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I think that Christians who have an interest in filmmaking need to deepen their love for cinema. To be honest, that's what I think has been missing historically from the Christians who want to succeed in the Hollywood industry.

I'm not sure that I would have become a Christian if I had continued to live in Hollywood because the notion wouldn't have occurred to me.

I realized there was very little in Hollywood I would ever feel comfortable doing. If I kept one foot there and one foot in my Christianity, I would never grow.

I've never hidden my Christianity in Hollywood, and I've been handled respectfully because I handle the issue and other people respectfully.

The cinema has done more for my spiritual life than the church. My ideas of fame, success and beauty all originate from the big screen. Whereas Christian religion is retreating everywhere and losing more and more influence; film has filled the vacuum and supports us with myths and action-controlling images.

I think it's difficult to be a Christian anywhere, at least to be a committed Christian - I think that demands a lot from a person no matter their field of work, and certainly working in Hollywood is no exception.

When I was hired to write and direct a movie, my Christian duty suddenly became quite clear: My primary duty as a Christian in Hollywood is to do my job well.

The system of Christian celebrity was not a good space for me, and it was brutal on my kids - my son in college was frequently confronted by people railing against me as a heretic.

I've seen a lot of good things and a lot of the bad of what Hollywood can bring. At the end of the day, I've found that when you try and fit in, that's a way to go crazy; you kind of lose yourself. I'm sometimes the different one at the table, but I don't care.