"For Mr. Stiller “Greenberg” captures a central fact of Los Angeles life. “There’s an emptiness out there that can be healthy and also very tough,” he said. “It forces you to look at yourself — you don’t have the distractions of the city to go out and pick up on everyone else’s energy. In a good way that can feed you. But to wake up in the morning and have this quiet and emptiness, you have to deal with where you’re at. That’s the Greenberg effect and that can be a little scary."