"If we now want to get into films that — I arrogantly didn’t ask you if you would know anything about them; I just assumed, and assumption is the mother of all f—ups. Me, I’m Asian. I was raised in Asia and, to be honest with you, my favorite films of all time are really [Akira] Kurosawa films. He was a friend of mine. Yojimbo, Akahige meaning “Red Beard,” [and] Shichinin no samurai meaning “Seven Samurai,” I would say those are probably my three favorite films of all time. Even though Shichinin no samurai is the more famous one, I would probably pick Red Beard and Yojimbo.Red Beard is one of the most important movies in my life because it’s… I don’t want to say a movie about me, but it’s a movie about someone I tried to emulate subconsciously — or accidentally I should say — in that I am a martial artist, I am a healer, and I am a warrior, and those are the three kind of components that really make up Toshirô [Mifune]’s kind of character, you know? So I particularly relate to that movie on a very deep level."

"My father was a film buff. He instilled in me an appreciation of the art of movies. He felt that there was no cinema artist greater than Kurosawa. At a very young age he took me to see Throne of Blood and Seven Samurai. Since then I’ve seen Seven Samurai over fifty times, in theaters, on VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. The latest Criterion edition is my favorite version of my favorite action movie. I love all the extras, especially the history of the samurai, which really enhances the movie’s historical context. In the second season of Heroes, we did a story line set in seventeenth-century Japan. The Seven Samurai box set was an invaluable resource for the costume and art department. About half of our crew watched it and were really inspired by what they saw. It’s one of those movies that I can’t turn off. One minute of viewing and I’m hooked. I’ve heard many people say that about the first two Godfather films, but for me Seven Samurai is the one that lures me into watching multiple hours of a movie I know by heart."

"Reread done for #AdamRereadsHP! GOBLET OF FIRE is definitely work and I could've done for a lot of cutting. One of the things I admire most about this series is the way J.K. Rowling can speed through a year in under 300 pages. And GOBLET is twice that length and it didn't always feel justified. I shouldn't complain because more time in this world is MORE TIME IN THIS WORLD, and it's all very realized, but the pacing still felt off. (I really, really could've done without the Quidditch World Cup.) When I first read this novel when I was 13 going on 14, I took a break for MONTHS. And the same thing happened during this reread as a 28-year-old. I think it was around the same part too. But once you get to the Third Task, it all picks up. This last fourth of the novel has always been my favorite. Voldemort's return! That scene with the Death Eaters! Harry vs. Voldemort! Moody isn't Moody! Rita Skeeter exposed! It's all wonderful. GOBLET isn't my favorite in the series, but it's still pretty damn magical."