A long time ago, I stopped trying to look at projects as genre exercises.

My brother's a blast to direct; he's one of those great characters who brings so much to every scene he's in, and we're pals.

I have the career that I want.

I was never a comic book guy. I like the movies when I see them, especially the origin stories. I never felt like I could be on the set, at 3 o'clock in the morning, tired, with 10 important decisions to make, and know, intuitively, what the story needs. For me, I'd be copycatting and not inventing. I've never said yes to one.

I really feel like you shouldn't make a movie as a kind of exercise. You have to be all the way in.

I like to make all kinds of shows and films, whether it's fantasy or big-popcorn, big-screen escapism or dramas based on real events.

Entertainment that is fact-based is, I think, where people really learn the most, because they're leaning in, their curiosity is stimulated and they're being entertained.

I want every movie to have a big audience. I'm always hopeful that it's going to be discovered, and audiences are fantastic that way because every once in a while they surprise you. I didn't think 'Beautiful Mind' was going to be that kind of global success.

Anytime you really take a close look at people who are dealing with the aging process, you're going to have a complicated reaction to what you're seeing and feeling. If you're in the middle of it, those emotions are going to be quadrupled. It's immediate, it's relatable, so it's good human drama.

If you think about it, for almost any moment, any mood that you might be in, there's probably a Beatles song that will address that mood, that feeling, that set of emotions. I don't know that that can be said about very many groups, if any.

Anything that stimulates the public's imagination about the nobility and the importance of space exploration is something that I'm very excited to be a part of.

I'd rather risk confusion and stay creatively fresh and stimulated. I feel like I'm growing and challenging myself all the time.

The first movie I did that was inspired by true events was 'Apollo 13.'

There are all these great TV series; you can watch all these hours and hours of shows and ideas, but there's still something great about a movie that unfolds in a couple of hours, and you have the complete experience.

I just don't think of myself as an actor much at all, so I don't lust after any particular roles.

I don't vacation on the water. I'm a pale-skinned redhead; I get sunburned out there. I'm a little frightened of the ocean, in fact. But I just know there's great drama out there.

As a director, I've wanted to have adventure in my life, creative adventure. I think it's partly because I grew up, basically from age six to 26, mostly on television series where the producers find something that works and then do it over and over and over again.

I never saw The Beatles live. I was very aware of them, though.

Early in the second season of 'The Andy Griffith Show,' I ventured a suggestion for a line change to make it sound more 'like the way a kid would say it.' I was just 7 years old. But my idea was accepted, and I remember standing frozen, thrilled at what this moment represented to me.

Why fight technology at all? The audience is always going to tell you what they like best. And you, as a storyteller, as a communicator, are going to be required to adjust to that.

Outside of his loving family, I'm sure that Andy Griffith was Don Knotts' greatest fan.

I've always been interested in the Depression as this very dramatic pivotal period in American history.

I've acted with all types, I've directed all types. What you want to understand, as a director, is what actors have to offer. They'll get at it however they get at it. If you can understand that, you can get your work done.

In the research I did for 'Apollo,' there was never a moment's hesitation by anyone that we would do anything other than save these guys, until every resource, every ounce of energy was spent. And I'm very proud of that aspect of our culture.