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What films or television shows have you seen recently?

I have developed an almost unhealthy addiction to Family Guy. I think it looks like there is some interesting TV out there these days. I haven’t had the opportunity to tune in as much as I would like. I have a 2 1/2 month old baby girl, and I sort of watch her like television.

Which ones stuck with you and why?

Frozen River stuck with me. I thought it was incredibly authentic and managed to have great momentum and suspense. I loved the complexity of those characters. Nice to see a great female anti-hero. Diving Bell and the Butterfly stuck with me. It was so stylistically fearless, and I saw it after I had finished my film. I appreciated the specificity, not to mention the courage of subject matter.

Does your interest in them have anything to do with your own work as a filmmaker? How do the films that you think of as “influences” affect your own style and preoccupations as a filmmaker?

I suppose it is really a mosaic of influences. I think that I am probably affected in one way or another by everything I see. I love films that give permission to create outside the box, in all genres. I think that the script really leads the way in terms of style. My next project is vastly different from the first, and I will probably be inspired by vastly different things than I was on The Guitar. Once you take a project on you sort of start to see the world through the filter of that subject matter. I like films that accomplish their task, whether it is Mel Brooks or Bergman.

How often do you read fiction? Do you wish you read more?

I tend to read fiction when I am promising myself that I wont “do” anything. I really wish I read more. I have a backlog of scripts right now, and I tend to feel guilty if I read anything else when I have the time.

What would be your ideal literary adaptation and why?

I am actually in the process of pursuing the rights to a book I have wanted for a long time. Last I heard the stipulation was that I wasn’t a “first time filmmaker”. I’m not anymore, so I am going for it. I’m too superstitious to say which book.

What are you listening to recently?

Bedtime with The Beatles, Pink Floyd Lullabys. My niece just sent me Ray LaMontagne, which I have been liking. Thank god for the youngins. They keep me a little more current.

I’m involved in a project about Eva Cassidy so I have been listening to her a lot. I am also listening to a composer named George Antheil for another project called Face Value that I am attached to. I think I need to do more listening for pleasure.

If you could collaborate with one musician on a film, who would it be and why?

Tom Waits. He has a great sense of story telling, and character. There is a musical film that I have been helping out with, and I will beg him at some point to take a look at it.

What would be the ideal pairing of filmmaker and musician for a concert film?

Amy Redford and Tom Waits

I think Fantasia hit the nail on the head. Great for kids, but also didn’t underestimate their intelligence.

I think some great things could be done in documentary format. Looking at the reactions to Obama’s election around the world begged for something weighty to be played My first classical exposure was Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. I think that would be a good pairing of image and music.