Let's not kid ourselves here, robots already run most of our world. We'll be their butlers soon enough.
My parents moved to American Samoa when I was three or four years old. My dad was principal of a high school there. It was idyllic for a kid. I had a whole island for a backyard. I lived there until I was eight years old and we moved to Santa Barbara.
I'm a gentleman, if nothing else. It's taken me years to become one, but finally I have a sense of propriety.
I've been pretty lucky - or slothful - in that I've never been a "career builder," I take the jobs that come along that feel right, and that's left me fairly open to all genres, really. But with "Caprica," the complex, dark and very smart script was the draw.
I'm not sure who's right, who's wrong, but it doesn't matter. Sometimes you just have to do what you're told. That's who we are!
I have a love/hate relationship with just about all technology in my life. My first typewriter in particular. I had a helluva time putting new ribbon on it.
When you're in a movie, they treat you like you're four years old and give you whatever you want. On some level it's really wonderful and gratifying, but on another level it's rather disturbing. I'm sure you've spoken to movie stars and wondered: How do these people survive without babysitters?
I'm interested in doing movies I wouldn't normally be interested in doing.
My perfect day is constantly changing. Right now, it would be to lie around in a hammock reading with a portable phone and a table of food next to it. I would spend all day there. And that's all that I can possibly come up with on the spur of the moment.
It's hard not to get a big head in the film industry, there are people on a set paid to cater to your every need, from the minute you arrive until you go home. It's kind of strange, but not unpleasant.
It seems I have a hard time being attracted to someone unless I respect what they do on some level. Otherwise, I would feel disdain for them. Which is not always pleasant in a relationship. Sometimes it's fun though.
I know a lot of writers who would much rather be writing the Great American Novel, but they've got bills to pay and alimony, and so they take a job at a less-than-reputable paper. You know, you do what you gotta do.
I don't want to see the zipper in the back of the monster suit. Like everybody else who goes to the movies, I want to believe the monster is real.
I think violence, cynicism, brutality and fashion are the staples of our diet. I think in the grand history of story-telling, going back to people sitting around fires, the dark side of human nature has always been very important. Movies are part of that tradition.
TV, in particular cable channels, has assumed the role of independent film.
If Plato is a fine red wine, then Aristotle is a dry martini.
Things happen to everybody in the course of a lifetime. Relationships end, people die, tragedy befalls everyone. So everyone has this wealth of experience, and the older you are the more you have to draw on.
Recently I was directing an episode of 'Glee' and I lost my cell phone - and I didn't have time to buy a new one for three weeks. Well, the first few days I was anxious as hell, suffered the delirium tremens, didn't think I could make it through, etc. Then something kind of curious happened - I began to feel great.
But I've always felt that the less you know about an actor's personal life, the more you can get involved in the story in which he's playing a character. And I don't like to see movies where you know about everything that happens behind the scenes. I can't engage in the story if I know what's going on in the actor's head.
I've been directing more and more the last few years, I find it an enjoyable challenge.
To this day I over prepare. I draw storyboards for every scene - chicken scratches so crude that they amuse and horrify the crew. I send out shot lists, act out the scenes, and search for a theme that I can relate to. It's my favorite time of the process.
I think I'm wealthy. I make a good living for what I do. Well, it depends. If I'm doing an independent film I'm making no money - probably losing money. But if I'm doing a studio film, I'll make a decent wage. I can live for a year without working.
I studied piano for many years, and I still play. I'm a complete amateur, and I wouldn't consider myself very good at all, but I enjoy it.
I consider myself a very lucky man indeed.
I have several dogs and several cats who aren't really mine. In fact, they think that I am theirs. I'd like to have some goats and chickens, but I travel around too much.
