Each one of my movies becomes easier to get off the ground.

What is filmmaking but groping in the dark?

If you were falling in love and you could go back in time and relive a day and see the banal things you did that you'd forgotten about, you'd weep, looking at that day.

I like actors who, when you see them on screen, you sense a person, not just an actor.

I think a badly crafted, great idea for a new film with a ton of spelling mistakes is just 100 times better than a well-crafted stale script.

There is an audience out there for literate films - slower, more observant, more human films, and they deserve to be made.

You just never know when you're living in a golden age.

The biggest fear I have is to die with regrets, and of course that will come true.

A pitfall of making a comedy with a studio-and it's also an American cultural thing-is that I get tired of being encouraged to go always for laughs.

I think cynicism lasts. Sentimentality ages, dates quickly.

If you have your movies so that everyone understands everything, I think that's probably not a very good movie.

It's an unfortunate fact that I'm easily discouraged. But the fortunate truth is I'm stubborn as hell and near impossible to sway in my resolve.

I loved filming in Morocco it was amazing. I'd never been anywhere like that. The culture was phenomenal. I was so blown away by the spirit of that country.

I am definitely a west London girl.

You don't carry in your countenance a letter of recommendation.

It's not fun to see myself in the mirror.

Never accept other people's limited perceptions of you. Define yourself. You can do anything.

Adam and Eve derived the fullness of joy and bliss from their contemplation of all the animal creatures.

A true king is neither husband nor father; he considers his throne and nothing else.

I've never swayed from who I am. People have seen me on television, and they know what I'm like and they know what I do and they respect me for what I do. They know that I'm huggy and kissy.

It takes a week to do a sitcom in Hollywood. I do a show a day in my studio, three or four shows a week.