Paul Rudd

“And Withnail and I is right at the top of that list. I was about 22 years old and a friend of mine had a videotape and said, "I think you'd like this movie." And I watched it, and then I rewound it and watched it again. I'd never done that before. It's proof that you can make one of the funniest movies ever and it's tragic, it's sad, and heartbreaking. And everyone in it is brilliant.”

“Boyhood. I think Richard Linklater is the great American director. We have many of them, but I don’t think people take as many big swings as Richard Linklater. I also think that maybe the greatest thing that’s ever been put on film is the Michael Apted 7 Up series, and Boyhood is like that in narrative form, in a fictional movie. And I saw it at Sundance and it destroyed me, because to focus on all of the connective tissue between major events in people’s lives, and you see it unfold over the course of many, many years. It’s stunning, and I’m a massive fan.”

“I know people have picked this before, but Defending Your Life. Four movies that Albert Brooks did in a row, starting with Real Life, which was incredibly prescient, to Modern Romance to Lost in America to Defending Your Life, is maybe the… is a murderers' row, it's Meet the Beatles! To Sgt. Pepper. But Defending Your Life I'm picking because it might be the most high-concept comedy that I know of. And all of the performances: Rip Torn is amazing, Meryl Streep is unreal, but every single minor actor that has maybe one scene: the guy in a sushi restaurant or the comic on stage. You know, Albert Brooks uses this stable of actors. They're all perfect. He can take a joke that's hilarious and then make it even a little bit better. It's amazing to see Shirley MacLaine pop up in the Pavilion of Past Lives. But then to hear just, "Oh my God!" coming from the Wings, who thinks of that? Albert Brooks. That's why he's a genius.”

“Secrets & Lies. I do love Mike Leigh. I love his films. But there was a moment in this film from Timothy Spall where he has such an emotional outburst after sitting on emotions throughout a lot of the film, I thought. And when he did this, I burst into tears and I thought, "I don't know of a performance that was so restrained that just exploded." I've thought about that moment for years, and the power of restraint.”

“This is a concert film. It's Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus. I must say, I actually haven't seen Opus. I have wanted to, but I wanted to bring this up because Ryuichi Sakamoto's someone I actually kind of share with my son, who is a massive fan and actually the one who really showed me the light. My son heard Last Emperor and said, "Wait a minute." And he was young. A little kid. And it kind of set him on a direction. And because of him and because of that, I then went down the Sakamoto rabbit hole, to YMO and all of the things that he did, including acting and scoring Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. He's an exceptional artist. Everyone should know who he is. It's a tragedy that we lost him recently. But what a treasure that we get to experience him through Opus, Coda, and every other incredible piece of art that he created.”

“I just saw this one. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I was, I think, maybe in sixth grade, seventh grade when I saw it. But Amy Heckerling, who I adore and made the movie Clueless, also made this, and I can't think of another person who has their finger on the pulse of what kids are going through and what they're saying. And it's easy, actually, to almost overlook how talented she is and how brilliant this movie is. People think in terms of comedy or drama, and life is all of that. And you have a scene where Sean Penn is ordering a pizza at a class, which is a big, funny sequence. And then you also have a young girl in high school getting an abortion, and this exists in the same movie. And it does so with care and dexterity and elegance that Amy Heckerling really captured. She should be doing whatever she wants.”