Roman Coppola

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

Film is like eating to me. It feels completely natural.

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.

Years go by. I go here, I go there, I have all sorts of adventures, and then I look back and say, 'Wow that's kind of an unusual way to live your life.'

I'm a curious person. I pursue things based on what sparks my interest. I'm not thinking about what role I play. I don't have to be a movie director or this or that. I just want to be part of projects and places that are of interest to me.

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.

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.

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!

Don't imitate. Write what you know about, that has to be your goal.

A movie that I'm involved with and have a lot of love for, which is 'On The Road,' does use a lot of handheld. It can be done beautifully. I'm proud of that. It's a very beautiful movie.

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.

The director is the ultimate creative arbiter of what's going to happen. And as a director myself, you really appreciate collaborating with people who are trying to help you find what you need and what you want.

There are a lot of very flamboyant and outlandish people and attention-seekers in L.A., and I think that's what makes L.A. appealing. A lot of people are attracted to come here to do things and make things happen and the city seems to attract larger-than-life characters.

The short film project I just finished for W Hotels and Intel, I didn't have my script finished until a few days before we began filming. We edited it very quickly and now it's up online. It was great to conceive an idea and have it premiere just a few weeks later, compared to a feature, which takes a year or more.

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

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

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

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.

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?'

In my films that I've directed, and my work in commercials and videos, I've rarely used handheld. It's just not something I'm drawn to, but I've seen it done very well.