My family went to Toronto to visit relatives when I was 13 or 14. It was the first time we had ever been abroad. This was the early Eighties, and I remember the impossible glamour of air travel - my mum spending days trying to decide what she was going to wear on the plane. John Niven abroadairday share on social
Like measles, the reading bug is best caught when you are young. John Niven bugcatchmeasles Change image and share on social
There is a psychic cost children bear when they grow up in fear. John Niven bearchildcost Change image and share on social
I have to confess to not being a great forward planner. I'm the kind of person who regularly arranges to have dinner with five different people on the same night. John Niven arrangeconfessdinner Change image and share on social
You know that thing where you repeat a word over and over until it just sounds like utter gibberish? That's what doing a day of press on a film is like. Ten interviews in a row, all asking pretty much the same questions until you find yourself giving pretty much the same answers. John Niven answerdayfilm share on social
A novel, of course, is a fully self-contained work of art. You pick it up off the shelf, open it, and there it is - a whole universe waiting for you to enter. A screenplay is just a blueprint for making a movie. Until the movie is actually filmed, the script really means nothing. John Niven artblueprintcontain share on social
On one level, of course, the notion of judging films or books or music against each other is completely ridiculous. Who's to say '12 Years A Slave' is a better film than 'The Wolf of Wall Street'? Or that one album in a certain genre is better than another in a completely different genre? John Niven albumbookcompletely share on social
We live in a crazily youth-orientated world nowadays. It's a trickle-down thing. We see pictures of lithe, attractive celebrity couples such as Brad and Angelina or the Beckhams cavorting around, covered in tattoos, stomachs as flat as the singing in early 'X Factor' rounds. John Niven angelinaattractivebeckhams share on social
I love England. I live and work here. My children have grown up here. I see no conflict between this and praying that my countrymen in Scotland never have to live another day under Conservative rule from London. John Niven childconflictconservative share on social
I am, it is safe to say, not a practical man. The few attempts I've made to hammer in a nail have ended in broken thumbs, burst pipes, and water spraying everywhere with the house on fire. John Niven attemptbreakburst Change image and share on social