I think I was going through a lot of change at 27, but I didn't know it was happening until it was over.

I don't agree with the idea that my characters are unlikeable.

I think anxiety is dangerous, but it makes you think it's your friend.

Even fairly serious moviegoers can't shake this shadow of the corporate world.

When you're around your family, and you have that history and that shared language, you say things you'd be embarrassed to hear quoted back to you later.

Adaptations are fun for me because they connect to the idea of filmmaking I had when I was a kid. I would see a movie and think: 'I'm gonna make that movie.'

Anyone who's putting money into your movie would always rather you cast well-known people.

I get a lot of responses to my movies. Some people say, 'Oh, I thought it was really funny - I hope that's okay!' And my answer always is 'Yes. It's totally okay.'

I suppose some studio executive would say it's death for a comedy if people aren't all laughing in the same places, but I find with my movies that people laugh in very different places. I can't control it.

When I start a movie, there will be certain films that I watch again just because the vibe seems right.

I'm curious how people build up the codes that they live their life by, and how they come to think that that's the best way for them to function.

I think if we taped a lot of families that claim to be relatively normal, you'd be surprised when you hear some of the things said.

I made two movies very young, and then I had trouble getting a movie made, and so - which was both, I think, a plus and a minus. It was a minus because it made me unhappy.

I really like my first movie a lot, 'Kicking and Screaming.' I think it's a - I'm very pleased and proud of that movie, but it wasn't the - it wasn't 'Citizen Kane' right out of the box, you know? It wasn't 'Sex, Lies and Videotape.'

I've run into more people walking in L.A. than if I drove. Because you stand out so much if you walk. People from my past have stopped their cars and said, 'Hey!' But if I was in a car, they never would've seen me.

I think it's always interesting how music means different things to different people, and people who overthink it are looking to in some ways show off with music, versus people who just respond to a song and decide to sing it.

I think all my movies are about transitions to some degree.

I do like having books on my shelves. I do value that life.

I always viewed life as material for a movie.

I know people who are incredibly successful who still dress the way they did when they were 18, just because they still think that's how they look good.

Being articulate, my parents could make anything sound reasonable.

I kind of live like a writer. I get up and I write. I've done that my whole life.

Peter Bogdanovich is a good friend.

I watch movies all the time, so it's hard to pick certain specific directors that have inspired me in the aggregate.

I didn't train in directing; I talk to actors the way I talk to anybody.

Being funny, in some ways, is about being connected to psychology.

I don't know any writer of fiction who enjoys trying to point out or dissect whatever they produced with strangers and let them go through it and pick apart what's real and what isn't.

A film set becomes its own family anyway, and all family dynamics come out during a shoot. The trick is hiring people who know how to handle that.

I love black-and-white movies that are about contemporary subjects.

I've had great experiences or joyful experiences making a movie that people found very disturbing.

It's going to start really interfering with your quality of life, your health, if you don't adjust to life as it's happening to you.

Wes Anderson's films, 6-year-olds are crazy about them.

A lot of black-and-white films generally have a color version that will be used for TV.

I try to procrastinate, if I can, productively, like I'll work on something else as procrastination. Or I take a walk. Because often I find, if you get out, more things come to you.

I'm always looking for overlooked post-Dylan singer-songwriter records from the '70s.

I personally believe that if you love someone, and you get your heart broken, and you can learn to love someone else just as deeply as the first, then that is the greatest lesson we can learn on this planet.

When I was in high school, I wasn't a nerd, I wasn't a jock. I wasn't a bad kid. I just flew under the radar with my homies.

Life kind of forces us to put these filters on, whether it's because someone told you you weren't good enough - excluded you or bullied you. Or maybe your parents screwed up on accident in some way and it changed who you were. There's this pressure to fit into a mold and change who you're supposed to be.

To me, when you're crying, you're aligned with some sort of truth. Some inner truth. That's why you cry. You identify. It's just ultimate honesty.

I swear to God, like, every day, the majority of my day is sentimental.

If I can inspire one spark of awareness or get a spark of introspection or reflection about someone else's life, that's a beautiful thing, in my opinion.

If you love someone - like, truly love someone - I don't think that ever goes away. But what does change is your perspective on the relationship and the dynamic.

Sweet Tarts are dank. 10/10.

I just like the word 'serendipity.'

We all want love. We all want to be taken care of and supported and cherished.

Sleep is very important.

Meditation has been very, very helpful. You know, even if it's just 5 minutes a day.

I definitely have that bug; I'd really like to do some auteur, existential pieces, darker films, something that's really reflective of life. But I also love the genre of rom-coms, and I don't see myself completely detaching from that.

When I was turning 21, I was like, 'Damn, I've been partying like crazy since I was 17...' I was like, 'Wow, maybe I should take a break.' So I stopped doing all that, and I found that a lot of problems I was having in my life, slowly, they didn't go away: they just became way more apparent to me.

I act, but I'm not necessarily an actor. Acting is just the first thing people see when they look at me. So I'd like to do more things.