"One of my all-time favorite novels is The Paris Wife. I am fascinated by Ernest Hemingway’s storytelling, so I loved reading about his own story and getting to know the heart of his incredibly strong and complicated muse, Hadley. I found myself transported back to the Jazz Age in Paris, one of the most romantic time periods, and totally mesmerized by the love, dependency and devotion that these two iconic characters had for each other. "

"This has to be number one because it’s the film that opened the door to foreign cinema for me. I first saw it at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1967. I was stunned by the playful mix of romance, jazz, gangsters, and Paris. I must have seen it fifteen times since. In 1976, I played the lead in an homage to Breathless, Amos Poe’s Unmade Beds—though my connection to Belmondo sadly ends there."

"I saw him on the Jay Leno show, and I thought 'wow, this is a good band'. It was like the Kings of Leon, southern rock, and he came on with that thing and I thought 'I wonder where this kid's from, he must be from the South somewhere'. And then when Jay Leno says 'that was great', Paolo says [adopts Scottish accent] 'thank you very much', and I thought 'he's fucking Scottish!' So it's great, but the album he did as well, that's great. I play that - there's so many great things on there. Again, it's fresh, it's different from other things, so I hope he can come up with more, because he writes as well. And Ethan John [Jones's producer for Spirit In The Room] produced the album, which I didn't know, when I heard the album. There's a jazz band thing, a traditional jazz band thing. 'Simple Things In Life', I like that, about going round to his mother's for tea, it's great. He paints a picture, you can see him do it."

"My late friend and mentor, a guy called Roger Eagle, who used to run Eric's [club] in Liverpool, he turned me on to Bobby Bland. And straight away I was just blown away by the voice. This incredible voice. What I like about Bobby Bland is he has tinges of jazz in the R&B, it's not just straight ahead R&B, the jazz comes through. I was very fortunate to spend time with Bobby, and B.B. King as well, they were very close friends [of one another]. B.B. contributes to the film we made when we went over to Memphis and I spent a little time with Bobby [this documentary features on the DVD edition of M.H.'s 2008 solo album, Tribute to Bobby]. He's a profound influence on me, he's a truly great singer. His music lives with me, and I just love him and it. I love the R&B of that period. A wonderful experience, just knowing these guys, and spending time with them and listening to their stories."

"I put these two films together because Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort is a light and airy musical with sherbet-colored costumes and a painted town, while the other, Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz, is a dark, grimy, semi-autobiographical show-business story about a man who makes musicals. These two classics remind me that music and dance can say more than any other kind of action, and that life is a stage whether you are on it or directing it."

"I put these two films together because Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort is a light and airy musical with sherbet-colored costumes and a painted town, while the other, Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz, is a dark, grimy, semi-autobiographical show-business story about a man who makes musicals. These two classics remind me that music and dance can say more than any other kind of action, and that life is a stage whether you are on it or directing it."

"Two words: David Thewlis. He gives one of those performances that you can’t believe actually exist. He is an absolute force of nature in this film, playing what is essentially an extremely unlikable character that you can’t help but be completely compelled by. It’s the most verbal movie since His Girl Friday, and experiencing the nonstop dialogue that comes out of Thewlis’s mouth is like witnessing all of the world’s greatest jazz artists playing a euphoric two-hour concert at once."

"Jazz is what has kept me from completely losing my marbles. A friend recommended I check this out, and that's how I knew he was my friend. A bullseye. Art's story told through his own words and the words of those who loved him or at least were fascinated by his incredible gift and witnessed his every attempt to blow it to smithereens. Gives you the most palpable sense of the agony and the ecstasy, the unreasonableness and eventual reasonableness of his life."