I don't know if it's fair to say that it's a bad time for movies. It seems to me that throughout the entire history of filmmaking, every year there have been about two really wonderful movies, about 10 others that are pretty good, and a whole pile of garbage.

Directing is a huge amount of work with very little payoff, and a quarter of the money, and nine times more time spent.

Before I made it big I worked as a dishwasher, washing dishes in this place called Dishwasher House where people could just come in and do whatever they wanted to the dishes and we had to clean them with our hands till they bled. A lot of struggling actors worked there-Downey Jr., Joaquin Phoenix, Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans-and we actually all kind of wish we still did.

That's pretty much what every scene is about, getting people to see your point of view. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

Anyway, I try to be a good guy. I try to tell the truth, but I'm not religious.

It’s a shame...you just don’t see young people doing anything outside these days.

A favorite cast? Lisa Kudrow, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and my wife.