# Interviews

... don’t write what scares you, write what will change your life. And I took that as meaning: be vulnerable, tell your truth, even if it alters how people see you.

It’s scary, it’s dramatic, and it puts a lot of pressure on a campaign, but it also incentivizes people in a different way because they know you’ll lose everything.

“How do you guys write together and stay married?” ... the only arguments we have in our marriage are about the motivations of our character.

“Write something you care about, then find out why afterwards.”

You can be the best makeup artist in the world, but if you don't get along with people and can't read the trailer, the room, the atmosphere, the actor … If you don't have that, then you will never make it in the film business.

... desperation can kick in—you chase “what’s popular” rather than staying true to your creative vision.

It may start with our mother’s heartbeat, but when we enter the brutal reality of the world, we hear the cascading rhythms of human voices, outside world noises … and, if we’re lucky … some form of musical notes.

... as soon as you get your first one-star review, you have made it. I mean it ... Then, have a glass of wine, stick your tongue out and move on.

Consistently writing and producing your own work is the only thing you can control.

"You’ll find that so many people are willing to help you if you work hard and tell people what you want. We all had to start somewhere. You just need the confidence to speak up and make it happen."

... as I was suffocating in my dream, I saw a goldfish land in my palm. And then I woke up.

Film is like a tree in the forest. If nobody sees it, it doesn't really exist.

I wrote new scenes, and I acted in the film. I got shot in the chest twice, and survived both times, miraculously. So, I really saw how to make a movie.

If anybody ever reads about our business, I hope people take away that quality of life is the most important. You make enough to live and you get with good people. That's the important shit.

"Over time, I realized, you have to read between the lines."