I think that ultimately when life is not tragedy it should be a party and if you've faced the real stuff, if you've faced the ones closest to you being at death's door, passing on, you know, not to let the small stuff really harsh your mellow, as you put it.

Norman Mailer loved women so much. I mean probably more than anything in the world he loved women. He got put into a position where he was kind of seen as the anti-feminist, although he was for the feminist movement. He just didn't want people to get consumed with the idea that this was going to be much better. He said, "Look, women should be treated equally and fairly."

One of the things that sets Oliver Stone apart though is he is commercial. He is mainstream. He makes big movies and he is one of the last guys that can make big movies that actually have something to say, that you know challenge the audience in a way while entertaining them.

As a screenwriter you're the towel boy in the whorehouse. I mean you know you're lucky if you're invited to set. It's kind of like here is the blueprint, go and that's you know there has been some debate as to whether or not a film should be by the director or by the screenwriter or by both.

It seems to be the sense that once you throw guys in prison they're not going to come out. No, they're going to come out and, you know, what kind of beast have you created from that process?

I think about the college graduating classes and high school classes that are coming up now they're in a unique position. I mean they're entering one of the toughest economies of all time. At the same time if they're willing to work really hard the ability they have to learn something much faster than we ever did before is there and it's really a question of are you willing to put in the effort and go that extra mile. Because if you are I think there's actually more opportunities out there.

I think that if you look at places like Amsterdam and places where pot is very legal they do well with it. There is nothing taken away from it and crime is very low and all that.