"Thinking about my upbringing, this was actually one of the first movies I saw. I was about 15. I was always told that films were evil and such, but I started to realise what a load of crap it was that something this good should be forbidden. I had been allowed to read as much as I wanted when I was younger, so I recognised great art when I saw it, I just didn’t realise it would be at the cinema as well. And so I walked away from that. To Kill a Mockingbird was so important because it was such adult film-making – to see something that dealt with such an important issue and had such an enlightened outlook on the world.”"

"“Everybody Hurts” is a song that came to me fairly late in my life. As I was maturing into a young adult I started to really fall in love with R.E.M. and find out about their history as a group. This can be read as a kind of simple and sad tune of course, but it’s surpassed that for me. “When you’re talking about iconic frontmen, Michael Stipe is the one and it’s all in his voice: there’s no song that he could sing when you wouldn’t know it was him. I love the lyrics and the melody but I think I’m always attracted to the vocals above everything else. Michael Stipe’s voice is so unique and that’s what I love about R.E.M"

"I saw this movie at the Academy of Music in Northampton, Massachusetts, when I was thirteen. It was my introduction to Chekhov, and it changed my life. I think I went into the theater in large part because of this movie . . . I didn’t see much theater as a kid, and this was my first clue as to what it could be like. They really nailed what’s so great about Chekhov, and it made total sense to a thirteen-year-old girl in Massachusetts. Then all the Chekhov I saw after that as a young adult that was so terrible and haughty and faux-British . . . I’m just really grateful that this was my first encounter with his work. Wally Shawn’s performance is incredible, too."