Quotes

[on the people he wants to work with] I like them to be complete filmmakers.. It's a more organic process which I enjoy. My preferred way is to be open to have happy accidents - and to find them - and let the actors roam freely and not restrict them so much technically.

There are a lot of people who would like to continue to shoot on film. It's not a problem of someone manufacturing it. There's lack of demand and there are just two labs left in L.A. It becomes very expensive to ship and process. I think we're seeing the end of it.. Cameras are getting sharper and its almost like the technology is moving in one direction. And we as storytellers are trying to hold it back because we don't want it to go 4K and 8K and deal with actors that we have to show in a nice light. But I think we'll find a way to balance these things.

Alexander [Payne] said he wanted the actors [in Nebraska (2013)] to play with the frame where we show them in a single shot. We'd show how small and lost they are in this world and the loneliness and isolation - all these themes we have in this film: the lack of communication. When people talk they rarely have eye contact, they stare at the TV.

I grew up in Munich and was very influenced by Paris, Texas (1984). I grew up watching black-and white films and John Wayne westerns. We have all these images and a fascination, not just what it stands for, but visually.

[on his first Oscar nomination for Nebraska (2013)] It's quite a thrilling ride. I didn't really expect it. I knew - because of the black and white - that we had found a lot of fans. I had people like Haskell Wexler calling me. The talk was positive and I'm happy so many people responded to it, especially for a small film like that and with a modest budget.