If you're born with a gift, to behave like it's an achievement is not right.

A general philosophy of the female characters in my films is they all want something to believe in, and not having anything.

I see the glass half full...but of poison.

The artist's job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.

[Stanley] Kubrick was a great artist and a perfectionist. He always wanted the exact right thing. He did a million takes. Everything had to be perfect. I'm an imperfectionist. I don't really care that much about the work. I write quickly. I'm careless. I shoot carelessly.

Just don't take any class where you have to read BEOWULF.

Every time you make a movie it's a new and different experience. You learn very little from the past. So, I'm a little bit better than I was when I first started.