I remember lying on the floor of my room, staring at a black-and-white television for most of the '80s - watching 'Diff'rent Strokes,' 'Facts of Life,' 'Silver Spoons,' Saturday morning cartoons, and 'Murder, She Wrote' while eating an insane amount of Stouffer's French bread pizza. I was sucked into it all.
When you're talking about people like Shonda Rhimes, Vince Gilligan or Beau Willimon, you're talking to people who are notable and celebrities in their own right. People want to know how their brains work.
I can't wait to meet Steven Spielberg or Al Pacino again so I can say, 'I have to tell you how you know me. You know me because I am the worst actor in the world.'
There are writers' rooms that will write episodes all together, who will break into little groups and write certain scenes. Everyone's process can be a little bit malleable. Everyone tries to get into a groove or find what works for their room.
There's always something exciting about small change.
I think there's a fear of disconnect sometimes; communication is a huge issue for all of us, from adults to kids, as far as our face-to-face time and our ability to interact with each other without isolating itself to a phone. I think that has to be something that's very challenging.
I think the networks, in general, have to evaluate what's happening around them. I'm sure they're scared about a lot of things: Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and all these places that allow people to watch shows in chunks.
As far as working with actors, I feel very comfortable working in that aspect of directing.
I was very much a latchkey kid. My parents would feel the back of the television to make sure I hadn't been watching it when they were gone, which inevitably I was.
I think that getting responsibility and structure are huge parts of growing up.
Can you imagine watching 'All in the Family' and having an outlet like Twitter? Where you could discuss it while it's happening? I think that would be a really interesting thing.
I think most co-directors and co-writers just hold hands.
I will say you could always look at 'Looney Tunes' and learn about writing. I think you can learn a lot about the beats of comedy. I think you can find out about awkward pauses, because I think they did those well.
I think fans have an outlet. Through social media, you can hear them.
Look at people that influenced me - but I didn't know if I had that sort of 'I'm going to take you under my wing' person.
I think the community that's created within a writers' room is a very interesting topic.
I think that... I would say that sometimes people get afraid of when you're balancing comedy and drama.
I think what makes a good show is obviously a rabid fan base.
With writing, I love doing it, but there's that love-hate relationship: You're not having a good run, you've hit a wall; it's frustrating.
People are vocal, so you hear the pros and cons of your shows.
