John Cusack
I think being self-referential is really narcissistic. Who's to say anybody's even thinking of you that much? But some of these movies that I've done, people still recite lines to me, even 20 years later.Collection: Movies
I always liked it when people go back in time to discover things about themselves, like with 'A Christmas Carol' and you're getting a tour of your life by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.Collection: Christmas
Hitler was so modern, in that he was obsessed with being famous. He was caught up with this rush to be have achieved greatness before turning 30.Collection: Famous
I was a teen star. That's disgusting enough.Collection: Teen
If people are constantly reading about you, and you're overexposed, they've got no reason to go see your movies. Also, it's not pleasant or nice to have your privacy invaded.Collection: Movies
Poe had this curious kind of alchemical courage, where he took all the terrible things and terrors that happened in his life, all this shame and fear and pain, and turned them into great works of art. He was a complex, brilliant person who was just wired too tight.Collection: Courage
Acting can be pretty challenging. I can't say making a romantic comedy is challenging, but to do anything well, you have to put yourself into it.Collection: Romantic
I feel close to Lloyd in 'Say Anything'. He was like a super-interesting version of me. Only I'm not as good as him. Whatever part of me is romantic and optimistic, I reached into that to play Lloyd.Collection: Romantic
I kept saying that I'd never live in L.A., and I didn't think I would. But that's where the work is, and I ended up making a lot of friends there, and my old friends moved out to Los Angeles too. And also, I think when you're famous, its hard to live in a small town.Collection: Famous
I force people to have coffee with me, just because I don't trust that a friendship can be maintained without any other senses besides a computer or cellphone screen.Collection: Technology
But no, I don't really like romantic comedies, so I don't really care. I never go see 'em.Collection: Romantic
Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable or am I miserable because listen to pop music?Collection: Music
I think that taking night trains or meeting someone on the road is pretty romantic. I've done a couple of things like that. I've surprised someone in Paris. And hopefully, when you surprise someone, they're happy to see you.Collection: Romantic
Sometimes you meet people and you feel like you've known them for a long time.
Being on a movie set is like one long financial crisis.
I read Noam Chomsky. I like some of Gore Vidal's stuff.
I have a good friend who's a Texas girl; Texas girls are a whole different breed.
I'm definitely nostalgic about the music of my youth; The Clash and Fishbone and that whole music scene. I still have all that music to this day. There was some great music going on in the late 70s and 80s.
I think good actors can sort of see into people and immediately you have a chemistry with them or not. It's like an affair with no mess. You don't actually consummate it, but you get to pretend, imagine what it would be like.
I was raised Irish Catholic, but I don't consider myself Irish Catholic: I consider myself me, an American.
Texas women have an amazing sense of purpose when they lose it. They're the best girls in the world - they're loyal and fun, but when they get mad, they'll try to kill you.
I grew up in Evanston and lived in Chicago for a long time, in Old Town and Wrigleyville. I did three films when I was in high school. The first was 'Class,' with Rob Lowe. I had a supporting role in that.
Nope, no sex scandals yet. But I am open to offers!
I remember the '80s being about the Cold War and Reagan and the homeless problem and AIDS. To me, it was kind of a dark, depressing time.
People try to keep their past, like kind of holding on to their past. Every Springsteen song talks about that.
When applied to politics and taken to its extreme, kitsch is the mask of death. Fascism was all aesthetics. There was no core principle to it. There was no truth to it.
There are some good people. But a good chunk of them will lie for no reason at all - it'll be ten o'clock and they'll tell you it's nine. You're looking at the clock and you can't even fathom why they're lying. They just lie because that's what they do.
A lot of people are not meant to be together.
Any time you stop looking at evil as a black and white thing, it's helpful. So the fact that there won't be any obligatory Islamic terrorist stereotypes in movies any more, that'd be helpful.
Art is spiritual.
Death is a billion-dollar business. They can't even pass a law where it takes seven days to get a gun. Why don't you have to go through the same kind of screening you do to get a driver's license? It's totally insane.
Good actors can sort of see into people and immediately you have a chemistry with them or not. It's like an affair with no mess.
I feel like I'm a filmmaker; I don't feel I need to yell action and cut.
I guess maybe I'm idealistic.
I have a bit of a rebellious nature.
I like the George Romero films, which were really great, social satire movies; really twisted.
I love these movies where it's just about the film. You don't have my face on the poster. It's all about the movie. I like that.
I think when you get to the point where you don't need to be in love, then you could be in love. You have to just be OK with yourself-and that's a long process.
I was never interested in being an overly public person.
I was raised Catholic until I was old enough to say no.
I've seen the people who talk about their love lives in print invariably have doomed relationships with the person they're talking about.
If you're going to get into social criticism with absurdity and satire, you can't be politically correct when you do that.
Kitsch is more dangerous than it looks when taken to the extreme.
The British keep employing me, and that makes me like them. It also makes me think they're very intelligent.
The film is not a success until it makes money. It's only good when there's a dollar figure attached to the box office.
The more you expose yourself as a celebrity, the less interesting you are to watch in your work, because if you're putting yourself out there all the time, you're not holding anything back.
The reason bin Laden staggered the planes going into the towers was so every camera would be focused on the second tower when the plane hit. It was not only the murder, but the perpetual image of the horror that permeated into people's consciousness.
Usually I play people who just keep babbling on and on and on.
New York's like a boxing match. In Hollywood, it's like a Fellini movie or something.
I think the more you expose yourself as a celebrity, the less interesting you are to watch in your work, because if you're putting yourself out there all the time, you're not holding anything back.