Screenwriting is like ironing. You move forward a little bit and go back and smooth things out.

I am always looking for that nuance, that moment of truth, and you can't really do that fast.

I had the standard movie geek childhood, because for as long as I can remember, all I wanted to do was make movies.

I don't miss scenes at all the way that I used to miss them when I was younger making a film. It's actually quite fun to get rid of them now.

It's a gamble you take, the risk of alienating an audience. But there's a theory - sometimes it's better to confuse them for five minutes than let them get ahead of you for 10 seconds.

I write from my stomach.

I don't get a sense of American pride. I just get a sense that everyone is here, battling the same thing - that around the world everybody's after the same thing, just some minor piece of happiness each day.