I actually pay careful attention to that sort of thing - infusing humor into my films - because that's how important I think humor is.

If you would ask me what my ideal process is, I would say, long pre-production, long production and long post-production.

I've grown up watching a lot of Western genre films on TV, and America is not just a country, but it's one of the most important countries in the world, and examining the process of how this nation came to be, it's an important thing, even for outsiders.

I guess I probably make violent films partly because I can't express my anger in my real life very well.

Actually, I can't stand watching violent scenes in films; I avoid watching horror films. I don't tend to watch action films mainly because I find them boring, but I watch the films of David Cronenberg and Martin Scorsese, usually in a state close to having a heart attack. I'm a complete coward. I make violent films as a result of my sensitivity to violence - in other words, my fear of violence.

I love Philip Glass' work, not only as a film composer but also as a musician. The film score work that he does always amazes and shocks me.

In my opinion, all relationships between people have some sort of violence, and it is central.