I became quite successful very young, and it was mainly because I was so enthusiastic and I just worked so hard at it.
I associate my motion picture career more with being unhappy and scared, or being under the gun, than with anything pleasant.
I always found the film world unpleasant. It's all about the schedule, and never really flew for me.
George Lucas doesn't have the most physical stamina. He was so unhappy making Star Wars that he just vowed he'd never do it again.
Frank Capra was a prop man, I think. John Ford was a prop man. It was a little bit of a father and son thing, and you kind of worked your way up.
A number of images put together a certain way become something quite above and beyond what any of them are individually.
Listen, if there's one sure-fire rule that I have learned in this business, it's that I don't know anything about human nature.
All of a sudden, there are great Japanese films, or great Italian films, or great Australian films. It's usually because there are a number of people that cross-pollinated each other.
Steven Spielberg is unique. I feel that the kinds of movies he loves are the same kinds of movies that the big mass audience loves. He's very fortunate because he can do the things he naturally likes the best, and he's been very successful.
When newspapers started to publish the box office scores of movies, I was horrified. Those results are totally fake because they never include the promotion budget.
I wanted to write and direct movies and not be forced to adapt them from a bestselling book.
As long as I can make lots of money in other businesses, I'll continue to subsidize my own work.
I realized I probably wouldn't make another film that cuts through commercial and creative things like 'Godfather' or 'Apocalypse.'
I like simplicity; I don't need luxury.
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'm no longer dependent on the movie business to make a living. So if I want to make movies as other old guys would play golf, I can.
Most filmmakers can't afford to try something out that doesn't work.
We do things for good reasons that are bad.
People feel the worst film I made was 'Jack.' But to this day, when I get checks from old movies I've made, 'Jack' is one of the biggest ones. No one knows that. If people hate the movie, they hate the movie. I just wanted to work with Robin Williams.
Lots of people have criticized my movies, but nobody has ever identified the real problem: I'm a sloppy filmmaker.
