There's nothing more important in making movies than the screenplay.

I think it is obscene that we should believe that we are entitled to end somebody's life, no matter what that person has supposedly done or not done.

I believe we need heroes...we need certain people who we can measure our own shortcomings by.

I passionately believe in heroes, but I think the world has changed its criteria in determining who it describes as a hero.

I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do ask that they pay for them.

I am passionately opposed to capital punishment, and I have been all my life.

I just love biography, and I'm fascinated by people who have shifted our destinies or our points of view.

I want to be remembered as a storyteller.

Art is not an elitist gift for a few select people. Art is for everyone.

What I am sad about is that there is now, in America, no equivalent to the art circuit.

I think Tom Paine is one of the greatest men that's ever lived.

When life gets dark, that's when stars appear among us. Shine bright, beautiful ones. Throw light from your burning hearts.

The one who tells the stories rules the world.

Fiction with its big question of 'what if?' is one of the most powerful forces in the world. Once upon a time, the ability to light a fire was fictitious.

Clancy had taught me well.

I love my son more than anything. I will do whatever it takes to make sure he is raised the right way.

You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't.

To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating.

The inhabitants will always see both sides of an argument so long as it can result in a fight.

You're too damn selfish!

Tell the story that's in your heart, and don't hold back. Write a book the reader will want to melt into.