How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Sunset Boulevard.
Quote #7
JOE: De Mille didn't have the heart to tell you. None of us has had the heart.
NORMA: That's a lie! They want me, they want me! I get letters every day!
JOE: You tell her, Max. Come on, do her that favor. Tell her there isn't going to be any picture—there aren't any fan letters, except the ones you write yourself.
NORMA: That isn't true! Max?
MAX: Madame is the greatest star of them all... I will take Mr. Gillis' bags.
Joe tries to get Max to bust Norma's illusions—but Max doesn't want to destroy her. Joe probably doesn't want to destroy her either, just make her see the truth. But she can't, and the collision of reality with her madness makes her murder Joe.
Quote #8
NORMA: Stars are ageless, aren't they?
Well, gee. Hmm. How about… NO. Here, Norma is in the depths of her madness, reaffirming her belief in her own immortality against all evidence. She thinks she's like a literal star that will burn on and on through the eons, when, in reality, her shelf life as a celebrity is just a couple decades.