I'm probably more character-driven than plot-driven. It's rare for me to attach myself to an idea for a story.

I can make a movie about Lee Harvey Oswald and make you feel what he feels and make you understand why he believes what he believes. That doesn't mean I think you should go out and shoot JFK.

But my sense in talking to people when I travel is that the film business is not that dissimilar from a lot of other businesses.

I think I'm good at amplifying an actor's strengths, and minimizing their weaknesses. And they all have strengths and weaknesses.

It takes one asshole to ruin the whole thing. That's it. One. The problem with the world is one asshole comes up with a really bad idea and now we're all taking our shoes off at the airport.

My father, who was the one who really got me hooked on movies, liked all kinds of films, and I saw all kinds of films at a very young age.

Castro, without question, is one of the smartest politicians that's ever walked.