I have only one loyalty - to my writing. I never wanted to be the head of a studio or a producer.
From a writing point of view, you now have teams of screenwriters working with a director. What's lost in the process is the power of that one heart, brain, gut and soul that makes something an original piece of writing.
I just wanted to make sure that what I write is what appears on screen, to not have some idiot change it on its way to the screen.
Every time I flicked channels, there I was, talking. I was talking too much and writing too little. So Naomi and I went to Hawaii. The phone was cut off and we lost touch. This gave me the chance to have a good think about my life.
Your characters get angry at you if you speak about them and stop you from giving birth to them on the page in revenge. Real writers sit down and write. Wannabe writers sit around and talk.
My father could have been deported because on his immigration application he said that he was a printer, obviously because he didn't want them to be checking his writings.
I've seen Joe take on many battles, cancer being one of them, and the determination that he has, and he won't stop, he's not going to make one announcement and write one editorial and go away.
