People get really turned off by feminism.

I really am a chick from Long Island who's just learning along with everyone.

I was always like that, at 5 years old, just demanding equality. I thought it could all be fixed if you called attention to it.

I want people to live to their full potential, not to hold themselves back because of insecurities, and especially not women. I see too much of that.

Naturally, it was easier for me to envision becoming a novelist than it is for most people. I had two great in-house teachers; I had parents who considered a career in the arts a real possibility rather than a dreamy arrow shot into the sky.

To get to work with my idol, Martin Scorsese, has just been lovely - the highlight of my career.

In an age of incompetence, I've been able to last in this crazy business. I actually know how to play my ax and write a song. That's my job.

I just look back, and I say, you know, Christopher Guest just raised my whole career to another level.