I love letting actors improvise a scene. Sometimes that spontaneous flash of imagination brings you something infinitely more alive and effective than anything you could have written. Buscemi is one of those rare actors …

The Real Blonde is the only film I’ve made for a studio. The budget was higher, and so was the pressure to cast Stars in every role. The battle to cast Catherine Keener in …

When I was writing Living in Oblivion, the first and second acts came easily. But I struggled hard with the third. One day, I was expressing my frustration to my wife, Jane Gil. She …