I have fun making films. I love making films. It's the only thing I know how to do. And I do it well.

I think in some ways you learn more from the things you don't like than the things you do.

Acting is really scary, but it's also challenging, fun, hard work. There's always an element of improvisation with every actor, even when something is really scripted.

It sounds cliche, but success is your friends, your family, what you do, and if you're happy when you wake up.

When actors give their input, it can be very ego-driven, and directors are scared of that.

I think Van Sant is the most important American director we have. He takes the most risks. He's just pure to me.

I'm not really equipped to do anything else but making movies. In every other aspect of my life I'm a total failure.

I feel that film, as opposed to theatre, is about capturing that one, real moment.

I saw the main character played by Mads Mikkelsen, and he's amazing. Hannibal had that going for it.

Right now is a very interesting time because of the digital cameras, and the fact that you can edit anywhere. It's a great time to be a filmmaker, is a great time to be starting off.

I've noticed that sometimes when you keep things a little smaller, it's easier to focus on the creative aspects of what you're doing.

I envy the tireless intimacy of women’s friendship, its lastingness, and its unbendable strength.

Never interrupt an author when he or she is ‘in the zone’, else you’ll understand the real meaning of ‘writer’s nib’.

Wisdom comes by disillusionment.

It's incredible how much stamina you can find when you're fighting and enemy in battle, even if that enemy is just in your imagination.

If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time.

I think that cable TV is a great venue to do something interesting.

Fear sometimes adds wings to the heels, and sometimes nails them to the ground, and fetters them from moving.

The hardest part was convincing people that I was serious. The people were like 'you want to do this again'?

I'm one of the nicest, most fair people I know.

I'm no good at cooking or music, but I've always known how to garden. Nobody ever taught me; I just absorbed it. Some families are churchgoers or sports fans. We gardened.