How About The More Than 1 Billion

It's Been Reinforced To Me, And It's A Little Cliche, But I've Learned That You Can't Make A Movie That Even Works, Much Less That's Good, Without Really Good Writing And Really Good Acting. That Lesson Has Led Me To Not Be Distracted, So Much, By The Other Stuff Going On In Filmmaking And To Focus On The Essence Of A Story, And The Words And The Events And The Way That Those Are Interpreted By The Actors. That Philosophy Has Taken Me To A Place That I Really Like.

Studios Are Used To Have An Investment In You, An Actual, Literal Investment In An Actor. You Paid Them Some Money, You Had A Contract With Them And You Were Almost Like A Commodity.

(as) A Director Who Is A Writer, I Have Respect For Writers, So I'm Less Likely To Step On An Idea Or A Line.

I Recognize That Hollywood Is Not About Seniority. Often It's Not Even A Meritocracy. It's About What You Did Yesterday. You Have A Couple Of Misses, And Suddenly It's Impossible To Find A Hit. So The Swings Are Gigantic. But I've Always Understood It As Such, And Navigated It As Such.

Also, Getting The Chance To Play A Supporting Part Meant That I Didn't Have To Do As Much As The Protagonist, Such As Running Around Telling The Story. [as The Protagonist] You Push The Story Whereas, Paradoxically, As A Character Part, You Have A Chance To Explore Some Of The Nuance And Some Of The More Complicated Aspects Of A Character.