I'm completely aware of the fact that I'm a control freak.

My older sister was at the cusp of new wave, and I had older brothers from my father's first marriage who were rock 'n' roll guys, so I was exposed to a lot of popular culture.

Screenwriting is like ironing. You move forward a little bit and go back and smooth things out.

I'll rebel against powers and principalities, all the time. Always, I will.

Acting is the hardest job in the entire world. By far. Harder than ditch digging.

It's a gamble you take, the risk of alienating an audience. But there's a theory - sometimes it's better to confuse them for five minutes than let them get ahead of you for 10 seconds.

My dad was this sort of avant-garde guy who did all kinds of weird things. He was a true original and anybody who met him never forgot him.

I am always looking for that nuance, that moment of truth, and you can't really do that fast.

My writing has a lot to do with who I am, and what my life is like, and my relationships to people.

You write who you are. But you also cheat, and youwrite what you want to be. It's embarrasing to be the guy who madethe movie, knowing you're not exactly who you want to be.

Film school is a complete con, because the information is there if you want it.

To profoundly understand a baby, you must first be a mother.

I don't subscribe to the school of thought that as a feature film producer I shouldn't dabble in television, web content, or even comic books...

I just happen to like ordinary things. When I paint them, I don't try to make them extraordinary. I just try to paint them ordinary-ordina ry.

Certainly any president - Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative - should keep an open mind until they get the briefing.

Did your great-grandfather have any children?

She had nothing to do but to forgive herself and be happier than ever.

My highest aspirations as a songwriter are that people would sing my songs or know songs I've written sometime in as far into the future as I feel comfortable seeing.

Enos Cabell started out here with the Astros, and before that he was with the Orioles.

Occasional war is one of the rigorous instruments in the hands of Providence to give tone to the character of nations.

If you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.