Ethan Hawke makes no bones about his literary career: his well-received first novel, "The Hottest State," was written with the movie in mind.
"Actually, I had my heart set on it being MY movie," says the 38-year-old actor/writer/director who has been working in American cinema since the age of 15. "I was going to write the novel, then I was going to write the screenplay, direct it and maybe perform in it. It all worked out that way, I didn't think it was possible but it did."
Because he managed to pull this off, and "The Hottest State" is about a boy who relentlessly pursues the one girl who rejects him, some critics in the U.S. are comparing Hawke's work with Woody Allen's landmark film "Annie Hall." Hawke says while he "really appreciates" the comparison, "the two films are really quite different . . . and to be honest, I don't think my film is in the same league. But I think I had that movie in mind when I was working on my own project. I wanted to capture the humor, the great lines, the originality of 'Annie Hall'." And did he succeed? Hawke goes on to explain what worked about "The Hottest State," what didn't and his experiences in the industry.