The film world is very different now than it was 10 or 20 years ago. Big studios rarely invest nowadays in "artistic" pictures, which are likely to be made from plays. So a play will probably become an indie movie, which is more like doing an Off-Broadway show -- less money, but more artistic control. I'll see how my process with "Chinglish" works out before offering any advice.

[on his screen play for 'Chinglish'] There are just so many fundamental misunderstandings about our two cultures. About ideas that Americans tend to think of as intrinsic, like the role of love in long-term marriages. We don't have a term in English for 'qingyi' [a notably long marital partnership]. 'Love' is a clumsy word the way we use it. It can mean anything from altruistic love to brotherly love to lust.