So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?

My mother wanted us to understand that the tragedies of your life one day have the potential to be comic stories the next.

Vera said: 'Why do you feel you have to turn everything into a story?' So I told her why: Because if I tell the story, I control the version. Because if I tell the story, I can make you laugh, and I would rather have you laugh at me than feel sorry for me. Because if I tell the story, it doesn't hurt as much. Because if I tell the story, I can get on with it.

I don't think any day is worth living without thinking about what you're going to eat next at all times.

The last four years of psychoanalysis are a waste of money.

Most directors, I discovered, need to be convinced that the screenplay they're going to direct has something to do with them. And this is a tricky thing if you write screenplays where women have parts that are equal to or greater than the male part. And I thought, 'Why am I out there looking for directors?'—because you look at a list of directors, it's all boys. It certainly was when I started as a screenwriter. So I thought, 'I'm just gonna become a director and that'll make it easier.'

If you're looking for monogamy, you'd better marry a swan.