"I’d say Casablanca. I love that it was a combination of political… It had a great love story, and it was unpredictable. It didn’t have the classic Hollywood ending, and that was what was great about it. Also, I love Humphrey Bogart, because he had the great ability to be masculine, yet vulnerable, and that was the perfect role to display that."

"I would say Four Weddings and a Funeral, just because I have seen it the most times, and I just love it every time. It’s so funny and charming, and everybody’s great in it. It just looks good. It just feels good. I’d be lying if I put any other movie on top, because that’s the movie I’ve seen the most."

" I've seen it a billion times but I don't think it gets the props it deserves. What sucks is that it solidified something about the business - [adopts movie mogul voice] "See? There's no use in making new movies because people don't know them and don't want to see them." That movie is brilliant - it's funny, very interesting and it has got good values."

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind is my favourite film of all time. That will always be number one. I can watch it today and it’s like a time machine; it completely takes me back to the way I felt when I first watched it as a kid. For me it never dates, it never ages, and it’s just perfect."

"The moment this song starts, it feels iconic—nothing else sounds like it. It’s one of those songs that reflects the past, but sounds like the future. Is it possible to say it sounds new and old at the same time? Basically, ’Money’ is timeless. The song has this very stupid, dumb quality about it, and I think it’s so hooky"

"Nevermind was the first CD I ever got. I remember my mom didn’t want me to get it because it had the fucking naked baby on the cover. My dad was pretty cool and into music. He went out and got it for me and told me to keep it undercover. I’d go in my room and listen to it."

"Americanah is a dramatic romance and a coming-of-age story, a class narrative and a comedy of manners. I first read it in 2013 and I was struck with how exactly I related to Adichie’s depiction of the contemporary African immigrant experience. She captures it, expresses it, analyzes it and celebrates it. It’s a story begging to be experienced visually."

"[Again by] Chayevsky. And directed by Sidney Lumet. That story to me — it’s amazing how it continues to be — it was predicting something that we’re dealing with [now]. It was dealing with something in its time, but it still continues to be so timely. It’s one of these movies that I just go back and watch, and it continues to blow my mind."

"The chemistry between Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney was insane. Anytime that movie comes on cable, I can’t not watch it and it’s really because of their chemistry and the movie’s just fun. Don Cheadle is great in it. I love the story of it. I love the way Soderbergh shot it and I love the love story aspect of it."