I probably have genius. But no talent.

I thought I wanted to be a playwright because I was interested in stories and telling stories.

Movies are the art form most like man's imagination.

The essence of cinema is editing.

I have always credited the writer of the original material above the title: Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Bram Stoker's Dracula, or John Grisham's The Rainmaker. I felt that I didn't have the right to Francis Coppola's anything unless I had written the story and the screenplay.

I had a number of very strong personalities in my family. My father was a concert flutist, the solo flute for Toscanini.

They needed someone to write a script of The Great Gatsby very quickly for the movie they were making. I took this job so I'd be sure to have some dough to support my family.