"I love Being There — Peter Sellers‘ Being There. Big Peter Sellers fan, love Hal Ashby."

"I’ve just always loved everything Hal Ashby does. This movie is a strange thing of beauty."

"This is the film that turned me on to Cat Stevens, Bud Cort, and Ruth Gordon, all simultaneously. The film never gets old, and the extras on the Criterion version are amazing. I had no idea that Hal Ashby was such a hippie."

"One of my other favorite films of all time is Being There. Hal Ashby [director]. Peter Sellers’ last film. I adore that movie. I think it’s profound, I think it’s funny, I adore Peter Sellers. I could watch that movie over and over again."

"A hilarious, twisted, gorgeous love story between a teenager, Bud Cort, and an old lady, the magnificent Ruth Gordon. Indelibly directed by Hal Ashby, it features one of the best soundtracks ever—all classic Cat Stevens. Still can’t hear “Trouble” without seeing a hearse drive off a cliff."

"I think Peter Sellers’ performance in that just really knocked me out — what you can do with character. I think Hal Ashby just embraced that naturalistic and really deep performance and took it to the next level, so it became this almost remarkable piece of surrealist social commentary."

"Probably the seminal movie in regards to what it means to be a man in changing times. Hal Ashby is one of the great legends of tone and emotion without it ever feeling too forced. A movie that also argues the important point: “It’s just as easy to get it the way you want.”"

"Hal Ashby: Often copied, never matched. The last 10 minutes of this movie might be my favorite piece of film on the planet. It breaks my heart to think that a film so weird and perfect might never be made again… or, if it was made, could vanish without a whisper, buckling under the weight of another billboard for Transformers 16."

"I kinda want to go for another Hal Ashby; I want to say Being There, with Peter Sellers. I think it’s the funniest performance ever, but it’s 99 percent drama, 1 percent comedy. It’s the tiniest dose of funny, because he’s so serious. He’s very profound about human projection, which is very relevant for My Cousin Rachel, because it’s all about what people project onto her, how they interpret this film – is she guilty or innocent?"