James Ellroy Quotes

You grow up and share life experiences. That's one of the best parts of this business. You share how you're mellowing out and your new sense of self.

I'm in a different chapter of my life. As time goes by and I grow older, I find that I need to just be quiet and think. There have been periods when I've locked myself away for days, but now it's different - I'm married and we have a daughter who is in my office the whole time.

It's a real luxury to be able to develop with your character.

When you get older, you're bothered, or inspired, by other things in life than a girl breaking up with you. Things get heavier as you get older.

As you get older you learn some balance and mediation in your life - that's where I am right now. I feel pretty comfortable about things.

Through a long and painful process, I've learned that happiness is an inside job - not based on anything or anyone in the outer material world. I've become a different and better person - not perfect, but still a work in progress.

All of the things I used to obsess over, I'm no longer as obsessed with. I have new concerns but they're a little more existential or cosmic.

You know, it's a different world now, but to skip ahead and really answer your question, only in the last five years did I find what I call holy maturity, finding the balance, finding the right person in my life so that I could live a normal life.

I would say I'm quite happy in my life the majority of the time. Earlier in my life I was more questioning, overly trying to figure things out. I like this way much better.

I've done a lot of growing up since the age of 16 and I really wanted that to be reflected in my music.

I always did think that when I turned 40, I'd start coming into my own.

I'm becoming more and more myself with time. I guess that's what grace is. The refinement of your soul through time.

You're seeing me develop, not only as a filmmaker if you've seen my earlier films, but you're seeing me kind of learn how to be a human, how my philosophy has evolved.

'South Pacific' - I really learned a lot. I swear I like to say that during 'South Pacific,' I went from being a girl to being a woman.

I think I have more patience now than I did in the past.

I have a lot of growing up to do, or a lot of growing down. I think that's probably more appropriate.

In high school I was always thinking, 'Should I be doing more? What else should I be doing?' Now I know it will all come to me. I just have to trust my path, so that's very different.

At this point in my life I'm not bent on proving anything, really.

'Joy' to me is a reflection of the life experiences that I've had throughout the first record and kind of having some time and a hiatus. It's just like all of those experiences that I had during that period - that growing up period.

For my 50th birthday, I got ahold of a new print of 'Saturday Night Fever.' I see it much more as a tough coming-of-age movie than as a disco story.

I think, if you put a camera in anyone's life and document it daily from the age of 21 to 27, there are going to be things that aren't always pretty.

I'm okay with myself. I had times when I was 15 about 'Who I am?' and 'What am I?' and where I want to go, and that's behind me.

It's neat to have finally reached a point where I can accept what I was and what I am.

I'm aiming by the time I'm fifty to stop being an adolescent.

I feel more and more like 'myself' these days. Before becoming a father, I can remember a low-level feeling of somehow not quite being myself.