I've always been most interested in the politics of everyday life: your relation to whatever you're doing, or what your ambitions are, where you live, where you find yourself in the social hierarchy.

Your friends are really an extension of your vision of the world. It's kind of a physical manifestation of how you feel. Like your soul.

I'd be fine to make movies and have them never come out. But you have to deal with the business side. You can't get too emotionally invested, because again, you've got no control. There's going to be some huge film out that everyone goes to, and it probably won't be mine.

I think casting is really important. Finding the right sensibility for the right part is an art in itself. If you're off there, you make it harder on yourself as a director. And it's fun to work that out with the actors. I don't think there's any magic to directing actors. It's very instinctual. Working with actors is really one of my favorite creative moments of the whole process, and the most fun, because it's collaborative. I spend a lot of time rehearsing. I'm very rehearsal-oriented, probably because I have some background in theater. I like knowing what will work beforehand.

In a sea of stories, find the right one to tell, and the right way to tell it.

The rules of parenting have changed. By the modern definition, we were a generation of neglected children.

I've never been a guy who had more than a toe in Hollywood anyway, so my toe is more easily lopped off than most.