When I went to school, you had to take art, you had to play an instrument. You had to play an instrument. But it's all degraded since then. I do not know what kind of nation we are that is cutting art, music, and gym out of the public-school curriculum.

I had a great education. From kindergarten to John Dewey High School in Coney Island, I am public-school educated.

I give interracial couples a look. Daggers. They get uncomfortable when they see me on the street.

As we move toward the millennium, the year 2000, the most powerful nations are not those that have nuclear bombs, but those that control the media. That's where the battle is being fought; that is how you control people's minds.

Our greatness, our talent has never been the question. It's been a matter of grappling for control over what we do.

Critics like to build you up, tear you down, and then, if you're lucky, build you up again.

I collect names for characters. Names are valuable; they can be your first source of insight into a character.