Everybody's a mad scientist, and life is their lab. We're all trying to experiment to find a way to live, to solve problems, to fend off madness and chaos.

As a filmmaker, I ask questions but don't have answers. Moviemaking is a philosophical exploration. I invite the audience to come on the journey and discover what they think and feel.

Everybody's a mad scientist, and life is their lab.

All stereotypes turn out to be true. This is a horrifying thing about life. All those things you fought against as a youth: you begin to realize they're stereotypes because they're true.

I can't imagine a life without humor. Especially if you have an existential understanding of life, you must acknowledge the absurdity of it all.

My understanding of life is very existential. I think that we are our bodies. There's nothing else, and when we die, that's it. No afterlife.

I like to laze around. I think that's a huge part of creativity. You have to let your mind relax and then another part of your brain suddenly connects with the solution you're trying to find.

Censors tend to do what only psychotics do: they confuse reality with illusion.

When I am creating art, I have absolutely no social responsibility. It's like dreaming.

Consciousness is the original sin: consciousness of the inevitability of our death.

The artist's duty to himself is a combination of immense responsibility and immense irresponsibility. I think those two interlock.

What you repeatedly do carries the clay to mold you into who you eventually become. Don’t despise any tiny minute of the day

Chase and I are in this for the long haul. I've stood before him and he's stood before me. And this is what it's all come down to: Chase Gartner is my future, my forever. And I, I am his.

Many people would be more truthful were it not for their uncontrollable desire to talk.

Optimists are usually wrong. But all the great change in history, positive change, was done by optimists.

A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.

Voyeurism is a director's job description. It's an artist's, too.

Love often leads to healing, while fear and isolation breed illness. And our biggest fear is abandonment.

John Kerry told Tom Ridge he was too busy to receive a Homeland Security briefing. I thought that was odd, since you're not supposed to ignore terrorist threats until after you become president.

What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.

Mistreating your drum set is just one step below child abuse