We're not used to seeing movies, especially with physical action, when it isn't the man who comes in to save the day.

That love of movies is very much alive in me.

Hollywood, of course, is the city of illusion.

What you care about [movie] is whether it's moving you, or whether you're caught up in it.

I thought, "If I could bring these characters [Wonder Boys] to life and lead the audience to react the same way I did, this could be a really special picture." Then I read Michael's [Chabon] novel and got even more enthusiastic about it.

I'm still a great movie fan, and I guess that's the answer to your question.

On the surface, Wonder Boys seemed like such a departure from L.A. Confidential - it's funny, it's contemporary, and so on - and yet at a certain point, I had a feeling that reminded me how I felt when I was shooting L.A. Confidential. I analyzed it for a while, and thought about how emotionally involved I was with the characters. Then I realized that in both movies, there are three main male characters and one female, and all of them are struggling to figure out what they're doing with their lives, independent of each other.