Happy Sad Confused - Betty Gilpin, Vol. II

Episode Date: September 14, 2022

Betty Gilpin is back and now she can add the title of author to her lofty resume! Betty opens up about her new book, the end of GLOW, her upcoming secret TV series, and much more! Come see Josh tape LIVE Happy Sad Confused conversations in New York City! September 23rd with Elisabeth Moss! Tickets are available here! September 29th with Mila Kunis! Tickets are available here! October 25th with Ralph Macchio! Tickets are available here! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to The Wakeup newsletter here! Don't forget to check out the Happy Sad Confused patreon here! We've got exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Today on Happy, Sad Confused, Betty Gilpin from Glow and The Hunt to her debut as an author. Hey guys, I'm Josh Horowitz, and welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Yes, very excited to say that we have Betty Gilpin back on the podcast today, and I always love talking to her because she is fiercely intelligent, funny, self-deprecating, neurotic, all the good things, and very talented. as both an actor and now an author.

Her new book is fantastic. It's called All the Women in My Brain and Other Concerns. I have read this cover to cover, and it was not at sure at all. It was just a delight. She is very insightful, very funny, very self-deprecating. This is her... It's not really a memoir, though it's certainly her life and her experiences in work, but it has a lot more to say than that,

but it also is done with a very deft and light touch. If you've heard her interviewed, if you've heard her past on the podcast, you know how sharp Betty Gilpin is. So that is reflected in the writing. You can't go wrong. Check it out. It is out right now. All the women in my brain. And you'll love this chat because certainly I love chatting with her.

She keeps me on my toes. I feel like she is 10 times smarter than me. And that's always better than having someone less intelligent than me. That rarely happens too. Everybody's smarter than me. But this was a good catch-up about her life and career. I mean, we talk about The Hunt, which was a film that really should have gotten more attention that came out right as the pandemic started, the end of glow, what's to come in the future,

and of course, her great new book. So that's the main event on today's podcast. I'll brief you a little bit. I mean, it would take an entire hour to brief you on what I've been up to, honestly, lately. But suffice it to say, it's been a busy fun time. I just got back from the Toronto Film Festival. Prior to that, I was at Telluride for the first time. I don't think I talked about Telluride yet on the podcast, have I? Gosh. Okay, so I'll give you the brief version. I might do, for the Patreon folks, over at patreon.com slash happy, say I'm

thinking I might do a live chat with the guys over there, everybody on the Patreon, just to answer all your questions about what I've been seeing, who I've been talking to, and my experiences lately, because I've done a lot. But for anybody listening to this podcast, here's the short version. Tell You Ride Film Festival, amazing, remarkable, gorgeous, beautiful, amazing films. In beautiful Tell You Ride, Colorado, I'd never gone. If you don't know, this is a film festival kind of stripped of all the crappy parts of film festivals, i.e., no red carpets, no camera crews, no big, shitty parties. There are some parties, there's some little small get-togethers, but it's so much more low-key.

It sounds like a cliche, but it is true. It's about the movies. It's about people that love movies. And I just adored it. I saw a bunch of great movies there, saw people that I really respect and love, and didn't do one interview. And I will cherish that time until you're right.

I saw Tar, the new film from Todd Field, starring Kate Blanchett, fantastic women talking, which is the new film from Sarah. Polly that features, I mean, just so many great performances. Rooney, Mara, Claire Foy, Jesse Buckley, Judith Ivy. The list goes on. I, without exaggeration, saw Claire Foy and Jesse Buckley every day for five straight

days in Telluride because it's that small and just we just kept running into each other. And as you guys know, I love Claire. And now I love Jesse. Jesse is fantastic. And I'm going to make sure she's on the podcast because I've been a fan, but now I'm also a fan of her in real life. What else did I see? Oh, man, the new Robert Downey Senior Documentary Senior, just a stunning piece of work. This is a documentary directed by Chris Smith, who's a fantastic filmmaker with the full cooperation of Robert Downey Jr. and documents his dad's

amazing career, if you don't know Robert Downey Sr. is one of a very influential important kind of underground indie filmmaker, I guess, in the 60s, 70s, and a little bit later on, but that was his heyday. And most poignantly, this documents the end of Robert Downey's life. He passed, I believe, last year, and this is a really up-close and personal portrait of the man and his relationship with his son, and the cameras go to some very intimate spaces, and it's fantastic. That's just a taste of Tell You Ride. And then I went off to Toronto Film Festival, which I always love, but haven't been to, of course, because of the pandemic for a few years. Saw a bunch more great movies.

Glass Onion. The new Knives Out movie is fantastic. I saw the new Spielberg movie, The Fabelmans. I'm still digesting that, but an amazing performance from Michelle Williams and really touching. Speaking of Touching The Whale, new Darren Aronofsky movie, starring Brendan Fraser. You've probably heard about that one. Just about wrecked me. like I was sobbing at the end, and I know some people haven't reacted well to the whale.

For whatever reason, it really, really moved me, and I'm looking forward, I mean, I guess to say I'm looking forward to seeing it again. It sounds crazy because it's a very intense, dark story, but it really, like I said, it kind of really got to me. So expect to see Brendan Fraser definitely in the awards races this year. Yeah, okay, so that's the tease there. Again, I could talk about all that stuff for an hour, and maybe I will over on the Patreon. I did chat with three different folks for a little mini happy, say, I confused episodes while I was there.

Chatted with Anna Kendrick, chatted with Kit Harrington, chatted with Nicholas Cage. They're all really great conversations. I'm starting to put them up already on the YouTube page, YouTube.com slash Josh Horowitz, and that will be available in podcast form if you're listening to this very soon. So I'm just kind of drowning a little bit in all the interviews and trying to get it to you guys as quickly as possible. Suffice it to say, if you want the earliest access to everything, go over to Patreon. Patreon.com slash happy, say I'm confused. If you want to watch everything without paying anything extra, go to YouTube, putting that stuff up as quickly as possible on YouTube.

YouTube.com slash Josh Horowitz. And if you just want to listen, keep subscribing to the podcast and just listen to everything here. It's all free. What else can I tell you? Some upcoming events. I've mentioned them before. I'll mention them again because I always like to see you guys in person. September 23rd in New York City, me and Elizabeth Olson.

Elizabeth Olson. Elizabeth Moss. I love Elizabeth Olson, too. We'll do her at some point. Elizabeth Moss for the new season of Handmaid's Tale. That's going to be fantastic. That's September 23rd, 92nd Street Y. I believe it's at 7 p.m.

September 29th. Also at 92nd Street, Y will be Mila Koonis. I'm very excited to chat with her. She's never done the podcast, though I've always enjoyed chatting with her. That will be fantastic. I believe there's a screening of her film prior to our chat. All the information is in the show notes here, so don't worry about, you know, writing the stuff down. And then I hope to see some of you guys at New York Comic-Con.

I am moderating the panel for Weird, the Weird Al-Yankovic biopic biopic. which, by the way, I saw in Toronto and kicks ass. It's fantastic. It is amazing. So more to come on that, but I'll be at New York Comic-Con, October 9th panel with Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, and others for Weird. Okay, that's a lot, I know? Should we get to the main event? Let's do it.

Okay. Here is Betty Gilpin, actress, and now more importantly, author, check out her new. book. It's out right now. And enjoy this catch-up with me and Betty Gilman. Why, look, it's Betty Gilbert, returning to the podcast this time in a Zoom box, because we don't actually interact as live human beings anymore. Yeah, the world ended between when we last saw each other and now. Yeah, I like to think that our last podcast helped usher in the new era of, um, absolutely. It may not be the worst time to be alive, but it's certainly the most embarrassing.

Top five worst times to be alive. Top five worst times to be alive. Yeah. That's a fun. The, but the air pods of it all make it embarrassing. It just, it's so dumb and like that we're all in boxers and good shirts as I reference my hoodie. But like it just, it's so stupid.

You want on your way out to mug somebody? You look like you're going to go out and just like kick someone else. No, this is, this is to show. you like you may you may see me all dolled up usually but when i am is real and an author now so i'm ready to relate and ready to also like be an apothecary and like ask for three riddles answers in order for you to see the princess on the other side but then also and possibly also be the princess listen i have limited time five questions and then we're out okay no i get it i get it i get it luckily apothecary was the secret word today and we got it out of the way right at the beginning

time I say I pop to carry. Exactly, exactly. I'm very happy to have you back, though. You are one of the few human beings on the planet that might be able to out neurotic me that might hate themselves more than I hate myself. Oh, no. Self-love is a road. It's a journey. There are twists and turns. We're getting there. I'm there. I'm self-obsessed now. Don't worry. Do you trust actors that don't have a degree of self-loathing, that don't question themselves, that don't feel imposter syndrome because I generally don't, but from your vantage point. Well, yes, no, I feel actor-wise, person-wise, I only relate to people who are both very passionate and very embarrassed, like the two together.

And I feel like there's this epidemic happening where it's a lot of people who aren't passionate and aren't embarrassed. They're like, relaxed and like, you got to see me in the sun, great. I'm like, I bet you're not. The people who are like, I don't know, I probably suck are usually great. But yeah, but I don't know. I do feel like I'm realizing that neuroses and self-hate often take up just as much space in a room as narcissism. And it's not as interesting as I think it is.

And also, like, watching the commercialization and brandifying of self-hate and vulnerability makes me reflect on my own. Yeah, it's taken the fun out of it by marketing our problems. It's completely taken the fun out of it. And also, like, I've written a book about it. I am hashtag part of the problem of the new thing of like, ding, ding, ding, I have an announcement. Everyone look at me. The announcement is, whoa, I hate myself.

Why are you guys looking at me? It's like, because you're wearing a shirt that says, if you don't look at me, kill myself. Like I'm an actress who wrote a book about myself. Clearly, I'm against all odds finding the strength to take the spotlight. You're inspirational in that way. I have your book here as if the podcast listeners cannot see it, but I actually own this. I've actually read this. Betty, I mean, I don't want to pat myself on the back, but like it's one thing to watch an hour or two of TV. For my ADD brain to actually finish a book is a miracle. I mean, it is wild.

It's a wild ask to, I'm realizing, oh, as an actor, when you make content, the homework ask of friends and family and the public is like to sit in pajamas and open your eyes for an hour and watch a scream. I've given you, what, seven hours of homework. I'm so sorry and grateful. You should not apologize. I honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really did.

It is like I heard you. your voice for those seven hours. I heard Betty in my brain, for good or for bad. Yeah, right. But no, no, it's very funny. It's very insightful and very self-reflective. And yes, to your point, I feel like you flushed a lot of it out of your system. A lot of, like, the bile, hopefully, is maybe exercise through this. I don't know. Great. Yeah, bile on the pages. Grab your copy now. Yeah, put that on the next edition, that quote. Yes, yeah. I tried to have it be... a cathartic look inward while also making fun of cathartically looking inward.

Right. So what was the, what was the task at hand? Was this on the list for a while? How did this like this organically happen? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think writing was always sort of my secret girlfriend. And, you know, something that I write about in the book, is, you know, being an actor, always, you know, having started as a theater nerd and just being super passionate and nerdy about acting and then working as an actor and sort of realizing, I mean, maybe people feel this way across many fields that you sort of have your passion and childhood dream trapped inside a business that is weird and sometimes gross and embarrassing and funny. and fun, but you can kind of lose track of that initial, authentic seven-year-old self-reason for getting into it. And I also try to write about kind of authentic self versus presented self a lot.

And I think writing, because it was my secret girlfriend, it got to sort of live in the authentic self. only space because it was never being presented to the world. I never really had to kind of sell it. Any other kind of thing. Yeah, you could just be totally right. Yeah, unguarded, yeah. Yeah, and, you know, now I'm literally selling it. So I'm like, did I sell out?

Maybe. Oh, it's too late now. But yeah, I wrote it. I had always wanted to write a book and it really took the, pandemic happening and the crumbling of society being in quarantine and realizing oh you know maybe as we were saying maybe the volume of my neuroses and voices in my head telling me don't write don't do don't just hide it's all feels pretty stupid now so maybe just do it if the meteor is coming well you mentioned you know writing to being your secret

girlfriend that jobs with dedication, which is to your secret favorite. So that's the dedication for you, my secret favorite. Is this a way of making every reader feel like it's actually dedicated to them? Because I could, I could believe I'm your secret favorite. Anybody could be. This is like the new Carly Simon, Alanis Morissette mystery of 2020. Wasn't Carly Simon? Wasn't that Mick Jagger? Wasn't your so vain about Mick Jagger? Or it wasn't you ought to know about Dave Cooley? Is it settled? Has the science been settled? I don't know. Remember it? But did you There was a recent headline where he was like, he just talked about you ought to know. He was like, I didn't realize I heard her so much.

Like, well, and I always thought the lyric was the cross-eyed bear that you gave to me. Like he gave her a cross-eyed teddy bear. I was like, this is a monster. And only this year was like, oh, it's the cross-eye bear. I could have multiple meetings. There could be a literal cross-eyed bear, which is chilling and we'll haunt my dreams tonight. Absolutely chilling. But Uncle Joey is not as much of a sociopath that I thought he was because

was not a cross-ed teddy there. Right, right. What was the question? There was no question. There was an observation of your, of your mysterious dedication. Well, here's a question. Here's an actual question. Okay, great.

Because there are a lot of actual, there are a lot of kind of, what I would say, kind of theories, I don't know, like just sort of like ways of looking at yourself and your place in the universe and in place in acting. And I'm curious, like, are these things that you kind of came up with as you started the writing process? Like the Barbie versus Salem thing.

Is that something you've talked about for years? Or is that as you're writing like, oh, this is how I can contextualize how I feel about this kind of code switching, this kind of different personality thing. Yeah. So there's an essay that I write in the book about that's called Salem versus Barbie. And it really is about sort of authentic self versus presented self. And I, yeah, I think my brain has always been crowded in metaphory in a way that my husband and therapists have asked me to tone down for clarity and my editor certainly and the world at large. So I thought I'd double down and really lean into confusing roundabout metaphors.

You know, speaking of neuroses, thinking about things kind of mystically and metaphorically makes me obsess less about things that I don't. know not don't matter but like a lot of my acting process is thinking about uh you know I write a ton um for preparing for a role and it's a lot of weird metaphors like that and I think it's just like it's almost like a little cat toy for my brain to be like think about a pine tree metaphor instead of whether or not the shape of your face sucks in this camera camera angle um but yeah salem versus Barbie it was a way for me to make sense of what it feels like to have being a kind of my most cavewoman

authentic self in a part be my job and also the getting of that job and selling of that work involve the opposite of authentic self to be like the most barbiest fake filteriest version of myself and sort of commuting between those two things. And it's encapsulated a bit. I know we've talked in the past and you talk in the book about, I mean, one way it's encapsulated, I feel like it's in the nurse Jackie role perhaps.

It's a good example of that, right, in terms of like, yes, I'm going on the outside. I'm going in as your bimbo, as your Barbie, but I'm trying,

I'm kind of like shoveling in the back door. You're right. Yeah. Yeah. I write about, um, that job that basically once puberty sort of assigned me this identity that I didn't feel inside that was sort of the opposite of the you know in high school I had no curve super tiny

like kind of lemurie wallflower person and then all of a sudden I was um super curvy and barbier or whatever. And I was sort of being cast as parts where my brain was empty and my pants were at my ankles. And I, you know, did all of those parts gladly to qualify for health insurance. And nurse Jackie was sort of a particular perfect allegory for how I felt all the time, which was like assuring the bros in charge that I was going to check the Bratz doll boxes and then trying to get the cerebral feminist playwrights who wrote the show to believe that I was actually the lemur wallflower person and really wanted to be a character actress and like please can we strike a deal where if I press my ariolas against the lens every other episode I can also like

do weird things with my face and a funny walk and they let me that wasn't actually in the contract you didn't actually put that in writing it was a silent contract i mean the lawyer that would have to draft that up could you imagine the things that i get the emails that i get for my lawyers being like do you accept the visibility of your butt cheeks in this episode like yes i also just want to say i'm an empowered breadwinner and very proud feminist wise of where i am. And yes, I can send to butt sheets. Has everybody, like, in your close personal circle read the book? Like, who do you want to read the book?

Who do you desperately not want to read this book? No, God. Who do I not want to read the book? I mean, it's funny. My only other experience with writing publicly is I've had, you know, maybe five, six essays. published air quotes online and some, I guess, in print, parchment. And the process has really been like, I assume the posture of a tired gargoyle in the corner of my room, brain shit out an essay, send it and it gets posted, and, you know, 12 people I love and 16 people I don't know are like,

hey, I saw that. I'm like, oh, thanks. And that's it. Or I hear third hand about the negative response and, you know, it takes a couple days to shake off. I kind of thought the book would be like that. And I'm realizing it's not. It's much more like I have to spend, you know, not have to,

but like I do want the book to do well and I want people to read it. But it's, I don't know, it's the constant battle of, the side of my brain. It's like, I don't want anyone to read it. I'm a very private person. Why don't I even write it? And then the other side, it's like, I want everyone to read it and understand me,

and then all my problems will dissolve. So, you know, everyone and no one is the answer. Will the movie star with the serial killer kitchen know who they're talking about when they read it? He's not going to read this book. You don't name names too much. Often you don't even name like the projects. you kind of have to like put it together and be like

yes well I think that's a conscious decision obviously like yes yeah I purposely don't name names or the projects because I think two things I think I was super afraid that people would think that I wrote a book because I thought I was someone who had enough name recognition for people to be like think that I would write a book that's like when I'm on set here are the tricks and trades of me as the person you know. And actually, it's sort of like, um, really the opposite that I just want, I want the reader to be able to place themselves

in my situation, even if they're not in the entertainment business. And, um, yeah, I, uh, I thought the anonymity of it would sort of help that happen. Well, it is, I think I would argue it is very relatable whether you're in the industry or not. I mean, I doubt like Dolly Parton's memoir or Jalo's memoir talks about shitting their pants. That feels like that's more memoirs could benefit from that. Exactly. I'm sure, Dolly Parton and Jennifer Lopez have shit their pants. That was probably like a $6,000 fix. And for me, it wasn't as expensive. Yeah. Yes. Thank you for bringing that up. I talk about bravely shitting my pants at work. Look, I mean, I underlined that.

I earmarked that, obviously. Have you ever shit your pants at work? At work? No. No. In life, though. My brother, shout it to my brother shed his pants, viewing the, I believe,

Declaration of Independence or Bill of Rights. Oh, wow. Very moved by it. A real patriot. Exactly. Exactly. but I didn't say which brother, Harry, or Sam. See, this is why you're subtle and have great.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, this podcast is barely halfway through. We'll see what happens by the end of it. Yeah, I'll be reciting my social security number to the tune of the national anthem. Do you feel like, it's an interesting book because I also feel like, you tell me, like, were you thinking of a specific audience in mind for this? because, and certain chapters are really dive more into this. Like, it feels like you're speaking to almost a younger self or a young actor or actress.

Like, there's actual real useful, I don't know, like you do kind of pull the curtain back on just the real nitty-gritty of what it's like to just be a human in this insane world. Yes, yeah. And I think that I wanted to poke fun at this particular moment in time where, you know, I'm 36. I've been acting professionally since, like, 2006. And so I think that particularly actors my age are having to sort of straddle this line of, like, pretending we've always been a part of the solution and everything's fixed now. And just don't watch my work from 2006 to 2015. and we're good. Like, I think that,

and where feminism is right now, that, you know, I think we're just so quick to try to sell the merch of a victory socially before having the victory itself and to erase past discretions or stains on our history by just saying, okay, everything's fixed. And, you know, I think that we're sort of in this time

where I talk about being an actress now feels like we're both pretending we're in 2063 while also still being in 1952. Right. And, you know, I think being a woman right now feels like that. That, you know, I also talk about like as we're getting as actresses, more producer credits and as many fart jokes so rises the smoke and mirrors demands of how we're meant to look and be and sort of like be our most authentic self while also being the most fantasy self ever really and it just feels so oxymoronic and silly while also being fun it's not

You know, I don't think these issues are, should be the number one cover of the New York Times. Like, we must stop contouring cheeks for our children's future. You know, I love a contour. But it just is funny that we're sort of doing these two things at once. I'm like, where is this going to go? Is this, are we fixing everything or are we making everything worse? I don't know. Where does, okay, so like, I remember in our last chat and in reading the book, you talk about

kind of having low expectations for yourself, especially kind of like at the beginning of your career and even a couple years ago when we were chatting. You were joking about like, you know, being the mom of L. Fanning on a sitcom, you know, a sitcom in two years, which you're not. Though still sounds like an intriguing possibility. Absolutely. So how does like, okay, this, the existence of this book. And the really cool places, even post-glow, which is like probably a scary moment,

where your career has gone, gas-it, the new show, I think you're filming right now. How does that drive with Betty, self-doubting, it's all about to come crashing down any moment? Are you less hard on yourself now on that realm? I'm kind of like, yeah, I can, I'm on a bit of a ride, let me enjoy this ride. It may not be as bleak as I've made it out to be. Totally. Oh, God. I hope I don't.

I mean, you know, I'm just. definitely having to do some identity rearranging and adjusting where like, oh, it doesn't, you know, I don't want to name names, but I see myself in other people who are still trying to do the awshucks, gee whiz, me personality branding when they're like trillionaires with many awards where you're like, well, like, it doesn't really work anymore. Right, right. You know, you don't get to play that card.

Yeah, now it seems false. But it can't be my card anymore, really, because, you know, I remember here, like, you know, when I was not working and broke and talking to my friends who were working and were not broke, hearing them be self-deprecating, I'd be like, shut the fuck up. You know how good you have it? Yeah. And also like it just is feeling false. You know, I think that so for me finding that balance of like being honest about having a healthy sense of still self-loathing and making fun of myself while also being like, I can't deny that I am a person who wants things, has achieved some of them and is proud of those achievements while.

while still being very aware that it all could go away. I also think that the business is just changing where, you know, there's just so much content and so many channels and whatever that being a working actor who is, you know, out there in the zeitgeist, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're famous because there's just so many people out there and shows and whatever. that um and it kind of means that you can try to carve out a sort of your your weird corner like what's your version of this doesn't it's not only like you have to try and get to this one echelon that's the only echelon that exists or failure it's like i'm on a peacock show i was on a stars

show before that only some people have stars and peacock josh and i love it because i can go to the bodega with like eye crust shutting the left eye closed and I get recognized maybe twice a year if that and it's always by either a gay man with a specific compliment or a straight man who wants to cut my head off and put it on his shelf and listen I love both of them and I really appreciate their words and encouragement I want to hug one and run from the other I fit neither of those, and I would scream out. That's the woman that shattered pants in her book. I know that woman. Great. I appreciate that. Yeah, yeah. You, the beginning of, okay, pandemic, look, let's caveat this, what the pandemic was insane for everybody, and it was just a real, a real thing. And career stuff

is one thing. But, but with that caveat, the beginning of the pandemic was particularly interesting career-wise for you, because the hunt was the last movie I saw in a theater for about two years, for instance. Insane. Which, by the way, kind of got lost, Sally, and it's honestly a legitimately great movie. I know you're collaborating with Damon again,

who I positively adore. But then also, you guys were kind of like one of the first casualties, TV-wise, Glow, which had already shot the first episode. You were into, I think, was it the fourth season, I think, yeah. Yep, yeah. So I guess, I don't know how to summarize that period for you, but, like, that must have been a little bit of a mind fuck,

that kind of like, from a career perspective of like, wait, this biggest opportunity feature film-wise in my career, a film that I'm very proud of. Totally. He became deeply polarizing and then ignored because of a pandemic. And then the role of a lifetime was just kind of pulled away prematurely with no actual closure. Yeah, I mean, you know, I, something I try to write about in the book is having this idea that, your dream and specifically, you know, having this version of yourself or what you want to do buried inside all this neuroses that we're talking about. And having that thing coming out into the world, like you externalizing that buried thing is very different than public validation.

Like having you do the thing that you were scared that you'd never do. right um is different than having the world say uh i love you and i you're accepted or whatever and i think i learned a little more important hopefully exactly and i think that um it's so easy to get those two things confused um and the hunt for me is weirdly that exact thing that i you know when um when they were casting it uh i was shooting um uh i was shooting withering heights in london i'm sorry i was shooting a dog's purpose too in winnipeg um and uh not uh and i was sort of like um just sort of resigned to like okay there's a thing that i want to do and the character that i want to play and the kind of actor i want to be and the business is just never going to let me be

that and I have to be realistic about it and I'm going to be the drunk mom and a dog's purpose too and that's going to be what I'm going to do. And then the hunt came along. I thought really hard for that part because I was like, oh man, this is my opportunity to do the thing. And then I really did the thing. I did what I wanted to do with that part. And it was a completely life-changing experience and you know it's not a life-changing movie i love that movie but it's not like the the magic and alchemy that you feel doing something is you know ultimately it's a it's a movie or it's a book or it's a you know painting like it's always um it's never gonna the result is never going to be as magical as the experience but it doesn't change the experience and when that yes yeah

there was a guy who was the president before Joe Biden and I'm forgetting his name but he tweeted about the trailer for the hunt and it made the internet septic explode and then six and then the movie was pulled like Universal canceled it it felt like oh my god my opus is trapped in this movie that no one will get to ever see six months later Universal was like okay we're going to put it out. I was like, here's the moment. And then it came out March 13th, 2020, and theaters closed two days later. The good news is, I hear Trump loves this. He has shit his pants many times in his life. That's not the guy I'm thinking of.

I don't want to say that name. I forget who it is. I want to say his name was Carl. No, that's not it. But, yeah, it really is like, I still got to do the thing. And even though it's, you know, buried on Netflix somewhere, that's kind of a better personality fit for me, honestly.

So watch the hunt. It's on Netflix. I'm so proud of it. And then on the glow front, which is a bit of a different situation, because you didn't get to, I mean, obviously you spent several years on it, so you got to like experience all of that.

I guess my question on the end of what glow was, is like, did it feel at the time like we tried everything we possibly could to figure out a way to do this? Like, were you one of the ones saying like, wait, what about this? Let's go to Peacock. Let's put it on Quibi in six minute increments. Like, let's just do something to finish this, guys.

Or were you kind of like at a certain point? It's okay. We got three years out of this and we're good. I mean, those three years were pretty fucking magic. And yeah, I was super sad that we didn't get to finish out season four. you know, maybe someday something will happen. But I, you know, it was 2020 and the lessons a la the hunt and, you know,

society crumbling, I just didn't want to seem tone deaf in the, you know, ringing a bell in the town square saying the most devastating part of March 2020. is that a TV show got canceled in the fourth season. I just felt like kind of super protective of, I don't know, the world. Yeah, no, this is correct, yeah. This is the correct answer. Great. You're in the middle, I believe, of shooting Mrs. Davis.

Do I have that right, the peacock show? Yes, yes. I'm doing this peacock show that this genius woman, Tara Hernandez, and Damon Lindelof created I'm playing a nun fighting an AI is that the logline it is I believe I found yes it's a great you play a betty you play a nun who goes to battle against an all powerful artificial intelligence excellent okay I'll drop that in tomorrow when I'm filming great yeah I've been yeah I was going to say this does get at I know Damon pretty well uh over the years and he's the best and it sounds like it's encapsulates the faith versus science thing which is at the core

of much of his personality and work, always provocative, always fascinating. So I know you can't say much, but this feels special as it were. Yes, this might be my favorite job I've ever had. Yeah, I think I will be like, will realize that Damon has painted the color of this wall and be like to my head, if I say anything besides the general log line. But I, it's, it's going to be wild. And it's just been so far a couple months of me running around in a wool habit in 102 degrees in the desert. The costume designer is very much British and I don't think I understood what the desert feels like. But listen, it's going to be incredible.

Were you the one that told Damon to tell the internet that there should be less marble movies and now they're out with pitchforks after him again? Every time that poor man opens his mouth. The nerds of the internet are ready to strike him down. Oh, my God. Well, I'm terrified of everything you just said. I wasn't aware of it. And my lawyers asked me to not comment at this time, only to say that Damon is a genius, who's a huge Marvel fan.

Oh, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know you hated the end of Lost, so that's okay. We'll just put that out. Josh, you're trying to tell me. I'm sorry. Okay, so we've been talking comfort movies since the Global Parenthood. pandemic to send two years ago because we all needed comfort. I've been asking every guest to choose

one. You, you greedy lady, chose three. So we're going to get, we can do the one. No, no, no, I want to, I want to mention all three. And we can talk deeper if we want into one. Yeah, exactly. Let's see. I mean, I don't know, do we start sequentially back in time? Where do we, how about that? Yeah. Let's go. Yeah, go ahead. Let's go Jerry McGuire. Okay, we're just going to focus up on Jerry. Great. Jerry McGuire. So runners up, We're School of Rock and White Christmas. But Jerry McGuire. Wonderful.

Jerry McGuire. I think this might be our second Cameron Crow picked. Someone's definitely done almost famous. Jeremy McGuire, I'm not going to summarize it. People know what Jeremy Guires if they listen to this podcast. But when did this hit you? Do you remember seeing this when it came out? Well, I went to remember the Rosie O'Donnell show.

I too. I went as an audience member and we all got VHS as of Jerry McGuire under our seats. it was why the audience went apeshit. I was wearing a sunflower balloon pant and a tank top and I lost my mind. And I just, my friend Zoe Kazan and I were talking about it recently that like it's such a masterclass in acting on the line, which means like Tom Cruise just uses the text like it's Shakespeare. And, you know, I think there's such a, and maybe it's, I used to be like, are Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise sad that they're not in Ocean's 11? And I feel like Jerry McGuire is the reason why Tom Cruise is actually better than Ocean's 11, because there's such a movie star thing, I feel, where you just play sleepy status, where you're just better than everyone and a little tired and always on the back foot. And I was like, yeah, sounds about right.

And Tom Cruise, Jerry McGuire, it's like the engine is going. And the stakes are high. He's using the words. He's making a thousand choices. And to me, it's so refreshing because I feel like often the actresses in a scene, in a movie are having to do the backflips and the engine and the choices. and the like you have to sob and be gorgeous and take off your clothes and do like and the guys are just sort of sleepy status being like yeah sounds about right and Tom Cruise does a hundred backflips

per scene sometimes literally sometimes yeah exactly yeah and it just is so refreshing to me I love that that is great analysis and I have not thought about it that way do you do you relate most to I mean there are a lot of look he is the engine but you've got rod you got Dorothy you've got a great ensemble, who, which character do you connect with in that film? I mean, the kid who talks about how big the human head is. Maybe, maybe. You know, I think I probably relate to, I mean,

Bonnie Hunt is kind of the one. She's the ocean, she's the Danny Ocean. She's the sleepy status. She's like, I'm tired better than these people. No, I think Probably Jerry Just being so embarrassingly It's his passion is trapped

In a business that doesn't value him And that's what the book is about, John Connecting it, bringing it all around Have you ever met Mr. Tom Cruise, Betty? I have not. Has anyone? Think about that. Can you really meet?

That's when I should slam my computer clothes. Think about that. Would you want to be an admission impossible movie? sly audition tape to be to hang off an airplane with Tom Cruise to jump into a volcano with Tom Cruise? Hereditorily, I have Irish ankles, which are weak. And I think jumping off a curb, honestly, is a threat to those ankles. And I worry about them in a helicopter setting.

We just talked through the hunt. We saw you kick Hillary Slank's ass. You're okay. My ankles hurt so much. No, I, I, my body hurts from the things I've done to it. And every passing month, maybe 10 years ago I could have, but listen, I'm 67. I know I look great, but I'm 67 years old. And I can't, yeah, I'm turning down a Mission Impossible movie.

I'm happy to memorize lines and go to Minsk. They all, they, you get an email today saying, look, we, we, we, Gall Godot had a great run, but we need a new Wonder Woman. Betty, you're our lady. Do you accept it or do you reject it on the basis that you're going to have to face your fears and go to Comic-Con and see 6,000 of me in a room staring at you? I've been to Comic-Con and I did a like women who kick-ass empowerment panel in Hall H that was before the Marvel panel. So the audience was only Marvel people who didn't want to see our panel. So I've done it. And the host was like, I watched it.

happen in slow motion. She was like, any Liberty Bells in the audience? It was just like, woo-hoo! Is that an actual tumbleweed in San Diego? Yeah. Yeah. It was, like, I made eye contact with someone who's like a dragon hat. They were like, oh, I'm sorry. You're like, it's okay. No, no worries. I got nothing but love for the Marvel community. Look, I'm sure the next go-around in our chat, we'll look back and laugh as you're playing you know, Captain Marvel's sister for the fourth time

international superstar. It's always a good pleasure, truly, to catch up. You're the best. This book is really great. I really, I really dug it, honestly. Thank you, Josh. All the women in my brain, and other concerns. You get bonus material. Other concerns as well are in there. So many concerns.

Concerning. Good luck with the shoot. Give my best of Damon. And, yes, hopefully I will see you outside of the Zoom box one of these days. Awesome. Thanks, Josh. And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person.

I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh. Hey, Michael. Hey, Tom. You want to tell him? Or you want me to tell him? No, no, no. I got this. People out there.

People lean in. Get close. Get close. Listen, here's the deal. We have big news. We got monumental news. We got snack-tacular news. After a brief hiatus, my good friend, Michael Ian Black, and I are coming back.

My good friend, Tom Kavanaugh and I are coming back to do what we do best. What we were put on this earth to do. To pick a snack. To eat a snack. And to rate a snack. Typically. Emotionally? Spiritually.

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