Often one hears of the lack of solid leading roles for women, but that complaint clearly doesn't apply to the career of screenwriter and director Don Roos. He has crafted several memorable characters essayed by the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sharon Stone, Whoopi Goldberg and Christina Ricci (to name a few). That is not to say he doesn't create well-rounded male characters, but the thrust of his work has been built around strong women.

One of five children in an Irish Catholic family, the openly gay Roos was raised in upstate New York and Virginia. While attending the