Dan Levy

“I'm starting with Moonstruck. I think it's my all-time favorite movie. I think it's one of the greatest screenplays ever written. I think every performance in this movie is pitch perfect, and whenever I am in need of inspiration I put it on, and anytime I meet someone new and they haven't seen it, I will sit down with them and watch it, and that I think is the joy of movie making and movie watching. So we move on.”

“Tokyo Story. If you have not watched it, watch it. I watched it when I was very young and didn't understand it, and then the older I get the more I do understand it and the more I love it. Just a dream, one of the greatest movies ever made. I also want to say that in film school our film history class was at 9:00 a. M. On a Monday morning, which meant that all of us would immediately fall asleep the minute we got into a dark theater and like a black and white film came on, which is a horrible thing to say, but you know what, I'm in the closet, I'm telling the truth. So I'm still playing catch-up from all of those films that I unfortunately slept through because who schedules a screening at a 9:00 a. M. With a, you know, I was 18.”

“So, The Piano Teacher. It's not a comedy, and when I worked at a video store I would often recommend it to people, because I thought it was like an impressive movie to recommend to someone as like a young person. Oftentimes I'd recommend to families, not quite knowing, I hadn't seen it at the time. So I was kind of like, the cover looks, you know what I mean, it's like an, it looks like an important movie, and then I saw it and was like, oh no. Not kid-friendly. It's as good as I hoped it would be. I would now not recommend it for family viewing, but unbelievable performances and it is, gosh, it packs a punch. Wish I could take back some of those recommendations, from the video store, but you know what.”

“Election. This was one of those movies that made me realize that actors make very, very smart choices. Reese Witherspoon's choice to make this movie coming off of everything that she had been previously known for, I thought was so great. It was such a smart move, she was so brilliant in it, and it also showed a kind of like professional fearlessness, which I think as actors you hope that you get the opportunity to express. So Election. Reese, I love you.”

“One of the great love stories ever told. I could watch this movie over and over and over again. I mean, it goes without saying, Love & Basketball, always and forever. Watch it if you haven't.”

“Weekend. This was probably one of the first films that I saw that really spoke to like gay storytelling in a way that didn't feel heavy-handed, it didn't feel kind of we were telling the story. It was the first time that I just saw people existing in a way that felt so real, and, owe a lot to Andrew, and this is apparently director-approved, so Andrew, thank you, in advance for letting me take this home and for this beautiful, beautiful movie.”

“The Daytrippers. Parker Posey is someone who, I mean, I have tried in my life to watch every single one of her movies. One of the great actors of her time, our time, my time. Anyway, watch this movie, watch the entire Parker Posey catalog, frankly. You can start here, it's a good, it's a good place to start.”

“So The Virgin Suicides has a very special place in my heart. I was, taking a film production summer camp in Toronto, Canada, and we were asked, whether we wanted to go on a field trip, and the field trip was to the set of a movie that at the time we didn't know, we didn't know what the movie was, but it turned out to be The Virgin Suicides. And I remember like sitting, I must have been like 16 or 17, sitting with my film summer camp talking to Josh Hartnett, who was about to shoot that scene in the pool, and I remember him saying like, "It's really nice to meet you all, I am now going to come out in the tiniest pair of swim shorts you've ever seen in your life.", which I was like, you know, you got to do what you got to do, I guess. Anyway, it was like the first taste of filmmaking, and I never got to meet Sofia on the set of this movie, but I remember thinking like what a generous thing to invite a film production camp to your set. And her support funnily enough has like carried through my whole career. When Schitt's Creek was in its last season, we got, like a letter I guess from her saying how much she loved the show and wanted to send us champagne for the last day of shooting, and this full circle moment of like being on set for this movie, being so affected by her work, and then having her kind of congratulate our show on its last day with champagne, it was like, it was a pinch-me great moment. And I've only met her once and it was in passing and I didn't get to quite tell her how I felt, but Sofia, thank you for your generosity and thank you for playing like a big part in the inspiration of my career.”

“I think for my last, I mean I could be here for quite literally seven hours, so I think what I'm going to do is just close my eyes and pick, but I think I'm going to go on this wall because there are some older movies that I have not seen on this wall, and so I'm going to just close the eyes, I'm going to just close the eyes and... Kagemusha, Kurosawa. It's time. I have not seen it, it is time I watch it.”