1. When did you think about a career in the film industry and what were your first steps into it?
I entered the business as a child actor and always wanted to direct and write as well as act. My first step into making films was saving up to buy an 8mm camera and edit equipment when I was around eight and making films with all of my friends. After performing on Broadway through my teens I used that money to put myself through New York University film school.
2. Best gigs you've been to?
The Feelies at Maxwells in Hoboken, 1983. The greatest modern American rock band at the greatest American venue. Glad I was around for many shows at Maxwells.
George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars at The Palace in Los Angeles, 1989. Still unrivalled as the best live music act, and Eddie Hazel played at this gig, so there's that.
The Soft Boys at Royal Festival Hall, London, England, October 2001. My favourite band doing their thing for those of us who didn't catch them the first go round.
3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band?
Miles Davis with the original quintet.
4. The record you would take to a desert island?
Lou Reed's New York, so I wouldn't be homesick. And it's phenomenal.
5. And the book you would bring to a desert island?
Dostoevsky's The Idiot, because it has everything I love in literature in one novel.
6. Top three films?
I don't really have top movies, they change constantly, but as of this moment I'd say:
Mizoguchi's Ugetsu - a haunting, lyrical and profoundly moving film. Pure cinema; Kurosawa's Ran - the best modern interpretation of Shakespeare I've seen on screen or stage; and Charlie Chaplin's City Lights. An epic with as much heart as humour which wrote the rules for most of what followed in western cinema.
7. Worst film you've seen?
Pasolini's Salo. I love Pasolini but I found this film to be wallowing in the same muck it was trying to condemn.
8. Favourite authors?
Fyodor Dostoevsky, JG Ballard and Gustave Flaubert.
9. Sports you most enjoy and top player?
Skiing. I enjoy watching competitive tennis and right now can't get enough of Naomi Osaka.
10. Ideal holiday destination?
Thailand for its unparalleled beauty and cuisine.
11. What's your favourite:
Dinner? A quiet one with my wife and kids. We cook a lot, and my wife makes amazing Japanese dishes.
Dessert? Rhubarb pie.
Drink? A good coffee with my home-roasted beans.
13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other?
My wife Ramsey. We met on a job which I always swore I would never do. I've learned it's good to be open-minded, it took me a while.
14. Is there a God?
There is something in this universe that's bigger than our puny selves with our puny brains. Who's to say what that is?
15. What are you working on next?
My documentary Zappa is out now. And my previous documentary Showbiz Kids just went wide in the UK and Ireland on Apple TV and Amazon. That's a very personal film for me and I'm very proud of it. I'm working on a documentary now on the history and implications of YouTube that will be out next year.
Alex Winter will join Docs Ireland for an in-depth look into his career including the Warner Bros hit The Lost Boys, the wildly popular Bill & Ted franchise and documentary work including Deep Web, Downloaded, The Panama Papers and Trust Machine: The Story Of Blockchain. For tickets and full programme visit Docsireland.ie.
