For a lot of my childhood, I didn't want to direct movies because I didn't really know what directing was.

No film has captivated my imagination more than 'King Kong.' I'm making movies today because I saw this film when I was 9 years old.

I regard myself as being the final filter so everything that ends up in the movie is there because it's something that I think was cool.

When you're casting a movie and when you're shooting a film, the eyes are the most important feature of any performer, really. Any great actor literally knows exactly how to use their eyes, and even as a filmmaker I love shooting huge close-ups because it's those eyes that mean so much to me.

New Zealand is not used to wealth. In America wealth is kind of a thing of pride. Here it's the opposite. The more you've got, the bigger the target you are.

One of the first movies I ever saw was 'Batman,' based on the TV series with Adam West and Burt Ward.

I just got to the point where I literally didn't want anyone else to do it.