I'd rather deal with a Mob guy shaking hands on a deal than a Hollywood lawyer, who, the minute you get the contract signed, is trying to figure out how to screw you.

You should get as close to the power when you're pitching something. I got my two biggest breaks with the man who owned CBS and the guy that owned Paramount, because I was dealing with the guy who would say yes or no.

I got a call on a Sunday. 'Do you want to do 'The Godfather?' I thought they were kidding me, right? I said, 'Yes, of course, I love that book' - which I had never read.

You make a deal. You figure out how much sin you can live with.

'Atlas Shrugged,' let's face it, was probably the most important novel of the 20th century that was never a film.

Marketers are out there trying to figure out how to get your money out of your child.