If I Couldn't Read, I Couldn't Live.

A Director In Hollywood In My Time Couldn't Do What He Wanted To Do.

There Arose A Belief In Style - And In Banality. Banality Encompassed Politics, Too, Because It Was A Common Belief That Politics Were Not Worthy Of Art.

I Was Making Films About American Society, And It Is True That I Never Felt At Home There, Except Perhaps When My Wife And I Lived On A Farm In The San Fernando Valley. But I Always Wanted My Characters To Be More Than Cyphers For The Failings Of Their World. And I Never Had To Look Too Hard To Find A Part Of Myself In Them

These Happy Endings All Express The Weak And Sly Promise That The World Is Not Rotten And Out Of Joint But Meaningful And Ultimately In Excellent Condition.

If I Couldn't Read, I Couldn't Live.