Peter Hyams

Claims that he has never been invited to join the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) because they "don't like" him and are biased against directors who shoot their own films. In 1996, he said this to Conrad L. Hall, who didn't believe him. After Hall and Haskell Wexler offered to sign recommendations on an application letter for him, the ASC summoned him for a 90-minute interview. Two days later he received a rejection letter in the mail. He keeps it framed on his office wall.

I've never done anything that's totally worked for me. It has always been very painful to watch what I've done. Filmmaking, by definition, is a process of failure and because of that I always seem to be looking for the blemishes in my work.