"Another movie that I really love — and I’m sure you know it — is It Happened One Night, which is, I think, one of the best romantic comedies out there. I remember seeing that movie and falling in love with Clark Gable and just thinking how fantastic that backdrop was, on the train. It seemed like a very real relationship, like they really were in love with one another. [Laughs] I didn’t seem so pat, you know?"

"My parents had a fantastic collection. It wasn’t just Irish folk tunes and accordion diddly-doos, there was early Beatles and lots of Cliff Richard too. The first record I would have ever wanted to buy was “Move It!” by Cliff Richard. It was a really good song at the time and still is. “Early Cliff was a riotous assembly of sorts, and he had moves that left a good impression on a 5 year old."

"Thanks to Criterion, I could finally see the Max Ophuls movies I’d been reading about for years. The story of Madame de . . . on paper doesn’t really interest me, but in the hands of Ophuls, Danielle Darrieux, Charles Boyer, and the great Vittorio De Sica (who’s not only a fantastic director and one of the fathers of neorealism, he’s also damn suave), it’s a movie that truly amazed me. I could watch those dancing scenes for hours."

"One of my all-time favorite Altman films, and clearly one of his strangest. I’ve seen it a bunch over the years, and I always see something new in it with each viewing. The idea for this came to Altman in a dream, and it’s fantastic that he took note and crafted this understated, surreal dark comedy from such a place. People just don’t make films like this anymore. Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall are perfect."

"I try to read as much history as possible, and around Russia’s invasion of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, I devoured this massive tome… and cheekily: I even sent the Russian language version to Vladimir Putin! He’s from St Petersburg and likes to claim Peter the Great’s mantle. The revelation is that Peter was very progressive and Westward-looking. Massie is a fantastic historian-storyteller. I’ve also read his “Catherine the Great,” and of course, “Nicholas and Alexandra.”"

"Zoolander. Yeah, I mean, I love Ben Stiller, he’s just a brilliant guy. And I love Will Ferrell in it, too. His character, to me, is just insane and he made such huge choices, and he’s such a weirdo! [laughs] And I love Owen Wilson; I think it’s the best work he’s ever done. And they were both so gorgeous at that time. I know they were making fun of themselves, too, but they both look fantastic. So hilarious."