Billy Crudup

“Well, I have to get Kicking and Screaming. I just did a movie with Noah, and they did a tribute to him at Telluride, and the opening scene of the tribute was with Josh Hamilton, who’s a very good friend of mine, and I’ve known him for a long time in New York, and I was quite jealous that he got the part, in fact. Noah, he made up some B. S. That I was up for it, but I don’t think I was ever up for it. Anyway, Josh was spectacular and I can’t wait to watch that one again.”

“Okay, I need to find a great western now. I’ve gotten really into westerns. So, My Darling Clementine will be another of my western explorations. Henry Fonda is one of my favorite actors, but I was saying that I recently saw The Ox-Bow Incident, I think that’s what it’s called, this western, which is a fantastic movie, really about a lot of the things that are happening now, too, about right and wrong, how do we deal with… how do we set a moral ethic for a society that’s lawless? This was really, you know, important stuff that was happening in the late 19th century in America with the Wild West after the Civil War. And they made some really, really great, poignant movies.”

“12 Angry Men is one of my all-time favorites. Speaking of sort of opportunities to explore society and morality and the changing political climate that America tends to always go through. It does seem to be our most common attribute. This movie tells a really, really interesting story.”

“Okay, Carnal Knowledge. I know this is a great film. I’ve heard about it a million times and I’ve never seen it. And it seems like something I would love because Mike Nichols is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time. So now I’m going to get some knowledge.”

“Okay, well, I’ve got to take this one home. This is Mulholland Dr. And I know someone in this film. I remember seeing it when it came out here at the… It must have been a premiere in New York because Justin Theroux is a very good friend of mine and he said, “Come see my opening.” And we did, and what a spectacular film it was, and a great performance by my future wife.”

“So, yeah, No Country for Old Men, Coen brothers. Cormac McCarthy is one of my favorite authors and the Coen brothers are some of my favorite filmmakers, and I had worked with Frances McDormand before and, when this script came out and I was of the right age for it, when I auditioned, I don’t think there’s anything I’d ever wanted more. I gave it my all, and then when I saw it, I was like, “No, that was never my part. Josh Brolin owned that.” And that’s a great one to have in the collection because, every time it’s on, I stop everything and watch it, even though I could record it and watch it another time, there’s something about the momentum of it that is infectious. It’s impossible to stop.”

“There’s Defending Your Life. It’s kind of a good example of the movies that I like there, and it’s so inventive, and you’ve got this unbelievable performance by Rip Torn right in the middle, with the most fabulous way to understand and take on the existential crisis. I’m sure I’ve got another one in there, but okay.”

“Yeah, I would like for you guys to point me in the direction of some movie that I wouldn’t know. Any genre. So now I’ve got Matewan by John Sayles, and I am absurdly ignorant when it comes to the films of John Sayles, and he is somebody that all of the people that I admire look up to. So now I’ve got more than a starting-off point. I have seen some of his films, or at least one of his films, but this one, I am told, is a classic.”