The Bill Simmons Podcast - A Very Special 400th Episode With Ice Cube and John David Washington | The Bill Simmons Podcast (Ep. 400)

Episode Date: August 14, 2018

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by hip-hop legend Ice Cube to talk about the renewed Celtics-Lakers rivalry, LeBron to L.A., old-school hip-hop vs. new-school, making records, the Las Vegas Raiders, what to do with the L.A. Clippers, Big3 basketball, and more (11:00). Then Bill sits down with star of HBO's 'Ballers' and Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman' John David Washington to discuss playing college sports, chasing the pro football dream, his big acting break, working with Lee, filming 'BlacKkKlansman,' sports movies, and more (56:50). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's very special 400th episode of the Bill Simmons podcast on the Ringer Podcast Network brought to you as always by our friends from ZipRecruiter. Their technology and tools make hiring more efficient and effective. It's the smartest way to hire. I was driving in my car yesterday on the radio listening to a ZipRecruiter ad. I was just banging out the beats. I was just doing it on my own. I was ad-libbing.

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Download the SeatGeek app or go right to SeatGeek.com. We're also brought to you by TheRinger.com, where I am looking at this on a Tuesday afternoon. And here's just some of the stuff we have on The Ringer. Danny Kelly writing about college offenses. Just what the hell are they? Paolo Ugetti writing about the Eastern Conference All-Star roster. Justin Charity and Kate Nibbs had a great movie pass debate. Kevin Clark wrote

about his interview with Josh Norman, who had some controversial thoughts. Sean Fennessey wrote about movies. Lindsay Zoladz wrote about Nicki Minaj. You can check all of it out on theringer.com and the Ringer Podcast Network. We are still crank of it out on TheRinger.com and The Ringer Podcast Network. We are still cranking out stuff. The Ringer NFL Show is really starting to heat up. We launched fantasy football. If you're a fantasy football fan, Danny Kelly, Danny Heifetz,

they're going to be doing fantasy football on The Ringer NFL Show feed. And I thought the pod this week, or actually it was last week, was really good. It'll be even better this week. But a lot of information. And I'm realizing, I was listening to the first two they did and realized that I have no idea what's going on in fantasy.

I got to start doing some homework. The draft is close. I don't want to be unprepared like I always am. Kyle, who's the Pats number one receiver right now? It's Chris Hogan. It's Chris Hogan. Chris Hogan is, they were saying they thought he could be a top 10 receiver.

That's incredible. Really? Well, I have to listen. He was like going 29th on Yahoo and they were saying he could be top 10 potentially. Chris Hogan, number one Pats receiver. Those are the kind of tidbits you find out on the D&C Football Show.

Check that out on the Ringer NFL Show. Coming up, 400th anniversary. So we're want to have two guests. Ice Cube, he was on last year. He's on again. And we tried not to repeat any of this stuff we talked about last time, but it went a lot of directions. That one was really fun. Then John David Washington, the star of Black Klansman, which is excellent. He comes on after that, probably around like the, I would say the 48, 49 minute mark of this podcast. So I also nailed the Washington family daily double because we had

Denzel on about five, six weeks ago. So I think that's the first father son combo until I have LeBron James senior and junior on the podcast at some point. That's all coming up. So this is our 400th episode of the Bill Simmons podcast. And I think I've done more than that for the ringer because we've done, obviously been done a bunch of rewatchables. We have another one coming this week for wedding crashers actually. And I've popped on the ringer NBA and ringer NFL. So more than 400 around the ringinger network, but 400 here. We started this podcast in my pool house in October of 2015. Tate Frazier was the producer.

He stayed on for, I think, two years and then he graduated. Now he's a host for us. He's hosting One Shining Podcast with Mark Titus and he's hosting GM Street all through this football season. So we have done a bunch of these in a bunch of different places. And I think the one thing I realized, especially after the HBO show went away, I had had a lot of success and a lot of fun interviewing a lot of different people

on my old podcast on ESPN. And I just felt like there was another level it could go to. And then after the HBO show went away, we really kind of doubled down on, all right, we got to get, let's go get some guests. Let's go, let's really try to put some thought into if we're doing Monday, Wednesday, Friday every week, these three podcasts will complement each other. Obviously we had Cousin Sal on Mondays. We had some recurring stuff with people like House and Jacko and even my dad,

but we wanted to just put together something that I thought went in a lot of different directions, kept you on your toes. Tommy Alter, who worked with me on the HBO show, really started to help out on the talent side, trying to find the right people. Nephew Kyle joined the team, gave me somebody to make fun of every once in a while,

but it's love life. How's your love life today, Kyle? It's not great. All right, not great. That's our update today, Nephew Kyle. But it ended up being cool. We do this in my office. You've seen the pictures on Instagram.

If you see me on Instagram, it's a SPTGY33 and we've had a lot of people pass through there and pass through here. Actors, celebrities, athletes, business people. It's been pretty cool. We ran a video that is gonna run today actually trying to rip through all the different guests we've had. And it's pretty neat. I don't know what my favorite

one was, and I don't want to pick one. I guess we've had favorite moments. I think probably the coolest one, for some reason, I'm just going here, is Paul Thomas Anderson, who came in in December. Sean Fantasy joined me. Boogie Nights is one of my three or four favorite movies. And I had no idea how it was going to go. We'd heard, you know, we'd heard he was a great guy, heard he, you know, didn't do a lot of these long form interviews. And we just didn't know.

And it ended up being really great and so much fun. I think those are the best ones when you're not totally sure how it's going to go. And then it goes way, way better than you thought. I think Ethan Hawke was like that a couple months ago too. I assumed it was going to be good, but he was amazing and was able to go backwards and really reassess a lot of the work he'd done. So these things can go a lot of different ways. And for me, it's just been really fun to do because it can go from one day I'm talking to some celebrity I've always wanted to talk to, and then the next day I'm making fun of my buddy Jacko

because the Red Sox just swept the Yankees. And it's been an awesome outlet for me. I wish I wrote more. We're so busy here at The Ringer that the writing, it's just been tough to balance all that because writing is really like, it's like golf. If you're not playing that often and you go out in the course, you're going to struggle.

So I'm hoping to write more, but in the meantime, the podcast has been really an awesome creative outlet for me and really fun to watch the audience grow. I can't believe how many people listen to this now. I think we've watched this grow since we launched, I think it was October, yeah, October, 2015. I think we're getting like, I don't know,

450,000, 500,000 listeners. And that is now, we are now in seven figures with this stuff. And I think there's a lot of reasons for that. I think more people are listening to podcasts. The devices are better. You have Spotify got involved. You have Google and they got involved and it's in cars and more people are aware of them. And there's all these different people listening at the gym. It's all the same stuff, all the same reasons people would have listened to a podcast eight, nine years ago. It's just all the technology and this stuff is better. People are listening to them at one and a half speed. And it just feels like this medium that I always believed in and was a big source of my frustration when I was at ESPN,

just because I felt like we could have been monetizing it better. But I always believed in this medium, the concept of radio on demand always just made sense. And now where you see where the world is going, where just everything is on demand, podcasts by proxy just have made more and more sense. So it's been fun to do this. Thank you for the feedback and thanks for spreading the word for us. We're having another really good year, not just on the BS podcast, but with the Ringer Podcast Network in general. It's a big part of what we do. It's super important to us. We listen to your feedback. We try to keep innovating and

trying to keep doing stuff that we feel like is both unique to us and stands out. We have some narrative stuff coming that we're dipping our toes into that we're going to announce soon. And it's really important for us not to do too many of these. We want all the stuff we do to compliment each other. We've had a lot of chances to add podcasts or add ideas. And we don't want to be one of these places that's just cranking out 15 podcasts a day and making you choose which one or two

you'd want to listen to. We want you to listen to all of them and we want them to all make sense collectively with what we're doing. So anyway, thank you for spreading the word. 400, 500 I'm looking forward to, a thousand, who knows? Who knows how many we'll do?

But it's been an awesome ride. Go check out that video. We'll put it on the at ringer Twitter feed and you can check that out and see some of the guests and go back in the archives if you missed any of them. I forgot about Al Pacino, by the way.

That was another highlight when he started telling Godfather stories. Were you there Al Pacino, by the way. That was another highlight when he started telling Godfather stories. Were you there for that one, Kyle? I was there. We were talking about Paterno, right? Yeah, but then he got into John Cazale. Yeah, that was a good one. I mean, too many great moments to count.

Talking to KD right after he won the finals too in his basement after, I think he'd been up for two straight nights. There's been a lot of highlights and I don't want to single any out because there's been a ton of them, but thank you for listening. Thanks to everybody who's been on. Thanks to all the recurring characters.

And here we go. Ice Cube first, then John David Washington. But first our friends from Pro Gym. All right, Ice Cube is here. He came on the podcast last summer. I thought we were one and done, but then the Lakers signed LeBron, and now all of a sudden he wanted to come back.

Yeah, man. You know, I got to come back. You guys are back. We back. You know, what's cool, it might be like a Lakers-Celtics championship on the horizon somewhere. I'm banking on it. Isn't that just the best when it comes around? It's the best.

It's a circle of life. Yeah, it is. It's a circle of basketball life. I remember trying to teach my son, like, you know, what it means, the rivalry. Because he was born in 2000. Yeah. So he doesn't know anything but Shaq and Kobe. Oh, yeah.

So I was telling him what it meant until it came around and then he had a chance to fill it and the celtics beat the lakers oh wait yeah so and then the lakers just celtics yeah he now he understands what it means so it was special for it to come back around where he could feel it. You know, he felt that loss. And so it's cool if it come back around again. Yeah, it's basically had four incarnations because you had Russell versus Weston Baylor. Which I missed. That's all the 60s.

I missed that as well. Yeah, I missed that. Then it circles back with Magic versus Bird in the 80s. Got that one. I got a nice dose of that. Then when Shaq and Kobe were good, the Celtics weren't, they never met in the finals. They just didn't have the right teams.

But then it circled back again with KG, Kobe, Pierce. So this seems like it's going to be the fourth. If it's like a movie sequel, this is like the fourth sequel. This is the fourth one. And it's always good in its own way yeah except i like that there's real animosity there's there's very few rivalries where like yankees red sox they play every year yeah you know and and you have these different like football ones you have the teams in the same division the bears and the vikings they hate each other

celtics and lakers aren't even in the same conference no they're still it still feels like a real rivalry and yet they've only been i don't know 12 13 14 finals that's it they've only crossed paths maybe 14 times yeah but it seems epic it seems like the best of sports you know it's it's Ali Frazier or something like that. It's just as good as it gets. And you realize that you realize that, yo, I'm living through a moment right here. Yeah. Well, the LeBron was the big guy for the Celtics to try to get through the last 10 years. It's, it's just kind of funny that he's in the Lakers though. It's like our two biggest rivals of the last 30 years. Celtics have a great team.

Do you know LeBron? Have you interacted with him? What are your LeBron experiences? I don't know LeBron. I seen him when he was a rookie at the All-Star game. He was kind of standing off to himself, like, you know, and I remember my kids like, that's lebron yo that's lebron yeah you know and i looked over there um but but and you know said what's up but uh the

next time i really interacted with him was we did like this this karaoke thing for james uh cordon yeah and um that was real quick and um it's been nothing since but i like it like that i like you like a distance yeah i like to be a fan you know especially being so entrenched in sports now um Yeah. You know, I really appreciate being a fan and not knowing the guys or not interacting as much as I used to when I was younger. Well, this whole new, this new generation of players with the musicians and the rappers and the hip hop artists, they're all kind of intertwined

and the guys are dropping the players' names the songs they hang out off the court. Yeah. Is that, that wasn't happening in the nineties as much or maybe really at all. You know, it, I think it started to happen more later in the nineties. Um,

but earlier it was, you know, I'm pretty sure the Raiders could care less who we were at the time. And so the interaction now seems like inevitable. Like it has to be because, you know, these guys see each other at the clubs and, you know, these guys cross paths at all these events. And, you know, athletes love paths right at all these events and you know athletes love entertainers entertainers love athletes and it's just you know a marriage it's peanut butter and jelly well musicians secretly want to be nba players and nba players want to be musicians

man i used to want to play football you know i played football in high school yeah and i was like yo yeah man what if i went that route you know what if i didn't meet dre and i went that route and um until um deon sanders invited me to a falcons game when you play with the falcons stand on the sideline you're like i'm like whoa i don't want none of that not right now you know i'm saying not playing football for years i'm like nah i'm glad i'm glad i'm just a spectator because they go hard you know and it's real and it's a whole nother level that you you you never think about what's the standing with the old school hip-hop and rap with the new guys what's the what's like all the stuff you were doing now

if you're somebody like jason tatum he's 19 he knows he knows your your nwa through the movie and through and through like spotify i mean i ain going to play them that short because they actually have more access to old music nowadays than we did. But they weren't buying albums, though. It's Spotify, Apple. It's just different. Some things that come from our generations might trickle down and they hear it and they like it, and then it goes from there

and then they gain interest and become fans of groups that we you know probably was like yo you know that's old what you doing but so um it you know it's like any wave you got the grumpy rappers who don't like nothing, new school. And then you got go-with-the-flow type people who can dig any school. And don't resent the new guys. Don't resent the new guys. Understand, yo, they had their time, and now it's these young guys' time, and they do cool stuff too. And just like every era has had whack people.

You know, it's like the old school, we can name some whack groups from the old school just like we can name some whack groups from the new school. It's like in each era of music, in era of music you're gonna have great artists and you're gonna have artists that should keep their day job which which group are you in are you in the uh angry old guy on the couch are you in the i love all the new stuff i'm in i love i love what's good from any era. Yeah. That's how I am.

And I hate what's whack from all eras. So that's who I am. I don't look at myself as from any particular school. I can say I'm old school, but my father would look at me and say, boy, you don't know nothing about old school you know uh so and i could say i'm i'm new school but the youngsters will probably play something i never heard before and don't know where it come from or where the artist who the artist is you know all these artists are using like auto-tunes, so it's hard to, you know, I knew Big Daddy Kane voice from Eric Sermon from, you know, Ice-T. Yeah.

You know, now you're not sure who it is because they're all using auto-tunes, so they all kind of sound similar. That's the only problem I have, and maybe that's cause I could give a damn as much as, you know, I can give a damn less now as, as I did before. I think it's amazing how much music there is now. You think about like, we're around the same age,

you know, when I really started buying CDs and stuff in the mid eighties and cassette tapes, all that shit, we only had like, you know, music only became modern in the mid eighties and cassette tapes, all that shit. We only had like, you know, music only became modern in the seventies. Really?

Yeah. It's some stuff in the sixties, but mostly seventies. It was mostly like classic rock and stuff like that. Yeah. And in the eighties, it started to get more interesting. Hip hop rap really didn't take off to the late eighties.

But now if you're a 16 year old kid, you have 30 years of just hip hop and rap to, to kind of cherry pick. You may even, maybe even 35. I'm actually jealous of the people now. You are? Yeah, I am. Nah, we live through the best era.

I think it'd be so much fun to go back. Well, we live through it, but it'd be so much fun to just go back and be like, whoa, look at all this music. You know, we just didn't have that. Yeah, we didn't have it um and it shows you how resourceful we were you know yeah to take just the category that we had you know we would go to the studio with a half a crate of records and do four songs you know with like maybe 20 records to pick from and be able to make these songs from. So I remember working on America's Most Wanted with Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad, and we did it in Long Island, 510 Franklin

or 710 Franklin, one of them streets. But they owned a warehouse full of records. 510 Franklin or 710 Franklin, one of them streets. But they owned a warehouse full of records. Yeah. They were DJs, college DJs. So they, you know, so it was too many records to choose from. It was like they just stuck me in there and said, okay, pull out your record. They gave me two crates, me and Sir your record. They gave me two crates. Me and Sir Jinx gave us two crates empty.

Fill them up with what you want to make your album with. And then we can go to the studio. What? Man, I'm in there, I mean, two weeks. Right. It's like a buffet. Yeah. Trying to fill, you know, play records, listen.

Oh, this got a horn break. Oh, this have, you know. And fill up that crate before we can even start and write down what I want to use, you know. So it was, you know, those dudes was mad scientists, but it just showed you like sometimes too much to choose from, you know, even though we made a great record out of that. But luckily we had two weeks to sift through all this stuff. Yeah, there was a discovery, not to sound like two old guys, but there was a discovery thing back then that doesn't exist now. Because if something's on the radar now, you know about it, you find out about it from a buddy, they send you the link or you're on Spotify or whatever. I remember like the chronic

i'd heard about it i didn't really i didn't know what it was i entered any of the songs and a friend of mine had the cd my friend anthony like what's this oh this is you put it in you'd be like that first time you kind of remember it's like seeing a movie for the first time and i wonder what that's like for the generation now because it's a solo experience now exactly you know you're you're at your house your apartment wherever you got headphones on got your little your phone your apple whatever you have but back then it wasn't like that first before you show anybody yeah you definitely want to be the one up on it so you're gonna watch it first and then you're gonna be like hey check this out back that by in that late 80s early 90s it was it was much more communal yeah it was like hey listen to this okay and then people play for you yeah i remember when you you couldn't make a record

unless you went to a big studio like yeah it's like nobody's making a record out they house no more you know that's like back in when right you know you nobody had a studio but once like studios became a thing you couldn't make a record at home and expect anybody to like it you know it was like you had to go it was a process you know now make a hit. It all ended with Soulja Boy. Just sitting at home, made a hit, and made itself a star. And then it was over. Make it from your computer.

Never go to the studio again. Is it weird that you have these albums now that are almost 30 years old and the new generation of people they're just cherry picking songs from it whereas when you guys were making you know we were still into you know you know the songs you mean just kind of not going through the whole well thing and you mean just picking out day it was like the album was that album album it meant something it was a collection of the songs and you're trying to make a, whatever statement you're trying to make.

I see what you're saying. Now it's just a song. Yeah. Now. Yeah. It's not an experience. No. You know,

it was, um, some records I wouldn't listen to until I had an hour to listen to the whole thing. Cause I knew I didn't want to be interrupted. I didn't want to be distracted. Yeah. You know, I just want to listen to this whole thing because I knew I didn't want to be interrupted. I didn't want to be distracted. I just wanted to listen to this whole thing from start to finish because I knew

this was that kind of artist and that's what they were giving you. Now, you know. Well, you listen to the whole album partly because it was a pain in the ass to turn the album off. Especially if it's a cassette. True.

You have to flip it, fast forward. Just play it. Let it play. But then you would fall in love with these songs that were never meant to be the hit songs. Yes. Springsteen had a lot of those where he had his songs that were the known Springsteen songs,

but then everybody had their other kind of favorite under the radar songs. And I wonder if that's the case anymore. The CD really brought that in. Yeah. Where you didn't have to be tortured by the whack records. Skip to the next song. Or just repeat the one you like over and over again.

And that's the start of cherry picking, I guess. Well, I guess the music industry, everybody I've talked to says it's doing unbelievable right now. But I remember back in the day, like you'd almost have the two song rule with whether to buy the album or not. You wouldn't want to buy it off one song. You want to make sure they had at least one more good song.

Damn right. Spending like 1499. Yeah. And going, driving to the store, standing in line, getting it, dealing with,

you know, and you know, you're going to pick up another album. So you're spending more money cause you're going in the store. And so, yeah, it was a process. So you better be good. You better be good. Which of this decade's generation of stars, which are the ones you're most impressed by? Wow. Wow I'm impressed by You know

People like Drake You know Even Kanye I know You know Lately people Have been tripping on him

But Guys that can create Their own music And lyrics And you know Basically are You know One man show

It's pretty cool Yeah You know I mean Dr. Dre has those qualities You know A guy that can Basically, our one-man show is pretty cool. I mean, Dr. Dre has those qualities, a guy that can make his own hit beat and rhyme on it, and that's what they do. So I admire records. I produce records. But as far as sitting down and just coming up with all that music, I leave it up to guys that do that. And I stick with the lyrics and the concepts and the arrangements. So I admire guys that can do it all.

So it's like Drake and Kanye. It's a little like in basketball, the guys who can run an offense, create a shot, but also create for other guys. Yeah, who can do it all at a high level for a long time. Do those guys reach out to you? Do they ask for your advice? No.

No, they don't reach out. And, you know, I'm cool with that because, you know, I'm not Dr. Phil or nobody. And I ain't trying to give away all my secret sauce anyway. Right. Yeah. Man, that's weird because I would think there's only like a handful of people who have gone through the same types of experiences, right? Yeah.

And if I was a younger person going through that, I would want to reach out to some of the people who have been through that and pick their brain. Like if I was Drake, I'd be like, I'm in LA. I want, Hey Q, can we go to dinner?

Just want to take you out to dinner and shoot the shit with you for three hours. Yeah. I'd probably be like, for what? You know, uh, I don't know.

You know, it's, um, it's a thing, you know, I've never done that to anybody. Like, anybody that was on top. If I run across them and we can chop it up, that's cool.

You guys are fucking competitive. Yeah, it is. I like it. We are fighting for the same space. It's better than basketball. Basketball, everybody's buddies, though. Yeah, it's weird. They're all buds.

It's weird. You're like, hey, Drake, I don't want to go to dinner with you. No, I'm not like, hey, Drake, I would go to dinner with Drake. No, you like hey jake i don't want to go to dinner with you no i'm not like hey drake i would go you just say you don't want to go to drink i'd be like what's what we're going to dinner about you know what i'm saying i need to know what's your angle i need to know motives and motivation so i can be prepared you know and it's cool it ain't like you know i mean i want you to say yeah i just want to pick your brain i just want to holler at you i'm full of uh advice and encouragement and you know anybody can really call me and ask me anything about the business and i'll give them what i know yeah because i think it's each one teach one and that's how everything gets better, you know, somebody did that to me. So I'm always an open guy, but I got to know where, you know, what we're doing, what we're doing here.

You know. Have you said at all bad blood from 25, 30 years ago? You have any? I hope so. Any residual stuff that you're still pissed about? Oh, I thought you meant my beefs with people. Yeah, your beefs. Oh, it's always some residue. It's always a little residue.

Who's the residue? Tell me some residue. There's a couple residues out there, you know. Really? Yeah, and I don't want to, you know, I'm going to let sleeping dogs lie. You know what I mean? It ain't no big issue, so I'm going to leave it alone. I ain't going to mention no names.

I'm really disappointed. I know. I was excited for some residue don't matter you know I just don't want to you know uh bring up no names okay and you know bring any anything to the surface that's been laying dormant but you're pointing out there is some residue it's always residue quick break to talk about FanDuel. You've heard us talk about other fantasy sites in the past. We finally got around to trying FanDuel, and we were shocked at how different it is. FanDuel means it when they say they have more ways to win.

And if you're not a fantasy expert, FanDuel is the best place to play. They have all kinds of contests just for casual fans, like beat the score contests, which are great because they pay out everyone who hits a certain score. All you have to do is finish in the money to split an equal share of the cash. FanDuel also has new options for playing with your friends because the only thing better than winning cash is winning your friend's cash. Best of all, FanDuel doing their part to make the preseason bearable with preseason fantasy contests running up to week one of the NFL. Right now, you can get a $10 bonus

when you make your first deposit on FanDuel. All you have to do is sign up at fanduel.com slash BS. Age and state restrictions apply. Back to Ice Cube. Since the last time I saw you, the Defiant Ones came out, I think. I don't think we talked about that the last time

pretty sure that came out like July yeah July August I thought it was I thought it was spectacular it was probably it was four hours probably could have been three

but it was too long it was a little too long I think a bit tighter but the story was amazing and and I thought it really did a nice job of of portraying what the 90s scene was like it was one of one of the better

things i've seen for like here's how it went well i mean the huge brothers are amazing film makers you know well they spent five years on it, too. Yeah, I mean, they're just amazing guys who, to me, don't do enough work. Yeah, yeah. But they're very particular. Yeah, which is good. You know, it's like, you know, we'll wait for whatever they did. They did a documentary on, like, pimping or something. Oh, yeah, the HBO show.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was pretty extensive and heavy and showed you things you never seen before from that game. So, you know, I love their style of filmmaking. So what was your reaction when you were watching it? I haven't seen it all. You lived through all of it. You didn't see all of it? No, no.

I watched a little of it. I've been through the story. I already know what happened. I already know seen it all you lived through all of it you didn't see all of it nah nah I watched a little of it I already been through this story I already know what happened I already know what it is I would have thought it would have been like watching home movies

or something yeah but who wants to do that you know you lived it though I know and I mean we've been

regurgitating it for since you know for 30 years well you know. For 30 years. Well, you know, Straight Outta Compton took four years to get to the big screen after its initial interest. So I had four years before the movie came out. Reliving that whole era. Yeah.

You know, investigate and research and talk to people and get all the information we needed to make that movie. And then we shoot the movie, which wasn't an easy movie to shoot. It was pretty, you know, rough and tumble. Yeah. You know, it was a hard subject. And so you got that aspect. You got, you know, people, you know, getting murdered. You know what I'm saying?

And, you know, things with, you know, happening like close to the set. You know what I'm saying? Just, you know, guys getting ran over. And, you know, it was hardcore. And so by the time the movie came out, I was full of it. You know what I mean? I didn't need to see, to me, another documentary on what it was. I already know what it is.

Have all the stories been told? No. No. Because. Well, now I'm intrigued. I mean, in that world, you're living every day. And every day is something new. Catches your eye, catches your interest, shakes you up,

makes you, you know, think different about certain things. So you can never sum that up in a movie or documentary or anything because it was every day. It wasn't two hours. It wasn't four hours. It wasn't six hours. You know, it was, you know, hours upon hours upon hours of different things happening to different members at different times in different parts of the city it's just crazy what do you think everything that happened to you guys in the late 80s early 90s in the current era spotify apple being able to have a song be heard immediately

and go everywhere, how does that affect the trajectory of all that stuff? You're basically getting the feedback and all the acclaim and the popularity of the money instantly in a lot of ways. Yeah. And the word's spreading fast. Yeah. I'm not sure the question. i'm saying in this in 2018 yeah if you have a hit song yes you're immediately a phenomenon yes if it's done correctly everybody

hears about it the way you guys did it it was much more gradual built towards something and you got to enjoy kind of the steps of the ride now there is no ride if you have a good song you could immediately become very famous yes what's better um i think the long trajectory is better that's what i feel like too it's a home run you know a home run might not go as high as a foul tip, but it's a constant, gradual rise and distance. And when it land, it's money. A foul tip can go as high as the Empire State Building. But when it come down, it don't count for nothing. So the shot up to me is not as good as the gradual soar.

That's what I think too. Did we talk about the Vegas Raiders yet? Not yet. I can't remember. Did that happen the last time? I don't think it was official yet so what happens you follow them to vegas of course i kind of like it i i actually think it's it's like it's weirdly perfect it gives them like a boost a shot in the arm a little bit i mean i'm sad for ogle i'm like why can't they build a stadium it's crazy what what is that whole area is so much money in that area.

It's like they don't want it. Yeah, they don't. That's what it is. It's like the city is like, we'll make our money off the port. We won't have to deal with like tailgating. Raider fans. Raider, crazy Raider fans. It really seems like a lot of this was the Raider fans.

Yeah. Get them out of here. Yeah. That's what it seemed like. Because it's like, why? I still haven't gotten the answer. I mean, even they don't even want the Warriors there, it seemed like because it's like why i still haven't gotten the answer i mean even they they don't even want the warriors there it seemed like yeah i don't know i know the people want them there i don't know what's going on the undercurrent of of the city you know seem

like separation there it's a very strange time for that whole area because oakland has become you know it's turning into a suburb it's turning into a place that people who can't afford to live in san francisco the next stop is oakland and that whole city's changing and you would think that would lead to sports teams and yet all the sports teams are leaving but in the raiders case well with the raiders they consider that gentrification getting them out of this. They're like, yo, we can get maybe a nicer football team here. I do wonder if that might be part of it. Like, ah, someday

we'll get an expansion team. The Oakland Starbucks. Yeah. Oakland Starbucks. Called the Bucks for short. The Vegas thing I wasn't convinced was gonna work and then the hockey team came in and was like lights out it immediately succeeded and sold out and um it's clear that a there's a lot of sports fans there and then b um all the ticket brokers just buy up

all the tickets because they can give them to whoever there's only eight football games i think it's a party you know it's and and party. And people only count Vegas as the strip. But Vegas is a big city now. There's a lot of people there who don't go to the strip and don't like the strip, but they will go to a football game or they'll go to a hockey game. Or they'll come in, they'll go to a restaurant. I mean, all the great restaurants are there. And so, people forget about not only

the people that's there on the strip looking for something to do, but the whole city's staying away until there's something cool that they can come in and be a part of. If you were the Clippers, would you move to Vegas? If I was the Clippers, I would kill myself.

No, no, no. I'm hard on the Clippers. You should be. Yeah, because they're just here. I think they can do a lot of good elsewhere. There's a lot of cities,

Seattle, that are hoping and wishing for an NBA team and we have too many and they're never gonna I guess uproot the Lakers

and so it's doing a disservice to me to the Clippers, their fans. When Chris Paul was getting booed at Dodger games, it was over for me for the Clippers. Because at that point, the Lakers were horrendous and the Clippers were a contender.

And they would show Chris Paul in the Jumbotron and it's like mixed results with the fans. It's like, we don't need a second team in LA. We just don't. No, we don't. Not basketball. No. I mean, not even football. It's too, people love't need a second team in LA. We just don't. No, we don't. Not basketball. No. I mean, not even football.

It's too, people love the Lakers too much. Hey, the Chargers. Get them out of here. They get a package deal. Get the Chargers out. They get a package deal. Y'all want that? Got it for cheap.

Well, it seems like the best solution would be Balmer moves the Clippers to Vegas. Or Seattle. Well, so he moves them to Vegas, sells them, and they do like a swap thing where he gets a Seattle expansion team. So the whole Clippers franchise just moves to Vegas, and then we just start over with the Seattle expansion. The other way, the easiest way to do it is just the Clippers move to Seattle,

but he seems to be really stubborn about that for some reason. You would take a franchise that's like the black sheep of LA and you would turn them into a $3 billion franchise immediately in Seattle where there's a ton of money and great fans. Didn't he promise the NBA he wouldn't do that for a certain amount of time? Eh, promises get broken. Yeah.

Go in there and talk to Adam. After five years, yeah. Adam. Come on, baby. Let's make this happen. Let's make this happen, man. Well, the thing is, he's trying to build this arena in Englewood, and the guys that run the forum are trying to block him and the rant.

And so they're going to be suing each other. They're going to go back on Laker Holy Land and expect a game? Yeah, you're going to put the Clippers in Englewood? He's like, what? Are you crazy? It's like almost, you know, like a sacred burial ground. What are you doing? What would your reaction be if news came out they were knocking down the forum to build a Clippers basketball arena?

Man, LAPD better get on high alert. Because I'm mad. I'm pissed. You know? It's such a bad idea. The Laker fans would go crazy. They would go nuts. There's too much history there.

Yeah, just driving by the building makes you feel good. Have you been in the form since they upgraded it? Yeah, I played the form. Yeah, it's good. It's cool. I thought they did a nice job with it. That was a dream come true to play the form because it's like growing up so close, driving by it so much, you know,

getting into, you know, going and seeing Ringling Brothers and, you know, sneaking into a Laker game or two every now and then. It's like, man, you know, being able to play it and perform there is like bucket list. How long can you go now in a concert? What's your stamina? Man, I could do two hours. Two good hours? Two good hours.

You need a break in the middle? No. A break? Get a water break? No. Oh, come on, a water break, yeah. A masseuse massaging you? Nah, nah, I don't need none of that, you know.

You go two hard hours? I can go two hours. Have you thought about ever, because there's all these big ass tours now, have you ever thought about organizing like a big ass eight city, ten city, whatever, giant thing? I mean, you know, I love going on tours, but they got to be short. I don't like long tours. So I'm a, you know, anything over like 30 days.

You're done. You're on your couch. I'm like, it's no fun no more. It turns into work. And that ain't cool. What's the best city to play in? There's a lot of cool cities, man. Give me your top three.

Top three, LA, of course. Yeah. Definitely. That's a lot of cool cities, man. Give me your top three. Top three? LA, of course. Yeah. Definitely. That's a Homer pick. Yeah, it is. I mean, but they go crazy. I mean, you got to count it. Yeah, your DNA is here.

Yeah, without a doubt. They get busy for me in Detroit. Oh, you got a lot of history there, too. And they go crazy for me in Denver. What? Yeah, Denver. Why Denver? They love me, man.

It's so, you know. That's so random. It's so, I mean, they got the West Coast flavor out there. They love it. Salt Lake City love me too. Salt Lake City? Salt Lake City. That was one of my favorite things with the

movie is you the Detroit scene is stupendous it was crazy when it's on cable if it's somewhere around there you're flipping channels but all right I'll stay through the Detroit yeah I'll stay 15 minutes you know that scene I love the opening scene with easy just just sets the tone. What's up with your son's movie career now? He's in Godzilla 2. So that's coming out. I feel like I saw him in something else recently. He was in Den of Thieves, which was real cool. He did this movie called Ingrid Goes West.

He plays this quirky character and he's just now he gotta go to Montreal and do some reshoots on on this Seth Rogen movie called Flarsky

nice Clarice Theron is that her name? Charlize Theron Charlize yeah yeah she's very attractive

she was she sat on that couch once we were all flustered yeah is that yeah she's yeah she's very attractive she sat on that couch once we were all flustered yeah is that yeah she's yeah she's the best

what movie do people mention to you the most Friday Friday one what's two Boys in the Hood what's three Barbershop

and Are We There Yet do you get a lot of higher learning or no no not a lot of higher learning that's a really interesting movie it's on cable sometimes yeah it's tough it makes people probably feel funny you know it's one of those movies that make you feel like damn it really hits some subjects hard you know it's like it was an era where movies were going after concepts that people had grabs and held on, like do the right thing or something.

It's like all these stereotypes that people grip on to movies go right at them. It has the neo-Nazizi skinhead stuff which has become recently relevant yeah yeah you know who's our guy oh yeah he's in the big three you're working together again after he was a murderous skinhead yeah let's talk about big three huh how's big three going oh it's great man season two playoffs is here um so we got our playoffs in dallas four best teams are uh we got power going against tri-state power has catino mobiley on it it has cory mcgetty uh it has a big baby davis and has a big baby davis yeah it has Birdman, Chris Anderson. And then you got Tri-State, Jermaine O'Neal, Omari Stoudemire, Nate Robinson.

They're coached by Dr. J. Powers coached by Nancy Lieberman. Powers the one seed. Tri-State's the fourth seed. And then. Can you bet on this? You can. I can't.

No, are there odds? No, there are odds? Yeah, yeah, yeah. In Vegas, there are. You can definitely go and put a line on it. And then, you know, our second game is, well, the second game that means everything is three-headed monsters versus three's company. Three-headed monsters coached by Gary Payton. Yeah.

They got Rashard is hurt, though. They got Mahmoud Abdul-Raouf, Reggie Evans. So they got a squad that's pretty good. They came up. They was runner-up last year. And you got Three's Company, who's coached by Michael Cooper. They got Baron Davis and Drew Gooden. So they got a cool squad, too.

If Rashard loses his hurt, you should get the game to come in as his substitute. No fighting. No fighting. He fights his own teammates. You might need that in the big three for the playoffs. No, no, no. No fighting your own teammates. I like how he apologized immediately after the long Instagram post.

It reminded me of Elgin Baylor and Jared. No. Yeah, without a doubt. Yeah, no post back then. I'm going to write a letter to you apologizing. That was the most Drew League thing that's probably ever happened. The fight? Yeah, the game getting into a fight with his own teammate during the Drew League.

It's the most Drew League moment we've had so far. I mean, it seemed like the most game moment for sure. It's like, you know, he loves to fight. He really does. He's ready to go. He's in like stances and stuff. Yeah, he's ready to go. That's my boy. I love him.

Can you make a pick for the big three finals or no? You're not allowed. No, no, I'm not. I just want good games, man. I wanted to, you know, we go to 50. You got to win by two, no, I'm not. You don't want to root for anybody. I just want good games, man. You know, I wanted to, you know, we go to 50. You got to win by two. So, again, 48 to 48, somebody call a timeout is like. That's it. My dream scenario.

Who is the MVP this season? I don't know. You know, there's four guys that had great seasons that, you know, we let the players vote on it. They're going to vote on it in Dallas this Friday. So it's out of Reggie Evans, Andre Emmett, Corey Maggette, and we have one more person in the mix. Oh, David Hawkins. And I would throw Mahmoud Abdur-Raouf's name in it too.

He's still good from 30? That jumper is wet. It's wet. They can't do nothing with him. You give him an inch, he'll knock it down. Jesus. So when is this on? Friday night, 7 p.m. Eastern on Facebook,

and then live on Big Fox, 8 p.m. Eastern. Our play and then live on Big Fox, 8 p.m. Eastern. Our playoff game is on Big Fox this Friday, and our championship game is on Big Fox next Friday. Is Big Fox like a new thing, or are you starting this? What you mean? Calling Fox Big Fox. Well, we deal with— I kind of like it.

I mean, that's to show—I mean, we've been on FS1. Yeah, but I think Fox should become Big Fox. It sounds like more intimidating. It is. Big Fox. And that's what we call it. So we want people to tune in. Out here it's Channel 11 in LA,

but we want people to tune in to their regular Fox program. And what's your Raiders prediction for this year? Man, your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea what the team is going to look, feel, sound, or play like. You have a guy who was announcing for the last 12 years as your coach. Yeah. I don't know how that's going to go. Might not be a bad thing.

Might not be a bad thing. Because he's been able to get in everybody's locker room. He's been able to see everybody's game plans up close. Oh, I like this. He's like a spy. He's been able to talk to everybody's assistant coach, know what every team is feeling, what their players feel. He's been able to get a view most coaches don't have going into the season.

So he should know kind of the philosophy all the teams he about to play if you're wearing a Raiders jersey in a concert which one are you wearing um I'm wearing um you know Marcus Allen or you could say Jack Tatum 32 is 32 it's great the assassin yes love Jack Tatum those highlights from the 70s of those dudes. Yeah. When they were just laying dudes out, like Sammy White. Unfortunately, Daryl Stingley, who was on my team, that was the worst case scenario. Yeah, that's when it got no fun no more.

Yeah, that was not good. I was actually watching that game live when that happened. That was not good. That was not fun. But those guys, what they allowed in the 70s, if any of those plays happen now, people have a heart attack. Oh, my God. Did you see what they used to do to quarterbacks?

I mean, even as, it's like, I forgot the game I was watching, but one of those, I think it was Wilbur Marshall, almost killed Joe Montana. Yeah. I mean, he looked like a monster getting off the ground. And when he hit him, it was like. Joe Montana took three of like the worst ones anyone's taken. My God. Jim Bird on the Giants crushed him two times. Yeah.

I mean, it was just. Those Raiders ones, they would hit the receivers. They didn't even have the ball and the ball was not even going to them. And they'd be like, oh, you're in my way. Boom. Elbow. Crazy. Yeah.

I'm kind of glad they don't play like that no more. It's too, I don't like the big hits like I used to. I went from, I loved it to, I remember there was like a Ravens, I'm going to say it was Ravens Steelers playoff game. Maybe like eight, six, seven, eight years ago when we kind of knew a little bit about concussions and like three guys got knocked out and it was like, all right, this is, what are we doing? Was that one of those moments?

I found myself going. Yeah. Instead of, ooh, I used to go, ooh. Now I go, oh man, damn, is he all right? Randy Moss on the Raiders, do you acknowledge that era or no? Yeah, he just didn't have nobody to get it to him. You know, he only ran one pattern for the Raiders? Do you acknowledge that error or no? Yeah, he just didn't have nobody to get it to him.

He only ran one pattern for the Raiders. He wasn't going over the middle for the Raiders. The go route. He barely did went over the middle for the Pats. The go route. If you can't get it to me, we're not going to get a touchdown. He made the Hall of Fame, obviously, last week.

He was... Having him on your team, he was on my pats. Yeah. It was just the best. There was nothing like it. No. The first Jets game when he was just torching everybody, it was like, oh, my God, how is this guy on our team? Yeah, it's amazing.

It's like getting triple teamed and scoring. It's how I feel like getting LeBron. It's like, how is this dude on our team now? Again, the Lakers pull a rabbit out their head. Have you seen him in the uniform yet? Yeah. It's weird. It looks like he was born in that uniform.

Oh, yeah. He was drifting around the universe for 15 years waiting for- Yeah, he was born in that uniform. He was waiting to become LeBron. Now, five years from now, you get him and his son. That'll be it. His son will be in the 2022 draft. Probably high schoolers will be eligible.

Yeah, he'll probably be like LeBron is now. LeBron, yeah. My son is the man. Yeah, he's got to start right away. He the man. Thank you. Hey, man, thanks for having me. It's always fun to have you on, man. Good luck with everything.

All right. Thanks, Bill. All right, before we get to John David, you owe it to yourself to experience the comfort and quality of a Burrow couch. Once you experience Burrow, your relationship with your couch will never be the same Burrow.

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Borough makes the luxury couch for real life. All right, here's a conversation we had yesterday with John David Washington, star of Black Klansman. Awesome movie. Here we go. So last night I was at the Grove in Los Angeles at 10.30 at night, seeing Black Klansman.

It was excellent. I was a little groggy. I was a little tired. I'm old now. It was really good. John David Washington is here. How long has the press tour been for this movie? I've seen you on a lot of things. Yeah, I'm old now. It was really good. John David Washington is here. How long has the press tour been for this movie? I've seen you on a lot of things.

Yeah, I'm active. I'm running for president right now, man. It's been great, though, this sort of campaign, just being able. Really, the responses to it, how people are receiving the film, has been very encouraging to continue to bring awareness to the film and just to go see it. It's been nice. So you did all this stuff before the movie came out.

We're taping this on a Monday morning. And the movie did really well. The two big movies were this and The Meg. I don't know what that says. People still want to go see Shark Tales, I guess. That always works. I'm happy for Spike Lito, honestly. It seemed like people,

especially in France and here too as well, they're just champions. Spike, they kind of want to especially in France and here, too, as well, they'll just champion Spike. They kind of want to see him back. They want to cheer for him again. And it seems like they have. They showed up this weekend. You've known Spike your whole life. I have.

I have, yeah. You were even in Malcolm X, right? I was. Like an extra? Whoa, whoa, whoa. They are background artistes, sir. You've been in this town how long? You got to learn the vernacular, baby.

It's background artistes. Yes. Yes. no such thing as small uh actors only small parts so uh no it was a great opportunity obviously and i have grown since then as an artist from you know malcolm x being a background artist to now and uh the responsibility of of uh being ron starworth and and his film was great and uh a great challenge one i welcomed with open arms. What was your relationship like with him before the movie and what's it like now? In passing, you know, he'd show love, but it wasn't like we weren't talking on the phone or anything like that. So when I got a text from Spike Lee, he said, yo, did Spike call me? I was on the text.

I was a bit surprised and shocked, like, how did, okay. But it was definitely worth investigating, even if it wasn't him. I might as well check it out. And I called him, and he pitched me a quick elevator pitch of what the story was. I'm like, okay, this is Dave Chappelle's skit, right? This is obviously some kind of spoof or playoff of that. Then he sent me the book, and I did my research, and I was blown away. I couldn't believe that this is a true story, a true American story.

So I called him back and said, this is amazing. He said, Bet, see you this summer. We filmed it. And that was it? Did you have to beat people out? He wanted me the whole time. I had done a film for his wife. She produced a film called Monster that played in Sundance,

playing a sociopath from Jersey. So I guess he saw something from that. He saw something in there? Yeah. Yeah, so it was cool. What's your NBA team? Do you have one? I mean,? Yeah. Yeah, so it was cool. What's your NBA team? Do you have one? I mean, the Lakers, you know.

Okay, so is that a problem with Spike? No. I guess there's no Knicks-Lakers rivalry because the Knicks have sucked for 20 years. Well, not since what? Since the 70s. The great Reed comeback, you know? But yeah, no, he doesn't have a problem.

I actually like the Knicks too. Like I went to my first Knick. My first Knick experience was with Spike Lee during the film. He took me to a couple games, and it was, I love sitting with him watching the game. That is, he's a game in itself. That's entertaining, just watching him get after it. So, it was a lot of fun. And obviously, our rivalry for years.

I mean, my uncle. The rivalry is back. I think so, in a real way, right? I mean. Let me ask you this real quick just real quick who sits on the bench now with Hayward coming back and Irvin

who's going to sit on the bench for Boston you act like you act like this is a problem it could be it's an embarrassment of riches it could be you know how it is

like just the mental like you got to keep them into it like after coming off of the season who's sitting I think it's going to be I think crunch time will be Kyrie, Hayward, Tatum, Brown, Horford. So Tatum went at the four, Brown at the four? Yeah, we just, five shooters.

Nobody's ever seen anything like this before. Okay. Even the Warriors never really had the five dead-eye shooters at the same time. Green was basically in the 30s for three. Last year, it was like 30%. This year, we can spread the floor. And matchups

won't be a problem? I think they just switch on D. Okay. Did you play in high school? A little bit. I played, I was football was my main love.

But yeah, I love basketball too. Like watching Randall Cunningham was the reason I played football. Oh, from Tecmo Bowl? Ah, you remember that?

Oh, yeah. He was a god. No, it was Bo Jackson though. Everybody, you remember that? Oh, yeah. He's a god. No, it was Bo Jackson, though. Everybody knew. Well, Bo is, yeah. Everybody, I'm talking about Tecmo Bo. Yeah, but like, yeah, like,

like never seeing anybody that looked like me playing that position before and what he was able to do. Something about that number 12 with the wings and the glove. Yeah. I wanted to do that, man. I was like, yo, he's the man.

So you were a quarterback in high school? I was a quarterback in middle school. I stopped growing, though. I went to Mack Brown camp, football camp. He was the, yo, he's the man. So you were quarterback in high school? I was a quarterback in middle school. I stopped growing, though. I went to Mack Brown camp, football camp. He was the head coach, former head coach of the Tar Heels. So I went to camp out there, and I won the little MVP trophy, and that's when I played quarterback. Then next year, when I was going into eighth grade,

I played quarterback, and I got our team to the semi-championship at quarterback. But when I got to high school, it was a wrap. I switched to running back because my height my son is 10 and same la la prep school scene that you're in yeah and it's flagged now and i wonder by the time so he's going into fifth grade by the time he goes to ninth whether it's just gonna be flagged for high school like i'm prepared for anything flag for high school yeah i don't know what's gonna happen well they got like a what do you like an alternate league or something?

I wonder what happens with tackle football for people like 16 and under. I really don't know where it goes. Well, once you're a freshman, they call it JV and then you know... But I'm saying like the schools, could they potentially get rid of football? Oh, is that like a discussion?

I wouldn't be shocked. I wouldn't be shocked. I wouldn't be shocked. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but all the studies that come in with concussions and stuff, especially when people aren't grown up yet. Right, right, right. And it's just more and more damning. And they're going to do that in the South too?

Like football is life out there. Let me tell you something. The South and Texas are never changing. Okay. But I think I could see it. I honestly could see it. I talk about it with I honestly could see it. I talk about it with the parents that are, you know,

for the schools that my kids go to and all of us are like, yeah, we don't want our kids to play football, which is a lot different than when you were growing up. It was like, yeah, I want to play football. I want to be on the team. It's the best way to get girls. Like there's all these. I don't know about all that. Maybe.

No, but honestly though. Okay. So I went to Crossroads Middle School. Yeah. And they, I was actually there when Baron Davis was there like I was I was in seventh grade

and he was a senior his number's retired now at Crossroads yeah really him and Crochere they're at the gym oh nice

yeah I didn't get an invite man it's all good but like I got no he used to like it was amazing he used to be giving them like 40 50 points

in ankle weights like he'd be playing in ankle weights it was nuts but they didn't have a football that's why I didn't stay that's why I went to Campbell Hall But they didn't have a football team. That's why I didn't stay. That's why I went to Campbell Hall, because they didn't have a football team.

All the athletes that came in there, too, they could have had a serious squad. But to your point, I guess they had been doing it. They didn't believe in it. Well, Crossroads is back now, because they got LeBron Jr. Oh, is it Shaq, too? Wasn't Shaq's son over there?

Shaq's son was there. I think he might have graduated, or he's a senior. They have Shaq's daughter, who my daughter played against in the 8th grade title game, who's 6th grade 6'1 already. About to say dominating, right? Yeah, she got in foul trouble. We should

have won. We lost by a point. We got her in foul trouble. It seemed like a great idea. I think she's going to win the next 6 years of titles, but now LeBron Jr. is going to be there. He's going to be like a circus. And he's apparently really good. He's in the whole AAUC. Yeah, I've seen some of the clips. All that stuff.

I expect good things from him. Yeah. So, yeah, LeBron on the Lakers. I was talking, my dad was in this weekend. Lifelong Celtic fan. Lifelong Celtic season ticket holder. The two things we've probably hated the most together over the years were the Lakers and LeBron.

And I mean like sports hate, not like real, like genuine hate. I get it. But LeBron was in our way since basically 2007. And the last few times kicked the Celtics ass in the playoffs, culminating last year, beats in the game seven. So now he joins the Lakers, the team that we hate the most. And my dad was like, have you really thought about this? Like LeBron and the Lakers? Like this is everything colliding.

I was like, no. But y'all are free and clear now. You basically own the East now, right? So there should be some jubilance there as well, right? Yeah, Philly's still looming. Y'all are good. I mean, y'all did that without your main horses last year. We did.

But Simmons and Embiid are a year older. True. Embiid is still a 7'3 monster. This is, I feel like Kyrie's getting a little disrespected. Me too. But you just said that you're worried. There should be no worry. No, I just—

Y'all are good to go. Philly has two of the best 15 guys in the league, so we have to take them seriously. And Kawhi— But y'all should be good to go. Kawhi and the Raptors, he was number two MVP two years ago. Right, but you see what they do. For whatever reason, when it comes to playoffs, I don't know what it is, but they don't seem

to be able to connect it. We're definitely the gambling favorites. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They are the favorites in the East. But then, you know, the Warriors still...

Well, yeah, that's why I'm happy just as a Laker fan. I got realistic goals. We're not going to be... We're not beating Houston or, I mean, Golden State right now, I don't think.

But I think our future is looking really good but you talk about counting people out people are counting out LeBron a little bit here no I'm not counting them out we're back I'm just saying Golden State is a machine the best players Houston has this machine in the system and the MVP with a Chris Paul

who's I don't know if he was a former MVP but he's been at an MVP caliber so I mean I got realistic goals. So, I mean, I got realistic goals. You know what I mean? Were you going to the Kobe games? Was I going? Yeah.

Of course. Of course. Yes, I was. Cause your dad went to a lot. Although I did call your dad out on, he was on my pod about it. His sport's big of me.

Yeah. He's, he's has the, he's Knicks, but Lakers too. And I was like, what's going on? What if they play in the finals?

You have to pick. No, I don't. Yeah. Yeah. Well, he's, he, I guess he feels like he has the experience. He's weird. I was like, what's going on? What if they play in the finals? You have to pick. No, I don't. Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess he feels like he has the experience. He's seen it all. So he can just pick them all. But no, I'm Lakers all day. All day.

But yet, I'm a Yankee fan. So you're looking at me crazy. Cowboys? If people can see this. No, Eagles because of Cunningham. Eagles? You're looking at me crazy right now. We just don't like each other. We have a lot of.

I'm just getting this interview all wrong. Shoot, man. I am. I'm un getting this interview all wrong. Shoot, man. I am. I'm unapologetic for it. Like I said, Randall Cunningham. He was the man. You know, Reggie White, Fred Barnett. The Jerome Brown, Reggie White.

That was one of my favorite random football teams. That didn't win the... No, they had... That had the greatest defense than they had Randall. Exactly. And they couldn't put it together for whatever reason. Well, I'll tell you where they put it together. Video games.

Right. Well, of course. It was an incredible video game team. Yeah, yeah. It was one of the it together. Video games. Right. Well, it's an incredible video game. It was one of the OGs. And they used to have the, not the action, the little action figures I had with the detachable helmet. I love those things, man. Yeah. Randall, he really has not gotten his due as one of those, I've never seen this before athletes.

You're like, whoa, what is this? And he could punt. It was exciting. It was like fourth and 12. Remember that? Very good. Yes. Yes. Yes. On third down, right? what is this? And he could punt. It was exciting. You remember that very good. Yes, yes, yes. On third down, right? Booted it out of there. And then even his resurgence or his final act with

the Vikings, kind of introducing us to getting mossed, you know, throw it up. I mean, he was very accurate with those deep balls as well. So he can throw. He could play. He could recover. I remember it was Gruden that really got him out, who claimed he couldn't read defenses and he was uncoachable or whatever. John Gruden said that?

Yeah. I think he was the new offensive coordinator at the time. I knew I didn't like him. I'm not going to say I don't like him, but I didn't understand that. Maybe Cunningham wasn't liking him. Maybe it just didn't work out for whatever reason. But I feel like he should be talked about more. I'm not sure he's in the Hall of Fame.

He doesn't have the jacket yet, does he? No, but at some point it's probably in the, he's not in the Hall of Fame. He doesn't have the jacket yet, does he? No, but, I hope he gets it. At some point, it's probably in play. If they're letting like 10 people in, the thing that killed them was not winning the Super Bowl that year in the Vikings. Were they,

Gary Anderson missed the field goal that last year. I was going to say, who's that on, man? Who's that on? But that did hurt. That was one of those,

they should have probably won the Super Bowl that year and it didn't happen and that would have been the last piece for him. You played, you played college at Morehouse and then you got

undrafted with the Rams and you almost made it and the whole thing. What was your game like? What running back were you like? I was trying to be, you know, I couldn't break away, but I can get three yards in a cloud of dust. I can make a defender miss in the hole. So I was shifty. You know, I kind of liked the

I loved the Le'Veon Bell. I used to love Barry Sanders growing up. Ricky Waters was, I loved him his running style too, I kind of liked the, I loved the Le'Veon Bell. I used to love Barry Sanders growing up. Ricky Waters was, I loved his running style too. But I also liked guys like Bam Morris, you know, and Natron Means. I used to love guys like that. Could you catch the ball on third down? I was able to do that. I didn't do it a lot in college though, but I developed it like just practice every week,

like being able to spread out there, go out there and play a little slide as well. I wish I had developed those skills a little, like a little sooner though, before I hit the NFL. I mean, I didn't even know how to really watch film properly until I got to the league because Morehouse College, you got to bring your own referees, you got to bring your own tape, your own gloves, your own goalposts.

So you had to like be resourceful, you know what I mean? But like NFL, like I remember Steven Jackson was like, I wanted to get some more gloves. I was like, yeah, but I got, you know, I got one glove for all season in practice and games, the same gloves. He was like, man, to get some more gloves. I was like, yeah, but I got, you know, I got one glove for all season in practice and games, the same gloves. He was like, man, just get you a new pair. And I was like, really?

I can do that? You know, because I'm coming from deep to black college sports and we don't have the resources. So, you know, so that's meaning that I just, I came into a whole other world and grew as a artist, as an athlete a little too late, I think. I'm surprised Belichick didn't bring you in. He loves those smart 5'9 running backs.

5'10? Yeah, thank you. But he likes those. We've had a lot of those. Kevin Falk and Shane Varese. What's my man's name? He was D3. Danny Woodhead. Woodhead, yeah.

I was a big fan of his when I saw him. He loves that. He always has certain, he is a type. Falk. Yeah, he does have a type. He's a type. We just took Sonny Michelle from Georgia in the first round. Or like top of the second round last year, who's also like that.

One of those. Yeah, just can do it all. Yeah, he likes that. I would have loved to. So you kept the dream going for like four years. I did my best. I played in Germany, Düsseldorf, Ryan Fire. And I played for the late, great Denny Green,

UFL, United Football League, which was an amazing experience. He treated us like men. In fact, my first start in that league, I got player of the week. I was a buck 25 and a touchdown, my first start. So it showed me and it showed others that with the right opportunity, I was good enough. And that's all I needed. It was like my Rudy moment, if you will, because that was the only time I started. uh and that was the most significant amount of playing and we won the game too and uh I can just stand on that I did that with Dennis Green as the coach yeah I forever had that and he trusted me after that too he talked to me more stuff like that you know what was the black college football scene like uh so I've never seen it's never really been captured in

like a documentary or any of that stuff let me tell you how it's captured i would love to i would love to explore that a documentary about the black college football experience but the best way to describe it for the general mass population out there is everybody who witnessed the beyonce concert at coachella yeah that's the experience oh that's like exactly what it's like the halftime show people come for the halftime show not necessarily the game so like they're coming for the band which is fine it's like, the halftime show. People come for the halftime show, not necessarily the game. So, like, they're coming for the band, which is fine. It's a very live and interactive sort of environment. People are dancing, but they're not really paying attention to the game. They're cheering if the other team scores.

They're cheering if we score. But it's okay because we're all in it together. And we didn't really win a lot of games either. Who was your rival? Clark University right across the street. Yeah, yeah. So we could beat them. Who was the best one? Who was the best? Clark University, right across the street. Yeah, yeah. So we could beat them. Who was the best one?

Who was the best at all those? Tuskegee, they usually have a pipeline of NFL athletes. Albany State, but they were cheap, man. They get all these D1 transfers that just go for a semester. I mean, they actually made us go to class. We had to keep a GPA. It was all that. They didn't really sink money into the program like they should have, I thought.

They didn't take the sports program as serious as they should have. I think it could be a great asset to recruiting more people and getting the school more recognition as far as the athletic side. Just showing that balance. Because you don't go there for football. You don't go there for sports. You go there for the business degree or you go there for a lot of doctors in the medical field. It's very high out there, highly revered. So you quit football and got into acting?

It was quit for me. I got an injury. I was training for a workout with the Giants and out in Westlake Village, Proactive Sports, with Ron Capretta. He has a great program out there. Shout out to him. I tore my right Achilles.

I was doing an explosion drill. I landed and I exploded out and I hurt. And there was nobody. There was nobody around me. So I'm like looking around, like going down slow. Man down. It was crazy. I saw this little worm in my calf.

I knew it was over, but I was just hoping like, all right, it's just a strain. I can still work out. And the surgeon was like, I got some good news and bad news. Bad news is you tore your Achilles. Good news is I can get you surgery in the next three days. So I knew it was over. So in my state of recovery and a lot of pain medication, a great family friend of mine,

who's now my agent, Andrew Finkelstein, he said, listen, I want you to go audition for something. There's something really cool, a football story. And I told him my response at first. My initial response was, I want to go to school. I want to study first, get comfortable, and he's like, no, no, no, you're not going to get the job, man. You're not going to get it.

You're going to not fail, but you're going to get rejected, but you need to learn what that feels like in the audition room. Just learn how it feels to be auditioning and get rejected. I can actually, I know how to get rejected. I know what rejection feels like because I've been on a couple of, several workouts with the NFL. Yeah. Houston and New Orleans.

So I was like, oh, cool, no, it won won't hurt me and ended up 10 auditions later I got the part so it was an amazing uh transition Achilles injuries because we're seeing this now with Boogie Cousins right the I mean it's like pretty much 90% of the time the person's never the same I think it depends on the sport basketball I think, I think, because it's, you know, you're so dependent on the verticality of it all. Maybe you are different. Although Kobe,

still getting 60 on his last day. Yeah, he took 70 shots. I tell people that all the time. Look at his shot attempts. Yeah, that's true. I know, he was chunking them up. I can't believe people, the Laker fans bragging about that 60.

It doesn't matter. We don't care about- He took half the shots in the game. You're going to probably get 60. But even that, think about how great that is. The fact that this man at that stage of his career took that many shots. I mean, you're not giving that no credit. Alright, fine. Listen, when Kobe

left, I was like, who am I going to argue about basketball-wise? And then Westbrook showed up, and now I'm good. Now that's an excellent... What's your issue with Westbrook? He wouldn't be fun to play with? You don't think so no why because he takes

30 shots a game and has the ball every time he doesn't move and he doesn't have it two triple doubles two triple doubles average seasons

great I get to lose so he does pass right I get to lose in round one but he does pass you're saying he just takes a lot of shots he does pass

he passes when he has to what does that mean when he passes when he has to when he pulls double teams when they have like the must win playoff games he takes like 40 shots. Here we go.

All right. It's just not my style. I'm a team guy. Me too. Magic Johnson is my favorite. Yeah, there you go. He's my favorite Laker, actually. Magic Johnson goes into basketball games and he goes,

how am I going to make everyone else better? I agree. Totally. I've never been a fan of everybody's got to be in my world and I'm going to be better. Let me just say, though, I think Kobe, I think Westbrook thinks the same thing. How am I going to get us to win?

I even heard Kobe talk about it. He thought at a point of his career, getting 81 points is how we get all better, how we win. That was actually my favorite Kobe season because that team was terrible. He was going off. But like Magic Johnson, he was truly included. And even Larry Bird, too.

He's like an underrated passer. They really got everybody involved so that era for me in general was just yeah I'm playing a little bit but the thing with

Kobe and Westbrook for their teams to succeed they have to be great and they have to have the ball and it basically has to go through them and it's like

as long as it's working for me it'll work for all of you but that's not my style the early Shaq Kobe days the ball didn't have to necessarily go through him and they found success well Kobe was like 15 years old he was younger yes

but I mean yeah I mean Fro Kobe was out there dunking on people I love Fro Kobe remember that Yao Ming dunk like off the baseline but he still was team, you know, but Phil Jackson took a Phil Jackson to keep him in check, so that's a part. I think

Westbrook maybe needs, I'm not talking junk about the coach, but I think he might need some kind of older presence that like, look, young man, we're going to call this play and this is what we're going to do, or I'm going to sit you on the bench. Well, this year, they got a backup point guard, Schroeder, from the Hawks. So they're making a big deal about now Russ can play off the ball.

Right, we'll see. We've never really seen him do it. I don't know if he can move without the ball. No, he did. Oh, no, in the fourth quarters with Harden, he was doing it. It was Harden's ball the last three minutes. But was Russ moving or was he just standing there watching? That's what I want to see.

Oh, he was in the corner, I guess. I want to see. Can he move? Without the ball and stuff? We'll see. We'll see, yeah. The thing with Kobebe though that second lakers team was i thought one of the best teams i've ever seen in my life pow and it was no it

was oh i'm talking oh one oh yeah yes yes yes kobe had kind of risen yeah but shack was still shack right yes and for like about three months they figured it out how to really do it and they're averaging like 60 a game i thought that team was yeah no was that was that the same run they didn't lose a playoff game until i that was a one yeah that was a one they almost figured it was the Iverson game was that was incredible though that's when I said that that game right there is when I started like bro I wanted braids I wanted tattoos I wanted chains I was like he changed talking about changing the game we're talking about Cunningham earlier but AI I feel like maybe he's getting the credit he deserves now but he really changed the nba i think they issued a dress code because of him afterwards right well it was a really weird

era for the nba because the a lot of the fan base wasn't ready for it right right right right why is he acting like that it was a lot of older fans so what's going on here right right right yeah and now it's now it seems a lot cooler everybody wears sleeves sleeves and tights now. He started that, man, with the braids. And now it's dreads now. So that game, though, being a Laker fan. But that day, I was like, I love Iverson, man. He was the man. I thought if anything ever happened to Jack, I thought your dad should get the seats.

Because we need like a- I respect that, man. We need like a really sincerely famous person in those seats A lot of people- No, we need like a really sincerely famous person in those seats. And it's basically like your dad or Leo. It's gotta be one of those two. Why is it gotta be a famous person? Because it's just for the legacy of it.

It's gotta be somebody that when the other players are there, they look over and it's somebody with real meat and substance. And it can't be like Justin Bieber. It's gotta be somebody who's had- Well, he's Canadian, right? Well, that would be, yeah. But it got to be somebody who's had- He's Canadian, right? Well, that would be-

Yeah. But it's got to be somebody who's had a career and has real gravitas. Like a Jay-Z. It's got to be at that level. And it's got to be those two seats. The ones right by- I think Jack's got to really- God forbid anything.

I think he has how many years? I don't know left. A lot. Yeah, yeah. No, definitely. But he's got to put something in. They got to put something they got to put something in there

if anything happens like in the contract the Staples Center contract maybe we vote maybe it's part of the California election we get to vote who the next celebrity is

I'd be down for that I'd vote for the old man for sure the problem with him is he's working all the time he probably wouldn't be in any games he missed the 2010 finals

he was on Broadway he couldn't even go to he couldn't even show up for those games. We benefited, his kids. So yeah, keep working, pops. Yeah, you're like, oh, dad, you're going to be away? Don't get him, man. It was a great show.

I wasn't there because I was at the game. Right now you're convinced to do Equalizer 3 and Grease. Yeah, I don't know about that. I don't know about that. So Bowers happens. Nothing wrong with Grease, by the way. I'm just talking about for him. Oh, yeah.

Quick break to talk about MeUndies. I'm so glad they're doing the 400th episode because they did the first one. You've heard me talk about them a million times. Why am I actually so obsessed with them? Well, here's one reason. It's the only ones I wear. My drawer is full of MeUndies.

That's it. My dad was actually staying at my house last week and he forgot his underwear because he's old. Then he forgets stuff. He's like, hey, you have any extra underwear that I can borrow? And I was like, not only do I have any extra underwear, let me introduce you to the wonderful world of MeUndies, which he enjoyed. Hey, MeUndies, you should send my dad some underwear because I think he's had the same underwear for 35 years. It's all I wear. They use a micromodal fabric, which is a full three times softer than regular cotton. They offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So if you're not into them, you can send them back for a full refund. If you're ready to give them a try,

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So Ballers happens. Ballers happens. The Rock, who is also one of like the most famous people. He is famous. In the world. Another level, yeah. But you'd already, you'd been around famous people your whole life. Yeah, but The Rock is.

The Rock is like really famous. Yeah, like on another level. But he couldn't be a nicer person you know he's very giving actor he was he was present he's there it was funny like we were doing the pilot when we weren't sure tonally what we were doing yet like comedy drama so i'm going in on the scene this is my freaking moment you know and i feel like he's feeling the same thing this is his moment i guess we're gonna we're going for drama and we do it and then afterwards uh he starts clapping he's like good job brother hydrate good job brother that's what i felt like i made it though he told me to hydrate get him get him a vitamin water somebody get him a and i was like yo he told me to hydrate and give me a vitamin

water so it wasn't a vitamin water it was like uh i forget what it was one of them nice those healthy waters with the little flavor in it. But I felt like I made it. Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what he said. Like, you need to get your electrolytes, brother. Hydrate.

Good job. And he like embraced me really tight like this. So after that- That sounds like some Tom Brady shit. It may be a little bit. Oh, it's all right. Or some Cunningham shit. You know what I'm saying?

The great one. No, the great one's hydrate. That's why I said Cunningham. Tom Brady drinks like 250 ounces of water a day or something crazy. Yeah, seriously. Oh, wow. They must be onto something. I was going to say, there must be something.

Well, then he let me in. So from then on, I was like, The Rock, you the man. So is Ballers a comedy or a drama? Have we figured that out? You got to ask Steve Levinson, man. The creator of the show asked me. Can you describe Ballers in one sentence? No.

No, I can't. I don't know what. No, I mean it's, no, not in one sentence. I know. It's good, clean family fun. Because it defies what usually succeeds as like entourage. You'd be like actor moves to LA, brings his buddies with him, becomes famous. Right, right. Ballers, it's like former

NFL player, but he's now he's representing players, but then there's these other players and it's like former NFL player, but he's now he's representing players. But then there's these other players and it's about football, but it's about. See, you can't do it either. You can't do it either. I mean, I think it's taken on a couple of different lives. I think season one, the concentration was the inner workings of the business. Well, I say the business, but the culture of football itself, not just African-American athletes, but just athletes, period. So there's a language there of athletic and business language.

And then it started to, I guess, evolve into the business of it, the actual, the other side of it. So, you know, and that's Steve Lev and them, they seem to know what they're doing. And an insane amount of people watch this show. Steve Lev and them. So overnight,

people are like, hey. Overnight. Well, you know, it was, and I want to thank Alan Neerab as well. We wanted to make sure people just watched the show. Yeah. You know, see the character. We don't want to promote, not promote,

but just, it was about the work, you know, because we believed in what we were doing. And if the people respond to it, we'll see how they respond to it. So Black Klansman was your first movie where you're on the set every day and you're in basically every scene or was it yeah that's the way if you put it like that then yes yeah but yeah you're in all the scenes except for like i'm in i'm in a lot of scenes i'm in a lot of scenes it was great though i mean when you read the script could you tell that there was some underlying trump shit in this that, you know, even, I mean,

people get it eventually. There's an aha moment during the movie. You're like, oh, but could you tell even as you're reading it? I wasn't thinking like that, honestly. I was thinking more of how generational hate is, you know, and there's language in this film that's not for wow or shock value or shock factor. We're not trying to entice the audience by using all this foul language to think they're having a good time. This is the actual lexicon of hate.

And you see how generational it is and institutionalized it is. I mean, this is learned behavior. Yeah. And then seeing that, I'm seeing that, especially in the final product, how not much has changed. You know what I mean? Yeah. So maybe we got to start using different words or something. But this is how people feel like and talk behind closed doors

at the family local barbecue. I mean, it's a film of good old-fashioned American hate, but the packaging delivery of this message is in an entertainment capacity. It's a nice time at the theater, too, but then you're somewhat reluctant to laugh. You don't know why you're laughing. You don't know why you're crying.

I've heard people talk about coming out of this film with all kinds of emotions. And that's what I felt reading it. I was laughing a lot. I was dead silent. I didn't know he was going to add the ending at the end of that part. So it wasn't just specific to Trump. I'm thinking about this is our backyard problem, and it's been happening for a long time.

I saw it at the Grove last night, and it was been happening for a long time i saw it uh at the grove last night and it was a really weird audience and i don't know like they were laughing a lot and i don't know if that was a common theater reaction you said you were at three different screenings yeah yeah were people laughing it was like people i couldn't tell if they were laughing because i wasn't laughing that much like i thought it was funny but right um the language was so you know right it's i don't know it was it was it's just a tense movie right i i think that's that's all positive uh like spike lee said it at the uh at the hollywood um at the hollywood um la premiere he's like feel free to laugh don't be afraid to laugh that's what he said to the audience i love that because it's not we

weren't shooting a comedy right when we were working me out and we're all talking about it we weren't going for laughs the hilarity though of it is how ridiculous this is but we can stand on the platform of truth i mean this is a true story and it's about our country so that's what makes it sort of humorous you know that that people really talk like this and this really happened was it weird to act every day and just be around the foul language doing take after take after take and some of the worst words over and over again no it was you just you bounced off i'm gonna tell you why it wasn't weird because maybe in another but it was because of spike lee he he he created such an environment of trust and authenticity that we felt like we were servicing the film so like i've, I'll draw a parallel to football.

When you're playing for Bill Belichick and he's telling you, like, to do something or make an adjustment, you know it's going to be for the betterment of the team. This is how we win a Super Bowl. So you'll do it, and you do it without hesitation. And so being able to act and use your instincts without thinking about, well, this isn't going to service the film the best way, when we're actually, in fact, all on the same page,

it makes those days easier. Now, I can't speak for Topher Grace, who's playing a David Duke. That's a little different. But he had been saying, too, like he made him feel better about he being Spike because it's servicing the film. So to answer your question directly, I was comfortable because I was in the character. I was in pocket based off of the environment set by Spike Lee, our leader. Wig or real hair?

Wig. Could you have grown that? I didn't have enough time. I didn't have enough time. How long would it take to grow that? A couple years, man, at least. That's a nice wig. I was studying it on the giant screen,

trying to figure out if it was a wig or not. Shout out to LaWanda and Sean. They are hair people. They represent it. What's your best Spike Lee story from the shooting? What's the story that exemplifies Spike Lee for you? I got a couple. But the one I go to is, it was like the fifth day of shooting.

We had done a lot of action stuff, not a lot of script, not a lot of dialogue, right? Yeah. But we got the movement going just to break in, establish the environment. So this was like the first day of some heavier dialogue. So we do a couple takes, and he comes back around. He comes to me, and he's not looking like, if you're me and I'm Spike, he's like, all right, so we're going to have you walk this way this time. Cam's going to come around, and we're going to catch you.

You're going to go up there and do your lines again. All right? I was like, all right, all right. And put some bass in your voice. And he just walks off. I was like all right and put some bass in your voice and he just walks off i was like but again he's such a master of energy and and momentum he understands when stuff like when the real stuff that you plan that you plan for but you can't really you can't really anticipate he goes with and he said that i think to just lighten loosen me up a little because i laughed

and i was actually and i was good to go Cause I was a little tight that day for whatever reason. And so I just think he just, he's a master of tone anyway with cinema. And I just think again, how he coaches his players, if you will, he just understands he's a player's coach. He just knows what to say and really what not to say. I mean, this was the freest I've ever felt on any set. I mean, as far as just performance wise, he didn't really give me any notes besides that one, I guess. And you, from your standpoint, you had your voice is different in the movie a little bit. Yeah. So how did you figure out what that accent was? You know, just a lot of interviews. And I got to talk to Ron like on a weekly basis.

But I didn't want to you know, some people have been like your white voice, your white voice. But yeah, it wasn't a white voice. Exactly. It was a voice of hate. He had to seduce hate to get in there and to operate this thing operation. So it was more just a lot of, I didn't want to emulate or imitate it, though. I wanted to just inhabit the spirit. It was like more nasally and it was a little, I don't know. It definitely was distinct. I mean, yeah, I don't know.

I just, I don't know. I don't know how I did it to be honest a lot of film I guess and talking to him a lot and just again knowing what he went through what it's like to be an African American

in Colorado Springs at that time helped me with the voice so what's next for you? I want to work with you know I want to work with directors producers that love what they do

that love the art of storytelling that seem to be enthusiastic about this thing, about the process, who value process. I've been in situations where it's not about the process. So what I learned on this set and what I learned on the set of Monsters and Men, what I got coming out in September with Renaldo Marcus Green, who was a student of Spike Lee, is just process and just not skipping any steps and just telling the truth in such creative and inclusive ways. You know, I love this teamwork, you know, aspect of what I got to do. And that's what I want to be a part of. That's what I'm seeking right now. A wise man said, if it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage. So obviously you want the script to be something you want to do and believe in. But right now I'm learning so much and I need to learn more. So it's about who I get to work with. Listen, that all sounds great.

You got to make one really good action movie over the next three years. Is that how the business works? No, no. I just, I want it. This is, you're a good actor who's also a great athlete. Like this doesn't really happen very often. Oh, cool.

Yeah, well. This is, you have like your own, I don't know. I appreciate that. The Fugitive or Pastor 57. You need one of those. My favorite, I don't even know if it's an action movie, but like Man on Fire, the late Tony Scott.

I mean, that's like a drama, like packaged in action packed stuff. Now you're talking about one of the holy action movies. Thanks. So like if it's something, so I'm saying to answer your question, it'd have to be in that sort of space. I mean, that'd be great. That's like the ideal one, but don't be afraid to make one

where your daughter gets kidnapped and you have 24 hours to get her. Just crank one of those out. Get the big paycheck and then move on to the Oscar movie after that. So it's not selling out, it's buying in. No, it's not selling out. It's buying in.

You think John Wick 2 is selling out? No, I love it. That movie's a classic. Let's not disrespect my man. I'm just saying, don't sleep on the John Wick 2 side. You can do one of them. No, listen, Keanu Reeves, that's my guy. I love him.

They took your daughter. You have 16 hours to get her. I think I can do it. She's somewhere in LA. She's got to be in LA. She'd be in North Carolina. We'll go to the South, the rural South. We could flip it on them.

Yeah, I mean, I'm open. Again, I'm open. What about a sports movie? I'm doing one right now. I'm doing a sports show. I don't know. I would love to. They're spending like a sports movie drought. They're getting too like...

The old school sports movies that we grew up with, they're not really making them anymore. What's your favorite sports film? Wow. I mean, the... I'm trying to think. Because when I was growing up up it was like Cougars The Natural Longest Yard

Bad News Bears Breaking Training it was all those ones a lot of them haven't aged that well okay and now we've moved into like the 90s

the movie was actors no just like they're just dated oh Any Given Sunday Friday Night Lights so that whole era has aged really nicely

but even the program program was my favorite until I saw Any Given Sunday and if you're gonna sub it was my favorite until i saw friday night lights and what pete berg did on friday night lights was capture the spirit and the essence of the culture in a way that i've never seen cinematically i was touched by i was in tears when boobie miles couldn't play no more i i all of that stuff was incredible and then in the program just getting introduced to what the d1 athletics is like.

I mean, he got game as well. I mean, these were like these sort of these stories that you don't really get, that don't get told. They kind of expose the collegiate, you know, business. And I love those things. I'm really glad you brought up the program. Yeah, I love the program. It's a flawed movie that I still think is very enjoyable.

Well, the quarterbacks. It's 80, was it 80s or was it early 90s? No, it was like 94, 95. The quarterbacks, really like 35 in real life. Joe Cain is like 35 in real life. He's like Tom Brady's age in that movie. No, what about Chris Winkie?

Oh, Chris Winkie. But he's supposed to be 21 in that movie. And Halle Berry is supposed to be a college student. She's like 30. She was definitely, she can be whatever she wants. You'd be respectful.

Well, I was, I didn't say she'd look fantastic. She'd be respectful. I'm just saying, she could be whatever she wants, sir. That was during the key, the incredible Omar Epps sports movie run. He had a run, right?

Man. He did. Well, Major League Two, which I, I know he stepped in for Wesley, but I still acknowledge that. I was going to say, that's Wesley's thing. But he was in the program.

He did Love and Basketball. But the other one, too, Singleton. He was a track star. Oh, yeah. With Tyler Banks. Higher Learning. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He had that one.

And then there was like one more. I think he had five. I think he banged out five sports movies. Did he really? Five sports movie characters in eight years. I can't remember the other ones. But yeah, he had a run. Higher Learning's a weird rewatch.

Why? Why you say that? It's intense. It is. And it kind of belongs to this mid-90s era, but it's good. I actually,

I watched it. I was into it. I mean, like what Ice Cube did, like he was fantastic in that film. The system, the school,

you, behind in me lies, dog. Like, yo, that line, that was nuts. And then what's my man too, Sir Lawrencerence fishburne mr williams like sir yeah man he's the man so yeah that's it i grew up john shout out to

johnson i'm glad you're in a man on fire because i i feel like that's a top like for denzel for me like low key it might be underrated i feel like a lot of people talk about train today and all that and i love train Today no no but I probably watched that movie the most out of all of them that and maybe Glory I always judge this by

I'm still a cable scroll through the cable channels guy alright and if they're repeatedly showing movies on cable there's a reason for it and Man on Fire is always on every time

and every time I see it that's my vindication and it's like oh oh he's about to get shot this is the scene where he's about to get shot all right i'm in well when like that first you know that that like second to third act when it's on it's like like the torture scene in the car oh yeah and then even like the swim sequences like

all of that my tony scott and and really what he did it's just from a visual standpoint it it was ahead of its time. A lot of the CSIs of the world, they're copying it now. They're doing it now still. He was ahead of the game, man. They weren't ready for it. I still don't like Mark Anthony in real life from that movie. Really?

Yeah. I still can't believe he did that to his daughter. It's called acting. It's just art, man. I still feel like that's part of him. He has great listening. He has great albums. He's singing about love and all that stuff.

That character. He's selling out your own your own flesh and blood well he did it he said he was I did it for us for the three of us

like he was doing it for the family he said that that's what he said he didn't know it was going to happen would you ever act with your dad

or would it be too weird it would be too weird yeah but yeah I wouldn't be able to act with my son no I mean I could

barely share a house with him I could do a podcast with my daughter but yeah my son i don't know it would just be weird what do you think it would be too weird to play characters with somebody you've known your whole life i just don't know i mean i guess that's why they call it acting i would if i did i would rather be like we do like a time like uh a period piece where i'll play his father like we do flashbacks like a like a period piece where I'll play his father. Like we do flashbacks. Oh, like a Vito Corleone, Godfather Tuesday?

Right, exactly. I do something like that. But like playing his son, I don't know. What about he's kidnapped and you have 16 hours to find him? He's just in like two seats. Who's directing? Oh. Who's the director?

I don't know. Who's the best action movie director right now? Just do one. Foucault. Alan, make sure he does one. Just in the next three years, where he's doing a lot of running and a lot of like, a lot of martial arts. Get down! Watch

out! Duck! Maybe you remake The Last Boy Scout. Oh, yeah. See, some films shouldn't be redone, though. How do you feel about the lefty football throw to end The Last Boy Scout? That's my biggest nitpick with that one. That's your biggest critique?

Well, Damon Wayans was right-handed in the movie, and then he's in a sling, so lefty. I just don't know anybody who would be that good with the wrong hit. I don't know. That was my big critique. Well, noted. We wanted to start a sports movie consultant firm as part of the rigor. Where it's like when

they screw like in the first friday night like lights pilot where they screw up the yard lines that's all of a sudden they're on their own 30 it's like wait a second you know what i do i do have a bit of a peppy i get annoyed when i even see commercials and the pads aren't right on these players and the helmet is all messed up i hate it annoys me like in some movies you just see like i saw a movie recently, like, there was football players, like, full cleats and pads, like, on the sidewalk. They don't walk to practice like that.

It's like, come on, guys. Bowers has done a good job with the authenticity. Yeah, I think and they got in trouble for it, too, right? Like, using the NFL name and all that, but I think so. That's what I love about it. Didn't they win that lawsuit, though? I have no idea. You don't know what I'm saying. You don't know what I'm saying, Papo. No, you don't know what I'm saying. But I love that, though i love when that lawsuit though i have no idea you don't say you don't say papa no you don't say but but i do i but i love that though the authenticity that uh that we're attempting to bring so you based in la or you new york brooklyn you're in brooklyn

that's where the entire internet is is that where it is yeah oh 97 of it no i didn't know that but just like it's ever gonna make it i i don't care i don't watch the nets man you can see that's the problem with the Nets. Nobody cares? There's an NBA team in Brooklyn and nobody cares. No, we're going to the Barclays Center, but more to see the concerts and see Jay in them, not to see-

That wasn't the plan. Not to see Lim. The plan was the Nets were going to be the anchor. Yeah, well, you know, it's a process. Trust the process, I guess. I don't know. You got nothing. If they couldn't seize New York from the Knicks

this decade when the Knicks were a complete train wreck it's never happening it's kind of like the Clippers here Clippers had this four year stretch

to steal basketball in Los Angeles from the Lakers and they had no chance they couldn't quite I mean injuries too I don't know

I don't want to say it's over maybe no it's over okay it's done LeBron's here it's a wrap

the Clippers have those stars though but they got oh no even Rivers is gone It's over, maybe. No, it's over. Okay. It's done. LeBron's here. It's a wrap. The Clippers have those stars now. Well, they got, oh no, even Rivers is gone, huh? Dang. Is Jordan still there? No, Jordan left too. Jordan left. Jordan left too.

They have a lot of like solid non-all-stars. Rebuild, rebuild. It could be worse. It could be a 40-win team, which is where you don't want to be in the NBA. Dang. Right in the middle. Well, as a Laker fan, we've been humbled as of late. I don't believe that. I think the Laker flags are coming out on October 16th.

No, I'm talking about before. But now, no, we're back. I mean, you see what I got on. Was that intentional? Maybe, maybe not. I guess your fans will never know because they can't see it. Good luck with this movie. I thought it was excellent. Thank because they can't see it. Good luck with this movie. I thought it was excellent.

Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. I really enjoyed it. It's good. Spike, every couple of years, will really bring it. I'm happy for him. And like a lot of the new generation, like I don't know how old your kids are, but I don't know if they're familiar with Spike Lee's films,

but like this maybe could be a nice, you know, resurgence for him in introducing the new generation to what he's done. Because what this can do is now they can start going back and see his older films, his earlier stuff, and see if they're affected the same way. What's number one for you for Spike? It depends on the month, man. Like last month, it was Jungle Fever.

When I was filming, I was watching a lot of Malcolm X. It was Kings of Comedy always. I mean, always. I always watched that. So it depends on the month. I mean always I've always watched that so it depends on the month I thought 25th Hour was the underappreciated it's underrated isn't it

yeah yeah that movie's really good yeah it is and that movie's on cable a lot yeah I was catching that too that movie's intense yeah it is it's a good one

well good luck with everything thank you that movie's really good go see it Black Klansman out right now congratulations thank you

appreciate it alright that's it for the 400th episode thanks again thanks for spreading the word Go see it. Black Klansman out right now. Congratulations. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. All right. That's it for the 400th episode. Thanks again. Thanks for spreading the word. And we have a doozy for you for 401. I'm just warning you now. It's a good one.

It's somebody who has been on my old podcast, but not the BS podcast. This will be his first BS podcast appearance. He's a very famous person that's all I'm going to tell you talk to you later in the week I don't have a few years with him on the wayside on the first side twisting on the wayside.

I'm a person never lost. I don't have to ever lose.