I've never felt that using something with tongue in cheek has been a bad thing.

Making a film is like going down a mine-once you've started you bid a metaphoricalgoodbye to the daylight and the outside world for the duration.

Oh, the relationship with actors and managers and agents and things is a terrible problem sometimes.

Hollywood is an extraordinary kind of temporary place.

No, United Artists was a very extraordinary organization, because once they had agreed on the director, they believed in letting him have his way. They trusted me, and that doesn't often happen.

I've never felt that using something with tongue in cheek has been a bad thing.

We taped all this and then got it transcribed and picked the best lines or ideas or ways to take a scene. I've done that many times, and it can improve the script but also wreck a perfectly good scene.