I'm proud of all the movies I've made. They're not sequels, they're not franchises. And the reason I pick my films carefully is that I don't want to spit on my life. I like to think of myself as more than that.

When you draw a western correctly, you create such drama, such dilemma that you think you almost don't want to admit who you might have been.

Conventional wisdom is so scary because what if everybody's wrong?

It's such a cool thing in life to get what it is you want. Most of the time we don't, but occasionally we do.

I don't like definitions. I like four-hour movies.

I don't have a seller's remorse about how I've lived. I am cognizant of what I have done, and any of us could maybe draw the line better. But I've tried to live pretty fearlessly.

President Kennedy was willing to go to war. He was not a coward. The man had been in war and so had Ken O'Donnell. He was ready to protect this nation, but he was not ready for a military solution just because it was being rammed down his throat.