True power is invisible and impeccable, like good taste. It is never clumsy or artless. Powerful people whisper, suggest, seduce, in order to coerce. They only use volume for effect. This is how you can tell a blowhard from a mogul. ... Most powerful people don't need to coerce; their mere presence is coercive.

One of our jobs is to keep women working, which we do by keeping women coming to the movies. And doing that means making good, smart, often funny movies that women can identify with-with terrific dialogue we all remember and cherish, and stories that illuminate our lives and decisions and turning points.

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

Ego problems are endemic in every walk of life, but in the movie business egomaniacs are megalomaniacs.

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.

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

What turns a work crisis into a life crisis is the infusion of dread.