I’m an Eighties Kid

I was born in 1974, so my awareness of cinema, like many of my generation, blossomed around 1980 when I was introduced to Star Wars by my classmates (the first Star Wars figure I ever held was Princess Leia and the first video my dad rented us was The Empire Strikes Back) so the blockbusters of the 80s heavily coloured my interest in cinema… and probably ruined my life enough for me to become obsessed with films forever.

Other than those Lucas-Spielberg classics (E.T. is probably the film dearest to my heart), I was also very much into the films of Joe Dante, particularly Gremlins, which I haven’t been able to help referencing in my own films, and Innerspace, which is just one of my favourite films ever. This led me to go back to the films of the 50s, where some of Dante’s actors starred in films like Invasion of the Bodysnatchers: I just love small-town paranoia vibes.

Another huge influence for me was and remains Back to the Future, for its wide-eyed adventure and Twilight Zone freakiness, but also for its frankly PERFECT skateboard chase scene. That stunt where Marty jumps over Biff’s car and lands neatly on the other side where his skateboard is waiting for him… I wanted to do that, I wanted to be him. There is a lot of skating in my movies… and more on that soon.

Below is a gallery of some of my favourites and main influences: