Any film, or to me any creative endeavour, no matter who you're working with, is, in many cases, a wonderful experience.

I always say that I've been in a bad mood for maybe 35 years now. I try to lighten it up, but that's what comes out when you get me on camera.

The real truth, I thought, in terms of what faith is and what Christianity is.

Could you double-check the envelope?

I think there's only one or two films where I've had all the financial support I needed. All the rest, I wish I'd had the money to shoot another ten days.

I know that I come from mid-20th century America, urban, specifically downtown New York, specifically an Italian-American area, Roman Catholic - that's who I am. And a part of what I know is there's a decency to people who tried to make a living in the kind of world that was around us and also the Skid Row area of the Bowery; it impressed me.

A lot of what I'm obsessed with is the relationship and the dynamics between people and the family, particularly brothers and their father.