Do you know, in Sanskrit the root of the verb "to be" is the same as " — My Dinner with Andre

"Im adequate to do any sort of a task, but Im not adequate just to be a human being."

"Tell me, why do we require a trip to Mount Everest in order to be able to perceive one moment of reality? I mean... I mean, is Mount Everest more "real" than New York? I mean, isnt New York "real"? I mean, you see, I think if you could become fully aware of what existed in the cigar store next door to this restaurant, I think it would just blow your brains out! I mean... I mean, isnt there just as much "reality" to be perceived in the cigar store as there is on Mount Everest?"

"Remember that moment when Marlon Brando sent the Indian woman to accept the Oscar, and everything went haywire? Things just very rarely go haywire now. If youre just operating by habit, then youre not really living."

"Someone asked me the other day if I could name a movie that was entirely devoid of cliches. I thought for a moment, and then answered, My Dinner With Andre. Now I have seen the movie again; a restored print is going into release around the country, and I am impressed once more by how wonderfully odd this movie is, how there is nothing else like it. It should be unwatchable, and yet those who love it return time and again, enchanted."

"Okay, yes. Were bored. Were all bored now. But has it ever occurred to you, Wally, that the process that creates this boredom that we see in the world now, may very well be a self-perpetuating, unconscious form of brainwashing created by a world totalitarian government based on money? And that all of this is much more dangerous than one thinks? And its not just a question of individual survival, Wally, but that somebody whos bored is asleep, and somebody whos asleep will not say no?"

"[Upon entering the restaurant] I was beginning to realize that the only way to make this evening bearable, would be to ask Andre a few questions. Asking questions always relaxes me. In fact, I sometimes think that my secret profession is that Im a private investigator, a detective. I always enjoy finding out about people. Even if they are in absolute agony, I always find it very interesting."