The reasons you have for doing a movie will vary with the way your life is going. There was a time when a made a some movies because I felt I needed to work. And I didn't think about the material as much. But sometimes I've thought about the material a lot and thought I was doing the right thing, and it didn't work out.

I’ve always been in the theater. I’ve always gone to it. That’s been my way to cope. Early on in my career, I remember running - fleeing - to the theater as a way of coping with all the meshugaas that was going on for me.

I've never cared for guns. In fact, when I did 'Scent of a Woman' I had to learn how to assemble one.

sometimes it's better to be with the devil u know than the angel u didn't know

You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire; you build egos the size of cathedrals; fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse; grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated fantasies, until every human becomes an aspiring emperor, becomes his own God... and where can you go from there?

Great directors can understand the staging in such a way that can make a scene come alive. Others have a certain way of pacing the scene.

You take a guy like George Clooney who goes out there to Darfur, and gets things done! That's magical. He's done a great thing.