Happy Sad Confused - John Boyega, Vol. II

Episode Date: August 30, 2022

John Boyega may have left STAR WARS behind but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a ton of exciting stuff going on. Here, on this return visit to the podcast, John and Josh catch up on John's new films, BREAKING and THE WOMAN KING, his STAR WARS reflections, his love of Studio Ghibli, plus Josh surprises John with a voice from the past. Come see Josh tape a LIVE Happy Sad Confused on October 25th in NYC with Ralph Macchio! Tickets are available here! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to The Wakeup newsletter here! Don't forget to check out the Happy Sad Confused patreon here! We've got exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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And boogie-woogie-woogie your way to a full recovery The electrified Jeep Rangler 4xE Learn more at jeep.com Jeep is a registered trademark of FCAUS LLC prepare your ears humans happy sad confused begins now today on happy sad confused john boyega from star wars to an inspired by true events drama breaking hey guys i'm josh harlitz welcome to another edition of happy sad confused uh yes we've got a returning guest to the podcast though it's been a while it's been about five years since john boyega has been on the show and

and a lot certainly has transpired for him, for all of us, and we're going to catch up on all of it. This is a great chat with a great young actor. Do I truly respect and always enjoy laughing with and having serious chats with? We fit it all into this conversation here today. We've got a lot going on in the happy, sad, confused universe. You might have noticed last week we had not one,

but two different episodes drop. We had Natalie Emmanuel, starring in the invitation. at our live event, Neil Gaiman, which we posted as a podcast episode. And yes, now we're back at it with John Boyega. And let me tell you, the pace is going to continue. Definitely once a week, sometimes twice a week in the foreseeable future. We've got live events coming up. We've got Ralph Montchio in October.

But before then, I've got at least one or two or maybe even more live events percolating here in New York City that are going to be announced very, very soon. we've got live events on the Patreon page, and those are virtual events. If you're hearing this, and it's still Tuesday, August 30th, and it's not 2 p.m. Eastern time, get on over to the Patreon.com slash happy, say I'm confused, sign up at the exclusive shows level and up, and you'll be able to take part in a live video conversation. You can ask your questions if you want. It's going to be me and Jamie Campbell Bauer of Stranger Things, of course. Jamie is delightful and has so much going on right now.

So, yeah, we're trying these. We did this with, of course, Graham McTavish recently. And, yes, Tuesday, August 30th, 2 p.m. Eastern Time. If you're hearing this, rather, before then, you can sign up for the Patreon at that middle tier or above, and you'll have access to the live chat, and perhaps we'll even ask your question there. So we're doing that over on the Patreon page. We're putting all of these video conversations up.

You can watch John Boyega. If you would rather watch this conversation, go to YouTube.com slash Josh Horowitz. We are just churning and burning with tons of great conversations. I've never been busier, but I'm really happy with what we're doing. Even in the dog days of summer, we're actually super busy, which is a really nice thing. And I'm about to just, I'm about to head off to a couple film festivals, Tell You Ride in Toronto. We're going to probably tape some conversations in Toronto, so stay tuned for that.

A lot of good movies that are going to be at both festivals. I'll be catching. Some I've actually already seen. I've gotten some sneak peek at. Can't really talk about them, but we're getting into the good stuff, guys. So, yeah, a lot to come. As always, follow me on social media, Joshua Horowitz, on Twitter and Instagram. And the first place I'll be announcing all of these live events is always on the Patreon page.

again, patreon.com slash happy, say it confused. And that, for the early access stuff, for just like the discount codes and for the first announcements, that's even available at the lowest tier. So if you just want that, five bucks a month, easy peasy, you get the inside dope on everything in the Josh Horowitz, Happy Say a Confused World. Okay, let's talk John Boyega for a second. John has a lot going on. He has three films out this fall. I've seen a couple of them. The Woman King is coming soon. That is with Viola Davis. John takes a supporting part in that one. It's a really cool based on a true events story of these female warriors fighting for their people. And it's Viola as you've never seen her before. And that comes from Gina Prince Bythwood. And the film, though,

that we really dive into today is this really intense drama called Breaking. And it is a really showy opportunity in a good way. I don't mean that as like an ostentatious kind of thing. It's like a, it's a chewy bit of material for John. And I can see what attracted to him. It tells the true life story of a Marine, an ex-Marine who was denied his benefits and found himself in just like a really horrible situation. And it's a tragic story. And it's a story that really demands and needs a light shining on it, shown on it. I don't know. Use the proper version of that word.

But suffice it to say, John's excellent in the film. It's out now. It also, by the way, features maybe the final performance of Michael K. Williams, who we talk about in this conversation as well. So that's powerful in and of itself. But it's not all drama in this conversation. I will say we definitely dive. into some really cool fun stuff, including Star Wars Talk, James Bond talk, Marvel Talk,

and I'm just going to say it. We have a surprise for John. I'm not going to, I'm going to tell you guys what it is. So this is called a tease, but this is more than a tease. I'm going to reveal the surprise because I want you guys to listen to the whole conversation. Daisy Ridley, yes, the voice of Happy Sand Confused makes an appearance on this episode to John Boyega's shock and you're going to want to stick around for that because it is a great moment, and I love Daisy for doing what she did, and you'll see why after you listen. That's all the teases I'm going to give you for today. As always, as I said, follow me on social, Joshua Horowitz on Instagram and Twitter. Check out the Patreon. Patreon.com slash happy, say I'm confused, and give our YouTube channel a

subscribe, a like. YouTube.com slash Josh. Horowitz. All right, here is the main event. Mr. John Boyega and I. Enjoy. Mr. John Boyega, it's good to see you, man. A long time, no, I see it. Indeed, indeed.

Look, we have actors on the podcast all the time, but it's rare when we have an actor, a producer, a fashion icon, a Chewbacca Impressionist, all in one tell. See, that, look, that my credentials is just becoming longer and longer, mate. look you've got backup options if the acting thing doesn't work out exactly i'll see you in Vegas who knows what you're doing you in Vegas mate i see you there how you been i've been all right

i'm holding up okay it's uh yeah i can't believe time has no meaning anymore does it i mean it's it's kind of collapsed but uh it's been a while uh i'm sorry i missed you when you i think you paid a trip through new york i hope you at least paid your respects to mr oscar isaac did you get a chance to break bread did you i didn't i didn't actually was supposed to go to a ufc fight with oscar That's one reason. So, yeah, we're in a rocky, we're in Rockies, you know, water's right now. Are you guys plotting anything? Is there the two-hand or is there true West on stage?

Is there something? I would love to do, I would love to do something, you know. I would love to do something with Ostar. I always bring up his names, he's name when I'm developing something. So I definitely love something with you. So a lot to talk about today. I've seen your excellent new movie breaking. I've also seen The Woman King, by the way.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, got a nice little sneak peek of that one. You got that golden ticket. Exactly, exactly. Hey, I know I have friends in high places. And I think there's even a third one on its way, maybe, is that Netflix films? That one still coming later this year? Yeah, yeah, they clones that a row.

So it's the season of Mr. John Boyega. How does it feel to, like, kind of come out of your shell and be back on the publicity circuit and present in a different way? Look, I mean, like, breaking is a different kind of a movie, your front and center. It's kind of all on you, as opposed to, you know, the 12, ensemble cast members of a Star Wars movie, et cetera. Do you take that responsibility seriously? Do you enjoy it?

Give me a sense of where you're at. I really enjoy it. I mean, if we look at Attack the Block, I mean, that's how I was pretty much found, you know, being central to the story and being an actor who plays the character that forces the story forward. So for me, it's very exciting. There's a huge responsibility.

But at the same time, it's just, you know, a chance to collaborate with the best people, especially people who identify, you know, where you're useful when it comes to this. It's rich material, to say the least, in many respects. Most definitely. I mean, you know, we can talk about it simply as just like a feast for an actor, just like a really fascinating character portrait and, you know, harkens back to your theatrical roots, I know.

And then it has this layer. And look, the last time you were on the podcast, you were talking about Detroit, like, clearly you have chased and rightfully so, these films that both kind of work as almost genre films, but also have real socio-political weight to them, and that must make it feel all the more enriching as an actor. It's a feast

in many respects for you. I mean, I think some of, even when it comes to certain sci-fis, even when it comes to Spielberg sci-fi, a lot of them have social commentary embedded into the story. Yeah. I think just because we are impacted by where we live, we all live on the same planet, even though it might come

across if acts is live on a completely different one. But we most definitely are all still here. We have family members who can give us some perspective. And that will definitely show itself in your work, you know, to a certain extent. Talk to me a little bit about, Brian. This is a story that sadly, I think, not enough know about. And hopefully one of the goals of this is, we're going to shine a light on this man's life. This is a veteran. This is a Marine. This is a guy that kind of felt left behind as many do, not seen, who found himself in a truly tragic situation.

Did this jump out immediately as something that you had to do? Is this an easy yes? Yeah, it was very, very easy. Very easy. The script was really good. And sometimes that's what it's about. When the script is really, really good, then you have something there.

You have an actor that's excited. You have some form of a vision for what you're going to do with the role as well. So you're excited the opportunity it gives you as an actor. And at the same time, you know, I was thinking about the various, other actors it would attract who would be my, my co-stars in it. So as soon as I read the script, I was like, yes, the same day, same day. It's just so well put together and it just made sense. You're a producer on this again and you've produced a few times now and you talk about

collecting some actors. I mean, you know, we got to talk about the great late, great Michael K. Williams who, I mean, he's one of those actors. There was never a false note in anything he did. It was just such a, such gravitas, intensity, but also just like, it felt. it looked easy and clearly it wasn't but that was that was his gift in making it look easy um actor to actor talking about him what made him great when did you see it up close did you did you get it when you finally got a chance to work with him it's it's versatility for me um i want to watch

an actor for the first time and even if the performance is incredible i always take it in and go okay cool i mean it's when i watched them the second and the third time that's when i start to understand and okay, I see what you're on and I see what your, the energy of your consistency, I see what that represents. For Michael specifically, diversity was unmatched. The sensitivity and the element of humanity brought these roles was something that basically just glued to the screen.

I think that regardless of who he played, whoever he killed a man or he supported him, you know, in the stuff that he did, you always knew why, because character-wise, he always had intention when it comes to his facial expressions, his body movement. and he was a very intentional actor. And the voice, I mean, it's something about that voice, you know, that he then likes to change, you know,

he wouldn't always, you know, have the, you know, the O-Marsh spill on it, you know, he would switch up in other things. And I just think that versatility for me is just what excites me about actors like, you know, Daniel DeLewis and Joaquin Phoenix is like they disappear. They're not, it's not about them, you know, and that for me has been really, really interesting and great to kind of connect the dots as a producer and bringing on an actor who I felt was just more than qualified for the job. What's the, I mean, there are many inherent challenges I would expect in a character

like this. I mean, he's a, he's a guy that we get to see in different, you know, he's not a bombastic guy. He doesn't come in like huge. He's, it's very internalized. There's no heist moment with a, you know, the map on the wall and then he busts it through the, with the guns out. All the cliches. No, no, you leave him behind. This is real. This is, this is not that guy. So in a way, Is that more rewarding? It's a different kind of a challenge, I would expect. And did you, because you are such a big, fun personality naturally, just in your day-to-day, well, this is the challenge.

This is what acting is. But talk to me about the rewards of that. That's what's great. So you know, she's got nothing to do with me. And but for Brian, specifically, from reading the first few pages, like this bank high store was awkward from the beginning. Like, it was how I would rob a bank. Like, I'd walk in awkwardly and not know who to talk to first,

I'll be saying please and thank you. That doesn't really, it doesn't really add up. And that is fun to play. That's such a great through line for an actor. The fact that my dialogue, my intention and most likely my facial expressions are not going to add up to the situation and the circumstance, which is more realistic than me fully knowing and coming in and telling everybody to get their head, you know, get down on the floor.

And I do what I would probably want to do, you know, as the kid, at an actor who just wants to play a cool scene. Right. But with this, it was like, no, this is more layered. This is a man that, you know, finds it very, he gets really upset at himself when he shouts too much. He's always saying, sorry, always say, please and thank you. I'm like, this is a very nice robbery.

This feels like, it feels like that's something else. But as an actor, it gives you so much to play. Did you, from what I gather, the real man was a movie fan, a geek, kind of like, liked sci-fi and that kind of thing. it must cross your mind that he probably saw you in film he probably saw I don't even know if he did but it did definitely cross my mind oh I wonder if you watched the at least Fourth Awakens I wonder if he or attack the block or who knows yeah one of those things

I wonder if you had watched it but no I'd you know we haven't heard anything that says that specifically but yeah definitely thought about that in my head or something and every actor is going to be like I wonder if he's um watch my watch my stuff connecting and somewhere in the ether you guys over you yeah Maybe if he liked it, he did. He did. It's safe to say. But I was alluding to this before because it does occur to me like there must be just another level of satisfaction. I don't want to put words in your mouth. But talk to me like, you know, you work with someone like Steve McQueen on red, light and blue. You work with Bigelow on Detroit. And these films that, again, they work as just engaging entertainment, of course. And they engage you and they ignite, you know, they fire the synapses in your brain. But there's more to it. It really, it sparks. conversation. It sparks needed conversation. And that's got to be something that I would think as an artist, once you get a taste of it, you're like, yeah, I want to, I want to be a part of the

conversation. I want to do projects. And again, as you said, sci-fi can do that too. But like these films that really like dive head first into that kind of stuff. I never get to measure how people are going to react. And I don't put too much energy into that because, you know, you use lots human beings, man, you're going to do what you're going to do. Yeah, I got to. Yeah. But, but, But even, you know, that conversation, I feel like, you know, is excited for those conversations to be had because there's certain conversations that are had about your project that you weren't even thinking about. And so you're opened up to, you know, this dialogue with everybody and where everybody's interacting with your movie and everyone's debating it is something that's quite, it's quite exciting to me. I like that. I like audience members who are actually interactive and who are into movies enough to speak about them and debate about them. Yeah. Your director, I read a quote from your director talking about when she met you over Zoom. She said, when we met over Zoom for the first time, it confirmed to me that he had so much to give. He was spiritually and physically in a place of his craft where he was hungry. Does that jive with what you were feeling? Like, where were you at when this came around? I was hungry for the right kind of role. I felt like Hollywood had it twisted, you know? I felt like, all these roles that I'm reading and the opportunities that I'm seeing, I was just like, nah, this is not really. It's not really me.

What were you seeing? Like, what kind of stuff? Just 2D stuff. Well, he did Star Wars, so he probably wants to do that. You know, things like, you know, that kind of mentality. Yeah. Whereas in, I wasn't getting the Steve McQueen approach. I wasn't getting the Viola Davis, Gina Prince approach.

You know, there wasn't a specifics, you know, there wasn't something that kind of gave me an opportunity to elevate. And this just came out of nowhere. And the same day I read, as I said the same day I read it, I was like, yeah, I want to do. This is what I'm talking about. This is what I want to do. I don't want to do no 2D role where I don't want to do a role where it's easy to do. Like, you know, I need a role that is challenging so that the audience, the audience can be entertained in a new fresh way because I do not want to bore my audience at all, you know. And it's also, as you say, about surrounding yourself with excellence. And that gives me a good segue. I do want to mention the woman king, because as I said, I got a chance. to see this. And look, I mean, Viola Davis is royalty, essentially.

I mean, she can do no wrong. And part of the novelty of this is you get to see in a different. It's a given. You don't even, you just say, Violet Davis, yeah. You're in. But you also get to see a new shade of her in this one.

And you, you to my mind get, like, the best gig in this film. You get to wear the cool clothes, be regal, sit on a nice chair and just hang back and be cool. I said, you know what? they say that this is

this kind of role is kind of like being you know a female lead in a sense and I'm like yeah I like it they were all those training and stuff and they you know they work they put they put their efforts into it

and like the the amount of commitment that was required for them to be the warriors was different I felt bad for about two days two days I felt they're all in the gym you're in the spa yeah yeah honestly I thought to my Don't you not want, you know, can't the king come and help?

Can I just, you know, just to assist? Nah, no, no. We weren't having it. It's historically, right, you got to stay your ass and palace. And so I did. And that, that informed my experience. Hey, I had such a good time on that movie. And something was, it was just something special about being in that environment.

And I just, I filmed the woman king right after breaking. so you know it was it was nice to just be in a in a whole different environment couldn't be more different yeah yeah yeah talk to me so we talked about a couple amazing actors you've worked with michael k and and biola who else is on the short list right now besides oscar and obviously every two-hander we can come up with who are you doing who you die to share the screen with who do you want to break bread with i think it's oscar and and and dan ykuluya for sure you know um that'll be amazing to find something a good two-hander a good two-hander to do.

So I just need a producer that actually has IP and some money. I saw you were at the premiere for Nope the other day, right? Yeah, yeah, I was at the premiere for Nope to go and check it out. I'm still, I'm so behind. I've been listening my movie, my geek credit. I haven't seen it yet. Oh, you haven't seen it yet.

Jeez. I'm surprised at you, mate. I know, I don't. Yeah, and, and obviously I've worked with Kiki as well. So I'm like, you know, I'd love to work to wear again. So there's a few, Nicole, I love to work with again. When a two-hand-a situation as well, which will be fantastic. So many people that I'd like to carry it.

You did, correct me if I'm wrong, I think you had a big birthday this year. Was that a marker? Did you like, did you burn the video games on fire when you hit 3-0? Did you leave anything, any childish pursuits behind? No, no, no childish ish. They advance. I have a good balance with them. So they advanced in the next stage.

You're just leveling up on. Yeah. I was in Atlanta. I just had a fun in Atlanta, a whole bunch of friends. Do you think in terms of like phases of careers and like five year plans and that kind of thing? Is it useful to look that far ahead and kind of like, this is what, if Alka's going to plan, this is what it should look like in another five or 10 years? Or is it one day of time? Yeah, I mean, this, you know, self-served motivation is a, is a tricky business. It's like, that's what you need. That's like when you're filing for a self-assessment tax, you know, business that, like, you're an individual.

Like, it's just, the motivation just sometimes comes from you. Right. So, yeah, in moments, definitely you have to have some form of balance so that you can keep that goal. Because I'm a lazy interviewer, and you know this by now after all the times we've talked, I asked for a little help. And I got some help from a friend of ours. Let me just pull this up, and I'm going to give you a little question,

a little question courtesy of a mutual friend. You ready? Mm-hmm. in that it's days um hi josh uh john josh rles me to ask me a question so you guys um and it's actually more of a request i would love you to look josh dead in the eye and convincing me tell him that you are really not part of the marble universe in any way my hero Daisy Ridley doing the hard work she's doing the homework I know

it's for you as well because I know the person she would never ask you that I gave her no instruction you've got a good friend we both do trust me Josh I'm indeed for you trust me Josh I know just I've had no talks no I haven't done no Marvel movies I had no talks for it but I'm going to watch him

I'm a B day in the audience though I'm going to be watching You know, I might go back and see this Spider-Man No Way Home, you know, that they re-release it. But I'm not going to be in it. I'm just going to be in the chair, popcorn, Drake's ball. Daisy doesn't know anything. She doesn't have any inside dope. She's hit him. She's a good source because anything, she'd be one of the first to know.

So she's a very good source. But the question is, though, is she doing a Marvel movie? Because I always, I always said Spider-Woman. I don't know. She was giving. She was giving. She's throwing us off the scent. Yeah, she is.

That was really going on me. It was really going. That's amazing. So you have said that recently. So it can be a sense of, like, why? I mean, I get it. Look, you're working with different kinds of filmmakers and different kinds of films.

You've done the franchise thing a couple different times in different ways. Is it just something like today, 22, this time? It's just not, doesn't feel like that's where you want to put your energy right now. I think after episode seven, like for eight and nine, I wanted to do other things just because, you know, the nature of franchises, it's not a bad thing, just the nature of it. It's a whole bunch

of months and it's hard to squeeze in movies in between. And so with that, you don't get to spend three months showing your versatility and something else and another three months showing your versatility on something else. What you do have is three pitches where you're the same character essentially.

And, you know, I know it's fun for you guys, but that's not fun for me. No, I get it. I would want to have I wouldn't have a chance to at least do other things for now because you have to gain the trust of your audience, man. You've got a franchise, you're covered by visual effects, big marketing team, and all of that. You're covered by that. You've got to do your time on the on the road to winning the hearts and the minds of the audience, you know, organically. And I just want to do my time a bit and just work with several different people and use my time more intelligently, you know.

Do you make the exception when Barbara Broccoli calls and offers you James Bond? do you say, well, actually, wait, everything I just said, take that. Well, as far as I'm concerned, that's not, that's not Marvel.

There's always an out. That's not Marvel. That's, that's a, that's a whole different thing. That ain't Marvel though. That ain't Marvel. And you get to change your clothes

in that. Yeah, a little suit, you get to, you know, it's something about that. But, you know,

it's just, it's just in terms of the, the Marvel thing specifically because they had, you would have to show up a cameo and potentially the TV shows. And then, you know,

after that they might teach a character and then you go away for a bit and then you do one movie and I'm like, hey, Brad, no, no, no. I enjoy watching that, but it's a whole different thought when you're like, oh, being involved in it, it's a whole different type of commitment. I commend the actors that know how to

that know how to do it, man. That's a whole different thing. I know this is a silly line of questioning but just to mention the James Bond thing because I've talked to so many actors over the years about this. Like, what's your attitude about that? Do you do, is it fruitless to even like put that out into the universe? It's like, look, if they're interested,

call me and that's all I can do on my side of it. I'm sorry, but I'm black, I don't know how. It's taught. Come on. What are you talking about? When you, when you, when you black, I don't know how that goes. Really? You don't think they're going to do it?

You don't think they're going to. Look, look, man, you know, you as a white man, a living in a society where you grew up with Bonn as a white man, is that's normal to you. Yeah. Even the mention of a black bond to me is like, oh, okay. You know, I'm just here like, you know, okay, I don't necessarily believe that. But if that's what they're doing, then, you know, okay, that's very surprising to me. But I, as an actor, you just kind of stay out of that conversation.

If it's for you, then maybe, you know, but if it's not, then you, you enjoy it in a movie theater like everybody else. Fair enough, fair enough. Where are we out on Attack the Block? Not only are you returning, you creatively have a major hand in this, as I understand. You're a producer again. So how much of like the development process? It's like, what did you want to see? What were you in broad strokes?

I know, I know you don't want to reveal the secrets right now. But what did you want to see of Moses' story in this one? What did you want to do? That's wanted to see where Moses has been at, considering all the changes between when the movie released in the UK and now. There's been a lot of changes in the UK. You know, those movie sets that you saw that were filmed in a type of block one have now been replaced with some modern, you know, apartments.

You know, it's been a whole bunch of trestification. There's been a lot of it. So you're going to address that, that changing landscape. Yeah, I mean, that's the type of block, man. Attack the Block was, you know, social commentary, you know, with some real messed up monsters and some mad deaths, some, you know. I remember when we brought Attack the Block over to the stage, you know, we were shocked that them kids was getting got.

So it's just one of the movies that has slightly a controversial vibe. It's gory, it's fun, you know, it's obviously a cult classic sci-fi vibe that I want to keep. And Joe Cornish himself wants to keep. But we definitely want an audience to have fun and see a realistic trajectory. of each character after the first movie have you done some casting uh should we expect some new interesting faces no not yet not yet not yet all we do know is that most definitely moses oh come on it's not attack the block without moses yeah yeah and some monsters yeah um theater where's theater at in your head right now whether back home or here in the states are you

thinking about it and you talk about versatility and showing yourself and showing others what you can do there's no better place than the stage yeah i'd love to i'd love to do broadway i'd love to uh to i'd love to go back on stage in the uk as well the last time i was on stage was 2018 i think it was right at the old vick for what i really enjoyed that and i've done that during the star wars movies which was that must have been a nice pallet cleanser just to get it like totally the other end and just yeah i mean it was also tiring but i needed it you know it was it was great for me to go back on staging and to do that yeah and i definitely if it's the right piece i'd love to love to go back on stage again. I just got to do a

got to do a few more of these filmed stuff. We need you back in New York, dude, do the New York stage. Come on, man. Man, I love that. Something good, even if it was off-broad way, I love it. Just the right hand. Let's talk a little bit just your new vantage point on

Star Wars as an observer now as a fan. You're back to being a fan. Are you all caught up? Have you been watching it all? Like, what's your fan? Yeah, man. I mean, I've been watching it all. I would hope, but I don't know. You're dead, man. You know what I mean? I've been there. I've been there. You know, the Obi-Wan is the last thing I watched. I don't know they just announced the, what's the one with Amanda?

Is it Amanda? Amanda Westenberg. Yes. They've just announced that and I'm excited about that. Amanda Lorian, I re-watched. I will watch twice, you know. I mean, I love John Trevor anyway, man, just him as individual. But what he's done with that, you know, I wish I was in those ones. That's real cool.

Yeah, Amanda Lauren's cool, right, though, man. It's real good. So I've been, yeah, I've been staying with it. You know, my battlefront, two characters are very, very strong. What do you want to see now as a fan? If you could bend Kathy Kennedy's year, and you probably could if you really wanted to. Like, we have no films on the horizon. This bums me out.

As much as we're getting all the Star Wars content, I guess it needed a break. But like, it's tricky. I understand why they are taking their time. It's tricky off the mind. It's like, in my head, I go, if. you're trying to continue nine anyway what do you i don't know what you do right but there's you know that's big it's a big star wars universe man go back to the old republic you know see what was going down there we could oh yeah i would love to go back to the old republic and who are those twins

they were these twins that were slightly trained by veda or was there this young kid or was it one guy but there were these twins that were trained i think it was some old republic gameplay footage when i played a few years ago uh-huh story and that was story and that was dope because we just need that. Star Wars is fun, but I always love the heartbreak of Obi-1 and Anakin. I always love that heartbreak. I always love the decision between the dark and light. If they would explore some stuff like that, I'd definitely go and watch. Did you ever go back and, because it's crazy now that the Colin's script is out there, but you can read the Colin Travaro's script for his dual of the face. Yeah. Of episode nine? Yeah. Like Google, it's there. It's just there waiting for, and I can't, I can't

read that one because I'll be heartbroken because I was, I had a sit down with Colin. And when I tell you that's one of the best Star Wars movies at Star Wars meetings I'd ever had because it felt like two nerds that were like, yes, that's what we want to see.

And then, and then, like, yeah, you know, that, you know, that kind of thing. And I saw the art, you know, Storm Trooper Rebellion. I'm like, that stuff was cold and hopefully Lucasfilm give him an opportunity down the line to, you know, maybe work on something else. you know, because I'm sure they, I'm sure they would love to collaborate with him again, you know, in any capacity.

How was, this is my last thing, because we now haven't spoken since Star Wars, how was the force-sensitive stuff explained to you? Like, was that only brought up when episode nine came around, or like, was it ever discussed in the previous films that Finn could be, would be force-sensitive? It was a discussion from seven that was kind of brewing because you didn't know which way it was going to go. Right. and then eight eight went in another direction right so I think with eight going in another direction when you're bringing someone for the third

they have to kind of like appreciate what's happened in eight and then still try and make a narrative of it and JJ I mean JJ really want false awakens is the movie that JJ directed he was kind of pinpointed plotting a trajectory but obviously with the different creative differences in the middle and then getting to the third it's kind of like he still he still wanted to you know just force it in there just squeeze it in there

so that's where you get the moment between fin and jana and janet asked him how do you know and he just says it's a feeling he just had to get something in there that that told you why there was a stormtrooper who held his own long enough against a sift you know or a new and you a new syph wannabe in to a certain extent, you know, you look at a lot. So it was, it was interesting, you know, when those talks were coming in the fresh stage. And I thought, obviously, you know, you get the lightsaber, you start swinging and defending. I'm like, nah. Yeah, this could be right. Yeah, yeah. Last time I checked, you can't even just swing that, you know, a certain type of way. When Hahn was holding it briefly, what did you do? He held it to like get the locks off or something. It was like manual labor,

but you know, you're just using it to defend and, you know, you defend your friend. You must have something in you, but you know, who knows if maybe down the line they, they have like a younger actor or whatever and they chance to expand on Finn. Who knows if we get that? You know, we can get to see like, what, what is it about this dude that made him so, made him so special? I asked you, as I've been asking all guests the last couple of years, where we've needed more comfort than ever for a comfort movie. And I understand you're a Studio Ghibli fan. This is our, Our second Studio Ghibli pick, I think Joseph Gordon Leavitt actually chose my neighbor.

Oh, okay, okay. So you're joining an elite cool club. Yeah, that's a cool, that's a cool club. Yeah, you make me feel relaxed. So educate, I'm not the, I should, I should know Miyazaki better. I should know these films better. Educate me, I know you, I know, I'm disappointing you at all fronts.

What's, can you pinpoint one of them? I know you sent over three different choices. What's the one? There's a Laputa Castle in the sky. that I really love, which is just a really good anime about this young kid who's trying to just find out who he is and he falls in with some pirates and there's this gold jewel that he has and a lost girl that he finds and there's this distant planet with these robots that have been dead for a minute that he explores. For me, about anime, it's just the way the stories

are told. You mean, you pitch it on paper and you're like, what, what is that about? But when you watch it visually, there's a combination of things, the music, the I watch it. Japanese too with the subtitles because I just like to hear the fluidity of their language. It just makes me feel comfort. That is alongside other anime that I watch like proper anime long, long ride kind of shows like Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan and a few things that I enjoy. It just gives me comfort. It makes me want to get out of snacks and just twiddle my toes.

I need to dive in more. I just get intimidated. Can I be frank? I turn these on Netflix and I see like 700 hours of these things. And I'm like, it's like the same thing I feel. when I turn on like Doctor Who and I see like 40 seasons of it. I'm like, where do I even begin? So what's the start?

I want to give you like a filler-free way of watching it. Because with these episodes, what you're going to do is go online and find out what the filler episodes are. They're going to hate me for this. Guys, this is what all the nerds do. I know what the filler episodes are and then just take them out and they just watch the actual main story so that you can just start from the beginning. And you know, you don't want to hear about Naruto's day to go and get some ramen.

That's boring. I just want to skip that. It's not sweep-sweak. That's not, no. You want to skip that. You want to see when he's going to fight Madera when the, you know, the madness is going down, you know. So you try and get those lists and then start from episode one like any show, but it will just

take out all the filler episodes that may make it longer than it. It really is, you know. These are valuable tips. This is practicality. We're busy guys. Yeah, man. You know, you've got to work smart, man. Who introduced you to anime and all this?

Like, who is the biggest influence in your life in terms of your pop culture sensibilities? Or did you find this all on your own? Yeah, it was me. It was me. It was after I attacked the block, I think, that Naruto was making it's round in the UK and I was a HMV member. I used to go to, this is a way they used to sell DVDs and, I think they still do, but there's a few left. But yeah, so HMV was the place you go get some DVDs and stuff. So I used to go down there and collect my DVDs. That's where I got the wire and all the, you know, all the movies. And there I saw a box set of Naruto and that was the original series.

I watched that. I watched it. I was just like, this is actually, it's actually good. You know what I mean? So I was just into the, into the culture after that. And isn't there something satisfying when it's like you, yeah, I mean, for me too, I remember like wandering the VHS, like to date myself, like the blockbuster aisles and finding your own path and being like, wait, does anybody else know about this? Like, I found this. And it's like, it's like, you know, I think online I had been seeing clips of it, like on YouTube and people were like, what is this? Like, they were like, they were like, like several different clips that were being released online at the time. And there was news around about, you know, there were several different people saying that they would, Naruto was coming to cons. And, you know, my anime, you know, nerd friends that had at the time were kind of like,

yeah, you got to check out this anime is really good. So I was like, yeah, let me just check it out. And after that, I was like, yeah, you know what? This is really good. This is really good. And that was my first introduction into this, into anime one. So we secreted into the universe and actors you want to work with. Any filmmakers, who's on the short list right now?

because you've done this really interesting balance of like these titans these like established folks again the bigelows the McQueen's and then these first time filmmakers newcomer i need to work someone unknown who has who has a new and fresh vision um a projects where we can we can really imagine hard that we can find something that is outside of the box something that i've never done done before and i find that i enjoy those experiences when it's a first time you know when it's kind of like you know someone fresh that obviously has the credentials, has the skill sets, has this trust of the studios. But then at the same time, you know, has this unique perspective that they just want to be seen on film. I'd love to. I'd love to join something like that.

And there's something to be said for like almost feeling like you have something to prove as both an actor and a filmmaker, that fire that... Yeah. That's really intense. Every role that I feel like critically have been praised for, I took the role because I wanted to prove something, you know, in performance. And even when it comes down to small acts, you know,

the meeting, myself and Steve McQueen had was kind of like a call to action rather than a kind of like an industry meeting. It's kind of like, you got a show of this. We got to do this. And we see how that turned out. So I've just been trying to search for things that, you know, best suit where we're going. My final question is, what can I expect from the clone Tyrone?

Sounds like a different kind of a story given the ones we've been talking about today. What's what tease me? Taran. Taran is just, you know, that's just mixed up in a whole bunch of fun mystery. You could expect a charismatic cast and, to be honest, one of the best ensembles

that I've seen in the minute. Jamie Fox in there? Tiava Paris, myself in there, you know, and a few other people. Okay. We'll have a different kind of conversation maybe for that one.

We'll definitely be talking about that one. Excellent. I apologize in behalf of Daisy Ridley for grilling you. She's just relentless. Tell her, I love it. She can group me any day. I love her.

You and me both. I love her. And I love you, man. Congratulations on everything. It's always a blast talking to you. It's been too long. Breaking is the new film. And everybody check that out as well as the Woman King.

It's the season of Boyega. Out Friday. Go check us out. Support film in the middle tier. We don't have visual effects and flying stuff. But we have a story that I feel like you lot are going to enjoy. So, you know, big love. Got my vote.

Always, always there for you. Thanks again. Appreciate it. Bye. Good see you, mate. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh.

Goodbye, Summer Movies, Hello, Fall. I'm Anthony Devaney. And I'm his twin brothers. James. We host Raiders of the Lost Podcast, the Ultimate Movie Podcast, and we are ecstatic to break down late summer and early fall releases. We have Leonardo DiCaprio leading a revolution in one battle after another, Timothy Salome playing power ping pong in Marty Supreme. Let's not forget Emma Stone and Jorgos Lanthamos' Bougonia. Dwayne Johnson's coming for that Oscar in The Smashing Machine, Spike Lee and Denzel teaming up again, plus Daniel DeLuis' return from retirement. There

There will be plenty of blockbusters to chat about two. Tron Aries looks exceptional, plus Mortal Kombat 2. And Edgar writes, The Running Man starring Glenn Powell. Search for Raiders of the Lost podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.