When I was going to film school, before film school, my hero was David Lynch.
The Marvel experience was particularly wrenching because I was sort of given absolute freedom while we were shooting, and then in post, it turned into a different movie.
There's a natural human compulsion to chase after freedom and then to actually hand it over as fast as possible and get away from it.
Compared to TV, 'Palookaville' was restriction-free, except we had no money and no time.
When you direct a movie that makes no money whatsoever, there is no rush to your door for the next one.
I've been sort of spoiled on the TV end because HBO feels like a small institution making independent movies. There's respect for the director's contribution in a way that mainstream television doesn't really reflect, I don't think.
'Game of Thrones' was the first fantasy thing I've done, and like a lot of people who enjoy the show watching it, I didn't expect to respond to that world, but when I started doing it, I really started to love it, started to realize that some of the things I'm naturally drawn to.
I had been trying to make movies, but they were really hard to get made. TV wound up, by surprise, a much more fulfilling place to work. That said, I've always been drawn to make movies.
I have this thing for anything Italian.
