I Can't Really Envision A Time When

[action's] A Western Thing. We Think Of The Hero Going Into Battle, Rebelling Against A Government Or An Oppressor, But [in Kundun] Action Is Nonaction Or What Appears To Be Nonaction. That's A Hard Concept For Western Audiences. . . . We Wanted To Show A Kind Of Moral Action, A Spiritual Action, An Emotional Action. Some People Will Pick Up On It; Some Won't.

What The Dalai Lama Had To Resolve Was Whether To Stay In Tibet Or Leave. He Wanted To Stay, But Staying Would Have Meant The Total Destruction Of Tibet, Because He Would Have Died And That Would Have Ripped The Heart Out Of His People.

As A Kid I Watched The Academy Awards On Television And Always Wanted One - Or Several - Like One Of My Favorite Directions, John Ford. He Won Six. On The Other Hand, Orson Welles, Who's On The Top Of My List, Didn't Win Any. Alfred Hitchcock Didn't Win Any. Howard Hawks Didn't Win Any.

A Lot Of What I'm Obsessed With Is The Relationship And The Dynamics Between People And The Family, Particularly Brothers And Their Father.

Mean Streets Dealt With The American Dream, According To Which Everybody Thinks They Can Get Rich Quick, And If They Can't Do It By Legal Means Then They'll Do It By Illegal Ones.