Critically Acclaimed Quotes

Meryl Streep is on the program tonight. I like to throw her a little work whenever I can.

Oh, I think Scarlett Johansson is a terrific actress. I think she's just marvelous.

You can't, or you shouldn't, be nominated for an Oscar unless you've turned in a performance that's special.

'Ghost World' was such an incredibly difficult episode to find the right tone for. I remember at the time it was very divisive because some people hated it - they thought it was cheesy and hokey - and I loved it. When I saw it, I cried my head off, and I was so happy.

'The Simpsons' obviously is a huge success, and Fox has nothing to do with its success, with its creative success, and as a result they don't really like the show. They don't like 'The Simpsons' at Fox.

If you like dark movies or light movies, 'The Empire Strikes Back' is one of the great movies of all time. It's probably the greatest movie of all time. 'A New Hope' is a superb movie. It's probably the second-greatest movie of all time, but 'The Empire Strikes Back' is better.

It's really fun to see a movie that you've heard about that's really good.

While we were filming 'Munna Bhai MBBS,' we didn't think we were doing some kind of mainstream cinema. I only knew that I was doing a different kind of cinema.

I thought 'The Social Network' was fantastic.

I love Cate Blanchett; I think she's brilliant.

Party of Five won a Golden Globe, it was a well-written television series.

I had never really heard of Meryl Streep before. Someone told me she was an actress and she'd been in a few things, but I said, you know, whatever. She showed up and she seemed somewhat inexperienced, so I gave her a few pointers, and I think she has a decent career ahead of her. It's always hard to tell these things in Hollywood, but I do think that she has some talent under there. I think she's a diamond in the rough.

My favourite actress is Meryl Streep. Oh, and Anna Magnani.

What makes a classic is difficult to define. It's entirely subjective, of course. And the term is employed far too promiscuously.

There are always at least five good films at the end of the year to get nominated, but generally speaking nowadays, it's more of the independent films that are recognized.

'Mad Men' is a hard act to follow. Unless you're called Elisabeth Moss, stuff like this only comes along once in your career.

I'm fairly certain when I die that the obituary will say, 'Author of 'Angels in America' dies.' Unless I'm completely forgotten, and then it won't say anything at all.

I'd much rather be in a movie that people have really strong feelings about than one that makes a hundred million dollars but you can't remember because it's just like all the others.

Samantha Morton is one of the best actresses in the world.

I think “The Book of Mormon” has made that difference in its field. It changed the game. It’s something that 20 years from now people will still be talking about, hopefully. That’s my goal as an artist, as a creator, as a work for hire, is to choose projects that make people think, make people talk, and make people interested in having a dialogue.

Negative books can be bestsellers, but seldom classics.

Michael Winterbottom is one of the great directors of this century.

'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' is not a direct-to-video, low-budget sequel: it's a big film. And it'd be fantastic to have the opportunity to see it on the IMAX screens at the same time, and IMAX has made arrangements with us for that to happen.

I think when 'The Simpsons' first came on, there was an uproar. People got used to it. They realized the show's really funny, it's got a heart, so I think it's pretty safe.

I'd like to make a great movie. I've made many movies. I think I've made some good movies, but I never felt I've made a great movie.