I've always wanted to tell a story about Lincoln. I saw a paternal father figure; I saw someone who was completely, stubbornly committed to his ideals, to his vision.

I'll probably never win an Oscar, but I'll sure have a lot of fun! I really believe that movies are the great escape.

If the world ran the way a crew runs a set, we'd have a better, more progressive world.

I like that the best about DVD: how small it is.

I think one of the worst things that happened to me was, you know, my voluntary fallout with my father. And then the greatest thing that happened to me was when I saw the light, and realized I needed to love him in a way that he could love me back.

My movies more often are told through pictures, not words. But in this case, the pictures took second position to the incredible words of Abraham Lincoln and his presence [...] I was less interested in an outpouring of imagery than in letting the most human moment of this story evolve before us.

People have forgotten how to tell a story.