- I am one of the most fortunate people on earth to have collaborated with so many wonderful artists, at such an early stage of my career. I think positive energy attracts positive energy. Whether it be making a movie or putting shingles on a roof. No one makes it alone.
- A good actor is an actor who concentrates in their character, in every way. A good actor gets under the skin of their character and commits to the role, in every sense. A good actor, when playing a role, is simply living life in many tiny brilliant moments. I adore good actors.
- A lot of producers and directors feel the audience is stupid. They use fancy words and paraphrase, but the bottom line is the same. They say that you have to babysit the audience with simple plots and pointing things out in very direct manners. I find this to be very disturbing and insulting. I think of filmmaking as painting on film. Some paint with realism and some abstract. I like the abstract. The art is different for every viewer.
- I love to direct strong and passionate character driven stories. Whether it be action, drama, musicals, or whatever. It's the passion that connects me. So long as the characters have depths that dare us to peek beneath the surface, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and dive in. If the passion doesn't exist, I'd rather grab a six pack and watch football.
- Making films about two people in love is typically very deceiving to the audience. It's a tricky thing. It's a balancing act between realism and bullshit. Between what we want and what it is. If I were directing a love scene , I'd skip the lovemaking and go straight for the "go to hell" moments between two people that have lived together for many trying years and still stay together. That's what love in a relationship is all about. Learning to accept the things we hate in ourselves and accept in our spouses , without any violins playing in the background.
- To be unfocused about your future is like walking around in an open field of land mines, never knowing when one will explode under you. Focus is knowledge. Knowledge is power. Power is freedom. Freedom is life.
- Success and friends are temporary. If you find either, you'd best enjoy them because they won't last.
- Art imitates the life of the artist. When an artist matures, so does their vision and it reflects in their creations.
- Get your love at home. Don't come into this industry expecting to fill some empty personal void. You'll end up in an early grave. Seek nothing but the accomplishments and you'll find many rewarding things far beyond your wildest dreams.
- If an artist is forty and they still see the world the same as they did at twenty, then they've wasted twenty years of their lives.
- To discover one of your gifts in a lifetime is like being born again. I simply existed before I discovered mine and then it was as if someone turned on a huge light in a completely dark, windowless basement.
- I'll do a movie about a shoestring, if it's got heart and soul.
- I view rejection as a sign that points me towards acceptance. I never give up.
- Once you push yourself to your full limitations, push harder. Only then will you begin to see your true potential.
- I used to live out things that I wrote about. It was a dangerous but creatively bountiful place to live. Writing about people on the edge while living on the edge, myself. I wrote some of my most powerful material that way. But as you get older, you realize that you may want to live to see past forty. Many talented people that I've met on that crazy journey are gone now. And although I'll always have my quirks, I value and respect that fact that there's strength in moderation or sometimes, even abstinence.
- [on working with the younger generation] They get a bad rap. But so did we. Each generation wants to believe that they're the keeper of the flame. I've learned that if you allow an artist to thrive with an opportunity, regardless of age, the results are amazingly productive.
- I find that my writing inspiration comes from angst. Not particular negative angst but an emotional unrest. Whenever a story really inspires me , its usually from something that evoked a resonating feeling inside.
- [on accepting his flaws] What a silly question... I don't know if it's a matter of accepting or simply giving up trying to fight it. But we all have things. I'm a person of extremes. I'm either all for it or not invested at all. I don't see any fucking sunshine in the middle. So there's two choices when dealing with your flaws. Embrace it or fear it , but you damn sure can't hide from yourself. There's strength in this acknowledgment process because you can harness it to do something positive for humanity and ironically with your life.
- [on public deception through stereotypical and sexist images in movies and television] There's big money spent and made to maintain deception. Ask any Hollywood mogul or owner of an industry. It's been rotating since the creation of media and manipulated to serve a corporate purpose.
- People tend to believe it's all talent-based glamour and sexiness. But in reality, filmmaking is arduous difficult fucking work where the process requires 110% focus and can often be dependent on the politics of the trade, albeit indie or studio.
- As a kid, I always thought my parents and grandparents knew all the answers. But that ain't true. The mysteries are still very much in place as we pass those thirty and forty and fifty year old milestones. But although the search for direction continues, you definitely start identifying what you don't want in your life. And that's a spectacular discovery.
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