I think it's better to be overly ambitious and fail than to be underambitious and succeed in a mundane way. I have been very fortunate. I failed upward in my life!

I think cinema, movies, and magic have always been closely associated. The very earliest people who made film were magicians.

When I was about 9, I had polio, and people were very frightened for their children, so you tended to be isolated. I was paralyzed for a while, so I watched television.

An essential element of any art is risk. If you don't take a risk then how are you going to make something really beautiful, that hasn't been seen before?

I used to love going into local hardware stores, to look at little things they made locally. Nowadays it's harder, though you can still do it in Vietnam.

I had an older brother who was very interested in literature, so I had an early exposure to literature, and and theater. My father sometimes would work in musical comedies.

There's nothing creative about living within your means.

Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos.

We were raised in an Italian-American household, although we didn't speak Italian in the house. We were very proud of being Italian, and had Italian music, ate Italian food.

You don't have to specialize - do everything that you love and then, at some time, the future will come together for you in some form.

If the movie works, nobody notices the mistakes... If the movie doesn't work, the only thing people notice are mistakes.

It's hard to imagine hate that I am facing from allover the world yet I am not alone with mistakes.

I am neither modern nor ancient - just contemporary, as every Guru was. If one is not relevant for today, what is the point?

The feminine seeks connection through union, likewise the masculine seeks freedom through disengagement.

The upward course of a nation's history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women.

I never promise anything. I don't promise anything to my mum. I don't promise anything to the supporters.

I never really like the characters I play. I only come to love them afterwards.

There is a great correlation between music and images.

I've conducted an experiment on my kids. Instead of denying them access to media, I've encouraged it. They read comic books, play Nintendo and watch way too much TV.

The struggle for life is not only the material and economic one. Comfort is no protection from anxiety.

I just love leopard print.