When I moved to Los Angeles, I wrote spec screenplays. I was really poor, and I thought I was just gonna do this for a while to make a little money so I could write novels. I thought movies were a second-class art form. I condescended to it - I didn't know enough to know it was really gonna be hard.

It's tricky to ask a filmmaker to explain his own work; usually we're the least qualified to make sense of what we've done, unfortunately, because of the tunnel vision required to create anything over four years.

The movie business has been in enormous flux. It's always changing, and you've got to scramble. The Internet came along and devoured the DVD backend of the movie business. Suddenly you're watching dollars turn into nickels, and that's interesting to me.

Life serves up satire. Unfortunately. Or fortunately. I don't know. You have to reel it in to drama.

First and foremost, it's paramount for young child to learn how to swim, and the best place for that to happen is at primary school if they've got the facilities.

If you want a good education, go to private schools. If you can't afford it, tough luck. You can go to the public school.

In the digital era, everyone is a student. Degrees given by formal education are not a value currency anymore. Technical skills and an individual’s ability to apply the outcomes are important, irrespective of age."

When it was time for parent-teacher conferences, I remember that I was always embarrassed about what my parents would hear about me!