There are nearly thirteen million people in the world. None of those people is an extra. They're all the leads of their own stories. They have to be given their due.

You are what you love. Not what loves you.

I think of myself as a guy who tries to write screenplays and now has tried to direct one. Anything more than that is meaningless and it gets in the way of being a real human being.

I do like escapism. I like going to the movies on a Friday night and seeing something fun.

The only honest and generous thing for me to do is to give people myself. That's all I've got as an artist, so I want to do that in an unflinching way.

The passionate ones, the ones who go after what they want, may not get what they want, but they remain vital, in touch with themselves, and when they lie on their deathbeds, they have few regrets.

Everything I've written is personal - it's the only way I know how to write.

You and I share the same DNA. Is there anything more lonely than that?

Why do I fall in love with every woman I see that shows me the least bit of attention?

Clementine: This is it, Joel. It's going to be gone soon. Joel: I know. Clementine: What do we do? Joel: Enjoy it.

Do not simplify. Do not worry about failure. Failure is a badge of honour. It means you risked failure.

Every interaction is an opportunity to learn, Only if we are interested in improving rather than proving.

O that men's ears should be To counsel deaf but not to flattery!

Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later.

I feel that everyone has a Hulk inside, and each of our Hulks is both scary and, potentially, pleasurable. That's the scariest thing about them.

Government does not create jobs. It only helps create the conditions that make jobs more or less likely.

I don't like being away from theater that long. The muscles get atrophied if you don't exercise them.

What, what am I to do with all of this life?

There is no fouler fiend than a woman when her mind is bent to evil.

Sentimentality about nature denatures everything it touches.

Aptitudes are assumed, they should become accomplishments. That is the purpose of all education.