Movies that are consciously life-affirming are to be consciously avoided.

One of the surest signs of the Philistine is his reverence for the superior tastes of those who put him down.

Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.

The first prerogative of an artist in any medium is to make a fool of himself.

Irresponsibility is part of the pleasure of all art; it is the part the schools cannot recognize.

If I never saw another fistfight or car chase or Doberman attack, I wouldn't have any feeling of loss. And that goes for Rottweilers, too.

The critical task is necessarily comparative, and younger people do not truly know what is new

When a picture can't make it on its own, the producers pull in a 'controversial' message - the way a couple whose marriage is falling apart decide to have a baby.

What this generation was bred to at television's knees was not wisdom, but cynicism.

If there is any test that can be applied to movies, it's that the good ones never make you feel virtuous.

Protagonists are always loners, almost by definition.

Cherish the others in your life. Cherish your freedom to be yourself. Cherish your freedom to choose who you want to be, what you want to do next.

Eyes are a deaf man’s ears. Ears are a blind man’s eyes.

Some are born great some achieve greatness and some hire public relations officers.

Tribe follows tribe, nations follow nations like the tides of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless.

We sing because we're happy and happy because we sing

I've been through Hell with some of the members of my old band, and Hell is highly stressful.

I am as sure as I live that nothing is so near to me as God. God is nearer to me than I am to myself; my existence depends on the nearness and the presence of God.

To a society that inarticulately and thoughtlessly takes itself to be divine, Hegel says, Yes, we are indeed divine, and philosophy can show how this is both possible and necessary.

If I had to give you one piece of advice it would be this: don't be intimidated by other people's opinions.

People in New York love having roof parties.