I landed a job with Roger Corman. The job was to write the English dialogue for a Russian science fiction picture. I didn't speak any Russian. He didn't care whether I could understand what they were saying; he wanted me to make up dialogue.

Frank Capra was a prop man, I think. John Ford was a prop man. It was a little bit of a father and son thing, and you kind of worked your way up.

Art depends on luck and talent.

I probably have genius. But no talent.

The things you get fired for when you’re young are the same things that you get lifetime achievement awards for when you’re old.

The only TV I would be interested in exploring would be live television. There's no substitute for a team of artists performing at their peak live when failure is possible. It's a high-wire act. That excites me.

I liked to work in a shop down in the basement and invent things and build gadgets.