Disney's something to be a little alarmed about. It's not just a little theme park anymore. It's now an ethic and outlook and strategy that goes way beyond central Florida.

You can do the best research and be making the strongest intellectual argument, but if readers don't get past the third paragraph you've wasted your energy and valuable ink.

Sure, I'll have characters drop in and out of books but the main cast of characters always changes. Maybe I'm wrong but I think if had the same joe detective guy or gal, I wouldn't write them as well; I wouldn't do as good a job.

Lots of people can write a good first page but to sustain it, that's my litmus test. If I flip to the middle of the book and there's a piece of dialogue that's just outstanding, or a description, then I'll flip back to the first page and start it.

A comedy that is ironic, sometimes bitter, in some cases even dramatic, tragic: This is what Italian comedy is.

The physical part of comedy is as hard as a lot of action movies. It scares me, but in a way that I like.

I've always been a comedy nerd, and 'Partners in Crime' was probably more influential for me than anything else because it was not only standup, but Robert Townsend had those short films.

I've always navigated my way around the comedy writing rooms because I didn't want to cater to this side and that side; I just wanted to be liked by everybody.