I think there's true drama in the formation of everything that we know and are standing on the shoulders of.

I work for the public, for the people who are paying to go to the cinema, rather than for the critics.

I stand up for what I believe. I don't know if it's always paid off for me, because I've been ridiculed and humiliated.

There are a lot of things that come to bear on movies now that I don't think are good for movies. They're trying to appeal to the biggest demographic and, when they do that, you sometimes flatten out.

We all have to have our north star that we fix on and go to, but life is so much about the things that bump into you.

I'm a 'what if' person. I have always felt that failure was a completely underrated experience. I have taken blows. I have had high moments. But I don't think the blows have ever hardened me. My enthusiasms are still big.

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.