With the indelibly disturbing nightmares HEREDITARY and MIDSOMMAR, Ari Aster has already established himself as one of twenty-first-century cinema’s most audacious auteurs. In this edition of Adventures in Moviegoing, Aster sits down to discuss the unforgettable films that have shaped his life an...
The thinking man’s movie star, Ethan Hawke has moved seamlessly between mainstream hits and acclaimed passion projects for directors such as Richard Linklater and Paul Schrader ever since breaking into Hollywood at age fourteen, garnering Academy Award nominations for both acting and screenwritin...
The award-winning novelist and writer for THE DEUCE talks crime, adolescence, and movies.
While other budding directors were honing their craft in film school, Richard Linklater was getting a crash course in the art and history of cinema his own way: by watching anything and everything he could at the local repertory theaters in Houston and Austin, where he discovered the world-cinema...
What would the world look like if Charles Burnett and Kathleen Collins were spoken of in the same terms as Fritz Lang and Stanley Kubrick? That’s the question at the heart of this edition of Adventures in Moviegoing, in which Justin Simien, the creator of DEAR WHITE PEOPLE and BAD HAIR, sits down...
From earning an Academy Award nomination for his very first screen role in THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING to his Oscar win forty years later for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, Alan Arkin has enjoyed an eclectic and distinguished career as both an actor and director. A lifelong cinephile ...
The director of MONSOON WEDDING reflects on the different worlds she has lived in and shares some of the films that have helped her cross between them.
A former writer and correspondent for THE DAILY SHOW, the star of Barry Jenkins’s MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY, and the producer and host of the HBO series “Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas,” comedian and actor Wyatt Cenac is also a passionate cinephile who, unsurprisingly, has strong insights into what ma...
The Oscar-winning director of THE SHAPE OF WATER and PAN’S LABYRINTH sat down with MYTHBUSTERS’ Adam Savage to talk about the cinematic inspirations that fuel his flights of phantasmagoria—and to introduce some of his favorite films.
Tony-winning actor, director, activist, and bon vivant Alan Cumming is known for both his chameleonic performances (this is a man, after all, who has played every role in “Macbeth”) and charmingly irreverent wit. In this edition of Adventures in Moviegoing, the stage and screen star sits down wit...
Acclaimed author Jhumpa Lahiri shares her picks and talks about watching Bengali films with her mother, who was nearly cast in PATHER PANCHALI, as well as seeing her own novel THE NAMESAKE adapted into a film by Mira Nair.
The director of IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK and MOONLIGHT joined us to talk about film school, second impressions, and the art of seeing as an amateur—and to select an eclectic group of personal favorites.
The undisputed kings of kinetic, adrenaline-rush cinema that unfolds at the heart-stopping pace of a New York minute, Josh and Benny Safdie have been keeping audiences on the edge of their seats (and on the verge of a panic attack) for over a decade with whirlwind character studies like UNCUT GEM...
British director Edgar Wright, the avid genre remixer behind SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, BABY DRIVER, and LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, sits down with critic Alicia Malone to discuss his early moviegoing memories (including sneaking into GREMLINS as a child), his abiding love ...
The Booker Prize–winning author of “A Brief History of Seven Killings” and “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” talks about violence, gay relationships, and desperate characters in cinema, and selects some of his favorite films.
Guest programmer Julie Taymor—renowned for her Broadway-conquering production of “The Lion King” and films like FRIDA, TITUS, and ACROSS THE UNIVERSE—sat down with critic Michael Sragow to talk about the movies that have shaped her as an artist. In a wide-ranging discussion that touches on her fo...
The creator of RATATOUILLE’s arch-critic Anton Ego doesn’t hate reviewers—he even sat down with one to talk about some of his favorite movies!
The leading scorer in NBA history traces his journey from basketball superstar to writer and cultural critic with filmmaker Philip Kaufman, in a conversation that touches on sports, jazz, and the moral stakes of samurai movies.
The comedian and actor presents a selection of his favorite films, and talks about watching movies with his dad, fart jokes in Ozu pictures, and why Bergman’s THE VIRGIN SPRING is hilarious. Be warned—some introductions contain plot spoilers!
The director of inventive indie hits like LOOPER and BRICK, Rian Johnson brought his unique sensibility to the multiplex with the 2017 blockbuster STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI. A passionate cinephile, he sat down with Alicia Malone to present a lineup of favorites that unsurprisingly reflect his fasc...
The filmmaker and novelist shares stories of discovering movies with her artistically adventurous parents and explores her taste for emotionally gripping films that push the boundaries of realism.
From childhood weekends in Chicago movie theaters to eye-opening art-house encounters at Cambridge’s Brattle Theatre, the acclaimed writer-director recounts the cinematic experiences that shaped his eclectic career.
The author and longtime “New Yorker” contributor sat down with Antonio Monda to share some of his favorite films, including THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG and ORPHEUS.
Guest programmer Paul Dano discusses his admiration for Yasujiro Ozu, his experience working with Paul Thomas Anderson, and the films that have shaped him as an artist both in front of and behind the camera.
