In all honesty a gangster picture was the easiest kind of film for me to get made.

You never know what people are going to go and see.

As first time director, though, you're like a new officer coming up to be in charge of very serious veterans, and you're always going to have guys looking at each other for the first day until they realize you're not screwing around.

In reviewing films, people get quite liberal about saying "the script" this and "the script" that, when they've never read the script any more than they've read the latest report on Norwegian herring landings.

I never write with particular actors in mind.

I don't like scripts leaking. On the other hand, the more real attention a script gets, the better.

Casting is all about availability, as much as anything else.