I didn't think so much of him at first. But now I get it: he's everything that I'm not.

And I wanted to do a movie [Moonrise Kingdom] about a childhood romance - a very powerful experience of childhood romance. About what it's like to just be blindsided, when you're in fifth grade or sixth grade, by these kinds of feelings. Along the way, I sort of mixed in some interest in "young adult fantasy" writing.

I don't really look for challenges as much as I like adventures. Other than that I'm just trying to find stories I want to tell.

Working with kids is usually very fun. They get so into movie and they're up for anything. Usually they're having such an exciting experience, everybody feels that.

I wouldn't say that I'm particularly bothered or obsessed with detail.

You don't do background music the way a lot of more conventional films do. The music is often kind of a character in your films to the extent that sometimes you stop and watch someone perform a song.

I didn't think so much of him at first. But now I get it: he's everything that I'm not.