Los Angeles has the greatest concentration of surviving movie palaces in the United States, yet most residents have never been inside one of them.

Dumbo... makes me cry. Every single time and in the exact same spot. I just have a special affection for Dumbo.

Not so much a film as a visual essay, exquisitely directed and photographed (by Sacha Vierny)... Difficult to watch but well worthwhile for those willing to be challenged.

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse... by Floyd Gottfredson will be warmly received by comics aficionados but should also intrigue Disney animation buffs who aren’t necessarily plugged into comic strip history... I have a feeling that this book, crafted with such obvious care, will earn Gottfredson a new legion of admirers.

Shakespeare wrote great plays that we're still watching all these years later. Charlie Chaplin made great comedies and they are still as funny today as they ever were.

Timing in life is everything.

I teach at USC. I have a big class of 360 kids, only about a fifth of whom are film majors. I don't just show the Hollywood blockbusters. I show independent films, foreign films, documentaries.