If you’ve always thought of Hollywood as a competitive, jealousy-ridden place where success is watched, compared and envied, Mike White is not here to disillusion you. And his latest film suggests the world inside your own head might not be so different. Few writers understand our inner dialogs better, and that can be embarrassing. Not to mention touching, depressing and yes, funny. We talk to one of the business’s most talented screenwriters (and directors, and actors) about why he feels more alive the further he gets from it, and his “uncool” struggle with the siren call of ambition. But if the result is work like Chuck & Buck, School of Rock, Year of the Dog, Enlightened, Beatriz at Dinner, and Brad’s Status, can ambition be so bad? Throughout his career, White has worked to create an alternate kind of story and protagonist. “It makes me feel like I’m not completely crazy.” Us, too. Thanks, Mike.