One of the worst things you can do is have a limited budget and try to do some big looking film. That's when you end up with very bad work.

As a producer, I probably am a little stronger than most, since I was a director originally.

A great director, first, is highly intelligent. And he is also a dedicated and willing to work hard. Now those are easy things to identify. The third is the creativity, and that is very difficult to identify in advance. This is why so many of the directors who have started with me were my assistant - the first one was Francis Ford Coppola.

Jim Cameron is proof that if you are good, you'll get promoted.

Other writers, producers, and directors of low-budget films would often put down the film they were making, saying it was just something to make money with. I never felt that. If I took the assignment, I'd give it my best shot.

I've never made the film I wanted to make. No matter what happens, it never turns out exactly as I hoped.

I look for the ability to work. Directing is hard work. They don't teach you that in film school. Critics are not aware of it, but it is hard, physical work.