I had no idea who Elektra was. When the producers asked me before I booked the job, I had to tell them. It was a great surprise when I actually got the job.
If you're playing somebody who is not you, then you can imagine that you are that person. You can feel like he feels, move like he moves, look like he looks - in your own mind.
It is not because I do not love my adopted land - it is the natural feeling of one far from home, who remembers those happy, carefree days when life flowed at full tide, without responsibility, flashing past one like the drama in a fascinating story of adventure and romance.
Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.
Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.
The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and about all time.
Bright light is injurious to those who see nothing.
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.
The church needs a pope who can call us to conversion and lead us to take seriously what Jesus did.
Too often, older women are seen as victims, but I know lots of formidable women who have marvellous jobs as well as a full erotic life, and children and friends and family.
It is the woman - nearly always - in spite of all the advances of modern feminism, who still takes responsibility for the bulk of the chores, as well as doing her paid job. This is true even in households where men try to be unselfish and to do their share.
Going to trial with a lawyer who considers your whole life-style a Crime in Progress is not a happy prospect.
My background is all comedy. I've been doing improv since I was 17. It's funny, because when I meet people, I'm known as this guy who will punch you in the face or throw you out a window, when I also have a background in comedy.
Would I like to be the lead girl? Who wouldn't?
Asian American success is often presented as something of a horror - robotic, unfeeling machines psychotically hellbent on excelling, products of abusive tiger parenting who care only about test scores and perfection, driven to succeed without even knowing why.
Young conductors who are confident enough, they very often have success.
When I signed a record deal, I was always told by execs I needed to be like everybody else, that I had to show my midriff, things that would take away from who I want to be as an artist.
The small companies who feel that the majors are a threat, or are predators, will use that as an excuse for their eventual downfall. Don't blame others for your own inadequacies.
The man that got me into collecting sneakers in the first place was the man they call Michael Jordan. He was the one who kind of exposed me to the sneaker world - he was my favorite basketball player, and he had the best shoes.
There's a lot of people who don't understand the circle crops in England. Pure enigma.
Tart cherries lower the levels of inflammation in the body, which may be particularly useful for those who suffer from gout. They have also been used to improve sleep.
There are two kinds of people: the ones who need to be told, and the ones who figure it out all by themselves.
I am lucky to have three daughters who are completely different. I look at my daughters and I have different relationships with all three and there are parts of each personality that are very special.
For those who are willing to make an effort, great miracles and wonderful treasures are in store.
I am not comparing myself to great artists, but when you see conceptual artists at work, on some level it's reassuring to know they can paint figuratively. Likewise, when you listen to the '50s jazz people who do these vast solos, you buy into it more if they open by playing a tune.
Now I am also friendly with people who are not so nice to me. From what I've learnt, it's nice to be friendly. It's nice to make people feel good about themselves.
I especially object to having my character assassinated by reference to events from my past which bear absolutely no relationship to the question of who the anthrax killer is.
I want to race as long as I'm having fun, it's competitive and healthy, and who knows when that, you know, date comes when that's not happening anymore.
In a high school, the norms act to hold down the achievements of those who are above average, so that the school's demands will be at a level easily maintained by the majority.
The thing about dating someone who listens to a totally different genre than you is they can help you find things to appreciate in that genre.
The world has become one big grassy knoll, crawling with lone gunmen who think they're the Warren Commission.
When I was doing 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' I was asked, 'If there was one part of your life that you could erase, what would it be?' And I was so stunned by that. I thought: 'Nothing.' I would keep all the good bits and the bad bits, because those things made me who I am.
The true traveler is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot of the time.
And you can tell the writers who do it - Robert Stone, for example, who with each new novel is doing something new. I appreciate that in other writers.
Moderates tend more than ideologues to be other-directed types who respond to external pressure.
I'm a very lucky girl who gets to act for a living! So why sit around griping and grousing about what's not there.
