I was on cruise control from '85 to '95, and it was my fault. There were a lot of self-inflicted wounds, when I was not doing any original material. I wasn't directing. I wasn't writing. That's not who I am.

If I'd succeeded right away at acting I wouldn't have sought out writing.

Now it really is, believe it or not, 90% of the films are green lit, not by the studio heads, but by the marketing department.

I try to combine in my paintings cinematic feeling, emotional feeling, and sometimes actually writing on the page to combine all the different elements of communication.

I really have very little aspirations about acting because I think that probably the best things have come and gone. I would like to focus on writing and directing. I love writing and directing even though writing can be incredibly painful and lonely. I get great satisfaction from doing it.

To be really artful, though, you have to be subjective and so singular.

People asked if I could have played the Terminator. Are you kidding? Not a chance, I never could have played the Terminator.