I was in the equity-trading department at Merrill Lynch. I was there in 1987 when the market crashed.

Any distraction tends to get in the way of being an effective gangster.

As Oscar tells to Chalky, eventually we all run out of road...

I'm always amazed by writers who say, "Oh you know I had a half hour so I sat down and wrote a little bit." I just need a real big chunk of time to sit down and focus. That's my process.

I have a rule: I will not alter the basic history of a real-life character to suit our fictional needs in a big way.

I guess ... I'm going to get that ice cream sundae they give you on the airplane. I usually pass on that, but I think I'm actually going to get extra whipped cream and maybe even the chocolate syrup. I'm really winging it here. I'm going to be flying. It's really a little too early to start drinking.

I started with the book Boardwalk Empire and then immersed myself in the history of Atlantic City, World War I, the temperance movement, Prohibition, pop culture. I even read the news and magazines of the period just to soak in it. That was before I even started thinking of the story.