I have an L.A. "only in" story. I was 21 or 22, and used to play tennis at Poinsettia Park. A lot of celebrities hung out there; I went for the competition -- there were a lot of good players who ended up there. I had written a 50 or so page novella that I thought should be a screenplay. Truth be told, I was intimidated by the material and avoiding the commitment to start the screenplay. I went there a few days in a row until Sidney Poitier showed up. I ran over, manuscript in hand, and asked him to read it. He sort of knew me from the park, and in a generous act that would shortly change my life, he agreed to read it. I was too young to know how unusual this was. I was just excited, and gave him my phone number. He called a few days later, "This work is very good," he told me, "And I'm not going to buy it." "Why?" I asked. "Because if I buy it, you're out. I'll hire a professional screenwriter and you will have nothing further to do with the project. If you write the screenplay, you will have a career." I was disappointed, and it took me a few months, but I finally got my guts together and wrote the screenplay. It took me 9 months to write. I was desperate to make it perfect and could only see what was wrong. I got over it, finished it, and sold it a few weeks after I finished it to 20th Century Fox. It was the piece that launched my career. I owe Mr. Poitier a big thanks!