“I was raised a Catholic and when you’re raised a Catholic they don’t teach you to think for yourself. You’re taught not to think too deeply about things.”

My job is going to be to direct the film – I’m going to do it. And that’s where my job ends.

The world is constantly changing. You’re constantly learning and you have to be willing to get off your mark

Listen, anybody who has a film festival has the right to show what they want.

No one can stop me from talking about my movie.

It’s funny, the hardest thing to do is to make something look like it’s fast, loose and improvised, and get somebody to laugh.

Even if you’re a poet sitting in your room writing a poem, you’re still in the world

My grandfather lived to be 96 years old. He was born in a town outside of Salerno in Southern Italy.

My existence is about making movies, so I’ve just got to rock and roll with the punches.

But I’m never gonna get to a point in my life where what it costs to shoot a movie is going to determine what it is.

My life is proof that I don’t need you to do what I do. If there’s no one to see it, I’ll watch it.

Making money is not gonna change anything about what I am, except I won’t answer the door.

The more you get into any religion, it becomes the same. It really becomes how you treat other people and how you get outside yourself.

Certain actors wanna get paid, they think working in a low-budget movie is being ripped off. But for others it’s like, ‘Yes, let’s do it.’

Mulberry Street was the beating heart of the Italian-American experience, but you don’t find those gangsters now. I live with a bunch of yuppies and models.

I don’t care if I get $50 million to do a film.

He came to New York when he was 20. He lived in the States from age 20 to 96, but he brought his culture with him

I was brought up as a Catholic. I’ve got A-level guilt.

And I have found that when we Catholics, in the spirit of love and charity, declare our faith boldly and with conviction, we are more likely to find kindred spirits.

Of course, I didn’t ask to be born Catholic, no more than I asked to be born American. But I’m glad it turned out that I’m both these things.

Persecution shows who is a hireling, and who a true pastor.

I grew up a Catholic and I dont want to talk badly about the Catholic Church but theres a lot of routine stuff going on. You say the same prayers, you sit, you kneel, whatever.

Whenever you begin any good work you should first of all make a most pressing appeal to Christ our Lord to bring it to perfection.

Hell is full of good wishes or desires.

Girded with faith and the performance of good works, let us follow in his [Jesus] paths by the guidance of the Gospel.