Race and temperament go for much in influencing opinion.

Architecture is the printing-press of all ages, and gives a history of the state of the society in which it was erected, from the cromlech of the Druids to those toy-shops of royal bad taste

The influence of woman will ever be exercised directly in all good or evil. Give her, then, such light as she is capable of receiving.

The playful kitten, with its pretty little tigerish gambols, is infinitely more amusing than half the people one is obliged to live with in the world.

Amiability is very often a weakness, but the most unobjectionable one as a rule.

Vulgarity is setting store by the things which are seen.

When 'The Sound of Music' aired live on NBC, 18 million people were talking about theater the next day. That's incredible. 'Grease' felt like a chance for me to participate in that landscape.

The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.

Ultimately a historian has to put together a cohesive work. That doesn't mean that your curiosity is ever totally satisfied.

When anyone has the power to destroy the whole human race in a matter of hours, it becomes a moral issue. The church must speak out.

For an actor, playing one character and transitioning to a completely different one is a dream come true.

Innovation is very important to me, especially professionally. The alternative, standing pat, leads to complacency, rigidity and eventually failure.

I was kidnapped by literature at a young age and never wanted to be ransomed.

If the earth is fit for laughter then surely heaven is filled with it. Heaven is the birthplace of laughter.

If we wish not to go backwards, we must run.

Any time you're trying to do a movie with a happy ending, it's very difficult because it's been done before and you don't want to be manipulative.