Growing up, movies were something my family and, later, my friends and I would stay up all night talking about. The movies I remember moved me and forced you to think about things that made you know yourself better.

The military has been actually remarkable at dealing with race, but gender is an issue.

There is no reason why challenging themes and engaging stories have to be mutually exclusive - in fact, each can fuel the other. As a filmmaker, I want to entertain people first and foremost. If out of that comes a greater awareness and understanding of a time or a circumstance, then the hope is that change can happen.

The issue of assault in the military is something that they've gone to great lengths to try to deal with - and have not entirely dealt with yet.

I have an incredibly dry sense of humor.

I really, really like 'Eastbound & Down.' It's one of the few things that makes me laugh. It's almost too funny to get an award.

My books are shelved in different places, depending on the bookstore. Sometimes they can be found in the Mystery section, sometimes in the Humor department, and occasionally even in the Literature aisle, which is somewhat astounding.

A good-humored wife who appreciates most, if not all, of my humor - her price is far above rubies, as the book of Proverbs doesn't quite say.