I had always wanted to tell a story that was set in Los Angeles in the '50s, because that's where I grew up, and it was the city of my childhood memories.

That love of movies is very much alive in me.

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

I look for characters that interest me, and a story that keeps me involved and makes me want to know what happens next.

It was also a new role for me as a writer, because I wanted to just be there to serve Sam. I recognized that this picture would be "a Sam Fuller movie," and I was just trying, in whatever way I could, to help him get what he wanted.

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

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