Quotes

[on Sean Penn in 'At Close Range'] I had this little shed out I front of my house, and Sean went to the store and bought heavy weights, brought them back and put them in the shed. And I remember he was so surprised, once he committed himself to that, how his body changed so dramatically, in a short period of time. But he had to eat an awful lot too, and that was hard for him, funnily enough.

[on 'At Close Range'] Sean was quite clearly the driving force in getting 'At Close Range' made. He was extremely hot, and it was going to be financed if he agreed to it. And he told the powers-that-be that I was the one he wanted to direct it. They clearly wanted Sean, didn't necessarily want me at all, and Sean said, "I'll do it if you do it with this guy". And they ultimately accepted me as director.

Directing feature films is a strenuous exercise. You're getting up at five in the morning and going at it for 12 or more hours, day after day. It's physically exhausting, and it's tempting to make the safe, conservative choices to get through the day more easily. However, over the course of several films, I've learned that the threat to good filmmaking is not the danger of getting out of control; the threat to creativity is to be too much in control.

Fear (1996) is a film about extremes. Moments of conventional calm are followed by shocking revelations, as the characters' passions, either sexual passions or anger or love, drive them to do things that are incredibly emotionally eventful. What matters to me is the psychological ferocity behind their actions.