'E.T.' began with me trying to write a story about my parents' divorce.

Science fiction really is the only genre that lets you use your imagination without limitations.

You shouldn't dream your film, you should make it!

I'm 62 years old. Am I old enough to win a lifetime achievement award? Yes, I am. Thank you very much.

Making a movie and not directing the little moments is like drinking a soda and leaving the little slurp puddle for someone else.

One of the gratuities about being a director is that you can volunteer yourself out of difficult details.

I've just always had a personal fascination with the myth of Abraham Lincoln. And once you start to read about him and the Civil War and everything leading up to the Civil War, you start to understand that the myth is created when we think we understand a character and we reduce him to a kind of cultural national stereotype.