I won't make shorthand films, because I don't want to manipulate audiences into assuming quick, manufactured truths.

You must be willing to risk everything to really express it all.

My films are expressive of a culture that has had the possibility of attaining material fulfillment while at the same time finding itself unable to accomplish the simple business of conducting human lives. We have been sold a bill of goods as a substitute for life. What is needed is reassurance in human emotions; a re-evaluation of our emotional capacities.

I like to act in films, I like to shoot 'em, I like to direct 'em, I like to be around 'em. I like the feel of it and it's something I respect. It doesn't make any difference whether it's a crappy film or a good film. Anyone who can make a film, I already love. But I feel sorry if they don't put any thought in it because then they missed the boat.

The greatest location in the world is the human face.

The camera is the slave to the actor.

You can defeat fear through humor, through pain, through honesty, bravery, intuition, and through love in the truest sense.