Jeff Arch	The Week of April 8th, 2007

Sleepless in Seattle

1. What's in your wallet right now?

Four credit cards (paid up), driver's license, insurance, health insurance, AAA card, three emergency $20 bills, one of those credit card-sized magnifiers for reading tiny stuff, a mini-photo of my (then) wife and two kids in front of a beach house in 1991, my Academy card (AMPAS - the Oscar people), my Writers Guild card, a multi-airline first class lounge card, a fortune from a fortune cookie from at least 10 years ago.

2. What do you wish your parents taught you about money?

How to habitually give 10% away because I never made it a habit.

3. What is your worst habit around finances?

I let a lot of money go through the cracks.

4. What makes you happy?

getting off the plane in California
getting off the plane in London
the Tertulia coffee shop in Amsterdam
getting better at Italian in Italy
thinking of my kids
when someone tells me what something I wrote meant to them
teaching/speaking at workshops and seminars
walking on the beach
a Reese's peanut butter cup
when the Yankees lose
watching dawn happen
getting a line or a paragraph or a page or an entire script just right
when the right person says i love you
saying I love you to the right person
being taken seriously
getting asked to do interviews
getting recognized
thinking of the stuff I think of
walking around European cities
that drinking bird toy that keeps dipping into the water glass
and most of all - absolutely most of all — making people laugh

5. Personal philosophy around money?

It can buy a whole lot of comfort, and it can help a whole lot of people.

6. Where does money come from?

I don't know, but it circulates. And it doesn't care where it goes or who has it.

7. What would you do with a million dollars?

Enjoy it, and spread it around.

8. What is your most prized possession?

My Oscar certificate.

9. Who is your role model?

Anyone who does something bigger than they are.

10. What is your greatest achievement?

Being a really good father.

11. How did you get started as a screenwriter?

I kept doing it until I got it right.

12. What contributions to society do you want to make?

Creating entertainment that people never forget.

13. If you could buy one thing right now what would it be?

All other things considered, a jet.

14. Favorite activity that doesn't cost a dime?

Laughing.

15. How do you indulge yourself?

I fly first class and stay in nice places.

Jeff Arch, Academy Award nominated screenwriter of Sleepless in Seattle, started as a cameraman at the age of 22. His friend and mentor, Conrad Hall, advised him to follow his heart and so began Jeff's writing career. After many disappointments and a three-year writing hiatus, Jeff wrote Sleepless in Seattle, the first film he sold. It went on to become an instant success and earn him Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.

Jeff credits the martial arts for much of his success. Becoming a black belt gave him the stamina, confidence and balance he needed to achieve success in his writing and his life. Jeff believes a person's attitude determines their success: "Don't let anything stand in your way," he says.

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