The story drove the book. That had a very seminal effect on the way I saw writing and storytelling. If you can set a character in a story that is compelling and has a backbone, you draw people in.

The threat to free television. The reason television is free is because it is a life support system for commercials. That fundamental aspect is about to change.

Their argument is that most shows are losers, which is true, but it's also disingenuous to say, 'We are not going to take the risk unless it is totally covered by the few successful shows that are out there.'

There are professional negotiators working for the writers and the actors, but basically you've got the writers and actors negotiating against businessmen. That's why you get rhetoric.

There was an interesting article in Los Angeles Magazine about women directors. A woman director makes one bad independent film and her career is over. Guys tend to get an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

TIVO executives stand up and say, 'Well, we're not getting rid of commercials, but we are letting them fast forward, because people like commercials, and if they see one that they like they stop and watch it.' I mean, please.

When it went on the air, the sales department hated it. It was the highest advertising pullout show in the history of NBC. At the early focus groups, people were saying, 'Who are these people? Why should we watch them?

You have this disturbing reality that there are a lot of people who would rather say, 'I'm on strike' than 'I'm unemployed.' And those are the people who vote for strikes.

I was raised not to be rude, but I also try to get the best work out of people.

Drama or comedy programming is still the surest way for advertisers to reach a mass audience. Once that changes, all bets are off.

Advertising is the art of the tiny. You have to tell a complete a story and deliver a complete message in a very encapsulated form. It disciplines you to cut away extraneous information.

It was like in Samoa when they'd put up a movie screen on the beach and show movies and the locals would run behind the sheet to see where the people went. It was pretty grim.

And the consumer doesn't care. They don't watch networks, they watch TV shows.

As soon as you become complacent your show gets canceled.

I do love television. But the business is accelerating and people are not getting the chance to fail.

I hardly see myself as a futurist.

I think most people don't react well to being screamed at. It's counterproductive.

I try to just communicate what I want done as clearly and simply as possible.

If the scripts are not good, I'll tell somebody, 'This isn't good.'

It's show business. No show, no business.