You're going to fail a few times, because that is the only time you actually learn something.

You can only make a good noise on the guitar if you're committed. Little careful noise doesn't work. You have to be bold.

The main thing the composer needs to do is it needs to remember that the director is there to cheer you on. The director wants you to succeed because if you succeed, you'll be helping the film. And they are truly your conscience. And they're truly your guide.

If I play you a piece of music, that's when you can truly look inside me.

Anything can become a musical sound. The wind on telegraph wires is a great sound; get it into your machine and play it and it becomes interesting.

I get all my good ideas sort of at one o' clock in the morning, and I tried for a while to behave like normal people.

America is a magical place, and I think my job, or the job of a lot of us European filmmakers is to just hold up America to Americans and present it to you in a new way. All I wanted to do is in a funny way say, "Look at your country. It's magnificent."