(wind howling)
(upbeat music)
Chloé: What do you wanna know?
Hi, I’m Chloé Zhao
and I want you
to Watch With Me.
You know, on my list, on my watchlist
whether it's a sci-fi genre or a drama genre
all [these] filmmakers
have a strong sense
of world building.
You know, it transports you
into a world
beyond your greatest imagination.
Just taking you away from your life.
Blade Runner 2049
every detail
the structures
colors.
How is this character interacting with that location?
Joi: You look lonely.
Chloé: All of that says so much about that character.
He's trying to search for his sense of
identity and his destiny.
As a filmmaker
and as a human
Interstellar had a really important
influence on me.
Cooper: Let's get out of here.
Chloé: Just how ahead of its time that film was.
Professor Brand: We must confront the reality.
Cooper: Okay, let's mask up.
Professor Brand: That nothing
in our solar system
can help us.
Chloé: I didn't cry
the first time I watched it.
But between when that film first came out
and where we are in the world.
Professor Brand: Your daughter's generation
will be the last to survive on Earth.
Chloé: As a human being on this planet
I sobbed at the end this time.
Cooper: I've got kids, Professor.
Professor Brand: Get out there and save them.
Chloé: I think in another 10 years
when we watch Interstellar
there's gonna take a whole different meaning
about our relationship with our planet.
Our planet's relationship with the cosmos
and what's the destiny of humanity?
Cooper: Here we go.
Chloé: That's always more
beautiful in that film.
Saruman: Who now has the strength
to stand against Mordor
and the union of the Two Towers?
Chloé: Lord of the Rings is just
epic in scale.
The places these characters go
the landscape
the epic battles.
It makes you fall in love with characters
and watch them going through
all these struggles.
Galadriel: The strength
of the ring bearer is failing.
Chloé: They want you
to look at them and go
“Please, don't give up, Frodo.”
“Don't give up hope!”
I think Andrea Arnold as a filmmaker
you know, she's someone I really look up to.
I think she has a very strong sense of place.
You know, when you watch Wuthering Heights
you know, this filmmaker
isn't just staring at her actor.
She's constantly looking.
What else
around it can we capture?
And how these characters
are interacting with the place
says so much about
the innocence and the love
that these characters have for each other.
I constantly think about
Terrence Malick
when I make films
no matter in what genre
and how I can go beyond
what's on the page.
Try to capture something universal.
The New World's one of my favorite movies
of all time
because I left home and I came to
a country where I didn't speak the language.
That moment in history
is so complicated.
But the director, Terrence Malick
was able to
capture it with so much
empathy and vulnerability
through Pocahontas and
John Smith's point of view.
Pocahontas: Meskinsek.
Chloé: For me, so much of my youth
is watching people without
understanding what they're saying.
John Smith: Eyes.
Chloé: There's one
moment in the film
has such a
huge impact on me as a filmmaker.
The way he contrasted her
imminent passing
with the most
joyous expression that she was giving.
He's captured an essence
about mortality
and about
where we belong.
Werner Herzog: You know exactly what
is going to happen on July 1st.
Michael Perry: Yeah, the execution. Mhm.
Chloé: If you asked me today
who is important to watch their film
I think Werner Herzog is definitely one of them.
And Into the Abyss
the film is a heavy subject
but that's not what the film is all about.
That's where the genius
Werner Herzog is.
It's always about more.
Fred Allen: You got your birth date
and you've got the day that you're deceased
and you got that little dash in the middle.
That's your life right there.
Chloé: He shows you how much life can shock you
and how magnificent
it is to be alive
in the most bittersweet way.
Buffy: I'm Buffy
the Vampire Slayer, and you are?
Demon: (grunting)
Chloé: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
is a very important show for me.
Buffy: Anyone who's not having fun here
follow me.
Chloé: It was everything for me
for a few years in college.
I'm fangirling so much in this process.
Buffy: You know very well
you eat this late
you're gonna get heartburn.
Get it?
Heartburn?
Chloé: Vampires, witchcraft
teen romance.
I mean
what else do you want?
This was my watchlist
and make sure
to check it out
on Google TV.
That’s a wrap! (claps)
(upbeat music)