(5 of 5)
Still, better to be accused of being a sellout than a has-been. And while Altman gleefully nurses some particular grudges -- against certain producers, certain executives, certain critics, Sam Shepard -- he seems free of general bitterness. Sure, he feels a little gypped out of M*A*S*H money ("I never got paid anything ((from the TV series)) -- anything"), but for all his visceral mistrust of Hollywood, he doesn't seem sour about his decade of reputation shrinkage and quasi-exile. After all, every few years he has been lucky enough to turn out something great. So what's to be bitter about? "There's not a film I've got made that I don't like," he says. "As far as my life and career go, and comebacks and all that -- I mean, I've had a great roll. I mean, please -- I've got no complaints anywhere."