You can't really micro-manage. You'll never make the movie in 52 days, if you micro-manage. If you do that, you take the creativity away from people because people just really quickly become disinterested when they're always being told how to do it.

We have not looked at any particular movies [in creating War Horse], but again, it's hard not to see the similarities between those movies [because of those filmmakers' influence on the industry].

[Spielberg] surrounds himself with great crew members who are at the top of their game and know their stuff. He motivates us by liking what we do, and he doesn't get paralyzed by the process or by new ideas. He embraces them and uses them.

Very few people make exterior movies anymore. It's always action films driven by action and quick editing.

'Sugarland Express' was pretty amazing.

I do like 'Munich'.It's a really wonderful film. I mean, there's 'Schindler's List', there's 'Saving Private Ryan'. But 'Munich' - of all the other films, Munich would be the one that's really, really amazing storytelling.

[There, in War Horse] very little CGI. What happened there - because the horse was running very close to the trench, we had a rider. So in few instances, we had a rider dressed in a green suit. The rider would guide the horse through the frame, and through CGI [we removed] the rider. But that's about it.

It would be horrible to be micro-managed! I don't think directors can really micro-manage people. It's just impossible.

[ 'American Dream' ] probably will [go] somewhere in Europe. You get 3000 entries [to] Sundance, and how many movies get [screened]? So, I'm a realist. I'm very much realistic in terms of if this movie will be released in the States. Probably not.

There are films that are difficult. There are films that would actually affect your personal life because of the length of the production, how long [you're away] from the family.

Really fantastic film, 'Munich'. So yeah, if I would say, what's the most underappreciated film, I think 'Munich' would be the one.

These days, you'd probably shoot it in the daylight and manipulate it in the post. That's [how] most people would do it. [I did the same thing with] with 'Diving Bell and the Butterfly'. No CGI. It's all live photography. And I like that, it's very challenging and exciting to be able to do that.

'American Dream' is a small little movie made for under a million dollars. Totally independent feature.

I just directed another picture called 'American Dream' with Nick Stahl. Just finished shooting principal photography right before I started ['Lincoln'].

I like the ending of the movie [War Horse], simply because it's such a demanding scene emotionally, and yet [the look] is all done on camera. I like the work not to be manipulated digitally. And it's all done on camera [in that scene].