"When I read the last page of this heartbreaking, funny, hopeful novel I went right back to the first page and read the whole book again! A beautiful movie star, a dreamy Italian man, a schlocky producer, an ambitious assistant, a rock star, a wannabe screenwriter, and Richard Burton all come together in the most winning way imaginable."

"I wanted to throw a comedy in there. I just remember seeing that movie, and Jimmy Stewart, and just the whole way Ernst Lubitsch tells his story comedically… I’m sure there were ones that came before that, but to me it felt innovative in the sense that it was a bunch of disparate storylines coming together in the end.#"

"There’s a poem of Heaney’s that describes a couple peeling potatoes together while everyone’s at Mass. Such a mundane task, but that image of a couple at their closest while they peel potatoes—oh my god, it fucked me up. It’s such an intimate thing. How Heaney can dissolve you into tears without being sentimental is an extraordinary thing."

"Waking Ned Devine. Loved it. There’s something about aged, experienced, mature people acting like kids. This whole town bands together to pull a ruse, to win a lottery ticket and split lottery ticket winnings; it was kind of morally wrong, and yet also giddy and made you clap your hands and say, “Go you guys, go!”"

"It’s basically my perfect movie. Character driven with phenomenal performances, so idiosyncratic, and funny as hell, as well as achingly sad. The ideal combination of comedy and tragedy. I adore Shirley [MacLaine] and Jack [Nicholson] together. I love them, full stop. It’s the most satisfying tearjerker ever made because the lows are so beautifully balanced with gorgeous, swelling highs."