"There’s not really a road map for becoming an artist other than the following: get up off your ass every day and make an effort; don’t be afraid to try and fail, and don’t wait for permission to get started; if you don’t have money, get creative with materials that you find or make; believe without a doubt that you were meant for something more, and that no one else can say something the way you can. If you’re fascinated (like I am) by the New York artist scene in the 60s and 70s, and how the AIDS epidemic in the 80s swept through and took its toll, “Just Kids” will blow your mind."

"I remember one time, Robert Altman asked me what I thought the greatest movie that I had ever seen was, and I said Citizen Kane. Bob correctly said “Oh bulls–t, everybody says [in mocking voice] ‘Citizen Kane, Citizen Kane.’ Do you really feel that?” And I went, “No, not really.” [laughs] He said, “Give me an honest answer,” and I said Treasure of Sierra Madre. He thought for a minute and he said, “I can’t believe you said that. That is, for my money, the most perfect film ever made.” And I said “Why?” He said it was because “There’s not one frame that I would cut from it, or one frame I would add to it.”"