Each film I make changes me in some way. When I start the picture I'm one person and by the time I finish I'm another.
I have enjoyed a wonderful run in films, so far, and I may, at some point, come back. But it will be in my own time and in my own style.
'Lord of the Rings' was going on; like, my college years were the years of 'Lord of the Rings,' an awesome time to be in film school.
When I saw 'Talk to Her' for the first time, I was crying out loud because I couldn't imagine that I was doing that film.
By the time 'Dumbo's Circus' wrapped production of its 120 episodes, I had an agent, and I had scored my first feature film gig.
On an independent film, you really learn about pace. You have so little time to do things, that you really have to know your scenes.
I really enjoyed working on the 2009 film, 'Aliens in the Attic,' because it was shot in New Zealand and I got to visit there for the first time.
I mean, there's definitely a difference between film and live performances or live television. But at the same time, it's just performing. No matter what, it's performing.
From time to time, there are people in the film industry who appear on the horizon with a unique vision. South African director Neill Blomkamp is one of those rare people.
'Once Upon A Time In America' is one of the cleverest films of all time, because you can get out of it whatever you want to get out of it.
The average development time for a Hollywood movie is nine years. Nine years for a studio film. And a lot of what you do is abstract.
Any time you talk about the look of the film, it's not just the director and the director of photography. You have to include the costume designer and the production designer.
There is no doubt that this film is autobiographical, but at the same time it also tries to portray an ordinary couple in a language that everyone can understand.
I don't know about relationships. Maybe I'm supposed to travel and make films and meet people and have adventures instead.
Bela Lugosi: [about to start filming at night] "All right, lets shoot this fucker!"
There is no filmmaking legislation because distributors are not interested in sharing their money with the film industry - for instance, by giving a percentage of ticket sales back to filmmakers.
Those big films are scary things. There's so much money behind those things. There's that hype. You enter a machine.
You have to draw on your unconscious when you make a film - you can't worry about whether it's costing a lot of money.
I'd rather spend my time with grape growers than actors. In the film industry, all the money is focused on television and the stupidity of American cinema.
I'm so touched that complete strangers will send me a script asking me to be in their film. That still amazes me - and sometimes for a lot of money too.
When you're making an independent film what you don't have in time and money you have to make up with creativity and diligence.
