"I thought this was a really interesting mix of horror and sex. There are so many sexual references, from the robot attacking Sigourney Weaver, and he rolls up a magazine and stuffs it down her throat, I mean, wow! Or the fact that Ash’s blood looks like semen, it’s just a lot of that kind of stuff. Deep, deep psychological sexual stuff; like calling the computer ‘Mother’. It’s really fascinating, and I think that’s why it’s so successful in scaring you. It places imagery that’s deep and sexual in a horror show. It’s designed to scare people, all this stuff that is repressed, and gets inside their psyche and is truly uncomfortable, and I think it’s right in (Alien artist and production designer) HR Giger‘s designs, I think sex is what we’re all afraid of."

"And then I’ll go to my next one. Aliens. Jim Cameron, Sigourney Weaver. Dude, again, I am a “big movie” guy. I like the small, poignant indie, but you know, give me a Summer flick all day long. That’s what I grew up on, that’s my era. I mean, I remember seeing Star Wars at the drive-in; I’m that guy. But Aliens really upped the game for what the horror genre could be, you know what I mean? Because it was this weird mix of action and horror. You know, the first one was like straight horror, like oh my god, the creepiness, the ickiness of this thing. But then in Aliens, you’re like, “Yo, they got Marines! It’s like that? This is nuts!” It just created this frenzy in me that was like, oh, this is how it’s supposed to be done. I’ll never forget it. Any time Aliens is playing, I can’t turn away. I cannot."

"Number four I would have to say is the best one out of all of them: Aliens. That’s just one of those movies that I think was so well done. It was ahead of its time. [James Cameron] was just ahead of his time — it was so well written, so well acted. I loved the extended version of Aliens because it shows just a little bit more that you don’t see and what they always show on television. The drones shooting aliens, a lot of things like that, which I thought was great. I just thought Ripley was never better — I thought Sigourney Weaver was never better — than [when] she was in Aliens. Now Alien kinda had a slow start; you kinda had to get into it. These guys weren’t really prepared for [the] alien — some kind of breakdown with the crew, [that] kind of like reminded me of a play. But Aliens just kinda jumped in feet first man, and just went for it, absolutely. And by there being so many of the aliens it just heightened the danger that they all faced. You sat on the edge of your seat, you know, scared to death. So, I really love that movie."

"Another time travel movie, as I call it. I love the pacing of the film and how strange it was. When I saw it I just fell into the reality of the movie, just seeing him get on the train and head out to this place that he’s not excited about going to, and then getting there and being trapped by the forces of nature. Again, for me, some films just have an immersive atmosphere—and the music, and all the shots, the period that’s it’s in, and the casting, it just really transported me to that time period. And I love Sigourney Weaver. I’ve seen other things that she’s been in, but for the most part I think of her as the, you know, Alien. So to see her in something that I was excited about, and just as a character, that was great. But it was a very transporting movie. If a piece is going to take place in the past, I want it to feel like that, whatever that means. If the details aren’t right, it will take me out of the movie. And with The Ice Storm I just fell into that reality so hard-core. I just remember it being like, “Oh my god.” I think I saw it twice because I worked in the movie theater at that time and saw it for free."

"The first one is Working Girl. I love that movie, and I think all the female characters in it are pretty amazing. I love watching Melanie Griffith’s transformation. Her wardrobe and her makeup is amazing, because it’s the ‘80s. It’s unbelievably awful; you can’t even believe that people used to think that was okay to dress that way, or that other people found it attractive. Joan Cusack is amazing in it. Her eye shadow is so blue; it’s horrifying, and you also can’t look away. Sigourney Weaver is a great villain in it, because she also has moments when you, I don’t know, you kind of like her… and then you don’t in the end, of course. But she’s a very interesting, strong character. Even her tone of voice and the way that she’s super sweet to everyone; it’s almost like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada before she did that. You know, kind of the bitch with the huge smile on her face. So I love that movie. If I turn on just the last five minutes, I burst into tears. [laughs] Joan Cusack stands up and is like, “She did it!” and that Carly Simon song comes on, and I just feel strong and inspired, and I always cry. It’s like a happy cry. I’m surprised that it still makes me cry, but I’m always just like, “Yes! This is incredible!”"