I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.

Is gentleness too much for usShould gentleness be filed along with empathyWe feel for someone else's childEvery time a smart bomb does its sums and gets it wrongSomeone else's child dies and equities in defence riseAmerica, America, please hear us when we callYou got hip-hop, be-bop, hustle and bustleYou got Atticus FinchYou got Jane RussellYou got freedom of speechYou got great beaches, wildernesses and mallsDon't let the might, the Christian right, fuck it all upFor you and the rest of the world

I'll tell you, I think that the Internet has provided an enormous boost to film criticism by giving people an opportunity to self publish or to find sites that are friendly.

The buried code of many American films has become: If I kill you, I have won and you have lost. The instinctive ethical code of traditional Hollywood, the code by which characters like James Stewart, John Wayne and Henry Fonda lived, has been lost.

Many thrillers follow such reliable formulas that you can look at what's happening and guess how much longer a film has to run.

I am utterly bored by celebrity interviews. Most celebrities are devoid of interest.