Happy Sad Confused - Tavi Gevinson, Dave Franco (Vol. II), Logan Lerman (Vol. II), Zoey Deutch

Episode Date: February 1, 2017

One of the exciting byproducts of visiting a film festival like Sundance is getting a sneak peek at the next big thing, whether it be a filmmaker or an actor. Certainly this year was no exception with relative unknowns like Chante Adams (“Roxanne Roxanne”) and Danielle Macdonald (“Patti Cake$”) breaking through in a big way.  Then there’s the young talent, already established, but still on the rise. That’s what this week’s “Happy Sad Confused” delivers with four conversations with some of the best and the brightest actors working today, each making a splash at Sundance this year. Tavi Gevinson is only 20 years old, but already boasts an eclectic list of accomplishments, from writer and fashion maven to magazine editor. It’s her acting career however that is the focus of this conversation, from her stage work in “The Crucible” to her Sundance debut, “Person to Person”. Returning to the podcast on this episode is the charming and self-deprecating Dave Franco, whose Sundance flick “The Little Hours” teams him up with Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, and real-life fiancé Alison Brie. Franco talks about his absurdly awkward sex scenes, being objectified, and still finds time to rib Josh for never having seen “The Room”.  Another returning guest and Sundance veteran at just 25 is Logan Lerman, starring in the ambitious drama, “Sidney Hall”. Lerman again proves he’s the real deal in this heartbreaking story of a young writer grappling with success, fame, and his own demons.  Finally, Josh welcomes a newcomer to “Happy Sad Confused” in Zoey Deutch, making her Sundance debut with two films, “Rebel in the Rye” (she stars as Oona O’Neill opposite Nicholas Hoult’s JD Salinger) and “Before I Fall”, a sort of dramatic “Groundhog Day” by way of YA that’s garnered great reviews in advance of it’s March 3rd opening.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Jeep is a registered trademark of FCA U.S. LLC. This week on HappyS. Confused, a quartet of our brightest young actors. An old man Horowitz here. Hi, I'm the old man. I'm Josh Harrowitz. Welcome to Happy Sack Confused. Sammy, by my side as always. Thank God.

You're on the young rising star front, not the old man front. I don't know about that. You're somewhere in between. Yeah. I should mention at the front of the show, the four people I refer to, we've got a little Sundance spectacular. One more burst of Sundance Energy for you guys. I was at the Sundance Film Festival for a good solid week, seeing a ton of movies and chatted with a bunch of great stars, including coming up on the show are Zoe Deutsch, making her podcast debut on Happy Sadd Confused. Very excited to have her.

Happy to have her. Very thrilled to have her. Logan Werman, returning champion, Logan, Herman. Friend of the family. We love Logan. Dave Franco, also a returning guest with a very funny new film called The Little Hours that debuted at Sundance. And we're going to start off the show with a newcomer that I'm really thrilled to talk to, Tavi Gevinson. We'll talk about her in a second, but of course she is a multi-hyphenate writer, publisher, feminist, just a brilliant all-round person.

Actress, obviously, a lot to talk about with Tavi and hopefully the first of many appearances on Happy Said, Confused. But, yeah, I'm happy to be back, Sammy. Welcome back. Are you happy to be back? I felt like you were in, you were really happy out there. I didn't know if you were going to come back. I was definitely always going to come back. I'm very happy to be back. That being said, I had a blast at Sundance.

We're there for a long time. It was my longest visit to Sundance. I was there for like eight days. And I was just telling you, I saw 21 movies. Oh, my God. I was there. I saw four Sundance films before I went there. So, yeah, 25 films.

Did you fall asleep in any of them? You don't have to say which ones they are. I started to nod off at least once or twice. That's not bad. It wasn't so bad. My percentage was pretty good. It was fun. We did, you know, as you can tell from the podcast last week, if you didn't check out last week's podcast.

I wasn't on it, so I didn't check it out. Yeah, of course, why should you? But we had Woody Harrelson and Jack Black and someone else, I'm forgetting. That was amazing. Oh, we had Melanie Linsky and Elijah Wood. That was our first kind of dispatch from Sundance. And this week, we kind of grouped it as four. young stars, the kids. The kids. This is the kids edition of Happy Second Fused. And I saw all of their

films. They're all great. They're all great in them. They've all got bright futures. Some of them have two films that we do with just two films before I fall in Rebel and the Rye. And yeah, it was just a good excuse to see some good movies, see some bright young talent, both in front of the camera and behind the camera, catch up with some friends in the industry, yada yada. Did you go to parties? I would do a few parties. Not a lot. Did you party at the parties? By my standard, sure.

Like, I had a drink. You had a Shirley Temple. Yes. Make it a double. Then I meant double cherries. Yes, exactly. Not enough grenadine in this. Yeah, I went to a couple, but Sundance parties kind of suck, to be honest. Oh.

They're kind of, like, they're kind of shit shows. Like, everybody, it's just not pleasant. Especially if you've seen, like, six movies that day, you're kind of tired. Yeah. And everything in Sundance is. like not to like whine about it because it is a great treat to be there and I realize how privileged I am to get to do it. But it is kind of like a more arduous film festival. It's harder to get around and it was snowing every single day while I was there. But as I said, this is my

11th and I always always feel very lucky to be there. And like I said, I saw a lot of good movies that I think we'll be talking about in the next year. A lot of movies sold to both studios and Netflix and Amazon like got really in there in a big way. So yeah. So you'll be hearing a lot more about Sundance in the weeks and months ahead. So the future is bright. The future is bright. At least in film. At least in film. Donate to the ACLU, ACLU, ACLU. Anyway, let's lead off the show with Tavi Gevinson. Yes. I love her. Tavi Gevinson is really cool. You know, she's obviously, of course, known for Rookie Magazine, her writing, her influence in the fashion world. But she's also become, you know, actress to be reckoned with. And she's getting more and more. more attention for her acting work. I've seen her on stage twice in the last couple of years.

Have you seen Annie Burblers? Yes. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Last year she was on Broadway. She was on Broadway in the Crucible, which I saw. She was excellent in. With your girl. Sarah Sarrean. Sir Ranan. And yeah, Tommy's great. She's in a new film called A Person to Person, which was at Sun Nance. It hasn't gotten a distribution quite yet, I think. It definitely will. It stars her and Abby Jacobson and Michael Sarah. It's kind of a, um, a day in the life of a few New Yorkers. And it's, yeah, it's just kind of like a small little kind of like a quirky character film.

She's excellent in it. And she's just an actress that I'm really intrigued to see what the future holds for her because she's got kind of a unique presence. Not her first time working with Michael Sarah. When she, oh, in the play. Yeah, they were on stage together. Yeah, yeah, that's right. I saw that, actually.

So yes. So this was a delightful conversation. I never met Tabi before moments before I chatted with her. This took place literally in a library. Oh, yeah. But you're not supposed to talk in libraries. I know. I felt guilty.

Do you whisper the whole time? No, we talk at a normal, semi-normal level. Turn your volume up, everyone. We were just probably disturbing the people around us. But it's a lovely chat, and I'm excited to meet her and get to know her. And hopefully, as I said, we'll have her on for a longer conversation down the road. In the meantime, here is my conversation at Sundance with Tavi Givenson. So I've done a long time.

A lot of interviews in strange places over my years at MTV. Mm-hmm. We're literally in a library. I feel like we shouldn't be here. I know. I know. I'm violating some protocol? Well, I feel like I'm violating something and that I'm carrying around cheddar bunnies and

carrot citrus? A juice, yeah. Where you're going to be kicked out. I'm the good Samaritan here. I know. Just don't drag me along with you. Sorry. It's good to meet you.

Yeah, you too. So we're here at Sundance. It's just getting going as we tape this person to person. the person is the film. Your film is literally premiering like a couple hundred feet away in this complex. Do you, I mean, you've been obviously in the public eye in various forms for many years. Does that steal yourself for, you know, public reception for events like this? Are you like more okay with kind of putting yourself out there to premiere, et cetera, or are the nerves always there no matter what the context? I guess I just kind of feel, I probably feel a little more

relaxed now than when I was younger, mostly because it just, it only becomes more and more clear that, like, the new cycle. Things just move really fast. I'm like none of this, the inauguration is happening as we speak. Like, none of this matters. So, I don't know what your New York Times just pushed aside the inauguration for the person to person to premiere. You didn't see that? It's crazy. They're screening it at the White House, too, actually. I mean, I might venture to say that might be healthier for the country. I would agree. Yeah. I mean, I don't mean to, um, not, I mean, I mean, I think making art is important, and it's obviously what I've chosen to do with my life, and I love this movie. But I, I'm just like it can only be healthy to have some kind of distance and not be hard on yourself about, like, how you come off in an interview, which is a totally unnatural situation.

Right. So, yeah. Again, I don't know what you're talking to when I go to a library, hold a microphone and talk into a recorder. I don't know how you roll. So give me a sense of, I've seen you on the stage a couple times in the last couple of years. this is our youth in the crucible, which I love. Thanks. I'd mark on for that one.

So talk to me a little bit about your criteria, your instincts when it comes to film work. Does it change? Does it kind of remain the same in the last few years? I guess I love doing theater a lot with a play. It's like if a play is really good, it's just sort of the gift. that keeps on giving and even though you're doing it every night you're still discovering new things within it and I felt that way about every show I've done yeah um with film it's more about the end product because you'll go in and you'll do that scene a few times and then you'll never do it again

right so I guess I just have to really like the movie because there is so much of like waiting around on set and I am I guess I'm it's not that it's more product oriented than process but I you know with this movie in particular it was so clear that Dustin had such a complete vision for it yeah that I was like I would be so happy to like just shoot this for a few days say goodbye to it for a while and then be part of this like beautiful little story right And I guess part of the trust is that, I mean, a good criteria for many actors I would guess is like, you know, if you'd want to see that film what you see you're seeing on paper, that's worth being a part of. I mean, I really feel like Wendy is the kind of character that when I was younger and I was getting obsessed with like early Winona Ryder characters and Ghost World and all of those kinds of that sort of archetype of like the moody teen girl. who can't figure out why things aren't just like easier for her or something.

Wendy feels like the kind of character I totally would have loved and been thankful for when I was younger. So it's really special. I thought that way too with like Jessica and this is our youth, which is the first play I did in New York. And that's wild to get to like embody someone who you would have really like been obsessed with. Did you have literal posters on the wall growing up? Did you have, like, were the cutouts?

What were the people that you were? I cycled them out every month. I was like. Too many. Too much love. Yeah. And like constant just needing to like have a new mood board. And like I was big into manifesting who I wanted to be.

So there were lots of figures on my walls, I guess. I mean, there was definitely a time where Abby and Alana from Broad City were on my wall. Sure. And so that's fun to now be in this thing with her. Talk to me a little bit about just the confidence that I would, you know, gather you Garner from being on stage and the kind of productions that you've been in and how you're taking that further in your career.

I mean, you're working with some top-notch directors on stage, some, like, the material. I mean, obviously, you know, Arthur Miller, Kenny O'Annegan, like, this is, like, the top stuff out there. Um, does it feel like you're in a place where you're gaining self-confidence? You feel like you can handle more. Is doubt always going to be a part of the process or what? I think for me at this point in time, it feels less about confidence and more about just going like the confidence is irrelevant.

I have a job to do. On stage especially, you can't know what you look like and you're always giving off things that you can't even be aware of because you can't see yourself the way other people see you. And of course, you're in character. So, like, if the character feels bad, you're going to feel bad. You're not going to be, like, killing it. So I just... Why did she scream nailed it after that scene?

That seems really out of character. Yeah, I start just, like, clapping for myself on stage. So I think surrendering to that lack of control has made me a more relaxed person in general, because you really do build a muscle for that when you're doing a show every night. So it's not even that I feel that confident. I just feel maybe kind of relaxed. and with some like it's nice to have some humility around like knowing you'll do you'll say a line a certain way I used to like say a line a certain way hear myself hate myself but like when you're in the moment are you hearing it like are you like out of your body you kind of like detached yeah watch watching myself and listening to myself but like on stage you can't you have to keep going so you I feel like I had to really learn and I'm so glad I did how to just kind of stamp out, self-doubt, much in the style of our most sociopathic politicians and calculated

pop stars. I don't know who you're talking about. And what at this point, like, I'm curious like what kind of stuff comes your way in terms of material. Like, I mean, you've been very selective in a good way, I think, in terms of a theater and film and not kind of just like putting out frankly shitty product just to be in a mix. Are you hardened by the kind of stuff that comes your way? Or is it's kind of hard to find stuff that you that resonates with you no i mean i feel truly lucky like i don't i don't know if that much does come my way but like you know when you do a play it's like that's your life for a handful of months so i don't know what i would have gotten last year if i wasn't doing two shows back to back sure but i do think when you're in a position where you also

make and write your own even if i'm not like writing movies i'm writing all the time and so and i need to do that so it it's um it's not like if i was just if i was like waiting around for the next thing because i needed that creative outlet because acting was the only one i'm sure i would be down for a lot more but knowing how important writing is to me and that that's always there something has to kind of be as special as this movie is for me to um stop being such a snob and do someone else's thing. Right, right. Well, you have the luxury of, yes, you said. Yeah, totally.

Your own thing, obviously, going. I'm curious, like, was, you know, a lot's been talked about sort of like the arc of your very interesting career. Have you noticed, and people probably make assumptions about, like, you know, when it's a model turned actor or a writer turned actor, or anyone that's making a shift or feels like they're making a shift. Did you, have you felt like you've experienced that where, like, some people have misjudged you or assigned different modes?

motives to you or just had misconceptions about you given your unusual arc of your career thus far. Yeah, I mean, since I was 12, but I don't know those people and, like, I'll probably never meet them. And when you do meet them in person, they want to be your best friend. Right. I mean, you kind of agree, you consent to just, like, be an idea in other people's heads when you decide to be public in any way. It's part of the deal, yeah. And I think, like, you know, there's a version. version of me. There's like a girl out there who looks like me and has done some of the same

things and like has my Wikipedia page, but like that's very far from my day to day experience of life. So I think it's sort of like I think as young people, especially with the internet, it's like you decide who you want to be by looking at people like famous people or artists and just kind of seeing what you like about them and what feels not right for you. When I'm I mean, I'm happy to be one of those people for someone else. This is Happy Say I Confused. We'll be right back after this. With one of the best savings rates in America,

banking with Capital One is the easiest decision in the history of decisions. Even easier than choosing Slash to be in your band. Next up for lead guitar. You're in. Cool. Yep, even easier than that. And with no fees or minimums on checking and savings accounts, is it even a decision? That's banking reimagined. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See Capital One.com slash bank for details. Capital One and A member FDIC. When I first started to see you act and it was probably on stage, I think maybe this is our youth is the first time. Maybe enough set. I saw you part in that one. But your voice is very unique. Are you self-conscious about that? I mean, that is a nice thing. I don't mean, like, get. out of the business topic. Your voice is weird. No, I mean I, um, how I made you more self-conscious to ask? Yeah, I never thought about that. No, that's okay. It's totally fine. I'm joking.

No, I guess it's, um, when I watched person to person, I was like, why am I putting my voice down there? Like, during, excuse me, during the crucible, I had to learn a lot more about, not just taking care of your voice but just like the tools like what a tool it is sure like especially in that show where there's a lot it's all about truth and deception and like what that character sounded like when she was telling the truth and what she sounded like when she was kind of brainwashed and i i mean i'm just sort of fascinated by it i don't i don't know i have i have not really given too much thought about what i sound like i think i probably wish i sounded less sardonic or like oftentimes

people think I'm being sarcastic when I'm not but I I mean you know Can't win them all You've also been rolling your eyes I made the entire interview And it's really hurtful And I'm trying not to take it personally But I guess that's just something about you

I'm so sorry See that sounded sarcastic I know that's the problem But that's also why acting is like this fall I did Cherry Orchard where I played someone who a lot of the time is just like happy and that's all there is to it and I was like it's actually such a struggle for me to play sincere joy and I have to find a way to do it where this is true acting to actually feel happiness yeah for hours at a time but then I also realized

a lot of the time she's really just pretending to be happy well that you can do yeah that's in your will house yeah have you been the Sundance before no oh that's cool yeah so has this been kind of like, I mean, you probably just got here, et cetera, and the festival just started yesterday. Seeing friends, seeing, did Robert Redford welcomed you at the airport? Does he take you into the car? Yes, I love him. Yes.

I feel that should be part of the thing. Are you? Yeah, you guys. Yeah. He's great. Bobby? Bobby. Have you ever met Robert Redford? No. I think, yeah, no, we like got in last night and then we leave in like a couple hours

because I'm going to D.C. for the March. So I... Yeah, but so I feel like I'm not really getting the experience. I'm just like... This is the quintessential Sunday's experience sitting in a library. Yeah. Talking. Talking about yourself.

Yeah. Do you find that that part of the business kind of screws with your head a little bit? How do you kind of defend against going mad like 70% of actors probably have or will in their life? I mean, I don't feel like I'm in a position so often where I... Okay. I'm like doing like I'm promoting something it's really I'd rather have like the set of problems that comes with this job than like the set of problems that would come with doing something I didn't care about but I do think I am interested in like and I don't think I am you know I experience this I feel very comfortable with just like where all of this is at for me but I'm interested in like when someone's persona just precedes them and they're trying to

to catch up with it and right i'm but that's also mainly i'm just like fascinated by um performers and entertainers and sure that stuff and you've started to i mean in the last few years interact with people that you've had your own probably preconceived notions for like we all do because we all read the same yeah crap that we can't avoid yeah and that's probably an illuminating experience to kind of okay like yeah like there's letting go of that well not just realizing that most people have a separation, but also realizing, like, you know, these are not natural circumstances. Like, it's not normal to, like, accept an award in front of hundreds of people.

And so I don't necessarily know if, like, it's that unhealthy if someone seems weird while they're doing it. Right. That's probably actually a healthier way to go. Like, if you look too content and normal in accepting widespread adulation from strangers in tuxedos, it feels like, hmm. I mean, and who's to say? And it's so different for everyone. So I'm like, even the kind of like the moralizing of the way celebrities behave feels so silly to me. But like I'm fascinated by why people have that conversation. And it's usually because what I said before, like they're just trying to establish their own morals. Be like, do I want to be like that? Or do I want to be like that? Do I want to be someone who is very obviously trying to people please and perform? Or do I want to be someone who acts like they're too for everything. It's also, like, I was just at the Golden Globes and, like, there's such

cynicism in this country where, like, some performers try to, like, use that platform in an earnest way and, like, the automatic gut reaction of social media and the world seems to be to just tear down, tear down, tear down. Yeah. And not accept that someone can have actual good intentions. I know. It's so hard to know, like, especially because we, everyone, any, at least everyone who's on social media also, like, has. a personal brand, not just celebrities. So like tearing down someone is also a way of trying to align yourself with something that seems morally righteous. Right. Which is why I haven't been on Twitter in a month and I only put Instagram on my phone when I'm going to post something.

Healthy Living with Tavi Gevinson. This was just a shorter version of the podcast that we usually do. Hopefully you'll come by the studio in New York and we'll have a real heart to heart. There'll be tears, there'll be laughter and we'll be able to scream because we won't be in the library. I know. These jerks here. I know. So rude. NERX. Congratulations in the movie, though.

Good to see you. Thanks, Tommy. That was Tubby Gevinson, starting in person to person. Look out for that. Probably sometime in the next year it'll pop up in theaters and VOD, et cetera. I'll keep you posted when I hear where it lands. Next up on the podcast, another conversation I conducted at the Sundance Film Festival. So thrilled to talk to Dave Franco.

Yay. I love Dave Franco. We don't want to pick favorite Francoes around here because I love James. You don't. Oh. I'll go. You're going to jump out on a whim and say your favorite Franco is. Is Dave Franco?

Why? What's the deciding factor? It happened in the last couple years. Oh, obviously. But I think it was a nerve? Was it when you saw Nerve? It was his performance in Nerve. It was neighbors.

He was great in neighbors. It was neighbors. He's very funny. And it's interesting. He talks about in this conversation how he's done a lot of comments. but he's kind of realized he's a very self-aware actor in that he talks about being the straight man and like that's his skill set he don't he doesn't I don't necessarily agree even agree with him here but he thinks he's not great at improv and kind of on the fly comedy but he's very good at kind of being the straight guy in scenes and that's very much what he is in this new film The Little Hours which is very funny it stars him and his bride-to-be Alison Brie I love that good to see Allison there I saw her for a second too she was ribbing us as we were taking her happy say confused photos I'm taking the photo with And she's like, doing a little happy, sad, confused. You're like, Allison, this isn't about you.

She meant it in the nicest possible way. Also stars Aubrey Plaza. They play nuns. What? Yes, they play nuns in a convent that Dave Franco has kind of like hiding out in. He's a deaf mute. Oh, my God. He's not actually a deaf mute.

He's pretending to be a deaf mute. Oh, got it, got it. It's a weird, funny, absurd little film that is directed, written directed, I believe, by a guy named Jeff Banna. I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing his last name, right? Right, but he did a film with Aubrey Plaza before and Dane Dahan, and he's actually, I think, a long time, like, boyfriend of Aubrey Plaza. So a funny little film called The Little Hours. Look out for that coming soon, hopefully. But in the meantime, always fun to catch up with Dave Franco.

Davy. A little David Frank. Don't call him that. Don't mean him that. Dave. David. David. David Franco to you.

David Franco. Here's my conversation with Dave Franco. Dave, D-A-V-E. I'm joined by the veteran of the Happy Sack Confused podcast, the returning champion, Mr. Dave Franco. Yeah, man, I'm a little scared just because we've, uh, we saw each other maybe two, three months ago. There's nothing left to say. I don't know how much I have to say that you don't already know. So, what's new day?

The weather's good. The weather's decent. It's been snowing and Sundance. That's quite a big news story. Cool, cool, cool, cool. Well, we can't say. we can't say that you've got a cool new film here. Yes, yes.

Congratulations. It's very, very funny. Any movie that starts out with like, you know, within three minutes of nuns cursing, I know I'm in good hands. Absolutely. Yes, very specific tone. But, you know, like I've always said to you, I'm attracted to movies that are trying to do something different.

And this one, I mean, you've never seen a tone like this before. And that's saying something. Like, it's like how, how, the fact that this movie was made, It's like, I just, I appreciate that in of itself. Totally. And then that, you know, the director, Jeff Baina, he just, he had a vision and I was just excited to be on his journey, man. So talk to me a little bit about, okay, so what do you know when you get a script?

Like, does Jeff, do you talk to Jeff before? Like, did you know what you were about to see? To an extent. So, to be completely candid, we didn't really have a script on this one. It was like a 20-page outline. And that being said, I'm. it didn't feel as loose as you might expect just because Jeff, he's kind of a crazy genius where he really did have the whole idea in his head. But his intentions were he wanted us to put everything in our own words and then he would guide us in the right direction.

But it's not like other fully improvised movies in the sense that it's, you know, we're not going on crazy tangents and we're not just throwing out a million jokes. This one's very honed in and simplified, and it's a very quiet movie. Well, and you can't necessarily, I mean, because it's, I mean, look, it's anachronistic to the period, obviously, to a degree. Like, it doesn't necessarily fit, like, the dialogue exactly how people spoke back. But you still can't, like, go off and talk about, you know, what's playing at the movie theater or you had a Taco Bell yesterday. So there's certainly limitations on improv, I would think. You were sadly objectified, I feel like. I was. I'm kind of a sex toy, this one.

Don't say it like it's a sad thing. Well, okay, so basically, should we describe what this? Okay, give us some context. All right. So basically, the movie is, it's based on a book written in the 14th century called the De Cameron. And during that time, young women, they would become nuns, not necessarily because they had strong religious beliefs, but because that's just what you did. And so there was all these young women in these convents who had sexual desires and desires to party, but they had a disapproval. press everything. So our movie

is about this guy. I play this guy who's on the run. He's in trouble. He comes across his convent and he convinces them to let him hide out. And over time he starts, you know, hooking up with all these nuns and everything below the surface comes to the surface and things go crazy.

But I didn't want to, you know, I play this guy who is yeah, he's sleeping around and I feel like that part could easily go in the direction of this like dushy, sleazy, letharia. but you don't want to play yourself though exactly that's not fun

but I respect Jeff a lot because he wanted me you know he wanted the character to have sympathy and like you said he's kind of the victim like these women are kind of going after him and yeah it's the most it's the saddest threesome scene I've ever seen totally there's this like what seems like it's going to be a very like cool

for a dude whatever threesome that like just ends up being the most frustrating thing I've ever seen Absolutely. And then if you kind of take a step back and realize that, you know, my fiancé, Allison, is in the movie. She is not in this threesome scene. So she has the day off. And she's like, oh, what, what scene are you going to shoot today? I'm like, whatever, like the threesome scene or whatever. I'm not worried about it. You shouldn't be worried about it. I'm not worried. And let's add another layer to this because one of the people you're in that threesome is with is the girlfriend of the director. Exactly. So there's a lot of levels of... Aubrey, of course, Aubrey Plaza.

Bizarre, strange stuff going on. But yeah, I did that. You also can check off playing... Well, it's not exactly really a deaf mute, but you get to pretend to be a deaf mute. Yeah, so that was what I was most scared about going into it. So my character, for half of the movie, pretends like he's a deaf mute.

And I had many discussions with Jeff, the director, beforehand, just because I was saying, like, I don't want to just be a prop in these scenes. I just don't want to be sitting there doing nothing. And through our discussions, he kind of got me excited about it. It kind of became like a cool challenge. Yeah. And to try to, you know, show a lot of emotion without talking and by pretending like I can't hear what's going on around me.

And so it ended up being kind of the most rewarding part of the part. You also get a chance to share some scenes with not only these great actresses, but some, like you got like John C. Riley. Yeah. Amazing. Yes. So what's it like to share scenes with him? What does he bring to the table? He's a decent actor.

I mean, John, he's one of those guys where he's one of like five universally loved actors on the planet where anyone you talk to loves John C. Riley. And he's incredible, man. He's like one of the greatest at balancing drama and comedy, which, you know, worked very well with this movie. And just being opposite him. I mean, it was intimidating at first just because, you know, he does have a strong presence. But, like, you realize, you know, he just, he wants to, he wants to play. Yeah. He's, he's a really, he's a really fun guy to act opposite.

I mean, he just makes it easy. He's giving you so much. He is, here's a fun fact. He was the very first after-hour sketch I ever did, the very first comic sketch I ever did at MTV. I somehow convinced him, we've done this a couple times over the years for a sketch called Up Close, where it's an improvised interview where I'm literally on top, we're on top of each other. Physically. Having a, yes, a very banal conversation.

but playing it very deadpan. In what position exactly? Like all over, every possible contortion. I'm getting the sense from your answer that you don't want to do this sketch with me. I'm more just frustrated that you haven't asked me or mentioned it until now. Sorry, sorry.

This is my way of the soft ask, so to speak. That was the very first one. And we were off to the races. So I have John C. Raleigh to thank for that. Amazing. So you mentioned kind of like the intimidation factor which is something that comes up a lot in interviews of actors over the years. Like, do you get intimidated by people

that have been around. Has it ever happened where like, whether it was very early in the career, like you, you, it was debilitating to a point where like you were so, at least for a day or an hour, you were like, I just can't get my head around this. Yes and no. I mean, when I was on, for example, when I was on the set of 21 Jump Street, like, Jonah, he's, he's, he's a comic genius. He, there's, he's, he's one of, you know, a handful of people who are that quick-witted and just can go and go and go and go. go and just continue to give you gold. Yeah.

And it was extremely intimidating being on that set because I think I've talked to you about this where I'm not the comedic actor who's quick-witted and going to throw out a million jokes. I'm the guy who you put in a bizarre scenario and I'm going to play it as straight as possible. But what I've realized over the years is that, you know, I'm never going to keep up with Jonah.

Right. It's a different skill set. Exactly. I'm never going to keep up with Seth Rogen. It's like I just got to do what I feel comfortable, comfortable with and what I'm good at and basically just be present and just react to what they're doing um you mentioned Allison of course in this one is there is there like a hesitancy in when you guys like are you a package deal like how does this work exactly it's very fun to work

together but I got to be honest like going into this one where we are playing somewhat of a romantic couple I was a little nervous just because you want the chemistry to work on screen or Everyone is going to be like, exactly. If it doesn't, then they're like, what are they doing together? And so ultimately, it was easier to act with her than anyone I've ever worked with just because we know each other just so well. And we've been lucky enough to work on a handful of things together recently. We did this.

We have the masterpiece coming out. We did a little commercial together. We have done a video, a short video revolving around a blumpkin. If you don't know what that is, I apologize, look it up, but, and just know that, ye, I apologize again, yeah. Always keeping it classy. Yes, exactly. But I would love to continue to work with her for the rest of my career, yeah.

When are we going to finally see the masterpiece? Do we know? We are hoping soon. Okay. We're like in the final stages of editing. It's like a south by southwest maybe kind of the thing. I think that would be right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

If we did that and then followed it up with a screening of the, of the actual room movie. Yes. And then have Tommy we sew there to introduce it. I think it'll be, I think that's, the perfect audience for it. Yeah. And have you still not seen the room? Come on. Damn it. As I was asking you the question, I was like, I hope he doesn't remember that I haven't seen it. I'm waiting until the double feature that night at South By. But you know what? It'll help me enjoy it. I think you should see before because when you see it with an audience, people are literally screaming

the entire way through. So I don't actually get it. You can't hear a word that's coming from the screen. So try to see it beforehand. If you don't, whatever. I don't really care. It sounds like I care, but I don't care, whatever. I'm above it all. So, have you been in the Sundance before? This is my first time for a movie. Okay. So you came for fun just to support people to see some movies. Yeah, wouldn't be, I mean, I've talked to your brother a bunch here over the year, so I'm happy I'm getting at least one Frank Ode out of the Sundance experience. So seeing some friends, seeing, I know you said you're out of here in a couple hours. Right. What have you done here besides talk to people like me? Anything? Mostly talking. I saw a movie last night. I saw Ingrid

goes west that Aubrey Plaza is. also in and she is unbelievable in it and what else you know what I like about Sundance is especially for the opening night when we first premiered the movie um so like when you're going into a movie the experience is very much influenced by expectations right yeah and you know when you're showing something at Sundance where people don't really know anything about it it's the best yeah it's the first time it's ever screened no one has any expectations and you can really experience it the way it's meant to be experienced. And it was just fun to be in that audience and just, you know, hear a wide range of reactions where, again, this movie is so specific in tone that people kind of don't know where to laugh and when to feel uncomfortable or just kind of...

Mission accomplished them. Yes. Right. But I think the fact that they feel something throughout this movie is saying something just because it is, it's like I said a million times out in this interview, it's like nothing you've ever seen. Yeah, totally. So the only downside, I feel like you come to Sundance now in your career is, like, you missed the heyday of the free swag. Like, you could have gotten, like, a free washing machine or something.

Like, I've literally heard stories that Robert Downey Jr. got, like, a washing machine at Sundance once. Come on. I don't think he had to carry on, like, from the plane, but. I'm not good with swag. I feel like anytime I take something home, it just sits in a bag in the corner of my closet, and I ultimately just give it to buddies. But, like, what do you, are you a big swag guy?

No, look at me. Do I look like a swag guy? Yes. Do I look like someone that can even say? say the word swag and actually pull it off. It's so funny, because, yes, most actors will say that. I interviewed Sam Jackson was on the podcast recently, and I asked him with the best thing about, like, his job is,

and he literally said free shit. Like, I think he can pull it off somehow. He, it's like, it's... What else does he need? That's what I said, kind of. You know, I respect that. I respect that. He knows what he is.

Yeah. Okay, so agenda coming up. This is, yeah, this is like our biannual checkup or something. Do you know what the next gig is? I don't know what I'm filming now. Okay. So in terms of what's coming out, we got the masterpiece. And then after that, did we talk about this little movie I did called Six Balloons?

I'm not sure. Remind me. So it was, it's the most intense movie probably I've ever done just in the sense that I was playing a heroin addict. And so it was physically very demanding where I ended up losing like 20 pounds in two months. And it was pretty dark, man. I was not one of the fucked up comedies. This is not, doesn't fit that. No, no.

I was in a pretty weird head. space where um you know on top of the not eating very much i was you know i wanted to get as much into the role as i could obviously i'm not going to take heroin but i wanted to watch requiem requiem for a dream it's like that's an incredible movie but you're like i never need to see that again imagine watching three of those every day and most of them being documentaries about real people going through this stuff and so i was in this like dark heroin tunnel and i was you know i was 20 pounds lighter. I'm already not a big guy. So that's like a big chunk of my weight.

And, you know, I was coming home every day and just in a foul mood and like Allison's calling me out. She's like, you're not yourself. You're not fun to be around. And I'm just like, I'm fucking starving. What do you want for me? All I can add is half a chicken breast maybe. I mean, that's, yeah, that's generous.

And basically, I'm glad I did it. It was like nothing I've ever done before. And what's cool is the actress opposite me is Abby Jacob who's also mainly known for comedy and I think the director cast us because even though the subject matter is very heavy she wanted there to be a little bit of levity and so we play brother sister and even though there's a lot of really intense stuff going on we're funny hopefully with

each other you can be you know we have that shorthand and uh yeah that's a Netflix movie uh I think they're still editing that so who knows when that'll come out but I'm excited and now you're just looking for a project where you can like gain 40 pounds and just sit on your ass playing video games exactly but also I think there's some you know a lot of baggage that comes with that like yeah look at I mean the most extreme that that movie that Jared Letto did where he was playing the guy's chapter 27 I saw that here actually oh my god yeah and he was like you read about him you know melting ice cream and drinking bowls of melted ice cream I don't see what's weird about that this is describe my daily diet and like how those those diets like they affect you

oh yeah yeah out now or something no I feel like Christian Bale said like he can't go up and again. Like it's just, at a certain point, diminishing returns. I mean, he's taken 10 years off of his life. I mean, he's like the greatest actor out there, but he can't do that anymore. It's not worth it, man. Yeah, he's, he's, he's, he's, he just, you stay at your way, Christian. Well, I'm excited to see your next fucked up drama at least. Six balloons. Is that what it was called? Very cool. Congratulations on this one, man.

Make an appointment with the secretary on the way out for our next appointment if you could. Yeah, let's just say two and a half weeks from now. Okay, perfect. Thanks for stopping by, buddy. Good to see you. Thanks as always. That was the always delightful and charming Mr. Dave Franco, star of the Little Hours taped at the Sundance Film Festival. Up next, yet another Sundance conversation with one of our favorites, Logan Wormann. Are you sure this is a new one or are you just?

I'm recycling. No, if you listen to the conversations, you'll tell that it takes place very much in the Sundance Film Festival just days ago, Sammy. That's why I need to hear the interview first. She probably should listen to the actual show. Well, at least before I talk about it, so I can confirm that I'm not lying. I'll take it if you listen after the fact, quite frankly. Logan is starring in a new film that I saw at Sundance called Sidney Hall. He is excellent in it.

It is a – he plays the title character, Sydney Hall, alongside L. Fanning. It's an interesting story. It's kind of – and we're going to talk about J.D.Sallinger, ironically, in a second, because Zoe Deutsch is in a film about J.D.Sallinger. But he plays, Sidney Hall's very much a Salinger-esque character. He's a young writer who gets a big flash of success with his first book and kind of struggles with the fame and repercussions of success. It's a big film. It's kind of an epic film. He plays the character at three different ages.

It's just an ambitious piece of work. And I'm always thrilled to see what Logan's doing. He's got a great head on his shoulders, a lot of talent, and seems to be making some really cool, interesting decisions. We caught up at this All these sundance Like interviews are done The context of these is always bizarre Like I said earlier Tavi was done in a library

Last week I did Woody Harrison at a restaurant This was done like in a little condo That neither of us like knew He was like he was like, is this your condo? I'm like no, is your condo? He's like no so like I don't know We were squatting in someone's condo apparently He was beautiful

It was lovely I'm sure it was We've since vacated the premises But that's some context for this A fun little catch-up with Logan Lerman. Check it out and hope you guys enjoy. You're listening to Happy, Sad, Confused. We'll be right back after this.

I'm joined in the coziest condo in Sundance with Mr. Logan Lerman. Is this where you're staying? I wish. This is gorgeous. This is really nice. The roaring fireplace. Yeah, it's nice of them where I'm at. I'm in a frat house right now.

Are you real? Yeah, with like all the guys. It's like 11 of us or something like that. That could be dangerous. Yeah. Yeah, we haven't been sleeping. If you can tell by my voice, I have a little, it sounds like, yeah, I sound much like gravellier.

It's a, you have gravitas. Yeah. It's, uh, what day are we on? Wednesday of the festival, we're kind of coming towards relative towards the end. And yeah, you're just wearing a bib and a diaper right now. Yeah, pretty much. It's kind of strange. Yeah, well, you know, it's how, it's how you, uh, it's how you, uh, it's how you, it's

how I get by here. It's all I, uh, so I, I don't even know how to use my brain anymore. It's, it's, it's not functioning right now. These are complete coherent senses. It's okay. Okay, good, good. Uh, belated, happy birthday, buddy. Thank you very much. You have a good one, 25? That's kind of a 25th is a big one. It's a big one, right? Yeah, yeah, well, it was fun. All good? Yeah, it wasn't too crazy, but, um, you know, saw friends and family and had a nice time. And speaking of friends and family, I mean, uh, Sunnance is always a good excuse to see. Yeah. I have so many friends here right now, which is great. How long have you been in town?

Since Saturday. Oh, nice. So you've had a chance to, like, be around. Yeah, it's been cool. But, like, I mean, I mean that, sincerely, there's, like, a lot of friends here with films, and they all seem really great. And it's been a fun, you know, time catching up with people haven't seen them long in a while. And it seems like a lot of their movies are getting, you know, positive reviews and

picked up and everyone's doing well. So, yeah, knock on wood, hopefully people like the film that me and my team are bringing here today. So, yeah, so I was going to say, so the film is, as we tape this, it's a premiere tonight. I'll be there. I can't wait to check it out? So I haven't seen it yet. So, like, can you just act it out for me? Can you just kind of do a quick, like, two-minute version of Sydney Hall?

I can easily do that. Yeah, no. I mean, I can tell you what's about, though. Yeah, tell me. Yeah, it's about this dude. It takes place over like 12 years. And it's about this guy from this small town who, you know, he's kind of an introvert, more of an observer, pretty normal kid, but he has, you know, a knack for writing. And he becomes successful at a young age and struggles to deal with the responsibilities that come with being an influential person.

Right. And it's kind of about his journey over those 12 years about, you know, his experience in this town that he, you know, ended up writing about. And I just, yeah, I guess how he, how he navigates the success that came with it. So a couple interesting things that jump out when you described it like that. First, I mean, you get to play, as I understand, a few different ages. It's kind of like you, like, an 18, what, 2430? I got that roughly right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So that's kind of cool. Yeah, it's fun. I mean, it's hard to do that with like a 28-day shoot and not a lot of money. Doing in sequence or anything, you're probably jumping around. Yeah, no, I mean, we were able, yeah, we didn't jump around between the ages, but we started with, you know, 18, 24. Oh, that's good. Okay.

Yeah, and then 30, but it's hard to define those ages physically when you have like a, you know, four-hour turnaround between. Right. between the stages in my character's life. So it was really challenging, but we tried to take as much time as possible to test looks and come up with, I guess, yeah, a way to make me look different. And hopefully it worked. I guess you will be the judge tonight.

Yeah, I'm optimistic. You'll let me know if it works or not. Big thumbs up on Twitter, do they have that option? You, so the film, you're executive producer of this one. So second year in a row you brought a film to Sundance. You know, we've obviously talked a lot about indignation. You know what a fan I was of that one. Thank you.

And I mean, it's kind of crazy. Like, not a lot of 25-year-old actors have like two EP credits to their resume right now. Yeah, I feel, you know, and to be at Sundance, you know, for a second year is really, you know, it means a lot to me. It's a big honor, you know. It's, you know, the big American festival. So, yeah. I'm proud to be here. I really like it.

Yeah, I hope people like the film. You know, we worked really hard on it. I mean, I was part of it for, you know, close to two years now. Yeah. But, you know, our director has been trying to make this for 10 years. And he's gone on a huge journey selling it and trying to get it back over years. And he reached, like, huge success because he won an Academy Award for a short film. Right.

I was able to, you know, get his film back. And he's gone on this whole journey to make this. And so I'm happy for him. I'm happy to have been, you know, a partner in his journey. And I hope people like it, you know. It's funny to me. I literally, just last night, I wonder if you're curious about this. I saw Rebel in the Rye.

Oh, yeah. What did you think of it? It's good. It's good. Yeah. And Nick Holt's awesome in it. He's great and Spacey, obviously, as you would expect. But it sounds like kind of wrestles with some of the same kind of themes because obviously

I like Danny Strong too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He does a good director debut. Yeah, totally. So, I mean, and there are obvious.

or maybe not so obvious parallels, I guess. I don't know if people were bringing this up with you, but like, you know, the flush of success that you experienced that we've talked about before of like being defined by a blockbuster film, like a film like person. Is that something that resonated with you with the material or is that something that only in retrospect,

you're like, okay, I can see the connections that are made there. Only in retrospect after I've been doing interviews. Have I really noticed the similarities? But, you know, I think they're different brands of success. They're very, like, I can't really relate. to what my, what the, the type of success that my character has in this film. Yeah. Because I would say the main difference is that I'm not a creator. Right. I don't write the words, right? I'm an interpreter of someone else's material.

Sure. Therefore, I don't take ownership in influencing people through the work that I do. Right. If it is influential at all. Right. Therefore, it's, you know, it's, I mean, I guess I'm recognizable sometimes in the street. but it's not like the same thing where my character, you know, Sidney Hall or you could say like Salinger, their words really, they influence people to do things. I mean, you know, they've changed people's lives. Yeah, you know, that's a different kind of impact. So I can't relate to that or the responsibility that comes with that kind of, I guess,

success or influence. What about like, are there lessons learned? I think the last time we spoke at length was for indignation. And it was a film that, you know, always, you know, always, you know, you knew it was going to be like a tough sell at the box office, right? It's not necessarily the kind of thing that we're going to clamor for to get out there. I was very surprised that, you know, I mean, I mean, honestly, I was surprised that it made it to theaters. I was really happy that it did.

And Harden that, like, it made some top tens. And I feel like by the end of the year, people, like, were acknowledging it's going to, it's the kind of film that regardless of the box office feels like it made a dent in some people's lives. Oh, thank you. So, so. Over the age of, like, 60. Well, I mean, no, I mean, looking back on it just a few months, a few months later, do you. feel like happy with sort of how it went down or are there lessons learned as both an actor and a producer on that one?

Oh, no, no. I'm happy with how it went down. I had no expectations with the film. I just, I personally liked it. You know, I read it and liked it, but I didn't see it in a business way. Right. As being, you know, marketable or anything like that. I just thought it was a beautiful script and a creative opportunity.

And, you know, it seemed like a, yeah, like a. new challenge for me and that excited me yeah and the fact that it was so well received here last year at sundance and the fact that it even made at the theaters and you know a handful people saw it yeah i'm pretty i'm happy with that but uh you know it did did well so i think i think you know mission accomplished it's a mission accomplished you know you can you never really know you can put your heart and soul into a project as an actor and uh producer any any department and and and it might not turn out to be that great. At the end of the day, it's in the director,

the directors, the editor's hands. Yeah, not so much of marketing and all that kind of stuff that you have no control over. Yeah, that too sometimes. But yeah, it's in, it's, you know, you give your options to the filmmaker and then they, you know, cut the film. So it's out of your hands and you can work really hard

and put your heart and soul to something and it can turn out to be complete crap or it could be something great. So it was a nice surprise to see that. people really liked it and that it turned out to be a good movie has it ever happened where you talk about you know like trying to put your trust in a director and like you're giving them options hopefully yeah and you see the finished product you're at the premiere or something and it it kind of breaks your heart whether oh yeah for sure really yeah but i mean i've had that

reaction uh where it's like broken my heart and i'm like oh god i mean where i've been disappointed and people love it right so i'm like okay at the end of the day i don't think it really matters what i think anymore if it you kind of have to let go of your preconceived notions of what you thought it was in your mind. Yeah, I just let it go. It's their film now. Yeah, and exactly. And, you know, you're only as good as your next project.

Right. So just keep moving forward, you know, creatively, I think is important for my sanity. If I could just like, I felt satisfied making the film. I've fulfilled from the experience that I can just move on and try to find another project where I can feel creatively satisfied and fulfilled. and see if it works. But, you know, I think I've become less precious about each film, even though I'm pretty particular and about what I like.

And I'm kind of slow and, you know, I'm not like the most prolific, you know, actor out there. But I, yeah, I've become less, yeah, less judgmental of the films. I'm just like, if the experience was great, And I'm obviously signing on because I liked it. Yeah, the material. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. I'll just move on and make another film.

Totally. Well, and it sounds like, and we kind of have this up at our length of conversation a few months back, like you kind of like, it seems like you had a shift or maybe epiphany's too big a word, but like you talk about kind of actors being on that hamster wheel of just like constantly going from job to job and seeking out like the commercial job

that's gonna get you from point A to point B. And it seems like you've kind of settled into kind of a groove where like, yeah, as you say, I don't need to be working every second. I don't need to be in the franchise. I can just sort of let it come to me. I have a certain standing in the community. I'm going to work.

Yeah, I mean, exactly. Yeah, I guess, yeah, that's, you know, but that's a luxury that a lot of people don't have. But I guess I feel comfortable right now and trying to find projects I like. But it's, it could be a big commercial thing. Sure, no, I like it. But, yeah, there's been, you know,

there hasn't really been a lot of exciting. projects in the studio commercial realm what would your uh favorites of 2016 um the handmade is my number one handmaid was made it's so disappointing that nobody's really whatever with wards it doesn't really mean anything it doesn't mean anything but uh but you know there it's the best film of the year and it's uh it should be no note part chan wook yeah i mean wonderful filmmaker he's made so many good films from old boy uh to you know a lady vengeance but this is my favorite of his films so i loved it it's gorgeous too yeah i'd say the handmaiden my favorite films of the year that i off the top of my head are

the handmaid in manchester by the sea great um uh la la land's up there yeah absolutely hunt for the wilder people which great one people should be talking about that was your last year actually yeah which is great film yeah sing streets on there for sure yep um god there's so many good ones though that i've seen this year uh which has been yeah it's been nice i i've been really satisfied with the movies that have come out this year yeah yeah and it's been nice and spread out a little bit yeah in terms of the in terms of like not all in the fall exactly with it's been all a lot of the ones you mentioned manchester premiered here in january hunter wilder people did so it's good to sing street was a spring was here too as well and that was a spring release you know it was a great

film like the lobster was a great film and that was like a spring summer release totally um it's been so you know a bunch of really good ones that i've seen though i saw you're not so thrilled about the internal sunshine the spotless wine tv show no i mean i hope that falls apart do it's kind of a perfect movie it's uh yeah it's just unnecessary um uh it's unnecessary it's it's yeah it's yeah i think a lot about it no but it's uh you know about why people you know exploit you know films like that for profit but there's no point right there's no point right um so have you been working or looking around for stuff in the last few months since we've talked yeah yeah i've been i've been you know just reading and trying to find the next thing and i think

I found a few things I like that I'm excited about for this year, but, you know, until contracts are signed or whatever in your on set, like, I'm always skeptical to talk about it because things could fall apart. But yeah, yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited. It seems like, you know, 2017 will be a good year. Oh, you're the one optimistic person about 2017. Well, you know, I mean, not, you know, politically, not like in terms of our country. I mean, don't get me wrong. My career is going great. Just for me. The country's going to tell. Yeah. No, yeah. No, I've completely. lost hope. I'm completely...

We can't end our conversation like that. We have to bounce back immediately. I'm a sad, sad individual right now when it comes to what's the state of our country. But yeah, every day. Every single day. It's something new. It's just, you know, crushing our souls. It's just an overwhelming amount of things to combat. It's like usually there are like one or two things. I feel like we can

concentrate our efforts on, but there's so much out there. It's a little overwhelming. It's very overwhelming. Not to go on a tangent, but... Yeah, no, I'm with you. We could like... Yeah, we could... It's a different conversation. Once this is done, we can go to a whole conversation about that, I guess. And then before you get out of here, have you seen any films while you're here?

I only saw one movie, but I really liked it. Wilson. Oh, I saw it too. It's good, right? I liked it too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really did. Amazing Lordearn.

Yeah, and I'm, you know, I'm a Klaus fan. Yeah. I thought Craig Johnson did a really good job adapting his material in a way that, you know, kind of felt like his, like the source material. It felt like his comics. Totally. Um, yeah, I like it. Good stuff. Yeah, go check out Wilson.

That's a free plug for Fox Searchlight. Yes. And go, yeah, go check that film out. And go check Sydney Hall out if it ever goes to theaters. I hope you guys see it. It's going in 5,000 theaters next week. Yes. Going right there.

No, I can't wait to check it out tonight, man. I hope you have a good time and I'm, uh, always love geeking out with you. Yeah, likewise, dude. It's good to see you. Your, uh, your gorgeous, I don't, if it's not your condo and not my condo, who's condo is this? I don't know, but this is, once I actually, I liked it when I first came here And then I started looking around, and I'm like, it's kind of freaky.

Yeah, the artwork. Yeah, the cowhide or whatever, you know, like, what is this? Let's get out of here, man. Yeah, this is kind of odd. We've got to run for the police kick us out. All right, let's do it. It's been a pleasure, man. That was Logan Werman.

Again, starring in Sydney Hall. Hopefully to be in a theater near you sometime soon. I'll keep you guys posted on that front. Definitely coming to a theater near you is a movie called Before I Fall that stars the lovely talented Zoe Deutsch. I love Zoe. Zoe. I got to know kind of when she got into the vampire academy craziness a couple years ago and that was like hopefully going to be a big thing. It didn't necessarily pan out. Maybe the way some people hoped it would. But a good byproduct of that was getting to know Zoe on that press tour and so thrilled that finally we've

had her on the podcast. This is a pretty short conversation. I know she wants to be on the podcast that for a longer chat, I definitely want to have her on for a longer one. She deserves it. She's charming and funny and self-deprecating, just all the things that we love. She stars, as I said, and before I fall, which is opening on March 3rd. She is very much front and center of this film. She's the star of this film. It's good to see her kind of like just own the screen. In a weird way, it's almost like a dramatic groundhog day.

She's like, plays a teenager who keeps reliving the same day over and over again and kind of has to face the consequences of what her and her friends do to maybe some, you know, social outcasts that they, that are in their high school and don't treat them. well. And it's, it's very well done. For like, especially for something in that kind of quote, quote, quote, Y.A genre. It's based on a piece of literature in that genre. It's a good piece of work and got some really great reviews at Sundance. She's also in a film called Rebel in the Rye. I referenced J.D. Salinger earlier. J.D. Salinger takeover here on a happy side confused. So this one I want to mention because it stars Zoe has a smaller part

in the film, but it's starring Nicholas Holt, our good buddy. Yeah. Who doesn't. love Nicholas Hall. I know. I missed sadly I missed Nick back at Sundance. That is sad. We exchanged some social media correspondence and some DMs. At least something like that and I don't want to review my sources out how I communicate with the stars.

Got it, got it. But yes, we did and he has a great role in Rebel and the Rocky stars as J.D. Salinger and it's as you might expect a very strong performance, a strong role and to sort of see again very similar in some ways to Sydney Hall to see

sort of how Salinger dealt with, you know, fame and not wanting any of that fame and all the repercussions of Catcher in the Rye. He also started in a film that I didn't get a chance to see called Nunes, directed by Drake Doremus, who he worked with on Equals with our friend, Kristen Stewart. So it's all connected, Sammy. Well, it means you got to, what, 25 movies? You didn't have time for this one extra? I literally couldn't fit them all in. It's like impossible.

Well, someone better get him the screener. Okay. We'll catch up with Nick soon enough. But right now, let's talk to Zoe Deutsch. As I said, this is a short one. But hopefully, we'll have a longer chat with the delightful Zoe Deutsch soon. I hope you guys enjoy. Here she is.

I'm not going to holding microphones and speaking. I'm still not. and hold at the same time. We're joined in a strange, where are we? Where are we, Zoe? We are in a corner in Sundance, surrounded by life water. It's not a metaphor.

It's not a metaphor. It's water that brings us life. I'm a little punch drunk. I've been here five days. You said you got here last Thursday as well? Yeah, and I, so I was making fun of people for saying that they had altitude sickness. And I was like, oh yeah, everyone's blaming everything on altitude sickness.

You're getting a divorce. It's altitude sickness. My leg hurt altitude sickness. And then two hours later I get home and I'm like dying and someone's handing me oxygen tanks and I was like, what the fuck? This is real. It's super, do you have it?

I don't know if I had that. I have a little exhaustion. And I say that only to excuse my interviewing techniques because I feel like day one if you get me, oh, it's a brilliant chat by day four or five. I was amazing on day one too. Day four or five, it's like movie, talk now, go. I get it. Well, I'm on the same place, so we don't, I don't, I'm not judging you.

Okay, good. No judgments right back at you. Okay, great. We were saying, we were clearly. Well, no, I was saying, I love you. I love you too. And I was, I was saying that we're obviously very important people because we keep missing each other.

We've been trying to catch up for a long while. Well, you're very important. To stop it. I'm just, just getting stupid. Oh, God. Oh. Yeah, we might have a self-deprecating off where we can, who can shit on themselves. I just realized this is just, um, audio, and it's going to sound, I'm going to sound horrible.

Oh, right now. Right now, people are in their treadmels. being like holding their ears, like, oh, God, make it stop. 100%. Leave now. You do not want to listen to me. But you are busy. You've had a busy fall, exciting year.

You had Wihim. That did it really well for you guys. Yeah. And now you shift into this really cool film. Congratulations. Thank you. Before I fall and Rebel and the Rye here, which is, you know, it's crazy is that I did my audition tape for Rebel and the Rye in Vancouver while I was shooting before I fall.

Oh, really? Yeah, I've just remembered that right now. See? So much from my. See what you do to me? my God, my gifts are so amazing. God, never ending. So, I mean, you must be thrilled.

I mean, I know you've talked about this a bit, but before I fall, I was hardened when I saw it because, frankly, you know, being at MTV, especially, you cover a lot of, like, you know, Y.A. inspired films and stuff. And frankly, the percentage isn't so great. And this one's really good. And the reviews have been great. And the reception's been really good. And you have to feel a sense of relief and excitement that I see you the director,

have some cool stuff. But give me a sense. I am so pleased. one with the timing of this movie just because it's all about... The film is all about recognizing that what you do today matters and that you do have a voice

and you do have a purpose and you can make a difference in one moment. And I think that's really relevant and important. I'll just say that. And I'm really, really, really pleased as well. Who says pleased? What year is this? 1920? Please. I'm fucking 95.

No, but I am pleased. that it's at Sundance as well, because it is, I don't think people realize, I don't think people will expect it to be as deep as it is. And it being at Sundance, I think, is helping people see it in that light. Oh, I should pay attention to this in that way. Yeah, totally. Because it's, I mean, I'm really, really proud of it, honestly. And I think it's a beautiful message.

And I've been walking down Sundance, and it's not just teen girls that are liking it. Right. Men that are like, I called my daughter and I said, I love you. And I was like, oh, I should try to write a list of things I should work on. and who I should take more time to spend with, and that's special. People did that for Dirty Grandpa, too, I feel like. 100%.

Don't sell yourself short. Oh, my gosh, you have no idea the amount of people. Yes, a lot of people went home that night and wrote in their diary, Dear Diary. So what's your relationship like with, like, festivals? Like, growing up, obviously, parents in the business, had you been to, like, them growing up, had you... So I have never been to Sundance,

and I am, like, one of those annoying actors who really, like really, really fucking loves my job. I really, really, really do love my job. And I really, and I really love every aspect of it. And I love every, like, I don't need to be the person that has five faces on the poster, which happens to be before I fall. But the beautiful thing about Sundance is it celebrates independent films and the kind of movies that I grew up loving and watching.

And it's not about the whatever movie star or bullshit, whatever that means. To me, at least, that's how I perceive it. And it's really, really exciting. And I was so nervous to come here. And, like, more so than anything in my life. Yeah. My mom and publicists were like, what is wrong with you? You've done so much.

You're so brave. And I was like, I'm going to be honest. I think there's strength and vulnerability. I'm going to tell you I do not feel brave. I feel so nervous. Because it feels so cool. It feels almost like. Because it feels so cool.

And because I'm so, I feel really, really lucky. Yeah. I do. And that sounds so annoying. I do. Really do. And it's nice to come with two. I was saying I'm going to be there at your premiere.

very excited for Rebel in the Rye. I love Nicholas Holt, first of all. That guy. Yeah, fuck him. I hate him. He's so talented and charming. I mean, it's a bummer about his looks. I know, yeah.

He's kind of, like, yeah, it's kind of harsh to look at. He's also probably really fun to interview, too, because he's just so smart. He's so funny. So entertaining. And people don't know it. I had him on the podcast, like, you know, one of our, like, full-on episodes. And it was- Right, the one that the fancy people get to. I was, that's not sure.

Zoe, what did I say when you sat down? Now, let's be truthful. Okay. okay, all right, all right, all right. You win this round. God damn it. I wanted to just, like, get you ready. Yeah. I don't want to just plunge right in because we haven't officially talked in a interview capacity for probably a couple years. Yeah. So we need to kind of like dip our toes back in the waters. Yeah, but you get this dynamic going again. Yeah, I agree. We do. We 100% do it. We also need to start to train me to hold a microphone. Like I told you,

I'm just an actor. I can't talk and hold a microphone at the same time. But the good thing is for the full-on episode when you come to New York, we have a fancy studio. You don't have to hold a microphone. We could give you complimentary coffee, maybe some life water. I know. For the people listening to this, I know you love him, but you have to understand for actors, it's like a true gift and a joy to see on your schedule. No, I'm serious. I'm allowed to also, was I allowed to curse on this? Yes, absolutely. Yeah, fuck yeah. You go for it. And it's, it really is because it's like this, you and Gray, Drake, are like this shining star. No, really, it's, it reinvigorates like, oh my God, I get to talk about what I love and they understand and

they're cool and blah, blah, blah. Enough about me. Okay, let's talk away. Tell me a way. Tell me a little bit about Rebel in the Rite. What's your favorite color? No. JD Salinger, your Una. O'Neill. Tell me more. What do I need to know? So the film is about, it centers around J.D. Salinger and his life and the tumultuous relationship

with writing and his family and women. The whole thing, I play Una O'Neill, who I previously knew only as Una Chaplin. Right. She was fascinating. She was this um she was just constantly like surrounded by insanely talented crazy people her father was

Eugene O'Neill who if you don't know him he was a prolific and slightly depressing writer right uh I saw a long day's journey three nights in a row and that's a laugh right that's a lot of laughs um and her best friend was Gloria Vanderbilt and Truman Capote and her she was dating Salinger and ended up marrying chaplain so she was in the middle of it all yeah fascinated by talent, and she was definitely in the middle of it all. I got to take, I felt like for me so inspiring and fun to take this crash course on the 30s and 40s, elite New York society. And it was a joy. And Nick is like not only really talented, but unfortunately, also the nicest person in the world.

Let's move on. Okay, enough, enough, enough, let's move on. So what's on the docket? You're going to do some more, because before I fall, opens pretty soon. So you're going to be doing a bunch of press for that. Maybe if you hit New York, it will come in. But what are you shooting next? Do you know?

I've actually been kicked out of the business. This is my last run. Oh, no. Oh, well, it was a good run. It was a good run. It was nice. No, I have a movie that I'm extremely proud of called Flower. That'll be coming out soon.

Okay. So that is that. And I know I've really pitched it well. Does it feel like the opportunities are getting a little more interesting, little more exciting right now. I mean, you know, for a young actress, it's not necessarily you don't get, you know, the pick of the litter at first, but it seems like... Well, I got, I can't complain because I got to play... I had three extremely fun and complicated and interesting parts in the last year between... Yeah, no, I'm very, I feel very lucky because

it wasn't like that whole... I think, I don't know if you feel this way, but that whole thing about strong female characters, I think there's a lot of strong female characters. It's more like, For me, in what I'm reading, a lack of complicated, kind of fucked up, weird. You can be a weak character as long as it's interesting and whatever. Yeah, well, I think it's pretty strong to be like a stoic wife or a girl. You know, this is one who's holding down the fort. That, to me, is not as exciting as, you know. But I feel really lucky.

I just want to keep working. Fingers crossed and want to jinx it. No, this is it. This is it. We both retire here. As I said, this is just the start. This is restarting our professional relationship. Oh, thank God.

It's been too long, and we're going to take some silly photographs now because that's what we do. Okay, great. I'm looking forward to it. It's good to see you, Zoe. It's weird to say that, like, as if I'm not going to talk to you in 30 seconds. But for the audience at home, good to see Zoe. And for the audience at home, I want to formally apologize. For me, in general. Keep running on that treadmill. Don't worry about the word sounds.

Yeah, sorry. 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 pressure to do this by Josh. This episode of Happy Sad Confuse was produced by Michael Catano, James T. Green, Mukda Mohan and Kashamahilovich for the MTV Podcast Network with additional engineering by Little Everywhere. You can subscribe to this and all of our other shows on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

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