When I am writing my problems become invisible and I am the same person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be.

Every great film should seem new every time you see it.

No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough.

One difference between film noir and more straightforward crime pictures is that noir is more open to human flaws and likes to embed them in twisty plot lines.

To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts.

You can have a movie with hardly any cuts, or very few cuts, that is fascinating, you can't take your eyes away from it... Look at some of the long takes in Citizen Kane.

I lost faith in the Oscars the first year I was a movie critic - the year that Bonnie and Clyde didn't win.

I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.

I think we have to get beyond the idea that we have to categorize people.

What every human being should do is eat a vegetarian diet based on whole foods. Period. That's it. Animal protein is bad for you. Dairy is bad for you. Forget the ads: Milk and eggs are bad for you.

I do not fear death. I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear.

Nobody calls me 'blondie' and keeps their kneecaps.

Latin is a dead tongue And Romans made songs! Then no one disagree: It delighted them in theory Now it's "the Latin" in me.

A rag and a bone and a hank of hair.

Hurricane season brings a humbling reminder that, despite our technologies, most of nature remains unpredictable.

I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.

Wherever the bird with no feet flew, she found trees with no limbs.

A man of truth must also be a man of care.

All confessions are Odysseys.

Even when you win you lose... if you didn’t learn something.

Cynicism is tough. A cynic's point of view is really pitiful. I derive pleasure out of a lot of things in life. As long as I'm fairly healthy, it's hard to stay dismal for very long.