Going Deep with Chad and JT - Ep. 88 - Film Producer Brad Fuller (The Purge, A Quiet Place) Joins

Episode Date: August 21, 2019

What up stokers, in episode 88, we are joined by movie producer, Brad Fuller. He's produced major hits like The Purge, A Quiet Place, Ouija, and Amazon's Jack Ryan. We also dive into his friendship with Michael Bay, other Hollywood tales and the time he met the stoke legend, Paul Walker. Check it out!

all right what's up stokers of stoke nation i come to you from a new position if you're watching video um welcome to the other hemisphere my friend i know it's different on this side i like it uh it's a cool angle. I'm here with my compadre, Jean-Thomas. Boom, clap, Stokers. And we are joined by Brad Fuller, producer, legendary producer. Should we list out your... Sure.

I mean, set the table. How do you want the intro to go? No, let's not be modest. Let's set the table. Yeah, he's got some big credits. Yeah, most recently, A Quiet Place, which was huge. John Krasinski, guys, check it out. The Purge, which I love The Purge.

Thank you so much for bringing that to us. I re-watched The Purge two days ago. Which one? The first one. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the most recent iteration. Yes. Directed by Michael Bay. Actually, not by Michael Bay. He used not by – Michael produced it with me.

I'm so sorry. My bad. That was a major faux pas off the top. No, it's not a faux pas. It happens all the time, dude. Don't worry. And then Jack Ryan. Jack Ryan?

Yeah. Yep. Yep. I'm a huge Clancy fan. That was the first books I read was Tom Clancy. Really? Yeah. Have you seen Jack Ryan?

Have you seen the show? I'm not putting you on the spot. I did. I watched all of it. Yeah. Did you feel it was true to the books? And, I mean, did you feel that it was tied to it or? Yeah. And I thought, I mean, you know, I was more thinking about the cinematic like lineage of it, you know, from like Baldwin to Ford to

Affleck to Chris Pine. And yeah, I thought it was in keeping with that tradition. I actually think John Krasinski probably reads as a bit more bookish than some of those guys, which is part of the Jack Ryan character. So I thought it was smart casting. And I'm sure, did you get connected with him through A Quiet Place? No, it was, do you want to go there right now? Oh, 13 hours. Should we go there right now?

Is that what we're doing? Sure. You want to go there? Okay, well, see, Bay had just made 13 hours. Yeah. And so all of our offices, we're in the same building. It's a small building reasonably small and john was always around and he was kind of like this great guy and they went and did the movie and

then when you see the movie 13 hours that doesn't look like jim from the office no he's jacked like and he's a man and badge dale put on some muscle too he's flipping tires oh dude that's one of my favorite scenes when he's flipping tires oh yeah And they're complaining about how the one guy likes to boss around alphas. And he's like, ah! It's great. Right? Well, so we knew John. We weren't friends with him, but we certainly knew him.

And when we convinced Paramount TV to give us the rights to the character of Jack Ryan, he was kind of always the guy that we wanted to have it be because Jack Ryan is an analyst, right? Yeah, he's an analyst. He's not a bad ass. Right. So he was always the guy and Bay had this relationship with him and we started talking to him. And, you know, when you're trying to get an actor, John hadn't been on TV for a couple of years. And so it's not always easy to convince actors to come back, right?

Yeah. So we were trying to convince John to come back to do Jack Ryan, and he was definitely interested. But, you know, when we would talk to him, we started having a daily conversation about Jack Ryan. And as a producer, you're trying to kind of reel these people in and get them excited about what you're doing and explain to them your vision.

And as we were doing it, John one day said, you know, the only thing really holding me back is that I just don't want this to hurt my movie career I don't want to be on a series because Jack Ryan is not a short shooting series we shoot for six seven eight months right so that and then John has a family so he wants to spend time with his family so he was rightfully concerned that he would not have an opportunity to make a movie because he had such a small window of availability. And coincidentally, we had bought the script to A Quiet Place a couple weeks before that. And just as a throw in, my partner Andrew Form and I, we were on the phone with John. And he says, you know, guys, I wanted to do Jack Ryan, but, you know, I got to get a movie and there's got to be something else.

And we said, well, we just got the script in that we bought called a quiet place and you should read it and he says well why you know what what is it and we said well it's it's a thriller it's about a family um it's you know it's about a family and there's something really bad in the cornfield and they can't speak and he was kind of intrigued by that but we just said you look the role the dad is a great role and he's very heroic and you should just that's that's what you will do Jack Ryan and then in the hiatus we'll try and do that movie right now the real realistically there was no way that we knew if we were gonna be making a quiet place after Jack Ryan to get a movie going is a long process.

But also, as a producer, you always have to think positively and move as if and try and will things into action. So John committed to doing the show. And he read the script and he called us back. And he said, guys, I have great news. And we said, what's that? He says, I'll play the dad i said great now we just have to set the movie up and there are a lot of steps to go through he goes no no i'm not done i also want to rewrite the script and direct it yeah now that is a harder pill to swallow as because john has never directed anything like that he directed two other movies brief interviews with hide with Hideous. I saw that. Yeah. You saw it?

Yeah. I'm a big David Foster Wallace fan. Oh, yeah. That's right. I've heard you talk about that. And he did The Hollers also. But I don't think that movie would have made you think that he could do A Quiet Place. Drew and I are looking at each other like, he wants to write and direct this.

He has, this is not, anyone who, if you're creating a list of people who are going to write and direct a horror movie, there's not a person on the planet who puts John Krasinski on that list. No one. And so he says, but just hear me out. And after an hour of hearing him discuss what he wanted to do with that movie, we were like, holy shit, this is the only guy who can direct the movie. He had brilliant ideas. He had brilliant ideas. And his notion of the way he wanted the movie to feel was like so inspiring that we hung up the phone and we're like, now we got to convince the studio that this guy can write and direct it because who's going to make that jump? And that started our process with John of him just day after day coming up with great ideas, coming up with the idea that Millie, the actress who plays the deaf girl, that

that actually has to be a deaf actress. He says, I'm not doing the movie if she's not a deaf actress. Yeah, I heard that. He said, he was the one who said, we're not going to have any dialogue in the movie. Because in the original script, there was dialogue. There were flashbacks that had dialogue. He goes, I don't want to have dialogue in the movie except for this one scene. And I could tell you the specific things, but the overwhelming feeling that I had was, wow, I've worked with a lot of directors.

This guy has the movie in his head. If he makes a change on day three, he knows how that affects day 43. And so we got behind it. And he promised us that he would get a big actress to be the lead opposite him and we of course drew and i are saying well it's going to be emily blunt but he said he didn't at that point he thought that working with emily it would put him in a weird spot because if he asked her and she said no that would be a now you're mad at your wife right like your project and if he asked her and she said yes i'll do it for you then she's doing it for him So he didn't really want to ask her to him a solid right? She's doing him a solid

So so here we are we got this guy. He's married to the greatest actress. I mean, she's amazing Yeah, and he can't go to her. So he writes the script. He rewrites the script And he flies out to LA he lives in New York flies out to LA to meet with the president of Paramount to pitch him his vision for the movie. And in very typical John Krasinski fashion. And we don't know who's going to play the wife because at this point there are a couple of actresses he's talked about, but we haven't gone out to anyone. And he says to us as we're walking in, he goes, by the way, guys, on the flight in, Emily flew out here with me. She flew to L.A. with me.

And she read the script. I got great news. She wants to play the lead as we're walking into the studio so it was like oh my god this is the greatest thing because we you could never imagine working with someone as fantastic as emily blunt and we go right she's amazing she's amazing yeah she really is and as a person like you just want to be around her forever that's cool yeah the Yeah, the best. So we go and we pitch that movie. We went in. We thought we were just pitching to get John the writing and directing gig. We walked out with a movie that was going because you have Emily Blunt and there you go.

That's kind of how it is. Do you guys celebrate? You never celebrate until it's all the way over. Until it's like the premiere or something. I know that feeling. You achieve some milestone and you're like like I have so much farther to go yeah it's the start of the thing yeah I get McFlurry to celebrate things that's nice yeah that's what brings team JT yeah JT I'm not spring scene to that he

just said he should always commemorate like special moments by doing something nice and he would always go get like some ice cream I'm doing that starting tonight I'm going after here I'm gonna go get ice ice cream. I'm doing that starting tonight. I'm going out. After here, I'm going to go get ice cream. It's nice. I love that Bruce does that. Yeah, I think I heard he does that. I'm a big Bruce fan. I'm his fanatic.

Yeah. Are you going to watch his new tour? He's touring the Broadway show now? I saw it. Oh, you did? Oh, yeah. Was it amazing? I didn't see it live.

Yeah. Listen, the greatest weekend of my life was the Friday, the Friday. I did the wrap up show. The Saturday night I did Springs. I went to Springsteen and Sunday we had the premiere of the quiet place. Whoa.

That's awesome. Full peak. My, my stoke levels have never been higher. I'll never, I was frothing hard. I can feel the froth. Yes. It was like accomplishment Molly.

That was it. That's exactly what that was. that's cool yeah i i uh watched some interviews with like john and and it seemed like with a quiet place with his detail like he came up with the lights is that correct yeah and then like the sound the sound design is huge yeah yeah because you're listening to it and it's got so much going on yeah and. And they're not talking, but there's so much noise. Yeah. And that scene when Emily's in labor, I mean, it's like. Yeah. Yeah.

So on that day, this is a crazy story. So by the way, going back to the sound, we had the best sound design team. They were nominated for Academy Award for their work on that movie. I mean, they were incredible. Did you pick them? Well, they were guys we'd worked on with Tur and they were based sound people. So we knew them and they came in very late in the game and killed it. I mean, they just killed it.

There's nothing. I'm so grateful to those guys for, for, for what they did. And sound guys are weird, right? That's like a reputation. Yeah.

These guys weren't, these are kind of straight ahead. They've been doing it for a long time and, um, just a delight to work with and we're so excited to have a movie like this where you can put so much into it i knew a boom up who would just go to like the parks at like three in the morning and just record like the squirrels like wrestling that's right they need to do that you have to have a unique

sounding uh you know yeah you gotta have a library of sounds that's passion. Yeah, exactly. So how'd you decide to, or how'd you sort of find this specialty in horror or that genre? You know, I, it was not my intent to go into horror movies and as a kid that was not my genre necessarily. I saw them. I saw them. But when we started the company, when, really

the company was started, Bay just kind of was making Pearl Harbor and he said to me and to andrew form he said um i'm only making a movie every two years there's got to be more i got to be more productive than this and he wanted to give new directors an opportunity to make movies because that's what don simpson and jerry brockheimer did for him they gave him his first shot so which what was what was his bad boys yeah that's his first shot and then he went right into that with the rock and then from went right into that with The Rock,

and then right into that to Armageddon. I mean, that is a strong opening of a career. Yeah, it's a good run. Yeah. And then Pearl Harbor, which I think is... All basically iconic. Yeah. I mean, crazy.

I still remember watching Armageddon and Pearl Harbor in the theaters. Which is like that... Pearl Harbor. There's some movies like that from the 90s that just stick with you, and those, like Armageddon, Titanic, and Pearl Harbor. There's some movies like that from the 90s that just like stick with you and those like Armageddon, Titanic and Pearl Harbor kind of just like still touched in my mind. But they're

that's why you go to the movies. I mean it's an epic experience. Spectacle. For sure and he, Bay does that better than anyone else but needless to say so Bay said I got to do more and he knew me from we were kids together and he knew. You guys were friends as kids? Yeah yeah like how young um I met him in Hebrew school in LA in LA and then we ended up going to college together Cal Arts uh he went he went to Pasadena Arts Center graduate school

we went to Wesleyan undergrad oh interesting so we so you know we we were solid by the time we but but it's literally we come out of great come out here, Bay's in graduate school. I was in the William Morris Mail Room. But literally from the first thing that Bay directed, it was huge success. His first commercial got a Clio. The first thing he ever shot got a Clio. And it was just like, I've never seen a career trajectory. And it's weird when it's your best friend.

Like, literally, i'm sorting mail at william morris and everyone knows who michael bay is after he's directed two or three commercials and then he started doing every rock video and you know and it was kind of this crazy thing and then uh his first movie bad boys originally you know that was supposed to be dana carvey and john lovitz yeah and oh interesting that was who was originally cast, and it was Michael who had the idea to go, you know, and get Martin Lawrence and Will and do all that. I imagine that that thought of changing the casting had as much impact on his career as anything else.

I mean, that was such a huge thing to do at the time, and he turned two TV actors into stars you know and that made everyone want to work with him so then you get sean connery and nick cage in your second movie yeah one of my favorite movies ever the rock yeah so good yeah i love the uh behind the scenes stuff where bay's directing uh ed harris and ed harris is just like a loose canon yes he basically is bay losing his shit in that he's no he's he's actually being pretty like he's encouraging oh that's good he's like he's like you're like you're talking to this colonel this colonel doesn't know you're saying fuck this guy right and then ed harris is like

just like ready to burn i haven't seen that i gotta see that but i've seen other clips of ed harris he's he's i think he's a temperamental artist but he's so good yeah who cares yeah yeah did you have much experiences with were you were you around on the rock i was on set with bay for sure but i i was but at that time i was struggling in my career and so when my buddy would say come to set it was like a cool thing just to sit around the monitor and just watch what happens you're at wme at the time no at that point um in 96 i was uh i was probably making trying to raise money to make my first movie for $125,000. You directed?

No, produced. I knew, listen, I went to college with really some incredibly talented people. At the time, no one knew, but literally, Wesleyan is a very small school, and the film department is a very small department. Most, we probably had 20 or 25 film majors then and at the time i was there when i was at wesley it was john turtletaub and joss whedon and miguel ortega and oh my god and all those guys were there at the same time all at the same time now do you guys ever all get together and just like well i mean i see turtletaub all the time who i

love yeah he's great. And I see Miguel because he's directing a movie for Paramount right now. So I see him on a lot. Obviously, I see Bay a lot. And he did like Cedar Rapids and like episodes of Girls. Yeah, Miguel. Well, his first movie was Star Maps when he was right out of college. He did that.

And then, you know, he did like the good girl and alexander and the terrible very bad day and chuck and buck i mean the guy's super super talented chuck and buck's incredible yeah and i heard mike white wrote that he went to wesleyan too i forgot to say mike white he went there too yeah dude what a murderer's row that's all crazy i know i heard mike white wrote chuck and buck because he saw Good Will Hunting and he thought it was so self-aggrandizing of Matt Damon to write himself as like a genius character and then play that character. So he wrote himself as like the most pathetic, sad character. That makes perfect sense. And then played that.

That'd be hilarious. Yeah. He's super talented too. So I was around really, really talented, talented people. Yeah. And the thing that I was very lucky about, and this is true, is that I recognized that I had no talent. I mean, when you're around guys like that and they're creating all sorts of stuff,

I knew I was so far behind that that in order to have any success, probably the best thing to do is if I don't have talent, I need to recognize it and get involved with it and try and work with it, right? So that's how I kind of figured out that I wanted to be a producer as opposed to a writer or director. But you had skills that they didn't have. At that time, I'm not sure. Probably, you know, being a producer requires a lot of psychology

and patience and things like that. When you were at William Morris, did you ever consider, like, the agent route? Yeah, I totally did. Mr. requires a lot of psychology and patience and things like that. When you were at William Morris, did you ever consider like the agent route? Yeah, I totally did. And that's what I wanted to do. Yeah. At the time that I was at William Morris, it was a horrible time for the agency. It was right when CAA was becoming CAA. And every day you'd come in and it was so demoralizing because CIA was stealing every client from William Morris. And then the guy I was working for, who I

loved, a guy named Brian Lord, I had only worked for him for like a couple weeks, he left to go to CIA and he didn't take me with him. And so it was just this, it was a bad time to be at William Morris. It really, you know, but I learned everything. Like at William Morris, I learned, one of the most important things I learned at William Morris was that it's important to be seen. And what I mean by that is that when I was in – I was an assistant for three years. And so when you're an assistant, you're sitting in the halls. So you see who's coming around in the halls.

And Adam Sandler, Will Smith, and Chris Rock would walk those halls. And every age, and these guys hadn't worked at this point. They were like at the first part of their career. And the agents would see them. And because they saw them, and those guys, those three guys in particular, were so charming, everyone kind of loved them. And so, you know, an agent who's thinking about casting, you know, they're hearing about a role for whatever it is, those guys started, you know, it felt to me like those guys get better treatment than people who weren't around because they were always in the forefront of their brain they

were always coming around the office and so we got a walk around our agent you do yeah you really do right it's important I I go there once or twice a month really just one meeting one meeting but Just to say what up? One meeting. But just to be around and because something I've found that wherever you're around so many creative people, something good usually

can happen from that. An idea, you know, something. So I try and do that. You guys should do that. You do whatever. You're doing great.

You don't need my help. Oh, thanks. No, that is. We need to do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Think about it. Yeah. That's smart.

I love going there. I mean, being in the agency, it's such a... It feels cool. The energy, right? It's just a lot. It's common. And the offices are incredible. Yeah.

And everyone looks like they're so focused. Yeah. And then... It's so Hollywood. Like, you know, you think you have this image of Hollywood, and then you go to an agency, and you're like, wow, this is what I pictured. Right. It's like Entourage.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. We had a meeting for something we're pitching yesterday and this manager was in there and i missed like the greetings and stuff so i had no idea who he was and we walk in he looks at our like pitch papers he's like i don't get it where's the story yeah okay so you're here and you're in this moment but why do i care and he's like trashing us for like five minutes and we're like defending ourselves and at the end of it, he goes, I got to go. But let me tell you something. I love it.

And then he walks out. Seriously? Yeah. Was that it? And that was a legit thing? It was as legit as it can be. Oh, yeah. He was.

It was very inspiring. Like his. His notes were great. Yeah. Seeing his mind working, I was like, God damn. So wait, this was a manager or an agent? Manager. Manager.

Yeah. I don't want to give too much. I don't. I'm not asking you. And I'm reducing him to like. Okay. I get it. I'm not asking you. And I'm reducing him to like caricature. Okay, I get it. I get it. It was invigorating.

Like when he was challenging us, I was like, oh, this is fun. This is like when my dad used to like challenge me. And then his ideas were good. Yeah. He was a little scatterbrained, but he was knocking down a lot of stuff. He nailed it down. Yeah. But here's the thing.

Agents are hearing so many ideas every day and they've seen what works and what doesn't work on an hour by hour basis. So they have tremendous insight. agents are hearing so many ideas every day and they've seen what works and what doesn't work on an hour by hour basis so they have tremendous insight you know you as a creator or me as a producer i'm only working on a handful of things and i'm putting everything i have into those but that doesn't mean that i'm in touch with what's selling on a day yeah right i i always say like when i went to film school for screenwriting and myU, and my teachers would be like, this isn't good because it doesn't follow these rules. And I'd be like, I don't like the rules that you're following. I don't like the way everybody else's stuff is turning out.

But I wish they just would have told me this won't sell. Like, no one will want to buy this. Because I think that would have got through to me more. Right, but let me say this to you. And I've heard that my whole career. And a lot of times they're right. But if I would have come on this show two years ago and said, I'm going to make a horror movie that has no dialogue. There's not a person say, that's a great idea.

Let's go with that. I mean, on some level, as a creator, you have to believe in your gut and think, I know something that no one else knows. And that's where great things can happen. Right? Yeah, I think my stuff doesn't have enough audience satisfaction in it. Well, that's possible. things can happen. Right? Yeah, I think my stuff just didn't have enough audience satisfaction in it. Well, that's possible. That's possible. Yeah, there's something about, I think,

knowing the rules and like for like comedy or something, the archetypes so well that from that point, you're able to break the rules. Right. I think that's important too. That's true. I think that's true. And also instinct too.

If there's like, with anything we've done, when you have that instinct, that, like, inner fire, then you bring it to people. Like, I'll bring it to, like, you know, that, I think that's, I don't know, that translates so well on sort of, like, a subconscious level. Can I ask just one, can I ask a question? Yeah.

So the first time you spoke in front of a city council, I'm curious about the process of how that came together. Yeah, I had the idea to go. I'm a huge Paul Walker fan. I had the idea. We're activists. Activists, yeah. And we want to see the country come together.

Right. And as you know, the country is kind of at loggerheads right now. For sure. To put it mildly and this is like 2017 2016 when like the divide was exacerbated it was gnarly yeah yeah it was gnarly and go ahead well my dog was like he's he's been touting paul walker forever and he was like i think he can bring the country together and i said well that's what's up and then he... Well, JT had such a profound knowledge of government procedure,

so he sort of laid out sort of that structure. How did you know that? I've always just been a policy wonk, you know, since I was a kid. Yeah. That's cool. And, you know, I came from parents who weren't politically opposed,

but definitely had different things that kicked up their brains. So, yeah. And he had the knowledge of that stuff, and then I had the passion for Paul, so I laid that in there. It's brilliant. I mean, it is brilliant. Oh, thank you.

I love it, and I've watched every one of them, and I love every one of them. Oh, thank you. Yeah, I saw city council meetings on YouTube, and I was like, oh, they filmed these. Yeah. So that would be a better way to spread our message. Obviously, we want the filmed these. Yeah. You know, so that would be a better way to spread our message as a, you know, obviously we want the statue more than anything, but.

No, but messaging is such a big part of everything. You know what I mean? And having a message that's palatable and inspiring. You really taught me is is half the battle. For sure. So people respond to passion. Yes, they do. And and you guys clearly are passionate about that. and it's it's a great thing to watch it really is thank you you know it's mutually reinforcing to you because then you see how many other people are passionate about Paul and it just makes

me more passionate about Paul like I get messages daily from people being like this is a nice thing Paul did this is a nice thing Paul did yeah there we did learn a lot too of like uh when you go personal and you go from like what you're really passionate about it has a universal for sure effect yeah and seth rogan talks about that too and like when you wrote super bad when they went personal like their experiences in high school and he's like i'm from vancouver in canada or i went to high school in vancouver i'm jewish kid or whatever it's like what kind of experiences Vancouver in Canada. I went to high school in Vancouver. I'm a Jewish kid or whatever. It's like, what kind of experiences could I have that other people would recognize? And then he's like, but then it just became huge.

One of my favorite scenes in Superbad is when the two of them have their fight. Right, right. And they really lay out their issues with one another. It felt like pulled from my actual life. But it went to a level where I had never gone with some of my friends i was like oh man i wish i could have those conversations with my friends and so it was deeply personal and it's hard to put it out there it's like when you guys talk about being vulnerable on the show oh for sure and you support each other in doing that

i'll learn more and more i've learned so much from him about vulnerability i tried there's stuff i'm still like you know yeah going back to paul though i did have some interactions with paul oh you have oh wow well i have a big reveal i don't know if you guys know this but um my partner and reform's wife is mia teretto whoa see that jordana brucer that's my partner's wife oh that's amazing yeah so um so she's aware of us she i i have to assume right now she's um working on fast nine yeah sure so she's in line yeah so i don't i don't want to distract her yeah she should be focused yeah yeah for sure but um they will if she's not she will be for sure and uh yeah so um yeah i had some interactions with him through that i That's amazing. Drew and Jordana took me and my GFF to the Fast Five premiere in Rio de Janeiro.

My favorite Fast. It's a great. Besides the first one. Well, they're all great. But, yes. That was the one where they leveled up and they were like, all right, we're getting into, like, global heist. And it kind of set the template for what would follow. And that was when Hobbes came into the picture.

Yes, he did. Hobbes came in. Yes. What was Paul like the nicest guy and the most unassuming like just super kind just kind and if you didn't know what he did for a living you wouldn't think that he's a movie star he's just a really great soulful guy he would talk all the time about the oceans and great white sharks. He loved great white sharks, and he would go diving with them, and that was his passion. I mean, that was what he was really into, and he was just like,

I don't know how else to say it, just like so warm. Do you feel like there's been this beef that's kind of happened amongst the cast of Fast? Do you feel like, i don't want to this might be too much but like if he was still around you think he could have been the glue a little bit yeah well you know i'm not sure exactly about the beef but i'm i'm but knowing his energy he definitely would have been able to you know mellow it out yeah mollify thank you i don't want to get indignant but he go to mollified.

That's a good word. You like that? Chad's all about that word. I know, he is. I got it. Yeah, I feel like his, because whenever I watch him as a kid, like his smile or just like he had that energy. Yeah.

Or like when in all the movies, it just was like so um contagious for sure in the deetles yeah oh the deetles too yeah that was his first one yeah yeah yeah so anyway but he was kind of this great he's a great guy to want to have a statue built up i mean yeah yeah like the warmest that's just great it's good to know that's good to yeah that's that reinforcement we've heard somebody i mean a bunch of people have been sending us stories about how he bought an engagement ring for this veteran. Yeah, that's one of the best stories. Yeah, I guess it was like a $24,000 ring or something. For a military vet?

Yeah, and he would just do things like that. Yeah. Just... Generous heart. Yeah, just, yeah, because he's kind. Well, Jordana really, I mean, she was so incredibly fond of him and just loved working with him. Yeah.

It was devastating what happened. It truly was. It was, yeah. Yeah, it was a sad time. So what was I going to say? What do you think it takes the most to be a good producer? Like what's the most important skill to have just to be you know i mean we're all conditioned to when we hear no to stop and

i can't tell you how many times i just recently on a quiet place how many times i heard no and just you gotta march to your own drummer and just not take the no if you believe in it and sometimes you're never going to get there but you you don't know which times you're not and which times you are. So you have to keep pushing and pushing and pushing. And for me personally, my joy is making movies that a lot of people see and really love. And I think that the part of the business that I feel good about is that I have very popular commercial taste. And those are the type of movies that I want to see.

So I kind of know what I want. I hope that the audience falls the same way I do. I haven't always been right. But if you believe that the message or whatever the story you're telling is going to find an audience, you just have to be, you can't be, you can't ever take no. Because there are so many people who have to say yes, their job is to say no.

So, and I think that a lot of times, studio executives or agents or managers or directors, everyone's looking for someone to make them feel comfortable to make a decision. And I see my job is to be the person who makes the studio say yeah we'll give you that money to go make that movie you seem really excited about it and i'm gonna support that so you know sometimes when you're earlier in your career you don't have the experience it's hard to create that sense of

certainty yeah how did i was wondering how long did that take to cultivate? Sort of like narrow down your taste and then also the ability to be persistent. Well, I think part of it is it's an evolution, right? I mean, some people make great movies the first two movies out, and then they can't repeat it, and some people are consistent. And for me, I feel like I've been very fortunate that my career has been fairly steady but not a huge you know increase like movies have done well and the next movie's done well and each time you make a movie or a tv show or you make something

that the public responds to whether it's true or not the algebra in your brain is this plus this equals this and so I need to try and achieve that again um and then you get to a place for me I got to the place you guys are not going to believe this but I've been in this business for 39 years which is crazy but it's true I've been in it for 39 years my first job was on the show happy days whoa all right um Henry Winkler is your mentor he was your mentor. He was my mentor. Yeah, that's awesome. I love that guy.

He's the greatest guy in the world. But, you know, each time you make something and it works, it's just like a little bit of confidence. In the same way, like I'm sure when you got your first big interview, that gave you the confidence to go after different people. And once it starts, you just kind of, you grow and you just are more confident in what you're doing, right? Yeah.

And so everything that we did, I could not have made A Quiet Place if I hadn't bombed on a couple movies and had other movies that worked. I mean, A Quiet Place could not have been my first film. Yeah. I wouldn't have known how to do it. I wouldn't have had the experience to do it.

So the other part of it is picking projects that are appropriate. If I tried to make a costume epic as my first film, I might not be still doing this today. Or a musical. That's what I love about this industry is the constant learning. And just becoming, you know, like even the meeting yesterday, I felt like I just, it's sort of like you just keep building this house. And it's so satisfying. Like each day, as long as you're learning, it's so fulfilling.

That's right. And then what eventually happens is that people come to rely on you for your judgment. Yeah. You know, and what you guys have accomplished already in such a short amount of time. I'm sure a lot of people, it's starting to change for you now that people want to hear what you have to say is in the beginning, you know, you were just hoping that someone in the room would just take the meeting.

Yeah. Yeah. It's even with like a, just comedian buddies, like they'll come up to me now and be like, Hey dude, what do you think about this joke? And it's someone who would never have asked me that like two years ago. You know what I mean? I'm like, well, this, that's probably the coolest part is like just being able to give someone artistic input on what they're doing. Right.

Yeah. But you earned that. I mean, you guys took something. I don't know the exact date that you started, but in a very short amount of time, you have a lot of people who are interested in what you're doing. Yeah, it's been cool. You're butter on our bread, too. No, I don't mean that, but it's true. I mean, it's been cool. Oh, you're butter on our bread, too. No, I'm not. I don't mean that, but it's true. I mean, it's...

Yeah. It's nice though. Thank you. I've been around a lot of people at the beginning of their career, and when... Some people struggle forever, and then they hit, and some people hit it big. I mean, you guys seem to have been building something for a long time, and that's because you're resonating with your audience. You found an audience that's interested in what you have to do, and you're giving them

things that are inspiring them. Well, what stuff do you think gets in the way for like certain artists like has there been directors that you could have sworn were going to be like the next spielberg or michael bay and then something got something in there yes i've been around a lot of directors where that has been the case and and i think that very often it comes down to that you know it comes down to that, you know, it's interesting how we all see ourselves, right? We see ourselves and the identity that we are. And there's one director who I love

and is a deeply, deeply passionate artist, but just never wanted to make commercial films. But he wanted to make a film. And all of his peers, all the people who were in the same, you know, you see yourself in a group with other people your age or your level, and all the guys that he was coming up with,

because at the time there weren't as many female directors as there are now, which is great, but when this guy was coming up, all those male directors were making movies and he wasn't. And then because he wanted to make the great film, like the Academy Award winning film. And then it just never really happened for him. And then he made a movie and the movie was fine and he's out.

And it's so hard because... He was too perfectionist yeah i think you and also i think that you know the the movie business you know there are certain steps you can take you know your first film has to be a decent piece of work but usually it has to it either has to resonate with the critics and in a huge way and if it doesn't make money, that's fine, because a movie like Whiplash didn't make a ton of money, but that's a fantastic movie. And you know that Damien Chazelle is a major director, and it's unbelievable, right?

So it's not all box office. But if you don't get that, if you don't get that critic support, and you don't get the money, it's a very tough thing to come out of. And that can be paralyzing, making that choice and trying to figure out how you're going to do your first project. And so some people just never even get there. So there are many commercial directors and videos aren't the same thing. But when I was coming up, a lot of commercial and video directors

who could just never make their first film. And if you saw their commercials, they the most visual things you you'd seen it beautiful and they they know how to work a camera but they could just never pick that first project so yeah it's that thing you got it you got to take the risk and make the first project but it's got to be something that resonates with you in a real way yeah and then one of the things that impressed me most about like Christopher Nolan is he went from being like a meticulous like auteur director

of like $5 million movies and then he was able to translate that to $150 million movies. And you've produced in both kind of wheelhouses, right? I think that Christopher Nolan,

his talent level, he's like Kobe. You know, I mean, it's like that's a talent his talent level, he's like Kobe. You know what I mean? It's like that's a talent. There's only five people like that a generation, and he's just supremely talented. That's not taking anything away from him. He loves the craft.

When I saw Memento, I can't tell you I knew that guy was going to do a Batman movie, but I knew that guy was going to do something great. You could just tell there was something special there. But is the skill just you got to be able to manage people when you make that leap in budget? Yes. Well, for sure. The bigger budget movies lead to more scrutiny, right?

So more scrutiny means. More skin in the game. Yeah. And more scrutiny means more people are looking at what you do and paying attention to the minutia of it. And so that's a skill set in dealing. You know, when you're making, I don't know what Memento was made for, five, six, something like that.

You know, he did not have a board of directors to answer to. But when you're taking the biggest property at Warner Brothers, excuse me, and turning that into a movie, there are a lot of people who are looking at what you do. And there's a talent to talking to those people and expressing your ideas in a very clear way that makes them say this is our guy let's go with it but but i that some of that is learned and some of that is you're just a natural born leader and the director has to be a natural born leader so to find a natural born leader who can shoot the way chris nolan shoots who has commercial taste that's that's it yeah yeah i mean that that's what you hope you find that's

awesome yeah he's his those batman movies have such a distinct feel too i mean it's they're incredible yeah he elevated like the entire genre of like superhero movies yeah I mean you're like these serious philosophical yeah emanation yeah when you they're awesome they really are yeah the Dark Knight is just like yeah I still watch it a lot when you saw the script for the purge did you sort of know right away or like alright this is a hit or here's a story about the pur So we, for the first 10 years, our company made remakes of horror movies. And so we did Texas Chainsaw, I Am an Evil Horror, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, right? And we did some other movies, but that was predominantly what the first 10 years of our career was and sequels to some of those movies. some of those movies. And we were making movies for the mid $15 million, $20 million, in that range, which at the time was not a very expensive budget for a horror movie.

And we had just finished Nightmare on Elm Street with a great director, a guy named Sam Baer, and Rooney Mara starred in the movie. We were proud of the movie. I think audiences, look, when you remake a movie and you have an iconic character like Freddy Krueger, it's not really easy for audiences to jump on board. They're coming after you. And we're used to it.

But it sucked. I mean, that's just not fun. Every time you, luckily there wasn't Twitter back then because I don't think I would have gotten out of bed. But there were certainly message boards and stuff. And people were just, they hated us for doing it. Were they naming you by name? Oh, yeah. Everyone.

Well, here's the thing. It's always Bay and his buddies. Do you know what I'm saying? But Michael's the one that took most of that heat. But anyway, so after we made Nightmare on Elm Street, that was our most successful movie. And I'm like, this is great. We made a movie. It made $120 million.

We're hot. And our phone did not ring. and for a year went by and our phone didn't ring and no one wanted to work with us it was like what happened like we thought we were doing great and we didn't have any other remake rights and what was really happening is when you go cold no one calls your agent or your manager or my wife or my kids no one calls and says you're cold it's no one wants to work with you and no one tells you why it's not like you get a memo that says you're cold and this is why just no one to work with us yeah and um that went on for a year and i got really

nervous this is 2010 and i remember saying to my wife i might have to get a job because I can't get a movie going here and yeah I had heard about Jason Blum and he had made paranormal activity right and that movie came out and suddenly now no one's gonna work with us because we just made nightmare on Elm Street for whatever the number is 20 million dollars and Blum just made a movie for a hundred thousand bucks and it's gonna make a hundred million dollars for a hundred thousand bucks why is anyone interested in made a movie for $100,000. And it's going to make $100 million for $100,000. Why is anyone interested in working with Platinum Dunes when you can make a movie for $100,000 that makes that much money?

And so our phone didn't ring for another year. And I got to, it was really rough, you know, two kids and the whole thing. And one day, for no reason at all I've never met Blum and I sent him an email and I said to him in the email you know you took my career the least you can do is take me out for a cup of coffee because I just had nothing to do like I was sitting at my desk with nothing to do and to his credit he wrote me back he goes I'd love to take out for

a cup of coffee and then we met the next day. And we sat down. And he's just such a warm, wonderful guy. I love him. And we just got along. And at the end of it, he goes, look, I'm going to go do this movie Insidious. I can't sit on set. I have to be there.

This isn't Jason Blum, who is now like a huge industry. This is a journeyman. He was a producer like me. He said, I need help making this other movie. I just got the script from James DeMonaco called Vigilandia. That's what the script was. He goes, if you guys like it, why don't you guys produce that movie? You'll be on set for me and we'll make the movie together. And I'm like, okay. And I read the script and I think there's no way we can make this movie. First of all, the budget was two and a half million bucks. And how do you make a movie for two? I'd never made a movie for two and a half million dollars.

A studio movie. You can make an independent film, but a studio movie for two and a half million dollars. And secondly, this concept is a little rough. I mean, you know, I mean, how do we get this through? And lo and behold, day after day, Blum, Form, myself, we got the studio there. And it's kind of what I say, for $2.5 million, no one's looking at you and saying, you better hit it out of the park.

They're saying, this is, hopefully something good comes of it. And we made the movie. We shot it in 18 days in Chatsworth. And in one house, we never left that house. That house, when we were shooting in a room the other rooms were the dressing rooms. It was as low budget as it could be. And Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey I mean it was a great cast

and the movie we finished the movie and the administration at Universal changes. They sell the studio to another company. They sell it to NBC and they're like we're not going to release the movie. You can't release that movie. And it felt like it was too violent.

It was socially responsible or something. Yeah, it felt like that. It felt like they weren't going to release it. And we just kept having to screen the movie on up the chain. Donna Langley, the head of Universal, saw it. And then Ron Meyer had to see it. And then the bosses at Comcast had to see it, and everyone who saw the movie said, let's go with this.

But every day it felt like you were going to get your head chopped off because any day, any decision maker on the way up could say, we're going to release this straight to video. And then I'll always remember I was making another movie the weekend it opened, and it's one of the only times in my life where I was absolutely flummoxed. Like when they said what the number was going to be for the weekend, it made no sense. It's like I knew that it was an interesting concept.

I knew that it would create conversation. I had no idea the movie was going to make $34 million off a $2 million budget. I mean, it was crazy. But even then, Blum and I, you think we can get a second one? And it just keeps going. We're making the fifth one this fall. Right, yeah, I saw that.

It's crazy. I mean, that concept, I can't tell you I knew that it would go to five movies. But I can tell you that I think it's an interesting concept. I think that the second one, I love Purge Anarchy

I love that movie is that Grillo that's Grillo what's Grillo like uh Grillo there are a lot of guys in Hollywood

yeah there are a lot of guys in Hollywood who act like they're tough guys Grillo's actually a tough guy yeah I follow him on Instagram he's it's all boxing clips

dude yeah he will he will kick the shit out of you and he was like a Wall Street guy, right? Before acting? Was he? You know,

he's ever told me that. I don't know if that's true. Maybe, but he's been acting for a long time. He was on Soaps and Grillo is a true real man.

I mean, he's a badass dude and I love him. I mean, we did two movies together and like, you love being around him. He's,

if you're around Grillo, you never have to worry about anything. You know what I'm saying? He'll take care of you. He'll take care of you. There's nothing bad. I love him. and like you love being around him he's if you're around gorilla you never have to worry about anything you know what i'm saying he'll take care of you there's no nothing bad i love him man yeah and the purge too the thing i love watching it is like you're just thinking the whole time but that's the great thing about the concept right yeah like the whole time you're like what i like what would i you know what i mean it's so so, yeah, I just love it, yeah. What would you do? Yeah, what would you do?

Would I purge? You know, I don't think I'd purge. I don't think you would. No, I don't think I'd purge, but. You just bury down the hatches at the house and protect yours? Yeah, I'd bury it down, but maybe I'd throw a rager for it. What about you, JT? I don't think I'd purge either. Yeah.

Maybe if I was like 15 for once, but then I think it'd leave a bad taste in my mouth. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm not doing this again. For sure. Yeah, what about you? No, I'm definitely not purging. Aaron, would you purge?

I feel like Aaron would purge. Really? I'm just saying that. He might. No, no. I've been asked this question before at a party and I I think I would I would maybe destroy a little property but uh for sure we had it in it if I was gonna purge I'd purge with you dudes yeah oh yeah my pretty interesting

is that this conversation that a movie creates that conversation is I think the reason that it just keeps going yeah because it is you know the culture changes I mean DeMonaco in the third one basically wrote the election that we had that it just keeps going. Oh, totally. People love it because it is, you know, the culture changes. I mean, DeMonaco in the third one basically wrote the election that we had with Donald Trump and Hillary, and he wrote it a year and a half before that whole thing happened. Really? So when it came out, that was right when all of that stuff was happening

where you had a female candidate and, you know, so I don't know. DeMonaco's a genius and knows exactly what's going happen in America for better or for worse and he just keeps writing these movies that kind of just fit right into the culture yeah where do you see that going with like political commentary and film right now it feels like people are so fatigued on it well I think but if it's good does it still play yeah listen it's a different time too because so you know I think there was a time five years ago where not everyone was watching MSNBC or Fox or whatever. And the politics were so much a part of the daily conversation.

I mean, I'm talking about with people like your age that I think that that has become more of a thing that you can get for free on TV. that that has become more of a thing that you can get for free on TV. So it's hard to do it in a relevant way, you know, in movies and also on television. Although, you know, something like House of Cards really resonated. I thought that was a pretty amazing show when I watched it. But there's always going to be a portion of that in the movie world. But I just think traditionally things that you can get for free, it's hard to get people to go into the theaters and pay for it. Yeah, it is refreshing to sort of get a break from the politics. First, just get the escapism. Yeah, I'm a big escapism guy. But that's why I'm confused that, you know, everyone says

that rated R comedies, you know, don't do what they used to do. And I've just seen people want to go into the theater and laugh. And I'm surprised that comedies aren't doing better because these are, you know, these are dark, tough times. But it doesn't seem like people are going to the theater to laugh. Yeah, well, it seems like the comedies that are trying to address it head on

are a bit too, like, didactic or something like that. And then the escapist stuff doesn't feel like it has enough teeth. And there has to be, like, a sweet spot that i don't know if i've really seen executed a lot but then i think about like in the 70s like when all the watergate stuff happened coming off uh vietnam there was like such a run of great art yeah and so i think it's coming i just don't know if anyone's really captured what needs to be said yet well i think oh go ahead didactic to firework i was going to say to you that's what i was going to say that's gonna be your next word didactic i got it well i gotta figure out what it means because i was just

wondering this whole time i think it means like a like too explained like you're teaching me too much with what you're saying okay it's a strong dogma didactic is like a strong dogma. Didactic is like a strong dogma. Let's go. I love that you did that. So I'm indignant by your didactic nature. Thank you. How'd you do? Yeah, fireworks.

I love all the threads are coming together. Thank you. You know, but, you know, traditionally you talk about the 70s, JT. Movies were not as big a risk in the 70s. And the corporations that were making movies were not publicly traded companies in the same way that they are. And you could take a lot more risk. And the studios were making a lot more movies back in those days. You know, I mean, as recently as 2007, Paramount Pictures was releasing 25 movies a year.

I think this year they'll release eight or nine. You know, it's a different time. And because of that, you know, what really as a producer, and we can or cannot discuss this, it really begs the question, what's a movie? You know, if you're watching it on Netflix and it's two hours long, that's a movie, right? But that's not a movie that goes into movie theaters.

And so are we going to have a culture where there are movies that you can watch in your home and where there are movies that you can watch in your home and then there are movies you can watch in movie theaters and you know are people going to the question that keeps me up every night is you know are people going to go see movies in movie theaters in the way that they used to i mean it's just you know every day you hear about you know all the streaming services and they're going to be making movies for that and so as my role as a producer you know where where do movie producers fit into that, right? Well, horror seems to be protected a little bit, right?

It does. Because it has that community experience. It does. But a lot of people that I've found is that a lot of people don't like to see horror movies in theaters because they don't want to be embarrassed by jumping or being scared in the theater. And they want to see it at home.

When I went to see The Conjuring, I went with my buddy Ass Clown. Is that his first name or last name? Both. His whole name. Okay, cool. Ass and Clown. Okay, yeah.

We went to see The Conjuring, and I love to get a huge soda and a huge popcorn. And he had already seen it. So he knew all the scary parts. So I was holding all these. And I was at like the top of the theater and he like scared me at this one but he like he like jumped at me and i'm like fucking like it just like flew and then like the soda was just like streaming down the theater i was like oh that fucked this up no but that's but that is part of the movie going i love it's so

memorable yeah i love it and with a quiet place that was a great thing because if someone sneezed or someone ate chewed their food, we would hear all the time that people start yelling at them in the theater. That's amazing. I mean, that's why I like to go to the movies is to have that experience. Last night, because I knew I was coming in here, I went to see the Quentin Tarantino movie because you guys have been talking about that movie a lot. And it was very interesting to me because I've seen a lot of violent movies and I've become desensitized because i make them and um the woman sitting next to me i'm not going to give any

spoiler away but the woman sitting next to me at the end of the movie when there's a little bit of violence it was crazy how she crumbled i mean it was super uncomfortable really turned her off yeah really turned her off and she like she and she was moaning i mean it was kind of this thing that i haven't experienced and i i wondered if that was a good experience like is that a fun experience to have right there or was she as miserable as she sounded you know i mean yeah but that's but that movie going experience affected my experience of watching the movie and so if you can have a movie where the audience is either laughing together or screaming together, I think that makes it better. And if movies are at home,

you don't get that. So I'm always hopeful that whatever we make, the audience can have a collective experience where they're experiencing the same emotion at the exact same time. I think theaters will still... I hope so. I think so too.

It's such a... I love going to the theater so much. I mean, I just can't... I mean, I understand that they're losing money, but, I mean, it's just like it's such a – Rich cultural experience. Yeah, it's such an integral part of life, I think. But it's so sad that the studios aren't making 25 movies a year anymore. Yeah.

That's a pity because when you do that, so many other people – so many people get opportunities, right? So many young filmmakers or young actors or actresses or writers, directors. And so less movies, less opportunities for that. Yeah. This is a question I've always wondered for my whole life, I guess. When you're making a horror film, do you get scared on set? Okay.

So the answer usually is no. Okay. But there was a scene. We made a movie that i don't know if you ever saw um it was called texas chainsaw the beginning it was the sequel to what's that 2005 yes how do you yeah yeah i think i think it's starring geordana brewster by the way i did i watched that with my girlfriend last halloween that's how i know your gf yeah my gf okay so there's a scene in there when leatherface basically pulls off matt bomer's face it was at a time when the saw movies were out and hostile was out and we were going for it torture porn yeah and when we shot the scene it was a dummy and you know he but it was a really elaborate dummy, and the actor peels the face off,

and I stepped away from the monitor because I just don't want that in my head. I don't want, when I close my eyes, to ever see that. And whenever the scene came up, and I had to watch the movie 150 times whenever it came up, I would look away. I try and be protective of my dome of imagery that I don't want in there. Smart. That's smart. So scary, no, but there are things that are profoundly disturbing.

And at this point in my career, I don't want to do stuff where I feel that way about it. You know, that's one of the many reasons I'm proud of A Quiet Place. There was nothing in there that I was, you know, uncomfortable about or that I felt, you know, I wanted to look away. Yeah. uncomfortable about or that I felt, you know, I wanted to look away. Yeah. Well, yeah, what was cool about A Quiet Place is it had like this theme of like with your family, how much would you do to protect your family kind of thing? Which like, yeah, I feel like with The Purge and with that, there's all these other kind

of questions that it brings up, that those movies bring up as opposed to just, you know, just scary stuff. There's like like it works your mind as well i feel like yeah well if we if we succeed in it it does that yeah we aren't always that lucky yeah what are you scared of just in general um it's not good for the pod but um you know getting older is not it's never a fun thing and It's kids, you know, and raising my kids. And, you know, these are challenging times, you know, and you want your kids to grow up in a world where it's better than the one you grew up in.

And I'm not sure that's the case, you know. I mean, it's just these are hard times. How old are your kids? Your age. Nice. 26 and 22. Nice. Are they legends?

Your age. Nice. 26 and 22. Nice. Are they legends? My older son is legendary. He's an actor, and he does fairly well on Instagram, too. He's got a lot of followers and does well with that.

My younger son goes to USC. Nice. They both went to USC, yeah. Cool, cool. Did you know anybody involved in the scandal? I did. I did know some people who were involved in the scandal. Do they still come around as much?

Well, I don't know. It's not like I don't know them that way. Just people who you meet over the course. It's a small community. That is a really scary thing that happened there. And a lot of people had bad judgment. And I've tried to teach that to my kids as a real teaching moment, which is my younger son will say to me, Dad, my friends—I'll say, Paxton, you're drinking too much.

Dad, my friends drink so much more than I do. I'm not drinking too much, and he'll say that to me. And I said, Paxton, there were all. And he'll say that to me. And, you know, I said, Paxton, there were all these kids who, parents who wanted to get their kids into schools and they were willing to do things that were probably not good judgment. That doesn't mean it was okay for them to do it. And now they're all paying the price for it. So I tried to use it a little bit as a teacher moment. But that whole thing, it kind of rocked my, luckily my kids are older, so it didn't rock our world directly but it rocked the world that we're in for sure did you party do you party not i really

didn't i mean i do like to drink but i didn't really start to drink until i was in my 30s or 40s and i drink really good alcohol did you and michael bay ever get after it no no i didn't because listen i got married young and i had kids young. I had my son when I was 27 years old. Wow. And, you know, I felt like from that moment on I was behind the eight ball. And before that, you know, if you're working at William Morris, you've got to wake up at 6, you know, and you're getting yelled at all day. And then you're getting called all night.

You kind of have to be on your toes. You don't really have in those days. There's no time. But, you know was you know I want to bring tequila tonight I love to have a drink or three you know and that's it but I also feel like you know as you get older and you have responsibility if you're compromised in a time when someone needs you that's not a good thing either that's what's tough now is that it's 24 hours a day right you know what I mean right didn't used to have a cell phone or yeah like you get home i'll lay back sometimes and i'll smoke some weed or drink or something and then you know

chad will fire him like i just i just made some revisions to like this you know character sheet i'm like fuck you know what i mean yeah or a family thing can pop you know what i mean yeah you're kind of it's hard to know when it's okay right and i remember distinctly one night bae called me and we were talking about a script or what the script came in and we're talking and he goes dude i know you i can hear it in your voice you're drunk don't you know we were doing notes do you know like he knew yeah he said you can't and like you're right dude you're right i shouldn't like you so when you have a lot of responsibility it's's hard to party that much. What's your preferred drink of choice? Well, it changes.

Yeah. Right now, I'm loving tequilas. Tequila. Yeah. Don Julio. I like Clas Azul. Okay. And Casa Dragonas.

Yeah. Those are... Those sound sexy. Have you ever had them? No. I was going to bring you a bottle. No, next time. Next time we will.

Yeah. It's so good. It's so good. But it changes, you know? Yeah. I do love to bring you a bottle. No, next time. Next time we will. Yeah, next time. It's so good. It's so good. But it changes, you know. Yeah. I do love to have a drink, one drink. Yeah. What's the thing about Michael Bay that would surprise people the most?

There's a – okay, that's a great question. I think that Michael would – I think people would be surprised if they knew how truly hardworking he is. Like when he makes a movie, he leaves it all on the field. You know, Michael will come back from making a movie. He's already a really thin guy. He'll be 15 pounds lighter because he's working 24 hours a day. And he doesn't expect anyone on his sets to do something that he wouldn't do other than jumping off a building. But do you know what I'm saying?

Like he's so passionate about what he does. And, you know, sometimes I think he gets a bum rap about other things that don't have to do with the way that he directs movies. But there is no other way. What are those things? Oh, and there's one other thing. And I'll go into those other things. Also, Michael technically knows everything about filmmaking.

There are some directors that know some lenses Michael can do every job on the set and I think that's really um incredible I think Michael gets a bum rap you know like he drives a Ferrari he dates really hot girls he's a good looking guy you know it's I think that in in the past the press the packaging can kind of throw people off yeah I think it can I think it can but I think it can. But I mean, yeah, and I mean this sincerely. I'm a huge fan. And when you watch his movies, you know it's a Michael Bay movie in one frame. Right away.

You know what I mean? He's got his maximalist visual side. No, I think it's the most important thing for a director. How many directors, how many auteurs are there? Like when you walk out of an auteur's movie, you feel like the auteur has reworked your brain, that you're experiencing the world the way they see it for's right a little bit and he does that as well as anybody and i could show you before he made movies he was a photographer i can show you photos where you could see that he had his eyes saw things differently and in every one of his movies he does that and he reinvents that

or does that in a different way i mean when you think about vision uh cg cg movies where there were cg characters i think i don't know if Bay was the first one, but he was the first one that I'm aware of that really moved the camera at the same time as the character was moving because it used to be a lockdown. You would lock the camera down, and then that's how you would put the visual effect in. Bay said, you guys have to figure out how to do it because I'm moving my camera, and you have to put the character in there. So, yeah, I don't think he gets. When I was in junior college, I had a speech class and my final speech was on elevating Michael into the rank of auteur. Are you serious? I swear to God, yeah. What did you get on that?

I got an A. I was the best speaker in the class not to talk shit. And this was a great teacher, super encouraging. That's cool. Yeah, it was fun. He'd love that. Bay would love that. Yeah, I had like average shot length between him and Scorsese. It's cool. Yeah, it was fun. He'd love that. Babe would love that. Yeah, I had like average shot length between him and Scorsese. It's like fairly close because people said he cuts so quick.

Right. But I mean, that was just contemporary. That's what everyone was doing at the time. Right. Yeah. Before I had any film knowledge, like he was one of the few directors I knew by name because I watched like Bad Boys 2, the making of on MTV. And I was like, that was like my favorite.

I was like, oh, like that scene on the uh the bridge in Miami where they're throwing off cars like this guy takes it next level yeah sure you know but he also he was a rock star I mean I say he was he is he was an Eminem there was an Eminem campaign with Michael Bay as an Eminem whoa interesting yeah when he would get into like when he had his like public feud with like U-Bowl or whatever do you remember that yeah yeah were you like counseling him you're like just stay out of this because they were gonna like there's no counseling when he does when that stuff happens but they goes or not right it's very hard i think he's gotten better now you know we're all older now but in those days he would not back down from a feud really yeah that's pretty. Yeah, but also there wasn't Twitter.

I mean, it was a different time. Yeah, yeah. You know, and a lot of the things you do now live forever. Back then it didn't, which is to his benefit, I'm sure. So you were like, all right, they're just going to fight, and that's just how it is. Yeah, yeah. I've been with Michael when he's ready to go.

I mean, we've been out, and he is ready. You know, I remember we were walking in someplace for for a premiere and someone said something wrong to him. And he kind of walked right up to the guy and he said, really? Yeah. Yeah, he'll go. Did he always have that? Yeah. Right.

Yeah. Does that help him as a director? For sure. He's a great leader. He's an alpha male. You know what I mean? Right. If you're exploding as much things as he's exploding and doing other things,

you better want to follow that guy into battle. What happens on set when there's two alphas like that? Well, I think that it's Michael's job to figure out how to work with those people. I mean – I imagine him and Bruce Willis. It must just be like just the biggest personalities imaginable. But Michael, if he were here, he would about that you know he had to think about I think it was the first time he had worked with an actor where he really had to think

about how am I going to communicate with this person because I can't communicate the way I normally do exactly what you said because it's two alpha dogs and so Michael figured out a way to work with Bruce and came away from that movie Bruce loved working with Michael the same thing with Sean Connery you know in the beginning Sean Connery I imagine I don't know this but I remember feeling that Sean thought that Michael was kind of a punk director and by the end of it Michael Bay is his favorite director you know right you have to figure that's part of the psychology of being a director yeah so interesting yeah Yeah, it seems so...

I have nothing really to say. I'm just listening. Is it boring? No, no, I love it. It's so special. It's hard to wrap my head around. I'm honestly trying to keep up because he has more film knowledge than I do.

So I'm just kind of like, how can I contribute? You're doing a great job. I'm a big fan. Oh, thank you. Yeah, I was just with the... Whatever. But I appreciate it. Thank you. He was being a little didactic with his film knowledge. It was didactic. Big fan. Oh, thank you. Yeah, I was just with the mic. Whatever. But I appreciate it.

Thank you. He was being a little didactic with his film knowledge. It was didactic. I know. I write notes to myself to chill. I was getting indignant with myself. Really? Well done.

You held it in. You're being very vulnerable. I appreciate that. Yeah. I just read a comment, too, that someone said I talk over the guest too much. Oh, really? Yeah. Where do you see that?

YouTube. I promised myself I'd stop reading. Yeah, I thought you stopped. I know. Oh, really? Yeah. Where do you see that? YouTube. I promised myself I'd stop reading them. Yeah, I thought you stopped. I know. Nothing good comes of that. I only read the podcast comments on YouTube. All right. Yeah.

It is hard to resist. Yeah, but you can't do it. Do you read reviews? Reviews I do. Right. It's the worst. It's just the worst. Yeah.

Is there any critics you're just like, if I see A.O. Scott? No. the worst yeah is there any critics you're just like if i see a.o scott no there um no there really isn't because i've done a couple you know a bunch of films and luckily i've not encountered one person who hates us across the board you know a quiet place changed a lot of that yeah but before that yeah there were definitely people who would just take a run at us just because we were remaking every other movie. So, I mean, literally every comment was, why are you ruining my childhood? Right.

Really? Every single day. A million times a day. Yeah. Do you have to counsel? Is that part of the job to, like, counsel the director or, like, the star when they get wind of that stuff? I just always tell people not to read it, you know, because at the end of the day, hopefully you make something that people like and all of that is irrelevant. You know, there's always going to be haters.

Yeah. I mean, you know, it was interesting. I was listening to your last pod and what Saul was saying about Kelly Slater, you know, the greatest surfer that there ever was. And they're just brutal to him. Yeah. So I'm just not sure if that's really helpful to read especially when you're making something sometimes when it's over maybe or if you're in edit you're cutting and it can be helpful but when you're making it you just don't want that bad energy

are you going to do like a tell-all memoir like um you know i used to want to write a book um with the the front of the book was a picture of me and Drew. And the title of the book was not an original idea in either of our heads, you know, because we're making all these remakes. And then I thought, you know, I don't think anyone cares, first of all. I'm not sure that anyone cares with what we have to say. And secondly, I'm violating confidence. And I've seen so many people that everyone is aware of at their worst and I wouldn't want to be evaluated when I'm at my worst when you're making a movie and it's three

o'clock in the morning and you have to work till seven or eight in the morning and you're an actor and you're wet and it's cold and you're just not behaving the way you want to behave no one wants to be called on the carpet for that that's part part of the process. But some of those books do, you know, make people out to be not great. And so I just figure, you know, I'll do a podcast and tell stories on the podcast, but I don't see I'll ever. So like those producers, when they do that, like, uh, who's the guy like Art Linson? Yeah. Does, does that change the way people think about him in town?

I think kind of like big mouth art, couldn't keep his mouth shut about, like... Well, I mean, the biggest one of those was Julia Phillips, who did You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again. Have you read that book? No. Stop what you're doing and read that book. Okay. It is the definitive book on Hollywood in the 70s and 80s. Okay, I'll check it out.

You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again. in the 70s and 80s. Okay, I'll check it out. You'll never eat lunch in this town again. And I think that after that happened, it makes a lot of people not look good, and I'm just not sure how helpful that is. I don't know what the... For me, there's no upside.

I've had a pretty good career, and I'm grateful for it. How much time do you spend on set? Now, a lot less than I used to. My partner, Drew, spends all... Like, Drew's in Buffalo right now shooting A Quiet Place 2. Cool. And I'm at the home office trying to come up with new movies Yeah, so we were first both to be on set is a bad use of our time

How many scripts come through a day? Probably two or three day Wow It's a lot Yeah But I'm grateful for it and people are sending us stuff that they believe in, and I'm trying to help people get stuff made. Was the human centipede, was that circulating around town, or did that guy just, he's like, I'm making this movie. I think he's, I'm making it.

By the way, that's a movie I won't see, because that's another image I don't want in my head. I told my brother Bill about it. Heads and asses? Yeah, I told my brother Bill about it, and he was so angry at me for just telling him the premise of the movie. Right. He was like, I've never seen it.

And you're like, Bill, it's art, dude. Yeah. Yeah. I don't want that in my head either. Yeah.

That was a shocking one. Yeah. Yeah. Did they actually stick heads and butts during, was it practical effects? I can't imagine they did. Yeah. There,

there, there's, I saw it. Oh, you did? I'm just going to come off clean. I saw it. Yeah.

Uh, and it looked, there, there was a, I'm, you did? I'm just going to come off clean. I saw it. You're a risk taker. There was a, you know, I like adrenaline. And it looked like there was, I mean, I don't even fucking know. Go, baby. It looked like there was contact. Really? It did?

Yeah. That can happen. Yeah. In this era, that guy's going to get in a lot of trouble. For sure. Yeah. You can't get away with that. Tom Six, I think that's his name.

I don't know. Yeah. I don't have a lot of trouble. For sure. Tom Six, I think that's his name. I don't know. I don't have a lot to say on that subject. My brother's like, you've got to ask about human centipedes. You've got to. It's so absurd. Right. Did that get a theatrical release? I don't know.

I don't think so. Was it rated? I think it's like 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. Really? No, I'm kidding. Oh, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know.

68 on Metacritic. I know Brie Olsen, the porn star, was in the third one. Oh, really? Oh, so it's a franchise. Yeah, there's three of them. Wow. Yeah. So someone's watching that and enjoying it. Yeah, my college roommate, Tommy.

Tommy's loving it? He's watching them. Good for Tommy. Yeah. He has my Netflix password, so he'll uh sorry netflix um but he'll uh he likes weird like horror like french horror movies so like the whole like recently watched i'm like what are these yeah like he's got an interesting taste yeah for sure yeah i have friends who are horror fanatics who watch like all the niche stuff yeah and it's a genre

it scares me too much i had nightmares growing up like I would watch a trailer for like Child's Play and I couldn't sleep in my own bed till I was like 15 there's something really yeah so did you ever see Texas Chainsaw Massacre I did yeah cuz my best buddy Greg was a horror fanatic so I'd go over to his house and his whole family it was like how they bonded so I watched the original one and actually looking back on it the filmmaking is one of the most impressive parts, like the DIY aesthetic of it. And then I watched the later one with Beale too.

And that was, that was really good. Yeah. And I watched House of Wax. There was that big run at that time. Paris got a pull through. Yeah. Yeah.

The Beale one was the first movie we made. Really? Yeah. That was, I was, went with so many friends to see that. It was like the movie of the moment. You know what I mean? It was a magical experience for us. There is something about going to see a horror movie in theaters that it gets, it's

like, it's like it going on a roller coaster kind of. For sure. It brings up different feelings that I love it. Are you nervous day to day about what's next and stuff like that? Oh, yeah. On some level, I am because we have a company now, and we have people working for us, and we have to keep making things. But we're making A Quiet Place 2, and we're going to make a third season of Jack Ryan.

So I think there'll be another Purge movie. So there are things coming up that keep us occupied, but it's not enough. And I challenge myself and our employees every day to keep on finding great concepts that are scary and compelling and try and find new directors to work with and new writers to work with. There's never a moment where you breathe and you say, oh, it's going to be great. That doesn't happen. Do you have a dream project like Napoleon,

Kubrick's Napoleon or something like that? No, my dream project, my favorite movie growing up, I saw the Poseidon Adventure and it changed my life. And I wanted to remake that and then they did. They did? Yeah, with Josh Lucas. Yeah. So, you know, that movie, the Poseidon Adventure made me want to become a producer. I just loved that movie.osh lucas yeah so you know that movie the pesani adventure

made me want to become a producer i just loved that movie did you did you see that i haven't seen the original it's so good you got to see the original but it's like the defining disaster movie defining and the cast is great and then did you see towering inferno no no you've got to see both of those movies so you know the book you're going to read you'll never eat lunch in this town again julia phillip and julia we'll have you back on and we'll we'll do a rundown okay good and you got to watch percent adventure and towering inferno the best casts i mean the greatest actors of the day all in that movie together yeah oj is in towering inferno yes oj is all right but forget oj you got steve mcqueen and paul paul newman in a movie together

wow so it's awesome wow If you're into that. No, I'm very into it. Yeah. Yeah. I like old, handsome actors. Yeah. Well, they're in there. Yeah, they're about as handsome as it comes.

Yeah. And Robert Wagner. I don't know him. You don't know him? No. Okay, you'll recognize him. It's all right. And then I want to ask you, so you worked on A Thin Red Line?

No, that wasn't me. There's another editor called Brad Fuller. Oh, okay. I wish that was me. That's a great movie, isn't it? Yeah. And I was curious about Terrence Malick. Yeah.

No, that's not me. Sorry. That's cool. That is cool. Should we answer some questions? Yeah, let's dive in. How often do you guys, do you get questions every day? I think so.

Yeah, I looked at the account the email account uh today it looks like we're getting them in daily yeah isn't that nice it is i mean people are relying on you to help them to help raise their stoke levels and and to help them with their relationship problems i think that's a nice place to be is that it's a good feeling yeah that they come to us so it is really like, I never would have predicted it as something that I was doing. When we first started doing it, when the questions started coming in,

it was like, it was a cool feeling. Like, wow, these are just flowing in. But you know what I like about your answers is that it's pretty evolved. You know, you guys are always, it seems like you're always taking the high road. Because some of these questions,

they're a little rough and you always, I notice you guys always take the high road. Yeah, I think we try to be our best selves and then also implement. I like self-help and all that kind of stuff a lot. So implement all of those things that I've learned. Cause after college I was watching like, you know,

all, I was just reading books and stuff because I love just like, right. I love, uh, optimizing or whatever. And so being able to apply that into my life and then like see it and like, it's,

I love it. It's cool. Yeah. And I love therapy and stuff. That's really helped me. So I just try to take whatever my therapist is saying. Yeah. Repackage it. And also when we started, we were a little more like raw or playful with our answers, but then I saw how sincere the questions were and I was like, all right, yeah, we kind of owe it to, to return the same emotion

back. Yeah. It's nice. You begin to see how it's, it's people take it, you know, for real advice. So, I mean, it's meant to be real, but they, you know,

they really hang on to it. So, you know, we, we sort of notice that it has an effect. So I got to, and the pods kind of like an accountability thing because, because I have to check in every week and like,

whatever I do, it's going to come out at some point. So I got to – whatever I do, I'm thinking like, well, is this something I'd be okay with like people who listen to me knowing? Right. Yeah. You've wrestled with that before on the pod. Yeah. Yeah, I've heard you talk about that.

And so – There is something about – when we start doing this, it's like – uh, it does sort of elevate us to, to sort of be our best selves because, you know, there'll be times when, you know, people look at us like, um,

the Instagram says savant of stoke, you know, and there'll be times where I'm like, I'll, if I'm like bummed or something, I'll be like, I can't allow this. You know,

I need to, I need to break. Yeah. I mean, this is just unacceptable. Right. So you need to froth again and just all those bummer feelings need to get the fuck out. Right.

Yeah. Right. It's true. Yeah, so I don't know. All right. What's up, brothers? I'm from Tampa and I'm a big fan of your podcast. Me and my older brother have been listening to you guys for a year now.

And some of my best memories have been the drives to school, bumping your angelic voices on our stereo. But my brother left for college last August, and it took a huge toll on my happiness. The guy is my best friend and my favorite person to be around. This summer he came back for around four months, and I once again got accustomed to his presence around the house. Now that summer is ending, he is about to leave again, and I feel as though I'm going to be stuck in the same pit I was last year.

Only this time it's my senior year of high school and it will be more difficult to handle. My question is, what advice would you give to a younger sibling trying to cope with the absence of his beloved older sibling who's now hundreds of miles away? Thank you guys and keep up the fire content. You guys are my heroes. Can I just say as a parent, that's the greatest email that you would want your kid to write about another one? Yeah, it amazing is that yeah they have a great relationship i like that i really do like that um don't you think that though distance i mean families are spread all over the place i mean chad your family's everywhere everywhere yeah you know i mean just because you're not in geographically the same city with facetime and cell phones and it's kind of easy to communicate very regularly.

Absolutely. It's a beautiful email. Yeah. And I think when I left before my brother, I think what really, it was an opportunity for my brother to kind of blossom. Right. You know what I mean? So I think you've got this same opportunity.

The aspects that you like about your brother, you can enhance those in yourself and then you've got stuff he doesn't have and that can enhance and then you you really got a chance now to kind of self-determine who you are without any influence i mean it's great influence but it's still a good opportunity so i think just go at it with the energy your brother would want you to and for motivation you can think about when your brother returns yeah you know you could be like look at me now kind of thing have Have some epic stuff to show. Yeah, how much you've evolved. And that's when my brothers would go away, you know, I wanted something to show them. You know, I want to be like, look at these new skills,

look at my tan, my hair is on fire right now. You know, that was an important thing. So, like, I... Well, those are important. Oh, for sure. and they were impressed they always got comments that's cool and also when you're sibling or your parents when you leave them for a while I always think it strengthens the relationship yeah cuz you're so jacked when you see him right yeah right yeah and you realize how grateful you are for them right my younger brother moved to New York to intern for to do a job and when I came out to visit him he had just read

crime and punishment by dos kersky visit him he had just read crime and punishment by doskowski his brain was firing on all cylinders and i was so jacked when i saw him i was like listen to the clarity in your sentences dog let's go man that's cool yeah so i think yeah this guy can step out of the shadow if he didn't say his brother's a shadow but he can kind of step into his own light there right yes yeah and be his own dude find his own identity yeah kind of step into his own light there. Yes. Yeah.

And be his own dude. Find his own identity. Yeah. Hey, so I've been with my girlfriend for a year now. It's so great on almost every level, except for one during sex. She orgasms,

which is great. But after she orgasms, she kind of just quits, like doesn't put any more effort in because she's so exhausted. I'm pumped. She has orgasms, but I need more reciprocity for my end. How can I keep her libido high? Well, uh, orgasms but i need more reciprocity for my end how can i keep her libido high well uh can't he regulate how quickly that happens with her like babe slow down yeah yeah let's get there together let's communicate let's have let's

communicate about this and make sure that our timing is better yeah yeah yeah so maybe just maybe he's a little nervous to communicate. Right. Right. Cause he's so pumped for her. He's like, no, you just get yours and then I'll, I'll, I'll be all right. But it's not selfish to be like, Hey, slow down. I'm here. Where are you at? Just communicate. Yeah. You know, what's crazy about that question though, is I'm sure that if you cataloged every question that there are a lot more questions about guys finishing earlier than you. Right. I mean, how many questions do you get about going the other way yeah i'm impressed by the endurance of a lot of our listeners for sure yeah that's impressive proud of you stokers

yeah i think he's gotta be honest with her look like look babe i know i can get you there but no rush all right and there are other things i mean there are other things. I mean, there are other, you can, you can get a closer other ways than that. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I like what you're dancing around. Yeah. I want to be polite the way I'm saying it. I dig it. Yeah. People have been calling for us to be a little bit more polite so they can play it out loud at work. Biggest, biggest takeaway is time is a construct, you know, you can play around with it. Yes. You know? Yeah. Einstein said it best, you know? Right. McConaughey did it in Interstellar.

Right. Just go into that black hole. Right. Not yet. What's up, guys? What are your thoughts on dudes selling foot pics on the gram? I work in law enforcement, but it's a new career, and I'm not making bank yet. I heard this girl at a party talking about how she sells pics of her feet to dudes online and makes good extra cash.

After some research, I see that dudes sell pics too. I'm not a foot fetish dude, but seems pretty easy enough to snap some pics of the feet and send them out. What are your thoughts? Easy money or too weird and going down a dark foot path? Something I always think about and it has been very helpful in my, is if my kids found out what I was doing, how would they view that, right? And so everyone has their own moral code. You know, if this guy is not, if that's not something that would be embarrassing or odd down the road, then, you know, I guess you do whatever makes you feel comfortable, right? I mean, on some level,

but you have to hold yourself to a high moral code. Like, is that going to be something that could be embarrassing down the line? I totally agree. Like whatever you do now, you have to be comfortable with 10, 20, 30 years from now. Yeah. It's like a tattoo. It's like people might not see it, but at some point they will. Right.

You know? So I would just think very seriously. I don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong about it. But unless you're sure that you're okay with being that guy at every... And what if you're going to be chief of the police one day? Is that something that could get in the way of that? Yeah. And I don't think that should preclude you from being chief, but some people will. And a lot of people might agree with them. So, I mean, if you need cash, down to get that money but just think very seriously about how the other people in your life might interpret it one day yeah like props to him for having nice feet

oh i think that's a really good point yeah that's good um you know nice feet are a dime a dozen so i'm stoked for him on that but i mean yeah feel like quick, easy cash is never really a good thing. When it's quick and easy, you know there's a barb at the end of that hook. Dude, wow, you are – that is incredibly profound. Yeah, I think it's because I'm sitting next to JT. So this is working out for you. His verbiage is, you know – That's cool.

It's infectious. Awesome. That's ironic because now I don't know what to say. I got you. Thank you. Yo, bros, have a nice shindig. High stoke levels. It came out that I used to be able to suck my own dick.

One in 400 men. Then all the boys started to dog me. I feel like it's the same as jerking off. Jerking off a dude is sucking your own ween gay if you never nut it in your own mouth. Even if you don't answer on the pod please respond this is permanently divided the boys well i'm i'm not sure how to answer that i mean that yeah that's a tough question i i'm gonna look to you guys because you you've been you're great at this what do you guys think it's kind of a landmine it's kind of a

landmine yeah for sure look i think we're way too puritanical in how we judge things. And I'm guilty of it too. When someone tells me what their weird sexual proclivity is, I almost always get turned off. It's much easier to say your own to people than to be on the receiving end of it. But I think if you are going to be this dude, you're going to need boatloads of charisma. You know what I mean? This is a tough one to sell i mean i don't know where it falls on the sexual spectrum i don't think it matters what matters is that you want to be open about this and if you want to be open about this you got to have a lot of other cool shit going on for this not to be the defining thing that people know you buy because when people hear that they're

going to automatically pin that to you and that's gonna be the first thing that pops in their head unless you can do so much other dope shit that somehow it can fall to like it's probably never going to be below fourth but if you can get it to like three or fourth i think you can live a pretty good life what does the squad think of this the squad is divided so i think it's all the guys on one end and him on the other yeah right but people fear what they don't know right that's the line from bugsy i think right and and people don't know about this. That's the line from Bugsy, I think. Right. And people don't know about this. Right. And they're afraid of it.

And you might be right, but the culture is not where you're at right now. So I don't know, man. I think it's going to be a tough road ahead for you. I'm glad you found something that, you know, is good for you, but it's going to be tough. I think, you know, props, to this guy for his abilities. His flexibility. I mean, these past two questions, these guys have unique bodies. So props to him for that.

And I think this guy, he can be a beacon for self-love. I think self-love is important. I think you've got to love yourself first before you can give or accept the love of another. So you can just say, if people question you about it, be like, it's, you know, you got to love yourself first before you can give or accept the love of another. So you can just say, you know, people question you about it. Be like, it's self-love. You know, I love myself and this is my way of showing it. And I'm proud. Cool.

Aaron, what say you, dog? I mean, that's not where I thought that email was going from the start. So I laughed pretty hard. That's not where I thought that email was going from the start. So I laughed pretty hard. I feel like... This one's got us all pretty flummoxed. Yeah. And by the way, don't have to talk about it.

Yeah. Honestly, it's not. It doesn't have to be. The squad doesn't all need to know. That's what's so tough is that it's kind of like antithetical to our mission statement of being vulnerable and honest. But maybe in this one case, it's just between you and your dong, dude. I mean, he doesn't have to wear a t-shirt that says this is what I'm up to. Yeah, there's the ideal of how I wish society could handle it.

And then there's the reality. And I have to give you advice for the reality. Right. Well, if one of my roommates came know came into the you know the common quarters and uh was like yeah i just sucked my own dick i'd be like respect to you for doing that but uh you know i didn't tell you about you know jagging off whenever i did that so right there are things that need to be private right yeah that's true too it's like you shouldn't even really talk about any of your masturbatory habits yeah it's really not of interest to anyone.

It's between you and you and your hog. That's right. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. Your hog's probably like, dude, what the fuck? Your well-groomed hog. What's that?

Your well-groomed hog. Oh, dude, manscaped hog. Is this guy manscaped? That's probably the bigger question. That is the question. Dude, save this for when you're out with one of your dogs and you guys are bonding on a new level. You're out in the water about to paddle into some four-foot waves.

And then you just go, dude, I got to tell you something, man. You're one of the only guys I ever told this. I suck my own dick. And then just have that special moment with him, paddle in and get some burritos and just leave it in that kind of space. That's right.

Yeah. Hey, bros, I love your podcast and I'm stoked on listening every week to your guys' dating advice on how to treat the ladies. Thank you. However, I only stand at 5'10 and it really affects my confidence when talking to girls or even asking them out. I feel like less of a man and think that girls look at me different because I'm short.

Do you guys have any advice? I might be able to gain some confidence when approaching women. Thanks, bros. And as always, stay stoked. Well, there are a lot of short – Tom Cruise is – he doesn't have any problems getting women. I think that this guy thinks it's a problem more than anyone else probably does, right? I mean – 5'10".

5'10"? He said 5'10". I'm 5'8". I'm 5'9". I'm 5'10". Like 5'10 is average. Do you live in the tallest part of Norway? Like, dude, you're good.

Yeah, you're good. That's not the problem. It's not your height. Right. There might be another problem that he's attributing to his height. He has his girl out. He's like, hey, you want to go out? No, I don't actually.

It's because I'm 5'10", isn't it? Right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. The average woman's 5'5", I think. Yeah. I think you're good, dude.

Yeah. Maybe he just sees Tinder a lot where they're like six foot and above. Right. Yeah, I was going to say, this is like the guy in the bagel shop, except he's 10 inches taller. Right. That's exactly right. Yeah, imagine watching that video with a 5'10 guy and you're like, what the hell are you talking about, dude? Right.

You're not God or my father. Like 80% of the people around him are shorter than the guy talking about it. Yeah, we're like, we're all shorter than you, it's like five ten one step outside right yeah she's looking at me what up bros hope all is well in the land of stoke i'm sure you guys have both heard of people having a quarter-life crisis it totally sucks and is not something i wish upon anyone i'm having one now and i'm not stoked to say the very least well to get to the point i've been pretty bummed because i'm 23 years old now and can't do a backflip. All my friends are always doing crazy shit when we cliff jump, ski, etc.

And then there's me feeling like a real Jerry. Any help? What do I do? Being able to backflip would be tight and would hopefully score me some points with the ladies. Peace, bros. And thanks for whatever advice you can give. You guys have been killing it with the pod lately. Thank you, dude.

That's very nice. Backflip is a great thing to do can you do one i can't but i was once in a meeting with taylor lotner oh wow during the twilight days yeah and he said watch this and he stood up in the meeting and did a backflip and in the office in the office it was super impressive that's awesome and chicks do dig backflips oh yeah definitely yeah across the board we're all like yes but, yes! But I think that a back flip is more of a mental game than it is a physical one. Right, exactly. It's not that hard physically to do it.

This guy should just go to some gymnastics gym where there's some mats, and you've got to get over the fear of jumping over the back. But anyone can do them. I don't think they're that complicated. It's commitment. When I was skiing a a lot i was trying to pull 360 right and the only thing holding me back was i just wasn't committing i wasn't turning my head right for the full rotation did you pull it off i pulled it off see yeah i do believe in my

heart of hearts that every person is capable of doing a backflip oh for sure if you can put yourself in the right headspace and give yourself the repetition, you can flip backwards. Visualize it. I've done them in the pool. Easy. I mean, it's easier to do than a front flip. Yeah. So, yeah, I think this is easily surmountable.

How do you like that word? I love that. Thank you. Dude, this is kind of a nasty visualization trick, and I'm not totally proud of it. But sometimes when I'm afraid to do something, I picture people who I think are better at it than me failing at it. And I visualize that for a while. That's cool. Yeah.

And then that kind of makes me be like, oh, well, if they're kind of blowing it, I think I can do at least a little better than that. Just make sure you're doing it in a safe place where the ground is soft and you're not going to hurt yourself. Yeah. No concrete, no ice. Right. Maybe go to like a trampoline world.

Right. Trampoline. It's the easiest way to do it. And you're 23, so go slow. Right. Yeah. There's no rush. Last question.

What's up, my dogs? I wanted to start off by commending JT for expanding my vocabulary with each episode. It personally gets me juiced every time my dog casually drops a linguistic bomb like magnanimous during the pod. I think I used it three pods in a row. That's good. Anyways, I'm writing you bros

because I've recently found myself in an interesting situation. I've recently found out that a group of ladies that my squad hangs with has discussions of which of us boys are dateable. I learned that while I have the physical and personality qualities ideal in a boyfriend, they believe I have too much baggage. Whatever that, whatever the fuck that means. He did TF though. To be dateable. This also makes me feel somewhat like a piece of meat as I am the only one of the boys any of these chicks have gotten with. The group doesn't know me enough to have such a fallacious generalization,

so do you guys think I should try to change their opinion so they see me in a different light, or does this make them all schmoles whose opinions I should disregard and just move on? Thanks, bros. I think there's a clue in that. If everyone thinks he has baggage, this guy might be sharing too much to people that he's not as close to so i mean how do they come to that conclusion did he say that he's hooked up with all of them he said he's

hooked up with some so is that the baggage i think that's the baggage oh i don't know well and then they talk and they're like oh did he have this kind of energy when he was with you you know what i mean i think like maybe that okay yeah sometimes you can have a vibe where people are like okay i just don't know if that guy's like a boyfriend person it's like clingy kind of it can be a million different things like for me it was like people didn't think i was serious enough like i would just be like in a group and girls would be like jt no one's gonna date you like you don't take things seriously and i was like what i take things seriously but i was just giving off that energy you know probably because I'd get hammered and puke

or like wrestle somebody, which I thought had no bearing on how I'd be as a partner. I was like, yeah, that's separate from how I love my girlfriend. But people mix that stuff in. And also it sounds like the squad's a little judgmental. Yeah. Yeah.

And also, dude, you only have to convince one person. I wouldn't worry so much about what your guys think and what all the girls think worry more about making a connection with someone and what they think and then i'll i think you'll find that all that stuff isn't as important as as it feels yeah maybe don't try and shape yourself to what you think they want right be true to yourself and yeah i guess just be more open and vulnerable and real and honest, I guess. Yeah, lead with your good qualities. And maybe that'll release the baggage of whatever that is. Amen.

I don't know. I think you're right. Yeah, I think I've learned in my time that if you're just like real and honest, I think that's what straight shooter with upper management written all over. That's what you need. Yeah. Let's go for sure. Yeah, I think. And I think you're right, too.

Like maybe he's saying too much stuff that doesn't jive with the person you want to be. So just lead with like your, you know, like, oh, what I do today. Yeah, I fed the poor. It's great. Yeah. It's always a great way to open, especially if it's true. Yeah, it's got to be true. It's got to be true.

He's got to start doing that. You're only allowed to lie if you know you're going to make the lie come true in the next 24 hours. That's true. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And sometimes that puts the pressure on you to make it happen. Right. Not that it's okay, but it's a little bit of a loophole.

All right, last question. sometimes that puts the pressure on you to make it happen. Right. Not that it's okay, but it's a little bit of a loophole. Um, all right. Last question. It is with a heavy heart that I reach out to you guys with this question, but I have no choice. I'm a 20 year old bro from Idaho. And recently I've been stuck in a really shitty situation. My hair is falling out,

no receding hairline or anything. My hair is just thinning out and fast. I've tried taking biotin and other vitamins and stuff, but nothing seems to be working. So my question to you guys is this, what advice would you give to someone who is surely going bald? Should I try anything and everything was starting to lose it and i started taking propesia me too i take it and your hair looks great thank you very much so does yours thank you and there's supposed to be some side effects that are pretty gnarly some people say that they

lose all of their sexual appetite and that their penis feels like a rubber attachment i am happy to say it still feels like a regular attachment and uh happy to say it still still feels like a regular attachment and uh and yeah i have to say i'm happy with the results i've had but i can't you know say that that'll work out for everybody right it worked it's been worked out for me it's been great yeah and people say you won't be able to have um like children on it you got two boom yeah so but everybody, same thing. She talked to a doctor. Yes.

And have a conversation with a doctor. But there are plenty of people who are follicly challenged that are killing it with the ladies also. Bruce. Right. Bruce. Bruce. Right. Rogues.

Rogues. John Travolta now. Yeah. He's rocking it now. He went for it. Good. Good. Yeah. Good. I mean. I like now. Yeah. He's rocking it now. He went for it. Good. Yeah.

Good. I mean. I like that. Yeah. I mean, look at Billy Joel. Yep. His whole time. Phil Collins.

Hobbs and Shaw. Right. Good point. The biggest tough guys in the Fast and the Furious franchise, Hobbs, Shaw, and Vinn. Yeah. They're all bald. Yeah. Good point.

That's a really good point. The muscle. Yeah. Good point. That's a really good point. The muscle. Yeah. For sure. That's legit. Maybe add squats, a little more squats to the mix. Yeah. Bring the attention elsewhere.

Yeah, right? You know what'll take eyes off that bald head? Big ass quads. Right. Dude. If you got some freaking huge quads. For sure. That's what people are going to be looking at.

People aren't looking at The Rock's dome. I mean, just a little bit. A little bit bit it's more that megawatt smile that's yeah it's three feet south of his head yeah exactly why i saw fast and furious five though i was looking at those arms baby dude they put so much oil on those arms oh dude sure i wanted to ask you something about that about like with stars because we read this article in the wall street journal about how none of those actors want to lose the fight in the movies they're in yeah and then once upon a time in hollywood's a lot about that too like the optics of like losing fights and then you talked about krasinski with jack ryan not wanting to do tv like how precarious is like an audience's perception of a star?

Like are they right to care that much about it? Listen, everyone has their own things. I think you guys know I'm a fan. I think that what you were saying about being vulnerable and an audience caring about a character who's vulnerable, I think that that holds a lot of weight. I definitely do. I mean Harrison Ford always lost fights in every movie that he was. He was the most heroic dude that there was. And James Bond, you know, so that's, maybe it's specific to that franchise. I don't know. And it's growing from there. You know,

I mean, I remember there was that fight that Vin and The Rock had that they couldn't figure out how they were going to end the fight because they both wanted to win the fight. I just, it feels like a lot of wasted emotion to me. I've been getting scared lately that if I'm getting punked in too many videos or something like that, that people are just going to perceive me as the guy who's like the punching bag. And I'm like, I'm dealing with some ego stuff about it where I'm scared.

I think you can let that go I think that a career is about ups and downs and in variety and I think that at the end of the day if you're relatable audiences love you no matter how you're in our videos yeah or anything what do you yeah why do you think you're the because you were wearing the new balance yeah I guess yeah that's not being a punching bag. Yeah. It scared me a little bit. No.

And I know I'm wrong, but I get like a visceral. Yeah. I think you're overthinking it. I think in those videos, you guys are, they're great. They're fun. You want to watch that. I mean, yeah, I don't. Yeah, I think you're overthinking it. And that was a misunderstanding with the New Balances.

That's right. That's true. And you didn't actually, you weren't, you didn't commit the crime joe did that's true yeah joe's the punching bag right yeah you can hit that guy all day you can't dent him right yeah i saw him on runyon today dude he's got a blue tux yeah i saw that he's wearing a blue tux he went immediately when i saw him he's like he's like, he's like, you go down this way. I go up this way. He's like, I was like, all right.

That was like his critique. Yeah. Yeah. What are your, oh no, you grew up in LA, right? Yeah. So you grew up in the industry? Uh, not, my family wasn't in the industry, but it was all around me. What'd your, what'd your folks do?

Uh, my family owned a very small chain of movie theaters. Whoa, that's kind of in the industry. Kind of, but not – yeah, I guess kind of, but – But did you grow up in the dark? No, no, I didn't grow up in the dark. No, but that really – In the theaters, I mean. Yeah, I went to a lot of – I ate a lot of popcorn for sure. Nice.

And I think that helped my love for movies. But as a kid, I remember if a movie did really well, we could go to Palm Springs for vacation. And if a movie didn't do well, we were home. You know, at Christmas. I remember when Star Wars opened, we could go to Palm Springs for vacation. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. You know, that was cool.

That's awesome. And so that definitely affected my thinking. Nice. That's cool. Well, dude, if you ever want to kill one of us in a movie. I would love that. I'd be honored. Yeah.

Are you guys going to do the baby of the week and all that? Oh, yeah. We normally do it alone, but yeah, let's do it. Did you prepare? No, but I love. Let's do it. All right, stick around. Yeah, let's do this.

Aaron, do we have time? What's that? Usually guests don't know about it, so we don't want to like. I definitely... Okay, I did not prepare, but let's see what can happen. Yeah, let's go for it. Brad, are you ready? Yeah, I think I am.

Who is your Beef of the Week? My Beef of the Week is my veterinarian because tomorrow my dog is getting neutered and he's taking the nards. And it's very upsetting in our house. And you know, I don't know how much to share with our dog. You know, he knows something's up. Have you talked to him about it? I, I, he doesn't know the extent of what's going to happen and how he's going to be changed for the rest of his life. Yeah. So I, and we have to do it.

The vet says we have to do it, but that's, that's kind of my beef of the week. I have another one. Is he circumcised? No, he's not. That's yeah. good you like that yeah i'm i kind of regret that i was circumcised you regret it seriously because you lose some nerve endings right and i also think you're born beautiful right and then the first thing we do is chop off some of your dong but what about dick cheese i think it's only a problem for the first couple months, and then you learn how to clean it. Hmm. I know, I know. I think it's cool, though.

Listen, Howard Stern agrees with you. He does? Does he? Oh, for sure. Yeah. Oh, they talk about this. He says mutilation. I agree.

I think it's a hard way to introduce a dude to his dong. Yeah. It is a hard way to introduce a guy to his dong. Nice dong. How about I cut an inch of it off? To show the bell end. Right. Yeah, that's a hard way to introduce the guy to his dong. Nice dong. How about I cut an inch of it off to show the bell end? Right. Yeah, that's true, too. It's kind of like dropping the top.

Sort of like release the bell end. I have another beef of the week, and I'm wondering if this ever happened to you guys. I took my GFF to a restaurant in Malibu, and she ordered fish, and she asked for it to come without the head and the tail on the fish and the waiter said he wouldn't do it and my beef is with that waiter because it's such a simple thing to do you don't have to keep the head and the tail on the fish yeah was this one of those like auteur chefs no it wasn't it was a you know a nice restaurant but it wasn't an auteur it's a

place where they could have easily cut it off and we went to the manager and they cut the head and the tail off but the waiter was unwilling to do it whoa yeah he just personally took on bridge i think he did maybe he's against fish mutilation yeah maybe he's a whole fish right is he's like recognize the fish in its full body and identity yeah but yeah so those are my i had a double beef this week i would say though keep the head and the tail on there and then eat the eye too just to tell people you will okay just to show them i'm open-minded to that well that's my gff i would do that but she would how long you guys been together only 27 years wow dude yeah dude i mean in the purge i would fuck up that restaurant yeah that's a good idea places to go if i'm gonna purge with anyone it's gonna be aaron yeah he's

got good aaron's gonna go hog wild he's got good ideas are you gonna bring like a bat if i'm gonna purge with anyone it's gonna be aaron yeah he's got good aaron's gonna go hog wild he's got good ideas are you gonna bring like a bat yeah i'm all about the baseball dude no dude he's like a really prodigious softball player oh nice you know the first one when she looks at the window the guy's sharpening his yeah his sword i could see aaron outside of all things comedy just sharpening his sword be like i know you're purging the night yeah it's rubbing like what do they rub on bats tar pine tar yeah pine tar yeah you have baseball fan i watch it it's fun to watch what i was gonna ask you what's the secret to keeping a marriage going i want to be thoughtful because this is going out to a lot of stokers and i want to provide some knowledge for the stokers yeah you know i think that here's the thing um i think a lot of stokers and I want to provide some knowledge for the stokers. You know, I think that here's the thing.

I think a lot of people say that it's communication, right? And that that's what makes it work. I think that's important. But I think even more important is values, right? Having similar values. So if I value family and being there for my family and my GFF values going out and partying because I've seen that happen in marriages around me. You can't communicate about that and make that problem go away. If you have different values that are fundamental, that's a hard thing to surmount. And luckily me and my GFF have had the same values. And so, you know, that gets you through the hard times that you're kind of

in it together in that way. Can you be like one of the most successful people ever and also be good at the family stuff too? Of course. I mean, I don't, I don't think that being successful and I'm not saying that I'm one of the most successful people ever, but I'm, I think that it's about what's important to you. And at the end of the day, I, you know, for me, my family's most important thing. Nothing's going to screw that up. That's why I'm here. 27 years later, if you lose sight of that, if I if in my experience, when my friends or people I know start thinking about themselves before they start thinking about their family, that's when problems start. Nice. Is it harder in Hollywood?

I think it's hard everywhere. That's true. Listen, I think, look, if you're an, if you're an actor and women are throwing themselves at you on a daily basis and you're away from your GF for months on end, that's a really hard situation to be in. I'm not in that situation, obviously, but for actors, I think that's a really hard thing. And for directors, too, being away from your family for a really extended amount of time can really be detrimental to a relationship. I think it's definitely harder for a handsome, cool guy to stay faithful because of just uh which i know that my i never had that issue no no you are so yeah but i and i also i you know i got the right woman that's awesome chad who's your beef of the week my beef of the week is with uh i went to the uh good burger pop up last night with my GF Looked fun

And I wanted to go all out so I got a shake I got a burger, I got fries, I got an orange soda I get the check back The shake was $12 What? A $12 shake And it didn't say it on the menu So I was like

You pay for a reservation at this pop up Right And you pay like a flat so it's like you pay for a reservation at this pop-up, right? And you pay like a flat fee. It's like $30. So then you get the burger and the fries. And then the drinks are additional. So I was like, I'll get a soda and a shake.

And I feel like the person at the register should have been like, you know that tiny shake is $12, right? They didn't let me know until I got the check, and I was like, you know, if we were in Pulp Fiction right now, and John Travolta had just tried this $12 shake, he'd say, nah, movie over. Right. Fade to black. Fade to black.

Try this $12 shake. He'd be like, I'll see you later. Commentary on dairy dessert prices. Yeah. That is an expensive shake. $12 shake he'd be like i'll see you later commentary on dairy dessert prices yeah that is an expensive shake was there a unique ingredient in it i don't know and there was nothing it wasn't was it good it was delicious i'll give it that but it was like it was like swirling in one of those machines it's not like they like right took ice cream and they like blended it and like right they literally it was like a fucking slurpy machine yeah it wasn't artisanal no and like there's whipped cream which i was appreciative of but um and so you didn't say anything no you know what i think i think that was very magnanimous of

you oh thank you i do don't you think absolutely jt yeah you took the higher road thank you and you aired out here but you took the higher road in the moment and I respect it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I was. Because you're a benevolent Lord. You are a benevolent Lord. Well, I was, I was, I was, I was focused on how froth the shake made me.

And I was like, you know what? That is worth $12. If I get a $12 shake, there needs to be a scientist who's also a sushi chef doing everything by hand. For me, I got to dance with Uma Thurman after. Putting his elbow into the ice cream. I got to tell you, I think that this is a beef, but really, you kept your indignance in check. And I think that actually could be a great thing. Oh, thank you.

Yeah. That's cool. A lot of my beefs, you sort of realize halfway through you're like it's not really you know that bad yeah so when you air it out right maybe that's encouraging to the stokers to know air out your beef so then it feels good to air it out doesn't it yeah yeah because when you air them out then you see the positive that came out of it right yeah you recontextualize the beef yeah for sure like you it's sort of like when you sort of realize like oh i'm mad for no reason right and then you then you're stoked again i got one of those fucking beefs

right here dude my beef is with spectrum cable oh dude and with the netgear routers or and and aries modems my internet went out so my roommate joe's like hey you got to fix the internet and we all have our different responsibilities in the apartment and i instantly realized that mine was to take care of the wi-fi so i get on the horn and i call up spectrum we do 20 minutes of like uh checking and and uh battle testing and then they go it's it's not a problem on our end so you got to call netgear this is after 20 minutes you know so i'm already pissed and I'm dehydrated too. So I'm spinning. I can't even read the serial numbers, right? I don't have enough, you know, agua running through my, my veins. And then, so I call a net gear hour and 20 minutes of just going through a process

with this person, just giving them information. They're giving it back. They're like, Hey, so are all the lights off on the modem? I'm like, no, all the lights aren't off. They're like, okay, just keep going. Like half the instructions they gave me, I wasn't even able to fulfill. So I was like, where the hell are we going with this? And then finally we repurposed the whole thing. We started all over again. I come up with a new Wi-Fi name, a new password, and I'm exhausted.

I can't wait for Joe to come home and see the effort I've been putting in for him. You know what I mean? And he does. He comes home and then I put up the phone. I go, see how long I've been on the phone? He goes a minute. I go, that's an hour brother. All right. Check the zeros. And then, uh, and we got it working again and it was going. And I, there was times on that call where I was very testy with the lady on the phone. Like, she'd be like, how many ethernet cords are in the orange section? I was like, two,

two. But wait, can I say something again? great thing you the tenacity i did on the phone i did hang in there that's impressive and i felt good afterwards super impressive i fixed something with the help of customer service i fixed something chad don't you think that's a great thing to push through that and i don't fix a lot of stuff yeah his persistence staying through and you know and i like my favorite part of the story was when he was like, my duty in this house is to fix the cable. Yeah, and you took responsibility. This is a great thing. I'm the Wi-Fi guy.

Joe is the Swiffer guy. Greg is the dishes guy. You didn't argue about it. I'm the cable, utilities, Wi-Fi guy. I love that you stepped up to that immediately. We are a collective. Yeah, I knew it right when – well, he just said it to me. He was leaving and I was filming him for a little video.

And as he was leaving, he goes, fix the Wi-Fi. And I was like, all right. Well, he put it on me. I got to fix it. And yeah, I'm glad I did because I'm pretty maladroit when it comes to fixing stuff. And today I proved that. You're a droid. Occasionally I can be a droid.

Yes. You did prove that. Yes. Especially with like the internet and stuff. Call my girlfriend right away. Especially with like the internet and stuff. You're like, where is the internet and stuff you're like where is this you know it seems so unfixable yeah so when you actually do it because you're like i don't even know where this shit is coming from right so true i mean it's like you can't see the enemy you don't know who you're attacking yeah right

so to to stay in the fight when it's just like an invisible enemy that's cool that's valiant dude stay in the fight stokers who is your babe of the week well my babe of the week week is my gff i mean yes you know that's who it has to be right and and as i'm speaking to you now uh my younger son paxton had all four wisdom teeth taken out today oh wow and ally is home taking care of him and preparing the nuts for the removal tomorrow she you know she's doing that so i can be here tonight that's my baby the babe of life really not just of the week dude major props thanks buddy that's beautiful dude thank you it's nice to have such an inspiring that you know oh that's nice you know you've

you've guys have been together for 27 years, you said. Going strong. You look happy. No, it means a lot that you came on here and that you wanted to talk about this stuff, too. I do. You want to deliver a message of positivity, of what can happen. I want to be clear. I'm not delivering the message. I'm supporting your message.

It's your message. You guys really are out there spreading the word. I just watch the videos and laugh my ass off and enjoy it. Thank you, dude. Thank you. That means a lot. What up, Allie? What up, Allie?

Allie, what up? Chad, who's your babe of the week? Gwen Stefani. Oh, that's a good one. I don't know why she hasn't come up yet. I feel like maybe she has, but I don't think she has. I mean, she's bringing the SoCal vibes nonstop, no doubt. I mean, what can you, you know, you just feel it.

She's just like, you're like Orange County is right there in that band. Yes. And she brought the heat. And she kind of stepped up to the plate. I don't know the full backstory, but I heard a little bit of her on Howard. And it was kind of like she didn't even want to sing i think right and then she like got into that position and then stepped up to the plate and then like after no doubt uh was dealing with a gnarly breakup and then like a death in the band or something like that there's

some kind of death she was dealing with maybe or i don't know but when she went solo that's when she even stepped to the plate even more and she's like that's when i really sort of you know took control of my independence gathered my strength and really just like showed the world who i am and i think that that was really inspiring along with the socal vibes not to mention major babe she's still going strong and she's got a six-pack she's got a six-pack and i gotta say the let me blow your mind music music video where she and eve are on atvs i mean that's etched into my head forever yes you want like toughness good yeah that was pretty iconic yeah yeah i'm a big east side fan too with moby

yeah all right dude i love that song yeah dude you know it's so funny I was watching the Defiant Ones episode three last night where she figures she's featured in that one and you see her when she was like a kid before she broke and you're like she just has that quality she has that star quality. Isn't that footage incredible when you see someone before they become famous like that? yeah it's so cool yeah cuz you kind of don't see them but then you do see the quality that made them that's right yeah and she's like making her own wardrobe and stuff like that yeah and she's so clear about it they're like you want to be the person behind the camera's like you want to be a big star right and kind of like sheepishly but very genuinely she's like yeah i want to be a big star and like

jimmy ivy and it was like you'll be a star in two years and it like happened right right on the dot yeah do you guys think i was wondering this. Do you think when people become famous, they have, if you don't know they're famous, if they still have like an aura? Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. I do wonder if they rewrite the story after they make it to fit who they are now, or do they always have it?

Or do you think that like when they become famous, maybe it's like an energy thing. They like radiate something. Well, there's star quality, right? I mean, that's a magic term. You's star quality right i mean that's that's you know well right well i've seen sure there are people who i've met who i knew they were going to be stars you can just tell you can feel it in the room who's that ryan reynolds yeah for sure i mean we did a movie with him long before you know when he just you know when he was a comedy guy and we did a weville Horror with him, you knew that guy was going to be a star. Chloe Moretz, who was also in that movie, you knew.

You know, she was six years old. Yeah. That's her first thing. Sometimes you can see it. That's wild. You could tell then? Well, she was a kid. So precocious?

No, not even precocious. Just committed and understood the scenes and the emotionality of the scenes as a six-year-old. Yeah. You know, I think that, you know, you see that in someone. You know, John talks about it with Emily the first time he saw Emily that he just, you know, he knew. You know, I think that there are certain people who have that type of energy. I can't believe that Tom Cruise was ever not going to be a huge movie star. Yeah.

He seems the most inevitable of everybody yeah megawatt personality yeah you know great energy yeah interesting have you met him no i i'd love to but i haven't yeah i just chill someday he'll come on the pod oh that'd be good yeah i'm putting it out there nice nice but Nice. But do you think Hollywood does rewrite stories sometimes to like – Of course. Of course. Like this is kind of a weird one. But did you read the book Powerhouse about CAA? Of course.

Yeah. And they kind of positioned one of the guys who passed away kind of tragically as who was going to be the head of CAA. Had he not passed away. But then when I was reading it, I was like – or did the writer kind of just make him fit that part? Because that would be the best way to tell the story. That's interesting. You know, I don't know the facts of that. I know exactly who you're talking about. And I read the book.

It's interesting how it's like revisionist history kind of. Yeah. And you need that tragic figure. Right. And so, you know, I don't know the answer to that question. I wish I could tell you. I don't know the answer to that question. But you might be right.

Right. Yeah, I'd like to talk to that dude, Shayliss, or whoever it was that wrote it. Yeah. Tom Shayliss, I think. Something like that. That was a good book, though. And then he talked about Ron Meyer earlier. And I was like, is he a character, Ron?

He's like the best guy in the world. Just like every story. He was in the room for every Hollywood story that ever happened. And he's such a gregarious, friendly, wonderful guy. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. All right. My babe of the week is the interior of my Toyota Prius.

I got it just like there's something sacred about just being in the inside of your car when you're on your way to something and you need to get into that zone and you put on the right song and you got your windows down and you're just getting dialed in. And I think it's like, especially in SoCal where, you know, we're stuck in traffic sometimes and you just have this little bit of space where it's just you and you are curating how you're going to be vibing. And I, I need it. And I love it. Like I get jacked up on my way to shit. You know, I say all the things I'm afraid of.

I scream them out into the air. And then I blast a song that I'm into at the moment. And it just gets me crying. And then when I'm done, I'm ready to come in here and do a podcast. I think it's great for the stokers to hear that you do that. I kind of do a different version of that. But whenever we test a movie, which is the most stressful part of the movie making when you're putting in front of strangers For the first time I have this thing where I crank music from the 70s as loud as I can driving away from the test

Because it's so emotional. It's cathartic and I started screaming and doing the same thing. Yeah Yeah for a long time, it was Katy Perry. Really? A lot of Katy Perry. I was bumping Katy Perry a few weeks ago, just vibing out. Yeah, awesome. She's awesome. I only really like music that makes you amped.

Only music, because I don't like Melancholy. No. No, that's not your vibe. Never. I want to feel it. Bring your stoke down. I just want to be jacked up all the time. Right, right, right.

Yeah. Nice. Listen to the same things over and over. That's your curation. Yeah. Cool. Who is your legend of the week? You guys are my legend of the week.

No, dude. I'm telling you. Thank you. I was excited to come here. I've been doing my research. I loved it. Fun to be here. I've had a blast research. I loved it. Fun to be here. I've had a blast.

Awesome. You guys are easily the legend of the week. Oh, thank you, man. Thank you, dude. Yeah. You're a legend. Sounds like I'm blowing smoke up your ass, but I'm really not. I just kind of had a really pleasant time.

Thank you, dude. That means a lot. Yeah, it's been really fun talking to you. Yeah, it's been great. This has been awesome. Me? You're legend of the week, Chad. I got to go with Seth Rogen.

Nice, dude. Seth Rogen. Because I just listened to a podcast with him. And he's sort of someone who, too, who, like, he stayed true to himself. You know, he got freaks and geeks. And then, like, part of the story was, like, and then, you know, he got offered. He said he had, like, a nest egg of money. So he was able to live for a little bit.

And then he got offered, like, a CW show. And he turned it down. And he sort of stayed true to his vision. And he wrote from the, like we were talking about, he stayed personal. And then those movies turned into like huge hits. So I just thought it was inspiring to listen to. I think he sounds like a great guy. Have you met him?

I have met him. And a great guy. And also when you find your voice and the audience responds to it, that's such a cool thing like yeah you know like like seth rogan movies didn't exist before seth like there was never a guy like seth rogan before but he was true to his own vision and his voice and now like everyone else is looking for who's the next seth rogan but it didn't exist before him i mean it's kind of cool yeah yeah and he has good taste great taste like the long shot was a cool interesting movie how come that movie didn't work i love that it was good

i love it's a crowd pleaser yeah yeah and then you know and then i was watching clips of him as wozniak in uh and he's got to go toe-to-toe with fosbender in these scenes and he's hanging with them and in some ways i think he was more effective not that it's a competition but he was very good yeah for sure I was just watching I've been sort of reviewing screenwriting a little bit just to get a finer knowledge of it and then I rewatched Knocked Up which I know is Judd Apatow

but I mean Rogan's amazing in that he's so lovable yeah when you have a knowledge of that you see how well Rog movie like rogan's movies and stuff they just they just keep flowing and they're filled with jokes and they're just like like this is like that is such a fantastic film yeah knocked up it's so good so good yeah it just keeps moving and there's hilarious jokes like everything's funny and it's just like...

I was watching it, and I was like, man, this is like... Because I saw it in theaters, too, and I was kind of a kid still. I sort of recognize... It's one of those things where you're just like, that was a great movie. It's got a good balance of the real and the funny, too. I remember I watched it with my buddies, and we all just cracked up about it. But then I watched it months later with my mom, and my mom was like, oh, this is very honest about relationships right yeah i thought about that too like the

characters weren't too far out of right yeah it's like you it felt realer than most movies yeah like when i was a teen i was like i want to hang out with his squad right you know i did too yeah and then you watch it now and you're like oh they're all kind of losers but yeah but when you watch it you weren't like you were losers you were like these are the funniest guys alive i have to hang out with these guys yeah like just little things like they, they're all kind of losers. But when you watched it, you weren't like, you were losers. You were like, these are the funniest guys alive. I have to hang out with these guys. Yeah. Like just little things like they're playing ping pong and Jay Baruchel's in like this seat.

And Seth Rogen's like, I can't ref the next game, man. I have to go shopping with my girlfriend or whatever. Just like those little things. Like I can't ref the next game. It's so fun. That's a big responsibility it is yeah yeah the detail my legend of the week is jd and the straight shot it's james dolan's band he's the owner of the new york knicks and what i like about jd and the straight shot is that they keep churning

out music and he won't be shamed out of doing his art like a lot of people don't even think he should really not that they don't think he should have it, but they're never going to give his band credit because he's this mega rich dude. He's bad at running his main, not his main business, but his most prominent business, the New York Knicks. And he writes these really personal songs about what he's going through and he buys them slots on XM radio. And I see him coming on after a Neil Young song. And I'm like, you know what, the balls of this dude, you know, he's just putting it out there. He's not embarrassed to say, look, I think my band deserves to be heard by the whole world. And you know, maybe they're not the best band in the world. I haven't really listened, but I think it's really cool that this

billionaire isn't embarrassed to be like, no, I'm a sensitive soul and I'm an artist and the world needs to hear my pain. And he's processing real big issues into his music like he was buddies with harvey weinstein he's got a song about that now about you know the the the tragedy of of being friends with a guy like that and um you know it's not a great song but it's uh it's ballsy so james dolan keep uh keep churning out music. Don't let anybody shame you out of being real. Nice. Yeah.

That's nice. I didn't even know about that. Oh, yeah. Check them out. JDM Straight Shot. I love it. I had a question, actually. Have you ever thought about New Orleans just as a setting for films?

Of course. Because every time I go there, I'm like, this place is just right for charity. For sure. Angel Heart was there. Yeah. Mickey R for sure like charity angel heart was there and yeah mickey roark yeah yeah that was there deja vu charity like charity hospital do you know charity no i don't know that so it's like a one of the it's a really old hospital it's in the middle of the city like downtown it's huge and it's abandoned from katrina so it's just like there's just it has like there's such a creepy it's abandoned from Katrina. So it's just like, it has such a creepy vibe. It's good to know.

Yeah. I'm telling you, there's places in New Orleans, like Charity Hospital, and there's one instance, I think it was five years ago, where it's a high-rise building, and a Christmas tree just appeared

in one of the top windows. Yeah. It turned out to be a prank, but just the fact, you're like, what's going on in that abandoned hospital? Right abandoned hospital right all right it's creepy right right i'm just like i was driving around with my brother because like this is around the time we scheduled the podcast and he's like dude like normal i'm like yeah this place is like there's so many like

creepy spots yeah right i don't know especially you mean for horror yeah yeah because like from katrina there's so many abandoned buildings and stuff right where it's just like you know you're like you drive by and you're like what's going on in there right i mean and it's like got a funky like voodoo vibe to it exactly without being like uh i've never even been there but yeah yeah yeah it's cool it's really interesting culture do you have a quote of the week? I don't have a quote of the week, but I always default to my favorite movie, Risky Business. Oh, great movie. Greatest movie. And sometimes you've got to say, what the fuck?

And I think that consistently today, in everything we've talked about, Gwen Stefani, James Dolan, all of these people we're talking about who are successful, they have a moment when they said, what the fuck? And they went for it, right? And they all did it. So I think that's a kind of great way to kind of go through life and kind of recognize your time when you say that and you kind of just have to go for it and grab your whatever and take the chance.

I love that. I love it. What's your quote of the week it's uh it's from knocked up if any of us get laid tonight it's because of eric bonner in munich that is awesome that is a brilliant mind wrote that i mean you can't not be brilliant and write that line it's brilliant yeah that's good shout out to Eric Bonham dude for sure I heard an interesting detail about that movie that you know how in that movie Eric Bonham so conflicted about killing these people yeah and it's really that's kind of like the crux of the film I heard the real-life guy who did that had no

problem he was very pumped to kill them and remain so until he died yeah had the screenplay and they wrote it like that. This guy was just amped the whole time. Maybe we should give him some animation. He's like, give me more to kill. I could kill more. He had to slow down. The whole story is like, he killed him and he was psyched. Yeah, and then he went on to live a very

happy life. My quote of the week is from the movie Unforgiven directed by Clint Eastwood. And this is after he plays Will Money, who's like an old kind of long-in-the-tooth gunfighter who gets hired to kill people. And he doesn't even know if he can still do it. And he's teamed up with this young kid who's kind of pretending to be tougher than he is. So they get into their first big gunfight, and they kill some people. And this kid pretended he had killed people, but this was actually his first time.

And he says, it don't seem real how he ain't never going to breathe again, ever how he's dead. And the other one too, on account of pulling a trigger. And then Clint Eastwood says, it's a hell of a thing. Killing a man,

take away all he's got, all he's ever going to have. And then the kid says, yeah, well, I guess they had it coming and then clint eastwood says we all got it coming kid it's good boom that's good yeah it's it really just it's one of the greatest like truths about our existence that had ever been put into a movie pretty seamlessly and uh yeah i always go back to it so who wrote that david peoples who wrote blade runner yeah and so that guy's like i mean no one's crushing it like that guy no yeah yeah that's incredible it's crazy he wrote those

two movies yeah and i heard like unforgiving wasn't going to get made and then cleanest would just found the script and he had enough juice to get it made. Yeah, he definitely does. Yeah. What's the script you read where you're like, this has to get made, and it's just still floating around? Well, the script to Sixth Sense was the best script I ever read. Oh, wow.

It was unbelievable. That movie still haunts me a little bit. When I was a kid, I saw that. I still have trouble going to pee at night. Really? Well, if there's a hallway, it's in the back of my mind. I'm like, she's going to pee at night. Really? Well, I mean, if there's a hallway. Right. It's in the back of my mind. I'm like, she's going to walk by. You know, the Lethal Weapon script was unbelievable.

Right. Shane Black. Every Shane Black script, everyone would just want to get their hands on it just to read it. Because I heard he writes into the descriptions and things. Like, if there's an explosion, he's like, and then there's a big fucking explosion. Yeah, exactly. It's really readable, and his scripts were really a lot of fun to read. That's awesome. Yeah. That's cool. But you knew Sixth and his scripts were really a lot of fun to read. That's awesome. Yeah.

That's cool. But you knew Sixth Sense was going to be a banger. Oh, my God. That script was so good. Nice. And the movie was so good. Yeah. Yeah, it was.

Yeah. All right. Do you have a quote? Or not a quote. Do you have a phrase this week for getting after it? Why don't you come back to me on that? Copy that. Chad, do you have one?

Mine is, whip up the on that? Copy that. Chad, do you have one? Mine is whip up the vibes. I love that. Because I was thinking of like baking and like egg beaters. And I'm like, let's turn them up. Increase the vibration. Mine is let's talk about what we're afraid of. Wow.

Yeah. Because I think that's a good way to get yourself jacked because you you really get a kind of catharsis after you say all the things you're afraid of can i steal that yes please and then you feel unburdened and then you just start ripping you're like i'm not afraid actually it's it's you got to name your enemies you put that stuff out there you realize it's not as scary as you felt when it was just hiding inside of you so you put it out into the into the world your friends accept you for it and then you're ready to fucking rage i like that yeah it's what you do in the car before you go anywhere yeah it's what i do all the time basically that's

cool yeah that's really cool i'm trying to convey that nice do you have a do you want some more time you got one no i'm gonna go with yours i like yours dude my dog right here let's go i like it catharsis yeah is there anything else you want to say before we this was great i had a great time this is fun to do this is fun i had a lot of fun it. All right. Catharsis. Yeah. Is there anything else you want to say before we... This was great. I had a great time. This was fun to do. This was fun.

I had a lot of fun. Yeah. Thanks for coming. Again, if you want to kill us... And in a movie? Yeah. It's good to know. Or just in regular life.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And who's the,

who's the male lead in it this time? Uh, Killian Murphy. Right. Oh, I saw that. That's cool. Yeah.

He's yeah. And then, um, the dude from Atlanta just dropped out cause the scheduling, but who popped into him and Hansu dude, he's good. Isn't that good? Yeah.

Bum. The Brian fell out. That was a bummer. One of the most underrated Michael Bay films, I think is the Island. Great movie. It's really good. And he's great. And he has amer. One of the most underrated Michael Bay films, I think, is The Island. It's a great movie. It's really good. Simon's in that movie.

And he's great in it. He has a great monologue at the end about that kind of comments on the whole deal. Can we play one quick trivia question? There's a trivia thing about The Island that most people don't know. And I'm going to ask the question. You ready? Yes. What major television network comedy star had one line in The Island with his first job,

and he has been on the longest-running comedy show, one of the top three longest-running comedy shows, and he's one of the stars of it. And his first job in a big studio movie was The Running? I'm not sure, but I think I got it. Is it Galecki? No. Parsons?

No. It's still running? The show is still running. Is it Galecki? No. Parsons? No. It's still running? The show is still running. And it's been on the air forever. I don't... 14, 15 seasons. Always Sunny? Is it one of the Always Sunny guys?

No, that's where I thought you were going to go. Oh, that was close. The next show you see is going to be the right one. I just know it. All right. Well, let me think. All right. So you got Big Bang Theory and Always Sunny are out. Aaron, don't be afraid to... Dude, help me think. All right. So you got Big Bang Theory and Always Sunny or Out.

Aaron, don't be afraid to do that. Aaron. Yeah. It's weird that people don't think about the show, but it's still on the air. It's got the greatest cast. It's a big ensemble. It's not Big Bang? No.

It's a big ensemble. Big. A family ensemble. Multiple family ensemble. Oh, it's Modern Family? It is. It's Ty Burrell? Nope. No. Eric Stonestreet? ensemble big a family ensemble multiple family ensemble cause modern family it's Ty Burrell nope Eric Stonestreet yep all right I was a manager for a couple years and I got Eric Stonestreet a job on the island really this is first gig do you like being a manager I was horrible at it really I was the worst

manager I can't imagine that I was a horrible manager I really it's a shame because people trusted their careers to me and it really wasn't good how long did it take you to realize that it wasn't for you longer than it did for me to figure out to how to leave you know really struggling for a long time with it yeah I did have a great client though who became a big star who's that Trace Tracy Ellis Ross. Oh, nice. She's wonderful. She's the best. I love her. Yeah.

But that was my claim to fame was Tracy. That was it. How did you discover people? Tracy, someone set up a meeting. You get set up meetings. I mean, literally, you hang your shingle out and people come through the door. I would sign anyone who walked through my office. That wasn't Tracy,

but at the beginning of my career as a manager, I would just sign anybody. Yeah. Oh, and then last thing, we always ask, who do you think is the smartest person that's ever lived I've heard you ask this question and I was going to say you know I don't I was trying to come up with something pithy for you and and say you know I mean um it's so easy to say albert einstein it's not that impressive to really come away with that but i yeah right i mean you have to think about or maybe christopher columbus oh interesting to i mean the balls right just the balls and to be able to figure out how to do that, to me, is insane. Yeah, that was some crazy shit.

Right? Let's just sail into the unknown. Right. There's no way back. I just watched First Man. Yeah. Similar to that. You're like going into space, essentially.

Right. It's crazy. Yeah, those situations were like, if something gets fucked up, there's no fixing it. And did they still think the Earth was flat? So they were like... I don't think they had any conception of the size of the earth or what it was. Yeah. I just get on a boat and just go. I could just go off the edge of there.

Right. Right. And he just went for it. Yeah. Yeah. Has anyone said him before? No. Oh, he's definitely the most grab life by the balls.

For sure. Who do you think? He's a charger. Who do I think is the smartest person that ever lived? It's a good question um i say about the question that i ask i think i like shakespeare it's always good to me intelligence is like understanding people and like who has the most like clear straightforward cut through the bullshit like understanding of people and tony robbins

i think it would have to be an author for me and i'd probably i know it's like it's cliche but i probably have to go with like david foster wallace or like philip roth or someone like that yeah i think so when you build it or like don de lila like when you just build a novel like that and there's so many levels to it right it's like you're just like an architect of like humanity sure yeah that makes sense yeah maybe a director too yeah like paul thomas anderson or richard blink later or someone like that yeah i'd agree with you there i think they'd be pretty embarrassed if I put them in the same category as Shakespeare and are they listening Stein I send it to him

fire off some emails to cool yeah all right Aaron who do you think we haven't gotten you on this I mean if you're gonna go directors I'd say Christopher Nolan yeah yeah probably the smartest guy out there and well-dressed yeah it was and a humanitarian I saw him at the Women's March nice we were there too that's cool we shot content there cool cool you had it you done yeah done yes was great fun the longest one we've ever done yeah I don't know if that's a good thing no it's great yeah I'll listen the whole Yeah. Oh, I don't know if that's a good thing. No, it's great. People are going to listen to the whole thing. Yeah.

All right. I don't want to be cocky, but I think people like it. I think I'll grab people. Good. Yeah. Delighted to be here and be a part of that. Come back. Thanks for coming in.

I love it. Welcome anytime. Thank you, guys. Stokers, thank you for tuning in. JT, you want to say anything? Thank you for tuning in, Stokers. want to say anything? Thank you for tuning in, Stoker's Boom Clap. Do you have any closing thoughts? Well, I just hope we raised everyone's stoke level to epic proportions, really.

All right. That's all we can do. That's what's up. All right. We'll see you guys next week. Later. Who's coming in next? What's your theme?

Go with me. JT. What's your team? How we doing? Chatting JG If you need advice These guys are really nice You wanna know What to do Where to go When you need someone to guide you

Someone to have the courage beside you Go deep Go deep Let's go deep I'm going deep Get in there deep Let's go deep, I'm going deep, we're getting deep.