To me, all success is a delightful surprise, since one can absolutely never predict it.

Lawyers are always confident before the verdict. It's only after that they share their doubts.

No, while most people have been at their unhappiest when in love, it is nevertheless the state the human being yearns for above all.

I can be as contrary as I choose.

I'm seen as a chronicler of the class system, which I don't think is unfair.

My parents came from different backgrounds. My father's was grander than my mother's, so my mother had... to put up with the disapproval of my father's relations.

Every writer has to make an emotional journey from artist sitting in attic to being part of a business. The writer of a film is like Tinkerbell. You are only there because people believe in you. The moment they dont, because youre a pain the arse, youve lost.