Art is an expression of joy and awe. It is not an attempt to share one's virtues and accomplishments with the audience, but an act of selfless spirit.

I grew up in a tough neighborhood and we used to say you can get further with a kind word and a gun than just a kind word.

My dad was an immigrant kid and a Democrat and a Jew, and we didn't know any Republicans in our group. So I grew up Democratic. My dad was a labor lawyer - a very hardworking guy, a one-horse labor lawyer - and then I went to hippie college and lived in the bubble.

I don't really have a social life.

Art is about the spontaneous connection of the artist to his own unconscious - about insight beyond reason. If his insight were reasonable, anyone could do it, but anyone cannot. Only few can, and they are called.

Every scene should be able to answer three questions: "Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don't get it? Why now?"

I'm greedy and ambitious like everybody else.