“I’ve always wanted to make a career in the arts, and I think that my only hope at doing that is to make it more about the work.”

We all know we have a finite period of time. I just feel if I’m going to be alive, I want to be challenged – to be as immortal as possible. The path to that isn’t an easy way, but it’s a rewarding way.

People are just afraid of things too much. Afraid of things that don’t necessarily merit fear.

My grandfather was smart and had a whole lot of pride. He didn’t speak a terrible amount, but you could tell there was a ton on his mind – like a quiet acceptance of how life had turned out.

I hope not to define myself by suffering.

I’ve been thinking about forever.

I play piano every day. I enjoy that.

When you write a song like ‘Forrest Gump,’ the subject can’t be androgynous. It requires an unnecessary amount of effort.

I never think about myself as an artist working in this time. I think about it in macro.

When I did have some success, it further emboldens you to be like, ‘No, I’m just going to write what I feel I should write.’

If someone breaks your heart, just punch them in the face. Seriously. Punch them in the face and go get some ice cream.

Some people focus more on sonics. Some people focus more on story. I focus on both sonics and story.

The Internet is just another experiment showing us more sides of us.

Boys do cry, but I don’t think I shed a tear for a good chunk of my teenage years.

I guess I’m just inspired to tell stories.

I just don’t trust journalists – and I don’t think it’s a good practice for me to trust journalists.

Don’t confuse my personality with my attitude. My personality is who I am, and my attitude depends on who you are.

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.

Drag Race’ doesn’t claim to represent drag as a whole. ‘Drag Race’ is a reality show. If you see real drag shows, we just do drag and respect each other’s art and who your real identity is – name, gender, hair color, anything.

Use your art to fight.

We had forgotten the art of using silence to convey emotions in our films and that’s what you seem to have mastered. You’ve used silence to great advantage in the film. It’s brilliant.

There is no art which government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.

The excellence of every art is its intensity, capable of making all disagreeables evaporate, from their being in close relationship with beauty and truth.

The artist should preach nothing-not even his own autonomy. His art should speak its own truth, and in so doing it will be in harmony with every other kind of truth- moral, metaphysical, mystical.

I have made an art form of the interview. The French are the best interviewers, despite their addiction to the triad, like all Cartesians.