We live in a disposable society. It's easier to throw things out than to fix them. We even give it a name - we call it recycling.
Relationships in general make people a bit nervous. It's about trust. Do I trust you enough to go there?
In a relationship you have to open yourself up.
I make movies I want to see.
I will say that the idea of a woman being deceptive came from that original discussion with critics and reporters about if woman could do that kind of thing. Evelyn, herself, grew out of the discussions about how capable women are of deceit and lying and manipulation.
Everyone has a story.
I wanted to make these people real, not like they were in a painting. Like these are people who don't know they're in a period movie. Those concerns are incredibly immediate.
My best male friend is my best friend until he crosses me. We're all protective of the self.
I would be more frightened as a writer if people thought my movies were like science fiction.
But for me, it feels like a natural extension of what I've been doing: exploring relationships. Here you have two relationships and we can explore how difficult it is for people to be together.
Everybody has the ability to be manipulative, to be hateful and deceitful.
With In the Company of Men, the misogynist label stuck early and firmly. In the end, it probably did hurt the film a bit, because getting women into the theaters was difficult.
I think the more the actor lets you know what he thinks of the character, the less the audience cares - like a comedian who laughs at his own jokes.
People have perhaps gotten to the point where for the most part movies are a just bit of escape.
I'm more than open to hope, but I think men and women have a difficult time dealing with each other and often take the low road.
You start as an audience member and create a world you're interested in, and then you move into the telling of those stories, bringing what has interested you as an audience member.
I see bits and pieces of me in all the characters in my films.
People think my work is therapeutic. I don't see it that way. It's not like I'm saving money from a weekly therapy visit by writing down my life.
Just in the past few years - since I've been making movies, which isn't a very long time - you now have a culture that is fascinated and informed about the box office in a way that sometimes filmmakers weren't even.
Everyone has a little bit of Howard and Chad in them. I think there's Christine in all men as well.
