My father had this mythological sense of the old New York, and he used to tell me stories about these old gangs, particularly the Forty Thieves in the Fourth Ward.

There's no such thing as simple. Simple is hard.

You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it.

Every scene is a lesson. Every shot is a school. Let the learning continue.

As a child I had terrible asthma.

More than ninety percent of directing a picture is the right casting

Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this.

I love movies - it's my whole life, and that's it.

Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out.

Always stay open to surprise.

I’m not interested in a realistic look, not at all, not ever. Every film should look the way I feel.

Why couldn't everyone stay young forever? If not on the outside, then just on the inside, where no one ever got too old to be optimistic.

You sleep with people all the time that you hate.

We rely more on enthusiasm than actual skill. Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically and people will like it more.

History is the record of encounters between character and circumstance.

It is nice to have valid competition; it pushes you to do better.

In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy, and abortion.

Time's waters will not ebb nor stay.

You never know what will be expected of you, so you just go out and play.

I've had your tears with mine, and you've had mine with yours. I think that's more intimate even than a kiss.

A user interface should be so simple that a beginner in an emergency can understand it within ten seconds.