I put a lot of time and energy into studying the art of filmmaking, but I hadn't put a lot of energy or time into the art of learning how to manage people.

When I say I'm famous, I'm not kidding myself. I know my place in the celebrity kingdom - right at the bottom next to reality-show contestants, local politicians, and day-players on 'Law & Order.'

We've seen the worst that human beings are capable of. We've seen what happens when leaders abandon common decency in favor of rage and hate. Through the lens of history, the Holocaust happened yesterday, the civil rights movement was this morning, so we are not as out of the woods as we might have thought.

In documentaries, the process is that you film a lot of things, and out of what you've shot, something organically reveals itself, and there's a discovery process.

Imagination is the eye of the soul.

Burning Man is like one big giant art installation in the middle of starkly beautiful desert landscape, and the attendees are creative in the way they dress.

Regarding race or gender or sexuality, one of the great things about art and music is that they can provide people with very little else in common with a similar entry point for discussion, but the discussions still need to happen for life to get more interesting.

Big picture, it's amazing to create characters and see them brought to life in the art. And to love that art. But I especially enjoy writing a character with heightened powers that aren't especially useful to him.