What's interesting, is that I've found that the more accomplished a director is, the more secure they are in giving direction that sounds incredibly unsophisticated.

I think that if I couldn't write, I would be unemployable.

I have a lot of respect for people who are great at ad-libbing, and for writers and directors who are able to create a scene in which that works.

A friend is somebody who says the same things to your face that they would say if you're not in the room.

The Monica Lewinsky scandal was happening at the very time I was writing the West Wing pilot and it was hard, at least for Americans, to look at the White House and think of anything but a punch line. Plus a show about politics, a show that took place in Washington, had just never worked before in American television. So the show was delayed for a year.

An artist’s job is to captivate… if we stumble into truth, we got lucky.

Film doesn't have to worry. Movies are awesome. There's no war going on, theaters aren't going to lose.