gatherst movie we did to was produced by james l brooks who was our mentor and taught us everything aboutmake a script and add it and function . to this day, i know i am doing what i saw jim do in so many situations. i saw him, the strong and clear -- i saw him get it. howi said, i see, this is it is done. those kind of relationships mean a lot. it's a martin scorsese is a great admirer of yours. you know that? >> he has been kind to me. >> he admires you. is there a relationship? >> there's a relation with me i live the hell. every now and then -- of me idolizing him. -- every now and then, he is a person who will screen films and over the years, i have gotten an invitation to see what he is looking at that today. it is always a little master class, two movies. one of the film i made in india, i made this movie because i went over there as saw this movie called "the river," i had never seen before that martin scorsese was screening. i knew what i wanted to do next. know, he has the film a foundation which is one of the into theable resources organization of for this art form ever. >> wha

someone was to -- describing james l brooks.you woke him up and asked him what he was, he said he would be a writer. i identified with that. >> why would you identify with a writer rather than an actor? >> it is who i am. my father is a writer. those ideas that come to me all the time, i don't write down on my notebook, i need to play a cowboy. i never daydream about performing the way a dj and about writing. >> your dad wrote a famous book. he is the guy that wrote it. -- 2.5 million? >> it was the biggest seller of 1986 and 1987. >> he writes in conjunction with -- ghost writer. you inherited his talent? >> the lessons that made him a good ghostwriter, i put that in my writing. the year for dialogue. -- ear for dialogue. >> he did magic johnson as well. >> these are different voices but they to be true to the person throughout. himsorbed that lesson from and taking very seriously exactly the way that every character, no matter how small, would speak and think. i think i absorbed the lesson from him. >> do you continue to wanti

and our first movie we did together, that we wrote together was produced by james l. brooks, who was our mentor and sort of taught us everything about how to make a script, how to edit a movie and, for me, how to function as a person in the movie industry. i mean, to this day, when i know i'm just doing what i saw jim do in so many situations, i saw him be strong and clear and i just saw him kind of get it, and i said, oh, i see, so this is how it's done. so those kind of relationships mean quite a lot. >> charlie: martin scorsese is a great admirer of yours. you know that, obviously. >> well, i mean, he's been kind to me. >> charlie: he said in his own words how much he admires you. is there a relationship there? >> there's a relationship with me idolizing him. [ laughter ] i mean, over the years -- he's the one person i can think of who will screen movies on film and every now and then over the years i've gotten the invitation to go over and see what he's looking at that day and it's always a little master class, two movies -- and one of the films i made we made in india.

someone described james l. brooks who does a lot of things, said if you woke him up in the middle of the night and said, what are you? he would say i'm a writer. >> charlie: why writing rather than acting? because it's more natural? >> it's just who i am. my father's a writer. it's the way my brain is always going. the ideas that come to me all the time, i don't write down in my notebook, aneed to play a cowboy seeking vengeance. i never daydream about performing the way i did. >> charlie: your dad wrote the famous book by lee iacocca. >> yeah. >> charlie: how many copies? two million 1/2? >> it was the biggest best seller of 1986 and 1987. >> charlie: so what does he do? he writes in conjunction with as told to -- >> yeah, he's a ghost writer. >> charlie: and you inherited his talent? >> i think in some ways i absorbed the lessons that made him a good ghost writer in my writing. the ear for dialogue, knowing lee iacocca's voice would sound the same way on paper and different than magic johnson or nancy reagan's voice