Happy #BevCrusherDay!

Where are the calluses we doctors are supposed to grow over our feelings?

20 Borg werden gleich diese Tür durchbrechen. Wir brauchen Zeit, um hier rauszukommen. Lenken Sie sie ab.

That's not a fair question.

Na dann tanzen Sie, erzählen Sie eine Geschichte, tun Sie irgendwas ... aber verschaffen Sie uns ein paar Sekunden!

The Edo want to execute my son.

Ok Data, was schlagen Sie vor?

Then your God is unfair. My son had no warning that his act was criminal.

Worf, der Sicherheitschef ...Pause... Der Große, der niemals lächelt ...Pause... Der Klingone!

You know I had some trouble getting through? Where's Captain Picard?

Hier ist eine Frage, die du wahrscheinlich nicht beantworten kannst. Was ist die Natur des Universums?

What is he, a fish?

Dreimal die Absätze zusammenschlagen und schon bin ich wieder in Kansas? Könnte es so einfach sein?

Lieutenant, I understand your feelings about the Romulans, but this is not the time or the place.

Computer! Wieviele Besatzungsmitglieder befinden sich an Bord der Enterprise?

This Romulan didn't kill your parents. And you are the only one who can save his life.

Ist dieses Besatzungsmitglied allein qualifiziert, die Mission dieses Schiffes zu erfüllen?

He's prepared to kill you.

Warum bin ich dann allein auf diesem Schiff?

It will pass, all of it. Just another hour or so, you're doing fine, just hold on.

Jetzt habe ich dich!

I'm here, Jean-Luc. I'm not going anywhere.

Computer! Was ist das für ein Mist, den ich da sehe?

If there's nothing wrong with me . . . maybe there's something wrong with the universe.

We will start with the assumption that I am not crazy.

Computer. Read the entire crew roster for the Enterprise.

Have I always been the only member of the crew on the starship Enterprise?

If this were a bad dream, would you tell me?

Like hell it's not. What is the primary mission of the starship Enterprise?

Do I have the necessary skills to complete that mission alone?

Here's a question you shouldn't be able to answer...Computer: What is the nature of the universe?

Click my heels together three times and I'm back in Kansas. Can it really be that simple?

Therapists are always the worst patients. Except for doctors, of course.

They don't do a lot of tap-dancing at weddings.

Well, Data, because...I don't really know why, Data.

We have to dream in order to survive.

You scare me, doctor. You risk your patients' lives and justify it in the name of research. Genuine research takes time... sometimes a lifetime of painstaking, detailed work in order to get any results. Not for you, you take short cuts, right through living tissue. You put your research ahead of your patients' lives and as far as I'm concerned, that's a violation of our most sacred trust. I'm sure your work will be hailed as a stunning breakthrough. Enjoy your laurels, doctor. I'm not sure I could.

Thank you. Mmm, nutmeg.

I wish I knew how I could help.

Well it's there for you, Jean-Luc. It always has been.

But even in war there are rules. You don't kill civilians indiscriminately.

Computer, Commander Beverly Crusher. Confirm auto-destruct sequence, authorization Crusher-two-two-beta-Charlie.

So much for the Enterprise E.

You think they'll build another one?

You either need a new uniform or a new neck.

I guess they don't believe in cocktails before dinner.

Okay, Data, what do you think we should do?

Not that we care about such things in this day and age.

Happy Birthday Justin Lin!

I’m the child of immigrants. My Taiwanese parents came to America with no money and supported my brothers and me as small business owners in Orange County, which is close to L.A. but about as far away from Hollywood as you can be. I didn’t know anyone in the industry, but had a great deal of people help me along in my path,” said Lin. “I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but feel incredibly lucky to be in the position I am now and to be able to play a small part in trying to support talented, aspiring young filmmakers out there through a program like ‘Interpretations’ who, like me, had the desire and passion, but no connections to the industry.

We ultimately get to know ourselves a little bit better by pushing forward.

When John and I started 15 years ago, you know I was making the Credit Card movie [Better Luck Tomorrow], and it was an indie movie. Back then obviously there was no money, so everybody just came on because they either believed in the script or the project. And that spirit was so strong, and in a way something I treasure. And then, going and doing the studio films, it’s always been I think one of the big challenges for the film makers, to make sure that, yeah, there’s money and people are being compensated, but let’s show up and be passionate, you know. To be able to meet up 15 years later, and to do this film with all the physical challenges that were ahead of us, that’s something I take a lot of pride in. Everybody on this set, in the cutting room, everybody went above and beyond, and that’s something that’s really rare. And again, I think when I took this on, I wanted to make it the biggest budgeted indie film ever, and I really am very fortunate. And that’s due to the people that got together to make this.

There's an anxiety of wanting to please the studios. You want to prove to them that you can do it and sometimes you might jump at a project that you're not totally passionate about.

I kind of approach action/non-action very much similarly. It has to be character-based and it has to kind of come off the theme and the overall arc. I had a very strong opinion on what sets this journey off. That’s been the centerpiece of this film….action to me is no fun if it’s not built around character. And that has to come from the very original impetus of why this movie exists. So far, I mean all the action pieces are set off of that incident and all how our characters react to it. So, for me it’s exciting because it’s organic. It’s not artificial. It’s not something that I do an action because people want to see action. It’s because this journey, whatever happens, whatever causes this to happen, whatever our characters do to try to counter it somehow organically creates that.

Do what you love. I’ve seen so many people through the years calculate and speculate on what films to do in order “to make it.” And every time those projects crash and burn. I think when young filmmakers make films trying to impress the industry, they usually won’t work. I think the people with the power and money actually want to work with filmmakers that have something to say. And at the end of the day, if the film is made for the right reasons, then there’s no failure. You live or die by your voice.

I became a filmmaker because I wanted to deal with issues that intrigued me, that I thought were pertinent, that would start dialogue.

As great as JJ’s films were, there’s still a lot to be mined from these characters. They haven’t really gone on their five-year mission, so what we experienced in the TV show hasn’t been touched on yet. That sets up an opportunity for exploration and the deeper you go, the more you are examining humanity. Those are the things that I absorbed as a kid and hope to tap into and embrace and celebrate. By the time this movie comes out, Star Trek will have been around for 50 years.

I think ultimately that sense of hope is something that even as a little kid I was able to kind of grab onto.

With my first film [“Better Luck Tomorrow”], I was working three jobs [to help pay for it]. I was meeting with potential investors, and right away everybody’s like, “It’s an Asian-American cast. It’ll never sell.” And a lot of them were Asian-American investors. A guy offered $1 million for the budget, and he said, “We’ll get Macaulay Culkin to be the lead.” If I would have said yes, I would have gotten $1 million and I would have gotten to make the movie with a white cast, but it didn’t interest me.

It is very important to support what you believe in.

That's part of what they do. I'm just hired to make the movie and I love the idea that we have, but there's no connection at all.

If you cast an all-white movie and it doesn't do well, no one will say it's because you had an all-white cast.

It’s all new and fresh. The Klingons, Romulans and other species are great, but it’s time to go further. It has been fun to focus on creating whole new worlds and species.

I feel like every time you get to make a sequel, it's a privilege. It means that people have embraced it and want the journey to continue.

I'm confident that China's economic growth will definitely not slow to below 9 percent in the next two years.

If you put forth a really diverse cast and you fight for it and it doesn't do well - and it may fail for other reasons - you're gone because you stuck your neck out for that decision.

My dad worked 364 days a year, only took Thanksgiving off, and from age 8 to 18, the only time I could hang out with my parents was by staying late. And every night, it was Star Trek on Channel 13 in L.A. That was my childhood. All my friends were Star Wars kids but I didn’t go to the movies, so I was the Star Trek kid. Thinking about this, it became a very personal and very emotional decision.

Happy Birthday Scott Bakula!

Running for me has always been a great place to get away. It's a great stress reliever for me. It's great if I need to be working on something in my mind, whether it's things I need to be memorizing or thinking about, or I have some presentation coming up. 

My daughter, when she was younger, was crazy about 'The X-Files,' so I'd watch that with her.

The guy that picked me up at the airport in 1985 when I was out in L.A. for my first audition was selling a script. I was a nobody coming off a plane to read for a new show.

By all standards, except for 'Star Trek' standards, 98 episodes of any television show is a wildly successful run.

To be quite honest, I find that it's easier to do parts that are wrapped up in different hair and wardrobe and eras, and different period behavior, than it is to play closer to the present.

My favorite thing about running is running when it's as hot as it can be, which is a little odd.

I haven't really thought about where to scatter my ashes when the time comes, but I doubt that it would be in space.

My kids are good athletes and runners. They run in a bunch of sports.

'Certainly Men of a Certain Age' was different for me and allowed people to see me in a different light. Maybe that opened up minds a little bit.

My oldest son started to like 'South Park' and 'Family Guy,' so we'd watch together so I could spend time with him.

The biggest challenge for everybody to realize out there is that we're in a very complicated business world and that were all under one umbrella and it's very challenging for everybody to figure out where the priorities lie and where the loyalties lie.

On the whole, show business is a hard business in which to be married.

I don't even know how many times I auditioned for Danny Zuko in 'Grease.' 

One of the hardest things to do is to be present and open and clear about who you are and what you stand for. We all have issues with that.

I'm a runner from sports. I've been a runner, but I wasn't a cross-country runner or anything like that. I played a lot of soccer growing up.

The 'NCIS' franchise is beyond successful.

I get nervous even guesting on other people's shows.

The end of shows are a nightmare for everybody because there is so much pressure to satisfy everyone, which of course you can't do.

Sunday night was such a big night for television when I was growing up - you know, 'The Wonderful World of Disney.' 

The further away you can get away from yourself as an actor, the more fun you have.

I like fantasy. I've always been the kind of kid who likes to dream about other things I could be and exotic situations I could be in.

The great thing about show business is that there's no mandatory retirement age.

I've always been a big fan of time travel, and I'm very into the notion that some day we'll be able to do it. Beam me up!

The longest show I've ever done was four and a half years, so I can only imagine what ending an eight year show is like.

I like pop, rock n' roll, big band, Broadway - I like all those elements.

The movies are about big tent pole movies and big action and effects.

I love 'White Christmas.' That's one of my favorites just because I love the music. I love the story, Bing Crosby. It's just one of my all time favorites. And it's hard to have a Christmas without seeing a little bit of Jimmy Stewart and angels running around town.

These sci-fi fans are phenomenal in the standards that they hold you to.

I was a huge fan of the original 'Star Trek,' and I'd never even dreamed that I would someday be captain of a starship.

To do something for other people when they need it most just feels good.

Ideally, people find mates with whom they can express both their masculine and feminine sides.

I'm... first and foremost I'm a theater guy and everything that I know comes from the theater.

I was actually cut out of 'L.A. Story'... and rightfully so. 

What we are as actors, for better and for worse, is visible.

You want to try and bring a character to life in an honest a way as you possibly can. It doesn't matter whether he's a doctor, an actor, a car salesman or a captain of a starship. If you can bring truth and honesty to that character, then your audience will believe you.

With any kind of sci-fi, the imagination continues, and the world exists, and you create that in your own mind, and it lives in you.

I'd really like to play bad guys or guys that have something a little bit off about them. And I get to do that periodically. 

Years ago, I did a CBS audition. I was nervous. They introduced me as 'Scott Bakoola.' Not a good sign. I also didn't get the show. 

Liberace was a miracle. You talk about who he was and what he did, and then you look at who he inspired, from Elton John to Cher to Michael Jackson to Bette Midler. There are so many people that came to see him. Elvis was there, watching his shows.

And I've always felt comfortable certainly in a courtroom because you're just performing. And there was a time in my life when I thought when I grew up I'd be a trial lawyer myself.

I'm a musical theater guy. That's where I came from. That's where I go whenever I have the chance. It's my first love. 

'Behind The Candelabra' is an HBO movie. It's the Liberace story. Michael Douglass and Matt Damon. I play a small part in it. I play a choreographer who introduces, brings Matt Damon to Las Vegas for the first time. 

New Orleans has a unique history as a great melting pot of all kinds of cultures, and that manifests itself now through the food, the music, and the kinds of people who live there.

Clive Barker is just genius, and he's incredibly gifted in so many different ways. He can write and direct and paint and do all these different things, and he can do them all extremely well. 

I'm constantly involved in theater, looking at theater, trying to do work in theater, support theater. And that's kind of my creative passion.

For a long-running TV show, you're looking for a character who is interesting and vibrant and you can imagine going into all kinds of different areas.

The reality of our business is that for every actor who's rolled up his tent and given up and gone home, the next day you hear about some shoe salesman at Macy's who had this audition and now he's Harrison Ford. There's always that carrot out there in our business.

For actors, we always feel like there shouldn't be any divide for anybody. The industry is the one that kind of creates the idea that if you're such-and-such an actor, you can't be on the big screen. 

I've always been told I had an old face. So when I was in my 20s, I never got to play a teenager.

I am very much against weapons in space. And I wish we could be spearheading that program to come to some kind of international agreement so that doesn't happen. That is my only - fear - in further space exploration like always, we hope it doesn't get abused.

It's a joyful, humbling feeling to be in different places around the planet, and people have seen shows that I'm proud of being a part of, that do have things to say about the human condition, the planet, and who we are and where we've come from, that will sustain.

I don't think that a company should own a studio and the network, and program for their own network. It hurts the creativity - it is not a level playing field.

I've done a lot of work other than sci-fi, and between half-hour comedy, stage, and various movie roles, I've really tried to avoid being typecast. 

I grew up in St. Louis, and I don't know if you've ever been to St. Louis in the middle of summer. There are days in the summer sometimes, weeks in the summer, where the temperature can be over 100 degrees and the humidity can be 100 percent.

A lot of people don't know that I'm a singer - that's my thing, really.

I think the challenge in hour television or half-hour television is that the more it's around, certainly on commercial television, the less time you have to tell stories these days, because the more commercials they're putting in.

If I can avoid looking at myself, I will. I don't care to examine myself or see much of what I do. I never care how I look.

I went into show business because I love to work with people, and what I enjoy most about acting is rehearsing and getting to know people and their talents, forming relationships. Working in this business, barriers drop and you get into people real quickly.

I've always had an affinity for lawyers. My dad is a lawyer. He's retired now. My brother is a lawyer. It's always been easy, the legalese.

I've composed a fair amount in my life, and some of them have made it on to the screen, some compositions that I've done, a few. And I like doing that. I had never really considered doing a full-length thing. I've worked with other people creating full-length pieces.

If you're a fan of Shirley MacLaine just like I am, I'd kinda go anywhere to work with her.

I've done great theatre, great films and had a lot of opportunities in television. I also love to sing, and I've been able to do that once or twice in the television shows. 

After 'Quantum Leap,' a lot of sci-fi things came my way, and I had to say, 'I can't do that right now.'

I've shot a lot of places, and I've produced. I always thought, 'Gosh, when you shoot in a big city, it's so difficult.' And New York, I always think, 'Where are you going to park the trucks? How are you going to stop the traffic?'

In the fantasy, sci-fi world, the fans are so discerning and they're so tough and they're so intelligent, and they're so critical.

'Quantum Leap' gave me a huge opportunity as an actor. The nature of the role and it's demands allowed people to perceive me as a versatile actor, and the wide success of the show around the planet gave me a certain notoriety that helped me get other work.

Happy Birthday Avery Brooks!

Until the world in some way changes, then my responsibility is to share what I know and more importantly to behave like I know about the extraordinary work and effort and blood shed for me to be able to sit here.

Don't let form become more important than the substance of your heart and mind. Don't let commerce determine what you do exclusively.

It's the year 2000. But where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars! I don't see any flying cars! Why? Why? Why?

Knowledge is going to make you stronger. Knowledge is going to let you control your life. Knowledge is going to give you the wisdom to teach their children. Knowledge is the thing that makes you smile in the face of disaster.

The show ran for seven years. It was a long, long road. I did have some reservations initially when I read the script [for the series finale "What You Leave Behind"], because I thought they were going to really kill Sisko. I took that very literally, and asked the producers, "Why are you killing Sisko?" The producers told me, "Look we thought you'd be thrilled because we had made him a God!" The difference, of course, is you have Sisko with another child on the way. You still have Sisko with a young man [Jake Sisko] trying to find his way, and you make him a God! That wasn't fair.

People do not connect with what happened last week, let alone what happened 20 years ago.

Hold on to your dream. Don't let the people shake you from your dream. Don't let form become more important than the substance of your heart and mind. Don't let commerce determine what you do exclusively.

If I were a carpenter, I'd find a way to empower using that skill. I'm using as much as God has given - my mind, my voice, my heart, my art forms. This is the highest form of expression on the planet from God, to me, to you.

At least the box is full of something useful. 

One of the reasons that I accepted, once asked to do Star Trek, was to give a single child a chance to see the long thought, to see themselves some 400 years hence. It occurred to me that we must ensure that we keep in front of children the ever-changing horizon. To let the children know that there is possibility, to let the children know that someone is not going to take away or destroy this world before they have a chance. We have to keep that in front of them.

What I am is a thinking, feeling human being compelled by history.

Happy 80th Birthday Walter Koenig!

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

Ich suche immer ein einfaches Skript, um eine interessante Rolle zu spielen.  

Religious tolerance is something we should all practice; however, there have been more persecution and atrocities committed in the name of religion and religious freedom than anything else.

Religiöse Toleranz ist etwas, was wir alle üben sollten; jedoch hat es mehr Verfolgung und Gräueltaten gegeben, die im Namen der Religion und religiösen Freiheit begangen wurden, als irgend etwas anderes.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. 

I didn't watch Raumschiff Enterprise the first year it was on, before I was on the show. I took one look at the Styrofoam rocks and said: "There's no way I'm going to watch this!

If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom. 

Well, an actor is an actor is actor, to paraphrase someone or other and the opportunity to work, to have a steady engagement, certainly seemed like an appealing concept to me.

I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. 

Enterprise has given me a considerable amount of satisfaction and a certain amount of respect in the industry community and among people who watch TV and movies. I enjoy that. I enjoy feeling good about myself. God knows it's easy enough for me to feel bad about myself -- I need all the support I can get. Star Trek deserves the respect it has received. If I'm going to be aligned with something, it might as well be something that makes a worthwhile statement most of the time. No, I don't have any regrets about my involvement with Star Trek.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. 

I'm always looking for a low-budget script with an interesting character to play.

Movies can be effective in influencing people to think in ways they might not otherwise be exposed to. Social commentary in films is most effective when you're not aware of a soapbox. Making the point without force-feeding the audience is the most desirable approach.

I was only one of two people who auditioned for the part, which is quite extraordinary. Considering that this has so materially effected the last 35 years of my life... a couple of hours after I auditioned, I heard that I had gotten the role.

Twittering:
Fed Con: The most enthusiastic , energetic and supportive Star Trek fans anywhere. Just blew my mind away

The Sitges International Film Festival in Spain  - "the worlds's foremost science fiction and fantasy film festival "...

I think this is going to be extraordinary.

Once again ST Creation Con Las Vegas was absolutely amazing!

Payson Ave.? Lee, I'd ask if we ever knew each other but with at least 25 years between our ages I'd have to believe that we do not.

I think we have an excellent picture but we need money for post production.  Renegades II : Requiem ...

the saga of Pavel Chekov. I've heard the story and it's very exciting. Undoubtedly, the  best about his life I've ever heard.

Was misinformed on the name of the award. It's called "The Time Machine" award.

The Republican Benghazi Committee is a sham. It's time to shut it down. 

I don't know Leslie Jones. I wish I did. I bet she'd be great fun to hang out with.

I grew up during W.W. II thinking Germans were born that way and gay people were not. 
Knowledge is a wonderful thing.

will bestow their Maria Honorary Award for career achievement to Walter Koenig in October of 2016.  Past  award winners include Anthony...

That is incredible! More than incredible!!l

Correction: the footage Ill be shooting for "Captain Pike" is not a trailer but about 25 minutes
from the story itself.
Was fitted for a uniform  today. Actually fits rather well. Things are shaping up with that project!
If you're coming to the Rose City Con in Portland this weekend look for footage from a new film "Neil Stryker Tyrant of Time". Funny stuff!
Had  lunch with "Nobility" producer today. His fully edited film will premier at Comikazie Con in L.A. over Halloween weekend. I'll be there
But enough about me.

You can't obligate friends to help. They do it out of friendship or not. Someone with millions of followers said he'd get the word out....
and did not. So we're starting  over at Indiegogo and looking to raise $50,000 to shoot the first third of the film. We're determined

We know the project is that good. I'm talking about "Star Trek: Captain Pike". The link is  http://tinyurl.com/p94xfnz    Please check us out.

I misspoke regarding Captain Pike. It's definitely not a pod cast. It's a 45 minute film regarding the adventures of Capt. Pike.
My contribution is an actor and as one of the writers and producers. My vision is to make it as edgy as "Mad Men" and "Game of Thrones".
Unexpected behavior from the characters and unexpected plot twists are things that Todd Tei, Walter Dody and I are looking to bring to it.
Please go to Kick Start "Star Trek: Captain Pike" for information on the actors already on board. I'm excited. Hope you will be too.

I know someone who knows someone who catches feral cats for a living. There's got to be a screenplay in there somewhere. Any ideas?

At the airport. A 15 year old with eyes wide, trembling lips and chin spittle  cries out "IT'S WALTER KLINGON" . Hand to God.

"Boy, do you look old!", says the disco guy curling his lip. I was 39 then. I must be 10 years dead now and writing this from my grave.

Wow! I'm genuinely overwhelmed. Thanks George and Nichelle. The response is amazing! Hope I'll have some interesting things to report.

I promise I won't chat about what time I stepped off the curb or my dripping faucet.

I skipped over water, I  danced over sea
And all the birds in water couldn't catch me
...I mean, really, what more could you ask for?

The king of Spain's daughter came to visit me,
And all for the sake of my little nut tree.

I had a little nut tree, nothing would it bare
But a silver nutmeg and a golden pear;

My shrink tells me the reason we're all here is to "actualize" our potential. 
I can buy that.

How about "top of the heap stoked"? There are more than seven thousand people under you.

Got a 7 minute film on You Tube  under:   Walter Koenig Handball

I've just  come back from a dinner for wounded soldiers. The obscenity of war was never more evident.

I've written a graphic novel  handled by a publisher with limited resources. I need  help to spread the word.


I'm very new at this. I'd love to say something witty every day and announce something you've never heard before every several hours.

Happy Birthday Jeffrey Combs!

I went to a lot of theatre schools, got a lot of training, did a lot of repertory where you do a different play every night. I took a lot of voice, movement, and acting classes.

Writing has never been a driving force within me.

"Bride of Re-Animator" was cobbled together. I don't really have all the details, but I think there were some issues with the script they were going to shoot. Someone claimed they had propriety over some of the ideas. So at the last minute, the script that was going to be shot was jettisoned, and the one we shot was thrown together. I feel there were some great moments in that movie. Especially, the sort of idea of building a human being out of parts: I really love that whole classic horror idea. But I think the tone got lost a little. Sometimes movies are on a track to get made and you don't have time to pull over and do a polish, because the deal is the deal and we've got a start date, and the money goes away if we don't. It suffered from all of that.

I gravitated to acting out of a mixture of instinct, naivete and opportunity.

Brian Yuzna, who produced Re-Animator, was directing this trilogy of horror stories, and the glue that bound them together was this interweaving story of Lovecraft coming to an exotic, mystical library. He wanted me to play Lovecraft. I kind of resisted. I said, "I don't look like Lovecraft." But John Vulich is a great special-effects makeup artist. He really got me looking like him as much as he possibly could with a chin and a nose. I always felt weird portraying Lovecraft in that movie, because Brian, for the project, really wanted Lovecraft to be an Indiana Jones character, and that's not a particularly accurate portrayal of Lovecraft, if you've read any of his biographies. You do what you can with what you've got.

I always try to make my characters people, and yet I always want to entertain.

"From Beyond" was a very difficult movie. I'm kind of schizo about it. It involved a lot of makeup. I counted it up once, it was 30 days in that hideous, bald-headed, dog-dick-out-of-my-forehead thing. I hated it. It was so uncomfortable. And yet on the flip side of that, it was shot out of Rome, Italy, and I got to spend a glorious eight weeks in one of the world's greatest capitals. It was good. I feel like Charles Dickens: It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. But I also felt like the role in From Beyond was so polar-opposite to what I had done in Re-Animator, where I played a strong, driving personality that pushed the action forward. Here, I was really-for all intents and purposes-being a victim. Someone standing there going, "No!" So I felt like some of the tools in my kit were being taken away from me. That was a bit frustrating, too.

I think there's something in the human psyche that we're titillated by the person who flies too close to the candle and their wings get singed.

God, I had no idea what was to come. All I knew was, I was doing a play in Hollywood, and a casting director came to see it. I did not invite him. As I recall, he said, "I'm casting something you might be right for." I went in and met Stuart Gordon, did my read, got a callback where I was paired up with the great David Gale. We did a scene. I guess we both got cast. Very low budget, shot in 18 days. Who knew? I am not rich from the movie. Somebody got rich.

It's who you know and who can help you.

One of the greatest experiences of my career. Peter Jackson is a genius. He makes it look easy and effortless. A visionary. Very collaborative and sharing. No real ego. I remember my [character's] chest is a bunch of scars, and they came to me with their drawings and [Jackson] said, "What do you think?" Which is unheard of in film. It was one of the highlights of my life to work with him.

I also sort of find the idea that not only do actors want to please when they're onstage, I find actors really want to please off stage a lot of the time, don't they?

You get known for something, and then they pigeonhole you. They don't want to view you as being particularly versatile. They just want you to do that thing you did before. It perpetuates itself. You can certainly say no, but then you're not working. So a long time ago, I just told myself I'd just turn everything, even if it's all stuck in a particular genre, I'd try to expand people's perception of me by what I did within the framework I've got going.

Feelings are universal, and if an actor's doing his job, I think he's making people sit there, and if it's in a movie or a theatre, going 'Hmm, yeah, I know that... I know that.'

It's just stories around the campfire.

Happy Birthday Keanu Reeves!

I am waiting for the right story to tell. Just like 'Man of Tai Chi' just seemed to be the right story to tell. So I'm looking for that. Because I really love directing. I love developing the story. I love actors. I love the cinema of it, the way that you tell a story visually.

I'm not a photographer, so I didn't get into F-stops or ND filters or background, foreground, cross-light, all that stuff. But I was interested in the camera and the lenses. That's the world that I'm moving in, in terms of acting and giving a performance.

I mean, if you didn't get it or if you didn't feel like you enjoyed it, sometimes that experience can change.

I used to have nightmares that they would put 'He played Ted' on my tombstone.

Energy can't be created or destroyed, and energy flows. It must be in a direction, with some kind of internal, emotive, spiritual direction. It must have some effect somewhere.

I've been pleased to work with so many wonderful stars through the years. This has been an amazing journey. I hope it continues. 

People were saying that David Geffen and I had gotten married and it just blew me away. Not that they thought I was gay, but that they thought I could land a guy that hot.

It's fun to be hopelessly in love. It's dangerous, but it's fun.

The whole aspect of cinema and film festivals should be a moment to come together and celebrate art and humanity. It would be a shame if there was such a divide.

I'm sorry my existence is not very noble or sublime.

I think the form, the Hollywood movie, I think the quality is obviously always going to be there and I think that the question of taste, there's always a question of taste.

Eventually, it came to this place like, 'I'd like to direct, but I need to find the story to tell.' 'Man of Tai Chi' became the story to tell.

I'm a meathead, man. You've got smart people, and you've got dumb people. I just happen to be dumb.

The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way. 

I'm a meathead. I can't help it, man. You've got smart people and you've got dumb people.

Sure I believe in God and the Devil, but they don't have to have pitchforks and a long white beard.

I mean, I went to a Catholic boys' school for a year, but that was to play hockey. Religion class was quite contentious for me.

Because we're actors we can pretend and fake it, but I'd rather the intimate investment was authentic.

My name can't be that tough to pronounce!

Grief changes shape, but it never ends.

Mortality is very different when you're 20 to when you're 50.

But, you know, it's still a drag to get your picture taken when you're eating a sandwich. It's a downer.

Artists are losing the choice to use film. People have a love for it - the grain, how it feels, the texture.

Kissing someone is pretty intimate, actually very intimate, and your heart always kind of skips a beat before you do that.

How do I confront aging? With a wonder and a terror. Yeah, I'll say that. Wonder and terror.

I do think there must be some kind of interaction between your living life and the life that goes on from here.

I have a producing partner named Stephen Hamel, and we've been trying to generate material.

When the people you love are gone, you're alone.

I want to make a good, solid kung fu movie.

Letters are something from you. It's a different kind of intention than writing an e-mail.

I was always interested - I mean, it's kind of part of your job - I was always interested in the camera.

It's the journey of self, I guess. You start with this kind of loner, outside guy, which a lot of people can relate to, and he goes out into the world.

And of course to work with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, and work with a wonderful, beautiful script directed by Nancy Meyers, it was really for me a dream come true.

I am not handsome or sexy. Of course, it's not like I am hopeless.

Basically it starts with four months of training, just basic stretching, kicking and punching. Then you come to the choreography and getting ready to put the dance together.

Money doesn't mean anything to me. I've made a lot of money, but I want to enjoy life and not stress myself building my bank account. I give lots away and live simply, mostly out of a suitcase in hotels. We all know that good health is much more important.

But I did 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.' They made a cereal out of it, so once you've had a cereal, it doesn't get much more surreal than that. Surreal cereal.

I'm Mickey Mouse. They don't know who's inside the suit.

I don't know the law, the kind of law of quantity and quality, but I think the opportunity of people being able to express themselves and to have the means of production is a great thing. It's also changing how we're telling stories.

When I don't feel free and can't do what I want I just react. I go against it.

I had the classic 40 meltdown. I did. It's embarrassing. It was pretty funny. But then I recovered. To me, it was like a second adolescence. Hormonally, my body was changing, my mind was changing, and so my relationship to myself and the world around me came to this assault of finiteness.

How do people relate to movies now, when they're on portable devices or streaming them? It's not as much about going to the movies. That experience has changed.

I have definitely been curious and involved in the process; even as a young actor. I was always looking at where the camera was, what story it was telling. And as my experience grew, I wanted to know even more.

On a good night, I get underwear, bras, and hotel-room keys thrown onstage... You start to think that you're Tom Jones.

I loved the material when I first read it, and the experience of making the film was a great one. So when we came around to complete the trilogy, I just signed on board without even reading the scripts because the experience of the first film was so good.

You want to play another kind of character in another genre, and it's been something I've been trying to do if I can in the career so far, and it's something I hope to continue because it's interesting to me and you get to do different things as an actor.

I think - I don't know, maybe it's nostalgia. But the choice, losing the choice to be able to use film is going to be - it's gone. It's going to be gone.

Here comes 40. I'm feeling my age and I've ordered the Ferrari. I'm going to get the whole mid-life crisis package.

It's easy to become very self-critical when you're an actor. Then you get critiqued by the critics. Whether you agree with them or not, people are passing judgment on you.

I try not to think about my life. I have no life. I need therapy.

Sometimes when you make a film you can go away for three months and then come back and live your life. But this struck a much deeper chord. I don't have the ability yet to speak about it in an objective.

It's always wonderful to get to know women, with the mystery and the joy and the depth. If you can make a woman laugh, you're seeing the most beautiful thing on God's Earth.

'Speed' and 'Point Break' were a lot of running and jumping, and then 'The Matrix Trilogy' had a lot of fights and wire work and green screen elements.

I've had the opportunity to work with so many great directors. Different styles, as well, like Gus Van Sant. He just does the casting and the milieu and let's you do your thing, quietly. Bertolucci, who can talk to you about your internal world in quite a creative way or just say, 'Well, put your hand over here.'

The truth is often terrifying, which I think is one of the motifs of Larry and Andrew's cinema. The cost of knowledge is an important theme. In the second and third films, they explore the consequences of Neo's choice to know the truth. It's a beautiful, beautiful story.

I believe in love at first sight. You want that connection, and then you want some problems.

Oftentimes, when we think of 3D, we think of things coming out of the screen, but actually, you've got this zero, this negative space, what they call the negative space, which is the scene, what's being filmed in the positive space of the audience. As you can have things come out, you can have all of this depth.

But I think we're also just talking about the literacy of the audience. The visual literacy of the audience. They've seen so many images now, especially here in the States. There's so much to look at, to watch. So the visual storytelling literacy is harder to impress.

I just felt that if I went into Speed 2, I just... wouldn't have come up out of the water.

Falling in love and having a relationship are two different things. 

You know what, I'd done an interview show when I was like 16 or 17. One of my first jobs. I did interviews for this television show in Toronto.

I've been really fortunate to be able to do different kinds of films in different scales, different genres, different kinds of roles, and that is important to me.

When we talk about how movies used to be made, it was over 100 years of film, literal, physical film, with emulsion, that we would expose to light and we would get pictures.