I could be just a writer very easily. I am not a writer. I am a screenwriter, which is half a filmmaker... But it is not an art form, because screenplays are not works of art. They are invitations to others to collaborate on a work of art.

Screenplays are not works of art. They are invitations to others to collaborate on a work of art.

I had this whole issue of doing a crime film in the 2010s. The genre's been mined very, very heavily. Post-Scorsese, post-Tarantino, post-Guy Ritchie, what do you do? I wasn't attracted to pulp so much as all of a sudden I had a pulp problem. I had to find a way to make this interesting, because there's a lot of crime films that come out on VOD every week, and a number of these star Nicolas Cage.

Ultimately, it's an illusion that you can understand yourself.

I don't think it's very useful to open wide the door for young artists; the ones who break down the door are more interesting.

Don't ever let the viewer settle in and get ahead of you.

There's no escape. I'm God's only man.