'Heavenly Creatures' was really the idea of Fran Walsh. It was a very famous New Zealand murder case, but not one that people knew much about.

One does not simply walk into Mordor.

The big-budget blockbuster is becoming one of the most dependable forms of filmmaking.

The most honest form of filmmaking is to make a film for yourself.

Remember, pain is temporary; film is forever.

If you work at love, you will find love at work.

Everybody's life has these moments, where one thing leads to another. Some are big and obvious and some are small and seemingly insignificant.

Filmmaking for me is always aiming for the imaginary movie and never achieving it.

Actors will never be replaced. The thought that somehow a computer version of a character is going to be something people prefer to look at is a ludicrous idea.

Every film is a challenge. I always say that making a movie is like film school - you're always learning. But unlike most schools, you never get done with it. You never learn everything.

I think that's the job of a director really, to sort of funnel all the creativity into one centralized point of being.

You can call anyone you want a traitor as long as you're the one holding the pen.

I do not consecrate myself to be a missionary or a preacher. I consecrate myself to God to do His will where I am, be it in school, office, or kitchen, or wherever He may, in His wisdom, send me.

I had a really nice time on [Alphas]. It was a bunch of really good actors, and I was particularly thrilled to be working with David Strathairn.

When I am upset about something, it gives me a stomachache. I have to address it right away so that I don't make myself sick.

If you're going to dedicate your career to ranting about the excesses of American capitalism, you probably shouldn't weigh 450 pounds.

In the car and in front of the camera I tend to be very calm but behind the scenes I can get fired up and passionate, I just don't see the need to shout my mouth off in public.

42% of college graduates never read a book after college.

I don't have a television set up [in the mountains], of course, but I find I don't miss it at all, or the newspaper. I've sneaked a radio into by cabin, but I find I turn it on very rarely.

My mother used to hope that I would rise up from my humble roots. Become someone sucessful, or even famous. I'm famous all right, but I don't think it's what she had in mind.

This I hope will be the age of experiments in government, and that their basis will be founded in principles of honesty, not of mere force.