"Let’s go with Jaws. I saw Jaws when I was about… I must have been nine years old. Of course, at the time it was the most terrifying film I’d ever seen. It kept me awake for days. It kept me afraid of the ocean for a while. It had me afraid of lakes in Nebraska, in case there were sharks there. I was nine years old. But there are so many amazing things about that, on a historical level. That was the very first film that opened nationwide on the same day. As far as I know, prior to that, they would roll out films big cities to smaller ones, coast to coast. But this opened worldwide, which ushered in the era of the blockbuster. So it was groundbreaking in that regard, and of course, that is something that defines the entire movie industry today. The interesting thing is that, 43 years later, the film holds up exceptionally well. The characters feel as fresh and original as they did so long ago. So well directed. The history of the making of the film and how challenging it was for Spielberg, and the broken shark and all of this, and all of the changes he had to make — none of those challenges are reflected in the quality of the film. So to me, that’s a fabulous, fabulous film."

"Because they did great character buildup in it. By the time they got out and were battling the shark, you knew the three characters intimately. I think we lose that in a lot of our movies today — they’re so set in throwing the action at you as quick as they can. They don’t allow the character to develop to where you can feel for the character and I think Jaws did a marvelous, fantastic job with the three characters on the boat and the action – how they held the scene with the shark for as long as they did — the shocking moments of it."

"Jaws was the first scary movie I ever saw. Even though I did hate it and it made me scared of sharks, it stuck with me. Every time it’s on, I do have to watch it. Especially now that you know the behind the scenes stuff. The shark didn’t work. So then it became a creative choice to just not show the shark until two-thirds in. It was freezing cold and these people had to be in the ocean. Then, the ocean was freezing so these people were freezing cold and raining and all of that kind of stuff. It just made it more movie magic for me."

"All That Jazz (1979) is a perfect film, in my book: insanely well acted, incredible art direction, great writing, beautifully shot, just a director firing on all cylinders. Did I mention the amazing song-and-dance sequences? And Bob Fosse does all this, in a movie that is a very autobiographical account of his own struggle juggling: multiple productions, girls, booze, and pills; all of which lead to a series of heart attacks that culminate in the most spectacular and fantastical deathbed scene ever, with Jessica Lange as the loveliest angel of death. Forget Jaws: Roy Scheider as Joe Gideon, Fosse’s alter ego, is equal parts heroic captain and man-eating shark in this masterpiece."