You're stuck with being yourself, so the important thing is to find people who like that.
'Affinity' is beautiful and intense, with no laughs. It's a rather delicate and emotional love story, with a spooky element.
'Othello' is the most domestic of Shakespeare's tragedies and the one that's likely to strike a personal note with a lot of people watching it.
Rebecca Eaton has made an enormous contribution to the cultural life of America, and, more than that, she is one of the most fun people I know.
The most moving scene for me in 'Pride and Prejudice' is the Pemberley music room scene: Elizabeth has just saved Darcy's sister from embarrassment and confusion, and as the music plays on, Darcy's look of gratitude becomes a look of love, which we see reciprocated in Elizabeth's eyes.
I got quite cross when I heard about Emma Thompson adapting 'Sense and Sensibility.' It was absolutely childish of me, but I thought, 'I should be doing that. They didn't even ask me.' Some mistake, surely.
The writer in movies is about as low as you can get and you really are a hired hand. You are paid a lot of money to be treated like dirt.
I would love it if anyone gave me the job of adapting 'The Great Gatsby,' but nobody ever does.
Be careful about the advice you give, especially to your children.
An adaptation I was working on of Trollope's 'The Pallisers' has been axed by the BBC... I was also going to do Dickens' 'Dombey and Son' but they've asked me to do 'David Copperfield' instead.
People like bonnets. I don't think you can under-estimate that.
From time to time there is a move to do a little less in the way of period dramas, but people rebel. Audiences say we want them. There is a big hunger for them. I don't think it's sentimentality or nostalgia, it's often that they are simply the best stories.
I'm absolutely delighted if people think of me as a reliable purveyor of quality period stuff.
Novels often have leisurely openings; a TV drama needs an arresting opening.
Plan for each episode to be a satisfying experience, but still leave the audience thinking, 'Oh, my God! Now what?'
I always do like to write love stories, even if they end tragically.
One of the things I've always thought is a drag in so many period adaptations is that they are always buttoned up to the neck in so many clothes all the time. I'm always looking for excuses to get them out of their clothes.
My wife likes history and documentaries, but I'm not so keen on them. I generally go and do some work if there's one of those on.
I had a mother who was very emotionally demanding, wanting to be the centre of attention. As they say in EastEnders, she thought it was all about 'er. I spent a lot of time trying to work out what was going on.
I suppose I have the tastes of someone who teaches at a university in the provinces.
