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.

It's not just people in Hollywood: I'm sure everyone in the world thinks, 'What would be it like if I won an Oscar?

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

When I'm in London, Claridge's is a great favourite. I'm a big fan of art deco architecture and the rooms are extraordinary.

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

Japan is the most intoxicating place for me. In Kyoto, there's an inn called the Tawaraya which is quite extraordinary. The Japanese culture fascinates me: the food, the dress, the manners and the traditions. It's the travel experience that has moved me the most.

Movies are magical. Sometimes it just works, it catalyzes, and everything falls into place, and no one knows exactly how or why.