I hate even the idea of a synopsis. When stories are really working, when you're providing subtextual exploration and things that are deeply layered, you're obligated to not say things out loud.

I never got into 'MacGyver,' but 'All the President's Men' and 'The Conversation' were big for me.

If something can be explored or illuminated that would have been difficult to verbalize, that to me is what a film should be. It's like trying to explain what a piece of music is like. You can't do it.

I don't believe that narrative works when it's trying to teach a lesson or speak a factual truth.

I got a degree in math, from not a good school in Texas, and then I went to work as a software engineer. Just not glamorous at all.

Many of my favorite films, if someone were to tell me simply what they're about, I probably wouldn't be that interested. Plot often has so little to do with what's at the heart of a film.

I am a control freak but it's important to feel strongly about the material you're working on.