After making a big splash at Sundance several years ago with his hysterical short Windowbreaker, the incredibly prolific and versatile Tze Chun, who in the five years since graduating from Columbia’s undergrad Film Studies program in 02′ has made a whopping 12 low budget short films, will be back in Park City this year with his debut feature, Children of Invention. A feature length version of Windowbreaker, it follows two young Asian children living illegally in a model apartment who are left to fend for themselves when their hardworking mother disappears. We caught up with Tze (pronounced “Z”) to discuss his adoration for inappropriately long Charlie Kaufman interviews, his desire to adapt portions of Virginia Woolf and in what capacity Richard Kern and Britney Spear might become friends.

What films and TV shows have you watched recently?

Milk, Synecdoche, New York, Quantum of Solace, Revolutionary Road, Dawn of the Dead, Something Like Happiness, The Wire, Little Britain, Slumdog Millionaire.

Which ones, if any, had any lasting significance for you? Why?

I loved Synecdoche, New York.  I didn’t want it to end.  I think the film’s critics are mistaking unexpected construction and idiosyncrasy for messiness.  As a double feature, watch the film and then listen to Kaufman’s two-and-a-half hour interview with WIRED Magazine, in which Air’s “Sexy Boy” plays in the background for a surprising amount of those two-and-a-half hours.

The Wire.  Self-explanatory.

Dawn of the Dead.  The acting is bad, the zombies look fake, but it doesn’t matter.  It’s as true a commentary on our culture as anything I’ve seen. I watch it once a month.  Also, zombies in a mall, are you fucking kidding me?  How can you not love this movie?

How do your viewing habits effect your work as a film director?

Hard to tell.  I watch a lot of movies, so hopefully it helps?  When I go into production, though, I usually take a little movies break.

What have you been reading lately?

Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
A Free Life by Ha Jin
The Emperor and the Wolf by Stuart Galbraith
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware
The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

What would be your ideal literary adaptation? Why?

The Iliad/Odyssey, but with the Gods involved.  Or, the Bible, without God involved.  Also, To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf.  I just want to film the “Time Passes” section to see if I could pull it off.

What are some books you’ve always wanted to read that you haven’t gotten around to?

War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, all the big Russian books.

What’s been coming out of your stereo recently?

Q Tip, Cat Power, Black 47

Is music an essential part of your process for conceiving and writing films?

Not as much as other filmmakers.  I do listen to music while I write, but a lot of times it’s just to have something in the background.  For me it’s more an essential part of editing.

What would be your ideal pairing for director and musician for a concern film? Why?

Richard Kern and Britney Spears.  Kern practically invented Trangressive Cinema, where dangerous, psycho-sexual emotions bubbled quickly to the surface and become violence.  Need I say more?