SAM LEVINSON

Sobriety has a way of allowing a person to begin to realize that the things that you do have consequences for the people that love you.

I don't really plan too much ahead when I write, because otherwise, I get kind of bored.

When 60 - 70 percent of all interpersonal conversations and relationships exist through text messaging or social media, it's hard to get advice from a parent who didn't grow up in that world.

I always wanted to write and direct films for as long as I can remember.

And the nature of split screen is a disconnect: It's a line between two characters, two images, two realities.

So I think it's important to just keep in mind that the work doesn't end when the scene ends. You want to check on someone to make sure everyone's good, and also create an environment where everyone is rooting for one another.

I was never interested in acting on film or in television, but I was always more inclined to writing and directing, and the exploration of character.

I was very sensitive, so when sensitivity has no place to go, it's often turned into anger or frustration.

The way that I deal with actors as a director is I just talk to them forever before we even arrive on set.

I don't even like getting my picture taken because I feel terrible about the way I look. I'm so self-conscious about things.

If you keep your heart open you can meet people who change your life.

I don't want to make a comfortable film. I'm not interested in that. I'm not interested in answering people's questions; I'm interested in posing questions. I'm interested in sparking a conversation between two people about what something means. That's enough for me, as a writer and as a director.

For me, there's far too many close-ups in film. They're a television technique.

I studied method acting for four years and I'm a big believer in the idea that it's not about the actual experience itself. You don't have to go through exactly what this character has gone through.

Do I think that, when we're teaching a book at school, should we go through a myriad list of trigger warnings? No. But I understand why people desire it.

If you look at 'Network' or any kind of satire, it's fundamentally unemotional in some ways.

I tend not to approach things intellectually at first. Maybe after the fact i can look at it and see ultimately what it's doing. I start with the characters and their inner lives.

I don't really outline. I just kind of know where I'm going in my head, so I'll write and discover it for myself. Or I'll just write an entire episode and throw it out because I land on an idea and realize that's where I should jump off from.

To put it simply, I'm not interested in making comfortable films, and I don't want to crush the audience's imagination. I want them to feel like they might have missed something.

I feel very strongly as a writer and as a director it is not my job to crush the audience's imagination.

Anything can be taken out of context and anything you say or do is not necessarily an accurate reflection of who you are in your totality. There are small moments of your life that when taken into account with the rest of your life start to paint a picture.

Sometimes you can just have a dialogue with an actor beforehand and shape the performance then, but other actors need more guidance on the set.

But we're not this one stupid thing we said three years ago, or ten years ago, or even last week. We seem to judge people as if they are.

I'm writing, I'm directing, I'm editing, I'm mixing, I'm showrunning. There is a certain point where it's like, the work is the work.

I can't wake up every day and not thank Sundance. They're a great beacon of light for any independent film. Just to have a film that you made shown on a screen for an audience in a theater is beyond me, so I owe them everything in the world.