We find our calling or it finds us, and it's a sin against the fates not to use your talent when you have it.

All people believe their suffering is greater than others.

I have enormous pride in the survival of the Jewish people, the cultural heritage of the Jewish people, but I'm not observant, and I don't belong to a synagogue. I don't go to temple on high holy days, but I'm proud to be Jewish.

That was probably the mistake of my generation, that we thought that having sex with anyone would be intimate and it wasn't.

Art is always an energy exchange.

Each artist or writer who works in Venice comes to believe that the city yields its most special secret to him or her alone.

If we ban whatever offends any group in our diverse society, we will soon have no art, no culture, no humor, no satire. Satire is by its nature offensive. So is much art and political discourse. The value of these expressions far outweighs their risk.