I've never read a screenplay in advance. You trust the artist.

I am co-writing a screenplay now and I'm working on the rights to another story I want to do. So I plan to produce and direct. So for me I don't really feel that I am vulnerable to that sad baggage that comes with the business of filmmaking.

Acting is fun and I refuse to get involved in the semantics and the politics of strategy and breaking out of something or doing something because you need to do something else. For me it's all about what fuels my soul and if I'm passionate about a screenplay then that's what I'll do next.

Because I'm the author of my screenplays I know what I'm looking for. It's true that I can be stubborn in demanding that I get what I want but it's also a question of working with patience and love.

For 'So Cold the River ' I'm actually working on adapting the book with Scott Silver who was just nominated for an Oscar for 'The Fighter ' and who also wrote '8 Mile ' which I think is a terrific screenplay. The chance to work with Scott is a tremendous pleasure and I'm learning a lot.

I love making movies and hope to write my own screenplay someday and do some producing and be behind-the-scenes as well.

The last person they expected to connect with a screenplay was the comedic blonde actress with the funny voice.

I'd done table reads for my own screenplays and I always thought they were so much fun. Why couldn't we do these for other classic screenplays and bring them to life? You can experience live theater where you get to see plays produced by different directors and different casts but there's really nothing like that for movie scripts.

Screenplays I didn't really care about journalism travel books getting my writer friends to write about their dreams or something. I just determined to write the books I had to write.

You sell a screenplay like you sell a car. If someone drives it off a cliff that's it.

If you play it straight it's funny - the best comedy is always played straight down the middle. The adjustment is understanding from the screenplay that a moment is hilarious.

I wrote a screenplay for a 'Sweet Valley High' adaptation and it's really amazing to me how many women who are my age have responded to the idea and are excited about the movie.