No, really. Just do it. You have some kind of weird reasons that are okay.

No, really. Just do it. You have some kind of weird reasons that are okay.

I'll rebel against powers and principalities, all the time. Always, I will.

I don't get a sense of American pride. I just get a sense that everyone is here, battling the same thing - that around the world everybody's after the same thing, just some minor piece of happiness each day.

Clinton used to like to get out of the White House a lot. He would take night trips to McDonald's, and stuff like that. I think he wanted to get out of the house.

Acting is the hardest job in the entire world. By far. Harder than ditch digging.

But I'd be lying if I didn't say that every time you go to make a film, you're desperate to either do it better than you did it last time or to not repeat yourself.

How do I respond to criticism? Critically. I listen to all criticism critically.

I actually enjoyed the struggles that we had trying to shape 'Blood', to get the pacing right, the rhythm of it.

I am always looking for that nuance, that moment of truth, and you can't really do that fast.

I didn't have any desire I might have had 10 years ago to shoot every single word that I wrote.

I don't miss scenes at all the way that I used to miss them when I was younger making a film. It's actually quite fun to get rid of them now.

I don't want to be the angry guy.

I had never read Upton Sinclair. I didn't read 'The Jungle' in high school or anything like that. But it's pretty terrific writing.

I have a feeling, one of those gut feelings, that I'll make pretty good movies the rest of my life.

I'm completely aware of the fact that I'm a control freak.

I've never been a fan of whimsical or confusing storytelling.

It felt like the first thing, but when I first started out, I got a job adapting a book by Russell Banks called 'Rule Of The Bone.' I didn't do a very good job. I didn't really know what I was doing in general, let alone how to adapt a book.

My dad was this sort of avant-garde guy who did all kinds of weird things. He was a true original and anybody who met him never forgot him.

My older sister was at the cusp of new wave, and I had older brothers from my father's first marriage who were rock 'n' roll guys, so I was exposed to a lot of popular culture.

No matter how many times you do it, you don't get used to the sadness - for me at least - of coming to the end of a film.

Of course, I'm no dummy.

Screenwriting is like ironing. You move forward a little bit and go back and smooth things out.

So with 'There Will Be Blood,' I didn't even really feel like I was adapting a book. I was just desperate to find stuff to write.

The films that I love are very straightforward stories, like really old-fashioned stuff.

To make a film, the final big collaborator that you have is the composer.

Well I'd really love to work with Robert De Niro, because he's still the most talented actor out there.

I'd rather shut myself in a room for six months than act in a bad movie.

I think it's important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven't had the right mentors and supporters around them - because of circumstances beyond their control.

To my lovely daughter I just have this to say Have a very happy birthday On this your special day.

I just thought 'Blue' was a great premise and a great set-up for conflict. I love the idea of exploring a character who's living a secret life and is going to drown in the lies she's telling.

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age.

I would listen to something on the radio and try to tap out the melody, then the harmonies.

I have no idea who coined the term 'the New Journalism,' or when it was coined. I have never even liked the term. Any movement, group, party, program, philosophy or theory that goes under a name with 'new' in it is just begging for trouble, of course.

People have to liberate themselves, because liberation is not a single act. It's a question of eternal vigilance. Otherwise, you'll just become enslaved by someone else.

I've just always loved really good projects. The things that draw me into a new project have very little to do with genre and have more to do with the characters I'll be playing, the people I'll get to work with and things like that.

For cowards the road of desertion should be left open they will carry over to the enemy nothing but their fears.

I try to stay in shape just to handle things like the stress of a job or everyday life.

Mary Queen of Scots was my first love, and that is always something special.

This means that the only function of nuclear weapons, while they exist, is to deter a nuclear attack.

As an actor, you don't have much choice about your appearance. It's a good excuse for looking ridiculous.

I sing because it soothes me, and I write because I want to let others know that they're not alone with their problems.

What made 'Ice Age' work is that it had its shiny candy coatings, but inside was a soft, creamy center.

The discourse of the West and the attitudes of its leaders are important because they influence public debate in Turkey.

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.

The way I usually put it is that as an SF writer, I'm never required to be right.

I'm a real extrovert, but when I'm round someone new, I'm super shy.

You're better off betting on a horse than betting on a man. A horse may not be able to hold you tight, but he doesn't wanna wander from the stable at night.

I always have a good reason for taking something out but I never have one for putting something in. And I don't want to, because that means that the picture is being painted predigested.