I ended up going to NYU for film school - close to Pennsylvania - but we talked about what if I went to UCLA or USC, and my mom's whole world was caving in.
I was definitely more of a movie/cartoon guy than comics, but I really do like graphic novels - I don't have the time to sit down and read Stephen King like I used to, so I find picking up 'Saga' every now and then and just diving back into it is a great way to stay reading.
Copyright law is too confusing.
I wasn't a sweet kid. I was an instigator and provoked everyone with my goofy hyena cackle, loving every minute of the drama I could create.
Do I think technology is bad? No. I think it's wonderful that the world is so connected now. But I think, as a result, childhood ends a little earlier.
'The Wonder Years' family was the kind where everything seemed to be bubbling and simmering with the occasional explosion. There were a lot of things that went unsaid in that family. In my family, everything is said - on the surface, you scream and yell about it, and three minutes later, you're all friends.
My brother Barry was into all sports, and so was my late father. For me, hockey was the one sport I loved and played. I didn't really pay much attention to the other sports.
First love is such a big thing growing up.
I never saw my parents kiss.
I love 'AP Bio' - I think it's so funny - it's just not the show I want to do.
When I was nine, I got my head stuck in a bucket trying to be Darth Vader.
I was so obsessed with 'The Princess Bride.' I loved it so much that I even have a re-enactment I did of a radio play of the iocane powder scene.
I've been with my wife since I was 16.
My mom was a shopaholic. She can literally never wear the same thing twice. That's fine with me.
The only interaction I had with my brothers is like negative attention where I'd basically egg them on into beating me up - which was delightful! Otherwise, it was me with a video camera jumping on a bed pretending to be the Ultimate Warrior or setting up my robots making a Transformers movie because I was a lonely kid.
Convincing Robert Englund to come out of retirement to play Freddy Krueger one last time is a true bucket-list moment for me as a writer. I've been a longtime obsessive fan, collecting Freddy artwork and action figures.
I'm terrible with titles.
For me, every show that's about teachers - and there's been a number of them - they're like misfits who hate the kids and don't want to be there and hate their jobs. For me, having crazy parents, my teachers were the sane people who raised me, and they liked being there.
For me, 'The Goldbergs' was about surviving a crazy family - and believe me, the show is a sanitized version!
Because my home life was nuts, I didn't look to my parents for help. I looked to my teachers. They made me who I am. They took on a parental role. They're like celebrities or heroes to me.
