I have a very promiscuous relationship with all my objects.

When I was a child, I was raised Catholic. Somewhere, I didn't fit with the saints and holy men. I discovered the monsters - in Boris Karloff, I saw a beautiful, innocent creature in a state of grace, sacrificed by sins he did not commit.

There's nothing more political than fantasy.

I'm always very, very careful when the movies happen and where they happen.

I think looking is the essential act of loving. Brothers, fathers and sons, lovers, whatever. What you do when you love someone is look at that person as that person is.

I think that evil is a spiritual engine in our world, our lives, our universe, that functions in order to create good.

I believe that we, every day, 24-7, all the days of our lives, we are, all of us, agents of construction and agents of destruction.

Insects are living metaphors for me. They are so alien and so remote and so perfect, but also they are emotionless; they don't have any human or mammalian instincts. They'll eat their young at the drop of a hat; they can eat your house! There's no empathy - none.

I have said no to many, many Day of the Dead projects in the past, about 10 or 15, because every time I heard a take it was from someone who didn't know the celebration.

Ultimately, you walk life side-by-side with death, and the Day of the Dead, curiously enough, is about life. It's an impulse that's intrinsic to the Mexican character.

I think we live in a culture that is actually hedging all of it towards comfort and immediacy, things that scare me. All the things that they sell us as a way of life scare me.

TV now, you have to plan it: you structure it for binge watching, meaning you structure the whole season like a three-act play. You have a first act - the first third of the season - second act is the middle third, and you structure it like that.

As a director, I design every movie to be true to itself, and damn it if they like it, and damn it if they don't.

'Crimson' is written in a very particular style, and it's very precise in the way it graduates into a gothic romance. The souls that will connect with it will connect deeply.

I truly try to create beauty and reflection and all of that as conscientiously and judiciously and minutely as I can.

You cannot dictate what people find funny, what people find attractive, or what people find scary. There is not a norm.

I don't try to sanction other people's joy in monsters. I mean, I think the fact is, humor, fantasy - you know, like fear, desire or laughter - create genres of their own: comedy, melodrama, or erotic films or horror films... The boundaries cannot be defined. It's to each his own.

Every project that you write about or read about, it goes through years of hard work. We write a screenplay; we design. Then you submit those and the budget, and it's out of your hands.

I would have killed to do 'Beauty And The Beast' at Warners, which went away. I would have killed to do 'The Witches' at Warners that went away. God knows there are many, many of them. All I can do is diligently do the screenplay, diligently do the design work, deliver a budget, and then await a decision.

Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It's about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.

Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people get together to eat.

Food is not just eating energy. It's an experience.

There are two different things: there's grilling, and there's barbecue. Grilling is when people say, 'We're going to turn up the heat, make it really hot and sear a steak, sear a burger, cook a chicken.' Barbecue is going low and slow.

You have to be confident in who you are and what you're doing. Of course, you try to evolve. I would never tell you, 'Today is the best I will ever be.' I'm always trying to be a better chef, a better dad, a better person.

Manage the heat, let the meat cook, and you'll get fantastic results.

I'm a culinary gangsta with a very spiritual side, so when I was introduced to the 'spiritual gangster' line, I had to have it.

If you're feeling adventurous, grill up some marinated octopus. It's so healthy.

In Japanese, sushi does not mean raw fish. It means seasoned rice.

There's nothing that can replicate the smoky flavor of char, so when I've got the hankering for it, I tell my wife that I'm taking care of dinner. I have three different types of barbecues - a coal, gas and smoker - so I can experiment a lot.

There are three people you need in life: an accountant, a fishmonger, and a bail bondsman.

I wake up in the morning thinking about food.

When I was 12, we began hosting exchange students from Norway, Sweden, Japan and Spain. I soon realized there was a whole world out there. I was determined to spend my sophomore year in high school abroad. My school taught only Spanish, but I wanted to go to France, and I did.

Cooking is like snow skiing: If you don't fall at least 10 times, then you're not skiing hard enough.

You can find tranquility, you can find party, you can find new friends. I'm a cruise convert.

As soon as you wanna take away the flavor of anything, just fry it.

Outdoor cooking is not just about hot dogs and hamburgers. There are so many styles of food you can make.

Food is a common denominator for all people.

Your classic guacamole is just avocados, lime juice, and salt.

With messy food, or foods with a lot of sauce, you do 'The Hunch.' I learned it in Philly, watching the dudes in suits eat cheesesteaks. You keep your elbows above your hands because if you don't, the grease runs down your sleeve to your elbow.

My sister and I cooked a lot together; my sister was a very healthy vegetarian. She was always a real good teacher for me about organics, recycling, composting -whenever you hear me talk about it, it's usually because of my sister's influence.

If it tastes really good, and it's funky, it's funkalicous. If the guy making it is funky, he's funkintacious.

I tell anyone who will listen to me: On a cruise, you can be with all these people, or you can be by yourself. You can find tranquility, you can find party, you can find new friends. I'm a cruise convert.

No matter how tough the meat may be, it's going to be tender if you slice it thin enough.

I eat healthier than you think. I eat grains and vegetables when I'm home - and I eat in courses. My wife, Lori, thinks it's because I don't want foods to touch. That's not it. If you eat courses, you slow down your meal and eat less. It's a trick I picked up in France as a kid.

Everybody has their role in the food world and what they choose to appreciate. I'm not a fine dining chef. I appreciate it. I think Thomas Keller is amazing. But I really like where I'm at; I like what I do. I like how it makes people feel.

If you've really got a problem with me, and you came and told me you had a problem with me, I'd be interested to listen to you. But if you're just some loser that sits there and hammers away on some blog form or whatever, I don't have time for that. Why even worry about it?

Preparing food is one of life's great joys, but a lot of times, parents ask their kids if they want to cook with them and then tell them to go peel a bag of potatoes. That's not cooking - that's working!

Kids want to saute, to cut the pizza, to see how the ingredients come together. If you let them do the fun stuff, they'll develop skills and interests that will stay with them forever.

I don't drink soda.

There are races and then there are races. And without a doubt, the Indy 500 is the race that I've always wanted to attend. And now, to be driving the Corvette Pace Car... this is going to be unbelievable.