The Church of What's Happening Now: The New Testament - #686 - Nick Vallelonga

Episode Date: May 23, 2019

Nick Vallelonga is an actor, screenwriter, and producer. He recently won two Oscars (Best Original Screen Play and Best Picture) for his work on "The Green Book," and he joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt LIVE in studio.  This podcast is brought to you by: Manscaped - Get 20% off your first order and a travel bag if you purchase "The Perfect Package" at manscaped.com and use the code CHURCH    Onnit.com - Use Promo code CHURCH for a 10% discount at checkout.  

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Kick this motherfucker mulee. Oh shit. It's the church of what's happened now, Cox 7th. Thursday. The 23rd of May. Memorial Day weekend. out the bikinis. Shave that fucking bush. Uncle Joey's coming to town. What? Wiggle it, Lee. That's it. Shake that motherfucker. It's Nick Valalanga. My man, the Christ killer.

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Nick Valalanga, you cock suckers, the Green Book. How are you, my dear friend? How are you doing? I finally figured out where I met in the whole situation. You and I did a horrible movie together in 2012, but I would not discuss on TV on this, except for you being here. We did a movie called Jersey Shore Sharkatown. Oh, yes.

I think the next day, Pauli Walnuts was showing up. Yes. Or something. I only did the movie. That's right. I forgot about that. 2012. I didn't even do the movie because of cocaine money. I did the movie because the guys had put me in like eight other movies.

They really did. The guys really put me in like six movies, seven or eight, and that was the eighth one. And when they called me, I really go, we got something perfect for you. Jersey Shosh, I'm like, oh, God, this is going to be bad. That's right. That's where we meant. That's right. I forgot about that.

That's where I met you. Yes. And then I didn't know if it was, I kept saying for years, after the movie came out, the Green Book, a dear, dear friend, listen, I haven't been in contact with movies in years. You know when you're just too busy? Yeah. You're bigger. You're bigger than. No.

You've just been too busy to watch TV. Like, there was a time, Nick, I grew up in the movie theater. So did you. Would you grow up to Bronx? I grew up in the Bronx and then Jersey. Okay. You grew up in a movie theater. I was an usher in a movie theater.

On Saturdays, you can't wait for a fucking movie to come out. That's right. But now who has the time? I wish I had the time to go to two movies a week and sit and argue with you about the actor and he didn't do it right. I don't have the time. You're right. I joined that club. You know, you pay one fee.

You can go to three movies a week because I thought, oh, you're kidding me? I can get my money's worth. I hardly have a chance to go anymore. I used to go all the time. I want to go see every movie that came out. I worked in a movie theater for years, and the best part was you got free movies. I saw everything for five years. You couldn't wait to see a fucking movie.

And now it's like a movie comes out and you already, I don't know if it's called jaded, but you see the trailer and you make your decision up right there. Like I'm not going to see that. That's a waste of my fucking time. Or you don't see the trail. And a dear friend of my, Mike Betoley, who I've known for 30 years, called me for like months

and he kept telling me, did you see the Green Book? Did you see the Green Book? I'm like, Mike, when the fuck do I have time? You're gonna love it. Go see the Green Book. He works for Frankie Valley. Oh, okay. So go see the Green Book, go see the Green Book.

And finally that time got on the plane and watched it. It was on. And I was fucking blowing. You know, when they said Sebastian was in it, I was definitely going to watch it. Yeah. He's my little brother. I'm not going to watch it. And you wrote something that touched the fuck out of me.

You know? I think the movie was supposed to be based in 63. Yes, 19602, 1962. And it's so funny when I came from Cuban 65, I came from Cuban 66. But when I was five, from the ages of five to seven, I hung out with an African-American kid. My mother had a bond on a 27th and not a bond. And that made me think, I wish I could find this kid today and hug him. Because this family took me into their home.

In 68 and 69, you kept to yourself and the brothers kept to themselves. That's how, it's just how the culture was. That's how the culture was then. All the brothers had the Afro picks with the fist of them, and they put in their back pocket. You remember all that shit. Yeah, New York, the Italians were in one section, the Jewish people were in one section,

the Irish were in a section, the black people were in a section. It's just the way it was because they were tribal. Everyone stayed with their own. That's just how it was during that time, the 30s, the 40s, the 50s. But I still remember walking from his house in the project, 125th Street,

and him getting shit for bringing a white kid into the neighborhood. and then walking away from 125th, and as you got to 135th, white people would say shit to me for walking around with him. Like, they still weren't, you know, depended where we went, what color? You know, it was like, what are you bringing him into the fucking neighbor for? Leave him outside the store. Shit like that, man. And I didn't know.

Crazy. Until today, my daughter's six. And if I tell my daughter, hey, what'd you think of the black guy? She'll look me straight in the face and go, oh, the guy with glasses on. She doesn't see color. That's good. So unless you teach your child that shit, they don't see it. That's a lie because I didn't see it at first.

I heard about it years later. When I moved to Jersey, you got no choice. When you move to Jersey, they just tell you right out. You respect. Yeah. You know, they don't give a fun. That opening scene was crazy where the two plumbers came over and he threw away the glasses. Yeah.

That was. Well, it was important to show that because even my father, you know, to show my father in that light, but I discussed that with my father, and we had to show it. It shows what was going on at the time. Even though he wasn't a bad person, he was still a product of his environment and his culture. And he changed.

See, that's the point of the movie, that people can change and learn. So that's why. That had to be in the movie. How old are you the first time your dad told you that story? Well, I met Dr. Shirley when I was like five. My father took me up to Carnegie Hall to do exactly what you see in the movie

above the Carnegie Hall. He had this amazing penthouse suite with the grand piano, the chandeliers, all the artifacts, the African artifacts. He came out in this amazingly beautiful African robe. And so that was like walking into Oz. You know what I mean?

So I never forgot that. And then, you know, when I was, In my teens, when he's still telling me the story. But I remembered the Christmas Eve when he came over. I remembered that. I was little, but I definitely remembered that, him coming into the apartment. What did your family think?

Was it like in the movie, that much receptive pull up a chair? Oh, yeah. Everybody froze. Once he came in, you know, we have a little comedic moment where everyone freezes. But once he came in, you know, my mother and my family with loving Italians, once someone's in the home that sit down and eat, You know, so, yeah, I remember that very well.

I remember the first time we met on that set, and you came up to me and told me he was your dad. I got to tell you something, he was one of my all-time favorite gangsters. And I tell you this in all sincerity. I laid my eyes on him the first time in the Prop of Greenwich Village. And he said something so deep in that movie. At the time, I was fucking around with loan sharks. My whole life was just torturing two loan sharks.

You know what I'm saying? Borrowing from one, borrowing from the other. And that line, he said, how come nobody keeps me waiting when they're looking to borrow? Yeah. That line stuck with me forever, because it's true. When people want to borrow money from you,

they call you. I'm going to be that five. They get there at 10 to 5. Yeah. They can be a blizzard, two snowstorms, their mother got hit by lightning, all the excuses they give you when it's time to pay you the money. Yeah.

Oh, you're not going to believe what happened. My goat ate the cash. The bus went to the wrong place. So for me, hearing that fucking crack me up, it flowed off his tongue. Oh, my God. He had a little experience with that. It was like the second line of the fucking movie. He goes, he's back there waiting for you, and Mickey Roark goes back there.

How long had your dad been acting? We started with the Godfather. So he was working the Copa, and I guess either Francis Ford Copeland or the casting director and Lou DeJamo, Fred Ruse, I think. think producers, they went into the culprit to see some gangsters and hang out. And they brought my father as the one who was going to intercede and introduce them to some people. And they asked them to be in the movie. And that was the first movie. And you were in the godfather off. Yeah, because then once he got in, then they said to him, we got kids. We need Italian kids. We

have this big wedding scene. And so my brother and I had to go screen test for it. And we got in with like the little kids in the wedding scene. How was that to shoot? Well, for me, it was, for whatever reason, it just, I loved it from the middle. I was there. I just knew this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, make movies. So I always loved movies as a little kid to see it made, to be there. It was at the house in Staten Island, to see that the walls were fake.

One day, or so I'm taking the wall apart. So what the hell are they doing? And then they took it apart and I saw that the wall was only paper thin. you know, on two sides. It was this wood in between. I couldn't even believe what I was seeing. That this is all fake. This is,

it was crazy. It was something else. You guys were talking about a bad movie that you were both in, but you're like, and I know you were probably too young, but when you were on like the Godfather and then the green book that, that won best picture, is there a feeling when you're on like a movie like that's like, this is going to be an amazing, like this is different from the other movies. Well, luckily, I've been, I, I, I did a lot of extra work in New York.

That was my film school. You know, I didn't care about extra, non-extra. And New York, it was a little different. You had people that were doing Broadway, then they're doing extra work during the day. And you got to know the A.Ds, the same guys would work in New York. So a movie or TV show would come in.

It's the same guys. So after a while, doing so much extra work, they get to know you. They see who has a brain on their head. Who's not an idiot? You know, talking all the time. So then something would come up Sometimes I was on the set

They need a guy to say a line They need a cop to do something They go Nick come in Because they knew I was an idiot But so doing the extra work I learned I watched I stood back But I was in the godfather

That was when I was a kid But then when I got older I was in things like Prince Izana I was in Goodfellas You know I just What did? Sydney Lament film I did

I can't think of the name of it, with Sean Connery and Dustin Hoffman. Just every film that they did in the city, I was in it somewhere, you know? Goodfellas, I was, and my father's had a good part of Goodfellas. He was in the whole movie. But I was there for the culpras scenes.

I was supposed to be part of Ray Leota's crew, like he had his own little crew, a young guys. So we're in the culpac scenes. We don't really see me. And then I was in the prison scenes. And I'm with Ray. We shot some stuff that didn't make the movie, but when his wife comes in, I'm sitting, like, behind him,

sitting watching him from a tail. I'm right there with him. We did a bunch of stuff there. So I didn't get a chance to talk to, right, when we saw him last. But, yeah, I did that with Ray Leone. Now, how long your dad passed in 2012? 2013.

And I'm sure he's missed by a lot of people. Now, how long had you been discussing the script? For Green Book, well, I, you know, I interviewed him in like 1989, 90. Who's that? My father. And then I tape recorded a cassette, you know. Then he said, okay, we got to talk to Dr. Cheryl. You got to get his side of the story.

And we got his approval, what he let in or won't let in. So I started having long phone conversations with both of them on the phone, you know. In those days, you had the extension, one phone in one room, another phone and another room. and I took tons of notes and he told me what was what? He told me about the trip and he said the only people on this trip are me and your father

so I never want you to talk to anyone else about me. Don't ever talk to my family. This is it. What I tell you, that's it. You've got to promise me that. I don't want anything about the rest of my life in it because maybe he was thinking and doing his own book or his own movie because people say, oh,

it's not enough about him. It's exactly what he wanted in. So all that criticism, oh, it's about your father. Well, yeah, of course it's about my father. He told me the story. So I'm telling you from my father's perspective, how this guy from the Bronx went on this trip with this genius piano player. But I didn't have more Dr. Shirley in it because he didn't want it.

He said, I only want you to tell from when I met your father to when we were on the trip together. So that's what we told. And he also was a psychology major. He studied it and he So like he would tell me that he would say things just to push my father's buttons to see how he would react Because he said I never met anyone like your father before So some things he might have said or done maybe he didn't really say or do Outside of that, but he told my father

So I just put in what he told my father and me And then we have it But their stories all got corroborated and he approved everything that was going to eventually be in the script. Now Dr. Shirley or your father, they died months apart. Yeah, just by coincidence. So their family or Dr. Shirley didn't get to see this beautiful story, I mean.

Right. They didn't, each one of them didn't get. But Dr. Shirley, I didn't know about his family and I got criticized for that too. At the time I didn't know about his family because in 1991, when he told me, don't ever talk to my family. I mean, he could have 10 brothers, two brothers. The only brother he had mentioned was one

so he told my father, yeah, I got a brother somewhere. So I never at that time there was no look at anyone up on the internet but even years later when I was closer to making the movie I didn't look up his family because he told me not to do that. I mean you know that you're from New York. If I

say to you I don't want you to do this but you can tell my story but you give me my word. Don't talk to my family. Don't make it until after I die. What would you do? Done. Done. Done. You give you word, you're a stand-up guy. So I gave the man my word. I waited until after he passed. He didn't want it in there.

Anything done until after that. And I also didn't reach out to anyone because that's what he asked me to do. Did the family come out after the movie was released? Family came out afterwards. There was a lot of press about it saying I didn't do my due diligence. I didn't talk to them, which again put me in an awkward position because he told me not to talk to them. And what more due diligence could I do than talk to the man himself? So I did as much due diligence as I could do.

But you got to remember, this happened in 1962, 63. I talked to him about it in 1990, 91. I didn't start making the movie, start even writing a script of Peter Farrelli and Brian Curry until 2015. This is, you know, 50 years. I didn't know. I didn't look up the family because the family couldn't have told me anything about the trip. And I told them I wouldn't look up the family. So they were upset, and I felt bad about that.

But then they, you know, they said some kind of hurtful things that I didn't think were necessary. But there's nothing I could do about it. That's what I said. I promised the guy I would have talked to them. But they reached out to them. They invited them to screenings. They even pre-screenings before the movie came out in New York. They invited them.

They said, would you like to see it? And even though you're hearing about some of the family that were mad, there was a lot of family members and friends that said, this is beautiful. it's exactly how he was. You guys captured it perfectly. I remember that trip. Some people remembered it. And so I think for the most part, most of them were happy. There were a few that weren't, but...

You're not going to make everybody happy. Of course. At the end of the day, nobody's going to be happy. Well, we tried to make... Listen, rehearsal's portrayal, beautiful, beautiful man, beautiful portrayal of the guy. A genius. I think we showed him in showing what a genius he was. Listen, no one would even know his name.

name right now. No one would know who he is. No one would know about the Green Book. So it wasn't a biopic of Don Shirley. It was a little slice of life, a little portion of his life like my father. Little portion of his life. And everyone took great care, Peter Farley, everyone, from when we wrote it, to producing it, to Pete directing it, and to Mahershala portraying him. I think it was a beautiful job. The guy's known, people are downloading his music. I mean, he was sort of a lost, one of those lost guys that in his time he was known, but he wasn't like a big, big name outside of the jazz world that in that classical sort of world. So I'm glad his name is out there. People know who he is. They know his music. They know what the green book is. And the movie's not that bad. It won best

picture. So we didn't do that bad. I think it was a tremendous movie. You know, in a world where I like certain fucking movies, Nick, I don't go see everything. I don't want to say. I don't want to see the Avengers. I don't want to see a lot of shit. I don't want to see remakes. I'm done. I'm 56. I've seen it all. I've seen the good ones and the bad ones. And once you're in a movie, you see behind

the curtain why a movie's made. No capes. You don't want to see the cakes. No capes. Yeah. No capes. No nothing. So to me, that movie it came somewhere where I've been. I was telling people here that sometimes I say the word Arab or whatever.

When I was in college, my tutor was Muhammad Zabib. He would come to my house. I would go to his house. He would tell me about that culture. So whatever the fuck you say, it doesn't really matter, because I know the truth. They're sweet people.

So we've all gone through that transition where we prejudge somebody. Yes. The way your family did it was hilarious in the movie. Because that's the way every family was. You know. Sure. The two glasses, I saw crazy as shit.

Yes. I saw crazier shit, you know. to me it reminded me like just like there's movies used to have like a point now now like a lot of movies out there are just like even I like action movies but there's not it's just it's a fun two hours where stuff blows up and I like something where you learn something you get trailing like you learn about that time you learn about like I'd heard about something like the green book but seeing them go to the bar when he gets drunk and the guys are beating him out I'm like Wow, that and then the scene that I really liked was when they the car broke down and the guys were working in the field That was I was like wow That those are the scenes that They mean something take look at when you watch Rocky you feel something right There's certain movies you watch you don't feel dick

Well that's what I wanted to do I felt something I watched your movie I wanted to make a movie that people felt something and that You know I made a lot of crap before that But you try you know I was kind of the minor leagues of movie making make it make you Lots of independent movies never having enough money whatever the excuses are but I always wanted to make those type of feel good movies you know like Frank Capra movie or you know bicycle thief or a Walt Disney movie movies that make you feel There's room for everything else I love action movies I like superhero movies if they're good

Whatever it is if it's entertaining I think there's room for everything But uh when I talked to Brian Curry about it to bring him on to write with me and then we went to Pete We all, you know, wanted to make a movie that touch people. We're not solving racism. It's just a slice of life. But there's a little hope at the end of it. And it's a story about human beings. I never thought about black and white.

I just thought it was about two people. And that's how you should look at it. So I think, like I said, we were very meticulous about the script. And then when Pete's direction was impeccable. I mean, he should have been nominated for Best Director. That to me is a travesty. movie get nominated for best movie, would it direct itself? You know what I mean?

I feel the same way about Bradley Cooper. He should have gotten nominated for Best Picture. The movie's the best picture. That should be a thing. If it's the best picture, the director should be nominated. Nothing against the other guys that got nominated. But how is Pete Farley not nominated when this movie wins best picture? Something wrong there.

But my point is Pete did a hell of a job. We all cared about it. And it's filled with, I think there's a truthfulness to it, despite what some people think. all those little incidents really happened. The only creative license we took was it happened over a year and a half period. We moved them around. Pete wanted to concentrate it. So we did it in that two-month period before Christmas.

But that's, you know, it's not, it all actually happened. We just took all the best stories and put them together. And we knew, okay, this is a true story. And I think that's why it resonates. That's why you feel something. because it's not a bunch of garbage. It's not a lie. You're feeling these things happen.

These people really were affected. And, you know, these criticism, all of a sudden, Tony Lips character turns around in two months. Well, it wasn't two months. It was always a period of time. But yes, he did turn around. He changed his life, how he raised us, how he treated other people.

So I was happy to, I was able to get that story on the screen. The one I didn't understand, And the one that fucked with me a little bit was, and it was funny and sad at the same time. Not even funny is when he straight out and he caught him at the Y. Or whatever the fuck is supposed to be. Right. You and I both know at that time period, people like you and me would have been shocked. Like, I would have been shocked.

You know, your dad didn't really judge him at that period. No. At that time, he just walked out of it. Did your dad tell you this story? The doctor tell you this? They both did. The thing was that's why even, you know, life is complicated and people are complicated. So, you know, the word racist, I guess it means one thing to a lot of people.

So you see something like the glasses at the beginning. You know, that's a racist effort, you know. But again, and this is a, I don't like give, there's no excuses. But one thing where, how. person is doesn't mean he's completely one way or he's a bad heart or he has a he was it wasn't a racist in the sense he wasn't walking around with a hood in his head he was a people person he loved people human beings and he didn't really judge people like my whole life we were around all kinds of people and he loved other people's cultures and food and how they laughed how

they danced. It didn't, like how they dressed. He would love it if he saw something. It didn't matter if you were black, white, Jewish. So even though in the culture, and you know growing up in New York and stuff, there were tribal groups, but everyone stayed with their own kind. But my father, once he mixed with people, he treated them all the same and he brought us up to do that.

So in that particular sense, like he says in the movie, I've been around nightclubs all my life. I know it's a complicated world. He's done and seen everything in the city, right? He's in nightclubs. He was working at the wagon wheel and the peppment lounge. He grew up knocking guys out. He was all over the place. He saw it all. So he said he knew when he met Don Shirley. He says, I knew he was gay when I met him. I had a kid. What do I care? It was his business. Nothing to do me. He was a nice guy to me. Treated me fantastic. So I was there to protect him. him and I protected him. I'm not there to judge him what he wanted to do or what he didn't want to

do, but I don't want him going out without me because I don't want him getting beaten up. I don't want to get arrested. I'm trying to in those days, he says it in the movie, you know what would happen if this got out, your career and everything? Because they were judged for that. So he's had

a good heart with people even though he was this rough and tumult guy. And that's what that scene was about and that and it really happened. So we put it in. Has there been any thought to making a television show, or so you could go a little bit more in depth

into some of the stories? It's never really come up. You know, you got some cash you want to fund it. I'll be very small. It's just, how many scripts did you write before this? Oh, I had a bunch of

a lot of independent movies. I mean, that were made. First movie was a movie called Deadfall with Nick Cage, Michael Bean, Talia Shire, Peter Fonda, was a good cast. In all this writing, all through the years,

did you ever think of winning an Academy Award? Did you ever think it was possible? Was it something on the backburner, or was it something like me? You never even think about it. You just live your life. It wasn't like, I'm going to win an Academy Award.

Like any other kid or even just person, not even in the film industry. When you watched the Academy Awards growing up, you always think, oh, what would I say if I was up there? What would it be like to be up there? or maybe I'll be up there one day, but not actually when I was doing the work to do something. Just trying to make the best movies you can.

Even if I'm making a crappy little movie, and I made a lot of those. I'm still trying to make something good. I never thought of Academy Awards. And when we started getting on this ride, it was a nice thought, but, you know, to me, it sounds cliche. The reward was I got the movie made with a lot of big people.

It got seen. The audience response was unbelievable. This awards like sort of campaign, that was rough, man. That was rough. Really? I said, these people, I mean, I used to play ball, baseball and stuff. And you win, you win, you lose, you lose, you shake hands at the end of the game. That's how I was brought up.

This is a brutal, brutal people. If they could chop your head off, they would. And I got a little thrown off by that. And then I said we were getting attacked on every level except the Shirley family would press. Oh, he's lying about this. Him and his father are racists. You know, Vigel got attacked.

Pete Farley got attacked. I got attacked brutally. People are trying to knock the movie down. But how bad does it feel when somebody calls you a lie? Crap. And you know that you're telling the truth. And you really don't give a fuck. You know, like, if he thinks someone's lying,

I really don't give a fuck what he thinks. I know what happens. I was there. But like, you know, I had to keep my mouth shut with a lot of things because of the good of the movie and the publicity. Because the more you say, notice the couple things I tried to explain, even though I'm telling the truth, they twist it. So even when I told the truth, a couple of things, they said, oh, yeah, that's convenient. Yeah, he didn't ensure he's saying that now. So how do you win?

You can't win. Can't win. I don't even get into it. There was a tweet I made in 2015 about whatever I made it about. and they twisted it. It's not about what they said it was about. Not what I meant was what I was talking about at all. And I couldn't come out and say,

oh, that's what I meant at all. You're reading it wrong. It's a tweet. How beautiful is to take a look at one of your tweets in 2014? And summed you the fuck up in one fucking four. In one thing. In 140 words. Right.

Well, first of all, it shows you that they were looking, digging. That's the best that they could come up with, right? Some stupid tweet I made. I'll say what it was. They were talking about, it was about when, I guess Trump was saying he saw Muslims cheering 9-11 on rooftops,

said he saw it on the news. So then the news came out and said, well, he's nuts and he's lying because it was never reported, specifically CBS News. He said, I think I saw it on CBS, something like that. I used to work for CBS News. 9-11 was crazy in New York,

the tri-state area, everyone was devastated. And on CBS News, they reported that this was going on. Now, whatever, I saw it, I watched it. 2014-15, they said, oh, it was never reported. So for some stupid reason,

I wasn't pissed at the news. I was, I was, I was, pissed at the news. about that. Whether it happened or not, I don't know, I didn't see it happen. I saw the news report that said it happened. The news report said it happened. So all I said was, but I wrote it in an odd way. I said, yeah, 100% correct. Chearing going on. I think I saw it in CBS News. They came out and said, I'm racist and anti-Islamophobic rants and tweets. Well, first of all, was one tweet. No one. How does it make me racist? I didn't say it.

I just said I saw something on television. I saw the news report on television. That's it. But because it was a tweet, I could only write so many words. If I know I was writing, if I don't write a dissertation, I would have said, oh, yes, I also saw the news report that said that on TV. It was on Channel 2. Crazy.

What went on with that is just insane, which shows they could say into anything. So I didn't say anything about it because, uh, for the good of the movie, they didn't want me to say nothing. I wanted to defend myself and say, well, what they're saying is not the truth. I'm being accused of something I didn't do or didn't mean. It wasn't even in my heart, mind, or soul what they're saying. And that's what happened. So it taught me a great lesson.

Luckily, I was not a real tweeter. I think I only did 20 tweets so in my whole life about come see this movie, go see my movie. That one in particular pissed me off because I thought, How could a news organization lie and say it wasn't on the air? Another one on YouTube, I found it. I found the news report. It was on. Everyone else that knows me saw it, people in Jersey.

And I got a lot of people that don't know. And we said, I saw that. But so what? I saw it on TV. What is that? We all saw planes in a building. We saw the World Series being won. Well, if I said, yeah, I saw the Red Sox.

win the World Series. I saw it on television, and I didn't do it. You know what I mean? It's bizarre. So they come after you even when you win the fucking thing. So it was a tough time. It kind of took the fun out of it for me. But it didn't stop the movie, and the movie did well, because I think people saw,

most people saw through that. I think it's a small minority. And the people that report that stuff aren't real journalists. The real journalists, I met a lot of good ones along this trip. And they're good people and their brains in their head and they ask both sides of the story. This was just attack, attack, attack, attack. And you know what, but I'm a big boy. I could take it.

I dealt with it. I said, whatever. I don't care what they think. Nick, a fucking Academy Award. One two Academy Awards. You know what I'm saying? Academy Award. This is no.

When you were writing it, who were you thinking of for the lead when you were writing? I knew it had to be an Italian. Before I met with Pete and Brian a couple of years before, when I was first thinking about it, I talked to James Gandalfini about it, and he loved it. And I was thinking, well, we were going to pursue that. Unfortunately, he passed away. So after he passed away, again, I put him sort of on the side burner. It's like, you know, my father had passed away the same. Ganoffini the last time I saw him was at my father's funeral.

Four or five months later, he passed away, too. So it was really a rough sort of time for me. And then when I started doing it again with Brian Curry and Peter Farley, lots of names came up. And we talked to a lot of different people and Pete met with some people. And then it was Pete that came to me and said, what about Vega Mortensen? And I, Vigal Morton's one of my favorite actors of all time. And I went, wow, the Vigel Morton's unbelievable. I said, but Pete, there's something about it.

I think the guy's got to be Italian or at least half Italian or have some of that sensibility. because, you know, you start doing a bad New York Italian. It's like a Saturday Night Live skin, you know? Some guys imitating Joe Pesci badly, you know. So I thought about it, and I said, well, you know what? Who's the most iconic Italian character ever put on film? It's the Godfather. If you think of who's the biggest, the Godfather, Marlon Brando, not Italian.

Malambrano's Irish. Maybe mixed whatever he is, but no Italian. I said, you know what, Vigo was the guy, I'm all on Brando. And I said, Pete, I think you're on something. I think he can do it. I pictured it in my head. And Vigo, man, what a job he did. That's my father.

You watch the movie, that's exactly my father how he was at that age. Vigo studied film, tape. Luckily, there was my father later in life was an actor. So he watched the Pope. He watched the sopranos. He watched everything my father was in. Listen to the tapes that I recorded of my father telling the story. And he just gained 45 pounds, hung out with me and my brother and my uncles.

He picked up not only the Bronx accent, but when he spoke in Italian, my father and his family had a, they were from Calabria. So the Calabrian accent mixed with the Bronx had its own sort of dialect, you know, and Vigo was right on it. But that was Pete's idea, and it turned out brilliantly. What were you, what did you start off as when you went to college? I went to college, yeah What kind of degree? Communications. Did you think you were going to write it all?

Yeah, I always was writing from a little kid. I wrote little books, I wrote little stories. I was writing. And watching your dad acted, that inspired you to act? Yeah, yeah, I guess so, yeah. But I loved it for, like I said, for when I was 10. I always knew I wanted to be an actor. I don't know why.

It's not the smartest stuff. The Godfather, did you do a bunch of stuff? I wasn't like a kid actor. I did The Godfather, but that was the thing that got me to film, you know, filmmaking. So I was always making little films in those days. They had the 8mm cameras, super 8. Literally cut him with scissors, put them together.

Fucking with fire. Yeah, so I used to make my little movies. And then in high school, I was the only kid that took the film class and not go to sleep. So I watched the film teacher was excited about that. Oh, finally one of these kids gives a crap. So he would show me Citizen Kane and it's a wonderful life and all these great movies and learn about editing. Then I became an usher in a movie theater and I'd watch movies over and over and over and believe it that that was like a film school on to itself Because I say okay now I'll watch how they edit it now I'll watch just the acting now I'll watch the action sequences

So every movie because those days the movie's there for nine months so you watched it a hundreds of times So I just loved love film and I always knew I wanted to get into it So I went to college with communications studied film and TV and I was acting during college. I started doing the extra work in New York. How long were you kicked around New York? Off Broadway. I did lots and lots of theater.

How long did you kick around New York for? I was from right out of high school. Even when I was in college, I was doing stuff in New York until I was almost 30. Then I moved to L.A. And when you moved to L.A., what did you want to do? Well, same thing. I knew how had to get out here and get to it. And get it.

How long until you sold your first script? I sold the script like very quickly. Really? As soon as I got out, so I got here, I got a play, I got a TV show, and I sold the script like right away. Just boom. But then after that, it went downhill for a while. But when I first got here, it went good.

And what do you mean downhill? Well, then it was, you know, then it was the struggle. You know, I was back trying to get movies made, write some more scripts. I was getting little ones done here and there, but I was like working in clubs. I was doorman. That's when the clubs in L.A. were big time with lines down the block, working in all the hot clubs, which was good and bad.

But meeting different people and then still continuing to do some whatever little theater was in Los Angeles. And then writing and directing and producing little indie movies. I have a type of guy, oh, I'm not getting cast in something. I'll write something, put myself in it and make it myself. That's how I was. So I did a bunch of those type of movies. Good for you, man. You never stopped.

Just keep going. And the thing I like about you is that you fucking, your Renaissance, man. You'll act for two weeks, then write for two weeks, then go here for two weeks. You went to the Kentucky Derby. Well, there's things like you say about guys like me, Jack O' Old Trails Master of None.

But I like doing lots of different. To me, it's all one thing. It's art. And you know, like you see guys like us and people think, oh, they think they're actors. but it is a Renaissance man in a sense of I never wanted a pigeonhole myself and I liked lots of different things.

You know, I did some musical theater, I sang, I danced. I just love the arts, I guess. But when you say that and you're a big mug, they think you're a moron. But I, you know, I studied it, read about it. I like all kinds of literature, film, books. And so, you know, drama, comedy, a little bit of everything.

So why can't you do everything? You know what I mean? If it's fun and you like doing it and you do it fairly okay, why not? When the movie hit the theater and you saw the response, what did you feel like? It was very... If there's one thing to act in something. Very emotional. Very emotional.

I think we all did. It was kind of weird, Pete. Everyone would get choked up. At the end of that movie, you see people in the theater crying. crying at the end of the show and hushed in other parts and laughing and it's when you achieve that when those are the scenes you wanted them to laugh and those are the scenes you wanted them hushed and those are the scenes you wanted them to cry and it's working like that you know it's where I'm in the movie I play the mob guy that my father's character Vigo goes to see in the restaurant

I forget I'm in the movie because to me it was more about the movie as a whole and how it affected people. The Chinese bartender. Shut up. See, that was another little touch. That was actually my brother, remind me that when I said, oh, we're going to do the scene in Joe and Jones. He goes, well, remember, dad would take us everywhere. It was always a Chinese bartender.

Even in Italian restaurants in the Bronx. And I'm like, that's right. Every bartender was Chinese in the Italian restaurants for some reason. They just were there. So I told that to Peter Farrell, and he goes, oh, make a Chinese bartender. And just the fact that the guy said to a

A white guy. They shut up, they didn't get ahead and head with a bottle. Shows you the power of the bartender. Yeah, and he's a guy from the Bronx. Chinese or not. Chinese, Italian, he was a Bronx guy. So he does not take crap from anybody.

To me, the highlight that hit home with me was when he just broke it down from about, you know, he was from the Bronx. His mother was from the Bronx. His father was from the Bronx. You know, that he knew who the fuck he was.

That was the emotional highlight for me. That made me. me cry more than the ending because it's very important in this life to know who the fuck you are and to stop playing games of yourself thinking that you're rich or whatever you know your dad in that film Tony Lipp his character he was kind of insulted when he didn't know who the fuck he you know why don't you know this fucking band these are your people doc right you know uh when you say these are your people in today's world that could be used as racist and I say that

you're fucking, how don't you fucking know you know, how don't you fuck? It's like right now you put on Willie Colon for me and you go, Joey, how don't you know this? These guys are your people. I wouldn't get offended to that. But to me, that was the part of the movie that hit home.

I wanted people that were watching it to understand where the fuck he was coming from. Right. Because people like you said, they take it the wrong. People now take that. Same thing with that fried chicken scenes. With masterpiece. Controversions. Because I go to fucking Tennessee, and that's the first place I go to the fried chicken place.

My father said, he goes, Kentucky, fried chicken and Kentucky? What's that ever going to happen? What's that going to happen? And when he says that line to him, Doc, this is your food. The same type of thing about this music is you. See, people miss. Later on, they go to a plantation when he's playing, and they serve a fried chicken. Now, that's racist because they said, oh, the black guy, we're giving him fried chicken.

When my father's saying it, it's a different, whole different thing. He's saying, what do you mean? You never had this. And whether he had it or not, I don't know. But he said he'd never had it. This food is great. The collard greens, he says the colored greens. He doesn't mistake.

The black chefs made it for me. I love it. You say I like spaghetti and meatballs. I'm not insulted. It's food. I'll give you my food. I like your food. There's cultures.

It's all good. So he's not saying it in a hurt. Prejudice way. He's just that's the way he was. He was like, well, this is life food. He's like, it was a guy food eating drinking, laughing, talking, smoking, he enjoyed life. He's not going to sit in the car and not talk to the guy. The guy didn't want to talk. He wanted to just sit in the back seat.

What are what you talking about? I'm going to fucking driving. Across the country. We're not going to talk. We don't want to eat while I'm driving. Blue is mine. But my father said, I'm here. You know, we're here together.

Let's make the best of it. Let's have some fun. So that's how he was. But that was part of to people today that don't know this who are offended by it, they need to see it. Because this is how it was. This is how people were. That doesn't

make everyone, you know, shouldn't be judged by one incident or one thing that they say. People are complex. You know what I mean? There's a lot going on. And that's how my father was. He was a complex guy. You know, I read somewhere that

one of the magazine called it, one of the top buddy movies or something. Was it Rolling Stone? Yeah, I think so, yes. We're talking about a movie, fucking 48 hours didn't get this much slap. You know what I'm saying? Right. He called him a watermelon.

He smacked him. You know, he abused him. Yes. Things to Eddie Murphy. And at the end, again, it was nothing. We're peeling through the skin to get to the fucking bananas. That's what we're doing. We're peeling through the skin just to get to the banana.

At the end of the day, you know I'm solid and I know you're fucking solid. Right. And that's it. You know, we've been on here for. a little while and the racism part of this movie, which I didn't see it at at all, has come up. I didn't see it that way at all, Nick. I didn't feel like when I watched Planet of the Apes this last time when they got re-released, I'm in the movie theater, and at 55 it finally hit me.

Whoever wrote this is fucking racist. You know what I'm saying? Whoever wrote Planet of the Apes, have you watched the early ones from 1969? You're like, there had to be a little fucking racism mixed with marijuana in there. Well, I think that was on purpose. I think that they were trying to show that the racism in a real world that people, the differences, but really were all the same. My whole thing is we're all the same.

I don't think of race. I don't give a fucking. I remember the first time I heard it when they gave one of L'Ombrando some job interview and said, you know, put down race, he put down human. That's what it is, human race. We're all the same. We're all the same in the eyes of God as far as I'm concerned. culturally there's differences it's cultures but that's you know whatever but I don't think

with anyone is different so as much as I got accused of otherwise so but in history and in time these things went on we need to show it I mean this movie handled race in a certain way again a little slice-a-life movie about two people Spike Lee had black clansman that handled race in a different way there's lots of stories about race they all should be told Some are more serious Some could do it with some humor But it's still serious I think

You know as much as the movie's funny Green Book and there's a lot That comes from human beings are funny Right And people I think there was some horrific scenes in there Showing how the racism That he had to deal with during that time

And my father saw happening And going Holy shit I wouldn't take this shit And realizing Well this guy's taking it for a reason he saw how horrible it was when he was seeing it with his own eyes and that's what changed him so that's what the movie was about. And your dad and your dad punched him.

Bang, one second. That was also shows the other side of the view. That was a beautiful scene. Right. That should have and was included in there. That makes the movie complete. True story. To show you what was really going on on both sides of the fucking thing.

Do they really call Bobby Kennedy? Absolutely. No shit. Absolutely. Yeah. Where's the Academy Award now? I got it laying under my bet. I got two of them because I got one best screenplay and I produced it.

So best picture I got one also. So this Italian from the Bronx and New Jersey got two Academy Awards. Who would have fucking thrown out? That's it's insane. My least favorite part of school was when they were handing back a test. And my last name was Syatt, so I would always get the test back last. what was it like when like you see that the like your categories are coming up and you're waiting for them to announce it like are you like

sweating bullets or you just you don't care or like what like what is that like when you're waiting to well i'll be honest with you because of all the crap i went through with this tweet and all the controversy on that and everything else i really didn't enjoy the academy awards i don't want to be there i i say it now i'm glad i went and I'm glad what happened. I was on edge the whole time. I was almost like, what if I win, what if I get booed? I got to know how people felt.

So it was a weird vibe for me. It wasn't how, you know, you dreamed about it. So because of all that stuff. So it took a lot of it. But when it came up and the first one was screenplay and for me, and when rehearsal I had won for Best Supporting Actor, I was so proud of that. But when it won,

I thought of my father and my parents and family and people. Your mom and dad had gone now. Yeah. And like, you know, and not like all I thought of what I went through my whole life, but how people supported me and aunts and uncles and family and friends that always said, keep going, keep going, keep going. So then I felt good, you know.

And then it's one best picture. I kind of didn't listen we're there we're nominated you want to win you think you can win I thought well you know it's the best picture in my heart no matter what happens but that was the one that really shocked me I was like shocked me in a good way and I was like wow this is I mean I want two academy awards it's crazy in this business at least that's the pinnacle that you're going to get to I think there's lots more important things in life but if you're in this business that those things are held in such high regard. It's it that doesn't get any better.

It's like a two Golden Globes, two Academy Awards, and we won some other things along the way. Quite a ride, quite an experience. I mean, I got to thank my father for it. It's my father's story. It's my father's still helping me from upstairs. You know what I mean?

Well, you know, I always say something really weird, Nick, and I thought about this with you when I found out you wrote it, blah, blah, blah. We sit here for years as writers or whatever the fuck, and I see it all the time. People who write about shit, they're not really connected to. You know, I always like sharks. And you write a movie about sharks,

and we end up doing that piece of shit movie about sharks in New Jersey attacking people. But sometimes the best story is the simplest one, is the one that we could tell with our eyes claw. But meanwhile, we're sitting there trying to write the next big Academy Award winner. I think you learn something, because I feel the same way. Yeah. You know, I sold a TV show last year. I love the writers, but what they wrote wasn't my life.

They took it and did what they wanted. When you do your stand-up, you're doing what comes out of you. Right. Right? And I think most stand-ups, and you tell me if I'm wrong, the ones, I mean, if you go back, Lenny Bruce and Pryor and Carlman and all the way up, Dice and Manascolco, you are guys that are talking about what they know. their family, their friends, their life experience. So I think it's the same thing. What you're talking about, this movie was something I knew it came from my heart, my family, but comedy, same thing.

I mean, there's guys that would be joke writers, and there's room for that too, but the guys that really resonate are the ones that are coming from their own inside and their heart, good or bad. They're giving it to you, you know, and I think that's, that's, that makes me. the best type of material. I'm happy that you're happy that you put out, I mean, last year's best fucking work, you know, I'm happy that you saw all this simplicity.

For years, you wrote about satellites and Martian, fucking guerrillas getting beat up, but the story that shine the most was the one under your nose that I'm trying to say. Yeah, exactly, you're right. How long did you, I mean, from 91 was when you first

fucking tape recorded, Dr. Shirley, that, and all that. How long did you hold on to those cassettes? Did you? Oh, I still have them. But did you? I had Pete Farley heard him, Brian Curry heard. Could you start writing this already in 92? I had, over the years, I guess, I had lots of notes.

I wrote treatments, I wrote, I wrote sort of breakdowns, the beginning, middle ends. So I had a lot of material. So when I told Brian about it, He told Pete, I had a lot to start. You were telling your dad, you were definitely going to do this before he passed. Oh, he knew for my whole life, but he knew couldn't do it until after Dr. Shirley passed away.

So that's why I never did it. I got approached a couple times to do it. And I even got said to change the names. Change the names. The story saw unbelievable. Change the names. But I didn't want to do that to him. And a couple times I was broken.

I couldn't have made a lot of money. It was with one time of Brandon Tartikoff, president of Paramount. I'm in his office. So I'll do this right now. Let's do it. Who doesn't want to be with the head of Paramount? And I was, like, working in nightclubs. But I said, then I promised the guy,

I promised the guy I wouldn't do it until after he passed. So I didn't want to do that, you know? And you promised Dr. Shirley you would not do it to? He went on to get married and stuff, correct? No. No, he stayed. No. No, I think he was married, like, in the 40s or 50s.

Before the move, like, he was telling him that he was married for two years. music and whatever. It fits. But then no. No, then he never got married. Why didn't he want the story done until he was dead? He didn't tell me. It could have been because of the gay thing.

And I respect that because he was still from an era that, you know, he never, I don't think he ever came out publicly about that. And if that's what, if that was the reason, whatever the reason was. But that's what I just respected when he asked me. So, Nick, you went from Long Island Shark Attack. New Jersey to an Oscar and Golden Globe. What advice do you have for young writers, if you have any? Well.

Did you take a writing course? Did you read a writing book? You just looked at other scripts. I looked at other scripts. I read books on writing. I read, you know, the famous one, William Goldman's book, Adventures of the Screen Trade I read later on

Stephen King's book on writing, great book but that was like later. When I first started, when I first wanted to write a script, there was a book of screenwriting format. I just looked, that was a typewriter.

I just looked at, okay, you put dialogue here, you put this here, and I'm still looking at scripts. I mean, I just said, okay, this is how they do it, Interior means inside, exterior means outside. And it sounds stupid and simple, but you don't know. And luckily, my father was doing some movies, so he'd bring scripts home from me. He'd say, read this, look at this, you know.

So he helped me and encourage me in that way. So I was just kind of in me always to do it. But I would say to anyone doing it, don't give up. If I've been doing this a long time banging around forever. and it you know I hit this point now so maybe all downhill from here who knows

it doesn't matter after this you know it doesn't really matter you made your point maybe it wasn't in the way you wanted that maybe you wanted to fuck angeline and jolly in a movie maybe but it didn't end like that

but you came a long way you're a kid from Jersey and the Bronx that grew up on everything from jailhouse rock yeah to fucking the exorcist and you got got your shot and it came through and you wrote something that was deep in your heart.

You kept to form. You didn't break no promises. He didn't sell your soul along the way to make a script. Well, why don't you make his wife black and play the bongos? Because as you knew when you were writing this, you run into a bunch of geniuses. Yeah. And they try to tell you. It's so weird.

I think it was Donnell Rawlings. I saw him on a radio interview on Twitter and he was saying, you know, when you get here as a comic, they tell you what to say. Your agents come up to you and say, you got to go up there and do material on the sitcom. And comics get fucked up. They get fucked up. They want to go up there and sell a TV show.

So now they're talking about their grandmother and now, and you're like, last week you were talking about sucking some chicks fucking kazooze up with pussy. And now you're talking about your grandma and your fucking three-year-old kid. And then they go away. And they realize they should have stuck to their guns.

Do you know what I'm saying? And I think the same thing happens. Right. I think the thing happened with you where you had this all your life and you put it out there and now it's a fucking thing and your dad looks great.

You know, your dad ended up looking beautiful. I'm very proud of it. I can't be happy. I mean, make family proud. People see it, love it. I got to work with great people. I mean, Peter Farrelly,

Vigo Mortensen, Rehersa Lee, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian. Everybody really involved in it, cared about it. Everyone knew this. Johnny Rose Beef. Johnny Rose Beef. Great scene.

Where'd you bump him? I haven't done at the fucking meatball place down there. Well, I know him forever and a good friend of my father's and he was in Rios. I brought Peter Farley into Rios to see him, you know. And once Pete goes, we got to put him in the movie. I go, yeah, the guy eating the hot dogs. He goes, oh, of course, perfect. Perfect guy for that.

So it was nice. You know, I had some other friends and family. My brother's in the movie. My uncles are in the movie. The grandfathers are both my real uncles playing their own fathers in the movie. My brother plays Vigo's brother. So it was Pete was very generous in that way

That he let me be creative with him And collaborate with him He ended up picking everybody Doing everything But he let me bring a lot to the movie So it was great in that way And you know what? Best picture I got on stage Julia Roberts handed me my Oscar and gave me a kiss

Who's better than that? Nobody One last thing about your dad Your dad is he's like in four my favorite movies. I did not know he was in 29th Street. Oh, yeah. I did not remember. Now I remember exactly who he was.

He gets shot in the beginning of the year of the dragon. Yes. I got the good shit. He has a cigar. Yes, yes, yes, yes. He goes to the Chinese kid. Fuck you and your cousin. You know my fucking cousin is?

Exactly. Fuck you and your fucking cousin. A little skinny fucking Chinese guy delivering spare ribs. And then that was an interesting movie. A lot of people don't know. about that. Yeah, that was an interesting. Underrated movie, you know, written by by Oliver Stone and directed by Michael Chimino. A very underrated movie. Nobody talks about that movie anymore. Not at all.

29th Street, one of my all-time... George Gallo, the best. One of my all-time friend. Now, who's your dad in that? Louis the lung? Yeah, Louis Bad Lungs or something. He had a big sequence, I think, well, most of we got cut out, but he's in there. They'd show him, and he talked about it. Paulie Walnuts, Vinny Curdo. Yeah, a lot of guys. guys from Sopranos. Anthony Lompaglia, right? Anthony Lompaglia.

The other kid that played his cousin was in the Sopranos at the end. Yes. He played one of the hitmen in season seven. He went after Silvio. I never saw that guy again. His cousin was connected. Remember in the 29th Street? He would always go to people.

In 29th it was Frank Pesh's true story. Frank Pesh's true story. Yeah. You still bump into Frank Pes? Yeah, I still see him. I just saw him about six months ago and gave him a hug somewhere. What the fuck was it? You remember? And we did. So he did it. He pulled it off, Frank Pesh.

You know, that was a great movie. I loved that movie. Chaz pulled it off. Chaz made a movie. But Chaz was great to me, Palant Tarii threw out this whole thing because he was the only guy could really talk about,

that was going through this on this level of a movie that he did it, you know, with his story, too. So he was great to talk to and he read the script. And actually, George Gallo, made 29th Street in Chas. The only two guys they gave the script to to say, what do you guys think? You know, I loved it.

Man, I'm really happy for you. It was really good reconnecting with you. Thank you. I hope we didn't bore your audience. This wasn't a laugh, Phil. No, no, no, no. You got to see a soft side of you that they don't normally get to see.

No, no, no, no. I said, what did he run out of Italian's interview? Is that why? There's nobody left in Hollywood? I think that you're very interesting. I think your story was fucking sensational. You're the first Academy Award when I've ever had this motherfucking office.

I'm saying something. And I give you a lot of respect, Nick. I like what you did. I respect how much you love your dad. My dad died when I was three. I wish, you know, there's a lot of things about this movie that connected with me in a lot of different ways. My first friend when I came from Cuba was a black killer on 25th Street,

and I didn't know anything about color. I still remember walking miles to go by James Brown hot pants in 1969. We were kids, you know, walking on fucking Broadway in New York. And I didn't know I was supposed to be racist. You know what I didn't know? Like, I didn't get that fucking memo as a Cuban that I wasn't supposed to like some fucking black kid. I found out over the years.

And I'm like, why wouldn't I like this guy? So the movie just hit with me and I think you're a sweetheart of a fucking guy. And I wish you all the luck in the world. You know, you ain't got no more mom movies. I have no reason to have you here. I think you did a spectacular job. Well, you never know.

You never know what I'm going to go. So I'm happy you took time to come on. I appreciate you having me. Everyone's telling me, I was saying I was doing the show. You are? The show's great. That's great. We're going to have a great time.

And I told you that, I wanted to see, you know, people never, we never get to talk to Academy Award winning writers and whatever. So I want people to know that you're a guy from the, you know, this podcast is about letting motherfuckers know they can do anything. Yeah. Don't let them hold you back. And you're a guy that you could have said, I'm from Jersey. Who the fucks and look at me? I'm from the Bronx.

You're here, brother. So, thank you. I appreciate that. Do not forget, I will be at the Ice House, June 1st, and then at the Fillmore in New Orleans on the 7th, and then at the tabernacle theater in Atlanta on the 8th. All right, now for our word from our sponsors. All right, I want to thank my man, Nick Valalanga.

And don't forget to watch the Green Book. It's that good of a movie if you haven't watched it. I want to thank the Christkiller, but most importantly, I want to thank you motherfuckers for listening and believing in us. That's why we try so hard to bring you the best product that we fucking can. Speaking of products, manscape.com. Let me tell you something. You ever ask your wife or your girlfriend to trim your nuts, sack,

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and I want to thank honor.com for always being there but I want to thank you guys for supporting and for being the bad motherfuckers that you are. I love you, Coxuckers.

Have a happy Memorial Day. Stay safe and we'll see you motherfuckers Monday Memorial Day nice and early waiting for you so you're not lonely, all right? I love you guys. Have a great weekend.

God bless you. Kick this fucking Mulee. Nice and easy. No drama, brother. I was worried it wasn't Funny enough. I didn't want to be fun. No, no.