Quotes

I wouldn't mind being a divine dictator and having a stab at running China. You know the concept that if everyone in China jumps up and down at the same time it'd start a tidal wave that'd destroy America? I'd phone the U.S. President and say 'We're all on the great wall of China and we're going to jump off unless you send us the girls from The O.C. (2003)'.

[on Cemetery Junction (2010)] It's in line with the films me and Ricky like watching - Diner (1982), Saturday Night Fever (1977), Stand by Me (1986). Films about small lives but big emotions. We're not interested in zany comedy movies or doing science fiction satires. We made the kind of film we want to see. We also love a Bruce Springsteen song called Thunder Road, which has got a line about 'it's a town full of losers and we're pulling out of here to win'. We wanted to capture that emotion.

When I was a teenager I met a comedian who I admired and he was very rude to me. That's why when people come up to me I try not to be rude. I don't want to name who he is but it really put me off watching his stuff since.

My father was a plumber and I remember him coming home when I was 16 and telling me he hated his job and I shouldn't do it. I'm sure there are people who love being plumbers or working in offices and that's great - there's lots of jobs which might be considered mundane which people take great satisfaction from doing. We're presenting characters who have jobs they don't enjoy and that aren't fulfilling them and ask if they're going to do anything about it. It's not interesting to do a story about happy people in a happy place. Extras (2005) was about people in showbusiness who weren't happy doing that either.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do with a review, it's a bit late, they should have got in touch before we made it. I read reviews when The Office (2001) first happened but it doesn't matter if everyone loves it or everyone hates it, there's nothing I can do about it. If you're sitting in an edit suite trying to make the end of a film work you're not thinking: 'I wonder what the guy from The Telegraph's going to think.' You're working on instinct.