At HBO, they seem to be well-informed. They make what I think are really quite mature films.

Everyone has seen photographs of Mexicans wearing those big sombreros. When you come to Mexico, the astonishing thing is, nobody wears these hats at all.

When I was 24 I went to Nigeria and it was such a culture shock, growing up in Australia and suddenly being the only white man in this unit full of black men.

When the music and the characters are flawlessly synchronized, the opera develops an emotional force that movies and plays cannot match.

In Australia, they set up a special fund to kick films off. It was quite an enlightened sort of move. You could go to this government bureau with scripts and and get finance for films.

There were movies that always made me want to be a director. You see brilliant scenes and the way the emotions were handled. I thought, I'd really like to do that.

With a film, I do my best to understand the author's intentions and try to bring the characters to life.

Film is shot in fragments, and the same moments can be shot again and again until the director is satisfied.

The music of the most popular operas is so highly esteemed, it can stand endless revivals.

It's not enough to hit the notes. There is no point in the singers just standing there and sounding wonderful if they're not connecting with the characters they are portraying.

On stage, the audience watches from a fixed viewpoint and the director cannot retake something he doesn't like. It has to work straight through.

I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.

To tell you the truth, I'm something of an atheist.

Be not deceived God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.

Fill the cup, and fill the can: Have a rouse before the morn: Every moment dies a man, Every moment one is born.

Hip Hop has introduced us to a lot of genres that we probably wouldn't even listen to in our own homes from our parents.

Once someone gave me a picture and I wrote 'Do good in school.' I looked up and the guy was 78 years old

If you approach each new person you meet in a spirit of adventure, you will find yourself endlessly fascinated by the new channels of thought and experience and personality that you encounter.

One of these days... One of these days... Pow! Right in the kisser!

Genuine fearlessness arises with the confidence that we will be able to gather the inner resources to deal with any situation that comes our way.

It is a mistake to assume that the law should always enforce morality.