If people walk out of the movie and they think about it, then that's quite something.

As a journalist you have to think quickly, you're exposed to all types of people and situations and you've got to synthesize your thoughts in a very clear and concise way and write them down quickly. Those were all things that have proven really useful in my life as a television writer.

The challenge is creating a character that's rich and interesting to warrant following for a number of years.

The one thing you can do that the audience can't do - all those smart people online in the chat rooms can't do - is deliver a satisfying emotional journey for a human being, for a character.

The primary reason people watch television is you want to see the world through somebody else's eyes, and learn what that's like. You can only live one life, and so you get to see other lives through these characters.

You can't outsmart or outguess the audience in terms of what the narrative answer is.

When I sit down, I find that it's much easier for me to want to consume a movie than to dip back into 20 or 40 or 60 hours of a television series. I think a great movie is really amazing. But, television does give you a larger canvas.