Amy Heckerling

Body image - what we're supposed to look like - is made so unattainable that all girls are put in this position of feeling inferior. That's a horrible thing.

I'm just not happy with Hollywood.

I wasted most of my 20s being so frustrated I forgot to have fun. I was so concentrated on one thing - 'Must make movie.'

Some women are great, and you wouldn't have been able to get to where you are without them, and others are doing what they can to undermine you.

When you have somebody writing or acting for you, you have to be free to have them hate you so you can get your ideas across without worrying.

I'm obsessed with history, especially WWII and the Jews in Europe during the Holocaust.

In one respect, I like the freedom of using all the people that I love instead of being dictated by the studio to use the hot person of the moment.

Over-the-knee socks remind me of the 1920s, silent films, and the stars of the era who wore the rolled-down stockings. They sort of referenced that in 'Cabaret,' when Liza Minnelli was singing 'Mein Herr,' and I love the way she looks in that scene.

I just wanted to do something about the teenage experience; it's such a wonderful and horrible time of life.

A teenager has to decide what they're going to do with their life, and that's one of the most important decisions that you'll make.

Everything you try to do in life, of any value, people are going to be saying, 'No, no, no.' You have to have the ability to not see that or hear that.

I went to art and design high school with a lot of people taking fashion. They would get up in the morning, and what they put on meant a lot to them.