If I wasn't hard, I wouldn't be alive. If I couldn't ever be gentle, I wouldn't deserve to be alive.

When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it stays split.

Down these mean streets a man must go who is neither tarnished nor afraid

He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.

Some are able and humane men and some are low-grade individuals with the morals of a goat, the artistic integrity of a slot machine, and the manners of a floorwalker with delusions of grandeur.

It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.

There are two kinds of truth; The truth that lights the way and the truth that warms the heart. The fist of these is science and the second is art.

It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.

The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of that little out and still preserve an effect of leisure and natural movement

At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution, once revealed, must seem to be inevitable.

Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside an advertising agency.

Humanity can be divided into madmen and cowards. My personal tragedy is in being born into a world where sanity is held to be a character flaw.

I've stopped drinking, but only while I'm asleep.

When the heroes go off the stage the clowns come on.

Physical bravery is an animal instinct moral bravery is much higher and truer courage.

I'm really interested in photography, like every other human being.

We take life too seriously: the office of wit is to correct this tendency.

The fun thing about doing origin stories is you are introducing the audience to characters.

It's better to be cautious and play it safe than regret pushing him too hard. We're supposed to get another read on it soon.

Autumn resumes the land, ruffles the woods with smoky wings, entangles them.

Armageddon is not a foreign policy.