The Cover Thing : Coming Next Christmas: Al Capone as Christ Figure

“There’s a definite Christ parallel, oddly enough. . . . I made a big point that when Dracula dies he just becomes a man; I found that very Christ-like somehow.”

--Theologian Francis Ford Coppola (Village Voice, Nov. 24 ).

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“Dracula’s not a horrible, blood-sucking monster that goes around ripping people’s throats out. He’s a misunderstood, tragic hero.”

--”Dracula” screenwriter Jim Hart (Cinefantastique, Dec.).

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“That’s the great thing about the Batman story. No one is really evil; they’re a mix of psychological problems.”

--Director Tim Burton on his villains in “Batman Returns” (The Times, June 14).

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“He’s a sensitive guy at heart. He is not all bad. He has a strong personality. If there were any shortcomings about him, I would say (to him), ‘Get a life. Get a social life.’ ”

--Actor Tony Todd, on playing the mass-murdering, very bitter title dead guy in “Candyman” (The Times, Oct. 24).

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“If we had a guy like this running the country, I’d breathe easy. He’d be working for us 24 hours a day, not like the guys we got now. He was honest.”

--Danny DeVito, venerating Jimmy Hoffa (The Times, Aug. 30).