My mom was Sicilian, my dad was Sicilian. Mom was a great cook, but all the women were.

I like playing roulette, I like dice. I grew up with gamblers.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices you make will shape your life forever.

Italian-Americans are not the Mafia.

My mother and father told me I was god. I was a good Italian boy who hung out with the same four guys. I was a little god.

My father always said, 'The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.'

When you feel good about the work you're doing, that's what's important, not the budget or anything like that. If you're happy about the actors you're working with, that's what's important.

I've always been successful. Now I'm famous and successful.

Mental violence is as bad as physical violence. You don't see that very often in movies, so it was a good subject to tackle.

Yeah, I like to gamble.

I thought that if no one was going to give me a great part - and it was very difficult to break into film, obviously - then I'd write one myself.

Be positive. Be true. Be kind.

Create the kind of peace in your mind that you want to see in the world.

you don't know until you know!

He swallowed his food this time and actually spoke instead of humphing,

Perplexity is the beginning of a new way.

Now I design what I want to wear, and it works that way.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned. We can all learn lessons.

A person who has power has an open mind. Their mind is open and they can see on other levels. Seeing is a quality that comes to a person who has personal power.

I wrote for a weekly magazine and then edited a literary magazine, but I did not really feel comfortable with the profession of journalism itself

Well, I'm really not supposed to speak to strangers, but we've met before.