Director

I take very seriously that challenge of trying to do genre films - but elevated genre films.

I love working with ensemble groups of actors.

I'm actually a humanist, believe it or not, and I believe even when people are corrupted, even when they've gone to the dark side, they are still human beings.

I love 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner' and '2001.'

'The Road' reminds me of Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath.'

What I like is finding new angles on genres.

It's the murkiness of humanity that I find endlessly fascinating.

I always try and find a place for Guy Pearce. The great thing about him is he's so versatile, and I wouldn't work with an actor that much if it weren't for the fact that he had so much versatility.

I love strong women.

Everyone has a family, even if they're at war or fallen apart. It's the closest initial bond, and there's a sort of primal element to that. Your primary relationships are formed out of family.

What irritates me about sci-fi is that it got hijacked by video games and also became so high-concept it was all about ideas and gadgets and technology and nothing about the human experience.

I've realized I've become a bit reactive to each film I do. After 'The Road,' I was desperate to do something that had color and warmth to it and a stronger sense of community.

We talk about that a lot: how, when you're under pressure, it brings out the best and the worst in people.

When you're working with an ensemble, I think you really need different energies because you don't have much time with each character to make them feel real. You want strong personalities that are very different.

It's such an intense thing to make a film.

I have always thought of films as stories for the world.

Bands are actively seeking more film involvement - because the days of recording albums and MTV and even touring, to some extent, are gone.

There are so many tricks and so much eye candy in cinema. What I love about the classicism of genre is that there's a discipline. I think it's a healthy thing to resist all that candy.

I like to keep a calm set.

When you have a major movie star, and then they're surrounded by local extras, it takes me out or makes me more conscious of what's going on, as opposed to losing myself in the movie.