The movie that made me want to make movies was "Blue Velvet."

Theres a kind of dream that movies sell to people: You can start as the lowliest person and rise to the top. Hit Me doesnt sell this fantasy.

Who could be more desperate than filmmakers?

I love moving through long spaces and being enclosed.

Like all independent movies, the first thing you're looking for is a name actor who will justify your financing.

You hear this said about actors sometimes, that they're fearless, but she [ Maggie Gyllenhaal] really is.

The problem with most love stories in my opinion is that they're too simplistic.

You don't make movies about "men" and "women." You make movies about this guy and this woman and if you get them right, you'll automatically connect with a lot of people.

I think a lot of young women are probably fearful or embarrassed or cautious or hiding whatever their particular sexuality might be. From the most odd to the just slightly abberrant.

Every mistake is a new style.

Awareness is the first step in rewriting old stories.

Why do we have this desire to tease the innocent? Is it envy?

The great fish eat the small.

It is easy to keep secrets by being honest in an ironic tone of voice.

A toy has no gender and no idea of whether a girl or boy is playing with it.

There is no more compassionate and effective way to help poor people in New York City than to give to Robin Hood.

It is necessary to salvation that all Christians be subject to the pope.

What happens when an art form becomes ambiguous, I think, is that the standards are lowered. You can say anything is jazz. So I think it's important to reflect on what made jazz so special.

Mortals did not need gods to order them to kill eachother. They were quite capable of finding reasons to do so themselves.