I've always thought Mexico City was incredibly dynamic.

When I look back on my childhood, I think of that short time in Beirut. I know that seeing the city collapse around me forced me to grasp something many people miss: the fragility of peace.

I was 12 when my parents told me we were moving to Lebanon. I remember thinking, 'Leba-who?' I had absolutely no concept of the place.

Sometimes I look back and think, 'Good. I'd love to go in and bang out a good episode of 'Talk Soup' today.'

I was just a quiet kid, really. I wasn't the class clown at all.

There's something in human nature, the trying-to-get-on-with-it quality of people, the struggle to maintain or keep the show going can be exhausting. It just seems like that element of trying to move forward while things are breaking down... Obviously, it's always been the backdrop for a lot of great literature and great cinematic characters, but aside from that, I'm just drawn to it because that feels honest to me.

Audiences don't ever disappoint me, in the sense that movies I feel really good about, they usually feel really good about too.