You're always a little surprised when something really takes off.

I think it's in our nature to try to get beyond that next horizon. I think that when we as a species are scratching that itch we're actually following an evolutionary compulsion that is wired into us. I think good things come of it. That's the philosophical side.

I'm not a caterer. I just have to stay with my creative convictions. At some point, you have to just get past the special-interest groups and do what you're there to do, which is make a movie.

When Apollo 13 appeared as an opportunity and I began to tackle that in as authentic a way as I possibly could, I really became enthralled by the philosophical side of space travel, and why we need to explore - what it means to us here on Earth - all of those things. I became a huge proponent.

If I had to choose between a great acting job and a good directing job, I'd choose the directing job.

You reach a point where you say you're not going to do juveniles any longer.

I think more and more scientists are becoming convinced that it's very likely that life forms of some kind exist all around the universe not so far from us.