I realized what you could do in motion pictures by surrounding yourself with geniuses.

I'm open to comments. I'm open to objective points of view, because I've been very narrow and very subjective.

In motion pictures, the actor rules. The camera served the actor.

It was just the thrill of a lifetime. Brando and Hackman were two of my heroes.

It's only been a couple of times in my life that I've really locked horns with actors. It did not hurt the films, it just hurt the moment of the filmmaking.

If you had the opportunity and some talent, there was no way you couldn't progress, because it was an open market. There was the advertising world, and there was the documentary world.

I was painting sets, working in editorial as an assistant, driving their trucks... lying that I knew how to drive a truck... and doing commercials and documentaries.

I was really disappointed that Warner Bros. didn't think highly enough of my film or my filmmaking to ask me to make the new Superman.

I think what some people are doing with effects is starting to get silly. It's overused.

How was I going to make a man fly? How was I going to convince the public that an actor could fly?

I was tweaked by the idea of Superman immediately.

The proof that most people don’t know how to measure their life by converting time into products is reflected in what they do with their free vacation time.

If there hadn't been women we'd still be squatting in a cave eating raw meat, because we made civilization in order to impress our girlfriends.

Only your mind can produce fear.

As to science, we may well define it for our purpose as "methodical thinking directed toward finding regulative connections between our sensual experiences".

[Individuals] have a right to defend themselves and recover by force what by unlawful force is taken from them.

Fear is gradually replaced by excitement and a simple desire to see what you can do on the day.

As long as my opponent has not yet castled, on each move I seek a pretext for an offensive. Even when I realize that the king is not in danger.

The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity.