"I must admit, even though I'm the product of two Jewish parents, I think the Irish temper got in there somewhere, so I'm going to check Mom's genealogy."

"I just finished my homework fast, I was bored to death. There wasn't 500 channels so there was a thing for a librarian to teach a kid like me about reading. I started reading early and I read all the time, because I love it."

"Last year, when 'Black Swan,' 'True Grit' and 'King's Speech' all grossed over $100 million, it gave studios and independent financiers the confidence to make daring movies and not do the same old you-know-what."

"As a young man, I went to Paris and soaked up many hours of film knowledge from Robert Hakim in my efforts to become a producer."

"I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It's done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the mickey out of the consumer."

"The extreme socialists desire to run every nation as a single business concern."

"When I was young, I'd fight everyone who insisted I'd be an actress. I'd say, 'No way. I'm going to be a veterinarian. I'm going to work at Wetzel's Pretzels.'"

"It is not real work unless you would rather be doing something else."