I've always had a philosophy that position doesn't define power. Impact defines power. What impact are you making on people? What impact are you making on business?

I think that the CEO is responsible for setting the vision, for articulating the mission, and for building a team of powerful evangelists that share that mission and that passion, because no one person can do anything by themselves.

Imagining what the possibilities are versus what is right in front of me has been the second biggest factor in defining my career.

We all work really hard, and we do it because we're passionate. We don't do it because we're being rated. However, we'd all be remiss if we didn't think that some kind of recognition for efforts and accomplishments didn't make you feel good.

As a child, I was fortunate enough to be close to family members who were - and still are - great storytellers. I was a gullible country boy from Rocky Mount, Virginia, and I believed every folktale they told me, no matter how fantastic.

We zero in on family as a theme because it makes the movies emotionally available to a universal audience.

My father, Dines Pontoppidan, belonged to an old family of clergymen and was himself a minister.

Family is very important to me. People often ask me how I managed to stay grounded and sane, having started as a child star and growing up in the industry, and really, it's God. But it's also my family and God in my family.