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

A day doesn't go by when I don't get a compliment on L.A. Confidential, for example.

So it's discouraging and, yet, when you make a movie like Wonder Boys, in a sense it's its own reward, because it does move people, it gets great reviews, and it becomes part of that library of movies that exist out there. As time goes by, it will find its audience.

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.

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

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

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?