I think that it's not a bad thing to not be too versed in the vocabulary of cinema, because you start to think that certain things are allowed and not allowed.

The story [of Allied] stayed with me, like a stray dog outside the office, waiting.

I think that helps because there has been no formality of friendship, the politeness of friendship, so we can just work directly on the work that's ahead of us [with Tom Hardey].

If you've read something brilliant, it's good. It's good to look out the window and see what's going on in the world.

True stories are always good because they're so odd, and so unlikely.

In terms of how [Allied] looks, it's fantastic and much better than I had hoped because it's so lush and so beautifully executed.

It's always good to have a world that people don't know about - a world that hasn't yet been done. It's like treading on fresh snow. You're the first one there.

No screenplay is possible, unless you get some attachment from somebody who's going to get it made.

Sometimes you take something because it's an offer and it's big and it's good money and you have to absolutely respect that process, because it's not easier.

I've realized that the only thing I'm interested in is the performance. If the performance is right, then I'm happy. You offer up the dialogue and then the performance comes around.

There's lots of different ways of writing stuff and lots of different mindsets to have, but I think when it's your own creation, it's more pleasurable because you have total control.

If your heart is your home, you can be happy anywhere.

Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. They learn what to do and what to avoid.

A government which is composed of the middle class more nearly approximates to democracy than to oligarchy, and is the safest of the imperfect forms of government.

Love guides the stars towards each other, the world plan endures only through love.

Man is an imperceptible atom always trying to become one with God.

Violence toward women isn't cultural; it's criminal.

For me, hour-long drama was always the thing I felt the most comfortable doing, and I've played so many dramatic roles in the theater.

Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made.

The kind of event on a conveyor belt that causes a fire occurs in a variety of industrial environments, not uniquely in coal environments.

The role of the leader is to foster mutual respect and build a complementary team where each strength is made productive and each weakness irrelevant.