It’s getting to that personal association, that feeling of empathy, that I think can be really significant and really resonate with readers. It’s about fear and anxiety and anger, but also things like love and hope and joy. And data does not sit with you the way a story does - because a story is about emotion. But at the end of the day, it’s all just data.

What I think it comes down to is this: I did a metric ton of research on this book, and I could sit here all day and tell you stories about every single worker abuse that I uncovered, and you might be angry and you might be upset. What’s the power of fiction, as you see it, to speak to this theme? You have this Big Brother meets Big Business narrative running through here. All of these years later, for him to be interested in a book that I wrote is completely surreal and incredible. Ron Howard was one of the first directors that I could cite by name. Apollo 13 and Backdraft were two of my favorite movies when I was a kid. I brought along my copy of Apollo 13 and, in the confusion of leaving, left it on the bus - and was apparently bereft. I went on a school trip and we were on one of those buses that had a VCR and some TVs. Finally, I was like, “Maybe it would be a better TV show, but this isn’t my job, I really don’t know.” Then he was like, “What if it was a movie directed by Ron Howard?” I’m like,” Well, the conversation is pretty much over.” I have been such a huge fan of his since I was a kid. I guess he was trying to feel out my opinions before he dropped the hammer. My agent emails me and he’s asking me some really vague questions about film and TV. I was sitting at the dinner table and I’d just gotten home from work. You have a really personal relationship to his work, right? What was that moment like?

I saw what you tweeted after the Ron Howard news was announced.

The warehouse rob hart movie