I Just Wanted To Be An Ordinary

My Working-class Italian-american Parents Didn't Go To School, There Were No Books In The House.

I Always Tell The Younger Filmmakers And Students: Do It Like The Painters Used To...study They Old Masters. Enrich Your Palette. Expand The Canvas. There's Always So Much More To Learn.

And So You Try Your Best. Sometimes You Go In With One Thing, With One Desire And Come Out With Something Else. In The Case Of 'the Aviator' It Was To Create A Hollywood Spectacle, But By About The Second Or Third Week Of Shooting You Just Want To Literally Survive It. Because Don't Forget, I Also Go Through The Editing Process Too, And When The Film Is Released I Have To Talk About It. So, I Take All Of That Very Seriously.

I Love Studying Ancient History And Seeing How Empires Rise And Fall, Sowing The Seeds Of Their Own Destruction.

Always Stay Open To Surprise.