There was never any point in my life when I wasn't called Mr. Donen. I'm told my first words were, 'Call me Mr. Donen.' But I suspect that's apocryphal. My mother, Mrs. Donen, tended to exaggerate.

My childhood wasn't very happy. It's a long, grim story about being a Jew in a small southern town.

I can still dance a little, yes, but I like singing better. It's more fun.

Jean-Luc Godard said that cinema is the truth 24 frames a second. I think cinema is lies 24 frames a second.

When Fred Astaire danced, everything in this world was perfect.

I started dancing when I saw Fred Astaire in 'Flying Down to Rio,' at approximately nine years old. Fred Astaire influenced me, more than anything, to be in 'show business.

I think of myself as a meat-and-potatoes kind of director.