At a certain point, you have to convince the actors that you've done the right thing. The way I work, if I can't convince them, I've got to move on. I can't coerce them or browbeat them.

I learned over the years that it's easy to appear smart referencing things that people don't know.

I can't imagine a successful comedy movie without a successful comedy performance at the heart of it.

Once you're alienated, you're on your own. That takes you to the world of the existential, where things just kind of float.

That's one of the great things about DVD: In addition to reaching people who didn't catch the movie in theaters, you get to have this interaction of sorts.

You don't have to know much, just a little bit more than everybody else.

I did a comedy with Al Franken about his character Stuart Smalley, which was really about alcoholism and addiction and codependency. It had some painful stuff in it. When we showed it to focus groups, some of them actually said, "If I want to see a dysfunctional family, I'll stay home."