Becoming the reader is the essence of becoming a writer.

Much as I like owning a Rolls-Royce, I could do without it. What I could not do without is a typewriter, a supply of yellow second sheets and the time to put them to good use.

An artist is his own fault.

Never play cards with a man named Doc, and never eat at a place called Mom's.

In every marriage the wife has to keep her mouth shut about at least one small thing her husband does that disgusts her.

But whats the use of being old if you cant be dumb?

Illinois is a state of suspended animation and the people live in hibernation from Oct. to whenever it ever gets warmer.

Hot lead can be almost as effective coming from a linotype as from a firearm.

The trouble is people leave too much to luck. They get married and then trust to luck. They should be sure in the first place.

George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don’t have to believe it if I don’t want to.

Socially, I never belonged to any class, rich or poor. To the rich I was poor, and to the poor I was poor pretending to be like the rich.

Business is as old as life. There is no living being that does not have a business.

[Will Turner] "You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement."[Captain Jack Sparrow] "...that's not much incentive for me to fight fair then is it?

I grew up on movie sets, I'm comfortable on sets. A movie set is like a circus. I don't understand why moviemaking has to be such an insane environment.

That face. That body. And you know he’s packing. Look at the angle on that dangle.

In order to be truly great at something you have to give into a certain amount of madness.

Rejection is the greatest aphrodisiac.

You have to be quite stupid to act.

There are days when the great are near us, when there is no frown on their brow, no condescension even; when they take us by the hand, and we share their thought.

How old is she now?" he asked. "Hard to say. She was a tree for a while. Now she's immortal.

One of the things that characterizes good intellectual work is a certain self-importance