A lot of banging in the head has built up over the decades, and for my own sanity, I needed to write. I wanted to see if I could tell an honest, organic story about characters that interest me.

If you blink, you will miss me, but I am in 'Malcolm X.'

Working with actors really depends on the actor. Most of the directors I've worked with don't really know how to speak to actors, actually; some of the best directors don't.

I'm a sucker for entertainment and escapism as much as the next person. I like silly and lowbrow stuff, but I get nervous when I indulge in that too often. I want to know what's going on in the world. I have a morbid fear of being surprised by bad news. I want to anticipate everything.

I think that horror films have a very direct relationship to the time in which they're made. The films that really strike a film with the public are very often reflecting something that everyone, consciously or unconsciously feeling - atomic age, post 9-11, post Iraq war; it's hard to predict what people are going to be afraid of.

Landmines are different from other conventional weapons. When a war is over, the landmines stay in the ground and continue to kill - for decades.

I was born in Allied-controlled Pola. At the end of World War II, the victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of peace treaties and borders with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland. The Paris Treaty was signed on February 10, 1947. I was born a few days later.

We're not losing the peace.