Paul W. Downs

“Election is one of my all-time favorites. I think Alexander Payne is brilliant. The tone is so specific and so good. And of course, Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon are so great in it, but the supporting actors in this movie are incredible. Chris Klein is so well cast for the part. And then one of my favorite scenes is his younger sister also campaigns to be class president and has an amazing speech. That speech in the auditorium I could watch again and again and again.”

“Being John Malkovich. Also one of my favorite movies. I don’t know, it’s just so creative. I’m also– I’m from New Jersey, so anything that has the Jersey Turnpike in it, you know, I’m gonna love. The melancholy of this movie is just really special. And I think it also really informed my sense of storytelling because it was so out there. It was one that I watched many, many times. And still could. Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich. And Charlie Kaufman, I mean, we have to give props.”

“So this is Vanya on 42nd Street. This movie is really remarkable because, if you haven’t seen it, basically they shoot it in a dilapidated theater and it is, I think, one of the best portrayals of Chekhov’s work because, as a realist, it wasn’t all about theatrics and melodrama, and this movie is so interesting because it’s really intimate and the camera follows these actors around the space. Julianne Moore is in it, who can do no wrong. And Brooke Smith is really brilliant in this movie.”

“Tootsie is... Okay, first of all, Teri Garr in this movie – there’s a moment where she’s at the table and Dustin Hoffman admits what’s been going on and she stands up and she goes, 'What are you doing to me?!' It’s so funny. It’s one that I love also because, even though obviously the premise of it seems insane: this actor dresses as a woman to get a role, but at the same time, it’s all played in such a grounded way that it just really... I think it’s emotional and it’s funny.”

“I’m going to grab Traffic because Steven Soderbergh is one of my favorite directors. I think that he is so incredible. And you know what? His style seems to me to change based on the story he’s telling. It’s not like he has one particular style, one particular look. It feels so inconspicuous to me, even though something like this is interesting because, in Traffic, it’s the story of drugs and politics and sex, and we’re seeing different storylines that are differently color-graded.”