Happy Sad Confused - Christoph Waltz

Episode Date: February 5, 2019

Two time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz stops by "Happy Sad Confused" this week to discuss his beginnings in Vienna and New York, why he's a self-avowed snob, and his new film, "Alita: Battle Angel". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Please play responsibly. Today on Happy, Said Confused, two-time Oscar winner, Christoph Valtz on becoming an overnight sensation in his 50s and his new film, Alita Battle Angel. Hey, guys, I'm Josh Horowitz. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Welcome to a very stimulating, fascinating conversation with, as I said, two-time. Oscar winner in a relatively short period of time, I will add. He, of course, won for his two collaborations with Quentin Tarantino on Django Unchained and, of course, in Inglorious Bastards, which changed his career. Kristol Valtz is the guest on today's Happy, Sad,

confused. And I'm going to be frank with you guys, I was really nervous for this conversation. Christoph is a very unique, particular person. And I've watched a lot of interviews. with him. I've actually interviewed him a couple times over the years in smaller settings like in red carpets or junkets. And he's an intimidating presence. He's exceptionally intelligent and and is the kind of kind of person that will really engage with you. And these sounds like good things. But in a way, I guess my point is if you are lazy and are asking lazy questions, Christoph can pick you apart with his fierce intellect. So I have to had to kind of bring my A game to this one. I'll be honest, guys. I was, I really prepped hard for

this one. Um, I wanted to make sure that we were on the same wavelength that I understood what he was all about. He has very, um, specific kind of ideas about acting and, uh, and how it's taught and, and, and methodologies. Um, and I'm, I'm thrilled to say that it was a great chat. I, I really, uh, I felt I have a newfound admiration for him even more than I did going in. Um, and I think, I think for actors out there, fans of his work, you'll get something very special out of this conversation with Christoph. It's a very open and direct conversation about his early life growing up in Vienna in a theater family, his kind of rebellion against the theater, his work in New York in his 20s, waiting on the likes of Bill Murray when he was trying to establish a career. his 30 years of not really struggling, but kind of becoming a jobbing actor in Europe. And then, you know, this metamorphosis into this beloved international actor starring in some of the biggest films of our times.

It's now been 10 years since Christoph appeared in Inglorious Bastards. And since then, as I say in the conversation, he's worked with so many fantastic filmmakers, Tim Burton, Terry Gilli, him, Alexander Payne, Michelle Gondry, to rattle off a few. And now he's working with not one but two visionaries. Robert Rodriguez is the director, and James Cameron is the co-writer and really the brains behind Alita Battle Angel, which is a film I've been, I've known about for many years, based on the manga comic. It is quite a sight to see in a theater.

It's kind of in a weird way, a coming of age story. for a young woman, a young cyborg taken in by Christoph's character, Dr. Ito. It's got huge spectacle in terms of the action sequences and the world building. But I really did enjoy it. I think it bears the mark of a great James Cameron story. And I'm thrilled to see that it's finally gotten to the big screen. And if audiences respond to it, I'm sure we'll see some more of this as well. So I guess that that's all. I'll say about the film except to say, you know, as Christoph and I talked about, there's a lot out there in terms of spectacle and bombastic explosions and stuff at the movies, but this one I think really has something more to it than that. So I hope it does succeed. I hope you guys enjoy this conversation with Christoph. As always, remember to review, rate and subscribe to Happy SET and Fused on wherever you get your podcast, spread the good word. And yeah, enjoy this chat with one of our finest actors today, Christoph Valtz.

Are you hopefully near the end of this mad run? Nowhere near. Oh, no, I'm sorry. Nowhere near, but it's okay, you know. It's for a good cause. There's a lot of sensory. If you get bored by me, sir, there's a lot in here you can just bounce off of. Oh, wow.

Whose is this? That is, Danny McBride painted that of me once, the actor, Danny McBride. He actually went to art school. He's a... I just meant to say, it's not bad. It's actually not bad at all. It's not. My favorite is, many people have come in here and being like, oh, how old is your child?

And I'm like, nope, that's a 40-year-old man's painting of me. You can see that. There's no formal introduction. This is just a conversation, sir. Fabulous. It's such an honor to have you here. Please, it's not. My pleasure.

Congratulations on your work in this new. film, Alita Battle Angel is the film. I very much enjoyed it. We're used to seeing a lot of spectacle these days, but there's a lot of empty spectacle out there, and this one has something in there that I connected with. I couldn't agree more, as the saying goes. This is one thing I always refer to, you know, when people say, I'm not really interested in these movies, you know, superheroes.

First of all, it's not a superhero movie. First of all, it's not a superhero of a movie. Right. Well, you know, these are these grand sort of spectacles, visual effects. Yeah, fine. You know what's really fabulous about this thing is that the visual effects are completely subservient to the story. Right. And if you look back, I mean, I grew up, as you can tell, in this office, in the era of James Cameron, of sort of when he really started to make his great works, and all of them were like that. They're all

pushing technology, but never at the disservice of emotion and story. Exactly. Or at the expense, even, you know. Right. And this is what it's about, because what other element of a movie would you want to relate to, if not the emotional depth, so to say? So if you'll indulge me a little bit, I'm just curious, you know, there's a lot of talk nowadays about the theatrical experience, whether it's in danger, it's.

et cetera. And this is certainly a film that, sure, I'm sure it'll work on a small screen, et cetera. But this is, I think, a great filmic experience, a great communal experience. Were those kind of experiences really influential in your youth, the theatrical experience? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Essentially. You know, whether it was movies or theater or opera, essential to be there with others. And you say that communal experience, and of course it is, but it's a communal experience of what? Not necessarily of the community.

It's a communal experience. What's up there? Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Right. And that really, even though I've been, in movie theaters

that were sold out if the attention is not directed properly but the attention again attention of what if we lean back and let them because it's 3D throw stuff at us

or if it's to carry on sort of hardware hitting each other yeah Yeah, fine. Can you do it? Well, you can see that one can do it. Right. What do I have anything to do with it? What does the next guy have anything to do with it? Right. And those pleasures are disposable too. They might be entertained. They're kind of candy that goes right through you. I feel like, you know, especially for a child. The child can enjoy sort of like the spectacle maybe of something being thrown at your face. But yeah, but I don't know. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think there's a responsibility involved, you know, if you're

If you really drag someone into a movie theater and make them pay, why let them go sort of semi-satisfied or gratified on a level that you wouldn't want to be gratified on? Right. You know, no, give them the whole thing. Give them the real thing. Jim Cameron is the master of that. Definitely. As I understand it, you grew up in Vienna, and there's a film museum, the film you seem, I guess. in Vienna. That was an important part of your coming of age in terms of learning about film. Absolutely. I became a member very early on because that's where you could see all the

Marx Brothers movies in original version. And that kind of drew me in. And within two years, I was watching experimental movies and retrospectives of Pierre Paola Pasolini and stuff like that. Right. You know, and it was a real education. I mean, it strikes me obviously one of the key collaborators in recent years, of course, has been Quentin, who, you know, he programs the New Beverly. He was not a collaborator. If anything I was, you know, come on. I don't know what he would say about that.

He's been in here. He's a delight, as you know. But I guess my point is he shares that lifelong passion for all types of cinema. And I guess, again, the common denominator is what entertains and connects with him. I just love it. It's funny, I've watched a lot of your interviews. I've heard a lot of your interviews. And you, maybe tongue-in-cheek or not, you call yourself a snob sometimes.

But I don't know if you are a snob, sir, because a snob wouldn't be maybe in Alita Battle Angel. They might thumb their nose at the idea of it. Well, I think there's even, even for a snob, there is a space and a place in Alita Badal Angel. Yeah. Because it's really the most comprehensive movie experience that you could wish for. And I'm not talking about the rumbling seat. I'm talking about your emotional and intellectual. engagement

and that's what I always advocate if you throw stuff at people they will lean back and if they once the back touches the back rest the rest will sit in you want them off the

back wrist. I'm leaning forward at the edge at the front edge of the seat trying to you know enter enter the events that unfold in front of them. At least that's what I like about sitting in a movie.

Of course. As I understand it, I mean, ironically, I mean, again, correct me if I'm wrong, but your act of rebellion as a young person maybe was not going into the family business or trying to resist going into the family business, which was theater. Exactly. Well, the theater or, you know, my parents were active in movies too, and my grandparents acted. Actually, my great-grandfather was in a silent movie,

a very big silent movie that was shot in Austria. It still exists. That's fascinating. That must be a trip to watch. That's crazy. Hey, you know, I saw it as a birthday surprise once when I lived in London and the BFI put it on, and I didn't know. And I sat there and I thought, well, okay, fine, why not?

you know interesting and I recognized him not because I knew him but because there are pictures around that I've seen and that was a creepy experience that's amazing did you so did you have an immediate kind of aversion

to the theater or did it take a while I never had an aversion to the theater I just you know because I grew up in it and that's all my family ever talked about any you know there were there was big family and lots of friends and many, many occasions where people were over and all they ever

talked about was the theater. Right. At age six, I had had it. And so how much of a serious pursuit was acting as a child? Was it just sort of what? Never. Never. Never. Never. Not. Oh, no. Okay. No, I, you know, out of the question. And so when did it turn into something? When I ran out of other ideas. And we're in that sequence of events,

because I know you considered pursuing a career in cinematography as a DP. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was that simultaneous to, or was that prior to switching? No, that was prior. That was prior. That was when I still had my two cents worth together. And, yeah, cinematography and fine arts and, you know. it's funny because it's like the reverse story that you hear from many actors of like the fallback your fallback was to fall into acting in the theater when many are it's the it's the dream it's the thing

that that the parents maybe don't want you down to go into yeah no it was not a dream and um i always refer to wanting to become an actor is is something well i've referred to it as a developmental fixation really everybody wants to become an actor at one point in their usually puberty. Right. And with the, you know, with the, let's say, successful finishing of puberty and growing into something more adult-like, you shed that. wish to become an actor like, I don't know, a cocoon or, you know, something transitional. And the ones who don't make a healthy, you know, don't make a healthy progress in their development, the ones that are fixated on these pubescent kind of fantasies.

They then have no choice. but to become actors to somehow come to terms with that fixation. And it usually leads into alcoholism, drug addiction, desperation. How did you avoid all this, sir? How did you get to the level head that's on your shoulders today? You know, I wonder whether I have successfully, but I don't know. It's it, I, you know, of course it's, I mean all of this facetious. but only to a certain degree.

Yeah. There is something to it. And that's, I claim, why becoming an actor is really easy. Being an actor is a different story. And you know that life. I mean, your story is fascinating. I mean, we'll get to it. I mean, you were a jobbing actor for decades.

And I had decent jobs, by the way. Right. It wasn't like you were making a living. And you were made a decent living. I could support a family, and occasionally I even had stuff that I like to do. Right. And I was not completely disregarded or overlooked. Sure.

I know I'm jumping around a bit, so forgive me. That's okay. I'll jump with you. Okay, good, good. You spent some time here in New York, in your youth. Are those, I mean, where did that occur in that developmental period, in that pursuit of that? Actually, that was on the verge of trying to understand what was going on, you know, kind of my first step into adulthood, so to say. Yeah.

Taking responsibility. And I did a few things on television, movies, and one theater run. And I felt I haven't really, or hadn't really equipped myself. with reliable tools and reliable experiences. I didn't want to just go through the conventional European thing that you join a theater company. By the way, nothing to be said against it. It just wasn't my thing.

I followed an inkling and an instinct and an idea. in a way without knowing too much but I knew that I had a deficit of some sort you did study with Stella Adler here correct um did you get anything out of that well it needs to be said I did study with her but in her script interpretation okay I didn't have acting classes with her for that I went to at least

Strasbourg gotcha so then for Straussberg yet let me emphasize that with all vehemence i claim that stella ardle's script interpretation and not lee strasberg's acting classes were the one most valuable thing i did in my education so hard to probably sum up what was some months or whatever of study with uh in terms of script interpretation but can you encapsulate a little bit of what you're talking about of what was what's proves to be so useful for you look when we talk about or or I occasionally do when I'm being asked them what drew you to this story or why did you choose to

do to participate in Alida for example I my my my answer, and to a degree it is a standard answer, but that doesn't make it any less relevant to me. I go for the story. I go for the whole. And if that's something that I see myself in a right place to contribute or participate, that's That's a very good sign because that's really, you know, what my idea of the whole thing is. If that then happens in the context of people that I'm interested in, and I don't need to like them, I need to be interested in, for whatever reason, but the reasons usually are kind of analog, then I think about the character.

And when all of these, I compared it to a funnel, you know, from the story down to the character via the people, that kind of, you know, a decision as such is not necessary. You know, it kind of funnels me in. And that's something that I learned from Stella Adla, not necessarily the actual. concrete method of funneling myself. That wasn't a three-step process she taught, but the gist of it was there. The wherewithal to actually negotiate that, to direct my attention to the bits that I'm interested in, rather to the bits that may sell well or look good or all of that. My sense in hearing you talk sometimes about acting, quote, unquote, methods and teachings

is that you sometimes can't abide by the kind of the mysticism around acting. There's a lot of magic. It sounds bearable. Okay, so I'm spot on there. What are the myths about acting that you can't abide that trouble you, that you feel need to be kind of demystified? That there is a formula. or a recipe that, if applied diligently, will lead to success. Now, what would that formula be that is universally applicable?

And what exactly, what kind of success do you actually expect? You know, it is, I heard him say it with my own ears, Leece Rosberg said teaching acting is just another way of making money and that you know like 40 years later I would I would underscore wholeheartedly and

multiple times so they make an acting teacher acting method purveyor career and it's kind of the guru thing and everybody wants the shortcut the innocent souls fall right into it

because they really believe that they will be better actor what would that be a better actor there's no such thing right and what I think the word that maybe comes up most that I hear you say in conversation is play yeah when you're talking about it

get on with it you know that's you have that unique chance to try out something that you wouldn't dare to try out in your life because of the consequences you might I don't know end up dead shunned damaged bankrupt whatever there you can try it out what does it feel like

what would you do if you were that person but what would you do so you know well he's always playing himself well what else is he supposed to play oh he's getting into this into this character, like into a glove. Well, I'd recommend a glove then, you know. I mean, are there certain kinds of, like, if you're on set with an actor that's

going through their own process that you may personally disagree with, that doesn't work for you? Does that make it difficult for you to connect in a way? It makes it difficult to me as Christoph because I have no patience, you know, but other than that, you know, I have no right to interfere with his. Right. What others, you know, like to, as long as you get to. They call process, you know, because I look at it and I say, well, maybe a lack of process.

They're adding all the bells and whistles to kind of. Yeah, but, you know, not only do I not have a right to interfere, it would be stupid to even have an opinion. Sure. Because, you know, if that's what makes it go, if that's what gets the juices to flow, hey, you know, please, you know, please yourself. How long were you here in New York then? How long was the run here initially? No, no, no. Oh, that was about two years and then I came back occasionally.

Is it true you were waiting tables in that time? Yeah, of course. Yeah. Just to make ends meet. That's what you do. Yeah. Oh, well, that's obligatory. How was Bill Murray as a...

You know the details. I was working at La Silvette on LaGuardia Place. And Bill Murray came in at a few occasions and he was the sweetest guy. And now I know him not well, unfortunately, but

personally. And he is the sweetest guy, so it makes all sense. Yeah. So we glossed over a little bit and it's so fascinating because I feel ignorant, frankly, because I haven't seen the work prior to a decade ago. That's just, that's certainly recommendable ignorance. Well, I don't know about that.

As you said yourself, there were some rewarding. There was some rewarding work in there. Some of it was really good, too, you know. By the time you got to that Inglorious Bastards audition, like, where was your head at? I mean, had you kind of given up some ambitions of getting into English-language films, which was an ambition for a time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I hadn't given up any ambitions, but I'd given,

I'd sort of not given up hope, but I was actually trying to cope with intense frustration. See, that's what I was referring to before between becoming an actor and being an actor. Because if you then grow out of that pubescent fixation, but you're still an actor, you're still faced with the, quotidian existence of someone who is working with a lot of those people that you were too at one

point. Sure. And look, it's difficult. Do you believe there's some kind of like Darwinian logic by which the great actors rise or is it how much of it is dumb luck? Well, that's very generous of you to say that but um well it is there is there's a balance between the personal experience that happens within this individual and the effect and the success um on the outside that you can't control that's yeah and you can try to come to grips with uh what what is within your reach and that's primarily you yourself the rest it would be diluting yourself or deluding yourself a little bit because it's not within your grasp I often hear from actors talking about sort of like you have to be in a very relaxed state that's sort of like the pressure and then getting in your own head is

the enemy of great acting whether you agree with that or not yeah yeah I would okay I would so I I wouldn't say it that methodically, but I would agree with the idea. As you were discussing before, there are no laws here. But I guess my question in relation to Inglorious is you land this role that you know, of course, is a hell of an opportunity with one of our great writer-director's, this delicious part. Is it, were you able to kind of let go of the quote-unquote pressure because of where you were in your life? Or for me, I would feel like there's this 30 years of built-up pressure that this is the time. Well, I don't know. You see, I wasn't aware of it, but that's also because I was very busy trying to wrap my mind around that part, about that story, about all the implications about Quentin, really?

Because, yeah, on the surface, you can grasp them right away, but there's a very, very deep. let's call it sometimes even almost scary darkness and not darkness is maybe wrong because darkness is somber and heavy if anything is yeah but the you know the depth is really what I'm

what I'm referring to and the further the further the depth reaches, the darker, of course, it gets for us standing out here. So I really, I knew that if I can contribute at all, it would be via understanding the man. Landa, the character, or Quentin, both. Being in that movie. Yeah. Was the first thing you shot, the opening scene of that film? Yeah.

Unbelievable. Chronologically. With the drive-up to the house. I mean, it's, yeah, you've heard every high. Look, yeah. But there it is. That's exactly what I'm saying. You know, I can do whatever, you know, and take classes with, with, uh,

I don't know, you know, Thesp is herself. But if I don't have the opportunity, meaning if I don't have that script that defined and encircled the encircled the, the actually actual point and focus and topic for me, meaning if I'm not congruent with what's on that page and if what's on that page is banal and flat and silly and dispensable, then I have no chance. Well, especially, and I, you know, I've talked to many actors and especially with respect to but maybe it's now sadly dipped into other genres too of this reliance on improv in recent years and it's uh has it really worked ever I would argue in some specific cases at first but generally speaking I agree with you it's a it's a it's a it's a it's a it's a it's a shortcut to something that doesn't work generally and as a crutch by the way if you if you run into an and

unsurmountable obstacle during rehearsal and then you improvise around it to get it going to dissolve the blockage. Another tool potentially, yes. Great, as a tool. Or if you go to an improv show

where the very purpose... Yeah, the end-all-be-all is that thing. Exactly, is admiring the flexibility and imagination and spontaneity of the performance. It's fantastic.

Yeah. No, no, no. If we have a script, you know, that's it. Right, right. And if you have a script like Quentin's, you'd be really stupid to start improvising. The hubris of an actor to think that they can improve on that. Exactly. Good luck.

You certainly approached your career seemingly like you were making up for lost time. in the decades since. I mean, just to look at them, the filmmakers you've worked with, to rattle off a few, Alexander Payne, Finn Burton, Polansky, Terry Gilliam, Tammendez. I mean, these are the best of the best. Polanski, for instance, who was a fascinating filmmaker, and you worked with him on Carnage, of course, and is from all right, from all accounts, a meticulous filmmaker? Maticulous is not the right word. Okay, tell me. What's the right word?

Perfect. Perfect is the only word that describes it. Rehearsal was involved? Very rare nowadays. That was meticulous, yeah. But very much your speed, it sounds like, in terms of his approach. Fantastic. It's really the last grandmaster.

And the grandmaster, the master of grandmasters. look I don't even like every movie that he made and that's not what I mean but his making is perfect yeah

it's it's um um um you you've never seen anything like it nor have you experience it and not everybody takes to it

right I've heard stories, sure. And not everybody, it's not for everybody this kind of perfection. And, you know, you could, of course, rightly argue, well, I mean, you know, it's all for the movie and is it really required that, you know, that's not the question. I mean, not for me. Right. I always wonder, I bring it up all the time, like someone like Polanski, and I bring it up

with actors who have or haven't worked with him, like the Fincher test. Like, I wonder, and I feel like you could be someone that would fit into his misconduct. meticulousness, perfection, whatever you want to call it, attention to detail, precision. Absolutely. Yeah. And thinking. Right. The man thinks precisely like you've never seen anyone, you know, really analyze and really follow logic and precise thinking is.

is a good thing. It's very helpful. Well, if you have the goods to back it up, yeah, too. And then I think of someone much different who he's been here as well, but when I think of Terry Gilliam, I think kind of like of anarchy, of play to use the... Indeed. So we know you enjoy play, but we also know you enjoy perfection and meticulousness.

No, well, yeah, but it's, you know, what wavelength do you tune into? And I think it's you're well advised to tune into the wavelength of the director. Right. It's the job of the actor to meet them on their field a little bit. So, in a way, it's the job of the actor to inspire the director to have more ideas. Right. You know, it needs to be a vicious circle. And then it's fun.

And I adore Terry also for different reasons. apparently well no I mean an infectious personality probably a lot like Robert Rodriguez he's like really the the

archetypical artists you know mushrooming imagination manifested how do you take to a director

giving you a line reading not too well not too well because you know if they know so exactly how to to read that line, then maybe they should play the part.

Right. Because if it's really, look, if we discuss the process that results in a line reading, fine. And if there's no time, you know, and it's a shortcut and, you know, the suggestion flies out, I don't care. but I've worked with or rehearsed with directors that came to come to fruition perhaps and insisted on specific line readings and that's where it stayed I've talked a bunch of times with one of your co-stars Samuel L. Jackson about about that topic and he's in agreement with you I know and he also is very adamant like I asked him this is a question that comes up a lot like acting for the theater,

acting for film. He laughed his head off at that of you and the idea of this. He's a kindred spirit. You know, he really is. Because, yeah, and then what would be the difference? Explain that. I guess my question

is, and I defer to the experts, of course, but is does it help to know where the camera is, how close it is, anything at all? Well, yes. It possibly does. but after you've done it twice or three times, you know where the camera is.

Right. And, you know, if you grew up in a world and time like Sam and I did, that's one of the first things you learn, and it turns into a sixth sense. Right. Or, you know, you know where the camera is without looking where the camera is. Right. And that's how it should be. you know that's why i'm so against these schools and methods and you need to do this and

you need to do that no you need to you know wrap your mind around it and get on with it yeah strip it all away if anything um i mean i guess i'm curious like you mentioned you know you alluded to like maybe a collaboration that didn't work out in a rehearsal what do you do do when you do you do when you do you do when you you know you're not on the same wavelength as a director and you're on day two and day three of a 60 day shoot how do you get through it how do you what's your job as an actor well that's why it's a profession yeah that's where it that's where you know that's where you then need some form of technique some you know a toolbox you know and then say no that that chisel is too

wide and the screwdriver is the wrong tool and I need a plane here, you know, plane it down, which is a good thing anyway. Has anything surprised? I mean, okay, so you have this long career that is prosperous to a degree in those 30

years prior. This amazing shift happens with Inglorious. You win the Oscar well deserved. You win another Oscar. You're working with the best filmmakers on the planet. Did anything in the last decade, and it has been a decade now, did it surprise you in terms of like any aspect, whether it's the end quote-unquote industry, the...

Yeah, yeah, I recently had an experience that I'm not at liberty to talk about, but there are surprises, of course they are, and if there aren't any more surprises, it would be sort of kind of dull. Going through the motions is not worth it, especially after you've done it a few times, to just, you know, then I don't know, do something else. started by talking a little bit about spectacle and the kind of empty spectacle versus something like Alita that does have some emotional connection for an audience, hopefully if it works for them and it did for me. You know, we end up talking a lot because it just fills the multiplex about these

Quinket superhero films, the Star Wars films, etc. Do any of them, have any of them connected with you on any kind of emotional level? No. Categorically. Not. You see, that's why I'm, that's why I'm, I was very skeptical about Alita, you know, and wholeheartedly with flying colors, I can say this is different.

Yeah. It is different in every respect, on every level. It is really an experience. It is something that that, that. I would not have thought possible with me, you know, that you could fit into. No, that I could, watching it like something like that so much. Right. And be so enthusiastic about it.

Well, yeah, one of the great pleasures in my life. I mean, I've been doing this a while, and I probably talked to James Cameron a dozen times the Air Avatar came out and talking about intellect and emotional intelligence and theatrical intelligence. He's the best. He's probably someone that if you asked any question about something on the fringes outside of those script pages would have a 20 minute answer for. Oh, that's not for nothing. They created a museum about Pandora. Right. Every plant, every creature, every

every occurrence is scientifically at least justified. Right. So having had this one wonderful experience on this? Are you open to, so Marvel comes calling, DC comes calling, will you give them the benefit of the doubt that they can come up with something? I don't want to ever be general. Right. You know, it needs to be specific. But for a very simple, very egotistical reason, I don't think I can contribute if it's not specific. Sure. Like a superhero as such, not that anyone would offer me to play a superhero, but

what is that? Right. And coming back to Stella Adler, you know, the four Ws, or five Ws really, are the thing that that need to be the things that need to be satisfied.

What, where, when, why, and who? So the same Ws for a journalist. They work for us as well. Of course, yeah, no. I mean, for a real journalist, for For someone who copies the internet, you know, that's easier. But I don't think he should call himself or herself a journalist.

This is true. I often say my greatest asset is my competition out there. A lot of people like to read off a list of questions and not really care about this stuff. Do you consume a lot of film? You were on the Venice Film Festival jury last year. Yeah, I try not to consume anything. Bad word. in respect to films

or reference to films but I watch not obsessively I do watch a lot of films and I sometimes re-watch films when I start thinking about something and then a film comes to mind

and then I try to re-watch it and that's the one advantage this streaming frenzy is good for everything is at our fingertips virtually any film you could imagine and I like to re-watch movies

when they're being offered on bigger screens Of course What's a Can you cite any films that you return to again and again? Recently I watched Le Mipri

Godin and I hadn't seen it for a long time and I remember having been duly impressed mostly by the two butt cheeks of Brigitte Bardot. Makes an impression. Oh, hey, that still impressed me. Anything impressed you in the last year of current film? No, but what I wanted to say about Le Mepri is interesting.

I hadn't seen it for 30 years or so. And re-watching it, and now, still being impressed about the aforementioned, but, you know, it really annoyed me. It is horribly boring, you know, that that music carries on, and Fritz Lang is putting on the sage. It annoyed me at no end. Isn't that the worst feeling to return to something that you've revered as a child or? But. I mean, you've changed.

The film hasn't. It didn't leave me for about two weeks. Well, there you go. Okay, so something's still in there. And I thought, well, you know, Godai is such a mean bastard. That's probably what he wanted to do. You know, get under my skin with something that while I'm sitting there, I say, oh, God, when is it over? Right.

And now another thing, you know. And I couldn't stop thinking about it, about the, you know, the conundrum in it, the dilemma. in it, the development of events, you know, the characters, the time, the period, you know, I was really immersed in it for two weeks rather than for an hour and a half. That's the dream, I think, for all of us, every time we step into a dark room. This has been a real pleasure, as you can tell. I'm a great admirer of your work, and, you know, I appreciate your thoughtfulness and your uniqueness, a unique perspective you bring to your work.

and the way you choose films. You're welcome here anytime, sir. That's very kind of you. Congratulations on Alita Battle Angel. Everybody should check it out. As I said, spectacle, sure, it's fine, but this one... Now, this one, this one is really the real deal. It is.

The full experience. Exactly. I just have a full Christoph Waltz experience, so thank you again, sir. 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. Ha!

The Old West is an iconic period of American history and full of legendary figures whose names still resonate today. Like Jesse James, Billy the Kid and Butch and Sundance. Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Geronimo, Wyatt Earp, Batmasterson, and Bass Reeves, Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, the Texas Rangers, and many more. Hear all their stories on the Legends of the Old West podcast.

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