“Russia, at the start of the 21st century, at least in its larger citie...” — Masha Gessen Quote

“Russia, at the start of the 21st century, at least in its larger cities, very much resembled the United States of the early 1990s: being gay was no longer criminal or shameful, but it was still not a topic for polite conversation or public discussion.”

“In war you're either a collaborator or you're a resistor. I mean you don't get to be neutral.”

“It is so impossible to predict how much influence what you write will have, and what sorts of anxieties and imaginaries it will tap into.”

“I was born in Den Bosch, where the painter Hieronymus Bosch named himself after. And so I've always been very fond of this painter who lived and worked in the 15th century.”

“I've always wanted to make a film about the Tong Wars, the rioting and the crime factions in San Francisco's Chinatown in the early part of the last century.”

“My history in show business spans over a quarter of a century, and I have seen many people in the industry struggle with coming out, only to find much more success after they finally did.”