Quote

I'm always frustrated when somebody makes a movie out of a book and they leave the book behind, or the heart of it.

I get impatient with people working on a film that have their head in their hands like it's the most complicated thing in the world.

When you're reading a book, you're always looking for the natural place to stop. With a movie, you can't really have that sense of it coming momentarily to a halt; there's pressure to keep the momentum up.

Some movies get rushed out right after you make them and I'm not always happy with that.

I don't believe moviegoers don't have patience. Screenwriters are told a scene can't be longer than three minutes, that you have to cut to the chase. Not true!

When I'm in the middle of making a movie, I have blinders on; it's all about just getting the movie out.

If you think about movies that are adapted from books, they never feel like enough. There's always too much cut out in the end. You either make a five hour movie or you leave out stuff that should be in there.

I still find it absurdly difficult to concentrate on a novel if there's a phone or computer to hand; I have taken to locking them outside the room like noisy pets.

Inherently, making a movie is tough because there's so much anticipation when it happens - even if everything goes well.

I tend to push whatever is looking over my shoulder away when I am writing. It's once the box of books arrive that I say I'm going to be pilloried for this or that. But then you realize it's done, and there is nothing I can do. I'm proud of the book.