I understand that we should never lose our right to be offended, so I accept it. But for me it was always a study of human behavior because if we just demonize it, it becomes unreal.

We don't eat to live, we live to eat because that's a part of the creativity of the day.

Your actions are not in a vacuum. They impact other people. It may be in a way that's less obvious than in mainstream movies, but it comes to an understanding of who those people are. It also leaves it open to interpretation. And that's what art is, a form in which people can reflect on who we are as human beings and come to some understanding of this journey we are on.

One of the real worries I had before the first season of 'Treme' aired was that, man, people in New Orleans really hold movie and television shows up to a high standard in how they depict the city.

Stories work, if they have a beginning, middle and end.

What thoughts are to the individual, art is to the community as a whole. That's where you reflect on who you are, who you hope to be, what you've gone through, and where you hope to go.

Whenever an actor was going to die, I tried to help them understand not to take it personally. It wasn't about them. It's the story.