I love black-and-white movies that are about contemporary subjects.

I don't agree with the idea that my characters are unlikeable.

I live in Manhattan now, because, in a way, it was my fantasy.

I guess I probably took New York for granted. Growing up, playing in the street, going down to the Avenue to the record store and to the grocery store and stuff like that.

I like having associations with locations beyond their meaning for the specific movie.

I thought at the time of my parents' divorce that I was upset by deeper, more profound things and I was just taking it out on the joint custody agreement. But that disruption was bad enough. That was a huge deal for a teenager.

I feel a real connection to Brooklyn, certainly, because I spent 20 years of my life there, but I don't think of myself as a Brooklyn artist any more than I think of myself as a male artist.