And how deeply do I let business considerations affect [screenwriting] choices that might otherwise be more or less esthetic? . . . Do I choose the u….

I am a fan of movies and there is something about watching film that is burned into celluloid for all time that is now a piece of history. You go wat….

I don't think it's a prize when actors and directors or writers and actors work together more than once. You have a trust and a shorthand and a lot o….

I think one of the privileges of being a filmmaker is the opportunity to remain a kind of perpetual student..

To make a great movie is such a combination of different things that need to come into play to actually make a memorable film and not have a film to ….

However much I may like to talk about or be interested in a more philosophical or moral agenda, [film] is, ultimately, about narrative. And it's abou….

There is something universal in the theme of a man trying to save his family in the midst of the most terrible circumstances. It is not limited to Si….

To me this movie is about what is valuable. To one person it might be a stone; to someone else, a story in a magazine; to another, it is a child. The….

What I was really overwhelmed with by Africa was its tremendous natural beauty; I got to go to some pretty amazing places. Every other weekend we got….

I look at modern life and I see people not taking responsibility for their lives. The temptation to blame, to find external causes to one's own issue….

There is no reason why challenging themes and engaging stories have to be mutually exclusive - in fact, each can fuel the other. As a filmmaker, I wa….

I maintain that no movie can be funny enough. I mean even the most serious, even the most intense movie and I know enough about life to know in those….

I have nothing against diamonds, or rubies or emeralds or sapphires. I do object when their acquisition is complicit in the debasement of children or….

It seems that almost every time a valuable natural resource is discovered in the world-whether it be diamonds, rubber, gold, oil, whatever-often what….

Sometimes when we weep in the movies we weep for ourselves or for a life unlived. Or we even go to the movies because we want to resist the emotion t….

Samurai culture did exist really, for hundreds of years and the notion of people trying to create some sort of a moral code, the idea that there exis….

I never thought about that ever throughout the entire course of my career about choosing a specific role because it would make me seem more man-like..

It's always great to do a movie that you find is entertaining, but also can give some sort of political or social message..

You do these movies, you give it out to the world and you really have no idea how people are going to react to you..

There is no reason why challenging themes and engaging stories have to be mutually exclusive - in fact, each can fuel the other..

I don't think movies can ever be too intense, but people have to understand why you're showing them the things you are showing them..