"My top four films are the ones I will be (or already have been) revisiting and pulling ideas, inspiration, and innovation from. “Under the Silver Lake” is undoubtably the movie of the year; it is the most (only?) unique attempt at reconsidering the rules of storytelling, both written and visual. Of course, it was “dumped” into only two theaters, given the tiniest sliver of support, and will have to work to find the audience it deserves. Nothing says “2019” to me more than an out-and-out gonzo masterpiece that most people probably don’t even know was released."

"My top four films are the ones I will be (or already have been) revisiting and pulling ideas, inspiration, and innovation from. “Under the Silver Lake” is undoubtably the movie of the year; it is the most (only?) unique attempt at reconsidering the rules of storytelling, both written and visual. Of course, it was “dumped” into only two theaters, given the tiniest sliver of support, and will have to work to find the audience it deserves. Nothing says “2019” to me more than an out-and-out gonzo masterpiece that most people probably don’t even know was released."

"All of Pasolini’s films are very surprising and impressive because they come from somebody with a deep culture who, through cinema, managed to remove himself from that culture. It’s as if he took culture off and, naked, went and walked off into the world. In this film he really succeeded in adhering to the deepest meaning of the text, of the epic narration and storytelling, without adding any element of pathos, psychological feelings, or sentimentalism—which would have been a very easy pitfall. He just tells the story the way it is without adding to it."

"I don’t know what it was about that movie that was just incredible. It was something about the storytelling, the characters, and the pace of the movie, the atmosphere of it and the tragic ending that absolutely blew my mind. It made me realise movies could tell stories in a different way. That was the day – when I was 11 years old – when I decided to get involved in movies. It was when I said to myself, “I want to be a director.” It was so powerful to me. It’s really worth seeing; it’s an amazing bleak, beautiful, tragic movie"

"Stephen King taught me how to suck people in. As a child, I spent about 85 percent of my time with my nose buried in a book. I remember spending most nights huddled under the covers with my flashlight, reading Stephen King novels and short stories. When I was 9, each night I would read as many pages of The Stand as I could until Stephen King had scared me too much. Then I’d lock it inside my closet so the characters couldn’t get me. Honestly, I feel like I learned some of the best storytelling rules from his books."

"Godfather one and two, as one movie — but not blended together; I don’t think that worked when they tried to combine them [for the TV version]. I have to just say that The Godfather is a quintessential American film, where it’s absolutely satisfying. The writing is so excellent — what is being said, and the nuance of what is being said, is so understood. And the color, again, situates you in a particular moment in time. It’s a portrait of America. It’s one of those things where storytelling and acting found one of those magical, elegant solutions…"

"The Celebration, the film by Thomas Vinterberg. It’s an example of innovative filmmaking and great storytelling. It’s just very moving. The subject matter, first of all, is incredible, you have this style of humour, and the acting’s insane. It was the idea of this Dogme-type style that I hadn’t really seen before — you know, you sort of feel it with Cassavetes, but I loved the strict adherence here to the principles of no artificial lighting, no artificial action, you can’t have any dolly tracking or crane shots at all; it’s all hand-held, it’s all video."