God, I'd love to do a big commercial movie that made a lot of money and whose plot was interesting too.

Oh, I was completely hooked on movies and plays and theater from the time I was a day old; I was very, very early on in love with movies and I loved plays.

I always think that a director who knows about the technical side, but cares about the acting performances and casting as well, is ahead of the game.

I'm from the Midwest, and I loved my family. I had a very good time as a child, but I was also - I have a theory about Jews growing up in the Midwest, that there is an ultimately sort of wonderful avoidance of a lot of things, and a great acceptance of whatever is happening.

If anyone would have been paying serious attention to my puppet shows, I would have been sent to therapy very young.

I loved being in Close Encounters, just to watch Steven Spielberg working was exciting.

I was very much in my room with my marionette stage, you know, creating these incredibly boring things that I felt were so fascinating, and forcing my relatives to come, and charging money for them to see my little productions.