You studied at Leeds University. What influence did it have on your writing and have you been active in art?

I went to Leeds to study English literature and that department at the university was very traditional, very formalist and it was not exciting at all. The art department was where the fire was burning in the building and I, as the most untalented artist, wanted to be there cos I felt that that is the place where exciting things happen. So I joined in and it was really radical hot bad, academic passion and there were two lecturers, professors who were very ambitious and they were very rivalrous with one another. It created that fantastic energy and from this day I think it´s not important what you study but what atmosphere is on that department.

Movie The Queen for which your wrote a script won Academy Award for Helen Mirren. Were you happy for HER to win it or pissed off that it wasn´t YOU who got a trophy?

Of course I was happy and proud for her. Night before Oscar evening I remember thinking “Of course I would like to win this but I am aware how many times Oscar destroyed someone´s career”. So I never regret not winning it and I think Helen Mirren never regrets winning it. I was very lucky that year cos Helen won Oscar for “The Queen” and Forrest Whitaker won is for “The Last Scottish King” so I have both Queen and King and I don´t think that ever happened before. I personally saw people who won Oscar too soon and what happened to them and I didn´t want to be in that position.

Is there a big difference between being a playwriter and being a scriptwriter cos you did both?

There are writers who write for TV, some for film or theatre and I was lucky enough to participate in all three media. I think I felt most home in theatre. When you have any idea you must think which media it will suit the best. When I wrote Frost/Nixon I wanted it to be a film. Nobody wanted it for film. So I wrote it for TV and nobody wanted it for TV. So I wrote is for theatre and everybody wanted it for the film. Each time the route is different, but process of writing I find the same. Technically speaking it is the same process.

What advice would you do to any would-be-script writer? Is there any set pattern you have to follow and you can learn it or you either can or can´t play?

Writers just have to write. On one hand I would wish everybody a success with their first screenplay, on other hand I have seen many people, who had success with first screen play and it destroyed them and their career cos they have never been able to repeat that. The ultimate goal in the career is to have longevity. For this you have to practice early on and disregard what happen next when it´s done, you get a finance for that or what will be reaction of the audience. It is beyond your control. Only thing you have the control over is whether you get up and write each morning or not. If you don´t you are simply not a writer.

You have 5 children and 16 films under your belt. What is more satisfying for you, being a good father or a good writer?

Being a good father is better compliment then being a good writer. But in both departments you are convinced you failed all the time. You always think you could have done better. In fact I think I wrote 32 film scripts but 50% of them never made it. And I often wonder if those who hadn´t been made would be made and vice versa, if I had been more successful.

Do you have any input who will play who in your film and can you protest if the film is very different to your script and in your eyes devalue whole story and main character?

The choice is yours. You can create circumstances and you have the privilege to be involved. Somebody once told me that every project is a party and on every party there is a host. On every party you go to, there are different rules. If you accept the invitation by the actors and directors who want to adapt your story, you have to accept the rules which are on the party. You want to have a right to be there and to have a control over casting. In “Rush”, I initiated the project and when people came to me with money, I declined their money until I invited a guest with whom I wanted to be. So I shared a party with Ron Howard we were co-hosts. It´s always your choice. You can go to other party if you want but you have to accept their rules. You also have to be prepared not to accept money if you wish to control things. I would argue that too often many writers give up their right far too quickly. During” Rush” I was present during shooting and had my say, because I insisted on that. The more they hang onto their rights, the longer they will be involved in the whole process. One wisdom says that in the theatre the writer is a God, in TV the producer is a God and in cinema the director is a God. It´s absolute nonsense. I think that in every project is an uncomfortable moment when people try to understand where the real power is, where is the director, writer and producer. This is one struggle in collaborative media. Every single time rules are different. People who are inflexible in collaborative process should rather write novels and don´t work in collaborative media like cinema or TV.

You mention film Rush, how did you build the story?

Firstly I have to come up to the ideas how I want to do it. It was about rivalry, friendship and mutual respect of two different people, Niki Lauda and James Hunt. I had a chance to befriend Niki and go deep into his character. Sadly, James Hunt died twenty years previously so I had to meet many of the people who worked with him and his friends to put together one James Hunt.

Your film Damned United is very interesting. Did you manage to talk to some people involved in the story and do you support any soccer team?

Unfortunately the most of people in the film are dead, so I didn´t have a chance to speak to them. But some of the footballers are still around. The film was directed by the same chap who filmed “King´s speech” and we had very uncomfortable time making this film on football pitches in North of England. Football of my childhood is very different from football these days. When I did the research for this film we found out that players had ashtrays in their changing rooms, would you believe. I am a fan of West Ham United and my sons and wife support Chelsea - our biggest enemies.

What is the truth in saying that you were to direct James Bond but when Sam Mendes came in you dropped out?

No, the story was different. I was working on screenplay and the project was stopped so I started working of Mercury and when they called again and wanted me back I was too hooked by Mercury that I declined their offer.

Most of your films are based on true stories, who do you face these topics?No, the story was different. I was working on screenplay and the project was stopped so I started working of Mercury and when they called again and wanted me back I was too hooked by Mercury that I declined their offer. I don´t like sci-fi, I don´t understand the logic, don´t understand the rules, have no fantasy and I am materialist. I read a lot and make research and that is the advantage over sci –fi where people aren´t real that here I can go to archive or meet the main characters if they are alive. We talked about Niki Lauda but in case of Freddie Mercury I spent lots of time with members of the Queen who were valuable source of information for me. Same was about the Queen who I wanted to show as normal human being who rules longer than any other monarch. Similar it was with Froxt/Nixon.I don´t care about ideology and who is right and wrong. I don´t search truth I only want to show character as they are.