The wrong one will start saying things like "withdraw with honor." We've heard phrases like that before, and they led to thousands and thousands of deaths. Democrats always want to look tough.

I like taking genres and subverting them. I did that with In the Valley of Elah. I said, "Okay, this is just a murder mystery. Relax." And then, two thirds of the way through, I broke every convention of a murder mystery.

I just always try to find an interesting story and tell it well. That's a hard enough thing to do, whether it's a piece of fiction or it's a small piece of reality. I just look for good story.

You don't do pictures because the audience is ready for them. You do them because there's something gnawing at you, something inside.

When I started to allow the characters to go where they wanted to go, I just had to follow.

We all have these tendencies in us that could go this way or that. I think that's the real key in writing. To look at a character without judgment.

The stereotypes we pretend that we reject are ingrained in our DNA.