[On filmmaking:] Cardinal rule: It's a youth business.

The only way I can access all my strength is to relax. ... The paradox is that you must learn to be relaxed while using all your power.

[On filmmaking:] Cardinal rule: It's a youth business.

nerve, not talent, is the one necessary and sufficient trait for success. (Wouldn't it be ideal if it were talent? But talent with no nerve is like the sound of one hand clapping.

It is just as important to move on in the wake of stunning success as in the wake of disaster.

Love and friendship, two of life's abiding rewards, are endangered species in Hollywood. People crave both, mistaking alliance for friendship, lust for love, and ambition for both.

My goal has been to learn how to get movies made without losing sight of the reasons I began. I have had to learn to recognize the insidious nature of the beast without becoming one.