I have kind of an almost religious feeling about poets. I usually refuse to meet them because I admire them so much. Except for Poe.

You don't go to the movies to do historical research, unless it's historical research about the movies.

If you [c]annot find your [h]eart's desire in your own backyard, you never lost it to begin with

One is told that you're either a hot writer, or you're finished and you're over. But of course, the more you hang around and the more you become aware not only of what "reputation" is for other writers, but also what your own reputation is, you become aware that it's much more complicated than the conventional media would have you believe.

You have a good heart and you think the good thing is to be guilty and kind but it's not always kind to be gentle and soft, there's a genuine violence softness and kindness visit on people. Sometimes self-interested is the most generous thing you can be.

One of the things I love about my job as a playwright or as a screenwriter is that I get to do a lot of research and a lot of thinking and taking a lot of notes before I turn it in.

I've never seen a great actor do a major role that didn't cost a lot. They're sacrificial animals of a sort.