I wrote a play once called 'Lobby Hero,' which I thought turned out very well, but there's no final version of it. I published the one we produced, but there are seven other versions with different variations sitting in my desk at home.

I wanted to be a director first to protect my writing. I'm a playwright and you don't need to protect your writing when you're in the theater because everyone's there to protect the writing. When I had an idea for a film that I really cared about as my own, I wanted to direct it, and then I immediately became interested in directing in and of itself because it's such a deep art. You suddenly have all these tools at your disposal to tell the story.

I grew up going to the movies, not watching them on television, so I'm still a bit resistant to TV as a medium.

I often find myself writing about people taking care of each other, or trying to. And often seem to write about situations that are too big for the characters.

The world doesn't grieve when you're grieving. The world goes on about its business. You're having a good day and I'm having a bad one and vice versa. And they could be very good and very bad at the same time. You multiply that by seven billion and you have one element of human experience.

I was nearly a teen-ager before I stopped assuming that everyone I met was Jewish.

I've reached a new level of closeness with a new friend when I can make a joke at their expense. That's one of the great joys of life for me.