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.

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.

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

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.

Do not live for emptiness, do not waste your evaporating life pursuing the vanities of life.

The worst crime is faking it

I've been really enjoying writing articles and writing music and music for movies.

The sicker our fans get, the sicker we'll get

The scary truth is, you have to scratch some veneer off to gauge where the moral fiber really is in certain pockets of society. It's raw. It's scary. But it gives us a place to work with.

I have no personal vendetta against Clarence Thomas. I seek only to provide the committee with information which it may regard as relevant

I don't have a stack of scripts...

Some cynical biographer said to me, Make sure it's a good death. Make sure you're not picking someone who just declined.

It was a universal truth among males that anytime you saw a guy get it in the nuts, you experienced a shot of phantom pain in your own croquet set.

Having a white parent undoubtedly makes for a different childhood experience than having two black parents.