"I don't like all of the record, but I forgive the bits of it that are drenched in too much Marty Ballin, because other than that there's 'White Rabbit', 'Somebody to Love'... There's that crazy reverbed out acoustic piece, 'Embryonic Journey', that I've been playing at parties at my house and no one knows what it is. It's otherwordly. And I like that era of radical San Francisco glamour, there's an element of that in Big Brother and the Holding Company too. There's something about the way the guitars and drums were compressed together that I like. I like that era of Grace Slick, she's at the peak of discovering her dynamics and her voice. Even lyrically, she comes out with some cool shit, she's so confident and so free that we get those great, simple songs. When she gets to that very last "feed your head", it's just a perfect moment. They build to that and it's completely perfect. You couldn't write it that way, you couldn't think to do it, you just have to do it and hope you don't fuck it up."

"Wong Kar-Wai is one of my favorite directors from Asia. I’m a natural romantic. I feel like his movies — slow motion, the momentum of people, even a clock running — are non-traditional filmmaking. Normal movies [have scenes set up] like, I talk to you; you talk to me. Those kinds of movies are boring to me, but his films are advanced. He’s also extremely private and personal. His stories are all about innocent love, sort of like teenage love. How people need; how you love. They’re very, very romantic. When I talk about it, I feel this slow motion romance, high heels, the mystery of women, sexy, walking by. I recognize things in my soul that are unspoken; a lot of those longings, and unfulfilled romances, and dreams within [Wong Kar-Wai’s] films — they make me feel that."

"I think the one film that I could watch over and over and over again –and I have — is Man on Fire. I feel like that’s a common dude answer. I feel like every dude loves that movie. Yes, the action is great, but I think that the biggest thing why I love that movie is the relationship between Denzel [Washington] and Dakota [Fanning]‘s characters. You just fall in love with that relationship and then it’s just so heartbreaking. Plus, I can watch anything Denzel. Yeah, he can do about anything and I will be there. I would say that’s probably my favorite of his."

"Al Pacino’s performance is connected to something deep in my psyche; he feels like a wild animal trapped in a place and running around manically. I love the mania of Al Pacino’s performance. I feel a connection to that hyper energy and burning ball of rage. It’s so great how he turns the whole movie. He becomes the hero that you wouldn’t expect, and everybody is cheering for him. I love that. I think in my film it does kind of the same thing. He doesn’t seem like your hero, but he becomes that. Not to mention the fact that this movie, it keeps the kinetic thriller energy, but at the same time, there are there these scenes that you can’t believe they’re still going on, these hilarious seemingly improvised bursts of energy. Between Al Pacino and Sidney Lumet and John Cazale, it’s unforgettable and beyond inspiring, to say the least. You’re rooting for both of them even though you don’t want to be. It’s perfect. You fall in love with them, and they fall in love with each other. It’s genius — perfection. I know that’s five but can I have an honorable mention?"

"I used to be really homesick as a kid. I never had sleepovers or anything like that with my friends ever, because I would have panic attacks and wanna go home. And then I watched Up In the Air, and watching George Clooney pack his suitcase so neatly and hop on the plane and just be so organized made me wanna travel by myself and made me love hotels and stuff like that. And I just love the movie as well. It gave me the courage to travel by myself for the first time and leave home. The thing that kinda sucks is that I have a feeling that if I was to rewatch it now, it would be depressing. At the time that I watched it for the first time, it was ambitious – I wanted to travel all the time like that and I thought it was so cool. And then, as you know, the movie gets kind of dark and sad and it’s like, “What are you running from?” At the time that didn’t apply to me, but now I wonder if I would watch it back and be like, “Oh god, this is really too real.”"