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 it because I got to be a working writer in Hollywood.

A lot of films made me love the movies, everything from Hitchcock to Godard. But the ones that really grabbed me were Costa-Gavras's films like 'Z' and 'State of Siege.'

I have made a very good living, for more than 30 years, by being underestimated.

[September 16, 2005 - In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , newly hired Casino Royale re-write scribe Paul Haggis dropped some brief but revealing tidbits about the next James Bond installment.] It's going to be good, ... We're trying to reinvent Bond. He's 28: no Q, no gadgets.

I am really drawn to damaged characters, and I have a lot of sympathy for them. Making those complicated characters empathetic is something to strive for. It's too easy to create a good guy or a good girl.

I like playing music because it's a good living and I get satisfaction from it. But I can't feed my family with satisfaction.