"I have seen so few films in which the sex felt really respected by the filmmaker. Hollywood too often shies away from it or makes adolescent jokes about it. ... Sex is only connected to the negative because people are scared of it." "There is such a reluctance to address sex as an inherent part of the human experience in this country. ... The true perversion to me is crushing it and hiding it." "Unconsciously, it may have been a prophylactic against having to use stars. It was a way to avoid waiting four to five months for them to read or not read the script. Their agents are not saying 'Read it.' I didn't have to run through the street finding the star. . . . To me it's not worth it. I'd rather not do the movie." [on using stars in his movies]