Sometimes if biography is too head-on, it can feel too obvious.
When I was young, I knew William Burroughs really well. And William's secret desire, which he never quite did, was to write a straightforward detective novel.
I feel like my job is to look at the world and to report what I see, to write what I see as honestly and directly as I can. I don't want to cut it or make it easy, but be as direct as I can.
The most important thing for me is realism. I don't like writing which does somersaults on the page, and I'm no great fan of the hard work literary novel.
Sometimes a cigar is just a smoke and a story's just a story
When I write for teens, I feel I can cut through everything and get to the bare bones. I can get straight into the emotional world of the character.
I don't mean to insult television, but a lot of the time, it's pretty straightforward. If you say, 'I love you,' you mean 'I love you.' There isn't time for anything more.
I try to tell my story as simply as possible, with the camera at eye level.
The best movies are simple.
My favourite writers are always great storytellers, like Bruce Springsteen; I adore Bruce Springsteen. I feel like he doesn't beat around the bush, and he doesn't overcomplicate things. He puts things into layman's terms and tells stories that anyone can understand.
It's movies like 'Love, Simon' that are so pivotal because it's this sweet rom-com that you would watch about a straight couple, but it's two guys. It feels natural and real and just charming. I would love to see more movies like that.
I'm not writing fairy tales or object lessons.
People connect with my films because they are honest and simple.
The films that I love are very straightforward stories, like really old-fashioned stuff.
I like to start with the first chapter, end with chapter 40. No flashbacks, nothing fancy, just a direct storytelling.
It was fun playing with those jumps and the flashbacks in 'Zombieland,' but I don't think you need it to make a good movie. It's fun to just do a more straightforward one.
