"They're all so jealous in Hollywood. It's not enough to have a hit. Your best friend should also have a failure." "I've always been a self-confessed opportunist." "I always thought that the goal in movies was to extinguish disbelief." "The end of the studio system signalled the end of the great screen stars. They were the sort of actors who brought their own charismatic personas to each role they played. Audiences felt as if they knew them immediately every time they watched one of their movies." "Marlon Brando changed everything for actors. After him, everyone wanted to be Marlon. No one wanted to be a type: they all wanted to display versatility in every role. But the brilliance that Marlon had was that he had star personality that shone through in every role." "It's a misconception about acting that it's a practise in pretending to be someone else. It's actually a practise in finding the character within yourself." "They don't have personalities, so they can't be stars. Do me a Tom Cruise impression, do me a Tom Hanks impression." "I made a lot of mistakes when I was successful in the seventies. You know, there's no handbook for success so I couldn't make out what vibe I was picking up. But it's called jealousy, envy and loathing, though they come at you with smiles because they want something from you. So you put on a front of arrogance to cover insecurity." "Remember me? I used to be Peter Bogdanovich." - to producer Irwin Winkler, recounted in Peter Biskind's book "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" [When asked why he picked Larry McMurtry's novel "The Last Picture Show" as subject matter] "I liked the idea of doing a period piece because I like anything better in the past than in the present. I'm not moved by things that happen in the present, only when I think about them later. Life is too real when it's actually happening." [On the critical plaudits earned by "The Last Picture Show" (1971)] "I'm very gratified by the reception. It's gone beyond my wildest dreams. To have your picture compared to 'Citizen Kane' is incredible; certainly, it isn't true, but it's nice to have it written." Filmmakers have a responsibility to the audience and to the work, I wish they felt that responsibility more, especially to what's true in life.