If you're creative, they let you be the showrunner, producer. The first thing my partner and I did as producers was hire ourselves as directors - because who else would hire me?

Now women are rising to great positions and they run most of the studios now.

[Beaches] is a pretty picture and I just liked having somebody like Bette [Mudler] who can be flying in the big comedy scenes and have her do more like a realistic part.

I'm too old to be forced.

I'm a little older and I'm gonna do a bunch more movies and then they're gonna put me in a home for old directors.

In the middle of Beaches there's a scene from the "Laverne & Shirley" TV show so they see some history of my work in each film.

We can't compete with Mel Gibson, but we figured we could do our part.