I think it's restrictive to typecast myself as a novelist because I enjoy other forms of expression. I love literature and I love cinema.

One of the most ephemeral and important things is atmosphere and tone and it's very hard to put your finger on what creates that.

I think every single person perceives things differently. We are all singular.

The concentration of the elite athlete is akin perhaps to the concentration of the writer.

It's dangerous to think too much about how a film will be received. Filmmaking is not a popularity contest. Some would disagree.

I, myself, don't like to see a film on Friday night and then forget it by the next day.

I'm trying to get under people's skin in a way. I don't like films that go in one ear and out the other.

I think striking the right tone for your story is, if you like, the alchemical work of writing.

I don't think good films have messages.

I do believe we're all adaptable, and you're probably more adaptable than you realize.

I always find it extremely hard to remember the act of beginning. I almost deliberately forget it.

Why are some things easier to remember the more time has passed since they occurred?

She was a dead girl having the worst panic attack shed ever had. Not because she was afraid of dying, but because she knew that she would never live again.

Modern capitalism, organising the reduction of all social life to a spectacle, cannot offer any spectacle other than that of our own alienation.

What I find trying in a country which you do not understand and where you cannot speak, is that you can never be yourself.

I miss being able to wake up when I want and go on stage when I want and pull down my pants when I want.

When you slick back your hair, you get a really good idea of just how melon-like your head actually is.

You can be strong without being involved in every single civil war around the world.

I am obsessed with beauty. I want everything to be perfect, and of course it isn’t. And that’s a tough place to be because you’re never satisfied.

In a way, yes, because I was starting something fresh, and it was something totally independent.

Never allow weakness to overtake your mind. Remember Mahavira, remember the Divine Mother! And you will see that all weakness, all cowardice will vanish at once.