In writing the history of a life I believe absolutely that the reader cannot understand the character and deeds of the subject unless he is given a basic understanding of that person’s sexual loves and hates and conflicts. It is the only way the reader can make sense out of innumerable apparently senseless actions.

And so I have remained... an abomination to all but those few people who have overcome their aversion to truth in order to free whatever is good in them.

Every actor has a natural animosity toward every other actor, present or absent, living or dead.

The great art of films does not consist of descriptive movement of face and body, but in the movements of thought and soul transmitted in a kind of intense isolation.

And so I have remained, in relentless pursuit of truth and excellence, an unforgiving executioner of the bogus, an abomination to all but those few people who have overcome their aversion to truth in order to free whatever is good in them.

If I ever bore you, it’ll be with a knife.

Most beautiful dumb girls think they are smart and get away with it, because other people, on the whole, aren’t much smarter.

I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of ‘not trying.’ I tried with all my heart.

Anyone who has achieved excellence in any form knows that it comes as a result of ceaseless concentration.

A well dressed woman, even though her purse is painfully empty, can conquer the world.