In genre movies, you usually not only hate the characters, you sometimes hate them so much that you hate the actors playing them.

When I first started directing, I could have chosen a more lucrative path, with sitcoms and things like that. But I knew enough after the experiences I had in front of the camera that I was not going to do that, because I was just going to work on my own things or work with people I respected.

I was in Ann Arbor, and I was told that this singer-songwriter guy wanted to meet me. It was Kurt Cobain. Nirvana had just made 'Bleach.' Kurt interviewed me on a college radio station. It was very strange. He was a fan of mine, and he gave me his album.

I was really big in the '80s.

I do live a very Hugh Beaumont existence. I'm up every morning, taking my kids to school and all that, which obviously does interest me. But then it's taking meetings with goofballs and auditioning for crap, and then I spend a lot of time on the road.

It's really hard to watch Leno. I set his chair on fire.

I'm the Emily Dickinson of screenplays.

In the rock n' roll world, I'm someone who's responsible and levelheaded.

I don't read or watch anything that has to do with Lindsay Lohan.

Obviously I don't hate America. I do believe that we are becoming - and I can only judge it by my lifetime, 'cause I don't know what it was like in the 1800s - but it just seems that as a nation, we are becoming really, really nasty, and not concerned with any kind of truth.

Michael Moore got booed at the Oscars, so how liberal is Hollywood? Honestly, it's not liberal enough for me!

I never was obsessed with comedians. When I was a little, little boy, I'd watch, like, George Carlin on 'Dinah Shore.'

I'm always amazed that people are interested in comedy.

I was in punk bands when I was a kid, and then I would do stand-up in between bands - which wasn't any different from my singing.

I choose not to be in front of the camera. Sometimes I do get offered parts, but I really like just making movies and telling stories.

I don't find movies shocking.

Whenever people hear that Kurt Cobain was a fan of my standup, it's like hearing Jimi Hendrix loved Buddy Hackett or something.

I continue to do standup because there's a connection with a live audience - there are skills that you do learn as a standup comedian that help you on a set.

I'm always dealing with this sadness. I don't want to be Morrissey or anything, but it is a thing I deal with it. Every day, when I wake up, I have to make a decision to fight this depression. That sounds horrible but I'm fine with it; it's who I am; it's my life. I try not to let it cripple me.

I actually believe that the basis of a good relationship isn't liking the same things, it's hating the same things.

I'm fully aware of people's perception of me, so when I start taking myself too seriously, I have to remember that, to them, I'm just the guy from 'Police Academy.'

My movies are always about the kooks and the outsiders.

I do think there are more people who would probably related to my movies and who aren't aware of them.

I started doing stand-up when I was 15 and doing Letterman when I was 20. So I've been doing stand-up comedy and clubs for over 30 years. That's a long time.