According to Trueba, his influences include such diverse auteurs as Billy Wilder, Jean Renoir and Woody Allen. Trueba started out as a film critic for a Spanish daily before founding his own film magazine, "Casablanca," in 1980. He has also produced several films including "Lulu de Noche/Lulu By Night" (1985) and an English-language series entitled "Magicians of the Earth" (1989).