As a kid I watched the Academy Awards on television and always wanted one - or several - like one of my favorite directions, John Ford. He won six. On the other hand, Orson Welles, who's on the top of my list, didn't win any. Alfred Hitchcock didn't win any. Howard Hawks didn't win any.

I've seen many, many movies over the years, and there are only a few that suddenly inspire you so much that you want to continue to make films.

Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out.

Young film makers should learn how to deal with the money and learn how to deal with the power structure. Because it is like a battle.

There's no such thing as simple. Simple is hard.

I can't really envision a time when I'm not shooting something.

It’s also true that I might have never made Taxi Driver [1976] were it not for the success of Alice [Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, 1974]. The question of commercialism is a source of worry. Must one make a choice, must it be a matter of either setting your sights on winning an Academy Award and becoming a millionaire, or making only the movies you want to make and starving to death?