“I like how collaborative and cult-like filmmaking is. It's really fami...” — Zal Batmanglij Quote

I like how collaborative and cult-like filmmaking is. It's really family-oriented, tribe-oriented.

The country gets so beat up in the media. It's worth remembering how much we love America.

At AFI, you make three cycle films your first year, and then you make a thesis film your second year, and I watched Darren Aronofsky's cycle films and was blown away - there was a young Lucy Liu, who was just part of that generation. And I just wanted to be part of that tradition.

It's funny how quickly human beings adapt.

The California tract houses are like the mundane meeting the mystical. Sometimes if you're driving at twilight, and you see those houses, and they're starting to light up, there's something so beautiful, so ethereal about the fact that they're all pretty similar, set against this desert landscape and the light just hitting them a certain way.

Texting isn't writing. It's not like letter writing. Texting is short scriptwriting. It's a collaborative soap opera where nothing happens.

I can be collaborative, for instance, in situations where I go and study the artist's work before I start writing. Then I can at least try to write towards their style.

We need to incorporate fashion into every element and institution, whether it be through designer-lecture series, photography exhibitions, or collaborative efforts between artists and designers.

I believe in taking people away from their desks and making them feel collaborative and inspire one another instead of being siloed.