I love Carpenter, I love Craven - these are all the classics - the Romeros of the world, but I think the biggest influence on me as a storyteller and as a filmmaker is actually Steven Spielberg. I love that even though Steven isn't known for being a horror director, he started out his career making scary movies.
I've always loved action movies. The first films I fell in love with were 'Star Wars' and Steven Spielberg films.
'Death Sentence' really is a throwback to the '70s style revenge drama with moments of action. It's like a contemporary 'Death Wish' with a much more thriller style storyline, but the action scenes I shot very much in the style of '70s films like 'The French Connection.'
It kind of irks me that the studio films still have to be so safe even though they don't really cost as much to make.
When I'm making a big movie, I miss and appreciate all the subtleties that come with making a smaller film that is more intimate, more personal.
I'm a big fan of suspense and tension filmmaking, and that was my goal with 'The Conjuring.'
If you don't do the suspense correctly, then your jump scares are not going to work.
I always say it's very difficult when you're tackling something like 'Spider-Man' or 'Batman' that has been done so many times before.
Having such a diverse cast and crew is what makes the 'Fast & Furious' films so unique to all the other studio tent pole films that just have a very singular look to them.
'Insidious 2' is a direct continuation of the first movie. We literally pick up from where we left off at the end of the first film. And whereas the first movie is a twist on the haunted house genre, the second movie is a twist on the classic domestic thriller.
It's pretty scary to know how quickly time flies.
It's good to be finally able to afford food for a change. It's good to move on from potatoes and tin soup.
I think before 'Saw' came along, there really wasn't a movie franchise that actually went out there and said, 'We're going to come out with one every year during Halloween and make that our trademark.'
I think that the first 'Saw' was really more of a psychological film about two people stuck in a room, and the traps and games that fans seem to embrace so much now were quite a small portion of the film.
To some degree, this re-release is to let people remember what the first 'Saw' film was, and let them know there was a time in the 'Saw' history where it wasn't all about blood and traps.
I kind of joke that creating franchises is a lot like directing pilot episodes of TV series. You set a look and feel and kind of pass it on.
A lot of these types of films - the vigilante or revenge drama - were so popular in the '70s because there was a feeling in the culture of loss of control.
I feel like, with most filmmakers of my generation, I like the over-the-top stuff. I like to be wacky and really in your face.
The thing that ultimately pushed me more towards 'Aquaman' is I love the possibility of creating a whole new world. I've always wanted to do a world creation story and visually create this amazing, incredible, magical kingdom.
I'm a big John Woo fan.
