“I’ve directed independent film.”

Filmmaking is such a collaborative piece of art that you can’t look to one person – you couldn’t look to me, you couldn’t say, ‘Because Vin’s in it, it’s this or that.’ It’s really all of us coming together for that period of time to try and make magic.

You get a timeless cool card in New York.

Of course, I don’t act in an extreme fashion in my day to day life. I don’t think any of us live do. I think we all have that reserve somewhere and we pull upon it when we need it.

I grew up with all kinds of people.

It’s really bizarre because no one knows this, but elephants have killed more animal trainers than any other animal.

I was the oldest of the children in my family. I had to do a lot of diaper-changing and lunch-making. I was taking my little sister to ballet, picking up my brother, sort of being a super-nanny.

I started acting when I was seven-years-old. By the time I was 17 I would say: “If I’m not a star by the time I’m 18, I’ll get out of the business.”

I used to feel guilty about owning a console.

That’s what I love. I love thinking about the film, the project and committing myself as much as possible.

The whole year I was in LA I got into telemarketing and learned how to make money. Five years later that skill helped me make my first film.

I’m not disciplined enough to be a writer consistently. I write when I have to.

Deal-making goes on with any job.

I love women more than anything.

Choosing the car you drive is like choosing your wardrobe, maybe even more important.

A person in my position has to restrain himself.

I haven’t had that many weird encounters with fans, thank God.

I didn’t just see myself as a film director here [in Life And Nothing More], but also as an observer of people who had been condemned to death.

People have curiosity, they have intelligence, they have interest in understanding their peers. But producers and directors of cinema have decided that the seats in the theaters have been made to transform people’s minds to lazy minds.

I do think that we are sometimes, as directors, guilty of portraying or asking our actors to behave in certain ways that are perhaps not very morally acceptable. I’m not the only one.

Directors don’t always create, they can also destroy with too many demands.

Therefore, when you see the end result, it’s difficult to see who’s the director, me or them. Ultimately, everything belongs to the actors – we just manage the situation.

Close-Up is a very particular film in my oeuvre. It’s a film that was made in a very particular way; mainly because I didn’t really have the time to think about how to go about making the film.

I am still very surprised that I managed to make that film [Close Up]. When I actually look back on that film, I really feel that I was not the director but instead just a member of the audience.

I have a lot of respect for people who are great at ad-libbing, and for writers and directors who are able to create a scene in which that works.