Quotes from Francis Ford Coppola

You have to really be courageous about your instincts and your ideas. Otherwise you'll just knuckle under, and things that might have been memorable will be lost.

So much of the art of film is to do less. To aspire to do less.

But who said art has to cost money? And therefore, who says artists have to make money?

Being a former theater student, of course, there is a part of me that is fascinated with stage crafts and what you can do with illusions and working within the confines of the studio.

When that happens - when risk is taken and the filmmakers dive into the subject matter without a parachute - very often what you get it something with those qualities that make it age well with the public.

The only TV I would be interested in exploring would be live television. There's no substitute for a team of artists performing at their peak live when failure is possible. It's a high-wire act. That excites me.

In a sense, I think a movie is really a little like a question and when you make it, that's when you get the answer.

My film is not a movie; it's not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam.

It is a little disappointing to see that your legs are not as strong. But I like the idea of growing old, and the thought of approaching death is not particularly daunting to me.

I became quite successful very young, and it was mainly because I was so enthusiastic and I just worked so hard at it.

They needed someone to write a script of The Great Gatsby very quickly for the movie they were making. I took this job so I'd be sure to have some dough to support my family.

The photographer and the director are where reality and fantasy meet.

I had a number of very strong personalities in my family. My father was a concert flutist, the solo flute for Toscanini.

We were raised in an Italian-American household, although we didn't speak Italian in the house. We were very proud of being Italian, and had Italian music, ate Italian food.