The classy gangster is a Hollywood invention.

Hollywood died on me as soon as I got there

The notion of directing a film is the invention of critics - the whole eloquence of cinema is achieved in the editing room.

In common with all Protestant or Jewish cultures, America was developed on the idea that your word is your bond. Otherwise, the frontier could never have been opened, 'cause it was lawless. A man's word had to mean something.

If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.

The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.