A real litmus test for me is how people treat someone who is waiting on them. That's a dealbreaker for me.If I were on the verge of getting into a serious relationship and I saw that person be mean to a waiter... I'm out.

I think there are only two times that I've ever ended up paying somebody their quote. Like what they actually were worth in the marketplace.

I try to use other songs or bands as reference points - it seems like the easiest way to get across what are really differences of taste or opinion. If you know what kind of music somebody loves, then you can kind of figure out why they do what they do.

When a film like Chris Nolan's Memento cannot get picked up, to me independent film is over. It's dead.

Anytime you've got something that can take you into the political realm then you've opened up the conversation a lot.

Sometimes I might feel like [a movie] is kind of a weird idea and if I'm going to get enough money to execute it properly I've got to get somebody in it that is going to justify the expense.

My first three movies, I didn't start editing until we were finished shooting. That's unthinkable to me now.