"Twice. Firstly because of September 11, and then because of the sniper attacks. But all these things that could have been minuses became pluses for us, because by the time the movie came out everyone knew who Colin was…and about his personal life and his ideas on dating! But Tigerland had got all these great reviews and Colin was named best actor of the year by the Boston film critics. At the time we made it, though, it was fair for the studio to say, ‘Here’s a very little amount of money’. They certainly didn’t know if a guy in a phone booth could work. If it was Tom Cruise in the phone booth, they would have slept better at night. Another way they sleep better at night is by giving you very little money to use, so it minimises their risk. But I think that’s fair."

"No, I actually had it first. It’s a long and winding road. What happened was, I was in post-production on 8mm and there was a bidding war for this script called Phone Booth. My agents called and told me that every studio and every producer were bidding on this hot script by Larry Cohen, and if Fox gets it they want me to do it with Mel Gibson. I read the script and loved it, but I had also written a script called Flawless and I’d found out that morning that De Niro was probably going to do it. So when Fox called me in, I said, ‘Look, I love you guys, I love this idea and I love Mel but I think my script is going to go ahead, so goodbye’. Then I went off and made Flawless and Tigerland. I’m not sure what happened during the two years that followed – Mel dropped out, I don’t know why. The Hughes Brothers had it for a while, Steve Gaghan was involved for a while, I heard Brad Pitt’s name for a while, Jim Carrey was in and out, Michael Bay and Will Smith had it for a long while…but I don’t know why any of that didn’t work out. When I finished filming Tigerland, I went back to Fox to edit and the head of Fox 2000 came to see me and told me they’d never gotten Phone Booth off the ground and wondered if I’d still be interested. I said sure, and that I had this great kid I found for Tigerland, Colin Farrell. They said ‘Colin who?’ and we went through all of that, and then Jim Carrey called, said he’d always been interested in Phone Booth and if I did it, he would do it. I didn’t really think it was Jim’s part; I actually thought Jim would be better as the caller. Having seen The Majestic, I think Jim was looking for a part where he could play an ordinary guy, not just play ‘Jim Carrey’. So we talked about doing the movie together but after a while he called me to say he had cold feet, which I understood because it never felt right to me, it didn’t feel like the right fit. By that time, I had Tigerland put together and we showed it at the Toronto Film Festival. It was so well-received, and the head people at Fox said, ‘Okay, we get it, Colin’s great. You can make Phone Booth with him but he’s still an unknown, Joel, so here’s a dollar to go make the movie.’ Which is why we ended up having a 12-day shooting schedule – it’s all we could afford."

"And Jonah, don't look up!"

"I have never done anything for anybody who couldn't do something for me. I string along an eager kid with promises I'll pay him money. I only keep him around because he looks up to me. Adam, if you're watching, don't be a publicist. You're too good for it. I lie in person and on the phone. I lie to my friends. I lie to newspapers and magazines who, who sell my lies to more and more people. I am just a part of a big cycle of lies, I should be fuckin' president. I wear all this Italian shit because underneath I still feel like the Bronx. I think I need these clothes and this watch. My two thousand dollar watch is a fake and so am I. I've neglected the things I should have valued most. I valued this shit. I take off my wedding ring to call Pam. Kelly, that's Pam. Don't blame her. I never told her I was married. And if I did she, she would have told me to go home. Kelly, looking at you now, I'm ashamed of myself. Alright? I mean, work so hard on this image, on Stu Shepherd, the asshole who refers to himself in the third person that I only proved I should be alone. I have just been dressing up as something I'm not for so long, I'm so afraid no one will like what's underneath. But here I am, just flesh and blood and weakness, and uh and I love you so fucking much. And, um, I take off this ring because it only reminds me of how I've failed you, and I don't, don't want to give you up. I want to make things better, but it may not be my choice anymore. You deserve better."

"The first step to being noticed is being mentioned."

"Let's do it outside, in nature."

"The world is full of complainers. But the fact is, nothing comes with a guarantee. I don't care if you're the Pope of Rome, President of the United States, or even Man of the Year—something can always go wrong. And go ahead, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help—watch him fly. Now in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else—that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas...And down here... you're on your own."

"[to Marty] Stick your finger up the wrong person's ass?"

"You know a friend of mine broke his hand a while back. Put in a cast. Very next day he takes a fall, protects his bad hand, falls on his good one, breaks that too. So now he's got two busted flippers and I say to him "Creighton, I hope your wife loves you. 'Cause for the next five weeks you cannot wipe your own goddamn ass." That's the test, ain't it? Test of true love."

"[to himself, about Marty] Sweet Jesus, you are disgusting."

"[to Marty] Who looks stupid now?"

"Lover-boy oughta lock his door. Lotta nuts out there."

"[to Ray] Look. Personally I don't give a shit. I know Marty's a hard-on but you gotta do something. I don't know; give the money back, say you're sorry, or get the fuck out of here, or something...It's very humiliating, preaching about this shit...I'm not laughing at this, Ray Bob, so you know it's no fucking joke."

"Even the fucking dog's gone crazy."

"[to Abby] Something pretty fucking weird is going on. Put your coat on and I'll drop you at home. But don't talk to either of 'em until I do. And don't worry. Believe me. These things always have a logical explanation. Usually."

"Teenager: [to Marty] Hey mister, how'd you break your pussyfinger?"

"Strip joint DJ: And remember, gentlemen, we're always here, two to two, A.M. to P.M., three hundred and sixty-four days and Christmas, God willing and the creek don't rise."

"Ray: [to Abby] You left your weapon behind."

"Breaking up is hard."

"Dead in the heart of Texas."

"John Getz - Ray"

"Frances McDormand - Abby"

"Dan Hedaya - Julian Marty"

"M. Emmet Walsh - Loren Visser (private detective)"

"Samm-Art Williams - Meurice"

"Deborah Neumann - Debra"