You can do one of two things. You can bury you head in the sand and believe what everyone tells you - that you will always be that young that thin and that fabulous. Or you can use all the things you have - talent contacts knowledge - and do something different.

As a young man I went to Paris and soaked up many hours of film knowledge from Robert Hakim in my efforts to become a producer.

I feel like 35. At 35 you're old enough to know something and young enough to look forward to what you can do with the knowledge. So I stayed at 35!

It's the continuation of everyone's childhood to see these young children who grow up full of life full of intelligence full of a sense of wonder. And within an instant they're gone from this world. It's terrible.

If they had said my writing wasn't good enough fair enough that's an opinion. But to say it's too complex is to insult the intelligence of the so-called young.

Since we launched the original 'Pop Idol' in England I've remained close with Simon Fuller. Working as executive producer on 'American idol' for its first seven years not only was an inspirational journey into the heart of American pop culture it opened my eyes to the untapped potential of the incredibly dynamic young people in this world.

Almost every college playwright or sketch or improv comedian was sort of aware of Christopher Durang - even kids in high school. His short plays were so accessible to younger people and I think that was inspirational to me.

Nowadays people's visual imagination is so much more sophisticated so much more developed particularly in young people that now you can make an image which just slightly suggests something they can make of it what they will.

When you're young you have no worries no drama only your imagination. It's the best!

It's a wonderful thing working with young actors. I know a lot of people don't like working with children. I actually adore it because you watch their imagination open up and you watch them start to learn this job that I've been doing for so long. They come with such a lack of cynicism.