I've been in plenty of situations where I thought the film would turn out one way or my performance would be looked at one way and it was an entirely different situation.

I have nothing against diamonds, or rubies or emeralds or sapphires. I do object when their acquisition is complicit in the debasement of children or the destruction of a country.

I think one of the privileges of being a filmmaker is the opportunity to remain a kind of perpetual student.

There is no reason why challenging themes and engaging stories have to be mutually exclusive - in fact, each can fuel the other.

It's always great to do a movie that you find is entertaining, but also can give some sort of political or social message.

I don't think movies can ever be too intense, but people have to understand why you're showing them the things you are showing them.

You do these movies, you give it out to the world and you really have no idea how people are going to react to you.

However much I may like to talk about or be interested in a more philosophical or moral agenda, [film] is, ultimately, about narrative. And it's about telling stories that are engaging and dramatic.

I never thought about that ever throughout the entire course of my career about choosing a specific role because it would make me seem more man-like.

There is a segment of the American population that has been excluded from the national myth, and that should be redressed.

People who have any kind of illness use humor as a type of coping.

My agent said, 'You aren't good enough for movies.' I said, 'You're fired.'

Winston Churchill could not definitely remember a time when his country had not been at war.

There is a price tag on human liberty. That price is the willingness to assume the responsibilities of being free men. Payment of this price is a personal matter with each of us.

I've been a documentary photographer for much longer than I have been a filmmaker.

The thoughts we choose to think are the tools we use to paint the canvas of our lives.

I want to lay up like that, to float unstructured, without ambition or anxiety. I want to inhabit my life like a porch.

The words loved me and I loved them in return.

The box is only temporary.