It's ironic that at age 32, at probably the greatest moment of my career, with The Godfather having such an enormous success, I wasn't even aware of it, because I was somewhere else under the deadline again.

I still think Ned Beatty should've played Don Corleone.

A director is the ringmaster of a circus that's inventing itself.

I was interested in the idea of succession - showing a father and a son both in their own time and drawing a contrast

So much of the art of film is to do less. To aspire to do less.

I remember growing up with television, from the time it was just a test pattern, with maybe a little bit of programming once in a while.

I have more of a vivid imagination than I have talent. I cook up ideas. It's just a characteristic.