Christopher Rouse

When I left high school, my dad was directing a film, and I went to work for him as a P.A. There were two wonderful editors, Bud Isaacs and Bernie Balmuth, working on the project, and every chance I had, I would go to the editing room to watch and learn from them.

My father always told me that story was first and foremost. We would watch not just his films but a lot of classic American films. My father was a great David Lean fan, and David Lean's one of my favorite directors. We would discuss films endlessly.

If you can depict situations and explore life in a truthful way and explore areas of grey - because that's where the truth lives - and you can do that in an objective way and allow people to take from that what they will, I think it's a satisfying sweet spot with storytelling.