[When asked about the transition from child star to adolescent actor] "You're 14 or 15, and they can hire an 18-year-old and not have the child-labor law restrictions, and so they do. Just at the point when you're feeling confused and vulnerable, you're being rejected." "It was always my dream to be a director. A lot of it had to do with controlling my own destiny, because as a young actor you feel at everyone's disposal. But I wanted to become a leader in the business." [When asked what his future holds in 1979] "If I had to choose between a great acting job and a good directing job, I'd choose the directing job." "I've always been interested in the Depression as this very dramatic pivotal period in American history. My dad grew up on a farm in Oklahoma and remembers playing with his toy tractor under the table while the local farmers talked with his grandfather about forming a local militia to protect the crops because they were afraid unemployed people from the town would come in and grab the crops." "There is something inherently tough about Americans. They will not accept defeat. The astronauts of Apollo 13 would not give up, John Nash in A Beautiful Mind would not give up, and Jim Braddock would not surrender to poverty". "I've acted with all types, I've directed all types. What you want to understand as a director, is what actors have to offer. They'll get at it however they get at it. If you can understand that, you can get your work done." "I'm not a caterer. I just have to stay with my creative convictions. At some point, you have to just get past the special-interest groups and do what you're there to do, which is make a movie."