I grew up with a lot of fairy tales. And they had an essence of darkness to them.

I read every screenplay that was being sent to the other directors. None were being sent to me, but I was reading what others were choosing and what the best writers were writing.

Trying to ground everything in reality was the most important thing to me.

To me, casting is all about finding a character within the actor off the screen as much as on the screen.

Our story is a 'once upon a time', but it's not a 'happy ever after'.

Once you know the world you know how your character fits into it.

I'm influenced by a lot of filmmakers; I like English filmmakers because I feel a kin to them.

I went to America with a very specific idea of what I wanted to do.

I think you can get away with being a bit more political in science fiction.

I think that 'Halo' is a hard property because they don't need to make a film. They make far more money out of the games so why risk?

I think it's possible to make a blockbuster that is actually emotional. They don't need to be mutually exclusive.

A little care and a dash of creativity can transform the simplest items into great expressions of love.

You can stop a raging forest fire, a herd of stampeding buffalo or even a runaway freight train, but you can’t stop a good man".

The truth is far from you, so you know you got to lie. Then you're all the time defending what you can never justify.

As the writer you are the puppet-master and can control everything. Believe me, that is a whole lot of fun because it ain't something that's going to be happening very often in real life!

Dispel the cold, bounteously replenishing the hearth with logs.

I like to be right. I try not to miss the big ideas, forget the little ones, and try to get them right. End of job description.

Gratitude, like love, is never a dependable international emotion.

You know, whatever happens between the two of us that's created when we come together as actors is not something I think we can explain.

Jack and Jill ran up the hill, both for a little fun. Jack's plan was deception while Jill sought affection. And Jack wouldn't quit till he won.

I have failed in finding parasites in mosquitoes fed on malaria patients, but perhaps I am not using the proper kind of mosquito.