Happy Sad Confused - Michael Shannon

Episode Date: September 21, 2015

A truly unique and fascination individual, actor Michael Shannon joins Josh this week to talk about his rough high school years, his favorite Star Wars character, preparing for his role in 99 Homes, and his experience meeting David Lynch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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I am Josh Horowitz, your fearless leader, and happy, sad, confused, my weekly podcast, my weekly interview podcast, bringing you the best and the brightest in the world of entertainment. This week's guest is a gem, a gem of a man. A truly unique individual by the name of Mr. Michael Shannon. I'm obsessed with Michael Shannon, and you should be too. If you listen to this, you probably are, because you're a good judge of great acting. Michael Shannon is an Oscar nominee way back went for Revolutionary Road. He has since, I mean, he has way too many credits to list, and they're all so varied, everything from the runaways to Man of Steel. He's starring in a new film called 99 Homes.

This is happy, sad, confused history, by the way, guys, because this is the second week in a row that the podcast has featured a star of one film. So that must mean that we like 99 homes, and we do. I don't know why I'm saying we. I do. Last week's guest, of course, was Andrew Garfield. This week is his co-star in 99 homes, Michael Shannon. The film is tremendous. It opens on September 25th.

You guys should really check it out. Features two stellar performances from these gentlemen, as well as Laura Dernan. a host of other folks, very interesting subject matter and just a riveting, a thriller, if you can imagine that something set in the world of the housing crisis being a great thriller. It actually is. So Michael, back to Michael, some things you should know going into this podcast. Michael Shannon is a, he's a crazy man. He's not quite right in the head.

I mean that as the utmost of compliments. I find him endlessly amusing. He is the driest of dry. I find him hysterical. I think a lot of people, frankly, have trouble talking to him. I've talked to fellow folks in entertainment, journalism, et cetera, who've talked to him that have trouble with him. I, for whatever reason, feel like I key into Michael Shannon speak. I know how to speak his language.

This conversation is really out there. It might be actually one of, if not my favorite, podcast that I've done. Just because it's kind of 40 minutes of random, a lot of non sequiturs, a lot of dry humor, a lot of just weirdness. And it was really my cup of tea. And I think it'll be your cup of tea if you like Michael Shannon because he's, he's the best out there. I mean, I can't gush enough about him. He's tremendous.

And this is a podcast I long wanted to do. So I'm glad he stopped by. Some further context. We referenced a couple things in this that you might want to look up, either before, during, or after the podcast. We've done a couple sketches over the years that I referenced, that we reference. One was called Adorable Things, which was playing off of his very scary image, a very funny sketch.

I'm very proud of. You can look that up online. lesser known, more people, a bunch of folks saw that one. Not many people saw the escort with Michael Shannon. Google the escort, Michael Shannon, Josh Harowitz, and you'll find a perverse, strange, comedic sketch that I think is really fun, but it kind of slipped under the radar at the time when we put it out there. So know about that. We talk about that. Michael also, at various points during this podcast, decided to play with the General Zod action figure that I happen half on my desk. Complete coincidence, by the way. I did not think about that going in that I had

a General Zodd action figure. But, you know, it's fate. What can I say? I'm obsessed. What else to say? I got back from the Toronto Film Festival this past week. There's a lot of cool stuff that we've already put up on MTV's YouTube page that I'm very proud of. A fun interview with Nichols Holt and Kristen Stewart. I dub smashed with each of them. My first dub smashing ever guys. Marshall Wood was the first dub smash I did. She taught me how to do it. She taught me in Toronto. She tweeted that out. It's very fun. And then Kristen and I did, there's no crying in baseball from a league of their own. She's amazing in it. I just basically cry and whimper, which is pretty easy for me. And then Nicholas Holt and I, Nicholas basically saw that Kristen and I were dub smashing. He proceeded to show me some dub smash videos of his own that he's been doing, which are epic. And hopefully he will release out into the world because I can't say. too much, but trust me, the world will enjoy them. And he chose that one himself. That was bring out the gimp from Pulp Fiction. So Toronto was a blast. I saw a bunch of good movies. A lot of them are out or about to come out. Already out is Sicario and Black Mass, which are

very good new films. Freehelt's coming out soon. That's Michael Shannon is also in that one. And a lot of cool, fun interviews to come. Had a lot of fun conversations. with people that we've done we've had on the podcast and some we haven't out of the podcast so look out for that keep checking on TV's YouTube page for new fun cool conversations also it's a busy time guys I mean it's we're in a award season so the movies are kind of coming fast and furious I'm actually I'm taping this introduction on Sunday afternoon mere hours before it goes out into the world because I'm about to go interview Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro about their new movie, The Intern, which is the new comedy from Nancy Myers. It's fun. I think if you like Nancy Myers films, you know, what women want, it's complicated. Something's got to give. Definitely in line with those and an enjoyable piece of work. But I'm kind of nervous because Anne Hathaway's easy enough to talk to. I've talked to her a bunch. De Niro is a tricky one. I've interviewed him only a couple times and he's not the easiest talker.

If you've ever seen him on talk shows, he's not, it's not his cup of tea. But, uh, so I'm doing that. And then, um, a lot of other stuff going on. I'm off to the set of Neighbors 2 this week. Going to reunite with Zach Efron and Seth Rogan. Um, God, so much, so much. Oh, we're doing some sketches this week. I don't want to talk about them yet until they've actually come to fruition, but some cool

after hour sketches are an offing as well. So, um, it's a busy time, guys. What can I say? So in the meanwhile, before we plunge into this Michael Shannon madness, remember to hit me up on Twitter, Joshua Horowitz. Let me know who you want to hear, what you're digging, what you're not digging. I'm there for you guys. And in the meantime, you know, set in your calendar Friday, September 25th, 99 homes. Check it out. So you can see both two podcast guests from Happy Second Fuse, not one but two, Andrew Garfield. And the brilliant, the brooding, the slightly scary. the fantastically amusing Mr. Michael Shannon enjoy

it's been too long yeah it's what I was saying when you when you woke up this morning and knew that you were going to talk to me how did what did that feel you with what emotion I mean is this wrong have this started do you want to have started

are the machines on the machines are always on when I knew I was going to talk to you this morning I actually when I woke up this morning I couldn't I didn't remember that I was going to be talking to you I didn't remember much of anything

But then I was like where am I Literally where are you Yeah Is your family with you in town right now Or is they back in Chicago No they're in Chicago Yeah

Do you notice what's on my wall here Would I stare at every day It's his Michael Shannon a non-sexual escort cash only. It's a fond memory for me. Yeah, you know, it wasn't as popular as our first one. It wasn't. It wasn't.

But I think it's an undiscovered gem that I think people should look up in retrospect. Well, when do you think that's going to happen? I'm in this for the long haul, aren't you? Yeah. You need immediate gratification. Like 20 years from now? I don't know. There are those of the honeymooners lost episodes.

It's that kind of thing. Could be like one of our... You could be laying in a nursing home somewhere. Somebody walk in right before you've been. breathe your last breath. Yeah. And they say, you remember that non-sexual escort clip you did?

That sucked. You should die. Then they put the pillow over my face. Exactly. Will that be you? Yeah. It's one way to go. I saw you in Toronto.

We talked about free hell today. You want the inception totem? It's a top, I'm assuming this is a top. I mean, considering this is a race. video show it should be on it's you can make any sounds you want is that it going that's the inception totem did you see inception remember yeah inception what a movie did you like it what's next question okay fair enough enough um hey chris nolan i'm sure he's listening right now he's a big fan well i feel

like of me or you well i was going to say i have a great deal of respect for you all right And that's hard to come by In this day and age The polite thing would be for you to reciprocate in some In some way Oh, that's from the movie Frank Yeah, I loved Frank How about Frank?

Are you going to also diss that movie too? It was all right I like Scoot McNary in there I thought he was wrong with Scoot's always great, right? Me and him are in a prodig campaign together I was going to say, you're looking very stylish lately in Prada ads

Yeah And Ty, Ty Sheridan It's the three of us. We're the big guns for the fall line. Did you ever think you would be a Prada male model? Of course. Is that the goal? It's kind of what I've been training for all along.

This is my circuitous 25-year plan to Prada. That was in the high school yearbook, most likely to become a Prada model. Oh, I didn't get the high school yearbook. I couldn't afford it. Well, I didn't have enough money. Seriously? Yeah. I was homeless.

You were homeless in high school? For a couple days. Where were you? What was going on? I stayed over by the football stadium. What was going on in your life that you were homeless, though? Without getting you on the couch and making you cry the first five minutes of our conversation. Yeah, I mean, I'm still sobering up from last night.

Was high school a happy time? No. Hell no. It was awful. It was a disaster. Was that because of school? because of family, because of everything? Well, I just wasn't, I wasn't, nobody was interviewing me in high school.

So there was a big, there was a big black hole in my life. Yeah. I was, I knew there was something that I was longing for, but I didn't know what it was. And it wasn't until I started doing interviews that that hole got filled. That satisfaction. Yeah. Satisfication. I was coming up with a new version.

Did you have a good time in Toronto? Toronto is great. It's great. You get up and you talk all day long and then you go get inebriated and then you stay out too late and then you get up too early and do it again. Is that what it's like for you? Pretty similar. You don't drink, though, do you? I drink a little.

Why do you say that? Why do you think I don't drink? I just don't see what type? You seem very with it. Really? Yeah. That's the nice thing you've ever said to me. Very coherent.

Really? Yeah. Oh, I forgot I had that on my desk too. Michael has just picked up. What have you picked up? This is General Zod. I mean, this is General Zod. This is also General Zod in my hand.

It's the action figure. What is he doing there? I've always been mystified by this. particular version he's holding some green things in his hands i don't know what these are what he's hoping to do with them he's slamming them together yeah no wonder he lost i mean this just isn't how you get it done you know i don't even know how to make this work you squeeze the legs together oh that usually works yeah oh my god how that's that's the sound of General Zod

hitting the actor who played General Zad in the head with green plastic sticks. Eat your heart out inception. The universe is folded

in on itself. Yeah, exactly. Do you have a whole stack of those at home? Did you get paraphernalia from that movie? They gave me

like a statue that's about yay high for everybody at home. Two or three feet high. Yeah, it's about yay high. And they let me keep all the underpants that I wore. Oh, that's nice.

That's sweet. So, wait, back to Toronto, I saw a photo of you and Patrick Stewart. Yeah. Did you meet some new, make some new friends? Well, you know, I always really love Star Wars, so it was a real treat to get to meet him. You know, that's not, he wasn't in Star Wars. Star Wars, yeah. Star Trek.

Star Trek. Yeah, I mean, I remember when I was a little boy. And I saw Star Wars for the first time. And who did he play in Star Wars again? The captain. Yeah, and Star Trek. Yeah, so I'm looking forward to the new one. I hear it's coming out in like 100 days or something.

Yeah, we were talking about that. You wanted to play Grito. Grito, but then you busted me. Well, you are such a poser, dude. The one thing to know about Grito, he has literally one scene. Do you recall what now? Did it come back, flashing back when I mentioned it? He's got those big eyes.

He's got these green, scale. Billy, kind of looks like a big lizard. Well, I think the reason he was my favorite is because when I was a little boy, my favorite colored it was green. Okay. Does that make sense? I mean, in a twisted Michael Shannon logic sort of way, sure, yeah, that makes sense. So I liked a guy who was all green.

Right. No, that makes sense. So, where to begin? Oh, yeah, you were asking me if I respected you. Of course. Of course I respect you, Josh. I mean, this is a very fancy office. Do you have an office at home?

No. No, I don't. I do my business on the streets. In relative seriousness, when you're preparing for a role, what does it look like in your home? Are you just sort of like, is there a lot of pacing back and forth? Like, is there some active motion that happens that I can see that, oh, Michael John is actively getting at. I build like a fort. I take the pillows off the couch

I get a sheet I take my script and I go on my little pillow for it Yeah that's study That's daddy's acting for it guys Don't go over there Don't disturb him No I don't know

It's different for every part You know every Every shoe gets a different shine You know what I mean Right I mean for I don't know which movie I'm supposed to be talking about

I guess 99 homes Since the woman from Bradgreen Is sitting three feet away from me I see her motioning in the corner Yeah for 99 homes I prepared by leaving my house and going Florida and meeting a guy who does a lot of the things that my character does in the movie yeah so what's the

like smoky cigarettes and right because I no he doesn't he actually doesn't smokey cigarette but he was a real estate broker is a real estate broker it's honestly I had actually just had Andrew Garfield came in last week to do the podcast of Corey I'm a fan of this movie and oh wow yeah um when you're gonna bring in uh rameen rameen you can bring in rameen you can bring in uh well anyway go ahead no i was just gonna say i mean i think it the movie i think it works on a number of levels i mean it's it's you know you don't want something to just sort of be like a polemic like something that's just sort of like you know like beating down like a message

movie 10 commandments yeah literally um it it works as a thriller works as as a kind of a character study too I mean, what's, you know, it's the cliche question, but what is the deciding factor in something like this? Is it Rameen? Is it the part that? Oh, to do the movie? Yeah. Well, I thought it was long overdue.

I mean, you know, this is something that happened a few years ago, and it didn't really seem like anybody was willing to go near it with a 10-foot pole. Probably because they thought, you know, they wouldn't be able to make a real estate crisis in a movie. but that would be compelling or whatever. But I think it's an amazing opportunity to see up close what was really going down, you know? Because until I made this movie, all of this was just something I read about in the paper.

Yeah. And I didn't, there wasn't a human face on it. And the thing is, is nobody's ever going to see that. It's not like you can see this happening to people. It's a very private thing. like when I was doing research I didn't go on an eviction

because I didn't think it'd be appropriate for an actor to be standing there when somebody was getting evicted from their house you know saying oh yeah I'm doing research keep going doing what you're doing yeah yeah please keep crying you're great this is helping me a lot you know so how do you get

to humanize this very experience has been wrapped in a bunch of legalese and financial mumbo-jumbo and see the actual impact that it had on people. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's a heartbreaking, what the, I mean, the eviction we see of Andrews character. It's as heartbreaking as I think you'll see in a movie this year. It feels as personal as you can get.

I also really wanted to work with Noah Lomax. I've been a big fan of his for a long time. I don't know, Noah. He plays the little boy. Oh, he's the kid. You're a fan of the kid. Yeah. Yeah, I actually have a fan club.

Noah Lomax fan club Every actor deserves one Yeah What do you get in the Michael Shannon fan club What's sent to you You should have Noah come on Sure You can ask

He's like I don't really know what I was doing I just kind of did Whatever I was supposed to do I'm open to it next week This is now to do 99 homes Podcast Yeah yeah

99 homes And now It's craft service From 99 homes Well we didn't have much of a budget It's a different It's a different kind of a role That people don't necessarily expect for you

I would say that's probably part of the appeal I mean he's kind of like a seductive character he's kind of reminded me of that Gordon Gecko Wall Street relationship Yeah I've heard that thing But to me he's more like Like like I could see like Paul Newman Playing this guy

It's like one of them Wheel of Dealer types It's kind of like color of money or something Colored money poster right behind you Man That's a badass movie I love that movie right Holy moly

it's an underrated Scorsese movie I feel like well hell yeah right I agree they shot part of it in Chicago the um you worked with Mr. Scorsese yeah but it wasn't very um you know on boardwalk on that pilot

it was very excuse me the sound I'm moving something I'm doing a little mic adjustment please you're the professional here um so anyway doing the pilot for boardwalk was like

very exciting but it was a very technical experience like we didn't have a lot of time together to really get into something although no the first scene I did with him was fun it was me and Michael Pitt

getting into it that was fun that was kind of had some but a lot of the scenes I did were more just like sitting there glowering or whatever there's not a lot to say Are there, is he on that list? I mean, are there certain filmmakers that you feel like you would,

intuitively you feel like you would get along with and crash with you? Chris Columbus. Chris Columbus? Seriously? John Abnet. This is a random way. What? You're just making, because you're a big fried green tomatoes fan?

Robert Zamekis. I do love Zemachus. Did you know his father was a construction worker? I don't think I did know that. We learned that at the Lincoln Center last night. Oh. Yeah. They have a TV screen that tells you fascinating trivia.

Okay. Yeah. So were any of those real, or were they all real or none real? What was the first filmmaker you got obsessed with as a kid? I don't know. I mean, the first movie that really knocked me out was Starman. When I saw Starman, I was like, oh, wow. This is pretty, pretty exceptional.

But like, I don't know, Dave and Lynch, I guess. I was going to say, I noticed that Lynch produced one of the films that's the Werner Yeah, but that was, that was, that was, that was a, that was a weird thing because this is what happened is Eric Bassett, who is, uh, or was at the time, I'm not sure about now, but Eric Bassett was, uh, David Lynch's business partner. like he kind of ran the business side of David's company right and Eric was producing my son my son so he went to David and said hey David can I you know put your name on this and so it wasn't like he was on set or yeah basically we got to the end of shooting and I went up to Eric and I said man David Lynch is probably one of my favorite directors ever and I was hoping he would come to set or something, but he never did.

And Eric was like, oh, you want to meet him? I'm like, yeah. Yeah, that's kind of why I'm here. I mean, not entirely. I mean, it was also pretty cool hanging out with Bernard Herzog. Sure. He said, okay. So he let me go up to his house in the hills.

Lynch has this kind of compound, you know, because he's got a studio there, recording studio. and editing suite and all this stuff. And then he also lives there. So I walked in, he was, Lynch was like finishing something up. And he was like, ah, be right with you. I went in this room and his little meeting room. And he had this David Lynch coffee, you know, the coffee being, yeah.

So I was drinking his coffee. I was there with Michael Pena, actually, because Michael was also in the movie and also wanted to meet him. And so then a few minutes later, he came in, and I got to sit and talk to him for about 20 minutes. So what do you talk about? What's the, what do you, do you, do you, do you, do you, yeah, I couldn't really say much. I mean, I was, it's kind of like, you know, some girl seeing the Beatles in 60 years ago. Right. I just, um, try not to pee, you know. That's always good

advice. Yeah. Unless you're, unless you're in a restroom. Right. Then you're supposed to. Right. Well, well, one of the two yeah yeah right the um i'm glad he's back working he's doing twin peaks again he talked about transcendental meditation for 20 minutes he's very big into that that's his thing which i think it's ironic to have somebody who's really into meditation and coffee right a stimulant i know that and relaxing yeah yeah um he is she's doing that twin peaks thing but you know my phone's not ringing unfortunately right now it's on silent he could be calling he probably is yeah um okay so little michael shannon let's talk about little michael shannon jesus all right what um because you're the aspiration was

not to be a big-time movie actor like you turned out to be is that what i am yeah you're a big-time movie actor and theater actor clearly but wow yeah that's amazing yeah how did i do it this just hit you well it helped that you did some some sketches that nobody saw with me yeah um somebody mentioned adorable things last night oh yeah at the national board of review screening for 99 home one of rameen students oh that's she's like hey yeah you did a good job in the movie that adorable thing sketch though wow that's transcendental transcendent yeah the thing you spent 20 minutes on versus the thing you spent six months on exactly look but uh you what about my little version yeah I'm just so

were you when did when did you realize when did you think okay acting is something I really want to seriously do when I got tired of recycling cans like that it's got to be a better way to make money it's five cents a pop it doesn't it's just a doesn't add up. Yeah, and even the generic cigarettes aren't cheap. Right. When I was a kid, my dad encouraged me to recycle and he said he would match whatever I brought in to get the five cents for.

So it was an incentive for me. Wow. Our government should adopt that kind of. Right. It's the Larry Harrowitz edict. Yeah, the Larry Harrow's Master Plan. It's going to change everything. I was acting.

in high school, I, yes, that's how it started. That's when the fever usually catches for most young people, high school. Were you getting immediate validation from that? Where people immediately like, oh, you're actually pretty good at this? No, I still kind of like pretty much like a freak. My junior year in high school, I did Harvey.

I played Dr. Chalmley and Harvey. And that was amazing for a lot of people. There's still people talking about it. That's horrible things in that production of Harvey. Yeah, yeah. 25 years ago. And I also did Taming of the Shrew. I played the Dad Baptiste.

See, back then they would get me to play the old guys in the play because I had a wisdom that was ahead of my years. just come from height from no it was wisdom oh that was the actual but now i've caught up to my wisdom so actually now i'm behind it so so under it is is it weird because you talk about being kind of like you know well we didn't use this term but like you sound like you felt like an outsider to a degree maybe i don't want to put words in your mouth extremely yeah is it weird to like now be in a place where you're like deciding who lives and who dies basically No, but you are the actor's actor.

You're the, you are very well respected. Yes. Yes, it's true. I mean, is that something that is weird to reconcile? Can you ever kind of like just accept accolades and like actually feel good about that? Or does it always like, I'm a fraud, I'm a phony, what are these people seeing that I don't? Oh, I don't think I'm a fraud. I mean, I worked my little tushie off or my big medium-sized tushy.

Right. Tushy is a word that's not used enough nowadays. I feel like. Well, I didn't want to go blue. You can't if you need to. Well, I'm of 34 waist, 34 inseam. So whatever Tushy you think that is. I think it's a medium.

When I go to American Peril to get short, short, so I usually get medium or large. The medium's run tight. Right, right. But that, I work hard for the money. I don't know. It's been 25 years. You think, thank God they came around. No.

I mean, look, the bottom line is, all that matters is whatever you're doing right now. Like, if you did something good in the past, that's great. But, I mean, I could go out and suck tomorrow. But I don't know. I think it's just about maintaining your interest in what you're doing. So not getting lazy. I feel like right now, it seems like you, I mean, you work with some of the best directors consistently.

It seems like you have a bevy of interesting opportunities that are, does it feel that way to you right now that you are constantly stimulated by what's being offered to you? Or is, is it few and far between to find stuff that really is exciting? I've been on a good role. I mean, like, I just did like six movies in a row and they were all movies that I wanted to do. I don't really go punch the clock very often. Right. If I'm there, it's usually because I think there's something to chew on.

In the early days of doing film, did it feel like you were kind of like, if this is all it's going to be, is it worth it? I.e. like, you know, when you're doing stuff like the Bruckheimer films, et. The stuff that's paying the bills, that's maybe not necessarily as satisfying. Well, but that was a, don't cough when I'm answering your questions. I'm going to edit that out. When I was doing those movies, the Brookhiver movies, I was in a very different position in my life. I was a position.

That sounds naughty. Back to the tuition. Yeah. I, you know, those were incredibly exciting. Like, when I did Pro Harbor, I'd never done anything like that in my life. so that has its place you know like i'm very grateful that i had those experiences did michael pay ever yell at you yeah but we got along really well like he uh i understood him i think i understood we had a similar sense of humor i mean the thing about him is if you

just give him shit back then then he likes you right he only he it's just like um pretty much anybody who's like that you just got to let them know that at the end of the day you just don't really give it shit and then they relax if you if you get all upset about it then they right go for the jugular right i'm like you know what i don't really care what um what gets you what gets you upset on a set what'll what'll set you off it's all over the internet isn't it i don't know is it clips of me exploding on That's Christian Bell. That was different.

That's different guy. That's not me? No. I thought that was me. No, no, no. Dude, that's not you. Oh. I got confused.

Yeah, I don't like it when people walk in my eye line. Is that true? I don't know. I don't know. What pisses me on? Well, you know, not much. I guess I don't know Maybe if somebody

Like wasn't Prepared or something Right And even then I mean For me It's all about staying relaxed Mm-hmm

I mean I knew enough Ranting and raving in my home life I don't need to bring that to the set You know what I mean What relaxes you What gets you into the The zone I don't know

I mean usually I'm really tired because they usually make you wake up real early in the morning so that helps it's like I'm just tired right then you I don't know

I don't know I mean what is there to get upset about right we're all doing something pretty cool that how many people get a chance to do yeah I mean maybe if I feel like it's not going well

then I'll get upset right I'm like, oh, this isn't good enough. Because, you know, sometimes they rush things, if they don't have a lot of money, which is most of the movies I make, don't have a lot of money. So then you've got to go real fast. And sometimes it feels like it's too fast. Right. Not like being on your show.

We're relaxed here. We're taking our time. Yeah, exactly. You misinterpreted what I said This is David Lynch's favorite podcast He does all his TM to this So he's got the coffee in one hand Keep going

No what would you like to talk about I feel like there's something on your mind That's odd again That's odd playing with Zod again When you did that I never did this No, when you were in the film. Did you anticipate did anybody discuss that maybe the hardcore fans would be upset

when General Zod's neck was broken? Were you surprised? I was surprised by that. But, yeah, I didn't know people had a real issue with Superman killing somebody. I guess he's not supposed to do that. Maybe they just loved you so much. They just didn't want to see you die. No.

I think it was more like a rule of Superman. Like, he's not supposed to kill him. buddy right but there's that line where i say look man somebody's gonna die it's either me or you so figure it out and then i'm about to smoke that little family there right about to hit that kid with my uh i was trying to figure out what these things are called i can't remember yeah is it yeah but is that that's heat vision yeah so if i go to like the dc encyclopedia i think would say heat vision

You need to consult me on things like this, on this, on Grito, on Patrick Stewart. Like, these are areas where I can be a service to you. Yeah, you should come with me to these interviews. I think it'd be a real eye-opening experience. For me to see the other side? Yeah, how the professionals do it. I saw you, speaking of which, I watched your Letterman appearance this morning. This morning?

Yeah, I watched it. I mean, I just refreshed. You're a little slow on the uptake. Okay, come on. He's off the air. know. It was interesting to see you in that environment because I felt like it was to see an actual like giddy, maybe slightly nervous.

Like it seemed like a big deal to you. Yes, Letterman was off his game. It seemed like it was a big deal for you as opposed to when you talk to me and you're just being forced at gunpoint. Right. So you're excited because you saw me being vulnerable? Is that what I'm, that's what I've been searching for for years. You have this veneer up with me at all times.

Well, yeah, I mean, I'm not going to lie. I mean, I've been watching David Letterman since I was a little tyke. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, there's nobody even comes close to David Letterman. I agree. I mean, all these gentlemen are, well, I was going to say they're all lovely. Some of them are lovely. But none of them are really as funny as David Letterman. Yeah.

I do like Jimmy Fallon. I've been on his show a couple times. She's always real nice. And they give you really good cookies when you do that show. Is that right? Yeah. What kind of cookies? Those little like Mama Fouco balls.

Oh, the milk bar cookies. Yeah, the milk bar cookies. Those truffles, they're little truffles. Yeah, yeah, birthday cake. Birthday cake. That's the best one. Yeah. Yeah, but they also give you the cookies like the blueberry and the compost and the, yeah.

It's really good guys. Yeah, they give you a little pile of compost. Well, no, no, the compost cookies is the one of the name of the cookies. Yeah. Do you get any freebies when you're nominated for an Oscar? Did they give you, like, goodies? You get, like, trips to, like, Maui for no reason and stuff like that? I got some sessions of a free primal scream therapy.

That's not true. You were doing that anyway. Have you ever done that? What else did they give you? They give you, like, spanks, a lot of spanks. Oh, really? Yeah. That's good.

Well, I was kind of porking it back then, you know? You were very lean and mean right now. I'm going on the way. back up for the next role or just because I just stopped caring yeah I don't know just drinking so much alcohol has a lot of sugar is that true well if it wasn't true why would I bring it up on your show Josh I'm all about the truth man well that's because you're having like the peanut calados and all that stuff if you like pinia colladas what's your drink of truss getting caught in the rain you know who sings that song

that's Jimmy Buffett isn't it no it's Rupert somebody uh what's my drink of choice I have several hundred I had a nagroney last night I like a nagroney that's nice with that big

giant ice cube in it I like the single ice cube in a drink yeah yeah it's a nice touch right it's a nice touch although it's hard when I put it in my mouth for a long time i can't talk until it melts well maybe that's for the best for yeah yeah it's kind of a like a nice gag for you know particularly if i've had the whole negroni i probably shouldn't be talking anyway yeah always insert the giant ice cube in michael's mouth after three

negronies exactly what uh you and one of your soulmates jeff nichols have uh worked again we haven't seen we haven't seen the new film quite yet it's been on ice a little bit yeah i'm in trouble i got in trouble for talking about Really? Yeah. Who came after you? Did Jeff say, hey, you're talking too much? Or the heads of Warner Brothers?

The heads of Warner Brothers surrounded me in the street. You know, they all carry switchblades. And they said, you've got to stop talking about Midnight Special, man. I said, well, why don't you release it? And that'll solve the problem. Kill two birds with one stone, you know? But it's a cool one, though? You're happy with it?

I think it's fantastic. and I'm not the only one. Yeah, I don't know. It's hard to, I guess it's hard to release movies nowadays. You've got to find the right, you know, day. Yeah. Right. What's the last, okay, well, tell me this,

as we were, as we careen towards the ending of this madness. This is audition for the radio play I want to do with you. You're doing good. what's happening And so Michael Kareem down the road After six Negronies

Yes Oh let's get that out into the blogosphere D-E-Y No Never have you ever been arrested? I don't own a car I don't I don't drive Cars are disgusting

Well maybe the cars you've owned Are what do you mean Just We've got to stop burning fossil fuels What the hell Are we idiots it's do you worry about the future of our planet no no it'll be fine yeah it's going to solve itself once china blows up we'll be good they just got to get enough of those factories to blow up at the

same time right right everything will be gravy that's a good plan yeah yeah what's um so what's is the next gig when you're coming to broadly pretty soon that's a few months yeah i'm going to do long day's journey in tonight because why not when the opportunity comes yeah jessica lang gabriel burn yeah jessica lang gabriel burn and john galliger junior who was in i believe spring awakening and also american idiot you just took out of your pocket a uh a paper this is a paper clip from the today show would you like to touch it no i don't but why is it bent it's like you're like it's like a shiv you've created like it's a well very much like you noticed on the letterman appearance i was kind of giddy and nervous about being on the today show i have you haven't been

again i've been um watching the today's show since i was quite young my mom just used to sit me down in front of it when she had you know to go somewhere right i was raised on the today's show there I am in the historic today's show studios and Al Roker made your dreams come true it all changed oh when I started watching it it was long before Al Roker jean shallow sure that mustache oh my god out Roker wasn't there today it was uh John Sanya okay the wrestler oh John Sina Sina oh yeah that's my expertise saying people's names name John Sina once pulled me I've got a PhD in mispronunciation in people's name.

I was in a rickshaw once that he pulled for me. Really? Yeah. It's another sketch I did. Really? I only do the best stuff. Did he make like horsey sound?

He didn't, he should have. You see, that's why you're... I would have made horsey sounds. Yeah. You think I can't pull you in a rickshaw? You think I'm not strong enough? No, I feel like you're done with us. I feel like I'm...

I still want this to go on and you're like looking to the... You're looking to someone else. Yeah, but we just laid down like a classic episode here. You think? Do you think we just did it? This is definitely in the top.

How many of these have you done? 60. It's in the top. 40. Yeah. See that? Yeah, yeah, I know. Sympadico.

Maybe we should do like a Smothers Brothers type show. Yeah. Do you yo-yo? No. They were really good at yo-yo's. No. No, I can't do that. Can you?

It's one of the few things I can do decently. So how many listeners do you have? we've never counted at least 50 at least 50 yeah what should we tell them what do they need to know well they should all have to go see 99 homes they need see 99 homes and then do a like a five paragraph essay about it and send it to you send it to me tweet at me you should get five paragraph structure essay structure right or a haiku maybe if we want to be a more and then you'll grade them and you'll send them back sure why you're creating work for me I'll grade them Okay, thanks.

We'll grid it together. And also, 99 homes. And also, you know, check out Freeheld soon. It's really good. Yeah, I think Freeheld is beautiful. I saw it at Toronto. I was crying like a small child. Seriously, it moved me.

It's a very touching story. Yeah, I know. But you, yeah. What? What now? I think it's great. I like that one. I also have, for all of those people out there who are wondering,

when I'm going to do a comedy I guess mostly journalists because they always ask me that question because they're so imaginative and provocative I'm in a Seth's Rogan movie called

The Night Before that's coming out in November where I play a marijuana dealer There you go I was on the set of that one You weren't there that day you were avoiding me Yeah I made sure I was tight with the AD First AD

For all your people out there, I don't know what that means. It's an athletic director. You happy about the... It feels like pot's going to be illegal everywhere in just a second. Illegal? Oh, legal everywhere. Well, I smell it when I walk down the street in New York. You always smell marijuana.

There you go. I felt like maybe I should make some citizens' arrests. Just wear your Zod outfit and don't they'll stop doing it. If I bring these big green things, Yeah. Stop smoking the pot. All right. Say goodbye with your little General Zod, Michael.

Goodbye. And don't miss Batman versus Superman, where I display my new features, flippers. It's not true. It is true. It was the truth and then I lied about it

not being the truth. It actually is true. They wanted me to take it back. they thought it was too much information but I don't care anymore Why would he have flippers? Doesn't make any sense Because he's going to segue into the Aquaman thing I'm trying to get into both

franchises Right right I'm all for it Get in Star Wars Get in Star Trek Me and Patrick Stewart Okay that's Star Trek just so you know The Force be with you All right thanks Michael

Yes Hello podcast listeners. It's me, Darren Tobleron. You might have heard me and my brother Aaron Toblerone on the California Supreme Wind Show, the only podcast podcast all about. California Supreme Windows, just minutes from the 405, your number one spot to get great deals on windows and now also door. But there are many more podcasts than just my brother's podcast. It's true, like with special guest Lauren Lopkis, for example. Every week she plays a different character and she's the guest of someone else who's playing another character who's the host. It's complicated, but it's also not, but it's also great, almost like a jigsaw puzzle. Listen to this.

Get off your knees, you damn idiot. Oh, I love you, Regina. Stand up. I'm going to give you osteoporosis in your knees with my cane. Stand up, you idiot. I will. Master. Put on this ball gag, you bitch.

Take it out. You liked it too much. Thank you. Thank you, Mommy. So sit by your favorite window and listen to with special guest Lauren Lapkis on Earwolf.com, iTunes, or the podcast. podcast player of your choice. Doinkey Windows forever. Goodbye.

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

Wolf Pop is part of mid-roll media. Executive produced by Adam Sacks, Matt Goreley, and Paul Shear. And I'm Paul Shear, an actor, writer, and director. You might know me from the League, Veep, or my non-eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters. We love movies, and we come at them from different perspectives. Yeah, like Amy thinks that, you know, Joe Pesci was miscast in Goodfellas, and I don't. He's too old. Let's not forget that Paul thinks that Dude, too, is overrated.

It is. Anyway, despite this, we come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where we talk about good movies, critical hits. Fan favorites, musts season, and case you miss them. We're talking Parasite the Home Alone. From Greece to the Dark Night. We've done deep dives on popcorn flicks. We've talked about why Independence Day deserves a second look. And we've talked about horror movies,

some that you've never even heard of like Ganges and Hess. So if you love movies like we do, come along on our cinematic adventure. Listen to Unspooled wherever you get your podcast. And don't forget to hit the follow button. Thank you.