You mellow too much you ripen and rot.

In fact, when they wake up in the morning, they're Jack Nicholson or Robert De Niro or Josh Brolin. And it's built-in, but they think it's all this other stuff. But it's not. They'd be great if they didn't think about their part or if they did think about it.

I can't with any conscience argue for New York with anyone. It's like Calcutta. But I love the city in an emotional, irrational way, like loving your mother or your father even though they're a drunk or a thief. I've loved the city my whole life - to me, it's like a great woman.

No matter what the shrinks, or the pundits, or the self-help books tell you, when it comes to love, it's luck.

For the first year of marriage I had basically a bad attitude. I tended to place my wife underneath a pedestal.

Life is a tragedy filled with suffering and despair and yet some people do manage to avoid jury duty.

I have great faith in the actors. When they improvise, it always sounds better than the stuff I write in my bedroom. When they improvise, they make it sound alive.