Michael Cimino

“I have no interest in making a 'Vietnam' film, no interest in making a direct political statement.”

“Movies are about people; there're not about ideas. It's like great novels. Great novels are not about ideas. There's never been a great novel about ideas.”

“I would never suggest that the geography or visual environment of the film is more important than what's going on with the people, but it's a major factor in getting the right tone. Certainly, it influences the actors tremendously.”

“Family politics are worse than world politics. That's all I can say. You don't get to choose your family; you get to choose your friends. Your family is imposed upon you.”

“What distinguishes Vilmos Zsigmond from other cinematographers is, of course, talent but, more, physical stamina. You just can't be great without it.”

“Making movies is controlled anarchy, chaos.”

“Even the details of a rifle, which are nothing but mechanical, if they are made carefully, with attention, become beautiful, satisfying.”

“It's one of the wonderful things that the Academy does - a talented person comes along like Mira Sorvino, and it elevates them up to stardom.”

“I've got a room full of scripts. They go to the ceiling. I can't even hardly walk into it anymore. Most are original, and there are some adaptations like 'Man's Fate.'”

“Writing, by nature, is a fairly solitary occupation.”

“Nobody lives without making mistakes.”

“I never second-guess myself.”

“Being infamous is not fun. It becomes a weird occupation in and of itself.”

“All one has to do is look at old footage of the firebombing of Dresden during World War II and think of the people beneath those bombs. It's horrific.”

“The Indians believe all things have spirit - even the hail that comes from the sky is spirit. If you believe that, which I implicitly do, everything is alive.”

“I feel very, very upset that, when it came time for me to get an Academy Award, that I didn't especially thank Clint Eastwood.”

“I felt the need to unlearn my formal education.”

“Every great movie is about the people, even if it's a great popular success like 'Gone With the Wind.' It's really not about the Civil War. It's about Scarlett and Rhett. That's who you go to see. You're not going to root for the North or pull for the South, or, you know, it's the people you remember.”

“I think 'American Sniper' is anti-war. It demonstrates the agony of the decision-making that goes on.”

“It's very important to follow your instincts because, beyond what you know exists or what you're told exists in a given area, your intuition plays a big part in finding something special.”