When I drive through a field, I want to see green grass sometimes, and I don't want to see black and white.

I wanted to keep exploring... I'm not about to choose a series of movies in which I can use the same bag of tricks and style that I used in the first film.

There have been screenwriters who I'm sure would gladly kill me, because I've been very fast and loose with their work, because I felt like it wasn't up to my high standards. I would push and pull it on set, and make changes all the time. But then when you're working with an original screenplay, my theater instincts kick in, and I suddenly become very keeper-of-the-words.

The characters are trapped within the lifestyle. It's about what goes on before the movie starts.

You've got to believe as a filmmaker that if a movie's good enough, it's going to survive; and if it's not, well, it won't.

One movie is only one movie. I want to have a lifetime of making films.

The movies that influenced me were movies that told their stories through pictures more than words.