John Dos Passos, Raymond Carver, Flaubert and William Maxwell were all very influential when I first started writing. Now, the writers I'm most interested in are the writers who are most unlike me: for example, Denis Johnson.
First of all, we were never not speaking. It's gotten so blown out of proportion. It was a very straightforward difference of opinion. I think because we were so private and refused to talk about it, these stories just got out of control.
The first stage had been all over before the doctors even knew they were dealing with a new sickness; it was the direct reaction to the bombardment of the body, at the moment when the bomb went off, by neutrons, beta particles, and gamma rays.
And I don't want to begin something, I don't want to write that first sentence until all the important connections in the novel are known to me. As if the story has already taken place, and it's my responsibility to put it in the right order to tell ...
I've been through a lot, both personally and professionally, and the album that I started to record two and a half years ago is a different album from the one that exists today. I even changed the album title. First it was 'All I Want is Everything,'...
An established property can be a blessing and a challenge. On one hand you have all those fans of the original that you can pick up with and continue on with but then you have a lot of people out there who haven't seen the first and might feel like t...
'Anna Karenina.' I read it in college. I was so engrossed that I couldn't stop reading it and neglected all my other studies. I would go to the library even on nice warm weekends and just lock myself up. I think that was the first time that I felt tr...
Just because I am a chef doesn't mean I don't rely on fast recipes. Indeed, we all have moments when, pressed for time, we'll use a can of tuna and a tomato for a first course. It's a question of choosing the right recipes for the rest of the menu.
I've been thinking recently about all the qualities you need in order to be an actor. First and foremost, you've got to have a thick skin and give out an 'I don't give a monkey's what you think' kind of vibe, while at the same time really caring what...
When I first did 'Moby,' I didn't realize how taxing it would be. I was climbing fifty feet up in the air and climbing down. Literally, it's so busy, you feel you're on a ship. You're always moving; you're constantly adding clothes or taking them off...
It's only a matter of time before it all starts to fall apart, before things start to fall off. Short legs, long body. The kind of person who in the Middle Ages would come up over the hill on his horse, and they'd say, 'Get Wogan,' and I'd be there w...
John Smith: [first words to his new cell mate] You jerk off? Face the wall. You break wind? Put your ass to the door. You shit or piss? In the can. You do all that, we'll get along famously.
[first lines] Title Card: On December 26th, 2004,the deadliest tsunami on record hit the South East Coast of Asia. The lives of countless families all over the world changed forever. This is the true story of one of those families.
[first lines] Flint: All right, Mr. Bile, is it? Bile: Uh, my friends call me Phlem. Flint: Uh-huh, Mr. Bile, can you tell me what you did wrong? Bile: I fell down?
Fletcher: He's [Josey] Fletcher: has got the first move And I'd tell him. Josey Wales: What's that? Fletcher: That the war is over. Josey Wales: I reckon we all lost a little bit in that damn war.
[first lines] Theater Manager: Oh Cecilia, be careful! You all right? Cecilia: Yeah. Theater Manager: You're gonna like this one, it's better than last week's, more romantic.
Steve: I'm outta here! See ya early. Robbie: I'm outta here! Diane: You I can handle. Robbie: I got school! Diane: Breakfast first. Robbie: All right, I'll just flunk.
Mr. Robertson: I see you've had some disciplinary problems in the past. Jane: I've had nothing but straight As in all my classes since the first grade. Mr. Robertson: Yes. Have you ever been with a man? Jane: Have you?
[first lines] Detective Taylor: Neighbors heard them screaming at each other, like for two hours, and it was nothing new. Then they heard the gun go off, both barrels. Crime of passion. William Somerset: Yeah, just look at all the passion on that wal...
[first lines] Travers Goff: [voiceover] Winds in the east / Mist coming in / Like something is brewing / About to begin / Can't put me finger / On what lies in store / But I feel what's to happen / All happened before.
Terrence: You're such a pig-fucker, Phillip! Phillip: Terrance, why would you call me a pig-fucker? Terrence: Well, let's see. First of all, you fuck pigs. Phillip: Oh yeah!
