"These are so raw — this is who I am, these movies. [Laughs] They’re very girly. In no particular order… Love Actually. Most of these movies have British accents in them, because, being from England, there’s something about films that I watch that have a British accent that I just feel so at home with. That film I can watch any day and it makes me smile; and I love Christmas, so it kind of matches perfectly."

"I think there’s something about all of these films that resonate with me — they’re all stories and situations between characters that you couldn’t make with an American studio today. A Woman Under the Influence is so raw, it’s so wrong… it’s like, you knew those neighbors. It’s a really emotional film, and I think for John Cassavetes to have his own wife play that character, it was even more challenging and even more of a risk."

"The second piece in this heartfelt and raw book of essays is titled “Not Just for Grandmas.” Okun means it facetiously, but the title really hit home for me. Knitting wasn’t something the cool kids were doing in high-school. Knitting was an activity reserved for Grandmothers and the like, but suddenly here was a book of essays that spoke to the anxiety prone — myself included — looking to exert a little control over the crazy world around us."

"I had the chance to see Pennebaker give a talk before a screening of Monterey Pop. The audience got incredibly rowdy during his discussion of his short film Daybreak Express and interrupted Pennebaker’s remarks, chanting “Let’s rock!” Pennebaker gave up and rolled the film. Really lousy, but fitting. Watching Pennebaker and the Maysles’ incredible documentaries in tandem give me those same raw and complex feelings about rock ‘n’ roll as an art and a primal force."

"I had the chance to see Pennebaker give a talk before a screening of Monterey Pop. The audience got incredibly rowdy during his discussion of his short film Daybreak Express and interrupted Pennebaker’s remarks, chanting “Let’s rock!” Pennebaker gave up and rolled the film. Really lousy, but fitting. Watching Pennebaker and the Maysles’ incredible documentaries in tandem give me those same raw and complex feelings about rock ‘n’ roll as an art and a primal force."