I remember being 18, and my first boyfriend said to me, "Unless you're in the room, you don't know if it's true." We were talking about gossip.
Society makes suicide so romantic. I mean, you watch these TV movies about teen suicide and you want to jump in front of a bus. Because your biggest fantasy is your own funeral. No one will admit to it, but it's true.
I love Texas. Even if I am a little bit famous or a little bit popular... You go to places where you're not and just live like everybody else lives. I'm not crazy about this country in terms of the shape it's in, but I do think there are lots of great pieces to go to. I think I should take advantage of it while this country still exists.
I'm a really private person. I just love my work. I feel like celebrity has changed so much, in this culture. Ever since they started with those reality shows and people that aren't actors but they're really famous, it's gotten very different from when I started out. So, the idea of ever becoming more than what I had is not really what I want.
If something brilliant comes along but I really feel like it's too old for me - that I'm not gonna have the experience it takes - I'm not gonna do it. Even if it's "a big mistake for my career".
You know you're getting older when they're making TV shows, sequels or plays for things that you did. It's very flattering and very humbling, indeed.
I'm not a drug user myself. I'm too little to take drugs - my body can't take it.
A lot of the old movie theaters are closing down now, which is really sad. It's still in the back of my mind.
I'm 44 years old. So, it's really great to watch younger generations getting their opportunities, and being there to support them in that.
I often get offered things that are so similar to things that I have done, and life is too short. When you make a film or a show, as you get older, that's a lot of time to be doing something that you're not absolutely invested in or in love with.
I think it's really important to have a life outside of this [movie] business and just be the best person you can be.
I grew up in San Francisco. My parents were not hippies; they were writers. They were very active politically, but on the intellectual side, not on the "taking drugs in a field and listening to the Grateful Dead" side.
Actors do these really gross, gun-'em-down movies, and I always wonder why. They're not good movies. And it's like, "Why are you doing them? Aren't you rich enough?"
That first movie I did, Lucas [1986], was probably the closest to me. And Beetlejuice a little bit, in the sense that I did look like that. All they did was like put a little white powder here.
I've read the Bible. I think the Bible's a great book, but it's a novel. It's beautifully written and la-di-da, but people really took it the wrong way.
I try to just pay attention to what I'm feeling. If something is scary to me, then that's sometimes a good sign - although, sometimes it's not.
A lot of filmmakers and actors say, "It's so important to bring an authenticity to the role," blah, blah, blah. But then it's interesting because you're also trying to be somebody else, and viewers are going to associate you with that, so I don't think it really has an answer.
You look at people like Gena Rowlands, but she had [John] Cassavetes to write these amazing roles for her.
If you're a musician, you can practice your guitar every day and write songs, but when you're an actor, you can't just like burst into a monologue. Your only exercise is when you're in prep or you're working.
Even though 'Heathers' didn't make a lot of money, I really was able to transition into a situation where people thought I could play an attractive role because of it.
It's interesting because First Wives Club was the first movie that made a shitload of money that starred all women over a certain age. That was a milestone that made you think, "Oh, things are going to change."
It's weird because I think of movies like Reality Bites or something, where, even though my life was nothing like that, I hadn't done something contemporary for a while, and it's easier. You do try to make something your own.
In America, I don't know how much longer the environment is going to exist. I sort of strongly believe that we're in danger.
Bette Davis in All About Eve was huge for me. Her acting was staggering.
When I was young, I was really, really obsessed with Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes. Because my mom was a projectionist in college, she was somehow able to get a real projector. And she had some connections, so she would get real prints, and we'd put up a sheet. The first movies I saw were To Kill a Mockingbird [1962], Gigi [1958], A Woman Under the Influence [1974]. Then when I was old enough to be able to rent movies, I went through a very big Cassavetes phase.
