I think writers can gain a lot of vitality from being misread.

Jay-Z isn't actually any better than James Joyce even though more people understand him. I'm more interested in what's meaningful within the lives of individuals. And fiction will always be central to the lives of certain people, which is all that matters.

I don't want to say that having power is overrated, but powerlessness can give rise to a different kind of authority, and that's the kind of authority that writes books.

These are the kind of movies that only a real apparatchik, someone who thinks that corporations are people, could love.

Hollywood is famous for breeding monsters, and having worked in the business, I've known a lot of them. But only intermittently have I ever found them monstrous. They have many other qualities.

One of the weird things about L.A. is that there's always a set of negative perceptions that attaches itself to this city.

I think writers can gain a lot of vitality from being misread.