I'm a writer and director, and the movie I've seen a million times is 'Stardust Memories' by Woody Allen, starring Woody Allen and Charlotte Rampling.

I've been enjoying 'Life on the Mississippi' by Mark Twain that I picked up at the airport randomly. It's very witty and interesting to read about his time as a steamboat pilot.

Dont imitate. Write what you know about, that has to be your goal.

To make personal movies that you are the author of, is quite a difficult thing. It takes a lot of stamina.

The more you travel, the better you get at it. It sounds silly, but with experience you learn how to pack the right way. I remember one of my first trips abroad, travelling around Europe by rail, fresh out of high school. I brought all these books with me and a paint set. I really had too much stuff, so I've learnt to be more economical.

I grew up in San Francisco and moved to L.A. about 20 years ago, and now my main home is in Hollywood.

Movies are very expensive endeavors, and my first film was not particularly a money-maker. Quite the opposite.

I love 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and I love 'Bugsy Malone.' I haven't seen 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' in a long time, but I remember loving it as a kid.

On Darjeeling, I was on set every day and I acted as the second unit director and a producer on that film. I was there throughout the whole process. On Moonrise Kingdom, I showed up for one day.

Relationship movies are often made for a female audience.

That's a hobby of mine - to do whatever I can for unusual for-hire creative projects. I am waiting for someone to really challenge me - obviously I'm often approached to do film related work, but I would be very happy to design a bar or an amusement park ride. I would love to be an imagineer!

Recently, I was in Bernalda, my dad's ancestral home town in Italy. He has just refurbished a palazzo and turned it into a hotel, so we had my sister's wedding there. It was beautiful.

I feel like I am very drawn to the short form stuff because it's just fun to be making something, and then, a week later, it's out. I will always be drawn to that kind of thing.

I like things that are hand made - but personally for a man, I'm not interested in fashion that evolves with time. I like things to be the same. For a woman I think it's fantastic to have things that are different - it's like a flower where every season there's some new exotic bloom.

Anything that you think is wild or fun, or can't wait to see or show your friends, go for it.

As a director myself, you really appreciate collaborating with people who are trying to help you find what you need and what you want.

I am very much a person who appreciates perennial things. Things like a Lacoste shirt, a Clarks desert boot, Persol sunglasses and Vans shoes that have been the same forever. There are certain things that once you find it, you like it and it's done. I like Italian clothing, like suits from Battistoni and I have a shirt by Piero Albertelli.

Sometimes in writing you have difficult periods and then other times it just flows.