I wanted to do a political film that is as nonpartisan as can be, because I wanted to do a story that was American. I wanted to tell an American tragedy.

Usually the characters are where I start. Then I continually ask myself, 'What's the worst thing that could happen to this character?'

I’m a deeply broken person, and broken institutions fascinate me.

Always write from your gut, no matter what the project is.

I like to write about things about which I have no answers, questions that trouble me. These things trouble me.

Independent films are very hard to get made, but I'm lucky enough to get them made, so I'm going to keep doing it. I like my independence. I like being able to tell a story the way I want to tell a story. I don't like developing it with a team. I like coming to a story and deciding whether I want to do it or not.

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.