To me, any kind of filmmaking that's reactive is not going to be as good as something more inventive and original.

I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world's still there. (Leonard Shelby, Memento)

I always thought the joy of reading a book is not knowing what happens next. (Leonard Shelby, Memento)

You're never going to learn something as profoundly as when it's purely out of curiosity

A camera is a camera, a shot is a shot, how you tell the story is the main thing.

I like films that continue to spin your head in all sorts of different directions after you've seen them.

You musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.

One of the things you do as a writer and as a filmmaker is grasp for resonant symbols and imagery without necessarily fully understanding it yourself.

Every film should have its own world, a logic and feel to it that expands beyond the exact image that the audience is seeing.

Every great story deserves a great ending

I've always believed that if you want to really try and make a great film, not a good film, but a great film, you have to take a lot of risks.

You are not alone in your sorrow and suffering because the good Lord is suffering with you. He cannot see His children unhappy.

To ‘stop and smell the roses’ we must first believe that there’s a rose garden out there somewhere. And in this jaded world of ours, the refusal to believe in gardens leaves most of us ref of roses.

One man with courage is a majority.

I would never challenge any rapper to a rap-off. It's weird, I'm not that type of rapper.

Too much TV hurts movies.

Well, I write in exile because I cannot return to my country, so I have no choice but to see myself as an exiled writer.

She looked back as well as she could; but it was all confusion. She had taken up the idea, she supposed and made everything bend to it.

It could be said that just about anyone we encounter is our neighbor, but it especially applies to those we would be least likely to love.

I would never want to move to L.A.

You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.