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.

I approach the movies I make as a movie-lover as much as a movie-maker.

I was a journalist and wrote about filmmakers, but I didn't review movies per se.

Having done several of them and also loving other kinds of movies, I'm also tougher on suspense stories in terms of finding one that really excites and surprises me.

That love of movies is very much alive in me.

Now, grosses are listed in the newspapers and on television like it's a sporting event. It's ridiculous, because when you're watching a movie, unless you're an investor in the movie or a stockholder in the studio, what do you care how much it's grossing or how much it cost or any of that stuff?

Whereas to write, all you need is paper and an idea, so I felt that writing might be my stepping stone.