I think the more dangerous and dire the political circumstances seem, the more you attach value to anything that shows you why a human being is a human being or human experience or view of the world in that way.

I often find myself writing about people taking care of each other, or trying to. And often seem to write about situations that are too big for the characters.

I grew up going to the movies, not watching them on television, so I'm still a bit resistant to TV as a medium.

I take it as a sign of intimacy and friendship when you feel comfortable enough with someone to have a little rough and tumble.

When you have people like Casey [Affleck] and Michelle Williams and they want to do more takes you don't say, "Sorry, that's it." And I also don't like to say, "It's fine, it's great." Unless it's clearly there.

I wrote a play once called 'Lobby Hero,' which I thought turned out very well, but there's no final version of it. I published the one we produced, but there are seven other versions with different variations sitting in my desk at home.

I was nearly a teen-ager before I stopped assuming that everyone I met was Jewish.