“I guess maybe I try to make movies that are closer to real life than a...” — Alexander Payne Quote

“I guess maybe I try to make movies that are closer to real life than are many Hollywood movies. But I still try to stay within a commercial narrative, a contemporary American vernacular.”

“Well, that's what life is - this collection of extraordinarily ordinary moments. We just need to pay attention to them all. Wake up and pay attention to how beautiful it all is.”

“The kindest thing a director can do is look with open eyes at everything.”

“The Internet can bring us much closer to the developed world.”

“He's made a business out of being Joe DiMaggio. To remain Joe DiMaggio, you better not have too much known. He's right. The closer you get, the more explosively bad stuff you find.”

“I'm about to turn 48, and I think that the closer I get to 50, the more I might be interested in fatherhood. But honestly, I'm not grown up yet myself.”