In recent years I've been writing because I'm fortunate enough to work in the world of food television to travel and taste and learn about cooking from the best chefs in the business.

Most small business owners are not particularly sophisticated business people. That's not a criticism they're passionate about cutting hair or cooking food and that's why they got in the business not because they have an MBA.

Independent film is almost nonexistent right now because all the distributers that used to love to put out these little art films are all out of business right now because it costs so much to open a movie.

But the reason I became why I wanted to be in the business was because there was Midnight Cowboy.

I've managed to keep a clear head and remain sane in this business because I remain a kid off-camera.

Just because you've made a couple movies you've done some good movies you've been nominated for some Academy Awards whatever nobody's entitled. It's a business. If they don't see it I can think they're wrong but I'm not entitled to a $15 million budget to make a film.

Go for a business that any idiot can run - because sooner or later any idiot probably is going to run it.

Kids are brought into show business because they are cute and see truth and they're very bright. But there's a sense of doing it because you want the adults to be approving of you. You want to make them happy.

If you say 'I'm going to cut this song because I know the teenagers are going to love it ' well then you're going to alienate everybody else. When I cut my record I'm just going to cut the things that I like and whoever likes it likes it. That's too much work to try to figure out the demographic. That's too much like a business.

I started cooking in kitchens right out of high school and I was lucky to work with a lot of great people but I had no idea it would turn into this. Of course no one should go into this business because they want to be the next Emeril.