- They were all collaborations. The filmmaking process is a team effort. A screenwriter cannot possibly do exactly what he wants, as if he was writing a novel. When I write a novel I am God at my own typewriter and there is nobody in between. But when I write a screenplay it must be a compromise because there are so many elements which are outside the writer's province.
- "I simply enjoy the work. Of course, Hollywood has changed greatly since I first started writing. Now you must grab what you can get. I even wrote a TV script for 'The Rockford Files.' Screenwriting is still a challenge for me. It's more technical than creative. You have to be a very good journeyman plumber and put the proper parts together. Then, if you can still inject a little bit of something worthwhile, you have done as much as can be expected." (from a 1974 interview)
- Writing a film is like building a brick wall. You have a plan and you have the blocks. Then, somebody says, 'I think we'll take this stone out of here and put it over there. And while we're at it, let's make this stone red and that stone green.' You still have to keep the story's general shape, but you change the details. It took me a long time, but I finally learned how to do that. It was exhausting.
- [on Elliott Gould's performance in "The Long Goodbye" (1973)]: I thought he did a beautiful job. However, the thing about Elliott is that he isn't tough. His face is gentle, his eyes are kind and he doesn't have that touch of cruelty that you associate with these characters.
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