Over the course of my creative life, I've trafficked in broken, heroic mothers.
There's no reason that a writer, if they have some discipline and curiosities and passion, can't be vital for a long, long time.
When I did 'Gilbert Grape,' Lasse Hallstrom let me be on the set with him and in the editing room and in the casting sessions and so on. And so I got a firsthand, rather intimate, high-pressure look at how to make a film.
My formative years were all shaped by a mother who was very sad and had a drinking problem, while my father was lonely and angry. He was an Episcopal priest and raised four kids on his own.
There are sections of the film that I don't love. There are moments that really lift and elevate, and then there are parts that feel clunkier to me. But the totality of 'Harold and Maude' is so much greater than maybe other films that are more perfect or look more beautiful or handle every moment more exquisitely.
I grew up in a very loving but very broken family, and I suppose that's why I'm drawn to telling stories about well-intentioned people who are doing their best - but are not always successful - in figuring out how to maneuver through this complicated, bumpy and broken world.
Maudlin scenes where people pour their heart out to one another? I don't want to see it.
The Orpheus myth is my favorite myth, and the prodigal son is my favorite parable.
Black people are more likely to be incarcerated than white people. That's just a fact and it's regrettable and it's got to change.
If there's a photo of a roomful of kids I'm the one with the biggest smile or my hand over my face.
