I have ten commandments. The first nine are, thou shalt not bore. The tenth is, thou shalt have right of final cut.

Now, what is it which makes a scene interesting? If you see a man coming through a doorway, it means nothing. If you see him coming through a window - that is at once interesting.

[on pop idol Donny Osmond] He has Van Gogh's ear for music.

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

Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else's.

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

I had one life. And what did I do? Wasted it in some palooka preliminaries in Spain, just before Hitler and Chamberlain warm up for the main event.