Directing is like putting together a collage.

I did one sci-fi movie. I did 'Gattaca.' I liked 'Gattaca' because that was always the kind of science fiction I really dug, the non-action oriented sci-fi.

Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we'd never learn anything.

In New York, you've got Donald Trump, Woody Allen, a crack addict and a regular Joe, and they're all on the same subway car.

Read. It makes you more intelligent. It’s that simple. We all see the universe through the tiny keyhole of our own eyes, and every book is another keyhole from which you can gaze.

Success isn't measured by what you achieve, it's measured by the obstacles you overcome.

Don't you find it odd," she continued, "that when you're a kid, everyone, all the world, encourages you to follow your dreams. But when you're older, somehow they act offended if you even try.

I met a lot of famous people when I was about 24. And none of them seemed very appealing. And so I didn't know why I would struggle to be that kind of person.

There is no trick to writing a believable love story, a heartbreaking scene or real-sounding dialogue. All you need is to tell the truth. It’s always heartbreaking.

The older I get, the more I realize how rare it is to meet a kindred spirit.

I'm horrified to admit that I just love Salinger. I was devastated to find out that other people feel the same way.

There’s nothing wrong with an adult being a child, except whining like one.

The liberally educated person is one who is able to resist the easy and preferred answers, not because he is obstinate but because he knows others worthy of consideration.

I also have intense relationships with furniture... probably because we practically had none when I was growing up.

Women have gained access to the institutions, but not enough power to overhaul them.

I think if the joke is in good taste - it's a good joke.

I trust people to be human. Sometimes you do things that make amazing amounts of sense; sometimes you do things that don't make any sense whatsoever.

God says to man: 'Be thou thyself, and I shall be thine.'

I always start writing with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind.

I found out I'd been signing my name wrong. You know, like with the alphabet they teach you in preschool. But I think I've got it right now.

We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone-but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy.