LAUREN SHULER DONNER

I love to say that what's great about 'Legion' is that if you haven't read a comic book and you haven't seen an 'X-Men' movie, you can come in and understand it - and this can be your comic.

I think people really don't understand what a producer does versus what a director does. I mean, the producer is often the person that is on the movie the longest - it's their material that they are then bringing the director onto to bring it to the screen. Are we overlooked? Absolutely.

I would say that the first 'X-Men' was the hardest. It took us a long time to get it going.

Don't take rejection personally.

The accomplishment that I am most proud of is that 'Free Willy' and 'Dave' got a political message out, which isn't easy to do within the constraints of studio moviemaking.

My mandate to myself since I've been involved in these movies was 'make every single movie different, so there's never 'X-Men' fatigue.'

The first two actors we cast were Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Because we started so highbrow, we were able to get anyone. Plus, some of these people have children, and their kids love 'X-Men.' They'll do it because of them - that's our little extra ace in the hole.

I've been very fortunate, but it also never occurred to me that I couldn't do something or that I couldn't ask if I could try something.

I stayed in the East for about a year after I graduated. Then, I came out to Los Angeles and started knocking on doors and working my way up. This was the '70s. I had been told how tough it was for a woman trying to make it in Hollywood, but I sort of had blinders on. I just did things anyway.

People would congratulate Dick for my movies. It bothered me for a long, long time.

Producing is figuring out how to make each character have a distinct voice, how to make the story twist and turn - that's the biggest challenge.

You have to have somebody to root for. I truly believe that's how you ground a movie. You ground them in the characters.

Almost everyone I know is battling something, whether it's allergies or depression. Whatever it is, it makes you feel less than who you are. I believe part of life's challenge is to work through that.

I like having an idea, or hearing an idea, and getting it into a proper script.

We love 'X-Force.' It allows us to be a little grittier.

I feel fortunate every day I'm in this business. No matter how hard it is, no matter how ruthless some people are, I was born to do this; I was born for movies.

The cinematic universe will not worry about 'Legion.' They will not worry about these TV worlds at all.

Not many people know 'Hellblazer.'

I've really tried to use the power of film to effect change.

The first writer I developed a script with was John Hughes, and that was 'Mr. Mom.' That was my first feature film.

I'm dying to do a 'Gambit' movie with Channing Tatum.

I'm obsessed with 'Peaky Blinders.' Those characters are awful, and yet you root for them. You love them! Same with 'Breaking Bad.'

When I first set out to make movies, that's what I thought I was going to do - make movies that mean something. And each movie had its own message, some stronger than others. Even 'X-Men' has its own message of tolerance.

I'm a huge fan, and I didn't grow up with it, I didn't grow up reading 'X-Men' comics. I became a huge fan; I had somebody in my company who gave me the biographies of all the characters. I read Logan's first and was like, 'What a great, tragic character.' I just loved him.

I personally have close ties to Marvel because of Kevin Feige, because Kevin worked for me.