Peter Berg

“For me, concussion response is pure common sense. We can all probably handle a few mild concussions. I have had at least three, and despite my detractors' opinions, I am mentally and physically fine.”

“I've been a big believer in musicians turned actor, going back to Sinatra winning the Oscar for 'From Here To Eternity.' David Bowie in 'Man Who Fell to Earth,' Kris Kristofferson's been great in a bunch of films. Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey, I thought was great in 'Precious.'”

“I'm a huge fan of the Navy. My father was a Naval historian, and I've been studying Naval battles forever.”

“I did not want 'Battleship' to be perceived as an American war film. I wanted to do everything I could to make the film accessible to a global audience. It felt like bringing an alien component to the film would help take the American jingoism out of it.”

“The SEALs rarely call the Taliban 'terrorists' because they respect them as worthy opponents.”

“Michael Mann's always been one of my heroes.”

“People know I love to shoot action and that I'm not afraid of emotion.”

“I don't go to a lot of other directors' sets; directors don't come to mine. Directors are all very cordial with each other, but they're not necessarily friendly.”

“I'm a patriot. I admire our military, their character, code of honor, belief systems.”

“The more you learn about the science of boxing, the more appreciation you have for man's ability to think and perform in violent situations, and that's what interests me in film.”

“Sweating the small stuff is important in boxing and life. On a movie, we have production assistants who're 18 and 19 years old. If someone asks you for a cup of coffee, and you bring them a cup of coffee that's cold, I make a big deal of that. I make a really, really big deal of that. You have to pay attention to details.”

“I wanted to do a naval film and I flirted with different ideas, most of which ended up being too intense. So when the idea of 'Battleship' was first suggested, I was instantly drawn to the challenge - could I invent a movie around the idea of five ships fighting five ships?”

“If you're a 50-year-old guy, and you're sitting around the house with - you know, and just getting fatter, feeling sorry for yourself, get up and move your body and see what it does to your life and to your mind and to your happiness and to your energy levels. And I get all that from boxing.”

“I somewhere along the way became fascinated with exploring characters who are willing to put themselves into violent situations, whether it's football, hockey, boxing, being a cop, being a soldier. There's not a lot of people who are willing to put themselves into those situations.”

“Life is, and should be, a little hard. Getting punched in the face or getting an occasional concussion will probably happen to us all at some point in our lives. We can handle it.”