Whenever a critic mentions the salary of an actor, I'm thinking, He's not talking about the movie.

Well, for me, it's the relationship between comedy and life - that's the edge I live on, and maybe it's my protection against looking at the tragedy of it all. It's seeing life in balance. Comedy and tragedy co-exist. You can't have one without the other. I'm of the school that anything can be funny, if seen from a comedic point of view.

I always claim that the writer has done 90 percent of the director's work.

As much as I liked acting for its playfulness and the reward of hearing big laughs wash over you on a stage, I always felt I should do something that I could control.

I had a lot of fun working with John Candy. We had a pretty good rapport.

I have no trouble selling out—I’m a benevolent hack, in a certain way—but I want to pander for something I believe in.

When I've written for Bill Murray - I've written six films for him - people would read it and say, "Oh, that's so perfectly Bill." He'd read it and say, "Are you kidding? I can't say these words." So it's all about perception.