The directing of a picture involves coming out of your individual loneliness and taking a controlling part in putting together a small world. A picture is made. You put a frame around it and move on. And one day you die. That is all there is to it.
But recently I began to feel that maybe I wouldn't be able to do what I want to do and need to do with American musicians, who are imprisoned behind these bars; music's got these bars and measures you know.
Sometimes when you speak what's on your mind - I'm talking everything on your mind, and - people can get a misconception of you.
Here's the bottom line: I can't play someone if I can't figure out what he cares about. Everybody cares about something, even a rough character. It defines where we step in life. As soon as you find out what somebody cares about, then it all gets real.
You do now have one in three people, as shown by the famous Carlton Monarchy debate poll, saying they want to get rid of the Monarchy. That was unthinkable even three, four years ago.
I just think it's a blessing that I was able to have the gift of words and to be able to put them into music. I was given a great gift all the way around. I didn't ever have to really go out and look for songs, you know.
People always say there's no such thing as bad publicity, and you always think they're right, because it seems self-evident: nobody's going to buy a magazine that nobody ever talks about, so people should want to buy a magazine that everybody's talking about.
If you have accomplished all that you have planned for yourself, you have not planned enough.
I love acting. But I love being a mother. To be a full mother and a full person, you have to do what you love, and that's acting. But I like the best of both worlds.
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
Don't do anything to anyone, and people will not make trouble for you.
Look, I know what it feels like to believe you're 'different' in a bad way.
You have to be with the right person. It's so much more important to meet the right person, whether you're married or not, than it is to get married and get a divorce.
Isn't it about getting out of your comfort zone and getting off the couch and challenging yourself and forcing yourself to do things you wouldn't other do? Otherwise, what are you living for?
You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.
When you start out with goals - mine were to play polytonally and polyrhythmically - you never exhaust that. I started doing that in the 1940s. It's still a challenge to discover what can be done with just those two elements.
Obviously I'm delighted I'm a grandfather, but I guess it takes a little while to digest. You start thinking, 'Oh, I'm half-way over the natural life span. So this is the last bit, and I'd better enjoy it.'
I cried on my 18th birthday. I thought 17 was such a nice age. You're young enough to get away with things, but you're old enough, too.
You have to stay focused and be mentally tough. That's what I've really learned: every day is a grind, and you have to go hard.
If you want to communicate with the American public, the literature tells you you've got to be talking at about a sixth-grade, seventh-grade level.
You have to be funny about it and honest about it. You can't leave yourself out of that mix. You have to be honest enough to say, I'm that messed-up one in the family.
Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.
I'm not a very serious person. You know how they say that clowns are very funny in public and are really sad at home? I'm really kind of stupid at home and more serious in public.
Contentment is work so engrossing that you do not know that you are working.
When you have great songs that are going to live longer than the composers, everything you can do to bring those different elements and nuances out, serve the song.
So many people are accustomed to written information that you really have to have a few more bells and whistles in this day and age.
Music is still part of my life, but I hate the idea of people coming to see me play the guitar because they've seen me in movies. You want people who are listening to be only interested in the music.
I think the minute you mention death, people run for the hills - unless it's heavy metal. People do not like death.
When I was teaching Latin in girls' schools before I became a writer, I didn't much like it if parents would come in and say, 'We'll have less of the Ovid and Virgil and more of the grammar, please.' After all, I was the one in charge. That's how I feel about doctors. You should trust them to do their job properly.
Just do what you believe in, and success will follow.
You need help when you're starting out. On the other hand, some people are very naturalistic to begin with.
Well, I - all cases to me have interest. Every case is important to somebody, the people litigating that case. But the most difficult case for me is the case where one person says a, the other person says b, and you just don't know for certain who is not telling you the truth.
It kind of sounds pretentious, but a film I find deeply romantic is 'Buffalo '66,' which is a film by Vincent Gallo. It's about how you break down all those barriers and expose yourself and open yourself up to ultimately being hurt.
Identity in America is complicated but it's also simple: it's about whom you identify with and who identifies with you.
It's fun to meet people from throughout the world who you don't have to explain yourself to.
When you back off, it's easier to do mistakes. For me it's better to ski fast.
