I don't like the actors to work together beforehand. I trust my intuition, and I like when the actors are the same.

I started to think of Grace of Monaco as a metaphor for women in general.

The difficulty with telling stories about real people is you have to find a way of mixing yourself into the matter.

I would prefer to be a citizen of an independent country rather than Emperor of an enslaved one.

It took me a long time to figure out that real big-time success comes from taking lots of small, ordinary steps in the right direction. And you can't ever take the next step until you take the first.

America stands strongest in challenging terrorism when we do not give up an inch of our civil liberties.

Human beings were behaving as human beings and not as cogs in the capitalist machine.

I've always wanted to be a Meryl Streep or a Natalie Portman. I want to do all kinds of different movies, to be a chameleon. I don't want to limit myself.

I grew up in a household of girls, so I would just pick up naturally what everyone else was doing.

How long can we go without real leadership? It's like an experiment. It's [a problem with] both parties, it's beyond belief.

I love the art form, but working in film can be a disheartening experience.

Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up

Each close you use should be an educational process by which you are able to raise the value in the prospect's mind.