“You really have to bring your game and know what you want to do.”

The power lies in who can say no the most. But, real power, though, lies in the opportunity to say yes.

This cross-section of people they just happen to bring in to decide the fate of mankind on television is really scary.

People are ready to do either, and the content has to work on both.

I know that the vitriol and hyperbole that exists online, and the anonymity, can be deadly because it’s cloaked in negativity and it’s brutal sometimes.

More and more people are watching entertainment on their phones.

And then, there are the producers and the writers and the director on the other side of the glass, and what they want.

You have to be malleable to what’s going to work, and you have to stay in the framework of the context.

I wasn’t really a big comic book guy, growing up. I watched cartoons, but the choices were a whole heck of a lot slimmer.

If you ever go behind the glass and look at the focus groups that are deciding what you’re gonna watch, it’s scary.

People ultimately get what they deserve on TV.

I think people ultimately realize that, but not when they’re in the spotlight.

Nine times out of ten, I’m trying to meet someone else’s expectations, whether it’s the director or the writer or the animator

But there are people who are way better at it than I am.

What people end up watching is what the advertising end up glomming onto and promoting.

The involvement of people at home is just broadening things.

The thing is, when you put a button in someone’s hand and give them the power of yes or no is a shorter word. People just say no.

I would love to get great performances from actors as a director, because that’s what I’m always looking for, a director that’s going to help me go places I’ve never been before.

Directors, producers can make you look good or make you look bad.

My father was a film-maker. He always said he wanted to go like Humphrey Jennings, the legendary director who stepped backwards over a cliff while framing a better shot.

You realize as a director that when you are cutting a film, you want to have alternatives. You need color and choices. You don’t want four takes that are identical.

In the normal life of an actor or director, running around, there’s not much time to go to church. But there’s other ways to be spiritual, too.

How many movies do you see when you can say this director really knew what film he wanted to make? I can count them on the fingers of one hand.

On set I keep myself to myself; I’d rather the director speak up. I’m not gonna direct a younger actor. I think the power of example works best, actually.

The time I’m not spending with my kid has to be worth it, so when I sat down with my agents after I was ready to go back to work, I told them: It’s all about the directors.