"Everybody's got one killer story. It doesn't take talent to tell that story, it just takes experience."

"The only thing of value I have in this life is my ability to tell a story, whether in print, orating, writing it down or having people acting it out. That's why I'm always hoping society never collapses because the first ones to go will be entertainers."

"There's something to be said for failing. It's not the failure you feel, it's the failure that people project when something disappoints. You're back to ground zero, where there's no expectations, and that's where I like to be."

"Haven't two hundred years of failed missionary work overseas taught anybody anything? You can't convert people to anything - whether religion, or something as inane as our flicks."

"I think for the most part people are proud of the bicultural foundation New Zealand is built on and the fact that we are a multicultural society."

"My kids love it. I thought I was the coolest dad in the world when I got to be in a Bond film, but 'Harry Potter', too? Well, I think I qualify for a medal for exceptional parenting or something, don't you?"

"Aptitude found in the understanding and is often inherited. Genius coming from reason and imagination, rarely."

"Perhaps no person can be a poet, or even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind."