College was suddenly in the rear view mirror. Captivated by the idea of becoming a criminal defense lawyer, a young man had his heart set on working for the only foundation located in the biggest ghetto in San Francisco that provided legal defense and other social services for its community.

Do the economic, social, health headlines of today make you feel discouraged and fearful ? Do you worry about economic gloom and doom and tend to feel anxious or paralyzed by external events, or do you see possibility and opportunity for daily action based on strong personal beliefs and a bold yet pragmatic plan that focuses on rich opportunities, your talents and the value of what you have to offer ?

It was 1983 and I bought my first-ever computer from Apple, which arrived in an enormous colorful box and sat unopened for better than a month. In those days, you couldn’t plug in and go. This formidable machine didn’t do anything. It had to be programmed from scratch.

The writers' strike of 1988 shut down the entire business of film and tv production for almost a year. One day, J.F. came to my office. I think I surprised him when, out of the blue, I said "You've nothing to do and I want to make a film”.