I think if something resonates, even if it's surreal, it's because it is relatable and I think that that's a core issue for me.

You are what you love. Not what loves you.

I think of myself as a guy who tries to write screenplays and now has tried to direct one. Anything more than that is meaningless and it gets in the way of being a real human being.

I do like escapism. I like going to the movies on a Friday night and seeing something fun.

The only honest and generous thing for me to do is to give people myself. That's all I've got as an artist, so I want to do that in an unflinching way.

The passionate ones, the ones who go after what they want, may not get what they want, but they remain vital, in touch with themselves, and when they lie on their deathbeds, they have few regrets.

Everything I've written is personal - it's the only way I know how to write.

You and I share the same DNA. Is there anything more lonely than that?

Why do I fall in love with every woman I see that shows me the least bit of attention?

Clementine: This is it, Joel. It's going to be gone soon. Joel: I know. Clementine: What do we do? Joel: Enjoy it.

There are nearly thirteen million people in the world. None of those people is an extra. They're all the leads of their own stories. They have to be given their due.

Great artists are a little too gifted to be bound by boxes and labels, and in saying that, the label 'artist' is to be used lightly.

I didn't know anything about fashion. I couldn't believe it when I got here. I don't know how I'm sitting here right now speaking English.

I've been to the Titanic in a yellow submarine and the North Pole in a Russian nuclear ice breaker.

When I was a little kid, I realized that if you say any word over and over fast enough, it loses all it's meaning.

Until humanity manages to sort itself out and get a co-ordinated view about the planet, it's going to get worse and worse.

Living by example - that's always a better teacher than trying to preach.

Hospitality is the key to new ideas, new friends, new possibilities. What we take into our lives changes us. Without new people and new ideas, we are imprisoned inside ourselves.

Opportunity often goes begging. Luck, never.

I just don’t want to get hit, that’s all. I want to win without getting hit.

That's what the American odyssey is really about: Leaving home. Leaving home and coming home, and trying to understand the difference.