We are manipulated by fear and the fear of others, and how we're often manipulated into doing things and voting in ways that are against our own best interest. Look at healthcare. People will tell you that healthcare is socialism and communism, and they're doing this while their wife needs an operation and their kid needs braces.

I optioned the magazine article. That was end of 2003. It was a time when the war was incredibly popular here and everyone was driving around with flags on their car, if you remember not too long ago.

Usually the characters are where I start. Then I continually ask myself, 'What's the worst thing that could happen to this character?'

I don't think writers should write about answers. I think writers should write about questions.

If you change the right mind, then that person can perhaps change the world.

A creative person has to believe in the unseen and the untouched.

You have to be careful of the advice you take.