Jean-Marc Vallee

When you hear a solo piano, there's a solitude about just one instrument playing. It can be beautiful; it can be sad.

It's tough to work with kids. Kids are animals!

I'm a writer and director, and I like to do that, but for some reason, it's become part of the industry and part of the job to go, 'Alright, let's talk about it!'

I think we give too much importance to artists talking about the art and the film and the books and the plays and the music - it's done; the material is there. But we talk about it because it's part of the game. I'm comfortable with it.

I have two sons, and at 16, they were into Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and a lot of British rock.

I was attached to 'Sharp Objects' before 'Big Little Lies,' actually.

'Sharp Objects' was scary, unknown territory for me. I wouldn't pick this kind of material to direct if you just gave me the book. Amy Adams was the force that drove me in.

I was supposed to do only one or two episodes of 'Big Little Lies,' but I realized I couldn't just step away.

Directing on a 90-day schedule, whether for a TV series or a feature film, it's crazy; it's a marathon.

I love to offer a playlist to the world, almost like being a deejay.

You get to become a kid again when you work with kids. They do crazy stuff.

I was born in 1963. So the '70s were my teenage years. As a teenager, I was into rock and roll - Bowie, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, even more progressive music like Genesis, and I was into a lot of British rock and roll. But I loved also American rock and roll. CCR, Jimmie Hendrix, The Doors, Patty Smith, and Bob Dylan.

Rock was my thing. It influences me and moves me, and it's music that gives me ideas or wings to fly and to make films.

Whether it's in America, Quebec, or France, if I can tell a story that takes me out of my comfort zone, then I'm surfing.

I'm Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Adrenaline makes me change.

Filmmaking is so heavy: there are so many people and trucks and teamsters and costume people and hair people and makeup people. I try to make it light and as simple as possible. It's great for actors. It puts the story up front. It's not about shots and dollies and lighting and sets.

I'm such a music geek, a music freak. I wake up in the morning, I press play.

You tell me what you listen to, and I'll tell you who you are.

Adam Scott sings like a bird... He's so bad. He's so bad.

I love actors, and I love projects that give them space and room, and I aim for these projects where the characters are that important.

Trust the acting.

I had written 'Cafe de Flore' with 'Stairway to Heaven' in mind.

As a director, try to be humble and not to overdo it, not overcoverage and over-covering the scene.

It can be a machine. The machine tries to make money and forget about the heart and the art. Hollywood is more about making money.

I'm from the 'less is more' school. I had to be in the 'more is more' zone with 'Dallas Buyers Club', so I was out of my comfort zone, but I had to trust that.