the end, self-indulgence is very much about your ego and your vanity and your own id. The more you can indulge in it, the more pleasurable it becomes. And then when it feeds out, it's able to penetrate the mind and create a reaction.

I always think once you have the lead protagonist, you cast around that character.

But once you get down to reality, there's no one to play her and there's no movie. It would be ridiculous.

The thing with Ryan, you can look at him for hours. Very few actors have that. It's a gift.

[The Neon Demon] was more my own fascination with beauty. It's my children's fascination beauty.