We must try to contribute joy to the world.

Art is the closest we can come to understanding how a stranger really feels.

Socrates told us, "the unexamined life is not worth living." I think he's calling for curiosity, more than knowledge. In every human society at all times and at all levels, the curious are at the leading edge.

Movies are like a machine that generates empathy.

An honest bookstore would post the following sign above its 'self-help' section: 'For true self-help, please visit our philosophy, literature, history and science sections, find yourself a good book, read it, and think about it.

I am, beneath everything else, a fan. I was fixed in this mode as a young boy and am awed by people who take the risks of performance.

I like smart movies about smart people, and enjoy it when most of the facts are on the table and we can contemplate them together.