I learned from my parents the idea that, if you are devoted enough and you want to study something enough, you can really teach yourself anything.

A whole film is just about arriving at a moment where you hopefully transfer some feeling to the audience.

I believe in what science fiction can do, which is it can set up simple rules that it has to follow to try to illuminate something about the present that is somewhat invisible to us.

One of my favorite stories growing up was 'A Wrinkle in Time'. I loved that book.

When I'm sitting writing, I know that something works if I've made myself cry, or laugh, or have a visceral emotion.

Human beings are flawed and complicated and messy.

I'm still a bit of a romantic and an idealist and hopelessly naive.

Writing so that I can act became a way of having not more control over my future but not having to wait for permission. You can choose yourself. Hmm, who should play this part? I nominate me!

Life and death and birth is this fantastic mystery that we cannot fully grasp.

I think what's so attractive about acting is that you get to live several lifetimes in one.

People go to the cinema to be moved; they wanna laugh, they wanna cry, they wanna feel something deeply, especially if they're not feeling deeply in their own lives.

We all know writing is a reclusive, lonely endeavour. It just is. But nobody writes alone.

Roam abroad in the world, and take thy fill of its enjoyments before the day shall come when thou must quit it for good.

Breathtaking beauty is just over the barrier that you always fear.

People tend to overuse any idea or concept that delivers an emotional kick.

All great art is the work of the whole living creature, body and soul, and chiefly of the soul.

You move forward through knowledge. You prevail through knowledge. I love the word 'prevail.' Prevail!

Read the great stuff, but read the stuff that isn't so great, too. Great stuff is very discouraging. If you read only Beckett and Chekhov, you'll go away and only deliver telegrams for Western Union.

You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership.

Michelle and Barack [Obama] epitomize what my father set the stage for - they epitomize global community organizing. I'm a global child, I was raised a global child, and he's a global child.

Obviously I can't rely on my group, but I don't want to rely on a laptop just to play back some backing tracks, that's not the way I do things really.