His current project, to be shot this summer, is a film that examines the life and mind of a 52-year old female serial killer.

What are your thoughts on classical Hollywood cinema?

I think all genres have the potential for being good, bad, or somewhere in between. Hollywood turns out some truly amazing films and some real stinkers. Of course when you look back through film history, many of the best films came from outside the Hollywood system but many came from it as well.

What inspires you?

Human behavior. I've always been intrigued by what causes people to think and act the way they do.

What makes a film good?

If it deals with realistic characters in real situations. When I watch a film where the good guys are totally good and the bad guys are totally bad and every decision is a clear cut example of right and wrong and it ends in a car chase or a shootout where the good guy barely defeats the bad guy, I get very bored.

Got any advice for breaking into the film industry?

Make films as often as possible.

In the past five years, computer and video technology has advanced astronomically making it feasible for practically anyone to be able to produce high quality videos.

I know of two high school students who just finished their first feature length film using equipment anyone can buy at a local electronics store.

Favorite directors or films?

I'm a big fan of Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, Oliver Stone, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese. Some of my favorite films are "Touch of Evil," "The Godfather," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Taxi Driver" and "Dr. Strangelove."

Who would you love to have in one of your movies?

Anyone who will work for food. Once I can actually afford the actors I want, I'd love to make a film with Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Jared Leto, Jodi Foster, Sean Penn (who is also a great director), and Robert DeNiro.

What's in your future?

Unfortunately my Magic Eight Ball keeps saying "Try Again Later" so it's hard to say. What I'd like is to continue teaching film and eventually start my own film school in the mountains of North Carolina.