I very much had wanted to do a picture with more humor than what I had been allowed to do earlier, which is what attracted me to Wonder Boys so much. I found it funny in a very serious way, which is the best kind of comedy.

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

My very first professional writing credit was on a movie called The Dunwich Horror, and Roger Corman was the executive producer.

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.

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

I had the great fortune to actually become friends with Sam [Fuller] and ultimately collaborate with him on White Dog, which we wrote together.

Put simply, there are many people who want to make movies and very few opportunities for them to do it.