I was looking for people who didn't have any preconceptions about films, what I call the "post-rules" generation.

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.

There's something wrong - the performance, the weather, the set design, the lighting. Something is not working. And so you say, "Give me 10 minutes." When you're first directing, you're terrified. But when you've been in that situation enough times, you know that under pressure, it will come to you.

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

One of the things that I do like about filmmaking is that you find out how to solve new problems.

Words are a completely different form of expression. The word P-E-N-I-S is an entirely different form of communication than a photograph of the same thing. H

'Taxi Driver' wasn't autobiographical in terms of the actual events, but I did draw on my own mental state.