As long as you keep the audience on the edge of their seats, either scare them or keep them guessing, you can put anything in there that you want.

The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself.

But I made him the Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security because that added an element of political espionage.

A collection of masks, depicting historical figures in life and what I like to call the eternal repose.

I've done a few interviews where I realized that 9/11 was the ultimate home invasion, not to be glib about it. You know, where the place that you think is safe and the people that you think are safe and far from evil are suddenly just slaughtered by it, and you have no control over it.

My mother wouldn't even let me read DC Comics.

Something like Nightmare On Elm Street, to me, was kind of an examination of levels of consciousness and the pain of facing the truth, and how easy it is to fall asleep, or want to fall asleep.