I've always been sort of entrepreneurial. ... I felt that I needed to learn how to write and produce so I could write my own thing and not worry about Hollywood finding me.

Saying slavery was the cause of secession isn't politically correct; it's correct correct.

You know that sadness and rage you feel about your money? That's the way some of us feel about people.

The Oscar nominations are out, and they're so white a grand jury has decided not to indict them.

I love writing family stories.

When I was a kid, I was very much interested in magic and science. They fueled interest in one another.

Even though you're in charge you're not completely in ownership. You know, the audience takes a huge ownership of your show.

There's a lot of magic in science, so to speak.

I've always felt like I had a guardian angel in some of those ways.

I like to get things going. I get so many different ideas, whether it's film, TV, whatever.

When I was born there were still different drinking fountains you had to drink out of.

You never know what will save you.

Tough times are opportunities to prove to yourself that your mind is tougher than all challenges.

Black holes are the last vestige of civilizations obsessed with tinkering.

Mothers have need of sharp eyes and discreet tongueswhen they have girls to manage

I have this amazing life.

As an audience member, I like the sound of something that's been written - I like it to sound written. And then, of course, you can't do it without the musicians who can play it.

From a personal point of view, I'd like to interview my great-grandparents because I barely knew them, and I know next to nothing about my family beyond 100 years.

Our office corner has really become an area where the Tea party movement congregates and the rhetoric is really heated. Not just the calls but the e-mails, the slurs.

Alas! Our dancing days are no more. We wish, however, all those who have a relish for so agreeable and innocent an amusement all the pleasure the season will afford them.

[Angels] aid us in our personal mission. We have to learn to listen, for if we block the angels out, they become only the fairy beings of dreams and pleasant stories.