Watch a video of the London premiere of "Spy Kids".

Why did you choose Antonio Banderas for your movie "Spy Kids"?

My God, you need a Latin James Bond, who else are you going to get? He's the guy! No, seriously, I always knew he'd be great in a comedic role. And he's a father in real life also, so he had the perfect mix.

Have you been influenced particularly by Bond movies for this film?

Yes, Bond films, but mainly "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" which Ian Fleming also wrote. And a bit of Roald Dahl's "Willy Wonka" too. I was trying to mix those two worlds together, the Fleming and Dahl worlds. I wanted to make the film adventurous, but not too jokey. A film for kids, but one that adults would enjoy too. Even though it's called "Spy Kids", it really does branch out to other audiences.

How did you find working with the kids?

Oh, they were wonderful. I'm from a family of ten children and I'm the third eldest so I grew up with a lot of kids around me, I'm used to it.

Do you intend to make a sequel to "Spy Kids"?

Yes, there is a sequel which I've written the script for already. We start shooting this autumn and it'll be out for theatrical release in summer 2002. The title is called "Spy Kids - The Island of Lost Dreams" and I'll be re-uniting the whole cast. Antonio (Banderas) has already agreed to do it.