I've wanted to direct for a long time, but it had to be a story I wanted to tell. The writer's job is to find the story that he should tell.

In a cement park across the street is this giant sculpture. It is a giant umbrella frame lying on its side. It's green. Stand under it, during a rainstorm, you'll still get wet - that's why it's art.

People are usually pretty hungry after a funeral. I guess it's because we all realize that time is running out and we better eat all we can. Please don't mention that to my mother.

I feel like there's a certain kind of laughter missing in the world.

I don't want to write my life. I live my life. I want to make up a new world.

I want to write stories that don't help you escape life, but embrace life.

There is nothing more depressing than toast that no one eats.

People love conversation, and movies are conversations, and an audience has to participate; it has to fill in some blanks.

I spent so many years trying to become an actor, trying to be a person that I wasn't.

I want to make accessible movies for bright people, but I don't want to play games and be coy.

The bigger the budget, the less an audience is trusted, and that's the difference between a big-budget film and a small-budget film.

I stared at him (Dionysus). "You're...you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a wood nymph-

the value of intellectuals is neither their intellect nor the value of their intellect but the value of what they use their intellect to do

If a composer suffers from loss of sleep and his sleeplessness induces him to turn out masterpieces, what a profitable loss it is!

That is the wearisome part of business - there is no peace, no sense of certain, permanent achievement, no stability. The unexpected, and usually the awful, is forever happening.

The girl had hoped for fog, but the gods ignored her prayers as gods so often did.

Nature gives all, without reservation, and loses nothing; man or woman, grasping all, loses everything.

I can see that in retrospect but I guess I've always had such an identity crisis when it comes to other people's understanding of me.

Those who give hoping to be rewarded with honor are not giving, they are bargaining.

It is impossible to have progress without conscience

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn’t find any.