I rarely return to characters. My characters, at least most of them, are much more a part of that superorganism that is the story than separate and independent creatures.

Before I started to make films, I didn't give much thought to the way the characters were physically positioned in the story world.

I always have a story in my head that needs to be written, or at least I think I do. But I usually can't find the time to write it.

My stories are very compact. I want them to say the most complex things in the simplest way.

Sometimes, when you are in a really constrained situation, it makes you more focused about what you want to say and where you're heading. The most beautiful love poems that were ever written are sonnets, composed in a very constraining form.

Most of the Jewish writer friends I have are American, and I feel closer to them because they're always obsessed with one issue - identity: what does it mean to be an American Jew?