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A good script is like a work of art in itself. I've read hundreds of scripts, and good ones are very rare. If the writer has something to say, and a voice, and a plot that matches character, and an emotional trajectory that works, then I'd be an idiot to fool around with it. It's just that few scripts ever are like that.

Writing is a hard gig, and it's hard to convey a lot. That's why scripts tend to be a little bit overwritten.

With some writers, the script looks beautiful on the page, but nobody actually speaks like that.

Most of the scripts that land on my desk are stuff you read and go, 'Is someone really gonna make this?'

I read a lot of script. In my opinion, most of them aren't good or aren't about people.

To try to create a character without a whole lot of information can be taxing. At the same time, it's fun to just stay on your toes and let the next bit of dialogue come in, and turn the page as you read the next script and see what they have in store for you next.

Scripts are corny and predictable. Real life is always better.

I've rewritten a lot of the scripts I've done. 'Little Shop Of Horrors' was a complete rewrite, but I didn't touch the dialogue. Essentially, I'm a very good editor.

I only sound intelligent when there's a good script writer around.

Some people, especially literary people, they think, 'I'll write this original script, and it will be full of ideas. I'll submit it, and they'll hire me for television.' That's not the case.