[on writing "North by Northwest" (1959) for Alfred Hitchcock] I wanted to write the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures.
No good screenplay is vulnerable. Only those that still need work are vulnerable, and should be vulnerable, and should be worked on some more by the writer - or, if not him, another writer - to ensure, or make possible, a good film.
It is not at all difficult for a writer to stay sane in Hollywood. Cynicism is more often a defense against just criticism.