The studio system reminds me of the stock market.

My two elder sisters married Englishmen and went abroad.

I went to the Glasgow Youth Theatre and they just let me in. But I was so shy that I was there for about six weeks without actually introducing myself.

The movie business is very much like that: people in authority making purely emotional decisions instead of interesting rational ones.

I didn't think Comfort and Joy was going to be a box-office smash.

The studio system reminds me of the stock market.

Perhaps naively I thought people understand what humor was, that it was invented by the human race to cope with the dark areas of life, problems and terrors.

I was quite surprised how easily people wanted to pigeonhole things I've done.

It's easier for me to get three times the amount of money I really want.

There are things that Scotsmen get and other people don't get in the dialogue. Scottish characters can be pinpointed by a phrase, targeted very quickly.

I'm not fond of any of my films in an intimate way, but Gregory's Girl would be number 4 on my list.

I'd made these experimental films but I thought the major chore of a filmmaker was to relate to actors.

At the moment, my mother is the only one left in Glasgow, although it's certainly my home.

I don't really enjoy filming.

It means that if they misunderstood Comfort and Joy, they misunderstood my other films.

It's not enough to have a hacker culture anymore. You have to have a design culture, too.

People always want to identify a writer with their protagonist.

Of course I went and got 'Breaking Dawn' at midnight the night it came out and read it instantly. I was like, 'Yes!'

I haven't accepted anyone telling me what is or isn't possible and have just kept moving along toward my goals.

Living alone, though it may not be the state you ultimately desire for yourself, affords an unparalleled opportunity to know yourself, to be yourself, and to develop yourself as a unique and interesting individual.

The direction of the mind is more important than its progress.

You must never underestimate the power of the eyebrow.

People with a lot of money don't dress as well as people who have to make do, who have to be inventive. Those are the people who are always more interestingly dressed, I think. Everything I do, I do with gut instinct. If I think too much, it won't come out right.

Canadians are cold so much of the time that many of them leave instructions to be cremated.

To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.

'Precious' is strangely uplifting. It goes down into the valley but it also goes to the mountain tops. A lot of difficult realities are explored in 'Precious,' but the peaks make the valleys and the valleys make the peaks.

To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.

I love John Irving's stuff. It's that marriage of comedy and tragedy. It's really terrific.

It's not like my body has changed since I've played in high school, beyond being more mature. It's not like my power has changed, either.

When you see something that's so excellent it can be intimidating to walk into it no matter how many people you know.

TARP became so politicized that having money from it was almost like a scarlet letter. There were debates over compensation, worry that the rules were going to get changed. All the banks were desperately rushing to get that money back as soon as possible - in part, so they could pay themselves bonuses without any government restrictions.

For the live shows, I'm just getting my song together. I go back to my hotel room and I just listen to my song over and over again, figure out how to make it different and put my little Pia spin on it.

O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!

Some days, you feel like a 22-year-old and some days you feel like a 40-year-old.

I find it really appalling when people talk about comedy.

Our willingness to acknowledge that we only see half the picture creates the conditions that make us more attractive to others. The more sincerely we acknowledge our need for their different insights and perspectives, the more they will be magnetized to join us.

My favorite band of all time is The Clash. The thing I love about The Clash is they started out as guys who could barely play three chords. They dabbled in reggae, punk, rap, jazz. They came to a sound that could only be defined as The Clash. It was impossible to say what it was. I admire them for that.

Governments take too long to get things done and there are far too many varied interests at stake. If you were starting a business today and needed a partner, you would never choose a large bureaucratic institution like the government.

Steadman! Any guy that's got Oprah as a girlfriend, I mean that's a good dude. I want to talk to him.