Real life is not as simple as it is on a screen. I think real life is actually a lot more beautiful.

I don't blame the people for the fact that so many movies are bad. I think there's a corrupt, perverted, lazy and sloppy attitude that's pervasive in the movie business. The whole entertainment business is kind of crumbling around us.

He loved me. He loves me not.

A lot of movies try to set up a world with cool sets, costumes, camera work. In Brick, the world is born from the words.

There's something really appealing about the simplicity of black-and-white images.

I tend to think having an impact on the world is a lot more complicated than government.

When I arrived at Columbia, I gave up acting and became interested in all things French. French poetry, French history, French literature.