I spent 20 years of my career primarily being a writer for hire.

Some of us have great original ideas and some of us depend on adaptations.

I am fascinated with times past.

I'm still learning. It's all a learning curve. Every time you sit down, with any given episode of any given show, it is a learning curve. You're learning something new about how to tell a story. But then, I've felt that way about everything I've ever done - television, features or whatever. Directing or writing, it always feels like the first day of school to me.

A director shouldn't get in the way of the movie, the story should.

To me, length is an artificial and arbitrary factor in a film.

One of my favorite movies of all time is 'It's A Wonderful Life', which is a pretty interesting choice for a seasonal Christmas favorite, because it's about a guy who wants to commit suicide and is presented with reasons not to.