Happy Sad Confused - Elijah Wood, Vol. III
Episode Date: April 2, 2026Elijah Wood has been a part of our lives for all of his life. Before he was even a teenager he'd worked with the likes of David Fincher and Robert Zemeckis and in the decades since has become a perman...ent part of pop culture history thanks to his role in THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Now Elijah, always a big-time genre fan, is mixing it up in READY OR NOT 2 and seems poised to make a return to the shire in THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM. He joins Josh to talk about it all. SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! Quince -- Go to Quince.com/HAPPYSAD for free shipping and 365-day returns. Rula -- Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/happy #rulapod #sponsored Limited Time Offer–Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code happy15 at http://huel.com/happy15. New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show! Check out the Happy Sad Confused patreon here! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
The last actor you were mistaken for?
Most recently, I think it was actually Toby McGuire, which does still happen.
And it's always for Spider-Man.
It's not for any of Toby's other work.
In what context?
What do you mean?
It's just, hey, Spider-Man.
Like, no, no, no.
They literally say, hey, Spider-Man?
Yeah.
I won't correct people.
Maybe they think you're actually Spider-Man, not Toby McGuire.
Maybe they, like.
Maybe you're right.
Maybe I've got it wrong all this time.
That's possible.
as humans, happy, sad, confused begins now.
Hey guys, it's Josh.
Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused.
Today on the show, it is the one and only Elijah Wood,
from Lord of the Rings to Ready or Not Too.
We're talking everything and anything, Elijah Wood.
This is a fun one.
Thanks, guys, as always, for checking out the podcast.
Thanks for watching on Spotify, on YouTube, subscribing,
whatever you're doing, keep doing it.
And if you have not subscribed yet,
what are you doing with your lives?
Just do it already.
Come on, guys.
before we get to Elijah Wood, who is always a gem, easy to talk to, a cinephile, he's the best.
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Okay, Elijah Wood.
This guy does not need much of an introduction,
but I'll just say he's been doing it all his life.
He's been doing it with class and just, and a plum.
He's so relaxed in his own skin,
has a good head on his shoulders,
and has the stories to tell.
We talked in this one all about everything from,
yes, or the Rings, of course,
a little sneak peek at the hunt for Gallum,
which, safe to say,
I think we're going to see Elijah in,
And we also go back back to the future of the Good Sun.
I mean, this guy's been making movies since he was a kid.
The faculty, so much to talk about with Elijah.
And also his new film, Ready or Not Too, Here I Come,
which is, of course, the sequel to that hit film from Feudor's Back starring Samara Weaving.
She's back.
Catherine Newton's in this one, Sarah Michelle Geller, big ensemble, big wild fun ride.
Highly recommend it.
Check it out in theaters right now.
I know you guys are going to enjoy this one.
I certainly did.
So without any further ado, here is me and the one and only Elijah Wood.
Here we go.
Elijah Wood, back on the podcast.
Hey, for real.
This is exciting.
I'm sorry.
Now I have to match your energy.
Hey!
It's good to see you, buddy.
You too, man.
It's been a while.
2019 was the last time we did the podcast.
I saw you at Comic Con for Toxic Avenger.
That's right.
But I was going to say last time the full-on podcast.
So that's pre-pandemic?
Pre-pandemic?
pre-a-couple additions in your life, I believe.
Pre-children, yeah.
Just before, actually, because our son was born in 2019.
Well, congratulations all around.
We're gonna talk ready or not too today.
We're gonna talk, you know, all sorts of career stuff, as always.
Yeah.
Because Elijah has some of the best taste in the business,
and it's always fun to talk to you about that stuff.
Thanks, dude.
So first of all, talk to me a little bit about,
well, talk to me about just how life is different now.
I mean, I don't need the particulars of being a parent.
That's personal.
Yeah.
But you're living a different life than you were
when we last spoke on the podcast.
Yeah.
Has it changed work attitude, priorities?
You were telling me about showing films to your kids.
Just to me a snapshot of your life now.
I mean, it's a massive change.
Yeah.
I would say a massive addition, right?
Yes.
Like, of course there's changes, but it's there are two additions to my life that are
really significant and wonderful and enriching.
So, yeah, renewed focus.
You know, new priorities.
I think work-life balance,
which is always important to me.
I mean, even before I had kids,
having a balance between what I did in my time
versus the films and other things that I would work on.
So I was never one to constantly be at it.
It was always important for me to have breathing holes
and just, yeah, balance.
So that, I guess, just becomes more important
when you've got two children at home
that you want to prioritize making sure
that you're spending time with them.
And that has been, honestly, the adaptation of that has been really easy.
And you were saying it's also getting to be the fun time.
They're at the ages where they can start to appreciate the pop culture
that you and I were both obsessed with as kids.
Totally.
And that was something that, you know, before I was a parent, I was so excited at the notion
of being able to show my future kids one day, you know, the films that I grew up watching
and loving, music that I grew up listening to, all of the culture and the things that
we get excited about.
And we're now, our son is six and our daughter's four, so we're at that age now where they're actually able to start to see these things and hear these things.
Music has been a huge part of our life, so that's been since they were born.
But movies is new.
So like recently my wife and our daughter went to New Zealand to visit a friend.
And so my son and I had our first kind of week together of just father and son's time, which was awesome.
He was really excited about it and I was really excited.
And my wife was like, it's okay, you can definitely watch
this one movie without us, it'll be such a great core memory.
Pre-approved.
And that was Back to the Future.
And so we watched the first Back to the Future,
and he loved it, and he's got friends that have seen the film,
I think, so it was like in his purview as this thing
that he wanted to see.
And he was aware of the fact that I was in the second one.
I was gonna say, did he recognize Video Game Boy
and Back to the Future too?
I don't think he actually recognized them.
The scene, he was set up for it.
Like he knew that I was in the back of the cafe 80s, excuse me,
and the context of the scene.
And that I was one of the kids trying to work a video game
or help Michael J.
Oh, no, to learn from Michael J. Fox how to play the game.
And so he knew what was coming,
but then I think he saw me and it didn't register.
Because I was a seven-year-old kid, you know.
I would hope he's not like, Daddy.
Like, that's a different daddy.
So I don't think he recognized me.
I paused it and was like,
and he was like, yeah, I remember.
recognize you and then we just carried on.
But that was so, what a treat to be able to show those films.
We watched the whole trilogy.
It was incredible.
And then the last night before my wife and daughter came home,
I was like, I wanna eke out one more movie
and showed him never ending story.
Never ending story for me growing up,
I remember being really freaked out by Gmourke.
Yeah.
And obviously, Artax dying is super gnarly.
But Gmork specifically, the kind of eyes
his teeth, the way his animatronic mouth moved.
Right.
Really freaked me out as a kid.
So we were watching the movie and he was clearly loving it and we get to that part towards the end.
And I'm watching him and he was fine.
And I was like-
We can take it.
Yeah, we think nowadays you expect, like we're a little bit, we don't expose kids to as much as we were exposed to.
Safe to say, I think generally in-
Oh, definitely.
I mean, I was, dude, I have a seven, my brother's seven years older than me, so he's
he was exposing me to horror films,
way earlier than I should have.
And I love them, I wasn't traumatized by them,
but I think I thought, you know,
oh, my son, my theoretical son,
before I knew him, he'll be able to watch
like Halloween at seven or eight.
I'm like, oh no, that's him, that, no.
There's no world in which,
especially when you get to know your own children,
you're like, they're not ready for that.
But yeah, but even like the kids,
I mean, I think of like Dark Crystal.
Dark Crystal has some imagery in there,
That's gnarly.
Pretty intense.
It's gnarly.
I floated that idea of dark crystal to my wife and she's like, it's too early.
Yeah.
It's too gnarly.
I don't know if that's going to be right.
Okay, so you're promoting.
I do want to give some love up front.
No, no, no.
I want to make sure we give some love to this because it's such a fun sequel.
Ready or not, too.
Here I come.
It's a blast.
You're back from South by Southwest.
Yes.
This, how did it play?
I mean, this must play so well.
It played it really well.
South by is a great place for it.
We've premiered at the Paramount,
such a great classic movie house theater.
in Austin. It was packed. It's, I mean, this movie is sort of designed for South by Southwest
audience. I mean, some of the best film festival audiences, I think, or just movie-going audiences
in the United States are in Austin. The real film lovers there. And they show up for movies
in a big way, especially at that festival. And this is a real crowd pleaser. You know, it's a ride
of a film. It's very like the first in terms of its tonal balance. That first movie,
It gets categorized as a horror film.
And by virtue of the fact that there is a lot of blood in the film,
a fair amount of death, I understand.
But it's not scary.
It's a game of hide-and-seek that you're watching this woman try and survive a night.
And it's funny and wild and kind of fun, absurd concept with these wealthy people running around a house.
It's a blast.
And Samara Weaving is so good in that film.
So I saw that in the cinema and was just totally utterly blown away by it.
And this movie serves a helping of something very similar whilst doing what you want a sequel to do,
which is like it expands the narrative and broadens it and gives you a deeper understanding of the events of the first film.
A lot of reasons I would imagine that this appeals to you.
A, you like the first one.
Love it.
Same filmmakers.
You know what it's going to be.
It's going to deliver.
You get to scream Hail Satan.
Many times.
I say Hail Satan a lot.
You get to basically.
basically Dom, like an eyes wide-shut-esque like wardrobe towards the end.
Yeah, there's definitely a ceremony, yeah.
And you get to work with David Kronenberg.
I know.
Come on.
Which I found out when I was in my costume fitting on my first day of work on the movies.
Seriously?
Yeah.
Avery, by the way.
Costume designer.
She was like, do you know who's playing Chester Danforth?
And I was like, no, who is it?
David Kronenberg.
I was like, what?
Oh my God.
Instantly, I was so nervous.
It's like a make-a-wish foundation for you.
This is like doing the dream for you.
I know. Total dream.
And he was incredible.
Yeah, he seems like a sweet guy.
So sweet, so kind.
They are very much in deference to the filmmakers, there to be an actor.
Yes.
And very open to talking about his work and past.
And you never know.
Like, is it going to be annoying if I ask questions, you know?
Right.
And he was lovely.
What's the, yeah.
I mean, there's so many from his filmography.
I think The Fly is All-Timer.
It's maybe one of my top ten favorite movies of all-time.
Totally agree.
Yeah, same. I'd say that's my favorite of his films.
Yeah.
But, I mean, there's so many.
VideoDrum, too.
Holy shit.
Yeah.
I mean, he's a legend.
And just also hearing stories about how he started, which we got into.
Like, his very first film, I'm now forgetting what his...
Was it Sisters?
No, that's...
That's De Palma.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, wait.
I can't remember the name of his first film.
We should know this.
Yeah, we should.
Between the two of us.
It's okay.
So, story went.
He...
there was no real film
a way to get an independent movie made
in Toronto or Canada at that time
and he ended up going out to Los Angeles
and having a meeting with
what's the legendary sort of B-movie
Not Corman or...
Corman. So we had a meeting with Roger Corman
and Corman was like, oh great, I'll finance this. This is right up our alley.
Right. And then like a finance...
Shivers?
I think it was shivers.
Nice one. Thank God we got that. It was you.
So then there was an opportunity to get the movie finance in Canada, and he took Canada.
But that is like a real sliding doors moment.
Like when he told me the story, I was like, your fate could have been so different if you'd been in Los Angeles and started in L.A.
But instead he started in Canada and kind of really helped to be a major founding father of the independent film scene in Canada.
which is really amazing.
I mean, you also come at it from,
and I was going to get to this later,
but we've talked before.
Obviously, Spectrovision is a huge part
of your life and career.
It is, yeah.
Producing a ton of really cool work.
Oh, thanks, thanks.
And honestly, the environment has changed,
is just rapidly changing for independent film.
I mean, luckily, horror,
which is kind of your bread and butter,
like your favorite genre, arguably right?
Yeah, horror and just genre in general,
like genre films,
in movies that are harder to categorize.
Right.
But it seems like there is that core
audience, it's kind of, it's still, that is undeniable.
It's always viable, right? There's always a market for it.
What is the environment for you right now, like compared to five or ten years ago when you were
starting Spectrevision? Like, what's your... Well, I mean, five or ten years ago, we started
the company partially because we felt like there was a void in the United States to make the
kinds of horror and genre movies that we loved, both from the past and largely being made at that
time in Europe. So the time, you know, there's, there were the sort of like the French new wave
of horror with like martyrs or inside. And then, you know, there's the orphanage, there's let
the right one in. There are these examples of horror and genre that took their, the sort of drama
seriously, but then have these sort of exploitable elements. But you could remove this explodeable
elements and still have a compelling story. Which was very much the approach in the 1970s as well
before the slasher took over.
And then it just becomes about rinse and repeat.
And no shade on those, because those movies are great too.
Sure.
But I think we were really interested in creating a space for those sorts of movies.
These movies where, in some ways, you could remove the genre elements,
and there would still be something underneath that was compelling.
And that was happening concurrently with hereditary and the witch.
And these things all just started to percolate around the same time.
And so now we are 12, 13, 14 years down the line, and horror is in this extraordinary place.
I wouldn't say we're in the Renaissance anymore because I think it's past it being surprising
that horror and art and great casts, that great actors can be in horror films.
Like all these ideas, I think we're well past that being a surprising notion.
but I think we're just, we're in, we're coasting in this place where it's not going anywhere.
And every year, there are extraordinary genre films made.
And, you know, by A-24, and now neon has really doubled down in the horror space.
And it's just wonderful to see.
So it's, I guess, it's maybe even easier to get across some of these wilder ideas
because there's a real appetite for it.
That doesn't seem to have gone anywhere.
Well, it's also like when, like, things like,
substance crosses over and is like an Oscar movie.
Right.
How far have we come?
Exactly.
Right.
Exactly.
And so many incredible voices emerging, you know, the Irish filmmaker who made Hocom that's
about to come out.
He had premiered a film at South by Southwest a couple years ago.
That was really significant and gotten a lot of people's attention.
And now he's got Hocom coming out where he's got a bigger cast.
I don't know.
It's like there are great opportunities.
And I think people are seeing it for the artistic genre that it is.
And it's getting great respect.
I mean, even Nicholas Cage showing up in long legs.
Yes.
And putting in an unfucking believable performance.
We just had Micah here like last week talking about that.
Oh, and Micah's so great as well.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I don't know.
And the possibilities are endless at this point.
Is theatrical, like, super important to you for all of Spectrevision's work?
Like, how are you, is it kind of like case-by-case basis?
This is it's...
Of course it is.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You want there to be at least a small release, you know.
Theatoll is important.
I think, obviously, the movie getting made is ultimately king.
So by means, by the means for which it can possibly come together,
if it happens to come through with a streaming-only situation,
sometimes those are the deals that you make just so that something can get made.
but I think, you know, I think increasingly people want to protect the theatrical release.
Which is great.
You know?
So I don't know.
It's important to us.
It's important to see movies in theaters, especially genre movies.
There's sort of design for that experience.
Totally.
And we were just saying, so yes, you had a great response at South by.
I would imagine you've had so many really formative special moments at premieres, at festivals.
Do any one or two jump out at you when I say like an indelible memory of one of your films
premiering and feeling that emotion in the room, what jumps out of you?
Yeah, wow.
Those are a few.
They're all at Sundance, actually.
Yeah.
That festival has been such a special place for myself and for Spectrevision over the years.
So seeing a girl walks home alone at night at Sundance and really feeling the love for Lily
in the room and being so proud of her and the film that she made was a really emotional
experience.
Mandy, seeing Mandy at the library, I believe, was
Midnight movie, I assume.
Electrical.
Yep, it was midnight.
And similarly, the greasy strangler, which had walkouts
and was just so, it was a special kind of thrill
to bring that movie, which is a real test for the audience
to whether it's your thing or not.
And it certainly is mine.
and knowing that it wasn't going to be for everyone was just delicious.
It really says something about you,
that the biggest smile creeps across your face
when you're talking about the greasy strangler.
I love it.
I just got to work with Jim.
I was lucky enough to be asked to participate in the Skittles commercial for the Super Bowl.
Right.
And Jim Hosking directed it.
Amazing.
Who would have thunk it?
And Jason Kasfardy, who did the production design on the greasyy strangler
and also on the Daniels films, did the production design.
Pretty cool.
Small world.
We'll be right.
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So on the acting side for something like this, like for Ready or Not Two, you know, key supporting
player, you've played the lead, you've played the supporting character, you've played the day
play, you've done it all, right? In the course of your career. And they're kind of different tasks in a way.
Yeah, one bears more weight than the other.
But also, I've talked to so many actors who say, like, it's real tests to, like, just dip in and out of a movie to, like, stay in the tone of the rest of the movie and have, like, three scenes.
Can you talk a little bit about sort of, like, that as a challenge for you as an actor?
Do you find each rewarding in their own way?
Are you, like, craving a meteor role now?
Or are you happy with character roles?
Like, where are you at right now?
I mean, it's always specific to the project, right?
I think, I don't.
I think the only struggle is the sometimes not feeling like you're a part of the whole.
I think the joy of making a film, or at least being a part of either the ensemble or lead in the film for the duration of a film is feeling like you're a part of the family and a part of the whole, right?
And that can be a small role or a big role.
It sort of doesn't matter.
But it's really being about, you know, being there for the duration of something.
Popping in and out can be very satisfying.
in this case, I was there for most of it,
so very much felt like I was a part of the team.
But, you know, popping in, like, say, on Rachel's Senate show on I Love L.A.
And just doing those two days, the joy of that is getting asked to do something absurd or fun
that just exists in this fear that serves their greater whole.
And that's a joy.
And everyone's, like, very excited probably.
You come on.
It's like a jolt of energy.
They were amazing.
So that has its own pleasure.
to it. But I would say that the only thing that lacks is the leaving, like leaving it.
Sure.
You know, like it lacks the, sorry, it lacks the being a part of it.
Fair enough.
What I'm used to on a film is just, again, like that extended sense of being a part of a family.
Yeah.
That's what I love most about working in film and in TV is that that ultimate sense of
collaboration.
And that can be tricky, even on something like Yellow Jackets.
Yeah.
There's a huge ensemble.
And Walter, you know, per episode that he's in, it could be to maximum three days of work.
Sure.
And so I'm really back and forth.
And so it's hard to find a sense of that ultimate cohesion.
Right.
Because I'm, you know, Walter's sort of in his own little silo.
Yeah.
Not necessarily a part of the larger whole.
So that's the only thing.
I get to come in and do really weird fun shit.
Living the dream.
So that's joyful, you know.
You know, every situation has its challenges and is different as well.
All right.
Let's bounce around some random stuff because you had such a career that I could like,
we've had many conversations and we'll never repeat ourselves because there's so many things to talk about.
So early on, how early is your David Fincher experience?
When does David Fincher direct you into Paula Abdul music video?
I was eight.
I think it was eight years old.
Most actors like worked their whole lives to get to Fincher.
You knocked it out right at the start.
Sure.
Before he started making movies, yeah.
So he doesn't strike me as like the most nurturing director with all due respect.
Like, how was he with kids?
Like, was he...
I remember him being great. Really?
Yeah.
It was a really pleasant experience.
You know, we were all, all of the kids were tasked with being adults.
It was like they were recreating the Robert Palmer video with young kids.
Right.
And then I don't know where my concept came from, but I was a sort of,
executive in an office like heartbroken, breaking a pencil, you know, with great angst, kind of
running my hands through my hair, looking out a window. And he was really clear with his direction.
I don't honestly remember much about that, just that it was a fun experience. And I remember
meeting Paul Abdul. Was that meaningful? It was great. She was a huge singer at the time.
Of course. You know, that album was massive. So I definitely knew who she was.
was and it was very excited. Did you ever meet MC Scat-Cat-Cat-Cat? No.
Yeah. I wonder what percentage of the audience knows who MC Scat-Cat-Cat is at this point.
Was he only animated? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, not in my mind. He lived. Opposites attract, right?
Opposites attract, right? Well done. That's a great video. I have since run into Paul
Abdul. Really? And she definitely remembers me from that video, which is so funny. Very cute.
So, like, how aware, like, when did you start to become aware of, I mean, you're working
with, like, some amazing filmmakers early on. We referenced, like, it's, I mean, it's a bit part,
but you're with Zemeckis,
then more meaningful with like Barry Levinson, yeah.
Avalon.
I love that film.
Me too.
Richard Donner.
Richard Donner, Radio Flyer.
Yeah.
And I didn't, the significance of those directors at the time was lost in me.
Like I didn't realize that Richard Donner had made,
I think I knew he'd made Goonies.
So that was clear to me and a big deal.
In fact, when we were making Radio Flyer,
Stephen visited.
And Lucas, George Lucas came to visit set too.
which was like that you know both both yeah I knew who those people were certainly but
but Donner I don't think I knew I didn't know the omen it was before I'd seen that
right so there's certainly like great works of Donners that I hadn't yet been exposed to
I'm kind of surprised you never correctly wrong you were never directed by Spielberg you
never never got to work with Spielberg strange things that he's produced right been around
like around deep impact he produced so that was that right that was the first like Dreamworks
was one of the first ones yeah one of the early DreamWork films yeah maybe leader was the director
Yes.
But he produced it.
So, yeah, around, you know.
Can you make the case for Deep Impact over Armageddon?
That was the big rivalry at the time.
Two such different approaches to the same thing.
And it's so, yeah, it was really funny at the time, actually,
because it was like a big part of the conversation.
Totally.
I mean, our film is a less heightened, more realistic approach.
Our film is really emotional.
It's like on the beach.
It's like people ultimately recognizing that they're likely going to die.
And then what do you do with that information?
And I thought it was a beautiful script.
You're saying Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler, Animal Crackers is not emotional.
Ben is coming in.
He's going to have the counter argument.
The Ben Affleck, I think one of his greatest contributions.
And I think he'll agree is the commentary.
Commentary track is on some other level.
It's a master class.
Everyone aspires to be that.
I know.
Just great.
Just taking a commentary track to another level.
Bring back the commentary trucks.
I know.
Well, they're on, I mean, Criterion still doesn't.
I just got to go to the Criterion closet.
I was going to say, you're coming from the Criterion closet to Happy Say and Fused.
What a downgrade.
I'm so sorry.
No.
Not at all.
Did you prep for Criterion or did?
I did.
I didn't want to walk in.
It's funny.
I think I thought I would be really overwhelmed.
and it is a little overwhelming.
It's quite tight, and it's everything.
Yeah.
And I was just afraid that I wouldn't be kind of,
I didn't want to be too random.
So yeah, I pre-gamed and kind of stuck to that,
and I'm really happy with the choices.
Deep impact over here, good sun over here.
Yeah, right.
Classic criterion.
Good sun back of the day.
That was like heat.
That was like, that was like De Niro Pacino.
it was like Macaulay and you.
That was the equivalent.
Oh my God, that's really funny.
Not that far off of the kid actors at the time.
Right.
Certainly in that regard.
I see what you mean.
I get it.
You can make that connection.
Sure.
Was McCauley?
Were you like going up for the same roles?
Like did you appear that were like?
I don't know.
We must have.
You would think.
We must have.
Yeah.
We're the same age.
I think he might be a little.
little older than me, but not by much.
We're about the same age.
So, yeah, we would have gone for the same things, I would have thought.
Is there any indelible memory that sticks out when I say the Good Son to you?
Yeah.
Well, we had a really great time making it.
I loved working with him.
It was a blast.
We were just two kids.
You know, we would spend time between setups.
There was this great sort of forested area next to that main house that the movie takes place in.
We'd run around and, like, play with sticks.
And we were just kids messing around.
One memory is that there was a, we shot the whole thing in Massachusetts, like Gloucester, Mass.
And there was a haunted house, there was like an old house that they turned into a haunted attraction.
And they gave tours, but they didn't present it like a haunted house, a haunted attraction.
They presented it like a ghost tour.
Right.
In a more formal way.
But they did have like staff in different places creating things like,
that you couldn't see things falling over and noises,
which was really fun.
I remember doing that with him
when a whole group of us went.
It was a blast.
Where are you on like the experiential theater experience thing now as an adult?
Like the Sleep No More.
Love Sleep No More.
Yeah?
Loved it.
I had seen, because that theater company is called Punch Drunk,
and they're from the UK.
Right.
And I had seen a number of years prior to Sleep No More coming to New York.
They did a production of Faust,
but in that same approach,
which is essentially taking a classic piece
and then recontextualizing it
in a different time period in a different place.
And their Faust was in sort of the American South
in the 1940s or 50s.
And it was awesome.
That idea that you can kind of follow the action
or just explore the space is so fun.
I really like it.
I just get self-conscious about being roped in, like brought in.
I got brought in at Seenormor.
But you were cool with it.
Obviously, that's what you do.
Loved it.
You embraced it.
It's very rare that you, because there are a number of, I don't know how many per show there are,
but there's like 15 to 20 one-on-one experiences, apparently.
Yeah.
And I had one such one-on-one.
And I was pulled into Sleep No More, and I was pulled into a bedroom.
And this woman brought me in and sat me out of vanity in this front of this mirror.
And she's like looking at me.
about what are the rings for you right now?
She's like talking about this dream she had,
looking at me in the mirror,
and then she picks me up and pulls me into a closet.
Oh my.
Takes my mask off,
which actually that may have happened in front of the mirror.
Anyway,
it got very close to my face where I was like,
what is going to happen?
Yeah.
It felt very charged.
And then she handed me like a locket,
and she said,
this will keep you safe and thrust me back out to the play.
And the thing that it,
like that didn't have any,
end up having any meaning.
Right.
Or connection to the play.
but I felt in that moment like I was in the world
and that I was a part of it.
It was really powerful.
I loved it.
But yeah, you've got to be willing to have that wall being broken down
and be vulnerable.
Yeah, the closest I've ever come to having a heart attack and stroke
in my life, I think, was I went to Jonathan Groff's
Just in Time, Broadway musical,
and he picked me up out of the audience
and started dancing with me.
Oh.
I mean, I can do this.
If I know I'm on camera, if I have to do this thing,
But I, no, come on.
Right.
It's too vulnerable.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
And now they've done Phantom of the Opera.
Yeah, they're doing that.
People are loving that.
It's an immersive thing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Which sounds incredible.
Yeah.
Okay, some rumor control over the years that I noticed, some more substantiated than others.
You did, you did mention this.
You auditioned for Mulan Rouge.
I did, yeah.
I mean, I'm sure everybody did.
A lot of people did, but like, I've talked to Baz and many actors that have, and, like,
his auditions are famously very, like, ornate, interesting.
Like, they're like, like, they're like,
full-on camera tests.
Yeah.
Do you remember anything about it?
Mine wasn't a camera test, so it wasn't in costume.
Okay.
But I had to prepare two songs,
Embraceable You and one other that I can't remember.
And I went to a voice coach to learn to like work on singing.
And then I think there was a scripted part as well.
So it was both a song and a scripted part.
And it was the exercise was really fun.
Yeah.
It was terrifying.
I mean, I find
I find auditions to be
terrifying.
Okay, sorry, this is going to be a therapy session.
It's still to this day.
I've never really gotten over it.
Nor should you.
It feels like it's such an artificial process.
Again, it's very vulnerable.
And I put a lot of pressure on myself.
And like, if I have an audition coming,
like let's say it's a Friday,
the Wednesday and Thursday are pretty shot.
Yeah.
I'm just in your own head.
Just in my head running it, preparing it.
I can't.
really relax until the audition's over.
Luckily nowadays, it's like, it's self-tape generally.
But it's funny. I don't, yeah, totally.
But I don't feel that way on set.
Like I don't.
It's a different thing, though.
It is a different thing.
And the scrutiny is different.
There is no scrutiny, really.
If you've gotten the role, it's because there's already belief in you.
Yes.
You're there for a reason.
That being said, the first day of any film or TV show,
I do have that sort of like first day jitters.
And a little, and I don't know if it's an imposter syndrome,
but a little of like, well,
oh, they could, this could go wrong.
It's early enough.
They can make change.
Yeah, I think every time, in a very healthy, not like crazy neurotic way.
This is the constant conversation on this podcast for 12 years.
Don't worry.
Every actor worth their salt feels that.
Yeah, I go through it every time.
And it's, it is a reset.
It's because the thing about making film, even if you've been doing it your whole life,
is it's new every time.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter because it's not the same experience.
It's not the same expectations.
It's not the same role.
It's different every time.
So you have to psych yourself up and get into that place again.
And then you find, you know, every time I find it and I get, find my comfort zone and love the process.
Well, it's also, you know.
That first day is always true.
Well, you know what happens.
I mean, I literally named her up for a second.
I talked to Ryan Gosling for the podcast yesterday.
Did he say the same?
Well, he famously, he gained 60 pounds for the lovely bones.
Did he talk about it?
A little bit, very briefly.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
Oh, good on him.
And, and I mean, imagine that.
But that's also a really vulnerable thing to talk about.
Like, and I love that.
I love, I also love that he did that.
I know it didn't work out famously.
And there's, for whatever reason.
But I also love the commitment and trying something.
And it failed and it didn't go in the right way.
And I just think, and having the anxiety of like, am I the right person for this?
And in that case, it made him make that choice.
And there's something.
No, and he follows it up with all.
and the real girl and it's all fine.
And God damn, that movie's so great.
Yeah, totally.
Yeah.
This one feels not real.
Did you ever auditioned for Batman forever for Robin?
No.
It's out there somewhere.
I don't know.
Oh, that's funny.
No, definitely not.
I wouldn't have been old enough, I don't think.
Yeah, the math didn't quite work for me.
No.
You're a bit younger than Chris O'Donnell, I think.
Yeah, definitely younger.
Like, by maybe 10 years or a little, maybe a little less.
Briefly, I want to mention, I mean, I love the faculty.
I love the faculty.
That must have been meaningful for a number of reasons.
I mean, Robert O'Regas was so hot then.
He was, like, coming off of some really big success.
What was it?
It was after, from Dustal Dawn probably.
The movie he did before it, yeah.
So he's as hot as he ever was.
But also knowing your love of genre,
was that a big, was that probably the first kind of like genre,
horror-adjacent film maybe you did back then?
It was?
Yeah.
And that was like, not at the peak of teen horror,
but it was definitely in that zone.
Scream.
And Kevin Williamson wrote the original.
drafted the faculty.
And maybe he was originally attached to direct.
I don't know if that's true.
But it was a thing, you know?
There was like a thing happening.
And I remember reading the script and thinking,
this is one of those films.
But then Robert was attached to direct.
And I was like, this changes.
Not that I didn't like the script and what the script was doing,
because I did.
But knowing that he was going to be the one,
to put it on its feet.
Yeah.
Felt like it would be a really fresh kind of film for that genre.
And it was.
And it was.
It's fun also to think of like you, you're kind of the veteran in that group.
Like Josh Hartman, I think it was like his second film, Gerona Brewster.
It was like her first.
Right.
You're the veteran on set.
You had more experience probably on set than Robert Rodriguez at that point.
That's so weird to think about.
But it's true.
That's wild.
That film was really significant for all of us.
And we had so much fun, man.
It felt like summer camp.
Yeah.
for like four or five weeks. It was awesome.
More happy say confused coming up.
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According to my notes, you were in something called Lord of the Ring.
I don't know.
I haven't seen it.
Is that a good one?
Should I check that one out?
Lord of the Rings is all right.
Okay.
If I go into your home, can I see evidence of War of the Rings or is it all like in closets?
In subtle ways.
We don't have a lot of my works ephemera in the house.
Right.
We have a lot of art and other things that I and my wife and I have collected.
So there's those things that represent.
No.
Okay.
No, just in life.
I just gentle stuff.
Fair enough.
But there is like a really rad oil painting of Orthank.
That's about this small.
That's above our coffee machine.
And I love it.
I love it so much.
It reminds you every day.
You see it.
It's in an old kind of classic frame.
It just looks like a miniature painting.
And it's beautiful.
Great oil painting.
That, like, blink and you'd miss it.
It's not, it doesn't, it doesn't like...
Yeah.
You don't have, like, a glowing display with, like, the feet anywhere.
No, no.
No, that's the only thing.
And then there's, then you go to our kids' room and there's, like,
stuff animals that people have given me.
So there's, like, Frodo is represented in there, in their space.
And then there's some over-the-garden wall stuff.
We've got an over-the-garden wall stuff.
We've got an over the garden wall art piece hanging up in our guest room.
Nice.
Because I love that.
There was a really beautiful, there was a 10th anniversary last year.
Yeah.
Or the year before last, it was the 10th anniversary.
And they did an art show at a gallery in Los Angeles.
And I bought an art piece that was really beautiful.
I had the opportunity to have Sean been on the podcast a few months back.
Oh, cool.
I haven't seen Sean in a long time.
Yeah, I know.
And he doesn't do that kind of thing.
I was very honored that he did the long form.
He was great.
Great.
And he told a great story about, like, his famous speech where he's, like, looking down and, like, talk.
You know, it's a very solemn speech.
And he revealed that he was, like, looking down because it had been rewritten at the last second.
And he was trying to, like, summon the word.
He couldn't, he didn't know the words.
Oh, wow.
Does that resonate with you at all?
Like, when you think back, was there any line or scene in particular that, like, the language was so challenging that it's, that it tested you?
not so much that the language was so challenging,
but that resonates with me,
that idea of the rewrites coming in at the last second.
They were constantly being rewritten,
and in the best way, not in a kind of, like, panic way,
in a way of, like, honing, constantly honing,
which was also largely what the process of pickups were.
It was like watching the movie,
looking at what it needs,
it missing? How can we enhance it? So that was a constant process of iterating and making it better.
And so the rewrites were a big part of that. And it was just so common. Like, you know,
we'd have like pages slid under our door at midnight. And then we'd wake up and be like,
oh, fuck, there's a new, you know. So it was, it was constantly staying on top of that. So that idea
that a speech like that, which is such an important thing, an important moment for the character,
would have been something that they would have paid extra attention to. And that was a constant
thing. It was a big part of our reality. Is there an example of like a now iconic scene that
you're like, oh my God, like when I think back, like it was such something, it felt like last
minute that we even came up with it or kind of mailed it? I wish I had a great example.
Let me ask you this instead. All good. Yeah. What's your proudest, like, moment in the film
from an acting perspective, the films rather.
Like, is there like a scene that you take pride in just from the sheer challenge for you as an actor
looking back that you accomplished it?
I mean, I think the entire sequence on Mount Doom,
as Frodo is just falling to pieces and is unable to sort of see clearly
and is remembering the shire and that the emotion that overtakes Sam with, you know,
I can't carry the ring, but I can carry you.
you, like all of that was, we were so aware of how important that was.
And so I have a visceral memory of the making of it and the sense of, you know,
I think we had a sense that we had gotten it as much as you can in that moment,
but the relief of having done it.
And then seeing the movie and seeing that it all worked in the way that you'd hoped, I think.
So, yeah.
Pretty soon, I think Andy Circus is going to be sitting there.
Yes, he is.
He's coming by, I think, for Animal Farm, which has been in the works for a while.
Great.
Yes, it has been.
I've been so keen to see that.
Same.
I'm sure you're going to have to grill him about Hunt for Gallum.
Oh, I didn't hurt.
Is he making a War of the Rings movie?
He certainly is.
He is making a War of the Rings movie.
You may or may not be in it.
We'll dance around that, but all signs are pointing in the right direction.
It would seem.
Yes.
I mean, we're all very curious of, like, I'm very curious.
like what this even is kind of, like trying to imagine.
That's reasonable.
How this fits in, how it honors the legacy, how it can possibly live up to what Peter did.
I don't think it has to.
Okay.
I don't think it has to because it doesn't bear the weight of the trilogy.
It's not the trilogy.
It's not those books.
Yes.
But it is certainly excerpts from the books.
Yes.
And it is characters from the books.
And it is all canon.
So I can say that.
Right.
It just doesn't, it's a, it is a side quest.
It's a side story.
I think it'll provide a lot of context for Gollum
and an understanding of that character
that we only got a bit of in the prologue.
In two, was it?
I think in two towers, I think we get where we see his transformation.
So we'll get to, I think we'll,
I don't think it's revealing much
because I believe the premise has been released,
but I think we'll get to see more of that.
And I think I really, I know that this was something
that was super important to Andy, and I'm sure he'll talk about it, but like the why, the why of it.
And I think they got to, they got excited at the notion of a nugget of a story, and then they
had, and then they wrote it and realized that they had found the why. Like, why are we doing this?
Well, this is why we're doing it. So it's, it's filled with integrity. And it's also filled with,
you know, the crew is largely the same. Certainly the, the larger creative team.
is essentially the same creative brain trust as the original film.
So it's, you know, same production designers.
It is the same makeup and hair team.
Obviously, Weta effects are doing all of the physical effects.
So it really is like a coming together of the original team.
And then at Fran, Phil, Peter, they're all involved in the writing and producing.
And so it just, yeah, it's loaded with so many people who were a part of the making of the trilogy.
devoted to making sure that they get the world right and the context right
and these characters and tell a really fun, compelling, great news story,
incorporating these characters.
I'm also excited about beyond the returning folks.
And I say that as a fan.
I'm genuinely stoked.
I mean, it's a tough fact to follow for someone to play Aragorn,
but Leo Woodall, if that's true.
Right.
That is true.
Those are tough boots, man.
That is tough. I can't imagine.
But that's going to be great.
Maybe an Eternal Sunshine reunion, you and Kate Winslet, if rumors are true.
Right. Well, she was announced.
Yeah, I think so.
Yeah, she was announced.
Yeah, yeah. Oh, right.
So if Frodo were too great.
Yeah.
Frodo is going to have a mustache, apparently.
There's our exclusive.
I think you'll appreciate this as a cinephile like myself.
I do this with some guests.
Yeah.
This is the Happy Say I Confused Movie Matrix.
A bunch of just questions.
You tell me what pops in your head.
For instance, are you an alien or aliens guy?
Alien.
That tracks.
I adore that film.
Aliens is great.
The best haunted house.
Yes.
Sci-Fi movie ever.
Absolutely.
All practical effects.
There's not even really much in the way of VFX in that film.
Right.
So it really stands the test of time as well.
Do you have a favorite comic book movie of all time?
First thing that came to mind was kickass.
That's a good one.
Yeah.
Kickass is really great.
Yeah.
I remember seeing a really electric screen.
of that at Buttonumathon.
Do you remember Buttonemathon?
Yeah, I never went, sadly.
I know, I know.
Yeah, yeah.
It was great back in those days.
Yeah, I love kick-ass.
There's plenty of others that I love, but I'll just go with that.
Okay, that's a good one.
Do you have a favorite, I don't know if you're James Bond guy,
favorite James Bond film of all time?
Or James Bond actor, either way.
God, Bond film, Majesty's Secret Service.
Okay, yeah, a lot of people love Lasonby.
Love that film.
Yeah.
And, you know, Goldfinger is great in terms of like the classic.
Yep.
But yeah, I would say maybe my favorite bond is Majesty's Secret Service.
It's great.
You'll have a cool one for this, I think.
Oh, an additional comic book thing, I would say just in terms of film or TV.
Yes.
Lindelof's Watchman series is, I was hoping you were going there.
is masterful.
It's like it is the dream of what you can do with a piece of IP like that.
Yeah.
And to take it where they took it and make something that isn't the comic.
Yeah.
But that carries on the lineage of what was established is just astonishing.
The reveal of...
And taking it to race relations in the States.
It is just, and the score.
I know.
David Bowie, like, kicking it at the right moment with the reveal of Dr. Manhattan.
Yeah.
Love it.
really incredible.
What's the scariest movie ever made?
You were equipped for this one.
You got this.
I find begotten to be pretty terrifying and uncomfortable.
But the movies that scare me are not out-and-out horror films.
So, like, it's often the movies that are dealing with humans doing really heinous things to each other.
It's, like, funny games.
I was just going to say,
Funny Games is a very uncomfortable watch.
Yeah, because it feels so real.
It feels very real.
And it's very nihistic.
There's nothing,
there's no rhyme or reason to what's happening.
So, yeah, that movie.
And climax.
Oh, I've never seen it.
Oh, man.
Gasper Noe's film?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
It's a blast and it is a descent into hell.
It's sold.
It really, it starts out being this super fucking rad dance movie.
Right.
And it's based on a true story.
I think he'd heard some, he'd read some news blurb about a group of people who got high and resorted to violence, like at a, like a party or something.
And he was so inspired by that that he wrote Climax.
And it is that movie.
It is that thing.
It is like people that, that take something.
they have like a psychedelic experience and it goes south and it is really gnarly.
Sold, sold.
Yeah, it's fucked up.
What's the funniest movie ever made?
Oh, man.
Well, in tribute to Rob Reiner, this is Spinal Tap.
It's hard to pick favorites of all time.
Yeah, I get it.
I get it.
But I think this is Spinal Tap established a genre that didn't exist.
exist prior to its creation.
There was really nothing,
nothing that set the standard
for the idea of a mockumentary quite like that.
Yep.
Certainly Christopher Guest carried it on
after, after making that film
in such an extraordinary way.
But that movie is, is perfect.
Such an incredible,
and it's, Rob's first film is a director.
It doesn't, and then where his career went after that,
you know, watching that incredible tribute
that Billy Crystal gave at the Oscars,
just by literally articulating each film in a row
is just such an astonishing series of movies
that in many ways bear no relation, you know, at times
where it's like miseries in the middle of that.
I know.
It's just an incredible.
He made like seven classics essentially in a row.
Yeah, in a row.
I know.
And they were all different genres.
Yeah.
He's like Billy Wilder, essentially.
Absolutely.
So, yeah.
As a cinephile and a foodie, you're equipped for this.
What's the go-to movie theater snack?
What's your...
Oh.
Well, if I'm had an Alamo draft house, it's pickle spears.
Okay.
Yeah, it is fried pickles.
Right.
And then, in general, popcorn.
And for candy, I like sourpatch kids.
Big raisinets fan.
I like throwing the raisinets.
in the popcorn, a little salty, a little sweet,
it's a good textural mix.
And I do like a movie hot dog.
Wow, that's your...
Brave.
Brave, thank you.
That's the word you're looking for.
We're stupid, I don't know.
Will you indulge me in one more rapid fire again?
Okay, happy second few
profoundly random questions for Elijah Wood.
Great.
Dogs or cats?
Dogs.
But I do love cats, but dogs.
Do you have dogs now or no?
Yeah, two dogs.
Nice.
It's the same life.
We got one, but she basically takes up the space
too.
Amazing.
What kind of dog?
Big dog?
She's a pit mix.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, all muscle.
Cool.
What do you collect?
Records primarily.
Yeah.
Favorite video game of all time.
I mean, there's like nostalgic ones.
Right.
I remember Super Mario Land on Game Boy and beating it while I went, I was on location in Seattle,
and I just remember beating it and being so thrilled and loving.
And that theme song is.
like legendary to me. But favorite of all time, I mean, that's so hard. I would probably say
it's going to be a Lucas Arts Adventure game. Oh, yeah. Tim Schaefer, I'm such a huge fan. I've
gotten a chance to do voices for his games. He has double fine now. But he was a big
instrumental part of my sort of teenhood, right? So like the sequel to Maniac Mansion, which is Day of the
Tenticle, the Monkey Island games.
Right.
Full throttle.
I don't know if you remember full throttle.
Grim Fandango.
Another one that I don't think he was a part of, but Sam and Max hit the road.
These are all like LucasArts classic point and click adventure games.
And I just, the dig was rad, which Steven Spielberg produced.
That's right.
So if I was going to pick one, I'd probably say, let's go with Monkey Island.
That may have been my entry.
I think my entry into that style of games was Curse of Monkey Island, I think, is the name of the first one.
How are we feeling about Zach Krieger and Resident Evil coming together?
I feel great.
I have the ultimate trust in that man as a filmmaker.
I don't think he does anything that isn't through committing 100% to integrity and, like, doing things the right way.
my understanding too is that it is not a straight adaptation of the game which I think is really smart
it's like another idea and the game world is the background to that idea is sort of what the way
it's been framed to me and I just think that's super smart because you don't then have to bear the weight
of the IP in that direct way but the atmosphere of it becomes the tone of the film so I'm
thrilled and I have the ultimate faith in him to deliver.
Weapons is, I mean, as a follow-up film, shit, man, it's so unexpected and is not a straight
horror film.
It's almost like Roshaman.
It's like trying to, you know, seeing things from different angles, trying to decipher a mystery
at the core.
And then there's this whole witchcraft element that you then discover that's fucking
awesome.
Yeah.
The fact that Amy Madigan won the award is just a thrill.
another win for horror movies, and it just shows that that's where we're at.
But yeah, I'm stoked for Resident Evil.
The Dakota Johnson Memorial Collection, she asked me this.
I ask everybody, would you rather have a mouthful of bees or one be in your butt?
Be in my butt?
Bees inside your butt.
Oh, in my butt.
Right.
Yeah, I don't want a mouth of bees.
This is Dakota Johnson's.
She came up with the question?
Yeah.
She's cruel.
I love it.
It's super fucked up.
What's the wallpaper on your phone?
It is the logo for Mutant, which is a company I'm a co-owner of.
Okay.
Yeah.
Do you know what Mutant is?
I don't.
I'm sure you're familiar with Mondo.
Yes.
So the former creative directors of Mondo left Mondo.
Right.
And we're looking for, they were at sea looking to, like, re-platform or find jobs or ultimately
try and find a way to stay together.
and myself and Spectre Vision as well as other colleagues, including Tim Leag from Alamo Draft House and
original Mando as well, gathered resources and repl platform them under Mutants.
So it's collectibles, it's posters, it's movie soundtracks.
Love it.
Yeah.
I'll check it out.
So it's that logo is my wallpaper.
The last actor you were mistaken for?
Most recently, I think it was actually Toby McGuire, which is.
It does still happen.
And it's always for Spider-Man.
It's not for any of Toby's other work.
In what context?
What do you mean?
It's just, hey, Spider-Man.
Like, no, no, no.
They literally say, hey, Spider-Man?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I won't correct people.
Maybe they think you're actually Spider-Man,
not Toby McGuire.
Maybe they, like.
Maybe you're right.
Maybe I've got it wrong all this time.
That's possible.
I've been a lot of Spider-Man's, too, in the interim years.
Right, exactly.
What's the one with us?
The worst noted director has ever given you.
Oh.
The worst note.
Ivan Reitman, and I wasn't in a movie that he directed,
told me once in an audition that I was acting.
Was this as the kindergarten cop story?
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm sorry.
That was a bummer for me in that moment.
But the worst note, I don't know.
It's going to be something like that lacks specificity.
Right.
Right. So just like do it better or I don't know.
So you prefer more of like a very like practical kind of note?
Yes.
Do you prefer kind of like faster or an emotion or none of or?
I don't know.
I mean, everybody has their own line readings.
Were you on that?
It depends.
Okay.
Okay.
It depends.
You know, it's funny.
I think there are some directors that have real specificity.
Right.
like working with them is to fit within the context of the thing they're creating.
Right.
Which I also love.
Yeah.
Like, because I'm a part.
If we're here, it's because we want to be a part of that thing.
Yes.
Not just have autonomy to do what we want to do.
So I don't know.
It's like I, I'm open to so many approaches.
I'm not rigid in my approach or how I do what I do.
I'm there in service of the thing.
But I guess a bad thing.
note is just, and it really only just feels that way at the time where you feel like you've done
something and someone comes up and repeats what you've just, the thing you've just done,
that has happened.
I've heard that one, yeah.
That's it.
Yeah.
Where you have made a second.
Like you've made an adjustment, right?
And you've consciously, for whatever, organically made an adjustment.
And then someone coming up and asking you to make that adjustment.
It has definitely happened.
And I've always been, oh, yeah, sure, yeah.
And then you just do the same thing.
They just do the same thing.
Or just lean into that adjustment more.
But I guess that's the only thing.
But otherwise, I think, you know,
as long as you're being led by somebody
that knows what they want and how to articulate it, you know.
He's malleable.
David Fincher, Zach Krieger.
You can direct them however you want.
Congratulations.
Ready or not to, here I come.
Thank you.
That is the film.
Check it out, everybody.
Yeah, it's rad.
If you like the first film, you'll love this film.
It's a blast.
Super fun.
Congratulations on everything.
Thank you.
fatherhood, spectra vision, in that order.
I was going to say not in that order, in that order, I think, of importance.
Yes.
It's good to see you, man.
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for having me.
Appreciate you.
Anytime.
And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused.
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