Yahoo News 10 unexpected favourite films of celebrities
Rightly or wrongly, we build a picture of celebrities in our minds – one that probably isn't always very three-dimensional.
Daniel Day Lewis is a serious chap, so he probably loves serious films like 8½ and The Passion of Joan of Arc, while Adam Sandler is no doubt a fan of slapstick comedies, right?
But as you will see, it doesn't always do to judge a book – or Blu-ray – by its cover.
1. Christian Bale – Beverly Hills Ninja
In an interview with Esquire, Bale claimed not to be a "cinemaphile". He's seen Blue Velvet and The Wild Bunch, but not Breakfast at Tiffany's or The Philadelphia Story. But he has seen Chris Farley's critically-derided final film.
"Beverly Hills Ninja will always remain one of my tops," he said. "I have watched that movie. One time I sat down and watched it two nights in a row, and cried with laughter both times. The guy just was a phenomenon, and is missed dearly in my household."
2. Lady Gaga – Rocky
We would have expected something sensitive and artsy, but it turns out that Lady Gaga has a thing for Sylvester Stallone's boxing champ, who was apparently an inspiration for 'The Edge of Glory'.
"Rocky is the ideal man," she told MTV. "I never wanted to be the rock star, I wanted to be the girlfriend – I never wanted to be Rocky, I wanted to be Adrian."
3. Vin Diesel – Gone with the Wind
He may be best known for his action movies (and, well, being a big D&D nerd), but it turns out he's partial to the odd romantic drama.
"I love Clark Gable epics, but there is something more about this one. If you think about it," he told Cindy Pearlman for her book You Gotta See This, "Gone with the Wind really is the first action movie... This was also shot way before the days of computer-generated effects. You can still watch the burning of Atlanta today and marvel at the technical brilliance of this film.
"I love an epic that's laced with love. Has there ever been a better big-screen love story? I have to tell you that I was so in love with Vivien Leigh. She was so beautiful. So perfect. That delicate little face. Gorgeous."
4. Morgan Freeman – Moulin Rouge!
We've always thought of Morgan Freeman as a serious, stately type, so we can't help but be surprised that he's been harbouring a love of Baz Luhrmann's lavish musical all these years.
"It's that kind of movie where you can kick back and just enjoy," he said in You Gotta See This. "Everything about it is outstanding. Forget saying that it's to die for. It's to cry for. I've never seen anything done quite that well."
5. Kevin Smith – A Man for All Seasons
Kevin Smith's cinematic oeuvre has always hinted at him being a lover of comic books and indie cinema rather than historical drama. Shows what we know.
"A Man for All Seasons is basically porn for people who love dialogue," he told Rotten Tomatoes. "It's always appealed to me. I was 13 years old the first time I saw it. Absolutely fell in love with it because it's wall-to-wall language with compelling performances. And [it's] about something to me, in terms that I was raised Catholic."
6. Tony Blair – Rush Hour
Pinch of salt at the ready, but Cherie Blair apparently revealed to Jackie Chan that his odd-couple outing with Chris Tucker is beloved by the former prime minister.
"I have to say the Prime Minister is a bit of a fan," she said. "He tells me that Rush Hour is his favourite." No word on how he felt about the sequels, we're sorry to say.
7. David Fincher – Animal House
Some years back, the Fight Club director revealed a list of his 26 favourite films. It contains the sorts of things you would suspect, like Chinatown, Rear Window, 8½ and Citizen Kane.
It also includes National Lampoon's Animal House, which hasn't had any discernible impact on his consistently dark thrillers. Mad Max 2: Road Warrior is an only slightly less surprising choice.
8. Tilda Swinton – Brüno
In a video that tragically appears to have been lost to posterity, Tilda Swinton allegedly listed Sacha Baron Cohen's silly comedy Brüno.
We can only imagine the comments she made about its "beautiful pathos" and how it speaks to the "Promethean child in all of us".
9. Eva Mendes – Fitzcarraldo
Actress Eva Mendes may not be known for making the most high-brow of movies (not since Training Day, anyway), but it doesn't do to underestimate her. She has a thing for Werner Herzog, apparently – particularly his famously gruelling production Fitzcarraldo.
"I had the pleasure of working with the director of this film, Werner Herzog, recently," she told Rotten Tomatoes. "He is one of my all-time favourite filmmakers. In Fitzcarraldo, he manages to bring an opera house into a Peruvian jungle. What an amazing concept!
10. JJ Abrams – Tootsie
The Force Awakens director loves Star Wars: A New Hope and Jaws, which doesn't come as a huge surprise. He also loves Tootsie, a film about Dustin Hoffman pretending to be a woman to land a job in a soap opera.
"It is as preposterous premise as they come and yet you completely believe it is real and happening," he said.
We're not sure we believe this is real and happening.
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