Happy Sad Confused - Jason Schwartzman

Episode Date: September 1, 2015

The affable, the talented, the hairy Jason Schwartzman joins Josh to talk about his terrific new film 7 Chinese Brothers, the 2nd season of Mozart in the Jungle, his manly beard, how BIll Murray was helpful towards him while shooting Rushmore, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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please contact ConX Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Hey, guys, time for a very special announcement. I'm very excited to introduce you all to Howl.fm. This is the best and most convenient way to listen to all episodes of Happy, Sad, Confused. It's on the web at Howl.fm and on the go with the brand new Howl app. You can stream and download all Happy, Sad, Confused episodes that have been released in the past six months with this guys. And you can go beyond just the shows with behind-the-scenes photos, commentaries, and much more. Plus, if you want to upgrade to Hal Premium for only $4.99 a month, you'll get exclusive access to the entire happy, sad, confused archive, every single episode going all the way back and to all the Earwolf and Wolf Pop archives. This includes all episodes older than six months, six months, all have been remastered, no ads on any of them.

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howl.fm, enter the code happy at checkout and you're off and running. Remember, you can use howl on your phone or your computer, but you can only use my promo code on the howl.fm website. Go to howl.fm. That's howwl.fm and use the promo code happy for one month free trial of premium. Hey guys. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. I am Josh Horowitz. This is my podcast. Those are your ears that you are listening to it with. Just clarifying the basics of this endeavor for the next 45, 50 minutes. Apologies, this week's episode is a little bit late, but it's worth the wait. It's Jason Schwartzman, guys. The affable, the talented, the extremely hair. Jason Schwartzman. He is starring in a terrific new film called Seven Chinese Brothers. The movie is not about seven brothers, let alone Chinese ones. It's actually an REM song that has nothing to do with the film. But it's a cool title. And it's a cool, a little film that is actually available right now on iTunes. It's in select cities also. You should check it out. It's a very funny kind of slice of life. character study of a guy named

Larry kind of a sad sack down on his luck but not necessarily vexed by it all he's kind of cool with being down

on his luck and he's played by Jason Schwartzman and it's a cool little film directed by an interesting

indie filmmaker by the name of Bob Byington the setup for this conversation just to you guys know

is as I tape this is Tuesday so I'll go up Tuesday, hopefully. But last night, I did one of these Apple store Q&A. The Apple store here in New York is often very kind enough to ask me to come by and do a live Q&A and have an audience and they put it on iTunes and you guys should totally check them out. It's called the Meet the Filmmakers series. You can subscribe to it on iTunes and it's a lot of fun, whether I'm hosting it or not. Anyway, they asked me to moderate this panel with Bob, the director of Seven Chinese Brothers and Jason. And Jason was very kind

enough to come over to the office afterwards. It was a little bit late. It was a long day for him. He is in the middle of production on the second season of Mozart in the Jungle, the Amazon series that Jason has co-created and is a writer and producer on, along with Roman Coppola. And that's an amazing cast from Malcolm McDowell to Garcia Bernal on down the line. You should check that out too. So anyway, Jason was super sweet. He always has been. he is definitely one of those guys what you see is what you get um and what you get is a really cool guy who's inquisitive sharp um funny uh and just all around kind and and and a good guy legitimately a good guy i've never heard anybody say a bad word and i would i would think if you

do say a bad word about jason schwartzman you're a bad person yourself there i said it um anyway uh seven Chinese brothers, check that out. As for stuff outside of the podcast, you guys, I have been asked me a lot on Twitter. I tweeted about this last week. I was in Los Angeles. I did a fun, really cool kind of sketch shoot with the stars of Mocking Jay Part 2, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. We have to sit on that for a little while, a few more weeks. It's not all in our control, guys. Calm down. But when you, when you, when you, when you, see it, you'll enjoy it, I think. Jennifer does something in the course of this bit that she has never done before, I would venture to say, and you've never seen her do before. And I think

it will shock you and amuse you to no end. So I look out for that on MTV's YouTube page on MTV's After Hours page. And a lot of other cool things happening. The Toronto Film Festival gets underway next week. I'll be over there for that. I'll be tweeting relentlessly about that. apologies in advance, but that's always a fun one because there's so many good films and great talent there. So I've actually been seeing a lot of films that are going to be screened at the Toronto Film Festival next week, this week, films I can't talk about, but some pretty good stuff. God, there's so many films I want to tell you about, but I'm not about to talk about them. But we're going to get to it. We're going to get to it soon enough. Enough of me teasing

you guys. Let's just get right to the main event, Mr. Jason Schwartzman. the very hairy. We talk about his beard. It's insane. I don't know. This guy, he puts us all to shame. All men. All men.

Enjoy my conversation with Jason. Should we do this, buddy? I love your ghost messages too. Yeah, that was in the old old ones. You saw that, right? Yeah. But I don't remember, actually. You don't?

Does it make an impression on you? I don't, that was not there, I don't think, to be honest. I feel somewhat intimidated because Jason and I have just been talking about podcasts and now we've launched into our own little podcast. The child. The child? Oh, yeah. Sorry, you're doing Peter McNichael.

The child. Okay. Where are you from? The opposite side? Can't you the baby? So cute. Okay, sorry. No, thank you for.

Oh, we started. We started. We started. Can you tell my official voice? Is there any difference between official Josh and other Josh that you can tell? No, it's seamless. Amazing. Yeah.

But you on the other hand. You put your pants on. Feel it. I said, literally, I saw you literally to put your pants on. Yeah. And now you're a big boy. Yep. These are the big boy pants.

This is your podcast, big boy pants. Yeah, they are. I feel, I feel, I feel somewhat guilty. Okay. Because I feel like you're very sweet to say yes doing the podcast. We just did a little Apple store Q&A for seven Chinese brothers. Great filmmaking, great piece of work from you and Bob Byington. Thank you.

But like you're a busy guy. You're doing your Mozart in the Jungle thing. You've got kids. It's late on a Monday night as we tape this. I heard that, yeah, I'm okay, I'm great. I heard that you wanted to talk. And so, yes, for you, absolutely. It's very sweet.

It's do not, do not waste another moment thinking about anything. I'm not, this is why I'm busy. This is more important than then. This is why I'm busy. I'm here because to talk to you. Well, it's good to speak. You're awesome. You've always been so kind to me.

so of course like I don't it's not please don't be ridiculous okay fine um it's very nice of you so how's it's it's very nice of you to feel bad don't feel bad that's that's me i feel bad do you have natural guilt do you what's that one which one which thing that volleyball this is a promotional item for last man on earth have you seen last man on earth i love it are you kidding me it was like my favorite show last year it's mine too i love it deeply um i've grown a beard out just in case they need They need someone. They're just like another person living somewhere. Can we talk about the beard?

Sure. Because I was considering shaving today or yesterday. I mentioned to my wife. I was like, I'm going to see Jason. Yeah. And I think he's got a crazy-ass beard right now. And I feel like, I mean, I'm not going to compare to his beard, but I feel like I should just like show him.

Yeah, there are other guys that can do it too. Right. Yeah. He's not the only fish in the sea. So that's the background behind my fucked up brain. Just so you know. I like that you said, the background behind.

It's the background behind. I fucked up brain. Sorry, I keep going. What's, what's the, why, why do you have the beard? Because you're, you're, you're, you're in producer writer mode right now. Yeah, well, I actually, well, I had this beard because I'm, Jonathan Ames, who I worked with on the show, Bored to Death, has a new show, blunt talk. Yep. And, and, and it's really great.

And he asked if I would be in that show. And so some of the later episodes, I'm in them. and the character has facial hair and required more and more facial hair as the episodes went on. And so anyway, when I finished, there was a little bit of just, well, at first I kept it for a little while

in case they needed to reshoot anything. And then there was just a little bit of, well, I've come this far. Right. Is this as big as it's ever been? No, it's been bigger. Really? Yeah.

For which role? Just for life. It just took it. Actually, it was much bigger a little while ago, but just took it down. But it's never as big as the other guys. You know, you think you got a good-sized beard, and then you walk into a clothing store, and there's some guy with a much bigger beard looking at some jackets that you would be looking at. Do you feel, because I feel like when mine starts through, I feel like unclean. I feel like, do you feel that?

There apparently was a big article about this uncleanliness and beards, but then I heard it was debunked. I don't want to go into it because it's disgusting. But you can look it up But I do feel like it's sometimes Yeah You know how I know I feel How I feel like it's dirty Because it's dirty

Because when it's clean it feels clean Right So when I get out of the shower I go God this thing feels great right now Right So it must not feel great sometimes In order to feel that good Right

But no With the course of the day I mean you shake some hands And you know The face is a place where We do a lot of hands work and like up here and you sit there you think you go into the thinker pose or you're so inevitably it it goes and then but you know the truth is our skin has you know is going to hold

on to just as many disgusting things as your beard you've rationalized this you've thought about this yeah I have to because I'm getting attacked I'm getting attacked left and right do you all the cat calls it's because you're many things I feel like but you're not necessarily I have to guess that you weren't oh you tell me like in high school were you like did you feel like the alpha male were you like the like the like the guys guy because i feel like this is asserting your guyness this is you know what i mean yeah this is proving once and for all back off i'm i'm a man well it's not true yeah if only but um well in high school no i was not the alpha male but i my school is small enough that

like you could be friends with many social groups at one time I had friends that went to bigger schools where it really become subdivided and like those are the jocks right those are the things and you really

it mattered what you know system you found yourself in whereas my school was small enough that you know there were some musicians that were also on the football team That kind of a situation It was a terrible football team And they were terrible musicians

Sort of like pick one But I was never like alpha male Was it was it a big You grew up in L.A.? Was it a big acting community there Like in the school? Was this like wannabe or potential actors And stuff in the school?

There's another school in L.A. called Crossroads That has a real like pedigree of actors and just theater and all around it's just like a it's like the it's like a super high school for just super thinkers is that like they like the like the Jake Gyllen hall and like he went to Harvard Westlake oh okay Jonah went to I don't know I'm so ignorant of these but um my school was not like it was a liberal arts like kind of place I mean it was like um but it's um and we had a good theater program but it wasn't like i don't know if at that time it was on the level of those other ones i think now it actually is quite yeah it's kind of stepped up on

so many levels athletically academically right theatrically but um no but it was an awesome school and we had great like yeah we had good plays really good plays and were you doing plays then no i was Rushmore, were you doing? No, I wanted to do plays. My mom, who acts as an actor, loves theater, like deeply. She's a real Thespian. And with a capital, she's a big time, you know. And so when I was nine, she met a guy who was doing a theater.

festival in Europe and it was like in a small small small town in Italy and but one he had invited all of these playwrights from different countries 12 different countries right to come to the small village and put on plays in their native tongues and I went she brought me with her she got invited we went and it was mesmerizing and I fell in love with like the performance just watching these performers it was so moving and and then the next summer she the same gentleman worked at this place, the Eugene O'Neill Center, which is in Connecticut, which is a place for writers and actress to come and workshop. And anyways, I was 10 at that time,

and we went out for like three weeks to Connecticut and stayed at the Eugene O'Neill, like, near the campus of it. And I just got totally into it. And yeah, I loved it. But I didn't want to be an actor. I didn't think I could be an actor. but I had some, like, lofty idea that I would be, like, I could, I want, I just felt like this is a great, this is a great, this is a great, this is a great, the camaraderie I loved. Yeah. I think that's really more than anything like it's like, ah, everyone seems to be helping each other. What was, and what was your own relationship to, I mean, your mom, for those that don't know,

I mean, has had a storied acting career. I mean, and, you know, you start with something like the Rocky films and Godfather films. That's enough to, for any resume, and she's not a lot more than that. But, like, what was your relationship to those films? when you were a kid because she was still doing like Rocky films and Godfather three probably when you were 10, 12 or something like that, right?

Yeah, exactly. Like, did you appreciate them? Did that, would it feel like, oh God, these are tearing mom away from me? Did it feel... Hmm, good question. Well, honestly, when I was little, I didn't,

I didn't, my mom's very... She's a, like I say, she's a real, you know, actors, actor, but is not into Hollywood as a thing. Right. And though we lived in L.A., she was very much, like, kind of, like, on guard about it. And she's also a very shy person, and not a real, like, she's not super social.

Yeah. And, you know, growing up in the 80s, it was weird because she would, like, we'd go out and people would say, yo, Adrian to her. Right. And it's just, like, I could see her. not like she was very appreciative but I saw her kind of tighten up yeah it just wasn't her type yeah it's not her thing and and I remember thinking like why do they all call her this name yeah and she explained one day that she acted and you know because she didn't take us to film sets really and stuff um so it wasn't until I was a little bit later and then um I saw the Rocky and I think it was a very weird

feeling for sure i think also it's weird to see another man kiss your mom right alone celeste alone exactly um and it just was like that probably was like if i think about it the thing that took me off guard the most like whoa what's that do you see yourself in her performances ever like when you when you see any of her films do you ever see a little bit of yourself in that that's a good another great one god damn yes are those written on your volleyball Where are you getting these from? Jesus Christ. He's in the thing between my ears.

Coming out, hanging. I'm swinging. You're coming out hanging. Get ready. No, I don't. No, I don't. To be honest, no. Because also I haven't seen any of those movies in a long time.

But obviously, I mean, she's my mom. I see her. She comes to my house. She'll do something. And I'm like, that's, seems like that's a mistake I would make. Right. That's sometimes what I'll think.

Like, she'll, like, knock something over and I'll be like, yeah, I see where I... Classic shortsman. I see where I see it. Classic me. So, when we were talking before tonight at our official Apple Store event, you mentioned some films that were influential to you. And I've known this for a while since talking to you for several years now, that you've got impeccable film taste.

It's not true. What are you talking about? Oh, it's not true. Dude, you mentioned you, you name check three amigos, which is kind of a perfect movie in its own way. Why do you think so? I do. But do other people feel that way? I think so.

Well, look, honestly, I'm a little older than you, but so clearly I'm a little bit more immature because it's different points. But it hit me at that right time. I know another one that you've mentioned before, which I think pound for pound is probably the best comedy of all time. What is it? It's young Frankenstein. Oh, it's amazing. It's kind of the perfect movie. One of the best.

What was the other one you mentioned tonight? Wait, you mentioned... Heartworn Highways? That, I don't know. Country music documentary. Incredible. There was another comedy, I feel like you mentioned. Oh, a new leaf.

Oh, a new leaf. Layne May. That's a great one. That's a great one. That is a great one. So that's clearly one you came to you a little bit later. I know I did. Yeah, it wasn't available for a long time.

I remember, like... That was one of those, like, infamous ones that just wasn't on any VHS or DVD, right? It wasn't. It was on VAT. I got it on VHS, but then I never... I didn't have the ability to... to then transfer it. So I just had it on VHS.

I never really. But a friend of mine and I watched it on his VHS player. And then it came out a few years ago on DVD. And it was exciting just because it's so great. It's so funny. She has such a unique, like really no one. Like she has, you know, I mean, it's not like. Guys, check out of Wayne May.

You got to check this out. No, I mean, obviously he's a legend. But it's just It's really exciting To be able to buy it for people Right What are your thoughts This is controversial

Like my Ghostbusters 2 poster I hate controversial I know you do I find Ishtar actually a decent movie Speaking of Elaine May Tell them the truth can be dangerous business Honesty and popular Don't go hand in hand

If you can admit that you can play the accordion No one will hire you in a rock and roll band Because we can sing our hearts You have a greater time on this area than me. It's pretty good. Charles Groden. Another Charles Groden. The Blind Camel?

Great Charles Grootin. Amazing in that movie. When they're eating that food with their fingers. I don't know what that is, but I want it. It's disgusting. A great movie. Well, I think, again, we were, I saw that movie when it came out, but I think that it's, it's like 87, I want to say. But when you're a kid, you don't know.

Yeah, you don't know. The backstory of things. I guess nowadays we know like we know a movie before it's like yeah like they're thinking of it they're going to do it but now like but that one obviously if you were in the know at the time was

it was clouded in a lot of it was a yeah it was a huge flop as they say but I love that movie there's nothing Isabella Johnny yes yeah yeah a forgotten sadly forgotten actress

I feel she's amazing I think I feel like she showed her boobs at one point That made an impact as a young, as he was 11, so that made an impact as I recall. No, she should one. One boob. Just to clarify for you kids out there that are looking it up, you just get one boob. But I love that movie. In fact, just not to sound braggy, but for those of you who liked this movie, too, when I made a movie and Dustin Hoffman was in that movie.

Yes. And I was very nervous around him. And at a certain point, oh, I felt. that of courage, I sang that song to him, and he sang with me. Oh, my God. Yeah, it was pretty big. It was a big moment for me. Did you also do the Three Amigos shake for Steve Martin?

That's probably a bad idea. No, but I told him I loved it. Yeah? And after I said that I, well, what happened was that I was going to, he was making the movie Shop Girl, and he had like the approval of who was going to go in, be in the movie. and I remember going to meet him freaked out and I just, I remember the last two things I was thinking were it's not you, it's him.

Meaning if he doesn't laugh, it's not your fault. Right. Maybe he just doesn't get you. But that wasn't, I don't know, that's not true. It was just like weird, like. Yeah, you were just trying to rationalize, trying to get yourself in an decent headspace, even if it made no sense.

Exactly. Try to get bulletproof. But the other thing I was thinking was don't tell him that you like three amigos. Don't tell him that you like three amygos. And then when I sat down, the first thing I said, it was, I'm sorry, I just really quickly before we talked. I just want to tell you how much I love three amigos. And, um, thank you. It was terrible. I literally broke within two seconds. But that movie, no, it's like you,

I saw it a million times. Randy Newman is one of the screenwriters. That's right. That's right. And we're in Michaels, I know, right? Strange, yeah. Um, so, okay, I know we're jumping all around. We're scattered tonight, but that's okay. Um, so. This doesn't feel that scattered. No? It has a, it has a through line. Really? Yeah. Us. Where are we going to end? Oh, yeah.

This is so quintessentially us, isn't it? It's so classic. So Rushmore, the stories have been told many times of how you got it, et cetera. But what I'm curious about,

well, we were just talking about kind of like idol worship and getting over that a little bit, right? With Steve and starting out a career working with Bill Murray as your primary co-star

is an insane prospect of, you know, way into the surreal. For many reasons. I mean, Bill is not your typical actor or presence in any respect. How did he treat you? And was there like a paternal kind of thing going on?

Did he feel like, were you just another one of the guys to him? What was the nature of that relationship? I think that, you know, it really became like a thing where he really was very helpful to me. Yeah. And, you know, Bill really is like a. he does have a lot of knowledge about so many things and he enjoys like teaching yeah i think in a weird way um but in the beginning you know it was i was nervous and i think he was just getting his footing and stuff but then um no it became like amazing i mean if not for he and west i would not

have made it through the experience i feel like they were like um west really took me under his wing like literally like devoted all of his time to helping me through it like just having dinner with me every night and talking me through the script every day and and bill was just like every day on set just yeah helpful to me just always encouraging and saying you know it might help you or like very nice i feel i feel like in my limited experience with him and i got a chance to which was amazing i was at comic on this past year and i got to moderate the panel for his new movie rock the casbach how was how was that fun it was amazing honestly It was freaking amazing because he...

Oh my gosh. I saw the pictures of him. Right. He came in character. And, of course, nobody knew what was going to happen until he, like, came backstage 10 minutes before and just huddled with me and Mitch Glazer and just sort of like, we all talked out what it was going to be. And I think he, he, from my limited... What is the character? It's kind of like an old music manager, like a husband, kind of like, he, you know...

Does he have like a way he talks and stuff? He doesn't really have an affectation, like, an odd, like. It's not like that kind of thing. But it's, it's a perfect Bill Murray kind of role. Oh, my gosh. Have you seen the movie? Yeah, it's good. Don't tell me about it.

Okay. Okay. But, um, but I guess my point is, like, I feel like he puts, he, he puts the blocks up around all the artifice. Like, he can't, you know much better than I do, but like, he's not into the publicists and the agents and the studio and all that crap. He just like, he's much more likely, I feel to, like, relate to just like the, you know, the, you know, the, the teamster that walks up to him.

and I don't know if that's a reaction just of like dealing with celebrity over the years or what but no it's true he has a yeah he well he can hang with anybody right so I guess that's what you mean and I think that's true it's like he's just like he's a badass he is and he knows it yeah but he's also not he knows it and he's like

he's a super badass but he also is he wields his power well he doesn't he does He's generous and he helps people. So out of Rushmore was, did you get like a lot of opportunity? Did you feel like this is, like at what point did you feel like I'm an actual actor? I'm a working actor versus like I got this crazy once in a lifetime opportunity. I kind of won the lottery or something. Well, after Rushmore, I went right back to high school.

Right. And I really did think it was a one-off thing. I didn't have an agent or anything like that. him. I truly just thought that was very strange. Yeah. And there wasn't a lot. I went literally just like school in my band. And then it came out.

And I remember like getting, I got an agent and, you know, you start to like audition for things and do that. But it was still so strange. to me because it really was like so it yeah it took a while to feel I mean I don't I only recently feel like when I were I had done like two or three movies last year it's like oh I feel like I'm this is consistent this is a real thing I mean but it's still we were saying earlier it's like this notion of like actors when they never are going to work again like it's a terrible feeling and it is sort of a true feeling yeah especially nowadays with everything changing so much um like media and stuff but yeah it wasn't I mean you know I worked and I was trying to

I was trying to be I was in my band Phantom Planet sure and working and I was really I thought I can really do both of these things and I feel like I really did do both them I was able to work and tour and stuff and honestly I'm my band I just it ended not because I wanted to act just because that ended right and And maybe at that point, things, maybe it became just like all I did. Right, right, right. That focus. Perhaps that was it.

But I still don't ever, I never really felt like, yeah, I look at actors, like other actors and I think that's an actor. Or like, that's what an actor working in Hollywood is and does. And they seem different than me. Well, speaking of Phantom Planet, did you notice, or did they tell you about the O.C. musical that was staged last night? No, but I heard about... I don't know if they used your tunes.

I think it was in L.A. Some of the cast was there. And I had read about that a while ago. Yeah, yeah. Weird. That must follow you around to a... That song? Yeah.

Well, in a good way. I mean, I love that. I'm proud that we got to write that song and it's weird that we got to have... It then became a theme song. It's funny because it wasn't written for the show. I was going to say, yeah. It was its own song and then it became the theme song, which I feel like nowadays, that doesn't happen as much, right?

right songs are like composed for the thing yeah well it's it's totally different i mean i miss all the cheesy just intros the shows those don't even exist they think the credit squeezes and all that there's like no credit study show out of those songs that's right isn't that crazy it's true it's fucking nuts um wait so speaking which okay it was super random and jumping around but motor in the jungle i'm fascinated by this new kind of avenue for your career it's not totally new obviously you co-wrote darjeeling but but it's very it feels new does it feel new because yeah like right now you're spending for the second time in a couple years, an extended period of time here in New York in production in the show as a producer, as a writer. Does it feel like this is like, how did I, like this is a totally new job?

Fuck, yes. Really? Absolutely. Also, because I don't watch a ton of television. I love, I watch a lot of sports. But I don't know. I think it's because of MTV actually that I didn't develop the thing to stay with something for a long. I'm at a time.

Right. Like, I prefer to watch, like, in high school and stuff, preferred to watch music videos or 120 minutes or alternative nation or just weird. All those types of things. And I did, I watched, like, Mr. Belvedere and something like that. The good stuff. The good stuff. The good stuff.

But then, but I never got into like a show. Right. And I just don't know why, but so it's very awkward that I, you know, have this opportunity which it didn't come quickly it was a weird thing it was about like almost eight years that I was telling people about this idea of doing a show about classical music and I just would say like that would be a fun show that would be a fun show but it only recently happened um and it's but yeah it's very weird and it's it's tremendously it's so exciting I mean yeah it's really fun I mean it's such a game like it's it's I do not

undervalue how insanely lucky I am. I mean, not a lot of people get a chance to write something and make it. And, you know, we're doing it. And it's so crazy. I mean, that's like, I think that's constantly, that's a driving force of what's happening. It's like, and there's a lot of crazy deadlines and new drafts and just a lot of work. But I think the only way actually that I am getting through it is because I feel like this is crazy that this is happening. Right.

Well, it must be a constant sort of gas. see like, oh my God, in a different way than what you, what the acting, but like something I wrote yesterday is coming out of the mouths of Malcolm McDowell, for God sakes. Like some of the greatest actors on the planet. Well, yeah, Malcolm McDowell is in the show on us. Yeah, that happened recently. We were watching this, um, we have a scene this year with Malcolm McDowell and Wally Sean. And I was watching this going like, this is crazy. Yeah. I mean, these are two people that I love. Yeah. And think are so amazing. I can. cannot believe they're saying these words like these words they should they should just forget

these words and come up with something better that's sort of about the same thing that's kind of like how I feel you know like what business they've said like these guys have done plays and movies and spoken great the words of great writers and I mean I'm happy they're doing it but I also feel like God I feel terrible poor Wallace he's sunk to me from Louis Mowell to me. Yeah, it's terrible. It's like, but no, it's, uh, it's crazy, but it's really fun. And like you say, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, you're typing it up and you know it's going to be made, um, next week or the week after like, you better finish. And I really enjoy that. I enjoy the deadline quality of

it. Is the, is the writing process? I mean, beyond just the deadline and the, just the frequency of it, much different than Darjeeling felt. Did Darjeeling feel like a strange kind of one-off? in that way because it was with Wes and that was really West like he was the team captain kind of like navigating us through this process and um he had the initial idea for it and so we just spent but we spent two years working on it yeah um just and it much more like you know just all day long a lot all the time working and working and working on one thing right and um this is a bit more like um you mean you're thinking about this thinking about thinking about but then a certain point you have to write it and then it's gone right it's just a weird thing like it's just the time is

strange so um we were talking tonight i mean we should do some uh some plugging for seven chinese brothers which as i said is is a as a fine piece of work i mean talk to me a little bit about you know the nature of your career it sounds like it's like you were talking before earlier tonight when we were discussing kind of like the arc of a career like some jobs come about four days in advance some yeah i mean how did this one was this one in the making for a while no not really i mean yeah it's there are like a few actors in the world that can get a movie made right those actors can choose out like they can choose their career it's like gpsing your career like it's like i would like do this i would do that i'll do my superhero movie then

then like four months in the west end then and then i'll do yeah it's very like like yeah and it's awesome um i've been a bit a bit more of a situation where you you've got to like be aggressive and have ideas and there are things like i know that i would like to try and do and you pursue them but because the business is so weird like you could go off if you just went in one direction only looking for something might not be there yeah so you have to also have this like i'm sort of like up for you have to kind of be flexible in a way. I don't know what the word is, and I don't want it to seem like it's like, well, like lollygagging. Like, well, whatever happens happens. That's not it at all. It's just that

you have to like be available to any new experience. Yeah. And like this movie, the overnight that I did, like I didn't know about that movie literally until like basically before we did it. Yeah. It just happened in a very strange way. And I think you just like the fun part of this job is to be open to things that just kind of come out of nowhere. But everything else is like, you know, you think about it, you're looking for it, like, and you pursue things, like, and you go for things. And, well, but our movie, this movie, Seven Chinese Brothers, I met Bob Buyington, and I loved his movie somebody that likes me.

I really was interested in it. He kind of seems offended when I talk about why I liked it, but I liked it because it was kind of a slow comedy. Okay. I feel like the slow part or the comedy part? He thinks it's fast. He's like, it's 77 minutes. I'm like, but still it feels ponderous.

I have to say I do, and I enjoyed that movie too. I do love that both of these films are, they're in and out. They were. They're like, they feel. Yeah, they're fast. You know, that's. But I'll tell you though, within them, like a lot of movies that I see and like comedies are very fast pace and line, line, line, line.

And not a lot of them like will have a. extended scenes of characters not talking and walking around and just sort of like thinking, I guess, or not thinking, but just walking. And that's what I, when I saw some of their likes me, I was like, oh, that, I like that idea. It's interesting to make a movie in that style that has like a slowed down tempo, but in the context of comedy. To hang with someone.

Exactly. To hang with someone. To like to see their behavior, yeah. Exactly. And so that was what was interesting. And then when Bob was talking about this movie, it was exciting. He wrote the movie in 2001. And so it's been a long time coming for him.

But for me, it was like a year and a half, I guess, of just kind of like, is it going to happen? It's going to happen. And then we made it very quickly in Austin. And I loved working on the movie. It was really fun. It was a very unusual way to work. So you talk about being aggressive at a sense. certain way and certainly co-creating something like Mozart in the jungle is certainly being

aggressive. I mean, where else is that manifest? Like, are you trying, are you, is that, are you talking about, like, talking to team shortsmen saying, I want to see all the scripts on my desk tomorrow? Or, you know, well, yeah, I mean, I think I mean, basically. I mean, do, like, the meetings with the filmmakers that you admire, that kind of thing? Well, my, my, you mean, a little of everything that maybe you've mentioned, but not in a, like, I think basically, aggressive by aggressive I mean thinking and having like an opinion about what you would like to do right um instead of just waiting for something to happen yeah so because I think that when you are talking and thinking about things it it propels it moves something forward in a way right um and

yeah all of those things that you mentioned but um I mean one thing I've taken from doing this This show is like trying to write more. I mean, I hadn't, like, written a lot and writing and just writing so much that it's really, it's fun and it's, you know, obviously it's ridiculously hard and you are deleting a lot. But one thing I could be better about is writing because I don't write a lot. like if I'm not if I didn't wasn't working on this show yeah I wouldn't probably be writing as much as I now would like to are you are you and and like Roman just like in a room together how do you how do you work we sit in a room we sit in a room together and um we work on like he usually works on like we work on we'll work on two one episode but like I'll work on one section he'll work on another

and then we'll trade, like we'll email each other the other next to each other and then I'll work on what he was just working on. Got it. So it's not like, okay, I need a funny line here. I need a verb here. Well, we do that if we're next to each other. If I'd be like, what's this way? But the Romans's really good at like a certain thing and I'm not really good at a certain

thing, but a different thing I'm kind of good at. Right. And we'll just sit there and kind of work next to each other and we kind of like share scenes and just kind of go back and forth. By the way, you mentioned the overnight, which you know I'm a huge fan of. When we were coming over here tonight, I noticed I got an email invite to some kind of art exhibit of butthole paintings for the overnight. You're kidding. I swear to God, I'll show you the email.

What happened? I don't know. Who is this? This is promoting your movie on DVD, I'm sure. Really? I'll find it. Shit. Wait, let's see.

I have the last Blackberry known to man. The last Blackberry on Earth. The last one is a really sad spinoff of the last man on Earth. Wait, I had it. I was going to show it to you. I lost it. look like a liar. Oh, you're invited. The overnight

butthole paintings gallery debut. Friday, September 4th at Meltdown, this is in Los Angeles, so I'm not going to make it. Friday September 4th at Meltdown. Yeah. Adam Scott's going to be there. Meltdown comics. He's pretty cool. Wow, cool. Showing up the portal paintings from the movie. You should get one of those paintings, man. Those are

amazing. Wow. Did not know about that. You really need to... Well, you're in your little Mozart. Someone's not CC me in this place. Shit. It's going to be okay. That'll be fun, though, I bet.

I love those paintings. It was so cool because, yeah, I see of Carrie Russell on your list. She's so sweet. Carrie Russell is a, I love Carrie Russell. Right? I love Carrie Russell. From afar or personally? Both.

I mean, I, from, well, I think she's really great, like, actor. And I like the Americans. American is good, yeah. But I also And then I happen to meet her Yeah And she's like So nice

Ridiculous Yeah So anyway I see her name there And it It exudes a Shining Light of

Unlike the other names And the dry Yeah you see that Wow you hate You hate that guy Yep And the other one? Yep

And I do love Paul Dano Paul Dano's the best So I love Paul Dano Who else? Who else do you like here? I know

So many. Just for reference, Jason's looking at my board of New Yorkers that I... Justin Long is a really great mimic. He is. He was on the podcast and he did a bunch of impressions. He did a good Rockwell. He did a good Rockwell, being another great. Sam Rockwell, incredible.

I love him. Galaxy Quest. I mean, come on. They're going to do TV series. I heard. What are you going to know? I don't know. Good luck.

I mean, why not? Why not try, I guess? Right? So did you have... He's amazing. I mean, he has done so many great performances and... Rockwell. Both of them.

Oh, my God. Yeah, both of them. But, yeah, and Rockwell, and that Emily Mortimer, of course, is great. Well, I'm going to, you know, I have to send you... Ethan Hawk, the fucking Explorers. That movie, that movie was my mind. That's where I learned about Baclava. I don't even, it's been a while.

Well, Barbara Phoenix's mom in the movie makes Wolfgang. He plays a character, Wolfgang. Yeah. Wolfgang eats Baclava. Right. So they always give... Like, she's like, would you like some back there? And Oscar Rice, of course.

He's pretty good. He's a fucking king. He's amazing. The last time I got Sam and Justin together for a sketch and Justin played the devil. Wow. In full on costume. And he was exceptional. It was amazing.

Yeah, he's amazing. So what are you doing after Mozart? Do you know? Uh-uh. Back to L.A., I assume. Back to L.A. And no, nothing. I'll work on the finalizing the episodes.

Yeah. It's really fun. I really enjoy it. It's truly a strange experience and one that I didn't expect to be doing. And so I'll just be working on that. And it's really fun too because do the sound stuff for the show is really fun. So in the room and just like, think there could be a car going by here and you, woo. Like, I love that.

I don't, I never thought I'd get to be like in a real sound mix for a movie. Sure. And then, yeah, that's it So it would And they're here in New York, I assume So how are you feeling about You're born and bred Los Angeles guy You're like, you're like bizarre of Josh

I'm Here we sit on different sides of the country With our competing beards I know, I know Yeah, we come together We're altars Alters Do you do you feel

Do you feel comfortable here? You were wearing your you're wearing your parka out in the at the Q&A earlier so I feel like LA has thinned your blood to a degree that you can't take the 90 it's like 90 degrees out I know so I mean well it's more that I just it's the air conditioning right that's what I'm too conditioned that's why I'm wearing the parking okay that's why I'm wearing the park I sorry I uh it's the it's the cold right you go inside the rooms it's freezing right I don't like you're the guy in charge you can tell them to turn down the AC can't can't tell him to turn down the nest is that what it is at the episode of the nest

Oh, at the Apple Store, got it. Yeah, I can't tell the Apple Store to turn it down. Right, right, right. I don't like to do that. I won't tell them to do that. So when are you going to feel like, when are you going to direct? I feel like that's inevitable. I directed one.

Did you? I directed it in an episode of the show. For this coming season? Yeah. Oh, amazing. It was amazing. How was that? Incredible.

Yeah. Frightening, but incredible. Yeah, it was really fun. I mean, I've never been in that position ever. And it was so fun. It was really fun. It was the, I think the hardest thing, This doesn't...

Oh, make you of a Willow comic book It's autographed by Val Kilmer. Mad Mordigan. Do you see what he wrote? Peck, peck, peck, wow, amazing. I mean...

Pretty badass. Data, data, data, data, data, daada, datada, daada. Datta, data. Oh, you're directing. Did you have the temperament? Because you're such like... Oh, I loved it. I loved it.

The only thing this heart is trying to figure out like every... is different in terms of when they would like to talk to you about what they're doing. Right. And some people would like it earlier and some people would like it later. And that's that I was like trying to figure out like, should I approach? Is now a good time?

Do you want to talk about this? And sometimes people want to talk about it. I'm like, I don't know. Yeah. Let's keep working on it. So that's the most. That was the, that was actually the hardest thing for me was when to talk to people. I would think also, I mean, like you're, and it's, you know, you ever watch like a football

game or any time and you think I wonder what it would be like to have one snap of a football or try to hit a major league pitcher and though you know you can't do it you wonder might i get closer than i could think but you would probably realize you know you hear people go into like the NFL like the game moves so much faster right and it is amazing like when you when i was directing it was happening so much faster than so many more decisions right than i could have ever anticipated and so many more people asking you questions and so many you just have to keep going yeah in a way that I didn't is like wow it's over and it's curious to me because like you you seems like such a naturally inquisitive person and while it's good to like start a dialogue you

have to answer you have to be the the guy that like just like decides yeah you can't ask a lot of questions you're directing there's a time in a place I guess you can though but um that was the best And working with those actors like Malcolm and Gallaghercia Bernal, who's really amazing. It's amazing to watch him work. He's like, he's the star of our show with actress Lola Kirk. And he's like, it's like, have you ever ordered something off a menu and you think you know what it's going to be? And then it gets something like, this is not what they said it was going to be. And it's better.

And it's better times better than I could ever imagine. Yeah. That's what he does with every sentence he says in our show. like what the fuck oh my god it's crazy it's a good cast man you've got there i just saw loa in the in the boundback movie too yeah i'm dynast that movie i had not i have not had time to see that or any movie but yeah god i really want to see that movie it's good stuff yeah i love noah he's amazing great great great great filmmaker of course um i think we did it do you feel like we did it yeah did yeah i think we did great i'm just looking at what i'm so tired right now that i'm looking at a i'm looking at a i'm

looking at this um what are you looking at i'm looking at that you have a you know et puppet yeah it's not a puppet it's a doll and then r2d2 yeah but i'm so tired that this whole time i thought they were from the same movie well to be fair in a weird way like they blended i feel like in et wasn't there there was star wars paraphernalia in a t and she goes he's yoda so remember true true it's okay true we've come full circle we were starting we started we started by talking about star wars so excited off mike Can't wait. Right?

Fuck yeah. Kylo. Kylo Red. Callow Red. Don't fuck with Kyleo Ren. What's Oscar Isaac's character's name? Po Dameron. He's Poe.

Great name, right? Po Dameron. Amazing. I'm going to see it about 12 times in the theater. So if you want to reserve one of those, so we can just hold hands and stare at it. Christmas, yeah. Oh. It can be good.

Oh, my gosh. It's going to be the ultimate. Are your kids old enough to see a Star Wars movie? I don't think so. But you can force them to anyway. I'm going to force them to. Now, there you go. All right.

Let's go to bed. Sorry, guys. Good to see you, Jason. Thank you so much for having me. Thanks, bye. Cut. Cut. Get out of my office.

And cut. Hey, I'm Steve. Hey, I'm Stephen Dubner. We both make podcasts. I do one called Freakonomics Radio. And I do one called the James Altiture Show. Very cunning name there. Yes, I admit my narcissism.

We've been podcasting a while, but we've never podcasted together, and that's what today represents is the beginning of our first joint project called Question of the Day. It's not a good name, Question of the Day. It's going to sound kind of like this. What words do you think the English language needs? What words or expressions are missing? What can you teach me now in the next 10 minutes that will be useful for the the rest of my life.

What is the best way to start an engaging conversation with a stranger? Has your memory suffered when you were in your late 40s? I can't remember back to the late 40s. Are we recording? I don't know, but shouldn't waste good conversation. Yeah, yeah, no. On just conversation. Each episode is going to be about 10 minutes long,

but 10 of the most action-packed minutes you've ever heard in podcasting. It's a very fortified podcast. It's fortified, kind of like a one-a-day vitamin, kind of like quest-a-day. of the day podcast vitamin. So if you're short on time, but long on curiosity, you don't want to miss it. You can find us at

Earwolf.com and iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Wolf Pop is part of Midroll Media, executive produced by Adam Sacks, Matt Gourley, and Paul Shear. American history is full of infamous tales that continue to captivate audiences, decades or even hundreds of years after they happened.

On the infamous America podcast, you'll hear the true stories of the Salem Witch Trials and the escape attempts from Alcatraz, of bank robbers like John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd, of killers like Lizzie Borden and Charles Starkweather, of mysteries like the Black Dahlia and D.B. Cooper, and of events that inspired movies like Goodfellas, Killers of a Flower Moon, Zodiac, Eight Men Out, and many more. I'm Chris Wimmer. Join me as we crisscross the country from the Miami Drug Wars and Dixie Mafia in the South, to mobsters in Chicago and New York, to arsonists, kidnappers, and killers in California, to unsolved mysteries in the heartland and in remote corners of Alaska. Every episode features narrative writing and cinematic music, and there are hundreds of episodes available to binge. Find Infamous America, wherever you get your podcasts.