The work is where I tend to feel pressure - not so much in the reaction to it.

Whatever I watched, whatever I loved in 36 years of life on Earth, probably had some influence on me.

For me as a storyteller, I want to follow the characters and the story through what they organically demand.

Some people, no matter where they look, they see themselves.

I didn't come to Hollywood to be subservient to anyone else's vision.

You just do the best you can, and when you're able to connect with people, and when you do, it's just incredibly gratifying.

At DePauw, I was teaching writing and fiction. The things I wanted to teach, more than anything else, were form and theory of the novel, of narrative. I liked those classes.