Twitter star, humorist and bestselling author Andy Borowitz had what some would consider a charmed run in Hollywood: He started out working with TV legend Norman Lear, created Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (the sitcom that made Will Smith a megastar), and produced the movie Pleasantville, starring Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire. And then he walked away — not unlike late director John Hughes, whom Borowitz admires greatly, and included in his new bestselling book, The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to The Onion. Hughes is best known for movies like The Breakfast Club, but he also wrote short stories, including “Vacation ’57,” which as you may have guessed, served as the basis for the 1983 movie starring Chevy Chase.

I talked with Borowitz, and asked him about Hollywood, happiness and his advice for people who want a career in showbiz:

For Borowitz’s thoughts on who didn’t make the 50 Funniest cut and what Mark Twain would have thought of Twitter, check out the rest of my interview on the Amazon.com books blog, Omnivoracious.

                — Stephanie Reid-Simons