Eric Goode

“But I was just really blown away that you could just buy a snow leopard. For me, it was like buying a panda bear or a Komodo dragon.”

“I was definitely an 80s fashion victim who drank the Kool-Aid.”

“There is animal rights and animals rights organizations like PETA, then there's animal welfare, which is very different than animal rights.”

“I knew a notorious reptile dealer who would send me animals for Area. I regret that. I mean, the landlord had wolves and an arctic fox upstairs and quite possibly a tiger.”

“I guess you could say I'm a closeted animal person, because a lot of my life I did it in secrecy. I was always fascinated with exotic animals, particularly reptiles, from the age of 6 when I got a pet tortoise.”

“Look, when we were building Area, we were so driven and focused, partly because none of us came from money.”

“When I was in nightclubs, I thought they were a really important way for young people who come to New York to meet people and connect.”

“I can only imagine there still have to be nightclubs where 21-year-olds go.”

“Later in life, I started an organization that works to save tortoises and turtles that are threatened, but in full disclosure, I still always had a fascination with people who kept animals.”

“But in this case people have hundreds and hundreds of animals, they have a menagerie. You can't possibly love that many animals. So, it's more about the ego and the pride of having all of these things sort of like a car collection or a gun collection.”

“At the end of the day, the best sanctuaries are places like the Performing Animal Welfare Society in Northern California, where he really provides his tigers large spaces. And there are people in the private sector that do a really good job with animals.”

“I did a CNN pilot but they decided I wasn't Anthony Bourdain.”

“When something changes in Episode 7, you have to then begin moving things around, shuffling things backwards. Once you start moving material into it, that can derail your whole arc.”

“I spent countless hours hiking up and down Carriger Creek. That was a time of my life when I really connected with nature as a child, and my mom really promoted that.”

“There are times when you do have to bring animals into captivity to save a species like California Condors, or Arabian Aurochs. But they have something called species survival plans, and they do it in a very thoughtful way and are careful with the genetics.”

“I was a kid that loved reptiles and eventually started an organization dedicated to saving turtles and tortoises, called the Turtle Conservancy, where we protect land and basically do species conservation around the world.”

“The Standard in Hollywood, when you check in, they have that sort of Area-like vignette behind the front desk with someone sleeping behind glass. An actual person.”

“Then I began filming a world that I knew quite a bit about. I was peripherally involved in that world much of my life - the exotic reptile world, the collectors, the dealers, the smugglers.”

“The tiger people, the reptile people, they all have sort of unique subcultures. Kind of like 'Best in Show.'”

“I probably spent about 40 percent of 2019 on a plane and filming.”