My Mom's Basement - EPISODE 337 - DAVID DASTMALCHIAN RETURNS

Episode Date: March 5, 2024

David Dastmalchian returns to the Basement to discuss his new movie, 'LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL' - as well as his roles in 'DUNE', 'OPPENHEIMER', his excitement for 'DUNE 2', his relationship with Nolan/Villeneuve and more! Originally recorded February 29, 2024. #DavidDastmalchian #DUNE #Oppenheimer ****************************************   My Mom's Basement is a weekly podcast hosted by Robbie Fox, started in March 2019, to discuss movies, music, comic books, wrestling, mixed martial arts, and more with his friends and idols alike!   Subscribe on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/MyMomsBasementWithRobbieFox Subscribe on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-moms-basement/id1457255205 Follow Robbie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatrobbiefox Follow Robbie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobbieBarstool My Mom's Basement Merchandise: https://store.barstoolsports.com/collections/my-moms-basementYou can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/mymomsbasement

Hey My Mom's Basement listeners, you can find our episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, and Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Alright, welcome back to My Mom's Basement. Today we've got a return guest, David Dasmalchen. Last time we talked about his role in The Suicide Squad as Polka Dot Man, The Dark Knight, and more. This time we're talking about his roles in Oppenheimer, Dune, and Late Night with the Devil, his new movie. So, without further ado, David Desmalchen. Ravi, back in mom's basement. So good to be back, man. How's it going? It's going well. Thank you for being back on the show. This is like twice in almost a year. It was

11 months ago you were on the show. Wild, dude. Wild. But last time we were in uh nyc i uh i can't wait to get back to the city and uh i'll have to come see you in the actual basement next time but today virtually it's uh from your weird uncle's uh attic to mom's basement yeah we're here to talk uh late night with the devil today um i was able to watch the movie this morning i I really loved it. It's in theaters March 22nd on Shudder, April 20 or April 19th. I'm sorry. This is such a cool movie. And for those that don't know what it's about, it is about a broadcast, a late night broadcast that went down in the 70s, Halloween themed. You know, there's obviously a crazy demonic possession involved. What was for you the selling point in getting involved in this movie? Two things, man. There's two things that made me go, I got to do this movie. The first

one was the Cairns brothers who wrote and directed the film. They're two brothers, big horror nerds, big cinemaphiles out of Australia. They've made some really kick-ass indie horror films before. They, through the producer who's a friend of mine sent me the script and this this this document that they made that looked like an old 1970s tv guide but it was about jack delroy and the tv show night owls that this movie is based on and the big events that went down that really kind of shocked the nation it changed you know uh that this this horrifying story so they they send me this thing and i and i'm reading i was kind of shocked the nation. It changed, you know, uh, the, the, the, the, the, this, this, this horrifying story. So they, they, they, they send me this thing and I, and I'm reading,

I was like, wow, this, this vision for this film, this world that these guys want to create is so awesome. And I love like the seventies. I love the idea of like late night television, just this TV culture in the 70s you know you think about things like um the king of comedy and the carson show and dick cavett and uh don lane and all that shock tv stuff even from when i was a kid which you or your friday fans won't even recognize but there was these crazy shows used to be on like Phil Donahue and Morton Downey Jr. and all of it. I love that stuff. The other thing, the second reason why I had to do this was it literally scared the living crap out of me. I've never gotten to play anything

remotely like this. And I don't think that it's in my wheelhouse. The idea of being a late night talk show host, a guy who's basically a stand-up comic who's good at interviewing people it's like this is your job man you know like robbie you should be on this movie me i'm a character actor that's played a lot of bad guys done a lot of cool characters and been in like superhero movies and you know all kinds of stuff but like this is not the thing that I would imagine I would be very good at. So if somebody says to me, I wanted, I want you to do this thing. I had to really overcome my fear of failure on this movie. And so far, knock on all the wood, you can find the response has been positive. I hope it stays that way. But at the end of the day, I'm really glad I did it

because it's always important for us, I think, to take risks and to try and do the things that scare us the most, especially if there's something to learn from them. And I definitely learned a lot about myself as an actor doing this movie. Well, I think it was a great performance that you couldn't tell at any point

that you were scared to do that or that it wasn't, you know, a natural fit. But so much of this movie is the presentation of it from like the documentary style beginning and then the way commercials are handled even and going to handheld shots. How much of that did you get from the script or maybe their pitch as well involving that tv god type book totally that was through and through the dna of the film was cooked in that stuff so it was like the way that they shot and cut together all the docu style stuff that you feel especially at the beginning of the movie when they're giving you the backstory on all the events that led up to this night october 31st 1977 and the night hour show and Jack Delroy and all of the history that led to that moment was like needed to be conveyed to the audience in a way that was quick, concise, helped you understand that you're watching something that is real time television.

And they did it amazingly well, pulling from like existing footage of that era but also going out and shooting stuff while we were filming this is a very small movie we had a very tight budget a very short time for filming when i think about what they were able to pull off i'm just so impressed and it's because i think they loved the material so much and because they spent so much time preparing for it um one little tidbit for uh anybody who is a genre nerd like me they did the the montage opening kind of intro to the world of night owls and jack delroy and the events that led to this horrifying event and for the voiceover it was just one of the directors colin or cam did it just for temp. But when it came time to finishing the movie, they reached out to and they were able to pictures like ironside has always been like so rad so that was really cool for me and in the genre the horror genre it somehow lends itself so

well to found footage type things this is obviously spin on it it's not necessarily found footage as much as it's like a found broadcast for a lot of it. But there are so many examples from Paranormal Activity to Blair Witch to even a movie like Cloverfield or VHS. What do you think it is that works so well within the horror genre there? Well, I would say, I would rephrase your question. What is it that can work? Because we've seen a lot of found footage that doesn't work, right? Yes.

When it does work, when it's a paranormal or it's a Blair Witch or it's any of those movies that we love that were done in the found footage style, I believe the vision of the directors, the confidence of the vision of the directors, their ability to convey that vision to create a world a reality that feels authentic so for us it meant creating what felt like an authentic recreation of night owls 1977 tv what that looked like the way the camera work is done the way the little mistakes are allowed to happen like a mic getting in shot or all that stuff that subconsciously to you as an audience member starts to populate your brain with this padding and feeling of like, oh, I'm really watching

this thing. And then for me, it scared the crap out of me because I have a specific face. I've done enough things where as a supporting actor or character actor, you might go, hey, that's the guy from Dark Knight. Or, oh, that's Polka Dot Man. Or that's whatever. That can't be going through the audience's mind while they're watching this movie or it's going to ruin the experience. So I had to – I watched hundreds and hundreds of hours of late night talk show hosts of the 1970s. I just enmeshed and embedded myself in that reality, trying so hard to manufacture something that felt authentic. So hopefully in the writing, the performances, and when the world feels real, that's when it works or can work. That's when hopefully as our audience goes with us on this journey and they go back in time with us to that night, the way we recreate and tell this story, hopefully they're going to feel like they're getting to watch that lost

broadcast. Were there any particular late night hosts of the 70s that you were trying to base your performance around or have influences from? I watched a lot. I watched a ton of Carson, a ton of Letterman, a ton of Dick Cavett. But there's one, if I said the one that was the most, he was an Australian talk show host. Um, huge down there. He was like the Johnny Carson of Australian late night TV. He was an American. Um, his name is Don Lane and he had a talk show, just like the ones we're used to here, same kind of format. But something cool about Don Lane was that he would occasionally bring on people who had supposed investigations or experiences with things in the paranormal or ethereal. And he, as opposed to maybe the way we would see them portrayed in American talk shows, where maybe they'd be like the butt of the joke or just on to be goofy. He would try and give them a legitimate five minutes to like,

okay, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Go for it. What's wrong with wanting to believe? That was his philosophy. Like, why is it so bad? As long as we're not getting duped and we're not duping people, what's wrong with wanting to believe, with wanting to think that something could be there? So he would give people a shot. And it led to some really interesting television and big conflicts because he would also have like a guy on who was debunking people similar to the way it happens in our film. And watching his interviews and his cadence and his style and his presentational manner was really useful for me in prepping the role. him as well as great it really is a great character it's almost like having like the cop in a whodunit you know just constantly in the corner of the room looking around and trying not to make sure he gets all the information he gets it really is a fun watch and i got to watch it this morning it's stuck with me for hours now i just keep thinking about the movie that's awesome man that means a lot i really because you know this is a small movie this is like this is a passion project these These guys were able to pull this together on a very tight budget. We had a very short schedule. We had all kinds of

crazy snafus right up until the moment of filming because of budget and because it was COVID times, et cetera, et cetera. We had, we lost two of our main cast members right before we started filming. And we were so lucky with recasting that we found these incredible actors who just killed every one of the roles. The whole cast in the film is so good. Ingrid Torelli, who plays Lily, I believe this was her first film, if not definitely one of her first roles ever. She's so good, dude. She gonna give linda blair fans a run for their money she have head spinning she's so good uh laura gordon's so great as dr june ross mitchell mitchell um my my sidekick uh reese the actor who played the psychic he had never done a scripted performance

in his life he's like an improv guy. And the director saw him doing an improv performance at a comedy theater one night. And they were like, this guy would be great. Isn't that wild? I'm so fortunate that I was surrounded by so many talented people because that of course then makes me look better. when you say it was a very short schedule to shoot what is that for a movie for i think we had 15 days i could be wrong i think we had 15 or 18 days and um we were on stages the dockland studios in melbourne australia where they built the set of night owls and the guy who's our production designer actually used to build game show sets. Uh, so he knew how to like capture that, that, that aesthetic. Oh, the set is so

fricking perfect. Um, and then we did maybe two days, maybe it was one day of exteriors, all the stuff running around where like the, the shots of me and my wife before her passing like us like in our house which was really just a friend of theirs house who happened to have a piano or like we went to like some cafe and tried to make it look like a bar we went to an old movie theater and made it look like we were um out on the town it was this is indie filmmaking 101 where you just you you have to have a powerful, strong vision and people willing to rally around it and some magical luck. And I feel like we had all of those things.

So I know you said it wouldn't be a natural fit, but let's say you were asked to host a late night show tomorrow. I can give you three guests and a musical act. Who would you select if we we were like hey you have like a big network you know their contact list to deal with who are you putting on your show tomorrow i would love to have um charlie's there on i think she's such an amazing actor and i think she's got a great sense of humor and i want to i want to work with her so bad i feel like she would make me so much of a better actor i think she's one of the best actors of our time and i think she's got a great sense of humor and I want to work with her so bad. I feel like she would make me so much of a better actor. I think she's one of the best actors of our time

and I think she's such a powerful, kick-ass woman. I would love to have her on. Michelle Obama, I think she's one of the most smart, fascinating people in the world right now. I think she has such a perspective on what's right and wrong with the world. I'd love to be able to talk to her and then Taylor Swift, not as a musical guest, but just as a guest, because, uh, you know what I do? I see if I can, yeah, I get Taylor Swift on because she is doing something that is like just mind blowing as like she's this force of nature in entertainment.

And I'd love to just like have her on as a guest. But then my musical guests probably have to be Nine Inch Nails. I'm such a diehard fan. And if I had the chance to get to have them playing live on my show, they would never. I don't know how long it's been since they've even played on a TV show, but you know, you said I get anybody I want, right. I would also love to have, uh, Patrick Mahomes, um, and get a chance to talk to him about, I think he's a fascinating human being, uh, who is such a great leader, like a great director. His brain works

in a way that I think very few other humans can. And I sometimes melt down under the pressure of trying to get the groceries before it's time to be home with the kids. I want to know how you marched down an entire football field in overtime under the world's microscope and keep your head level enough to drive into touchdown like how does that work um yeah so i cheated i got a fourth guest for the night so that's your special guest you know that they weren't announced but they made a surprise it appearance. Yeah. I tell you what, I'm tuning in. If that show is going on NBC or ABC or UBC tomorrow. Dude, that show would crush.

If that was my lineup, that show would rush. Crush. I would kill. Yes. Speaking of great directors, I have to ask, considering the timing of this interview, if you've seen Dune 2 yet? I'm going tomorrow morning. Oh, wow.

I'm going to go see it. So you have to be obviously as excited as the rest of us. I'm dying. I'm dying. I'm so excited. I cannot wait. When you're making the first Dune and you have some amazing scenes with Stellan Skarsgård, do you feel the size and scale of that movie

as you're making it with Denny? Absolutely. Absolutely. Because you walk into those stages that Patrice has designed, our production designer, and you look at the world in which Denny's vision is built, and he has this great concept artist named Sam Hudecky who draws out all of these ideas, sandworms and ornithopters, et cetera, et cetera. And they just, they're constantly, the group of them are constantly rallying around Denis' vision and his scripts and his ideas

to try and help illustrate and bring that to life. And it's so magnificent and huge on such a gigantic scale. And yet the wonderful juxtaposition of that is why the films are so successful is because his attention to detail that he can then hone in and zoom in on the characters and what's going on behind their eyes so that even though you've got this entire giant planet with all this conflict and all these fantastical life forms and some weird sprawling architecture, you've got human beings with intense journeys that they're embarking on

and relationships with one another. I think that's why his, his stuff is, it just, it's, it's just so it checks every single box. And having worked with him a few times now, what do you think the most unique part of one of his sets is? The most unique part to me is I've worked with some very kind, loving directors who create very safe spaces for artists, but his is, he is the most kind, most loving director who creates such a giant, you know, what do you call that? Like when, when, when the, um, firefighters put the big pillow out

of a window so people can jump out of the window safely, you know, like the big cushion you land on, he creates that for you as an artist so that you feel safe to jump screaming out of the burning building, but you know, you're going to land in safe arms. And that is what makes you feel comfortable stripping down all of your bullshit, all of your artifice, all of your guards so that you can be as, you know, in the moment and authentic as possible. I've been seeing a lot of people in hype for doing to say like, Oh my God, I'm as hyped as I would be for a Nolan movie. And people are now putting his name with Christopher Nolan. Are there similarities in the on Oppenheimer with Nolan, we talked about how much he loved Dune and Denis' other films. When I was working with Denis, we talked about he wanted to ask me what it was like being on The Dark Knight. It's just really cool to see artists, some of the greatest filmmakers of all time, being such admirers of

one another's artistry. But there's so much that they have in common. There's always, there's always a few qualities in the great directors that I've worked with that is, that is as different as they may be as individuals and as artists and stylistically and tonally and energetically. There's a little Venn diagram that the one thing they always have in common is this compelling, powerful, overwhelming confidence of vision and an incredible confidence and ability in communicating that vision to armies of people, designers, technicians, actors, musicians, so that they can manifest this thing that they're doing. It's really humbling and incredible to watch. The director is a very special kind of animal. They're not just people barking orders.

They're not just know-it-alls. They're like great conductors. They know how to play every instrument. On Oppenheimer, I thought you had such a great, memorable, small role in that movie. And it's something that you've done before where you don't have a ton of runtime

or screen time in the movie, but I really remember your part of it. Is that something you go into movies consciously thinking like, I want to make this as memorable as possible? Or is that something that comes along with the editor with whatever the movie is? No, I think that just comes along with the benefit of having been given killer roles, because what I go in thinking is generally with a role like that, let's say my little role in The Dark Knight or my little role in Oppenheimer or my little role in Prisoners or my little role in Blade Runner 2049 or my little role in Dune or my little role in you name it.

As a character actor who plays smaller supporting roles in a lot of films, I see myself metaphorically in my imagination as a slingshot. So what the challenge is to me is to get into this world and to interact with the protagonist, the character with whom I am interacting with, or my scene partners, and to be like a slingshot that propels the story forward, that propels their journey forward, that creates a conflict, that creates a tension, that does something that pushes this boulder up the hill of what we're trying to do with the story we're telling. So I never, if I went into it thinking like, like oh I got to make this a juicy little thing that stands out I think I would suck ass I think it would be terrible and boring and totally conflated if I am wise enough to rely on the knowledge that I learned in my days training in theater

that it's all acting is reacting and that all I need to do is be saying yes and to my scene partners and helping push them forward, launch them forward, then I just am lucky that I keep getting these really cool, unique roles with great designs and great writing. And Oppenheimer is another one of those movies that when you see it, especially on like a big IMAX screen, it feels as grand scale as any other movie out there. But a lot of these scenes take place in very small conference rooms or office rooms. Is that one that you feel the scale of

as you're shooting or no? Yeah. Oh yeah. Well, it's a Nolan film. So you can feel the scale because the pressure is there. You've read the script. You know how amazing the material is. So I had the benefit of, you know,

getting to go to Universal and read the full screenplay before we started shooting it. And I, he just can convey as a director, um, his vision so well, you can feel the magnitude of what it is that he's striving to accomplish. So while we were on set, while I was watching Robert Downey Jr. transform into Strauss, while I'm watching Cillian Murphy transforming into Oppenheimer, while I'm in the presence of this, I just was like, this is cinema history. I said that a lot. I said, we're making cinema history here. And we did. I got to be a small part of cinema history. I said that a lot. I said, we're making cinema history here. And we did. I got to be a small part of cinema history. Absolutely. He's not a late night host,

but I once heard Howard Stern say that the best part of his job as an interviewer is getting to meet and talk to his heroes. I agree with that completely. And I wanted to know in your job in Hollywood, is that the best part of your job as well? Getting to meet and talk to your heroes? If so, who were the first ones that jumped to mind? Nolan. Mark Hamill. I am a huge Star Wars nut. And one of the first movies that I ever did in Los Angeles was an indie action grindhouse feature called Sushi Girl. It starred Mark Hamill and I had several scenes with him where we were on a heist crew getting ready to go out and rob a jewelry store and then take all these jewels and everything goes wrong when I wreck the getaway van.

And being on set with Mark and having him be my scene partner and have him become a very close friend of mine, which he has, it felt like that I will also say um going to work the first time I got to go and and shoot a scene where Roger Deakins was running the camera um was pretty profound I was very nervous and he has also he and his wife James who's his partner in life and in art have become very good friends um i've met a lot of my heroes and thankfully they've always turned out to be pretty damn cool um i'm very very blessed i'm very fortunate and i'm very lucky yeah i found that uh never meet your heroes thing. Usually not worth, you know, that being as popular as it is. I think you never meet them and they end up being an asshole.

It's better to know that than to be like, you know, I'd be like, okay, well, and they're human. They're just human beings. Like nobody is, uh, nobody's a God. Nobody's perfect. You might meet your hero on an off day. I got to meet Malcolm McDowell. It was the same thing as Mark. I did an indie movie called The Employer with Malcolm McDowell. He was so incredible and he gave so much. And this is a little tiny budget film where at the end of the day, we were over time. He needed to go home and they were trying to shoot my stuff after him the other actor in the scene left and malcolm said no i'm not leaving his state this is david's moment and he sat on the other side of the camera he wasn't even on camera and he gave me gold he's yelling at me and doing the scene with me and i pinched myself walking out of there going, this guy's,

he's not doing this for the money. He's not doing this for the fame. He's doing this because he loves being an actor. And he gave me, what a gift, man. What a gift. That's awesome. Thank you again for hopping in the basement, chopping it up about late night with the devil again. Thank you. Yes. In theaters, March 22ndudder, April 19th. Don't miss out on this movie. I'm telling you, it is awesome. It's a mind blower. It's going to be awesome.

Thanks, man. I appreciate it. It's great to see you again.