Kevin Bacon

“And the first thing that I found is up here, Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa. And the reason that I picked this movie, I’m embarrassed to say, is that I’ve never seen it. I mean, every single person that considers themself to be a lover of cinema always talks about this movie. So I’m starting out with a confession. And this is going right in the bag, and I’m going to look at this ASAP.”

“What we got here? Oh. I picked The Blob. I’m from Philly. My brother has a house in a town nearby called Phoenixville. And in Phoenixville there’s a theater, which is a great local movie house which I’m big supporters of. And they show The Blob every year, because The Blob was filmed in this theater, and they have– I’ve never been to this, but this is apparently incredible, they have a… a festival where everybody goes and watches The Blob. And when The Blob comes into the movie theater, everyone stands up and runs out in the street, onto the streets of Phoenixville, PA. So if you ever are a really big Blob fan, look to the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, PA, and you will get a chance to relive The Blob. I’m also a big horror movie fan, as people might know.”

“Oh. Do the Right Thing. The performances are just so great. So many actors who I admire. Spike, and then Turturro, Danny Aiello, and Giancarlo Esposito. People that I’ve crossed paths with or worked with through the years, a very solidly New York group. And a great movie. What an innovative and interesting filmmaker.”

“Gimme Shelter. Okay, well, I was a giant Rolling Stones fan, and it is one of the most chilling and interesting and disturbing documentaries about the flip side of… crowds and of fandom and of rock and roll, and certainly so emblematic of a turn from the ’60s love-child generation to where we kind of went, for a while, in the direction of the ’70s towards the ’80s, and it’s just like… breathtaking, breathtaking movie.”

“Oh, yeah. Sullivan’s Travels. So I was never, like, an old movie fan when I was a kid. My film-loving… perspective really came from The Godfather and Dog Day Afternoon, Panic in Needle Park. You know, those screwy ’70s… The French Connection. Those are the kind of movies that I cut my teeth on. Not as an actor, but as a filmgoer. But then, probably deep into my 20s, I started looking at old movies and discovered the movies of Preston Sturges, who I think is such an interesting director. And this one is: Joel McCrea’s a director, and I do like movies, although they don’t always do well, about the movie business where they have a tongue-in-cheek and interesting point of view about this crazy job that we have. So he’s someone that wants to do the ultimate sort of… approach his movie-making in a Method way, and have a kind of long-range ride-along, so he goes across the country exploring that. And this is a great, fun, hilarious look at that and social comment.”

“Okay, yeah, so this is The Fugitive Kind. Directed by Sidney Lumet, who’s one of my favorite directors, and written by… I don’t know if Tennessee Williams wrote the screenplay or it was based on Tennessee Williams’s play, which was called Orpheus Descending. And I guess that studio decided that Orpheus Descending was a little too highbrow a title. This is the first Marlon Brando movie that I saw, before On the Waterfront and Streetcar Named Desire, or obviously The Godfather, Apocalypse. And I was so struck with the turn in acting and this kind of acting, this kind of like super naturalistic, edgy, dangerous kind of thing. And he just was a master of that. All you got to do is look at that cover. There he is in that snakeskin jacket and, you know, it’s just… It’s great. I haven’t seen it in a long time, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“For my last pick, I am going to close my eyes and do a random pick. Here we go. Jules and Jim. Jules et Jim. Now… This is funny. There’s two little… animals that come around our house every summer, and I’ve named them Jules and Jim.”