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.

It was the man's dream, and his inspiring attempt to make them come true that remain important.

I was never sloppy with other people's money. Only my own. Because I figure, well, you can be.

I wanted to write and direct movies and not be forced to adapt them from a bestselling book.

The essence of cinema is editing. It's the combination of what can be extraordinary images of people during emotional moments, or images in a general sense, put together in a kind of alchemy.

I had an older brother who was very interested in literature, so I had an early exposure to literature, and and theater. My father sometimes would work in musical comedies.

I always found the film world unpleasant. It's all about the schedule, and never really flew for me.