The value of work, and of always learning something new, and what it takes to achieve excellence. I really believe in those things that you have to dedicate yourself and spend time, that excellence is elusive. It's a little maddening, to try to have that level of discipline in your life, and I don't succeed all the time. But I do try.

I remember back when I was a kid there was a comic strip called Plastic Man. His body was elastic and he could make his extremities as long as he wanted. As a youngster I didn't fully appreciate. But I'm now thinking Plastic Man was probably pretty popular with the ladies.

No matter what you're doing, if you're trying to make a movie, you need to be working with people that are really good and who make you better.

You wasted $150,000 on an education you could have got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library.

Just because a lot of people know something nominal doesn't make it important. A lot of people know what a pencil sharpener is, but that doesn't make it the most important invention of the 20th century.

I've never held myself up particularly high when I had movies that worked, and I never held myself all that low when I had failures.

(I) try new things and give myself permission to fail and experiment because only that way can you get really successful.