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What's amazing about 'White Heat' is that, even for its time, it's very truthful in the way it deals with violence.
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Bands are actively seeking more film involvement - because the days of recording albums and MTV and even touring, to some extent, are gone.
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I know the power of going to Mount St. Helens, and to see that level of devastation is quite something - the power of tsunamis, etc. But it's human cruelty, the base level of humanity, that scares me most.
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I am very keen to do a film that's female-led.
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I think the environment is the biggest threat mankind has ever faced.
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I personally found 'Avatar' - the blue people, to me, looked like painted art from the seventies. It didn't have the realism as, say, the robotic machines.
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In Australia in the '70s, there was a real embrace of different genres. And then George Miller did 'Mad Max' by the end of the '70s, the beginning of the '80s. And it was really thriving.
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When you have a major movie star, and then they're surrounded by local extras, it takes me out or makes me more conscious of what's going on, as opposed to losing myself in the movie.
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I like to keep a calm set.
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It's great to make strong, powerful films, but in terms of people wanting to finance them, it's also very difficult.
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We talk about that a lot: how, when you're under pressure, it brings out the best and the worst in people.
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I like to do commercials that are more than just flogging a product. It needs to have something to say. It's always an opportunity for a director to say something substantial and interesting.
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Everyone has a family, even if they're at war or fallen apart. It's the closest initial bond, and there's a sort of primal element to that. Your primary relationships are formed out of family.
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What irritates me about sci-fi is that it got hijacked by video games and also became so high-concept it was all about ideas and gadgets and technology and nothing about the human experience.
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It's such an intense thing to make a film.
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Basically, I frittered away the Nineties making pop videos and being pretty self-indulgent.
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I love 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner' and '2001.'
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I love working with ensemble groups of actors.
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What I like is finding new angles on genres.
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I consider myself a humanist. Even if I do very dark worlds, I try to make those characters real humans as opposed to just cartoons.
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Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter - I steer away from them. They're alienating us socially as well as bringing us together.
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It's the murkiness of humanity that I find endlessly fascinating.
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I always try and find a place for Guy Pearce. The great thing about him is he's so versatile, and I wouldn't work with an actor that much if it weren't for the fact that he had so much versatility.
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I've realized I've become a bit reactive to each film I do. After 'The Road,' I was desperate to do something that had color and warmth to it and a stronger sense of community.