My dad took me to my first movie. It was 'The Greatest Show on Earth' in 1952, a movie of such scale it was actually a traumatic experience.

All presidents swear an oath to the Constitution to keep this country united, and when the country fell apart, Lincoln had to put it back together again, with a lot of help. But he bore total responsibility.

I quit college so fast I didn't even clean out my locker.

I turned down 'Harry Potter' and 'Spider-Man,' two movies that I knew would be phenomenally successful, because I had already made movies like that before and they offered no challenge to me. I don't need my ego to be reminded.

I am an American Jew and aware of the sensitivities involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

When my children were born, I made the choice I wanted them to be raised as Jews and to have a Jewish education.

There were so many odd, strange things about Abraham Lincoln that I think nobody knew how to pigeonhole him.