A lot of films come out before they're finished.

It's hard to see a film that's been made from a book that you really loved because it's such a different experience.

I chose films made by people I wanted to work with, about subject matter I thought was intriguing.

I have a tight family group that's really important to me. I don't want to work all the time.

There's always a reaction based on fear. People assume if you're criticizing a decision to go to war, then you're saying something against the soldiers-which is not the case.

A lot of films come out before they're finished.

You can't betray yourself too often, or you become somebody else.

When I decided to direct, never having done that before, is something I'm very proud of.

I am not one of these guys who works job after job after job.

In the past 10 years, I've looked at life as this Pollock stuff. And now I'm almost in the post Pollock phase.

I've always wanted to work with Paul Newman. I had a couple opportunities in the past, and I didn't take advantage of it, so it was really fun to be working with him.

I like to act with people that know what they're doing.

Seeing what happens when you rip yourself open is what your job is all about.

You can mostly forget ethnic or religious differences. The competition for a bigger share of the oil proceeds is behind much of the fighting.

You get three hours' sleep and then you start all over again. Relentless. Pre-production was almost harder than filming. I was all over the city every day. It was really exhausting.

Pollock said several times that he couldn't separate himself from his art. Not knowing much about modern art when I began to read about him, I was much more his persona - his struggles as a human being - that was interesting to me.

I listen to National Public Radio, which, to me at least, presents the most rounded view of things.

I made career decisions that came from the part of me who wanted to shun the limelight.

You look at a guy like Lance Armstrong, and you have to be inspired. I sat next to Kirk Douglas the other day, and he's inspiring for fighting through his stroke.

I love this country very much, and I'm proud to live here, but I think our current administration is extreme. These are not merely conservative people, these are extreme right-wing people.

When Bush first got elected, the very first time there was talk of going to war with Iraq, the mainstream media gave his position total credibility. I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now.

If I started worrying about how my constituents are going to react to every move I make, I wouldn't be able to do my job here. I'll do what I think is right and explain it later.

If I'm daring at all, I guess it would be emotionally. I try to keep things interesting for myself and to do things that challenge me.

I'm not an activist per se, but I have strong feelings about things. People can jump on celebrities for being ill-informed or naive, but I've got a right to say what I believe.

One of the first things I learned about acting was, the only person you compete against is yourself.

For The Truman Show, I worked for a few weeks, do my gig, then I was done.

I feel like my place in this industry is still progressing.

I had some really dear friends who died from AIDS-one in particular. His family wasn't around and he didn't have many friends. I spent a lot of time with him in his later days.

I think most people that are looked upon as doing something daring don't necessarily think of it that way-they do what they have to do.

I was concerned about filling my life up with something important to me. To me, it was just necessary.

You cant betray yourself too often or you become somebody else.

Humans are born with a hard-wired morality: a sense of good and evil is bred in the bone. I know this claim might sound outlandish, but it's supported now by research in several laboratories.

Hesitancy in judgment is the only true mark of the thinker.

I always used to get in trouble for talking too much. When it was time for parent-teacher conferences, I remember that I was always embarrassed about what my parents would hear about me!

Best friends are those who treat you kindly behind your back.

I always wanted kids but I always thought I'd have kids later on in my life, maybe when I turn 30. I really wanted to focus on my career, but you meet the right person and your whole world changes.

I think it was just me who thought I could be Olympic champion. I've been telling myself that, and I did that.

My gift seems to be that I am able to tell a story in a comprehensible and engaging way.

Theres nothing I value more than the closeness of friends and family a smile as I pass someone on the street.

Human beings are a social species. We like to hang together in groups, just like wildebeests, just like lions. Wildebeests don't hang with lions because lions eat wildebeests. Human beings are like that. We do what that group does that we're trying to identify with.

Starting today, I need to forget what's gone. Appreciate what still remains and look forward to what's coming next.

It turns out Cuba has this incredible healthcare system for a very poor country.

An outsider can see some things much better.

I don't think you should ever start a business and move in a direction where you can't see it becoming a business.

It isnt what a man knows but what he thinks he knows that he brags about.

I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.

If you give yourself to your task at once, you won't have to do it twice.

There is a shade of red for every woman.

Open confession of dictatorship is far less dangerous than sham democracy. One can defend oneself against the former the latter is like a creeper attached to the body of a drowning man.