This Is A Time For

I Had Never Thought Of Doing Television. But My Agent Wanted Me To Meet John Wells, Who Had Had A Lot Of Success Producing Er And China Beach. The Night Before The Meeting, Some Friends Were Over For Dinner And Akiva Goldsman And I Slipped Downstairs To The Basement So We Could Sneak A Cigarette. He Said, "you Know What Would Make A Good Television Series? That." And He Was Pointing At The American President Poster. He Said, "there Doesn't Have To Be A Romance, Just Focus On A Senior Staffer."

I Consider Plot A Necessary Intrusion On What I Really Want To Do, Which Is Write Snappy Dialogue. But When I'm Writing, The Way The Words Sound Is As Important To Me As What They Mean.

When You're Writing A Movie Or A Play And Writing Isn't Going Well, Which Is For Me The Normal Condition - It's An Exceptional Day When Suddenly I've Got Something And It's Going Well - You Can Call The Studio Or The Producer Or Whoever Is Waiting For It And Say, "i Know I Said I Was Going To Have It In By The End Of The Summer.

Conflict, When Used As A Device, Makes For Good Television And Bad Journalism.

She's A Person; The Doctor Pronounces Her Dead, Not The News.