As a kid, I was just writing scripts and taking whatever film classes I could in college.

I remember moving out to L.A. straight after college and just starting to try to write scripts and trying to get stuff off the ground.

Before 'Whiplash,' I'd had a string of failed scripts. I'd pour my blood, sweat and tears into them, and no one would like them.

I was a kid living in New Jersey, who - I'd wanted to make movies since I was a little kid, so that came before music for me. But I started playing drums just as a hobby, and I wasn't even really into jazz that much.

When someone is playing drums, they aren't actually moving around a space; they're just moving their arms and limbs. They're stuck behind the drum set. So to film someone playing the drums and make it feel as kinetic as a car chase or a shootout or a battle scene was the challenge.

Nothing is guaranteed to last, so you should just enjoy it as it happens.