...In the past, as now, [Hollywood] was a stamping ground for tastelessness, violence, and hyperbole, but once upon a time it turned out a product which sweetened the flavor of life all over the world.

It's true that the French have a certain obsession with sex, but it's a particularly adult obsession. France is the thriftiest of all nations; to a Frenchman sex provides the most economical way to have fun. The French are a logical race.

That our popular art forms have become so obsessed with sex has turned the U.S.A into a nation of hobbledehoys; as if grown people don't have more vital concerns, such as taxes, inflation, dirty politics, earning a living, getting an education, or keeping out of jail.

with a mental equipment which allows me to tell the difference between hot and cold, I stand out in this community like a modern day Cicero. Dropped into any other city of the world, I'd rate as a possibly adequate night watchman.

The wrong side of the tracks is livelier.

I was born in the theatre. My father was a small time impresario on the West Coast and I was acting from the age of 7, but I started to write when I was 12 and by the time I was 14 I was making more money than I was acting.

I don't like diabolism so I stay away from things like Clockwork Orange. I think diabolism is awfully childish. I don't even want to see The Godfather. I couldn't stand seeing that horse's head cut off. I wouldn't mind if it were Marlon Brando's.