When I was very young, I remember my mother telling me about a friend of hers in Germany, a pianist who played a symphony that wasn't permitted, and the Germans came up on stage and broke every finger on her hands. I grew up with stories of Nazis breaking the fingers of Jews.

I think one of the worst things that happened to me was, you know, my voluntary fallout with my father. And then the greatest thing that happened to me was when I saw the light, and realized I needed to love him in a way that he could love me back.

Whether in success or in failure, I'm proud of every single movie I've ever directed.

It starts with the writer-it's a familiar dictum, but somehow it keeps getting forgotten along the way. No film-maker, irrespective of his electronic bag of tricks, can ever afford to forget his commitment to the written word.

Fathering is a major job, but I need both things in my life: my job to be a director, and my kids to direct me.

I don't make unconventional stories; I don't make non-linear stories. I like linear storytelling a lot.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Jihadism have nothing to do with each other.