“As for movies, what’s great about comedy is that if your movie gets laughs and makes money, you have freedom.”

For my money, I don’t think there’s been a better comedy than ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ in a lot of years. That movie just knocked me over.

I have certain beliefs about how people should treat employees and how companies should be run, but I was really surprised though this process to learn that those beliefs are actually good business.

I got the sense that Alabama is a place where people don’t want handouts and don’t much care for people talking out of the side of their mouth.

It’s one thing to mess stuff up and break stuff, but [Borat] is really pointing out the ideology of America.

Old man with an old phone. That’s never not funny.

It’s crazy, but even at funerals, people will get huge laughs.

I grew up with a single mom who was a waitress. We were on food stamps.

We punch mirrors and we explore our darker selves. No, it’s just an amalgam of all newscasters that we grew up with. Sort of like before there was cable, when these people were like gods.

David O. Russell is probably my favorite filmmaker. He’s not only a great director, but he’s also a great writer.

I’m just a giant film fan, so I love action movies out of all kinds of movies. As a film geek, it’s amazing to be able to shoot this stuff.

I always give myself a little part in every movie.

We get so much information during the day that doesn’t really tell us anything.

There’s a lot of things you can’t control. But you can always be a pro.

I would never call myself cultural elite, but you might be cultural elite.

The one thing for sure is, I don’t ever want to waste a movie. I don’t ever want to waste effort.

I don’t think there’s ever been a moment in history where that, as an artistic message, has played very well, because people in their hearts know that’s terrible and a lie.

If people are watching television by themselves, it makes them part of a community of people laughing.

There’s a difference between a sense of humor and a sense of funny. A sense of humor is knowing what makes you laugh and a sense of funny is knowing what makes other people laugh. The journey of comedy, in a sense, is negotiating those two worlds.

There is something about being a director where, for me personally, I get to . . . it’s the closest I’ll ever come to being able to be a stand up.

I was born with a priceless gift, the ability to laugh at the misfortunes of others.

Every laugh is not equal. They come from different places. That’s sort of the challenge I go towards, making sure the laughs are for the reasons I want. It becomes a back and forth dance with the audience.

The most exciting thing I aspire to do is to write something new that I know is going to work, or perform something that I know is going to make people laugh.

A good laugh makes any interview, or any conversation, so much better.

When you’re a young comedian the first thing you want to do is get a laugh.