Basically, I'm a writer. I'm the proprietor of the vision. I alone know what I eventually want to happen on the screen. So if you have a valuable idea, the only way to protect it is to direct it.

As far as songwriters, I've always been a fan of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin; those guys mean a lot to me.

My job is to go out and entertain the most people possible.

That's it baby, if you've got it, flaunt it.

Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back legs together.

In every spoof I make real love to the things I am spoofing.

One day, God said 'Let there be prey.' And he created pigeons, rabbits, lambs and Gene Wilder.