"You know, it’s a funny thing about filmmaking, you always think you know just about everything, and you’ve done just about everything ever, and then you realize with your next project, “Holy hell, I haven’t had this challenge yet!” So, I think what I’ve learned is never to assume I know everything. Even, in all modesty, it’s been a pretty extensive, long-running career and I’m very fortunate. Like I said, never ever assume you know what you’re doing until you’ve studied everything, because everything is different and everything is new, and every day is new. You have to be on your toes and smart about it. That’s what I’ve learned over all those years"

"I used to think I knew everything. I was a "smart person" who "got things done," and because of that, the higher I climbed, the more I could look down and scoff at what seemed silly or simple, even re…"

"At the end of the war, most people wanted to stop. I didn't. Because here was more knowledge. And in the coming uncertain period, with a dangerous man like Stalin around, and our incomplete knowledge,…"

"Fiction is something that I've always wanted to write. I think that I give myself a break when I write fiction. And that's not to take anything away from people that write fiction, because I know that…"

"well-known fact that the likely contacts of two individuals who are closely acquainted tend to be more overlapping than those of two arbitrarily selected individuals"