I have no interest in ever making a movie I didn't write. If they were going to take my house away, then I guess I might have to. But my agent knows not to even bother sending me the scripts.

The only way I've learned to change anyone's mind politically is to make them laugh. My whole career has been about that.

People still come to Baltimore and say, "I didn't realize you made documentaries."

Do we secretly idolize our imagined opposites, yearning to become the role models for others we know we could never be for ourselves?

I think [parents] became very proud, even though they were mortified by the early films because no one liked them.

I like the word 'underground'... 'independent' carries a stigma of whininess. 'Underground' means a good time.

I think it's all independent films. There aren't any! If they were looking for me when I was making Polyester, then it'd be perfect, but they're not. I'm not looking for that. TV is much bigger and better now; far more people see it.