My big philosophy is: Try and work with good people, because the process is your life. That's going to be really, really hard. I'm glad I learned the lesson, 'Failure is OK.

It's harder and harder to make a well-done romantic comedy these days because the conventions have been so played out.

I had amazing stuff happen right off the top. I thought this was how it worked. Hollywood is awesome! Cut to three years later: What happened?

I'm a believer in paying your dues.

It's rare to find women who have that balance between work and life, who are really psyched for another woman's success.

I learned a world from each / one whom I loved

Even though we are peripheral to the slavery, our action is necessary to overcome a horrific evil.

...khalepa ta kala...It means that that which is worth having--the good, fine, honorable, and noble things--are difficult to attain...It means something else as well...It means 'beauty is harsh'.

No more distressing moment can ever face a British government than that which requires it to come to a hard, fast and specific decision.

I could never, ever have an abortion.

Nill illigitamus carborundum

Because, if one is writing novels today, concentrating on the beauty of the prose is right up there with concentrating on your semi-colons, for wasted effort.

Game of Thrones' is an amazing show, and I have no problem speaking of the virtues of HBO.

Sometimes you need to take a departure from what you do to something that's slightly different in order to get inspiration.

Wherever there is excessive wealth, there is also in the train of it excessive poverty.