I don't find myself lobbying for projects. Filmmakers almost always come to me.

In mainstream romantic comedies, I’m usually tearing my hair out. It’s just a devastatingly difficult genre for me.

If someone suddenly lost their director the day before shooting and wanted me to step in, I’d be willing to. But I’d do brain surgery the same way. I’m always up for something new.

I don’t generally find myself listening to the music of a film unless there’s something awfully wrong with it.

I almost never try to make the audience comfortable. I wouldn’t want that if I were in the audience.

The jarring change going from an urban environment to an extremely remote natural environment is extremely inspiring. It’s constantly stimulating, it’s like a slap in the face.

I don’t personally see my work as being dark. What interests me is a balance between light and dark.

I write music to please myself. Hopefully the director’s enjoying it too.

On Being John Malkovich and the cinema of the absurd, I do enjoy it. I wish there were more like it. The very fact that there can’t be more like it is one of the reasons it’s admirable.

A carefree quality is a whole aspect of life that I will never understand. I don’t think I have ever been carefree and can’t see the pleasure of it.