'E.T.' began with me trying to write a story about my parents' divorce.

I never felt comfortable with myself, because I was never part of the majority. I always felt awkward and shy and on the outside of the momentum of my friends' lives.

All of us every single year, we're a different person. I don't think we're the same person all our lives.

I don't dream at night, I dream at day, I dream all day; I'm dreaming for living.

Failure is inevitable. Success is elusive.

Our one goal is to give the world a taste of peace, friendship and understanding. Through the visual arts, the art of celebration of life.

I'm always in favor of Israel responding strongly when it's threatened.

Before I go off and direct a movie, I always look at four films. They tend to be The Seven Samurai, Lawrence Of Arabia, It's A Wonderful Life and The Searchers.

The world would be a poorer place without Doctor Who.

Every time I go to a movie, it's magic, no matter what the movie's about.

I interviewed survivors, I went to Poland, saw the cities and spent time with the people and spoke to the Jews who had come back to Poland after the war and talked about why they had come back.

The challenges are illusions, but necessary ones to determine if you can see through them.

Simply stated, earth is a school-a divine educational process custom-fit to each of us.

Right then, it didn't matter what his reasons were. All I knew that I was sick of him breaking my heart.

In all good westerns, the good guy is always a little bit questionable because he kind-of has to make moral judgments.

Playing it safe and taking no risks is a shortcut to poverty

You've got to hit 30 before you hit 40.

Prying into others' private affairs is the preferred occupation of small minds.

However dark the night, however dim our hopes, the light will always follow darkness.

I don't think about being male or female, I just behave naturally. I think in terms of excellence in science, not gender.

dogma and shrinking from the external world are at one limit of the range of belief. At the other are science and poetry and, indeed, reality.