The oddly named director (born Joseph McGinty Nichol) of the new Terminator Salvation gets serious about his music, his Camaros, and early-20th-century analytical psychologists.
Interviewed by Scott Stein
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Clothing
I love cafe racer motorcycle jackets—the slim-fitting ones that don’t have a collar. The nature and age of the leather can be very interesting. No two are alike. It’s part of my general Steve McQueen obsession. Some I get from vintage leather stores, some from collectors. It’s a treasure hunt—I’m always on the prowl for them.
Media
I’m very passionate about my vinyl collection. I’ve got about 10,000 records, including every piece of vinyl ever generated by the Smiths. Greek vinyl, clear vinyl, blue vinyl, one-offs from all over the world—everything.
Ride
I collect old cars and motorcycles, and I’ve got a few ‘69 Camaros. But the car I want is a correct Yenko Camaro. Yenko was a dealership that had such a strong relationship with Chevrolet that Chevy made them a special-edition Camaro. That’s what I want.
Camera
I’m a diehard Leica camera fan, especially the M series. The manner in which these cameras are made, the fineness and the whole philosophy that goes into Leica, is incredible.
Book
My favorite book is the Carl Jung autobiography Memories, Dreams, Reflections. I grew up pretty academically. I read Freud, but I found myself ultimately more in tune with his disciples—Adler and Jung in particular.This book is the grand embodiment of all Jung’s ideas.
Getaway
I spent so long not traveling because of my fear of flying that now it’s a passion. My favorite places are the Covent Garden Hotel in London and Akihabara, Tokyo. I’m friends with the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, and he took me to see this group AKB48—51 Japanese girls who sing pop songs. We’re making an art installation around them.
Album
I’m from the suburbs, where everyone was a bit of a pussy, and the Sex Pistols captured a 1970s youth-against-establishment culture so foreign to my own.
Tool
It’s usually a chain saw, because I marvel at its power and destructive capacity. Stihl makes one I really like. I like to wear my nylon Stihl hat and use the chain saw and feel like I’m not the pussy that people know me to be.
This article originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
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