A big part of the humor is in identifying with the tragic elements of the film. The New Zealand sense of humor is very dark. Our films are usually very dark and it's always someone being killed. Usually a child.

I love heroes that really go through ordeals and then come out the other end completely changed.

I'm used to working with restrictions and that's when you come up with the more creative stuff.

When you're actually making a film, it's just people on your back all the time wanting stuff and you're constantly having to it deal with them. It's probably the most time consuming of all the arts, but I do love it because it is a great mix of visual art and music and writing.

I never wanted to be a filmmaker. I still, sometimes, think I got sidetracked by this, like this is a tangent. My main thing was painting; I was just going to do that.

I loved him [Ke Huy Quan as Short-Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom] - everyone loved him when I saw the film. Now I'm a grown-up and I watch it I'm not so sure - he's so loud. He yells for the entire film.

I have to keep reminding myself that I was hired for a reason and one of those reasons is because of the stories I tell and the films I've made previously.