Don’t be afraid to make an ass of yourself. I do it all the time, and look what I got.” (Spoken at a graduation ceremony while holding aloft an honorary doctoral degree from McGill University)
If you make a fool of yourself, you can do it with dignity, without taking your pants down. And if you do take your pants down, you can still do it with dignity.
Over the years, I’ve become barraged by comments from people, such as, ‘Beam me up, Scotty!’ and I became defensive. I felt they were derisive and engendered an attitude. I am grateful for the success, but didn’t want to be mocked.
There’s a joy and a pain about directing where the dreams you have are becoming concrete but the attention to detail, the need for time is such that it’s overwhelming at times, and the stream of responsibility.
I watch movies and sports. I can count on the fingers of my hand the number of times I have watched an hour show. I never watch a half-hour show, and I never watch myself.
The mysteriousness and mystique of space is such, that science fiction attempts to tantalize you by telling you a story that could possibly be out there and that’s the appeal of science fiction.
Sci-fi films are the epic films of the day because we can no longer put 10,000 extras in the scene – but we can draw thousands of aliens with computers.
I find age such a foreign concept. I have to be reminded. I still have the extraordinary feeling of adventure, striking out into unknown fields.
I love to go to a movie, get a Diet Coke and a barrel of popcorn, and sit there with my kids and watch a film.
I find the whole time travel question very unsettling if you take it to its logical extension. I think it might eventually be possible, but then what happens?
Marriage is a reflection of your life in general: how you treat people, how you argue, how secure you are in your own thoughts. How vehemently do you argue your point of view? With what disdain do you view the other’s point of view?
I love the concept of togetherness and the entwinement of marriage.
When I did the film Generations, in which the character died, I felt like a guest for the first time. That made me very sad.
I love technology. Matches, to light a fire, is really high tech. The wheel is really one of the great inventions of all time. Other than that, I am an ignoramus about technology.
When you’ve done the technical part, you’re then into the joy, the zen, into being. Technology no longer exists for you. You’re then into the mystery of the thing you’re doing.
If saving money is wrong, I don’t want to be right!
The longer I go about living, I see it’s the relationship that is most meaningful.
No, I don’t regret anything at this point. That may change on the next phone call, but at the moment I don’t regret anything.