Egotism is not a good quality. It's not something to be admired or even tolerated. It wouldn't be tolerated in a field commander and it shouldn't be tolerated in a movie director.

There is a certain kind of respect for authenticity today that there wasn't back in the days when they did 'Cleopatra,' where everything looked like a giant motel. People want to have it be authentic in the look, and authentic in the way people behave.

I mean, the old film critics just excoriated me.

I felt that the Star Wars series became very pretentious as time went on. Just heavy and leaden.

Also, they don't understand - writing is language. The use of language. The language to create image, the language to create drama. It requires a skill of learning how to use language.

I suppose when I started out I would have liked to have been the darling of critics or something, but everybody wants to be loved and admired.

The people that really pass judgment on you really have nothing to do with what you do, usually.