Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - GGACP Classic: Matthew Modine

Episode Date: August 17, 2023

GGACP congratulates actor Matthew Modine on the phenomenal success of “Oppenheimer” (yay, movie theaters!) by revisiting this unforgettable and wildly entertaining interview from 2021. In this epi...sode, Matthew talks about the awkwardness of sex scenes, the unpredictability of chimps and the cruel fate of "Cutthroat Island" and looks back on his working relationships with Robert Altman, John Schlesinger and Stanley Kubrick. Also, Bruce Dern bumps off The Duke, Wallace Shawn stars in "12 Angry Men," Oliver Reed shows off a very special tattoo and Matthew and Gilbert co-star in the unforgettable "Funky Monkey." PLUS: Jiminy Glick! Ray Walston! "Jesus Was a Commie"! The cinema of Alan Pakula! The poetry of R. Lee Ermey! And Matthew remembers the legendary Albert Finney! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:57 Trivia and dirty jokes, an evening with the boys. Once is never good enough For something so fantastic So here's another Gilbert and Franks Here's another Gilbert and Franks Here's another Gilbert and Franks Colossal classic Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast with my co-host, Frank Santopadre.
Starting point is 00:01:48 Our guest this week is a writer, producer, award-winning director, and one of the most admired and versatile stage and screen actors of the last four decades. You've seen his work in hit TV series like Weeds, The West Wing, and Stranger Things, the made-for-TV movies What the Deaf Man Heard, Too Big to Fail, and the documentary Operation Varsity Blues, the college admission scandal,andal, as well as HBO's And The Band Played On, for which he was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries. But it's his work on the big screen that's brought him international acclaim and recognition in films such as Screamers, Vision Quest, Birdie, Baby, It's You, Orphans, Married to the Mob, Memphis Bell, Shortcuts, Equinox,
Starting point is 00:02:59 Any Given Sunday, The Dark Knight Rises, and Cutthroat Island, and of course as the wise-cracking private joker in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 anti-war epic Full Metal Jacket. In a professional career that began way back when he saw a movie about the making of Oliver in his dad's drive-in theater, he'd eventually work with some of cinema's most esteemed actors and directors, including previously mentioned Stanley Kubrick, as well as Albert Finney, Gary Oldman, Sir Ian McKellen, Julianne Moore, Bruce Stern, John Schlesinger, Alan Parker, James Ivory, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Christopher Nolan, and Robert Altman, just to name a few.
Starting point is 00:04:10 He's also achieved success as a writer and director, helming music videos, as well as award-winning short films such as Jesus Was a Commie, When I Was a Boy, and I Think I Thought. The guy even won the New Media Award for Best App for Matthew Modine's Full Metal Jacket Diary iPad App project. But let's be honest, folks. For all of his numerous accomplishments, this man's most memorable work to date was sharing the screen with me, Gilbert Gottfried,
Starting point is 00:05:00 in the 2004 screen classic, Funky Monkey. Frank and I are excited to welcome to the show one of our favorite artists and a man who says that a showing of the movie Midnight Cowboy practically led to his family being chased out of the state of Utah. The multi-talented Matthew Mote. We should stop right there. That's it, Matthew. That's the show. That's the show. Thanks for coming.
Starting point is 00:05:45 Now, ever since word got out that we'd be interviewing you, the overwhelming message we were getting was, fuck Full Metal Jacket. We want to hear about Funky Monkey. So since we have a lot to say about it let's start now now now this was you always hear about these films that were based on a foreign film that was based on a french film or a tad now funky monkey wasn't that originally a french film? Yeah, I think it was. So this was the second.
Starting point is 00:06:32 If you know what the funny thing is, it was we began filming in the south of France and and yeah, they were supposed to bring chimpanzees from America to two that were trained in martial arts. These chimpanzees. And the French said, no, no, we have chimpanzees. We don't need your chimpanzees, French chimpanzees. And so these chimpanzees who'd been trained to, you know, work on camera and do martial arts and stuff were brought to they were never allowed to immigrate into the south of France to work on the film. And they introduced me to a French chimpanzee. And they said, you know, you please come in and meet her. And I said, it's
Starting point is 00:07:13 okay. You know, so long as she does what you tell her to do, we're going to get along great. And no, no, meet the chimpanzee. And they brought me into the room and immediately this chimpanzee was suspicious of me, that there was something about my size, my look. But I think she was menopausal. She was going through the change. Oh, God. And so she didn't like the way I looked when I came into the room. And I thought maybe like a dog, you shouldn't look directly into her eyes because she may be a threatening sort of thing to do. So I looked away and the guy kept saying, scratch your belly. She loves to have her belly scratched.
Starting point is 00:07:57 No, no, I really don't want to scratch her belly. She doesn't look like she likes me. No, no, scratch your belly. She doesn't look like she likes me. No, no. Scratch her belly. And for God's sakes, as soon as I put my hand to scratch her belly, she grabbed my arm and they're so incredibly strong and right into her mouth. She bit me and wouldn't let go. And blood was coming out of my hand. I thought, oh, my God, I'm going to get HIV from a chimpanzee and and die in the south of France. And so they decided that they weren't going to do that. They found a small person and put them in a chimpanzee outfit.
Starting point is 00:08:34 And everybody knows chimpanzees' heads are very small. And so to put a man inside of a monkey suit, a chimpanzee suit. So this was a French midget in a monkey suit yeah yeah yeah and uh of course with the the head put on top of his head which was already quite large he looked like he looked like a miniature king kong like a small person King Kong. And he was alcoholic and a chain-smoking alcoholic and really angry. He almost killed us all in driving a truck on the set. And then Warner Brothers finally saw the movie and they said, what the hell is happening? Like, what happened to that charming chimpanzee movie that we were making and so that's
Starting point is 00:09:25 how you and i met gilbert they decided to reshoot all of this in san diego that's right and we replace all of the stuff with the chimpanzees yeah so it's crazy it's my mother-in-law's favorite movie your mother's favorite your mother-in-law's favorite movie is funky monkey and it had a drunken chain smoking angry french midget in a monkey suit i remember you told me well first of all chimpanzees are horrible creatures they're horrible yeah they're they're cute when they're when they're infants yeah but as soon as they realize how strong they are and that we're frightened of them they they take advantage of that of that strength there have been a few cases one man and one woman that they had their faces ripped off by chimpanzees yeah yeah and lord and uh and and oh and they say some guy they mutilated his testicles. I mean, so they're horrible.
Starting point is 00:10:28 So you got off easily, man. Yes. With just a bite. I'll tell you. Now, I've never told anybody this publicly. The young kid that was in the movie, he was working with the young female chimpanzee. They have doubles. And the young female was working with the young female chimpanzee they have doubles yeah and the young female uh was very cute and and they don't feed them good food they don't give them nuts and
Starting point is 00:10:52 bananas and oranges or things like that they give them candy oh so that yeah they're like little strung out junkies on sugar and so she'd been working with the boy and I came to the set and they said, you know, she's kind of tired and she's had too much candy. Would you feel comfortable working with, I want to say his name was Goliath. It was some, you know, some name like that, some scary name. And we knew about the testicles being torn off and tearing people's throats out. torn off and tearing people's throats out would you would you would you be comfortable working with with goliath and i said yeah i think it's gonna be all right well and he gives me a licorice fine you know it says just give him a piece of candy say good morning so i squatted down and they opened the door and he looked at me ran straight at me, pushed me. So I fell onto my back.
Starting point is 00:11:45 He mounted me and he fucked me. He had a diaper on, but he had hold of me and he had his way. And then once he pleasured himself, he looked at me like yeah i just did that to you yeah yeah i take back what i said so you were you got fucked by a monkey chimpanzee to be fair i i think i think you might be our first guest who's ever been fucked by a monkey. But again, we're not too sure about Larry Storch. I remember
Starting point is 00:12:34 during the movie, there was one monkey strapped down to a surgery table, I think it was. Well, Dr. Spleen, you only show up at the hour and nine minute mark, Gilbert. You're hardly in it. Thank God. And there was a monkey strapped down, and you said that this monkey looked at your hand when he saw the injury on it.
Starting point is 00:13:01 Yeah, Yeah. Yeah. When I got bit in the South of France, I had teeth marks that I still had them in my hand from, from that, uh, an incident with the menopausal chimpanzee in the South of France. And, and, uh, yeah, she, she, cause they always are grooming. And when she was grooming, looking at my hand, she saw the teeth marks and she, she looked up at me like you've been bitten by a chimpanzee. Like she could, she could recognize the teeth marks in my hand. Either that or she, I don't know. I don't know what she was. That's fascinating. Yeah, it was fascinating. I watched the whole film. We, you know, we, we, we were going to have Matthew.
Starting point is 00:13:40 I'll tell our listeners, we were going to have Matthew back in March. We had all kinds of Matthew was on, on sets and we, we couldn and then he wound up in L.A. for a long period of time. Anyway, he's finally here, thankfully. But I watched Funky Monkey in preparation. And that's my job. Neither Matthew or I have seen Funky Monkey. Which I resent, by the way, that I'm the one watching it. Our friend Jeffrey Tambor's in it, Gilbert.
Starting point is 00:14:04 Oh, yes. And our old friend Taylor Negron, too, who was a lovely guy. Gilbert plays Dr. Spleen. He shows up at the hour and nine minute mark. And, you know, Matthew's in the whole thing. I think you're in every scene. Why are you telling people that? But I love your line. this is what you told me you said it was a really fun children's movie and then disaster ensued yeah so that's what you thought it was going to be when you got it i
Starting point is 00:14:37 remember i remember i was reading reviews of funky i never saw funky, but I was reading reviews of Funky Monkey. And my favorite one was Matthew Modine once starred in a Stanley Kubrick film. How far he's fallen. Oh, and before I forget, I have to mention this. Every time a chimpanzee is mentioned on this show. And I heard, well, I think it started with Sunset Boulevard. Oh, Matthew, brace yourself. According to what I heard, rich women in Hollywood had trained chimpanzees to perform cunnilingus on them. No.
Starting point is 00:15:35 Have you ever heard this? No. Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder said to the actress, because there's a monkey funeral, a chimpanzee dies and she's having a funeral for it. And he says, remember, you are fucking the monkey. Do you remember the opening of Sunset Boulevard, Matthew? I don't remember them burying a chimpanzee norma desmond has a pet we assume it's a pet chimp yeah and it opens with a chimp wake wow yeah no i didn't know i i heard a really good story though it was uh uh what was the the director that was the her but Butler driver, the great German director on Stroheim. He said, you know, nobody ever made suggestions to Billy Wilder.
Starting point is 00:16:31 The script was sacred and you didn't touch anything. But he said, but I had one idea. And so I went to Billy and I asked him, I said, I think it would be really interesting if when William Holden's character comes into the house and he finds me ironing. And, you know, there's this conversation between the two of them. He said, I'd like to be ironing her panties. And Billy Wilder said, for God's sakes, why? You know, like, why do you want to be ironing his panties?
Starting point is 00:17:03 I think it would say a lot without saying anything and billy said absolutely not we're not doing that and billy said it was the one regret that a bit of advice that he had received from an actor and in von straheim's case wow that was a bridge too far but chimp coitus he was okay with he was okay with chimp yes cunnilingus chimps i call them i mean imagine allowing that animal to get anywhere near with you know i mean it's ill advised they're horrible that's that said when i did when i got raped by the chimpanzee he did bury his lips into my neck, kind of a gentle kind of French kiss in my neck.
Starting point is 00:17:48 Oh, geez. And all that skin on the front, it looks kind of leathery, right? Yes. But it's like the softest skin on your body. You know, like pick someplace where you're... I mean, it was... Oh, Lord. I mean, it was... Oh, Lord.
Starting point is 00:18:05 You know, I've never asked this, but is it wrong that I liked it? I'm getting a semi-wood just listening to it. Well, it's going to be tough to follow that story. Yeah, that's all. I'm telling you, that's all. I don't want to know about Kubrick or Altman or anything. I want to talk. See, you should have saved the story about getting fucked by a monkey for the end.
Starting point is 00:18:40 Because now how can you follow that? Gilbert and I were talking about though we about how your family uh ran movie theaters in in utah uh drive-in theaters which we're fascinated by we talk we talk a lot about that subject on this show especially the uh the impending doom of movie theaters which is something that comes up a lot here i found it interesting you said your dad would have gotten a kick out of the resurgence of drive-ins during the pandemic. Oh, 100%. Yeah. He would have loved knowing that something that he loved so much was coming back because at the end of his life, it was really the only thing that was keeping drive-in theaters alive was swap meets, flea markets, you know, on the, on Saturdays and Sundays.
Starting point is 00:19:25 And in fact, the one that we had in San Diego, they started having flea marks on Wednesday, you know, so it was Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday. Just to keep them going. But you grew up in that world. You grew up in that, in, uh, in the drive-in theater world back in Salt Lake City. Well, we, when my life began in Loma Linda, California. And Loma Linda was beautiful. It was called the Cherry Pass. And we were surrounded by cherry trees. And we moved to Imperial Beach where we had the South Bay drive-in. And that was watermelons and tomato fields. And then when he got transferred to Utah, I became a general manager of about a half dozen drive-ins and a couple of movie theaters. So we moved to Sugar House was
Starting point is 00:20:12 the first place. Then we moved to Cottonwood and then Orem and then Springville and then Midvale. And then we got, as you mentioned in the introduction with Midnight Cowboy, we got really run out, but it's more complicated than that, I'll tell you in a sec. But yeah, so the theater that we had when we first arrived at Utah was called The Lyric, and it was a legitimate theater that had been turned into a movie theater. Oh, wow. Yeah. So I was about five years old and, you know, during the summer, I'd go to work with my dad and wander around the theater,
Starting point is 00:20:51 snooping around. And so you had the motion picture screen. And then behind that, there were flats that, you know, of painted backgrounds. So it'd be a New York city scene or Boston, and then a Western, these gigantic, you know, the size of a movie screen of painted backdrops that would go all the way up into the ceiling. And then on the right side, which would be stage left, they had dressing rooms with mirrors and all the light bulbs around and photographs, these eight by 10 photographs of, of these mysterious, handsome women and men, you know, they're eight by 10 glossies that they'd left in the theater when they were
Starting point is 00:21:35 touring, you know, touring with some show. There was real history in the place. Oh yeah. It was full of history. And then Barefoot in the Park came out and Robert Redford came to do publicity and I met him. It was fascinating to see the way that people responded to him and the work that he did. And then we moved to Midvale. We moved away from the theater. And there we were surrounded by fruit trees and so the reason i mentioned the plants and the trees uh that we the you know the crops is that it was a very sensuous kind of childhood
Starting point is 00:22:14 that we you know you in the fall the rotting fruits that were falling to the ground and you'd walk through those fields to go to school in the summertime i mean mean, in the spring when you, or the fall, when you'd start to go to school, you know, through the tomato fields or the cantaloupes or the cherries, all that stuff, it made such a big impact on my, on my, my psyche, because then they started tearing the drive-ins down. The reason we were moving from drive-in to drive-in, well, the theater, they took, the Mormon church took the theater back and it turned it back into a legitimate theater. And then the drive-ins, we kept moving because they were tearing the drive-ins down and building subdivisions and tearing out all of those crops, all of the tomatoes, all of the watermelons, all of the cherry trees and the pear trees and the apple trees, everything got bulldozed. And it was not coincident. Well, coincidentally, not coincidentally around the same time that that song paved paradise put up a parking lot. And so, you know, I do a lot of environmental work and I know that my environmentalism is rooted in the disappearance of of the natural world you know that that happened which is not really a natural world
Starting point is 00:23:32 it's an unnatural world because they were farms you know so there's something unnatural about it but you know what i mean it sounds kind of idyllic but the funny thing is it's like not i mean not funny it's sad that i it's like movie theaters are going the way of vaudeville i i think it's like not i mean not funny it's sad that i it's like movie theaters are going the way of vaudeville i i think it's going to be like nowadays it's going to be i heard there were these places that you left your house yeah matthew's in new york are like us you've seen all the places that have shuttered oh yeah the last i want to say i can't blame it on the pandemic it's been going on for decades yeah from the time that i moved to new york city till now that the Oh, yeah. place 8th street playhouse by the way where i saw full metal jacket oh wow remember the 8th street playhouse yeah yeah remember it's in a woody allen movie that was a theater that was up on the upper west side what was it i think it was the failure yeah yeah you west 90s you said
Starting point is 00:24:37 in an interview you were working with robert altman and you were you know you were a young actor you were terrified of how to play the scene and and you kept trying to get him to tell you yeah oh that's yeah it was it was uh streamers uh so i i mean i i did i auditioned for the movie 10 times, I think. And I finally told him, I can't do this anymore, Bob. I'm going crazy. You know, I don't know what you want. And he said, don't worry about it. You're going to be in the picture. So I got the part in the movie to play Billy.
Starting point is 00:25:21 And there was a big monologue. And obviously, this was one of the first films that I'd ever done and I was very nervous about like what what is it that Billy is is saying to Richie which was played by Mitchell Lichtenstein and David Alan Greer was in the movie Michael Wright was in the movie. I think you worked with David Allen before Gilbert. Oh yeah. Yeah. And, and, um, it's, I say, so it was, let's say it was a Monday. I say, Bob, could I talk to you about this monologue? He goes, Oh Jesus, are we shooting that today? And I said, no, no, we, we, we shoot it Friday. He goes, Oh God, you scared me. He said, we'll talk about it tomorrow. And so I said, yeah, sure. Mr. Altman, we'll talk about it tomorrow. And so I said, yeah, sure,
Starting point is 00:26:05 Mr. Altman, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and I said, Mr. Altman, could I talk to you about that monologue? Right, right. We're shooting a Friday. We'll talk about it tomorrow. And so every day we'll talk about it tomorrow. And then Friday came and I said, Bob, could I talk to you about the scene? Yeah, hold on a sec. Let me just ask you a question. What are you going to do in this scene? And I said, what do you mean? What am I going to do?
Starting point is 00:26:33 Because, you know, where are you going to be? What do you imagine yourself doing? And I said, well, I imagine I'm sitting in my bed, and it's a movie about the army, and I'm in my cot inside of the barracks, and I'm in my cot, and maybe, you know, someplace in the middle of it, I sit up and, you know, put my boots on. He goes, okay, good. He goes, Mitchell Lichtenstein, if Modine does that, what are you going to do? And he said, well, I think he was a gay character. And he says, I'll put on a kimono and my wooden clogs and and sort of lean against the bed and flirt with Billy.
Starting point is 00:27:07 My character's named Billy. He goes, OK, good. Pierre was the cinematographer. How do you want to shoot it? He said, well, maybe we put the camera on this jib arm and move the camera. OK, good. I have to make a phone call. I'll be right back. I said, Bob, could I talk to you about the scene? He goes, yeah, yeah. When I get back and he's going out the door and he goes, we shoot Modine first. And he comes back. He goes, okay, let's roll. And I'm sick. I'm just sick to my stomach because he wouldn't have this conversation with me. And we did the scene and he said, okay, let's do it right away. Let's
Starting point is 00:27:45 go again. And we shot it again. And he says, good, we got it. Let's move on. And I was lying in the bed. I'm not kidding you. I just was sick to myself, sick to my stomach. And he sat down on the bed and he said, you see, if I was interested in my opinion or my point of view about the character, I would have played the part. He says, I cast you because I thought you were an interesting actor and that you could find the truth of the character and tell the story. And you did it. You did good. He goes, okay. And it was a very important lesson because I'd studied with Stella Adler here in New York and studied acting with her. And she used to always say that if you wait for a director to tell you what to do, you've lost. You have to do the homework. You have to do the preparation. You have to try to understand the character on your own and bring your truth. Because if Gilbert was playing the part, he would play it differently than I would. I'd like to see that.
Starting point is 00:28:50 Because of the circumstances of his life and his sense of humor, the way that he views something. So he's just going to take the same words and it's going to come out in a different fashion. take the same words and it's going to come out in a different fashion. And that's the beauty of storytelling is taking the same story, like that famous joke and everybody telling the same joke. Or the aristocrats. Yeah, the aristocrats doing it a little bit differently, right? Well, you said that's an actor's job, isn't it? That interpreting, bringing their own life experience to a role. I heard you say that you think a big mistake that actors make or people when they, performers, when they become famous is they tend to isolate. Yeah. And they stop interacting with regular people. And so- Yeah, you're a person,
Starting point is 00:29:40 you're telling the story of the human condition, you know, and what is that? So you start flying around on private jets and living behind big gates and not being in touch with people, you sort of become separate from them. And that's all we are is storytellers. It's, you know, observing life and finding the best way to interpret it you know because we're all asking the same questions you know how did we get here what where did we come from where are we going what happens after we die you know what is love of course you know so lay off the private jets gilbert get in touch with the common people and and you you also said like a lot of guests that we've had on this podcast that you had to learn not to act
Starting point is 00:30:36 yeah the the who's that uh the acting teacher uh iskin is Isken, Brisken, he worked with, oh, I can't think, I want to say Phoebe Cates' husband. Kevin Kline? Kevin Kline, well done. Harold Guskin, I think is his name, Harold Guskin. And he said that the whole trick of acting is not to get caught acting, you know, and not to, and you're, you know,
Starting point is 00:31:10 Gilbert will laugh and be self self mocking about it, but Gilbert's a wonderful actor because he never feels like he's acting, you know, he's, he's telling a story and with his sensibilities and but i've never felt like gilbert had memorized some lines and was repeating words you know that they always come from some place that uh is very truthful and believable and and that's that's what that's what you want to do is not get caught acting. How about that, Gil? What a compliment.
Starting point is 00:31:49 I don't want to hear anything else. You know, Matthew, we've asked- Thank you, Matt. We've asked people on this show, like Griffin Dunn, like Treat Williams, like Beverly D'Angelo, could Gilbert play a dramatic role? Could he play an Arthur Miller character? Could Gilbert play a dramatic role? Could he play an Arthur Miller character? A hundred percent.
Starting point is 00:32:06 A hundred percent. Yeah. I cast Wally Shawn. I directed a production of 12 Angry Men to play the Henry Fonda part that we know from the film. And he said, Matthew, I don't understand why you want me to play this character. I'm a communist and you want me to play Henry. I said, that's why I want you to play the part. Because of everything that wallace sean is and it's interesting when you look at the text of 12 angry men it's more interesting that that he's somebody who is not like a henry fawn and not
Starting point is 00:32:38 somebody who you look at and and you know you don't look at at Wallace Shawn and think he's a powerful, noble character. Right. But he is. You know, he's got tremendous integrity, incredibly brilliant, you know, bright man. And just because of the physical being that he is or that he has a, I don't want to call it a speech impediment because it's not an impediment. It's just a different way of speaking. He was brilliant. And it was F. Murray Abraham was the last one to go that in the film was, what's his name? He's a real cantankerous son of a bitch. What, in the Fonda film?
Starting point is 00:33:26 Yeah. Lee J. Cobb. Lee J. Cobb, yeah. That was played by F. Murray Abraham. What interesting casting. Yeah, Kevin O'Connor was in it. You directed Kevin O'Connor in your feature. Yes, that's right.
Starting point is 00:33:40 Yeah, well done. If Dog Rabbit. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast. But first, a word from our sponsor. FanDuel Casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning. Which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying I do. Who wants this last parachute? I do.
Starting point is 00:34:02 Enjoy the number one feeling, winning, in an exciting live dealer studio, exclusively on FanDuel Casino, where winning is undefeated. 19-plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem? Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. How did you like directing the late John Hurt, we can ask you about, too, another wonderful actor. But Bruce Stern we had here. How did you like directing the late John Hurt? We can ask you about to another wonderful actor, but Bruce Stern, we had here.
Starting point is 00:34:27 How'd you like directing Bruce Stern? It was a thrill of a lifetime, you know, and, and, you know, here I was, you know, saying action and him delivering incredible performance and, um, you know, and bringing everything that, you know, I bringing everything that, you know, I think the first movie that I remember seeing him in was the Cowboys. Oh, sure. And he told me this John Wayne. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:54 Yeah. He was going to shoot. He kills him. He shoots and kills John Wayne. Right. He said that John Wayne had never had a bullet hits on his body. You know, those explosive blood packs and stuff. And he'd never
Starting point is 00:35:05 had them and he he said john was really he's a duke he said duke was really scared having those having those bullet hits on me he was drinking he was drinking whiskey and he he he was passing by my dressing room and he opened the door and he said they they're going to hate you. They're going to hate you. That's right. And they did, man. That's a good little crime picture that I recommend to our listeners, Gilbert. Matthew's film, If Dog Rabbit, with a great cast, David Keith and Julie Newmar. Julie Newmar.
Starting point is 00:35:40 Killing John Wayne, that's like someone killing America. But, you know, killing John Wayne, that's like someone killing America. But, yeah, Dern was a wonderful guest. He was fun for us. And he's got Hitchcock stories. He's one of the few surviving actors. Coming Home, right? Coming Home. Oh, and Coming Home.
Starting point is 00:36:02 Sure. I mean, so many, so many performances. And it was the thing with two heads, I think, was Bruce Stern. I don't know that he's particularly proud. Is it that one he was in or the incredible two-headed transplant? The incredible two-headed transplant was Ray Moland. Okay, I got them back. And Rosie Greer. I got them back.
Starting point is 00:36:24 Do tell us, because people say oh you know you guys tease things in the intro and then you don't you don't explain them in the course of the show so on the subject of your dad and drive-ins tell us at least or give us an abridged version of what happened with midnight cowboy and did you ever tell that story to schlesinger when you worked with him i didn't oh i should have done yeah i don't remember yeah because john schlesinger was really really mean to me he was was he yeah he was he said afterward he was he was very sweet afterward after the movie was finished and pacific heights i said i was yeah i was i was having such a difficult time with melanie and i was under so much pressure to finish the film with Michael.
Starting point is 00:37:06 Cause I think Michael was getting a million dollars a week or something to do, to do the film. Cause it was after Batman. And so his price was really high. So he was on, he said, I was under a lot of pressure and I needed someone that I could take my anger out on. And well, you, you just were so nice. Oh my, why me you you are punished for being nice i was punished for being nice unfair yeah he was awful it was awful but but i'm i'm i'm glad that he was apologetic afterward so what happened uh it began earlier. My dad became a bishop at the Mormon church because my grandmother, his mother, said that it would be good for business living in Utah if you got involved with the Mormon church. They were sending, they have these things, these men quorums where the men are sitting around a table talking.
Starting point is 00:38:08 And the women, of course, are in the other room baking cookies. And they were sending two young Mormon boys to Japan to do missionary work. And my dad said, well, let's have a hypothetical conversation about those two young boys, those two young Mormon boys in Japan. And the men around the table said, hypothetical conversation about what, Brother Modine? And he said, well, like, what happens if they encounter two young Buddhists? He said, there was a big silence at the table. He said, yes, they encounter two young Buddhists. Then what? And my dad said, well, do they talk about the history of Buddhism, the similarities of Buddhism and Christianity, the antiquity of it, that's much older than Christianity? And they said, well, no, no, the two young Mormons are there to convert the two Buddhists and end of story, period. And my dad said, okay, I'm done. I'm out. And he left, he left the church.
Starting point is 00:39:08 And so they were angry. They were angry at him for, for questioning the, you know, the, the origins of spiritual teachings. And, and then my brother, Mark came back from Vietnam and was living in Ogden up in northern Utah. And he decided to grow a row of corn and a row of marijuana, a row of corn, a row of marijuana. And the corn was sort of here and the marijuana was up here. And his name was also Mark Modine, as my father's was Mark Modine, senior Mark Modine, junior. And he got arrested for cultivation of marijuana, which was on the front page of the Salt Lake Tribune. I think the headline was corn doesn't grow as high as officer's eye. That's my memory of it.
Starting point is 00:40:06 And so my brother got in trouble. He got let off the hook because he'd just come back from Vietnam and he was a veteran. So they let him off the hook and he was white. He still is. And then we were playing Midnight midnight cowboy at the drive-in, which was, is, was, I don't know if it still is, it was rated X. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:40:33 And so the church got really mad that we were playing an X rated movie outdoors where people might drive by and see something illicit, you know, solicit on the, on the, on the screen. So they, they got mad at us for that. And then my brother and it just made, we suddenly got really sort of nervous living. It was kind of like living in Wisconsin today. That might, might, might be unconnected to anything when you air this, But yeah, so we moved back to Imperial Beach. So the Midnight Cowboy was just the tipping point because they were already pissed off because your father had kind of thumbed his nose at the church. And then your brother showed up with the pot plants. Exactly.
Starting point is 00:41:18 The Rodgers and Hammerstein reference. And now I have to ask you about a woman I've been trying to get on this show for a few years now. Uh-oh. Papi Ansuzu, better known as Miso Hone. Me love you long time. Is this unlike any interview you've ever done, Matthew? It certainly is. Do you think she's still around?
Starting point is 00:41:42 She's still around. Oh, my God. Our obsessed fans, since Gilbert's been talking about her for seven years on this show, our obsessed fans did a little digging, and she is, I believe, a physician living in the U.K. A physician? Well, I heard. Was she a massage therapist or a chiropractor? Something of that nature. A massage therapist.
Starting point is 00:42:03 Okay. For an extra $30, you could get a happy ending from Papillon Seuss. No, I think she's a legit health worker. I heard it's not totally legit. I heard it's some kind of spiritual healing.
Starting point is 00:42:21 Is that what you heard? Yeah, some kind of bullshit. I got bad info but tell us shocked if matthew didn't stay in touch with her all these years it's been 40 years you you know this is terrible it's terrible that was it when we were making full metal jacket was kind of the height of hiv or. And we, it was still that period of time when we didn't know how it was being spread, that people were frightened. It could be, it could be, you know, door handles. It could be people sneezing. It could be, you know, we'd know,
Starting point is 00:42:57 but nobody knew how it was being spread. And I had just become a new father. My son was born and we were making the film. And we added a scene that's not in the film where Papillon, it's, you know, after we negotiate and that kid steals the camera and rides away on a motorcycle. Stanley called me up and he said, you know, the movie's really good. It was at a Christmas, during Christmas break. I was in England for almost two years making the film. Incredible. It was, it was at Christmas time. And he said, I'm really happy with the movie. It's really good. And, and we've got everything. I said, yeah, we've got everything, but a sex scene. He said, what do you mean a sex scene? I said, well, you know, the movie it's funny, but it doesn't have a sex scene. I said, well, you know, the movie, it's funny, but it doesn't have a sex scene.
Starting point is 00:43:46 He was, what about the motorbike cooker? What about Papillon Susu negotiating on the street? I say, yeah, that's it. I negotiate with her. The motorbike cooker scene, you know, it's about the guy's, you know, Alabama black snake and, and, you know, all that stuff. I said, it's, but there's no sex scene. And he goes, ah, he got really angry. He hang up the phone. And about a month later he came and he gave me a scene and he says, here's the new scene. And I said, what is it? He goes, what do you mean? What is it? What's your idea? And I said, what, what, what is it? He goes, it's a sex scene that you talked about. And I read this and,
Starting point is 00:44:23 and it, so it's after I pick up the motorbike or the prostitute. And we were in a kind of French pagoda and obviously in Vietnam, in Hanoi. And she's on top of me, he says. She's mounted on my back and she's rubbing my shoulder she's nude you're new and i was nude lying on my on my back on my stomach she's massaging me which makes me think you're probably right maybe she's a massage therapist i don't know but we don't and we don't mean by the way to imply that she's any kind of uh sex worker no you don't imply that no no i believe she's a professional a medical professional and and uh so she's naked with her legs spread across my back and sitting on my ass right and we don't know how hiv is spreading And I got really nervous about having her vagina on an open, you know, on my ass. It's terrible. It's terrible.
Starting point is 00:45:37 I can't believe I'm telling you this story. And I'm telling this, and it's just awkward when I'm talking to Stanley Kubrick and we're on set and I'm asking him about this. He goes, yeah. Okay. She's, she's, she's sitting on your back. Yeah. And I said, but her, her vagina is like right on my ass. And I don't know where she was last night. I don't know where she was two hours ago. What are you talking about? What are you implying? I said, I just think that it'd be nice if there was some kind of something separating her vagina from my ass. He goes, I don't want to talk about this. This is disgusting. He says, if you have a problem with it, you sort it out.
Starting point is 00:46:18 So I asked Papillon, I said, do you think I could put just a little washcloth on my on my back and you could sit on that? And she said, yeah, I don't mind. So we shot it. And then Stanley called me, you know, seven, eight months later after he was editing the movie. And he said, I'm cutting the scene out of the movie. Andoth and think that she was so kind after you having ejaculated in her that she put a washcloth to stop your sperm from spilling down your ass that's what stanley stanley wow i think i think i'd pay money to hear stanley kubrick say that yeah yeah so where where can i find this this nude scene of Fabiancio? Mr. Skin has it. There's no outtakes from Kubrick movies.
Starting point is 00:47:10 Unbelievable. The things that Matthew is bringing with him today. You're firing on all cylinders. You know, you said the thing about Stanley, who you got to know. I'm calling him Stanley, like I know the man. You got to know him fairly well and stayed in touch with him for years. Yeah, I stayed in touch with him until I'd seen it happen many times on set when I was talking to him and somebody would come and interrupt us.
Starting point is 00:47:46 And he would get so angry that somebody had the audacity. Did you see who I'm talking to? I'm talking to Matthew. I'm busy. You know, and I was like, no, Stanley, I'll go away. You know, the guy, it's a really important conversation. He's the armorer and he's talking about weapons or he's, it's a set decorator
Starting point is 00:48:05 trying to get a question you know to answer before we film the scene and and he he could be so he could i mean the thing that was flattering about it was that it was he felt that you were so important that he needed to give you his undivided attention and that, you know, obviously you should give you, give him your undivided attention. And so after we had finished the movie, I was just sitting right over there and I called him cause I'd sent him some, some camera equipment that, that was new. It was some new, new, new bit, new, new machines that had, and he didn't have them on his, when we were shooting full metal jacket. And I thought, oh, Stanley would really appreciate these things. So I, I bought them and sent them to him and I
Starting point is 00:48:55 called him to ask if he'd tried it out. And he answered the phone. He goes, yeah, hello. I said, Hey Stanley, it's Matthew. He goes, Oh, Matthew, I'm, I'm really busy right now. Can I call you back? And I, I, I said, yeah, yeah, sure. Sure. Yeah. I'll call you back. Don't, don't worry about it. And he hung up the phone and I, that was the last conversation I had with him that he had started doing eyes wide shut. And, and I And I knew that I was just going to be a distraction for him. And I didn't want to be that person who interrupted him from his work. And I knew how important that was to him. And the next phone call I got regarding Stanley, he was Michael Hare, the person who wrote the screenplay calling me to tell
Starting point is 00:49:46 me that Stanley had passed away. He did stay in touch with my wife because his daughter Vivian had moved to New York. And he was always hoping that, that my wife would, would look out for her, you know, make sure that, that she was safe. And and um you know i think it's important because you guys know this but but stanley was from the bronx yes new yorker yeah and he he used to play chess right over there in washington square park and and uh just just just a few hundred yards from and a pretty fair still photographer too very very good, very good still photographer. Yes, yes, yes. And tell us, was it Val Kilmer who got you the part in Film Full Metal Jack indirectly? Indirectly.
Starting point is 00:50:34 Indirectly, yeah. Yeah, I was with David Alan Greer, and it was after we'd done what we were talking about before, Streamers, the Robert Altman movie. And we had just won this unprecedented Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival in Italy. And we were sitting in the booth that in the movie Annie Hall, where Woody Allen puts the Cadillac in reverse. Oh, my God. He thinks he's put it in reverse. You mean that health food restaurant in LA? Yeah. The Source. Yeah, it was called The's put it in reverse. You mean that health food restaurant in LA? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:51:05 The Source. Yeah, it was called The Source. Yeah, sure. I ate there. On Sunset. Exactly, on Sunset Boulevard. And David and I were sitting there and we were laughing about the movie and how it's funny in movies when a car drives into a restaurant, but in real life, people get crushed and killed,
Starting point is 00:51:26 you know, and we were hoping Woody Allen was back in New York and not, you know, anywhere near the source driving around the Cadillac. And so we were joking and laughing about eating pancakes. And there was a guy sitting over there looking at me and he was clearly looking at me going like, fuck you, man. Fuck you. I said to David, I said, let's that guy, let's this, let's this guy's an actor or he's learning a monologue, you know, or he's got Tourette's. He's clearly looking at me and telling me to go fuck myself. And so David looked over his shoulder and he goes, oh, he says,
Starting point is 00:52:07 that's Val Kilmer. He's a really nice guy. And David had worked with him, I guess, helping him to learn songs and kind of musical comedy kind of stuff for Top Secret. Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. Yeah. So they were they were friends. And so I he went over and started talking to Val. And then he asked me to come over and I said, hey, my name's Matthew. He goes, yeah, I know who you are. I'm sick of you, man. I'm sick of you. And I said, look, I'm the youngest of seven kids. I've been fighting my whole life. If you have a problem with me, you can just take it outside. And Dave is, hey, come on, you know, knock it off. Stop this. and Dave is, oh, hey, come on, knock it off, stop this.
Starting point is 00:52:49 And so, you know what it was? Val was probably auditioning for the same parts that I was, and I had been on a really good role at that point. I had done Vision Quest and Birdie and Mrs. Soapful and maybe even Private School. maybe he auditioned for private school um so and he he said and now you're doing full metal jacket you know and so i said well i i said i'm not going to apologize for the work that i've been getting but uh i can assure you that i i'm not doing full metal jacket because you had to audition. You had to get a video, you know, VHS and film yourself and send this tape to Stanley Kubrick.
Starting point is 00:53:34 And I said, I didn't do it. You know, you must have. You clearly did because you're really upset. And so, of course, what did I do? When I finished my pancakes, I went outside and put a bunch of quarters in the pay phone and called up my manager in New York. And I said, this guy, Val Kilmer, just told me I'm doing Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. Do you know anything about it? He said, no, I don't know anything about it.
Starting point is 00:54:00 I said, well, I know he makes his movies with Warner Brothers. I said, well, I know he makes his movies with Warner Brothers. I could call Harold Becker, the director of Vision Quest, and ask him to send Full Metal Jacket to Kubrick. And I'll call Alan Parker, who's editing Birdie in London right now, and ask him to send Stanley some scenes from the movie and see what happens. He said, that's a great, great idea. So we did that. And then about, I don't know, a month later, I was back here in
Starting point is 00:54:26 New York and a script went through my mail slot and it was a letter from Stanley Kubrick that said, hello, my name is Stanley Kubrick. I'm a filmmaker. I wonder if you'd consider participating in my film. Wow. How great that he wasn't even surprised. It was as humble as that, too. Yeah, I was going to say, you didn't even presume that you knew who he was. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:54:51 That's very Stanley Kubrick. Now let's talk about private school. I think it's one of the- From private Joker to private school. Very nicely. One of the better of the 80s teen jerk-off movies. Tits and ass movies. You've seen Private School, Gilbert?
Starting point is 00:55:09 Oh, a few times. Wow. Phoebe Cates and Betsy Russell. Why wouldn't I see it? Because when you have a guy in front of you who worked with Stanley Kubrick, you've got to know about Private School. Kubrick. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:55:22 You got to know about private school. And I think I brought that up to you, that I was a fan of private school. And you had like, what, like one of those large discs. What are they called? Oh, the laser disc? You had a laser disc in your car, in your trunk. they called a laser disc you had a laser in your car in your trunk you went to your car and you showed me a laser disc a private school yeah where i wonder why i had it and where i got it i've never had a laser disc player in in my life i must have got it like you know in the discount bin at Walmart or something.
Starting point is 00:56:11 It's a funny movie. You know, it, it, Jerry Zaks was hired to be the director, but he didn't, he felt really uncomfortable because he had never directed a movie. So they hired him to be the dialogue coach. And the director, he'd won the prize at the Cannes Film Festival for a short film that he made called Skater Dater. So Jerry Zaks is one of the most celebrated theater directors in New York. Yeah, sure is. He's a legend. And he's got a closet full of tony awards um
Starting point is 00:56:46 so noel black was the guy that won the prize for directing skater dater at it's a good film about kids in southern california there's no dialogue just skating around and young love uh in the when skateboards still had still steel wheels um is that the same noel black that directed pretty poison with tuesday weld yeah well that's a good picture yeah yeah the the the laszlo was the cinematographer laszlo kovacs i did not no no what was his name i can't think of his name he was the cinematographer on tom jones and he i think he'd won the academy award for cinematography on tom jones high price talent yeah it was it was crazy the the the people that that worked worked on it jonathan prince was in an elevator with um
Starting point is 00:57:41 uh shoot what's his name? God. He played God. And the great comedian with the cigar. Oh, George Burns. George Burns. He said he was in the elevator. He was in Las Vegas for something. And he was 18 years old, 19 years old. And George Burns got in the elevator.
Starting point is 00:58:04 And he looked at him. He said, what do you got for me, kid? And without, you know, without missing a beat, Jonathan said, well, you know, Mr. Burns, it's such a coincidence that I meet you. I've been working on the screenplay that you'd be perfect for. He goes, OK, I'll meet you for breakfast. And he went up to his room and wrote this 18 again. Oh, yes. Wow. What a great story. Yeah. What a great.
Starting point is 00:58:31 And he worked on it all night long, came down, pitched it to George Burns and they made the movie. I mean, the talent pool that was involved with the making of Private School is kind of incredible. Yeah. It's an A's an eight list production as it turns out and do you have any stories about either phoebe kate or betty russell uh not that i can share i wish this was a video podcast and people could see Matthew's face. And I remember 18 Again, George Burns sings the theme song to the movie. I wish I was 18 again, doing things that I used to do then. But old folks and old oaks go old and pretend i wish i was 18 again fantastic i can't believe
Starting point is 00:59:31 you know the words that's insane matthew don't get us started what about the theme to private school gilbert can you do that one oh oh uh there's some good music in the movie too right there's some good songs he'll do it see i'm thinking of the other Phoebe Cates movie. That was Paradise. Oh, yes. That was the Blue Lagoon riff off. When I'm with you, it's paradise. No place on earth can be so nice.
Starting point is 00:59:57 Beneath the crystal waterfall, I hear you call. Now, can you give me some words i know i know she sang the the private school theme oh phoebe yes yes but what you did do you know any of it bring it back to me i got no clue didn't stick in your head all these years we're leaving out Ray my favorite Martian Ray Walston and Martin Mull yes
Starting point is 01:00:31 Mike McPadden would be proud of this conversation wait a second you just walked in can you find the theme to Private School sung by Phoebe Case poor Dan thank you Dan Spaventa I bet you I'll know the theme to private school? Sung by Phoebe Cates. Poor Dan. Thank you, Dan Spaventa. Because I bet you I'll know the words to this, because I remember she did sing it.
Starting point is 01:00:52 While we're waiting. You know, her father produced the Academy Awards forever. Yes, indeed. And, yeah, Phoebe Cates is a Chinese Jew. Is that the mix?
Starting point is 01:01:13 Do we have it? Is this private school? Good morning, girls, and attention. This is a stuff box movie. You can see her walking down on the city street. That's not it. Nope, that's not it. Nope. That's not it. The fuck is wrong with you?
Starting point is 01:01:28 We need the theme to private school. He may not have it. Get the fuck out of here right now. I don't want you. I'm sick to look at you. He may not have it. Nope. Take two.
Starting point is 01:01:44 Oh, wait. This could be it When you smile And hold out your hand No No I'm going to move on while Dan searches This is wrong Let him look for a second
Starting point is 01:02:02 I'm going to use the restroom Go ahead We'll wait for you. Where's Rayburn when you need him? He's still trying to answer a question from five years ago. Oh, man. Don't worry about it, Danny. Yeah, but see, now it's killing me.
Starting point is 01:02:37 No. They may not put it on the internet, Gil. Well, that... Try it. I don't think it was two people. Maybe not put it on the internet, Gil. Well, that's... Evie Cates and Bill Ray? Try it. I don't think it was two people, but you could try it. That's the same one. Matthew, first of all, an apology.
Starting point is 01:03:03 We can't find the theme song. To private school. He looks heart heartbroken he looks crestfallen but i know she sang it and i know if i heard like three notes i could do it was like the closing credit song yes yeah yeah he i'll bet you everybody all of our our listeners uh there are people there that are screaming out the lyrics to it. We'll see if we can find it and insert it in post, Gil. Yes. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast after this. Let me ask Matthew a question from a listener.
Starting point is 01:03:41 Kevin Watsy, does Matthew have thoughts on Jiminy Glick, Martin Short's character, Jiminy Glick, naming his kids after you? I mean, other than the fact that it's so incredibly flattering, I wonder if the other one is Morgan Mason, James Mason's son. It must be. Yes. A reference to James Mason's son. It must be. Yes. Yes. A reference to James Mason's son. Yeah. Morgan and Mason and Matthew and Modine. The only reason I can think that that what's his name? Marty Short. Martin Short did that was because we were Diane Keaton's a friend. She invited me to go to this animal rescue dinner and they need to find homes and feed the animals. So it was a fundraiser, you know, to take care of the dogs
Starting point is 01:04:38 and buy dog food and stuff. And they came over, I was sitting with Marty and Diane and they came over i was sitting with marty and diane and they come over and they said hey go up on the stage and tell some jokes modine and i said what get up on the stage and tell some you know and i was at the whoopie goldberg roast the fryer oh you were there the the infamous ted danson i was there wow and that's when i learned that there's a gigantic chasm in between being someone who's like Ted Danson, who's charming and funny and stand up comedy. That is gigantic difference. Well said. you have to have, even if you're a woman, balls of steel and a sense of observation and sense of timing and sense of irony. And, you know, I mean, it's a huge difference.
Starting point is 01:05:35 Yeah. And I don't know if you guys knew about that. Friars were 10th. Oh, we know about it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was.
Starting point is 01:05:43 We're both members of the Fiars it's impossible not to know and i heard it was whoopi goldberg's idea in the first place she said that i i think that she might have maybe i don't know it was a joke he definitely was trying to save him from you know being burned at the state it was a joke between them that other people did not understand and and the people the press didn't even know the nature of the Friars roasts. Yeah, I always thought what was so ridiculous about that and the trouble Ted Danson got into was that the Friars, you're supposed to be offensive. That's the idea. Yeah. That's the idea. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:06:25 That's the whole point. Offensiveness with affection. Yeah, and it was. There you go. But, you know, his jokes were not going over at all. And then I remember Robin Williams getting up and said, what were you thinking? What were you thinking?
Starting point is 01:06:44 He said, maybe we should take you up to 125th street in harlem drop you off and see how funny you think that outfit is and that's funny that is funny you know very funny yeah let's ask you about orphans one of my favorite modine performances i don't remember how we got to where we were that's okay the show is totally schizophrenic we were trying to remember the theme song to private we'll put it in post if we find it but tell us about working with the late great albert finney who you worked with twice and orphans by the way is a film that more people need to see and it was underserved by the studio the great alan pakula and and one of your one of your finer moments in my opinion.
Starting point is 01:07:26 Thank you very much. That movie, we thought we were going to win every Academy Award ever made with that film. That Albert was going to win Best Actor and Kevin Anderson. It was, you know, Lyle Kessler's play that was adapted into a screenplay. And, you know, Alan Pakulaula he directed clute and all the president's men so many he was a producer of of to kill a mockingbird i mean he's just he was a a monster monstrous monstrously successful producer director uh such a great talent, such a smart man. And, you know, Albert, I was doing Full Metal Jacket when Alan came over to London to ask me to come in to meet him and audition for him. And so I went to see the play that Albert, he brought the production to England because he said, this is what British theater needs.
Starting point is 01:08:27 It needs something that's this alive and this raw. Gary Sinise was the director of the American production. I don't know if he directed the production in England. Must have. Yeah, he did. He did. And Kevin Anderson and Jeff Fahey played my part. He did. And Kevin Anderson and Jeff Fahey played my part.
Starting point is 01:08:50 And when I saw the production, I said, I know that I could do this really well. And so I auditioned and had a great time working on the production. But I was terrible. When I got cast, I'm sorry, I got cast in the film. And, you know, don't forget forget i've grown up in utah and on the other side of the mississippi like in that new york the famous cover of the new york magazine where it kind of turns into a desert i don't even think utah appears on the on the map that utah was just this weird place. And I thought Jew was a verb. You know, it was something that you did.
Starting point is 01:09:33 And so when I moved to New York City and I got a job working at Herbie Lipke's restaurant, and he was, you know, this conversation that we had just today so far was more talking than i ever did in my life living in utah you know it was utah was it was if you said maybe three or four sentences in a day you'd be exhausted from talking so much it'd be like from talking so much. It'd be like, hey, Gilbert. Hey. You know, look at the dirt. Look at your boots.
Starting point is 01:10:17 Look at the sky. Watch the tumbleweed roll across the landscape. And so Herbie was on the phone. He was talking to his vegetable guy and pissed off about the quality of the vegetables and the price price the vegetables he hung up the phone i said that was amazing he said what i said the way you jewed that guy down and i didn't get down down hadn't got out of my lips and he punched me in the face and he was on top of me what is that you fucking punk and i said what that's what you were doing you were doing he just beat me silly and then i found a a rabbi and i say can you explain to me what what what this jewish thing
Starting point is 01:10:59 is and and he was a very sympathetic uh older man and he he gave me a whole, you know, it was like I could be bar mitzvahed after he gave me that lesson. But so anyway, so I'm doing Orphans and I'm cast and we're sitting at the table. Now, Kevin Anderson had been doing the play for probably two and a half years. And, and Albert Finney had just won the Lawrence Olivier award for doing his, his interpretation, his, his production in England. So these people knew the play backward and forward. And now I'm coming in the new person in the group and I'm talking like I am now. And, and the thing is with that character, if, if, if treat isn't a threat, if he's not a dangerous person, the whole thing falls, falls. Absolutely. Dead end kid. Yeah. Explosive, dangerous, angry, ignorant and, you know, a cheap, petty thief and like an animal, you know, who's who's not been educated.
Starting point is 01:12:13 You know, he's just he's just and he's mean to his little brother. And I could I could see and I could feel the room that Alan Pakula was like, Oh God, I should have cast Matt Dillon. You know, I should have cast somebody, you know, other than this guy and Albert Finney. And I could see him looking at Kevin Anderson and, and I thought, Oh my God. And I'm in a flop sweat thinking I'm so terrible. And, and, and I stood up and I said, I know this guy, I know him. And I said, it's Herbie Lipke.
Starting point is 01:12:47 You know, come here, you fuck off, fucking kick your fucking ass. And Albert Finney jumped out of his chair and he goes, that's it. Now say the lines. And so when we started production, Alan Pakula, before he said action, he'd go, Mo Dean, give me three. Come here, you fucks. Come here, you fucks. Come here, you fucks.
Starting point is 01:13:10 And I had to say it before I'd walk in and do a scene, you know, give me three fucks, fucks, fucks, fucks. And, you know, it was a great experience making the film. And I just love Albert Finney. I worked with him the second time on the Browning version in England just to have the pleasure of working with him again. What an actor. And a good film.
Starting point is 01:13:35 We recommend it to our listeners to find orphans. And before we got on the air, Frank told me you were punched. But you've been punched a few times now by lipkey and also oliver reed oliver reed my goodness i haven't thought about that for a long time oliver reed that was during cutthroat island yes uh chris masterson who was on malcolm in the middle he was the one that was always away at college uh chris masterson he was uh the young boy on the in this pirate movie i did with gina davis and uh now of what i've heard i i never saw cuts to rhode island yeah but i i heard it it makes spunky monkey look like citizen king it's not that bad it's a fun pirate movie that's I
Starting point is 01:14:29 mean the you'd think that we were trying to remake gone with the wind the way that that movie was was critic critic critically received and it's just and I they just had a screening they invited me to go down to Winchester Virginia Virginia, and they,
Starting point is 01:14:45 they did a, you know, like 10 movie Modena thon and, and cut third Island was one of the, it was one of the most well-received films and people like, why did this movie get so trashed? And I think it was just a little bit too early for having an actress be an action hero in a in a pirate movie that people just weren't prepared for that yeah she had the so-called male role in a way and you you had the female part in a way yes i was the femme fatale i don't mean that the way the way it came across, but you know what I mean.
Starting point is 01:15:28 It's a good point. It was probably too early for a female action hero. It was. And it's a silly ass pirate movie. Frank Langella plays the baddie in it. He's good. He's very good. And I had a great time making it. But so they had cast And I had a great time making it. But so they had cast Oliver Reed to play. It was just one scene or two scenes with Frank Langella, where he's his brother. And they'd cast him. And I was so excited because I'd seen him in Oliver. You know, that movie that you mentioned that my wanting to be an actor was was seeing this documentary about the making
Starting point is 01:16:05 of oliver and so and and the three musketeers you know and and i'd seen those those uh those things on british television the chat shows where oliver reed would go on he'd be drunk and a famous drunk he would be he would be so canceled today. He would never, you know, there's no way that people would put up with somebody coming on the show completely, you know. A legendary drinker. A legendary drinker. If we may. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:16:37 So I was sitting with Chris. It was his birthday party. And the film director, Rennie Harland, had put vodka out on all the tables and people were just getting plastered. And Oliver Reed was, he'd flown in drunk and got drunker. And so I said to Chris, I said, let's go talk to, let's go talk to, well, first I should say, during the day, and I was really excited about meeting Oliver Reed and I was talking to the, I was practicing my sword fighting because I'm a pirate, sword fighting. And the stunt guys had worked with him on Three Musketeers. And they said, why are you excited about meeting that cunt?
Starting point is 01:17:23 And I said, why are you calling him a cunt? And he said, Oliver Reed, he's a cunt. And I said, why are you excited about meeting that cunt? And I said, why are you calling him a cunt? And he said, Oliver DeVito, he's a cunt. And I said, no, he's a great actor. He goes, he's a cunt. And they said, you know, if you're having a drink, be careful where you put your drink down. He'll come over and he'll put his cock in your drink. And I said, what is wrong?
Starting point is 01:17:41 What's wrong with you people? And they said, and if he does put his cock in your drink, have a good look at it. He's got Eagle talons tattooed to the head of his penis. So I'm sitting with Chris Masterson at his birthday party celebration and there's vodka everywhere. And I say, come on, Chris, let's go ask Oliver about the tattoo. And so we go and we sit down, we sit down next to him. He's got his, he's got his, his face on his arms. He's leaning on the table, you know, like he'd taken a nap at the, during the dinner for Chris Masterson's birthday party. And I said, hello, Oliver. My name's Matthew
Starting point is 01:18:22 Modine. I'm one of the actors in the film. And he turned, he, you know, he lifted his head up and he just punched me in the face. He just punched me. He goes, no, you're not. You're a fucking spy. And I said, no, I'm one of the actors. I'm one of the actors in the, in the movie. Wow. Wow. He goes, fucking cunts. And they say cunts a lot in England.
Starting point is 01:18:46 Yeah, sure. And we don't use that term over here. Well, it has a different meaning. Different meaning. Yeah. And so he punches me in the face.
Starting point is 01:18:56 And so I said, hey, Oliver, you know, there's a lot of the guys that are working on the film, the stunt guys, they worked with you on Threeketeers
Starting point is 01:19:05 he says and i said they said you had kind of a uh special tattoo and he pulls his sleeve up and he shows he shows me his shoulder and he's he was a member of the british sas he was special forces like our underwater demolitions team so yeah really i mean not just a soldier or marine but like full-on real deal kind of guy and i said oh no i say he said i you know the the guys they said you had a tattoo i said i don't even want to ask you about it it was silly i know they were lying he was and he and he stood up and he pulled his cock out he now being british he was he was uncircumcised and he squeezed his cock and and the head of his penis popped out
Starting point is 01:20:08 And there tattooed to the head of Oliver Reed's penis Were eagle talons Fully articulated Drawn very beautifully And he stuck his cock right in young Chris Masterson On his 16th birthday's face And then he goes and he put it back in his pants oh whoa
Starting point is 01:20:33 now that was in malta where you know a few years a few few years later, he would die while making Gladiator. That's right. That's right. What a story. So he had his cock tattooed. The head of his penis. That is a courageous fellow. Imagine what that would feel like.
Starting point is 01:21:02 I mean, I don't have any tattoos, but Jesus. Wow. That is a hearty soul. You had fun making that movie. I mean, you were in, what, Malta and Thailand? Malta and Thailand, yeah, and the Phi Phi Islands, yeah. You were shocked by the reviews, I heard you say in an interview, because it was a lark.
Starting point is 01:21:23 It was supposed to be a lightweight adventure movie, and the critics took it too seriously. And it was the first time I'd really been eviscerated by film critics. I was always kind of, I guess, darling is the expression that people would use. You know, critics, darling. They always said nice things. They always said nice things. And so when I was at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and they asked me, did I want the newspapers and the trade papers? And some old theater person had told me, they said, you know, never read reviews. If they're good, they'll kill you. If they're bad, they'll kill you. And so they asked me, did I want all the papers? And I said, no, no, I don't want any newspapers. Don't put anything outside my door. And when I woke up in the morning to go down, they used to have a really nice coffee shop on the west side of the Beverly Wilshire with the waitresses. They had those funny little things in their hair and the pink apron, white apron with a pink outfit. I don't know if you guys-
Starting point is 01:22:21 I never stayed at the Beverly Wilshire, but I have an idea what you mean. I don't know if you guys, I never stayed at the Beverly Wilshire, but I, I have an idea what you mean. Yeah. It was just a good old fashioned coffee house and nothing fancy. And, uh, they put all the newspapers outside my door and I thought, Oh, I'll just look at one of them. And it was horrible. It was so mean. It mostly toward the film and Gina and Rennie Harlan, but eviscerated the film. I thought, oh, Jesus. I looked at another one, and it was worse than the one before. And then I looked at the trade papers and just completely trashing the film. And I went down to the coffee shop to have breakfast. And I felt like everybody in the restaurant, it's like when you smoked marijuana or something, you'd feel like everybody's
Starting point is 01:23:10 you feel completely paranoid and everybody's staring at you. And, and I just like conversation stopped. And it felt like people were going, there he is. That's that guy. He's the one that's so bad in the movie and it just it just felt so like and i i felt bad and i went back up to my room and and i thought what am i gonna do the whole world hates me now and and i i wanted to hurt myself i wanted to like i didn't want to kill myself but i i thought maybe if i hang myself in the bathroom and, you know, when the when the cleaning ladies come in to make the bed so she can save me and tell people. You want to make yourself a sympathetic character? I wanted to make myself a sympathetic character. I understand.
Starting point is 01:24:01 So you have to time it perfectly. It's really funny. I'm sure that I'm not the perfectly. I'm sure I'm not the first person to wanted to, you know, but then you know what happens? You slip and then you hang yourself and people, people think you were, you know, jerking off and hanging yourself. Yeah. What is that? Auto erotic asphyxiation
Starting point is 01:24:26 i did answer that a little too quickly didn't i do the pronunciation of that you know in the time we have left matthew and you are an entertaining fellow i got a lot of cards here we're never going to get to uh andrew laposha has a question for you any good insults in the movie uh from the great uh lee ermy uh in full metal jacket that didn't make the cut doing research on this i found out he was a poet lee ermy yeah that was me by surprise yeah it was that's why that was such an important part of the movie when he goes, combat correspondent, writer? You're not a writer. You're a killer, sir.
Starting point is 01:25:11 Yes, sir. You know that I'm a killer. He goes, who do you think you are? Mickey Spillane? Great. And so that was set up because we were going to have a scene when I'm on night watch just before Leonard gets killed. And I'll go into Lee Ermey's. That would have been the first scene where we saw him without his hat on.
Starting point is 01:25:33 And he would have been in his T-shirt and underwear. And he says, so you think you're a writer? Sit down. I got something to read to you. And he reads me his poems. And these were poems that Arlie Ermey had written. And because we began the show talking about monkeys, one of the poems involved a woman who kept her lover in this cage. And, you know, she would go in and have sex with
Starting point is 01:26:02 him at night and talk, you know, he wrote about his balls slapping against her butt and, you know, she would go in and have sex with him at night and talk. You know, he wrote about his balls slapping against her butt and deeply plunging into her. But it was all quite poetic and and lyrical. It was remarkably lyrical and poetic, had been incredibly obscene and violent at the same time. Wow. And and and then, you know, she locks up the cage and you you at the end, the punchline was that she was fucking an ape. And it was funny. He's bookending it quite nicely there. Yeah, this interview opened with you getting fucked by a monkey. opened with you getting fucked by a monkey and it's trapping up with a woman fucking a monkey and yeah so stanley wanted to get it in and then he realized that thematically it wouldn't
Starting point is 01:27:00 you can't go from that scene into me walking into the the true the train and and him blowing his brains out you know just it just doesn't work you know it doesn't work so we we never filmed it but they were they were funny poems man i'll bet and i i remember one of the things he yelled at the soldiers is something like, you look like the kind of guy that fucks you in the ass and doesn't have the common decency to give you a reach around. That's the best. Yeah. That was that was where he went up on his lines. He he he was, you know, doing insults and he forgot what it was that his scripted lines were and he said that that was a great one yeah it was a great one and
Starting point is 01:27:53 none of us were expecting it so when when it came out of his mouth we were all standing there trying to get a mental picture of what he's talking about okay you're the kind of guy that would fuck a guy in the ass and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give him a reach around. And then we all started falling down laughing because it was so funny. What have we got here? A fucking comedian, private joker.
Starting point is 01:28:19 I admire your honesty. Hell, I like you. You can come over to my house and fuck my sister. You little scumbag. I got your honesty. Hell, I like you. You can come over to my house and fuck my sister. You little scumbag. I got your name. I got your ass. You will not laugh. You will not cry. You will learn by the numbers. I will teach you. Now get up. Get on your feet. You at best unfuck yourself or I will unscrew your head and check down your neck. Sir, yes, sir. Private Joker, why did you join my beloved corps? Sir, to kill, sir! So you're a killer? Sir, yes, sir! Let me see your war face!
Starting point is 01:28:52 Sir! You've got a war face? Ah! That's a war face! Now let me see your war face! Bullshit! You didn't convince me! Let me see your real war face! You don't scare me! Work on it! Sir, yes sir! What's your excuse? Sir, excuse for what, sir? I'm asking the fucking questions here, Private. Do you understand?
Starting point is 01:29:15 Sir, yes sir! Well, thank you very much. Can I be in charge for a while? Sir, yes sir! Are you shook up? Are you nervous? Sir, I am, sir! Do I make you nervous? Sir! Sir, what? Are you about to call me an nervous? Sir, I am, sir! Do I make you nervous? Sir! Sir, what?
Starting point is 01:29:26 Are you about to call me an asshole? Sir, no, sir! How tall are you, Private? Sir, five foot nine, sir! Five foot nine? I didn't know they stacked shit that high. You trying to squeeze an inch in on me somewhere, huh? Sir, no, sir! Bullshit! It looks to me like the best part of you ran down to crack your mama's ass and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress!
Starting point is 01:29:48 I think you've been cheated! Where in hell are you from anyway, private? Sir, Texas, sir. Holy dog shit. Texas only steers and queers come from Texas, private cowboy. And you don't much look like a steer to me, so that kind of narrows it down. Do you suck dicks? Sir, no, sir. Are you a Peter Pepper? Sir, no, sir. I'll bet you're the kind of guy that would fuck a person in the ass and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give him a reach around. I'll be watching you. You must have laughed. I mean, in spite of it being a grueling production and two years
Starting point is 01:30:17 and Stanley's famous multiple takes and you're in this terrible environment with those gas belching refineries. You guys are taking your lives into your hands. You were doing this in a polluted— It was the most toxic place I've ever felt in my life. Toxic environment. In spite of all of that, you must have had some laughs. And I found it interesting that he kept telling you and Arliss Howard,
Starting point is 01:30:42 you guys are going to miss me. Yeah. What an interesting thing for him to say. He said it and Arliss Howard, you guys are going to miss me. Yeah. What an interesting thing for him to say. He said it to Arliss when we wrapped the film. He said, you're going to miss me. And Arliss Howard said, of course, I'm going to miss you. I miss you already. He goes, no, he said, you're going to miss me.
Starting point is 01:30:57 You're going to be on another person's film set. And they're going to say, cut. We got it. Let's move on. And you're going to miss me because you're going to know that you didn't get it and you're going to miss me. Because Stanley would never walk away from a scene until he knew 100% that he had got it.
Starting point is 01:31:21 Whatever it was that he was looking at, whatever reason it was that he did so many takes, I don't know why. Maybe it was focused. Maybe the camera didn't move right. You know, when it was going down the track, you know, it's not just you and your performance that, that, that maybe didn't work. Maybe it's the other actor in the scene that maybe one was good. One performer was good, and the other performer wasn't so good. And whatever, you know, but it's, having worked with Stanley Kubrick and worked on productions post-Stanley Kubrick, you hear it more and more often where people say, it's good enough, let's move on. And good enough is the death of this art form. It's good enough.
Starting point is 01:32:10 It's good enough. Let's move on. And that's what he meant. He had created this unique environment where he worked away from the system. And he had permitted himself. He put himself in that position to get 100 takes, 200 takes, whatever it took to get it right. And that's what he was saying. You guys are going to miss this kind of perfectionism and i heard there are some directors it's interesting who purposely do a hundred takes to get the actors to stop acting yeah yeah it was it was afterward when I got home here and I bought a book by Marvin Minsky called The Society of Mind. And Marvin Minsky was the person who coined the term artificial intelligence.
Starting point is 01:32:54 And he talked about the process that we go through with learning. And I suppose in a way it's kind of what Malcolm McDowell, Malcolm Gladwell, with that 10,000 hour, you guys know, but you have to do something. Yeah, before you perfect it. Before you perfect it. process that the baby goes through of, you know, that there's, you know, you're looking out at the world and you don't know that you have arms and legs, that you're just sort of connected to everything, right? When you come into the world and then you discovered that you have these appendages and that you can suck on them with you. And then you realize that you have feet and then you start walking, you know, you fall down and you walk and you fall down and then you start running. And that this whole process to getting to the point where you can have a cup of tea on a saucer and stub your toe as you're walking around the room and have enough muscle memory
Starting point is 01:33:59 without thinking in a split second to tamp the saucer and tea, just enough so that you don't spill it, right? You just adjust because you've stubbed your toe and you adjust so you don't spill the tea. That all of that process takes hundreds and hundreds of hours to get to the point where you don't have to think about tamping the tea cup and the saucer to keep from spilling it. Do you understand what I mean? Yeah. So when I read that, I said, that's what Stanley was after. That's his approach to filmmaking.
Starting point is 01:34:48 filmmaking. Yeah. That you have to get the line so deep inside of you that like this conversation that we're having right now, that the words that I'm speaking are based on the experience of having lived through it so that I'm speaking, it doesn't sound like I'm acting. I'm just telling you a story about something that I experienced. And that's where he wanted the actors to be in their performance. He wasn't interested in real. He was interested in interesting. And that was something that he talked about with Jack Nicholson. He said, Jack had told him, he said, this is what people do in this situation. This is how they react. This is what they do. And Stanley said, yeah, okay, but that's not interesting. I'm interested in what what you know what might be real i want to i want you to do something that's interesting wow hard to argue with his
Starting point is 01:35:35 his methods because because look at what he produced you know look at look at the body of work and it's crazy because every single one of them like like vincent van gogh yeah we're dismissed you know barry lyndon was dismissed 2001 a space odyssey people that was the last premiere that he went to in new york and people including rock hudson walked out of the theater and were saying insulting things as they walked by him. You know, like, what a stupid movie. They didn't get halfway through the movie and walked out. Well, a lot of people dismiss Clockwork Orange, too. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:36:14 Yeah. What do I... I'm exhausted. This is so much fun. And this... Stephen Spielberg. I mean, Stephen King said that he hated The Shining. Oh, he did. That's right. He hated it so much he remade it. That's right. It was terrible. That's right. Steven Spielberg. I mean, Steven King said that he hated The Shining. Oh, he did.
Starting point is 01:36:25 That's right. He hated it so much he remade it. That's right. It was terrible. That's right. That's right. An excellent point. And the whole time you're talking, in my mind, I'm getting snippets of the theme song of
Starting point is 01:36:38 Private School where I'm something like, I'm with you and you're where together. We'll find it. See, I don't know you as well as I thought I did, Gilbert. I thought you'd be obsessed on Jew as a verb. That's one of my favorite parts. Matthew, we could go on. Oh, geez. You know, we talked about, but I want people to see your films, too, because we're talking about directors. We're talking about Kubrick and Altman and Pakula.
Starting point is 01:37:09 And we didn't even get into, we barely got into Schlesinger and Spike Lee and Christopher Nolan and all these other wonderful people you worked with. But let me tell them about your short films, which people can get on iTunes, which Adam Nelson, your guy, sent to me, and I watched them all, and they're terrific. Thank you. And I must say, I think I thought it was a wonderful, wonderful piece of satire. Thank you. But Jesus Was a Commie is something that people need to find and watch. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:37:40 Because it's a thought-provoking piece of work. To Kill an American. That too. I like that one too. I think I thought, and Jesus was a commie, or kind of, it's a, like, I don't know, a trifecta. One thing led to another. And it was when I was studying acting with Stella Adler, she had us read this book by Cahil Gibran, or Gibran, depending on where you're from, called The Prophet. And she said, we speak when we fail to be at peace with our thoughts.
Starting point is 01:38:17 And with the event of 9-11 and how that impacted our lives and in the world um i was really not at peace with my my thoughts and i was downtown i rode my bicycle down when it happened because they said they needed people to triage and uh you know apply tourniquets and carry stretchers. And, and I, I learned all that in the boy Scouts. So I went, rode my bicycle down there and, and then subsequently went down and gave water bottles, you know, during, during the, and then, and then I couldn't go down there anymore because there was some horrible things that I experienced at the site. And I started going to Jacob Javits.
Starting point is 01:39:04 And the, the, the whole, the whole thing just raises more questions. I've done, I've done three movies about Vietnam, Birdie with Alan Parker and Nicolas Cage. Thank you. And, and streamers and Full Metal Jacket. And so, you know, when you're doing one of those movies, you, you read up about the war and you try to understand it. And Michael Hare wrote, I think, one of the best books about Vietnam ever, about war ever called Dispatches about his experience in Vietnam and short timers that full metal jacket is based on. And then, you know, just having grown up watching the war with Walter Cronkite when I was a little boy living in Utah. And, you know, it was something
Starting point is 01:39:51 that was over there. It was away from us. And then when my brother Mark enlisted in the Navy, and then my brother Michael and my sister Elizabeth, my brother Russell, all of a sudden the war came home and it was something that I was sort of participating in now. And because I had an, there was a family investment in it. But so what I tried to understand all this time is what were we doing and what was, what were, what were we fighting for? What was the purpose? What was, and you know, I, I, I love Muhammad Ali so much for his stance on the war and, and, you know, that, that he was willing to give up his, his career at the height of his career, at the height of his strength to protest that war. I've talked to Richard Dreyfuss about it. And he talked about the war at home, that those people that were
Starting point is 01:40:50 the conscientious objectors, those people that were protesting, the college students who protested the war because there was no justification in their mind. And so the war, the way that he talks about it, the war that was being fought at was was much more important than the war that was being fought overseas because because what we were doing and you know it's i think it's it's it's unfortunate that that the war in afghanistan and iraq that there weren't great greater uh protests here at home to because what was the purpose of that war? What were we trying to accomplish? What did we accomplish? And it's interesting, I was in a taxi with a Chinese fellow today, and we were talking about the Chinese and how rather than investing in war,
Starting point is 01:41:43 in implements of war, machines of war, that what if we'd have gone to Afghanistan and Iraq and said, we're going to build a hospital, we're going to build schools. And, you know, these are the conditions of using the hospital, if you can put conditions on education and conditions on using the hospitals, but rather than bringing a fist to a fight, bringing an open hand and saying, look, this Saddam Hussein fellow is not a good person, and we want to help the country. And, you know, to do things with kindness rather than violence. That's kind of what Jesus Was a Commie is about. Yes.
Starting point is 01:42:23 The title's a little misleading in a sense, because it sounds maybe to some people like you're slamming religion or you're slamming Christianity, but it's actually a call for civility and kindness and generosity. Yeah, purposely provocative title, because if you said Jesus was a nice kid
Starting point is 01:42:39 from Bethlehem, Right. it's not so interesting. Our listeners should find them. They're on iTunes. Yeah. People came and protested the movie when it came out. I saw it. It's got it. You know, I gave it a title that it's very, you know, very confusing. I said, but I promise you, it's not really about Jesus or communism. about Jesus or communism. It's about the problems that we present to the world and how we're never going to solve these problems unless we find a peaceful way of reaching across the aisle.
Starting point is 01:43:14 And because we're talking about Kubrick, I think that in a big way, this was an influence from Stanley Kubrick, that if you look at all of his movies, they're in some ways about this kind of stupidity, especially Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Which he started out to make as a serious film about that subject and then realized the absurdity was carrying the day. He couldn't treat it seriously. the absurdity was carrying the day. Yes. He couldn't treat it seriously. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:43:45 But if we don't find peaceful solutions to the problems that are at hand, that's what we're doing. We're riding like slim pickings, that atomic bomb at the end of Dr. Strangelove. That's a good analogy. We'll meet again. Don't know where. Don't know when. Beautiful film, and so is Jesus, was a commie, which, again, people should find.
Starting point is 01:44:14 It's an important piece of work. I'm not blowing smoke up your skirt. Last question, Matthew. Mark Edwards Edelstein. Who was more intimidating to work with, Kubrick, Altman, or Gottfried? I'll never tell. You don't kiss and tell, right, Gilbert? You don't kiss and tell.
Starting point is 01:44:42 Tell that to the chimp. There's so much here, Matthew, that we could have done. I mean, and we barely touched on orphans. We didn't get into Birdie, but we will. I love that Alan Parker and Kubrick both referred to each other as a prick, which maybe you'll explain that to us next time. Will you come back and play with us again? Absolutely.
Starting point is 01:45:03 This was a fun one. Yeah. I'll tell you this really quick this this story go ahead so alan parker sends the clip to stanley kubrick right from birdie for birdie so i could you know get in the movie and and then uh so i'm in london i i meet up with alan parker and to have a meal or, you know, I don't know, something. Yeah, I think just to have a meal. And he goes, that's Stanley Kubrick. He's a cunt. I said, why do you say that? He goes, he never he because you got cast in the movie and he never sent me a note to say thank you. And I said, well, you know, he's really busy directing the movie. I'm sure that he's just slipped his mind. I'm sure he's going to send you a note, Alan.
Starting point is 01:45:46 Don't worry about it. So I go to see Stanley Kubrick and I say, Stanley, you got to send Alan Parker a note and say, say thank you, Alan Parker. That guy's a fucking cunt. And I say, why do you say that? He said he sent me some scene with you and a guy standing in a doorway yelling at each other. He said all it did was demonstrate that you had the ability to memorize lines and scream. He goes, didn't tell me anything
Starting point is 01:46:10 about you, your acting ability. He said, lucky for you at the end of the scene, there is a scene of you sitting in this, I guess it's a mental hospital and you're looking up and you don't say anything. You're just quiet. He goes, that's why I cast you. He goes, I saw that you had the ability to say something without words. Wow. Wow. That's good stuff. Yeah. And when you come back, Matthew, and please come back and play with us again, I saw you in the Criterion Closet, which I know happened not long ago. And you love Lumet. You were talking about Kurosawa. You were talking about Night of the Living Dead. Come back and talk about your favorite movies
Starting point is 01:46:50 with us, too. Whenever you want. You know, this kid who grew up on drive-ins. Are there people listening right now? No, we're not live. These were just questions. Nobody has ever listened to this podcast.
Starting point is 01:47:06 We don't even actually record it. It's just an excuse to get together and talk. Yeah, it's actually therapy for the two of us. We're alone in a hotel room. And we'll talk about Jonathan Demme next time, too, and Married to the Mob and Pacific Heights. You've done so much. You've done too much. I've done too much too much yeah for us to wrap our arms around let's thank a couple
Starting point is 01:47:29 of people too uh unless you want you want to plug something I know you did a movie with John Cleese and one with Liam Neeson uh those coming out I don't know what the movie with Liam's called I don't think they have a title for it yet, but Liam's an old mate. We've been friends for 30 years and it was just an excuse for me to be able to go and see him. He's in Germany. He was making this movie. I was shooting Stranger Things and the guy that was directing the episode, they called us to the set and he said, come on, let's go. They're ready for us. I said, I'll go with you if you give me a job in that Liam Neeson movie. And he came back about a half hour later and showed me his phone.
Starting point is 01:48:08 And there was a message. He says, the producers think it's a great idea. And that's the first time that's ever happened that Gilbert, man, I'd love to work with you. And then you call me up next week and say, Matthew, I have this movie that we're going to do. Like, when does that? It never happens, right? People say, Gilbert, I love you. I want you to be in my movie. And then you never hear from them again. Yes. this movie that we're going to do like when does that it never happens right people say gilbert i love you i want you to be in my movie and then that you never hear from them yes i love it well
Starting point is 01:48:30 that happens that's that's the more common way right i i also love when a director or someone comes up to me and says why weren't you in my last movie. You never fucking asked. Yeah. And since you've brought up Liam Neeson, we're going to make Gilbert do his Liam Neeson for you, Matthew,
Starting point is 01:48:53 as a parting gift. Oh, which one? The bit you do on stage. Oh, oh. Yeah, I saw Liam Neeson's latest film. It's his 50th film where his daughter gets kidnapped. And once again, he's on the phone with the kidnappers going,
Starting point is 01:49:14 give me my daughter back. I want my daughter back. And give me me looky charms. and give me me lucky charms. You'll have to, now that Matthew can hook you up, you can do that for Liam Neeson. We want to thank Jillian Neal, who helped make this possible, and Adam Nelson from Matthew's team.
Starting point is 01:49:40 They've both been great and patient with us, and wonderful Matthew hung in there for almost a year. He's finally here, and it was worth the wait. And we'll thank our friends Dan Spaventa and Jim McClure here at Sirius too who were instrumental in getting this ship launched. I'm exhausted from laughing. Yeah this was a great one. Matthew I had a great time thank you very much. So much. Thanks for being here and being part of this, this crazy cockeyed caravan. So this has been Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast with my cohost, Frank Santo Padre. And we have been talking to a man whose tombstone is going to read, was once fucked by a monkey.
Starting point is 01:50:27 Only if you're the one carving it. Great Matthew Moteen. Matthew, this was an absolute kick for us. Come back and mess around with us again. There's so much more to do. Excellent. Excellent. Thank you so much. Thanks, pal. Happy holidays. Thank you so much, pal. Happy holidays. Thank you. Happy holidays. I'm going to go make dinner for my wife now.
Starting point is 01:50:49 That's a noble cause. You know I'll always need you near me And I just can't help wondering why People have to live a lie When you're the only thing that matters in my life That matters in my life Just one touch and I'm lost inside your love Just one touch means more than words can say Just one touch and I know I'm gonna stay For always And I know I'm gonna stay for a way Just one touch and I'm lost inside your love
Starting point is 01:52:27 Just one touch means more than words can say Just one touch and I know I'm gonna stay All the way For always Oh, just one touch and I'm lost inside your love Just one touch means more than words can say Just one touch and I know I'm gonna stay For always And I know I'm gonna stay For a way A way

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