You can dress it up, but it comes down to the fact that a movie is only as good as its script.

I don't think of the marketplace as teen-oriented or teen-dominated. I think of it as dominated by high-concept, in marketing especially.

Here [in Wonder Boys] I had this group of characters where you didn't know which were the important ones or what direction they were heading.

Consequently, it's so gratifying to then make a picture that's successful and gives you leverage to have better circumstances than you've ever had, before the next time out.

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.

When I'm casting a picture, I think who I'd like to see in it if I was sitting in a theater. Who would surprise me?

I make that distinction only because I came to it strictly as someone who was just a lover of storytellers and cinematic storytellers.