What made you return to Mexico?
I always wanted to come and do another film in Spanish and in Mexico. Not even in Spanish but in Chilango - the Mexico City slang. This gave me the opportunity. For ten years I haven't spent such a long time in Mexico.
What attracted you to the lead actors?
Well, I've known Diego [Luna] ever since he was a little kid. I made him cry when he was six - I threw him into a swimming pool.
Ahh...
Oh, poor thing - he deserved it! There was always this thing of how cool it would be to work with Diego one day. Then I saw the first cut of "Amores Perros", while I was in the casting process, and I saw Gael [Garc铆a Bernal] and I said "Who's this guy?". Alejandro Gonz谩lez I帽谩rritu [director of "Amores Perros"] told me he lived in London. I had to go to Madrid to meet Maribel [Verd煤], so Gael flew to Madrid too. We all met and I said "This is perfect".
Did they improvise much?
Everything was scripted but in some instances it was through the process of doing rehearsals. We would adapt stuff or sometimes the actor would have an idea. Actually, everything they did was so precise and so discussed and worked out that it's an accomplishment that people think there is some improvisation through the whole thing.
Do you agree that there's currently a renaissance in Mexican film making?
Things like "Amores Perros" or "Y Tu Mam谩 Tambi茅n" are specific in their colour but they're universal in their themes. So I think that the more the Mexican film makers come to that universality, the more there's going to be a renaissance. And by being universal doesn't mean to be less Mexican, I think it's actually about opening out a little bit.
