I had a great time creating the future on 'Minority Report,' and it's a future that is coming true faster than any of us thought it would.

It [Lincoln movie] had nothing to do with politics. It had nothing to do with holding a mirror up to the way we conduct our business on Capitol Hill. This was meant to be a story, a Lincoln portrait if you will. I think any time is the right time for a very compelling story, any time.

If I weren't a director, I would want to be a film composer.

I was making a lot of 8mm home movies, since I was twelve, making little dramas and comedies with the neighborhood kids.

The best time of my life has been the three instances where I have been there for the birth of my children. That is, nothing [else] has ever come close.

For one thing, I don't think that anybody in any war thinks of themselves as a hero.

I don't go through a torturous intellectual process to decide what to direct. I know what I want to direct the second I read something or hear a story. I just know when it grabs me in a certain way I want to direct it. And then I spend the next four to six months trying to talk myself out of it, because directing is really hard! But it's true, I know essentially when and what I want to do next... it's an undeniable feeling I get and it's not the same feeling I get when I wind up producing something.