First of all, I'm a Midwesterner, being from Kansas, and Chicago is basically a big Midwestern cow town. It was built from the stockyards, and everyone is very friendly, and it's at the edge of the tallgrass prairie. There's just a good feel to it.

I never wanted to retire. I wanted to kind of shift my work pattern so I could stay fresh and invigorated, and use the experience that I had gained in 30 years, but in a slightly different direction.

The one important thing you do as boss is you set the standard. The minute you go in and say 'we'll let it go this time,' you set a new standard, which is lower. So you cannot do that.

Choose something you like to do. I know its a cliche, and youve heard it over and over. But the reason is, youre going to have to work long and hard to achieve any success. You better like it or life is going to be terrible.

If you're a producer, you always spend too much money because you want that shot - and you're willing to spend a bundle to get it.

In L.A., everyone is competing for the next job, and in New York, it's pretty much the same thing: competing for a better job.

I think I'm so old I'm in. We call it the 'Tony Bennett Syndrome.' For some reason, young people think I'm cool.