I can't imagine a successful comedy movie without a successful comedy performance at the heart of it.

We all wish we could be in more than one place at the same time. People with families feel guilty all the time-if we spend too much time with our family, we feel we're not working hard enough.

The times change, and to the extent that comedy captures the spirit of the times, it will enjoy success.

Most comedies are calculated. They tend to pander. They're not about anything important.

When a director writes, there's a compulsory arbitration. You have a right to challenge any of the arbitrators, but they pick three of four arbitrators who read all the drafts with no names attached and then allocate credit.

A friend of mine is trying to do a documentary where he brings Jewish and Arab comedians to occupied territories in Israel. He wants to do shows as a way of finding some comedic common denominator. When he proposed the idea to one of the officials at the Jenin refuge camp, the guy just stared at him and said, "This is not a joke to us. We don't think that laughing is the answer."

Nothing reinforces a professional relationship more than enjoying success with someone.