Personally speaking, growing up as a gay man before it was as socially acceptable as it is now, I knew what it was to feel different, to feel alienated and to feel not like everyone else. But the very same thing that made me monstrous to some people also empowered me and made me who I was.

Everything about 'Hugo' to me is poignant, from the broken orphan to the old man losing his past to the fragility of film itself.

I grew up loving monsters. I'm just a total monster geek. When I was a kid, I had the Aurora monster models, and I would make them. I loved the Universal horror movies and the Hammer movies. I just had an affinity for them.

Whether you're writing a horror show or a James Bond film, I think what bubbles beneath is interesting characterization. The colors that emerge through storytelling is what a dramatist does. There's always got to be something bubbling underneath that will erupt at some point.

The reason most comedies don't win awards is that the filmmakers put the comedy first. This means you have to create a story around the jokes.

My husband and I are two people who never thought we'd be married.

It's not hard to be a woman in comedy as long as you're also a writer. You have to create your opportunity.

You feel like you need to deal with a lot if you're from Cleveland, so you learn to let things roll off your back, and you learn that humor is the best way to deal with it.