Anyone can write. But comedy, you've got to do some writing. You get one comedy script to every 20 dramas.
When I was really young I didn't know that there was such a thing as a screenwriter. I wrote stories.
I've always been a writer, I've always been a storyteller, but I never thought about screenwriting.
Writers are always sort of threatening to direct, and sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't.
You have to understand the medium you're writing for. People jump into writing musicals without realizing how complicated they are. Knowing one form doesn't necessarily mean you know the other. You have to be comfortable with it.
In grammar school I read 'Act One' by Moss Hart, and being a playwright struck me as the most magical and romantic career anyone could have... But I never did write a play.
Being a screenwriter is not enough for a full creative life.
It's a lucky life to be a playwright.
I don't want actors to be writers. I think it's too much responsibility.