The Austrians are brilliant people. They made the world believe that Hitler was a German and Beethoven an Austrian.

I hate that word. It's return--a return to the millions of people who've never forgiven me for deserting the screen.

Don't be too clever for an audience. Make it obvious. Make the subtleties obvious also.

France is a place where the money falls apart in your hands but you can't tear the toilet paper.

On Ernst Lubitsch: He could do more with a closed door than other directors could do with an open fly.

One's too many and a hundred's not enough.

The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer.