It seems to me that romantic comedies used to be about falling in love but in recent years they've really become just comedies where the love story is only there as a spine to hang the jokes on.

There's a hardening of the culture. Reality TV has lowered the standards of entertainment. You're left wondering about the legitimacy of relationships. It's probably harder to entertain the same people with a more classic form of writing and romantic comedies are a classic genre.

I had to trick people into giving me money for my first film. Making a romantic comedy is easier and more expected from a woman than it is to make a drama about a Japanese warrior.

But other vampire stories? Well no I really haven't read too many and I can't say I'm crazy about romantic vampires anyway - to me the vampire is simply an evil monster.

I got a degree in sociology didn't read much fiction in college and I was a pretty political left-wing type of guy. I wanted to do some kind of work in social change and make things better for the poor man and I was very romantic and passionate about it.

There are so many different reasons as to why I love riding trains. But I think ultimately it's the romantic feeling of it. There's something about it that just transports me into old films.

If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose I'd have killed myself long ago just to make people talk about me. I haven't even got the conviction to make a successful drunkard.

You won't find me in a romantic comedy. Those movies don't speak to me. People don't come to talk to me about those scripts because they probably think I'm this dark twisted miserable person.

People want to hear about the extremes of human nature. They want things that are larger than their own lives and more romantic and not necessarily of their own experiences.

I'm not about to talk about what's romantic in my life - I figure if you talk about it once then that's an open invitation for everyone to dig into your personal life even further. So I just keep my private life to myself.

I'm not about to talk about what's romantic in my life - I figure if you talk about it once - then that's an open invitation for everyone to dig into your personal life even further.

When you are the lead in a romantic comedy you have to worry about people really liking you.

I wouldn't treat a romantic scene any differently than any other scene. I would really say the biggest preparation was chewing gum and breath mints! For a kissing scene it's all about the breath mints!

In terms of romantic films all-time romantic films I really like 'Gone With the Wind.' And I realize I sound so cliched saying that but there's something so absolutely romantic about it.

Well there's just some universal truths in a way that I've just observed to be true. You read Voltaire. You read modern literature. Anywhere you go there's these observations about romantic love and what it does people and these rotten feelings that rarely are people meaning to do that to each other.

No actually 'The Host' was totally a palate-cleanser for me. I wanted to do something a little bit different than romantic love. Romantic love is in there obviously because I enjoy writing about that and living it a lot.

But romantic vision can also lead one away from certain very hard ugly truths about life that are important to know.

I've often dreamed about going back to Nigeria but that's a very romantic notion. It's a hideous country to go to in reality.

I don't think I'll ever escape the fact that I don't belong anywhere in particular. I've often dreamed about going back to Nigeria but that's a very romantic notion. It's a hideous country to go to in reality.

Acting is not about anything romantic not even fantasy although you do create fantasy.

There's something so romantic about being broke in New York. You gotta do it. You have to live there once without any money and then you have to live there when you have money. Let me tell you of the two the latter is far better.

Dinner is a great first date. Don't believe that stuff about girls not wanting to eat on a first date - sharing a romantic meal is so sexy.

It's easier to write from my own life and it's also more fun. I always write about relationships for instance whether they're romantic relationships friendships encounters... there's always a lesson to be learned from them.

I know most people use their phones to tell time but there's something very romantic and beautiful about a timepiece.