America is a country founded on guns. It’s in our DNA. It’s very strange but I feel better having a gun. I really do. I don’t feel safe, I don’t feel the house is completely safe, if I don’t have one hidden somewhere. That’s my thinking, right or wrong.
So much of making movies is about discovery on the day, what you’re figuring out. If you know everything going in, then it’s not worth doing – it’s already done. I’m interested in finding people who I think have a voice – and a very specific voice.
I’ve always believed happiness is overrated, you know? It’s those difficult times that inform the next wonderful time, and it’s a series of trade-offs, of events, of wins and losses.
I had a friend who worked at a hospice, and he said people in their final moments don’t discuss their successes, awards or what books they wrote or what they accomplished. They only talk about their loves and their regrets, and I think that’s very telling.
What’s valuable to me has become clearer as I’ve got older. To me, it’s about the value of your time and your day and the value of the people you spend it with.
I phoned my grandparents and my grandfather said ‘We saw your movie.’ ‘Which one?’ I said. He shouted ‘Betty, what was the name of that movie I didn’t like?
