In the old days the studios guided your career. Now it's all up to you.

Through readiness and discipline, we are the masters of our fate.

When you start out as a filmmaker, you do parodies, because you can't really compete on a studio level.

I didn't have a normal background - I was completely demented from a very early age!

Stop your grinnin and drop your linen

Howdy. I'm gonna separate your head from your shoulders. Hope you don't mind none.

You don't really get to pick and chose what you would like to be doing. But I've been very fortunate, and I think water seeks its own level. You do gravitate towards things that you would get off on.

I hate tests. It's a really lousy way to judge a person's ability.

I've always loved movies about con men. I think con men are as American as apple pie.

It's always good to have no expectations when you see a film. Then you can be pleasantly disappointed or surprised.

We mystify the art of moviemaking, but it's not amystical science. You take a good screenplay, put a group togetherand you hammer it out.

no doubt that evil is more contagious than good, therefore, it's more powerful.

I wear the word victim like a badge of honor — my own purple heart. I see what others do more than I see what I'm capable of.

I just want to be someone, to mean something to anyone.

New York is still where I live most of the time.

As long as you don't compliment yourself, your environments and your job, you will always be miserable. Complaints bring misery, compliments brings strength.

You want to know as much information as possible because it helps you make more informed decisions, but that's not always possible. There are a lot of different factors surrounding it.

Severus Snape wasn't yours," said Harry. "Snape was Dumbledores, Dumbledores from the moment you started hunting down my mother.

I am convinced that in my own career I could usually have hit 30 points higher if I had made a specialty of hitting.

Make a difference no matter what role you play

I said hello unnoticed, you said good-bye too soon.