He considered it a shame when people couldn't grasp the infinite-a failure not just of imagination but of simple vision.

Life, he thought, is a blatant act of imagination.

What business does memory have with time?

He wished he could reassure his mother: a man wants many things in life, but when one of them is also the right thing, he would be a fool not to choose it.

We live in a world of banal miracles.

He found himself inhabiting the vast, empty plateau where most people live, between boredom and contentment.

Two kinds of people always lie about their ages: actresses and Latin American pitchers.

Always speak first to the toughest person in the room.

The movie I was working on, "Cleopatra", it's about how destructive a force love can be. But maybe that's what every story is about.

And while his mother's lecture had gone over his seven-year-old head, Pasquale saw now what she meant--how much easier life would be if our intentions and our desires could always be aligned.

I guess I forgot we were going out tonight.""We always go out on Fridays.""It's Thursday, Alvis.""You are so tied to routine.

Novels and gardens, " she says. "I like to move from plot to plot.

Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.

The boy who walks in the light

Having a lean and hungry look was frowned upon in my Italian neighborhood where a girl was considered too skinny if she could make her knees touch.

I don't think a songwriter should lose their mojo. In my situation, I'm one of those artists that lasts over a long period rather than have your moment and your moment is gone.

We all have a dark side. Most of us go through life avoiding direct confrontation with that aspect of ourselves, which I call the shadow self. Theres a reason why. It carries a great deal of energy.

Fantasy and science fiction are where my brain lives.

The way to prevent war is to bend every energy toward preventing it, not to proceed by the dubious indirection of preparing for it.

Before digital, I spent thirty years shooting color transparencies, which are very unforgiving of exposure. A half stop can make or break a good photo on slide film.

It is hard to overstate the debt we owe to the men and women of genius.