Certainly my personality, my sense of humor, my outlook on life was informed by the experiences of my parents and the stories they shared with me.
I reread Mesrine's book every year because the way the story is told is fascinating. Today, we don't have gangsters like Mesrine - he had humor.
Nigeria has had a complicated colonial history. My work has examined that part of our story extensively.
Both 'Mabo' and 'The Sapphires' have been significant roles because it's about my people. They are celebratory stories, on top of allowing people to understand our history.
Everybody jokes about that old story about the world only needing five computers, but when you think about it, that's where we're heading.
Short stories, for me, it's like you step inside this brand new car and you drive it and you drive it into a tree and you walk away from it.
My dad was a big admirer of Sergeant York stories from the First World War.
I dream a lot, in colour and in sound and scent. Quite a few of my stories have come from dreams.
'Portlandia' is the most fun show. When I get a breakdown of what the arc of the story is going to be, I could never in my wildest dreams anticipate the direction.
The world we build tomorrow is born in the stories we tell our children today. Politics moves the pieces. Education changes the game.
If you want to get an education in how to get a story and how to survive, then get a street reporter job in New York City.
My notion of the KGB came from romantic spy stories. I was a pure and utterly successful product of Soviet patriotic education.
The BP spill was the greatest environmental catastrophe in U.S. history. Yet somehow, gas companies like BP and Halliburton ran interference on reporting that story.
Entire families are attending 'Son of God' together and sharing it with their own kids. Parents are using the film as a conversation starter to help bring the story of Jesus to life for their children.
I like the idea of a love story between men. There is a great affection between men, which exists much more in ethnic groups: Latin, Italian, Jewish.
I've done a number of things based on real people or true stories or based on books, and I'm a great believer that you have to be true to the script.
There's a great appetite for smart television. Every day I get up and there are interesting stories I want to do.
Basically the children who watch it just see the little characters they love, and so they're not discerning about whether it looks great or it's a great story or anything.
The audience wants to be attracted not by the critics, but by a great story. You must deliver to the audience emotion - and when I say emotion, I mean suspense, drama, love.
My favorite novels allow me to imagine the characters afterward and what happened, and that I've witnessed a really great story, where the world goes on.
If I had not gotten along so well with some of the people on the show, it would have been a different story. But in this case, it was great. But sure, it will be fun to look around.
