Creativity seems to be such a personal thing. But then, as a director, you have to work with a lot of different people and get them to do what you want. How do you relate to so many people at once?

When you work, you want a happy crew going down the road together. You need the ability to focus on things as a group. You need to concentrate on one thing at a time and not have a million different

What’s it like being on the set with you as director?

I hear stories about directors who scream at actors, or they trick them somehow to get a performance. And there are some people who try to run the whole business on fear. But I think this is such a joke—it’s pathetic and stupid at the same time.

When people are in fear, they don’t want to go to work. So many people today have that feeling.

I learned Transcendental Meditation recently, but I find it difficult to practice it on campus, where no one understands what I’m doing. Is it worth it?

We’re like lightbulbs. If bliss starts growing inside you, it’s like a light; it affects the environment.

If you go into a room where someone’s been having a big argument, it’s not so pleasant. You can feel it. Even if the argument’s over, you

I don’t see how a student dorm could be suitable for meditation. Don’t you need a special quiet place for that?

You can meditate anywhere. You can meditate in an airport, at work, anywhere you happen to be.

Usually, I meditate in the morning before breakfast, and in the evening before dinner. But when I’m shooting, I meditate before I go, and again at lunch. And if I haven’t meditated long

How real is all this talk about transcendental bliss? It might be just your own personal experience, something purely subjective, don't you think?

Scientifically, more and more is coming out to show that transcending is real and its benefits are real. By measuring EEG patterns in brain research, they can prove that someone is transcending; they can prove that the person is experiencing a fourth