I Had Wanted To Do A Comedy.

There Is A Common Theme, Though, In The Stories I Have Told, Which Are Usually Associations Of Characters Or Families That Are Formed Outside Of A Family Circle.

I Think Over The Course Of 14 Films, I'm Returning To A Place That I Know To Tell A Story... The Same Way Spielberg Returned To Fantasy, Lucas Returned To The 'star Wars' Saga, Or John Ford Returned To The Western.

There's A Lot Of Films That Have Relatively Rigid Road Maps Because They Have A Script And Others That Are Less Rigid Because They Have Less Of A Script, Like 'elephant.' The Road Map Becomes More Interpretive, Maybe, Than One With A Detailed Script. Editing-wise, They All Have Their Problems.

I Don't Think American Independent Films Have Ever Really Been Particularly Experimental, Except For The Original Guys From The '60s Who Were Huge Influences, Like Stan Brakhage, Robert Breer, And Stan Van Der Beek. They Were The True Independents.

My Art Teacher In Junior High Was A Very Out Gay Man And A Mentor To Me.