This was not [him]. It was a thing, with all the [him]-ness gone from it. Death takes the person and leaves his shell behind, like a hollowed-out tree.

At each step there is a small moment of transformation that cannot be overlooked or rushed. And these moments should not be, because they are beautiful.

He's gone now. He did something terrible, but...he did good things, too. And he kept us well. And it's all right if you are sad.

Someone who thinks of possessing a fountain made of a winged baby with water shooting out of its mouth must not have too many troubles.

It was a beautiful lie that they had all been telling themselves—that you could have magic without monsters.

He could still escape—the fear was in front of him, and all he had to do was wrench free and run in the other direction. But he kept walking forward, straight into its embrace.

They said words they did not mean, and their conversations seemed to follow all kinds of rules—rules that no one has ever explained to Oscar.

California is a very important state. As goes California, so goes the nation. We need to have strong leadership. Someone who can hit the ground running.

[Aristotle formal logic thus far (1787)] has not been able to advance a single step, and hence is to all appearances closed and completed.

Rich grandparents get more attention than poor grandparents.

Love means you can never be apart.

From the age of about five to twelve I was very bad, a hideous little terror who beat people up. I was a member of a Rough Gang - we went around and terrorised all the pupils in school.

To boldly go where no one has gone before

We are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.

I came into screenwriting from an odd direction, because the first screenplay that I read was and is better as writing than the top one percent of literary novels.