“Her hair is ridiculous," I said."I know. That was the only thing I said about her that was true. When you say nasty things about people, you should never say the true ones, because you can't really fully and honestly take those back, you know? I mean, there are highlights. And there are streaks. And then there are skunk stripes.”

“When you say nasty things about people, you should never say the true ones, because you can't really fully and honestly take those back..”

“I just think if you don't say the honest thing, sometimes the honest thing never becomes true, you know, and I-”

“I'm not that. You of all people should know that. You should know that I would only destroy those good things about her. "Or maybe you're just scared," she says.”

“You are treating that thing as if it is a great treasure," he said. Well, yeah. Because it was. "You have something against cookies?""I couldn't say, as I have never had one."Wait. What? "Never, as in never?""Is there another meaning for the word never that I don't know about?"Ha, ha. "But that's criminal!""Hardly.""But...why haven't you tasted one?""Because I choose to consume only foods that will strengthen me.""I'm not sure you realize how ridiculous you sound."-Annabelle and Zacharel”

“The idea tells you everything. Lots of times I get ideas, I fall in love with them. Those ones you fall in love with are really special ideas. And, in some ways, I always say, when something's abstract, the abstractions are hard to put into words unless you're a poet. These ideas you somehow know. And cinema is a language that can say abstractions. I love stories, but I love stories that hold abstractions--that can hold abstractions. And cinema can say these difficult-to-say-in-words things. A lot of times, I don't know the meaning of the idea, and it drives me crazy. I think we should know the meaning of the idea. I think about them, and I tell this story about my first feature Eraserhead. I did not know what these things meant to me--really meant. And on that particular film, I started reading the Bible. And I'm reading the Bible, going along, and suddenly--there was a sentence. And I said, forget it! That's it. That's this thing. And so, I should know the meaning for me, but when things get abstract, it does me no good to say what it is. All viewers on the surface are all different. And we see something, and that's another place where intuition kicks in: an inner-knowingness. And so, you see a thing, you think about it, and you feel it, and you go and you sort of know something inside. And you can rely on that. Another thing I say is, if you go--after a film, withholding abstractions--to a coffee place--having coffee with your friends, someone will say something, and immediately you'll say “No, no, no, no, that's not what that was about.” You know? “This is what it was about.” And so many things come out, it's surprising. So you do know. For yourself. And what you know is valid.”