I sometimes suspect that half our difficulties are imaginary and that if we kept quiet about them they would disappear.

Being broke is a temporary situation. Being poor is a state of mind.

The story drove the book. That had a very seminal effect on the way I saw writing and storytelling. If you can set a character in a story that is compelling and has a backbone,...

Nobody doubts my partisanship, but a lot of the activity is nonpartisan.

My thing was to be the man who makes his little 30 or 40 million a year and still get a cheeseburger and fries and don’t worry about an autograph.

Imagery is like music.

I don’t think you can really make television based on what you think audiences want. You can only make stories that you like, because you have to watch it so many times.

A story never looks as good as when the other fellow buys it.

You’re in the business – when you’re a writer, producer, director – to get ratings.

I don’t care about how many times somebody recognizes my face.

It’s a very competitive business. And everybody I know who does it is extremely competitive, but they show it or don’t show it in different ways.

Granted, the writers, directors, producers, and that community make a great deal of money. But they might be choosing to do a whole lot of other things for the living they make.

Most of us believe in trying to make other people happy only if they can be happy in ways which we approve.

Beaver do better work than the Corps of Engineers.

The threat to free television. The reason television is free is because it is a life support system for commercials. That fundamental aspect is about to change.

Originally, with all the shows, we went looking for belly laughs.

No person ever gave me nothing but God.

One of the problems of writing is that anyone who commits themselves to that process has to believe that they’re good.

I get bored with establishing shots of people getting out of cars and walking into buildings, getting into elevators and then 45 seconds later they have a line.

Forget it, Louis, no Civil War picture ever made a nickel.

I realistically eat every hour and 15 minutes. I watch the clock to see when I eat again. I’m almost upset that I’m not eating now.

I like Biggie. Like ‘Pac, he was one of the best rappers in the business. Why would I try to do something to him?

It’s show business. No show, no business.

I guess because the shows were activist in their own way – the marriage of my public activism and my career activism, you know – people understand me very well. They also understand there’s a...

Knowledge is power only if man knows what facts not to bother with.

Being broke is only a temporary situation.