"Inspiration exists in unlikely places. Like with Bruce Deel, it was an honor to publish Summer’s book. Who knew that by learning how to take care of plants better, we could learn to take care of each other better?"

"When talking about singing on this record I wanted to see how far I could push some of the vocals, Joe was definitely an inspiration to me on how reckless you can be when you let yourself go in a song."

"This 21st-century statement of the ideals of the Enlightenment offers fresh insight on a vast number of topics, including the workings of human cognition, the ways of science, and the drivers of progress. A major inspiration for “Enlightenment Now.”"

"No examination of cinematic suspense and visual storytelling would be complete without Hitchcock, and his technical virtuosity in ‘Foreign Correspondent’’s portrayal of the downing of a plane at sea provided inspiration for much of what we attempted in ‘Dunkirk.’"

"Quintessential Spike Lee. Brooklyn. Hottest day of the year. This film defined a generation of filmmakers and artists that followed. For me, as an artist growing up in New York, Spike Lee was an inspiration. He showed us it could be done."

"John Logan's stunning play about Mark Rothko testing and teaching his young assistant resulted in one of the best evenings I have ever had in the theatre. I keep the script on my iPad to dip into for inspiration and lessons of conviction."

"There might have been personal things in my life right here, because I wanted to strip things down. Another inspiration was a lot of country singer-songwriters. I’m friends with a guy named Terry Allen, who’s a great, very eccentric songwriter. Both of us have worked with Lucinda Williams, who everybody knows is an incredible songwriter. There’s an early group called the Flatlanders, and their first records or demos were just amazing. I was really immersed in these people who were writing very simply, as far as their musical arrangements, and very heartfelt. I was getting a lot of inspiration from them."