There are far more good actors than there are jobs for them, so it's a big question of luck.

It's always very strange to have your life dramatized because it never happens like that. Things will be different.

You can't deny reality just because you can't explain it.

They know you're not Alfred Hitchcock, but you need to be enough Alfred Hitchcock for them not to be bothered by it. That's a reassuring thing.

I often get sent scripts about little men in big situations. There's a comic element to it, which is forces stacked against this little guy, and how is he going to defeat them?

I don't know if it's harder but when you're playing a real person you want to honor their memory - even if they're a criminal or someone that the public loathed. That can be challenging.

One key element to Hitchcock is the drooping jowl. That was crucial because his silhouette is crucial. There is something about his silhouette that became his brand.

I'd love most of the movies I make to be four hours long.

There's not a huge pile of scripts at home. It's what happens to be on the table at that moment with your availability. And then you have no control over when these things come out.

Certainly for my father, there were great times, good times, not-so-good times. He might be shooting a Fellini film for six months, then not working for two months. I'm used to that dynamic.

But I think the children of actors share a certain pragmatic approach. One is denied some of that 'running away with the circus' element of being an actor.

In writing, a good guy must never break any of the Ten Commandments. A bad guy must break every one. That's why writing female characters is so much fun. They're not GUYS at all.

We must remember that we cannot change others, we can only change ourselves.

If you don't say anything, you won't be called on to repeat it.

Most people who do have the instincts will never recognize that they do, because they don't have the courage or the good fortune to discover their potential.

There is no fyre without some smoke.

The Japanese say, if the flower is to be beautiful, it must be cultivated.

Don’t be jealous, baby. We’ll get to you in a jiffy. (Daimon) Jiffy? What kind of pathetic wuss uses the word ‘jiffy’? (Xypher)

It's Ethan Hawke and John Travolta [in Valley of Violence]. It's awesome. They're awesome.

I inherited a painting and a violin which turned out to be a Rembrandt and a Stradivarius. Unfortunately, Rembrandt made lousy violins and Stradivarius was a terrible painter.

You hold in your hand the camel's-hair brush of a painter of Life. You stand before the vast white canvas of Time. The paints are your thoughts, emotions and acts.