You know the adage, when you want something done, ask a busy person. It's so true. Having kids taught me to prioritize, delegate, and accept life's imperfections. I also learned the all-important skill of jumping off the train: taking breaks in career and passion pursuits to tend to the things that last.
You know the old adage that the customer's always right? Well, I kind of think that the opposite is true. The customer is rarely right.
My grandmother, who passed away at the beginning of November, had a core adage in her life that 'life is not about what happens to you but about what you do with what happens to you.' She recently had been cajoling me and challenging me to do more with my life. To lead more of a purposefully public life.
The adage that you're either gay or straight or you're lying, well, that's not true. Bisexuality does exist.
There is no quick way of making money. People come to you with tips for the races or offer the latest Ponzi scheme, but I can see them coming a mile off. I just go with the adage that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
My mother used to always say to me, 'Do naught, get naught.' It's an adage that I hold by. If you don't do anything, you can't really expect anything.
That adage about 'Write what you know' is basically the opposite of the way I function. I write about what I'm curious to find out.
I really subscribe to that old adage that you should never let the audience get ahead of you for a second. So if the film's abrasive and wrongfoots people then, y'know, that's great. But I hope it involves an audience.
And there never was an apple, in Adam's opinion, that wasn't worth the trouble you got into for eating it.
You can't forbid children to do things that are available to them at every turn. God told Eve, 'Don't give the apple to Adam,' and look what happened. It's in our nature to want the things we see.
Adam and Eve are like imaginary numbers, like the square root of minus one... If you include it in your equation, you can calculate all manners of things, which cannot be imagined without it.
It all goes back, of course, to Adam and Eve - a story which shows among other things, that if you make a woman out of a man, you are bound to get into trouble.
No idea should be discarded completely, but - as one might imagine - it does take a degree of ingenuity to find a new spin on something as hackneyed as the 'Adam and Eve' story. But if you think you've got the chops for it, there's no reason not to try.
I was on the road with my buddy Alex - he's my guitar player - and we watched the movie 'Click' by Adam Sandler. And I don't know why, but me and him just got in our feelings. And then we ended up calling our girls, and we were like, 'We're so sorry. We wish you were here!'
You know what? I did a lot of things that were deliberate, and they all backfired. I was trying desperately to become Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler, and it did not work for me. I took a lot of leaps that I shouldn't have, traditionally speaking. I paid the price for that. I was not as hire-able for a while. But then I just gave all that up.
I am a big fan of Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller, who have carved a niche for themselves. I think doing different kind of films gives you longevity and the ability to set yourself apart.
My thing is you're only as good as the people you work with. I've been blessed to work with the Wayanses and Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, and it makes you better.
'The Dictator' lands somewhere between wan Mel Brooks and good Adam Sandler, whose 'You Don't Mess With the Zohan,' about an Israeli Special Forces soldier at a hair salon, manages to strike better contrasts with vaguely similar culture differences - it's a nuttier movie, too.
God help anyone who disobeys my recycling system. I have all the separated bins. I'm very adamant about it because I try to be a good citizen of the world, I really do. I even use eco-friendly cleaning products, but sometimes you just have to break open the disinfectant. Some jobs require it.
I'm so adamant that being a really good parent does not mean you have to be there 24/7. I find that I'm never not thinking about where they are, but instead of it stressing me out, it comforts me to know that I'm completely aware of their schedule, and they're with someone I trust.
