I have never pretended to be the best Scientologist, but I openly and vigorously defended the church whenever it was criticized, as I railed against the kind of intolerance that I believed was directed against...

You don’t make a film because the audience is ready for it. You make a film because you have questions that are in your gut.

You have to have empathy, knowledge and compassion for your characters if you’re a writer.

I made a very good living as a bad writer. I wrote a lot of comedies, ‘Diff’rent Strokes,’ ‘Facts of Life,’ while all my friends were doing the good shows, like ‘Cheers,’ but I loved...