I love the casting process. It's a cliché but I think it's the most important part of the process. I really enjoy it too. I love putting that jigsaw puzzle of people together.

To see great actors bring it all to life us exhilerating

You can have levity in the film because real people look for levity in their lives.

The first time when you can really get a sense of what the movie is going to look and feel like is when you're in a casting room and seeing it.

I don't want to redo what I've [just done]. I don't want to retread old ground.

I'd like to make all different kinds of movies. I don't think it would make sense though for my second film to walk straight into a musical even though I'd like to.

If God did not intend for us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?

I get hit on so much it's not normal. I didn't realize so many men liked redheads.

We live in such extreme times that I think we all have a responsibility to be aware of what's happening and talk about it.

Imagining what it is like to be someone other than yourself is at the core of our humanity. It is the essence of compassion, and it is the beginning of morality.

Never regret something, because at one point everything you did was exactly what you wanted to do. And sometimes that's the hardest thing to realize.

Our trials are supposed to turn us toward God, but we whine and complain and wish someone would turn down the fire so we could have our old life back the way it was.

Everybody makes mistakes. You have to be careful when you make your mistakes. Now is not a good time to make a mistake.

The good and bad are all tangled up together. American popular music is loved around the world because of its African rhythm. But that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for slavery.

Never forget that you are one of a kind. Never forget that if there weren't any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn't be here in the first place.

And if you are a rose, I am rose-shadow.