The Reel Rejects - MEETING UP W/ SEAN GUNN! Maxwell Lord's A Hero & Villain? James Gunn DCU Plans, Peacemaker Season 2

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Starting point is 00:00:51 I'm curious for you in that same vein, does it feel like a relief to finally acknowledge this in public? Yeah, you know, it's funny because it was. I don't even know if I'm allowed to say this, but I'm going to say it, which is that it was leaked that I was playing Maxwell Lord before we were ready to announce anything. And so the leak was correct. So it was like, we didn't then want to come out and say, no, that's not true because it was true.

Starting point is 00:01:21 But we also didn't want to like give credence to the leak. So we just kind of like, let's just not talk about it for a long time. If anyone asks, we just, yeah, it felt like a double negative where it was like this void of a thing. Yeah, I know, and it's funny. So, like, everyone knew I was playing the character, but then we didn't talk about it. And then it, and then you see Superman, or when the, by the time the peacemaker trailer came out, it's like, okay, he's definitely like. Our confirmation in video. And then he gets introduced for like, like, I think literally less than five seconds in Superman.

Starting point is 00:01:53 And it's like a turnaround walk away. What, what's, I keep telling people like, what's less than a camera? me out. It's like an intro. You know, it's a, it's not even in a moose-bush. It's like a, I don't even know how to describe it. But yeah, so I got my few seconds in Superman and then the world will see me a little bit in peacemaker. It feels like the end of a comic when you get that one panel. Like you actually get like a, there he is. Yeah. Which is very fitting. And I love that this feels like you dive in mid-graphic novel. I feel like Superman is like we're already on issue two. We get to dive in. The world's established.

Starting point is 00:02:28 And going into Peacemaker, there's this gift of having a season one already, but also diving into letting new characters flourish. And I've always loved that Maxwell Lord is so nuanced. Depending on when you're meeting him, whether it's Justice League International, whether it's him as a villain, there's a lot of layers to it. So when you were approached to play him, was there a specific thing that you wanted to add because there's someone's versatility in him? Well, I can tell you that that's what made the character super exciting to me.

Starting point is 00:02:57 and I really love the challenge of playing the character and I really like I'm I I've enjoyed digging into the psychology and where he could possibly be going and you're right he's not you know he's a billionaire that they're different from us and so the idea that he's just like a blanket. I've had some people ask me, like, is he a good guy or a bad guy in this universe? And I'm like, I don't really think that that's how you can try to tackle this character. It's like, I don't think that the idea that he is just a good guy with a capital G or a bad guy with a capital B is relevant. He is a human being with motivations and has things that he wants and there is a, you know, there's an element of, you know, he's bankrolling the justice

Starting point is 00:03:57 gang, so there's elements of altruism to what he's doing, but there's also like what kind of person would do that and for what reasons are incredibly interesting to explore. And I love that he literally spangles out his people, like they have like NASCAR jackets effectively. They're branded heroes. And that says a lot about a person of like, who would do that to a human being that is saving lives. Yeah, totally. I mean, I think that's, I think that's exactly right that, like, the, the, um, you can learn more about Maxwell Lord and what he's done than in, in, and even how I'm playing

Starting point is 00:04:39 him, you know, it's like, it's like, you can listen to him talk and listen to what he says, and that gives you a, that gives you a piece of the puzzle, but it's, it's almost more interesting to look at like, you know, the mural that he commissioned and the outfits that he's paying for and the space that he rented to do his interviews. Right. You know, and all those things to me are almost more interesting than what he actually does, which is really cool. And I think judging someone by their actions is such a normal thing to do.

Starting point is 00:05:09 We don't think to do in movies. I think we're so used to exposition. We're so used to being told what the character is. And what I've loved so far about this DCU is it is that nuanced. approach to, the world is so big, we have to have normal people in it. And I really love that we're entering a world, like I said, an issue two of a comic book. If you've got a green lantern, that means you also need to have a dude acting like a dude. So that balance I loved about the daily planet. I really enjoyed that Ma and Pa Kent felt the most normal they

Starting point is 00:05:36 ever have because the world is so extraordinary. And to me, Maxwell Lord feels like an interesting eye line into what's coming. We've got stag industries all over the place in both animation and live action. We've got Lord Tech and obviously we eventually, James has alluded to Wayne being a part of this conglomerant of Power Set. What I'm curious for you is playing someone that is a billionaire in a world that accepts it, but also knowing that there is a malevolence and benevolence, depending on the choice, is it hard to balance out mapping a whole universe with a character that is so nuanced? Since you don't have a mustache to twirl and you don't have a, things are good, there is a lot more of a gray scale.

Starting point is 00:06:16 Does that throw off, like, how you play him depending on the project? I don't think it throws it off. I think that, like, I have to, my job as a performer is to clear all of the noise out of my head and remember that this is a real human being and what motivates him and what, you know, here are the resources he has as a billionaire.

Starting point is 00:06:37 And Maxwell Lord isn't just a billionaire. He is a super duper ultra. And I will tell you, James and I, James and I talked about that. Is this a, is this a, this is a two or three billion dollar billionaire? Or like no sense of money. Or is this a, and I'm a Clippers fan. Is this a Steve Ballmer billionaire who has $100 billion, you know? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:07:00 And he's more, he's more the latter, right? And so, like, he's an ultra-billionaire. How does that affect your psyche? who does that make you as a, like I, I get to clear away the noise. Who is this person? What motivates him? Why does he do what he does? And I get to focus on that depending on, you know, depending on the project and who he is.

Starting point is 00:07:28 And I'm excited to explore that. I think it's really amazing timing. And I love when art is an act of rebellion. And I really appreciate that it seems to be a key piece of this puzzle that we're getting Luther and Stag. and it's the most consistent thing we've seen across the properties, is that something that you wanted to have as kind of a weapon?

Starting point is 00:07:47 Like I love when artists get to rebel a bit and I want to talk about GI Robot next because that to me is my favorite like, cheers to the tin man. But is that something that you wanted to do is make a statement about like the problems of someone not having a touch on reality

Starting point is 00:08:00 even in an unrealistic world? Not so much. I mean, I think that that's more the job of the creators. Like that's more of a writer's job as a performer. supposed to like, you know, figure out what they're telling me about who this character is and then understand that and play that. So I'm not, I'm not trying to point it in any direction. I'm

Starting point is 00:08:23 trying to like, it's fun for me because I'm figuring him out as, as we go along, even though I have a sense for who he is. You get to be the clay, not the sculptor. Yeah, right. Oh, that's really fun. That's really fun to put yourself there. And last little bit about him, because it's been months of wondering, with him being someone that is willing to clad someone in his name, with him being someone that brands folks as himself, is that something that you wanted to have a backstory of like, I bet he put fair play on Mr. Triffick. I bet he put, like, was that a backstory you built about how much control he had over the mural, et cetera? It's all information that tells me who he is. You know what I mean? Like there's no way that

Starting point is 00:09:07 somebody in charge like that wouldn't be aware of what's going on. And we can tell, we can see it from Peacemaker. We can tell that Maxwell's hands on with stuff. So the idea that he wouldn't know, like, that he wouldn't know what the mural looked like or that he wouldn't know what the uniforms or the outfits look like. Like, there's no way he wouldn't know. There's no way.

Starting point is 00:09:35 So, yes, that's just. information for me about who he is. I don't, again, it's like being the clay and not the sculptor. I don't personally inform any of that stuff, but I'm informed by it. So the scene we did see in the trailer of him being so hands-on is kind of your equalizer for how much you have the data set of. Like, he's clearly this, so X, Y, Z this. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:10:00 And I like that, like, one of the things I like about that is that he's also, it humanizes him a little bit because he's like really you know he has some sort of camaraderie with these characters he's not just uh you know lex when we meet lex and superman lex is definitely a more of a even though he's surrounded by people in his people he's a little bit more of a a lone wolf and i'm a i'm a solo artist here and everyone else exists to for me to bend them to my whim, whereas I think even in that little scene in Peacemaker, we can see that Maxwell is not quite like that that he's actually engaging with. Yeah, he's shoulder to shoulder.

Starting point is 00:10:45 With Guy and with Hot Girl and that they're like, you know, he may be the boss, but they are, he's engaging with them as colleagues in a way. And I also feel like that's going to be a key factor of like Lex kidnaps metamorpho and in the comics, Stagg Industries creates metamorpho. So there's corporate espionage. I assume is coming. and there's some cool elements that I think you're being literally in the painting

Starting point is 00:11:07 at the Hall of Justice I thought was interesting because that shows like you see yourself as among them, not above them, at least to a point. Yeah, I think that's a good point. That the, you know, I won't expand on that too much. I think you're right. I think that he, I think that we can definitely assume that Maxwell sees himself as a member of the team

Starting point is 00:11:33 more than a, you know, just a benefactor. Yeah, yeah. There was a Cyclops element versus an Xavier. Like, it felt like, you know, in the painting, you was being side by side. I didn't catch the first time because I was so distracted about the other things, but I thought it was interesting that in the painting, it was you and civilian clothes,

Starting point is 00:11:50 them all in their wardrobe, and it was like, that's normal. So I really like those little details that are growing out this tapestry. Yeah. Now, I would love to talk about a safer subject because that's the future, and I'm so glad we can finally confirm it now that there's footage. But GI Robot to me has become such a beautiful figurehead of

Starting point is 00:12:09 rebellion. He's become this character that represents a present day act. And I love that it's a throwback character that has now become a present day icon. When you first started seeing the protests and you first started seeing GI Robot be used as a piece of an iconography, what did that feel like as the voice and person behind it? I love it. I love it so much. I, I, um, you know, I, as an actor, I, I feel some sort of kinship with every character that I play. It's part of what I do. I know, I always know that if I don't enjoy it, if I don't find my love for playing the character, it's probably not working. So that's my way. It is how to find how to love them. And it was just so easy for GI. I love him so much, and I, and I just know I was saying, like, when people come up to me at conventions who, who, uh, love GI Robot, I'm instantly on their side.

Starting point is 00:13:17 And I, I just, I, you know, he's the hero we need for today. Um, I'm all for it. I'm all for using him as an icon of, of, um, anti. fascism. And I don't write the character. I don't create him, so I don't want to pretend, I don't want to put more into it than I deserve, but I can say that I'm proud to play him and I get it. You know, like, if we can't agree that Nazis are bad, we are in rough shape. Where and when are we? As a, as a species. You know? And so, yeah, I'm on board. It was really beautiful.

Starting point is 00:14:07 I think of iconography from different decades and different human struggles. And I think it's really interesting that we keep some of that iconography, like Rosie the Riveter feels timeless. And certain pieces of that time get to reflect today. And something about him being from a bygone era, but now feeling like today's Rosie the Riveter because of the type of conflict we're in and the internal struggle as a country. I love that comic books, which to me have always been a quiet act of rebellion, to me, they're like handing out propaganda that has a narrative, right? In a positive sense, the word propaganda, it's a narrative about morals that you bring home to your home. So when G.I. Robot became that voice, it felt very linear and logical, but I never thought

Starting point is 00:14:49 comic books would reach the peak that it has to be this thing. So when you started seeing people dressed as him at cons and you said you feel like a kinship, you feel like you're, you know what side they're on, have you had anyone tell you anything that that either enhanced your perspective or recontextualize something that you would put out there in the role? I just, let me tell you what I like most is it's a reminder not to judge people by how they look and how they might behave or whatever. again I'm going towards these like conventions that I do and and people come to my table and

Starting point is 00:15:34 you may have the biggest toughest looking like biker dudes who comes up who who um it's just like I love this guy I love you know pulling up a photo of GI Robot and like like I love this character and I'm like yeah man I didn't know that like I wouldn't have I wouldn't have paid you necessarily for a for a GI robot Stan but but I it's a reminder that like there are people out there everywhere we're kind of all in this together and like I I don't know I don't want to

Starting point is 00:16:14 I also look I don't want to I don't want to put too much into it I don't want to like go to over a grand eyes I'm out there yes I don't but I just like hey if there's a character that I'm gonna that I'm gonna get behind and stand up for I don't love them. Yeah, if there's a one-to-one, a rule to have behind a character, I think that the GI Robot should be like, oh, a base zero. And speaking of him, I know Creature Commandos Season 2 is something that's been announced as going forward. And we had spoilers for the show from

Starting point is 00:16:43 a while ago. We had a big change in GI Robot by the time we got to the end. Have you thought of anything that you, and this is you as a performer, not someone knowing anything? Is there anything that you really want to convey or do differently? Or is there any element of GI Robot But 2.0 that you're excited about. Well, you know, I'm fortunately, I don't know anything, so I can't, I can't accidentally spoil anything. I don't know anything yet. Like, I'm looking forward to reading a script for season two. I know we're making one, but I don't know what happens.

Starting point is 00:17:17 But, you know, I love the idea that maybe G.I. Robot, as he, as he has evolved, you know, a little bit into. terms of technology, maybe his ideology has evolved a little bit so that it's, it's not just Nazis, but it's a little bit more expansive in terms of who, uh, who he, he, uh, doesn't, doesn't tolerate. Who's in his eye line. Yeah. As he upgrades physically, his brain capacity's like, there's other problems as well. It's my favorite thing. The mumbling, the GI robots, like, mumbling like a hub you know it's my favorite thing the fact that he's like a western to me what I love about the character is that he's like an old hyper machismo masculine figurehead that we need to be against what that has become

Starting point is 00:18:14 like I really enjoy like as someone I always said I look like a flash Thompson but feel like Peter Parker like I always like I like work it out and I look like I could be the bully at high school, but I really have always enjoyed, like, the nerdy characters. And to me, G.I. Robot always felt like what you said about a biker guy. Like, you assume a thing. And then he's got that grumble, he's got that gravel, but that it's like, no, no, he's the side of peace and everything we need. And I love that inversely, you've got this very verbal character in a very human way. And then you also play a nonverbal, all physical character. I love it in one project. You have your two extremes as a performer. When you switch over mentally to something that is so physically bombastic,

Starting point is 00:18:51 Is it a different kind of exhausting, or is it like changing hats as a creator? Fortunately, I don't do it on the same day. Okay. So I have my generally, I mean, I don't know about never. I think maybe early on there were some days where I did both. But for the most part, when I would do vocal sessions for that show, I'm either doing a weasel session or I'm doing a GI robot session. Doing both in the same day can be tricky. But, you know, I don't know.

Starting point is 00:19:22 It's part of the job. It's like what I do. I'm a, you know, I'm a, I'm a soldier. I'm, you know, not the, I'm metaphorical. I'm not like, not really, I'm not really putting my life on the line. I'm not saying that like, like, what I do is important in the way that's, like, I'm not saying that, but I'm saying that my mentality is a performer is that my job is to serve

Starting point is 00:19:48 the story and serve the script and to do. do whatever it takes to do that. And so I'm shameless in that regard. So if I'm playing a large semi-anthropomorphic weasel or I'm playing a, you know, automaton from the 1940s, it's like it doesn't matter. My job is to tell the story, use the toolkit that I've been given in terms of what this character,

Starting point is 00:20:15 how this character is able to communicate and to go from there. Like many of you, I grew up in a home where money felt like a constant worry. Financial fear was always in the air, and eventually we did lose our home. So needless to say, I didn't grow up learning how to save or invest. But I did know that I wanted to feel more in control one day. And that's why I'm glad I found Acorns. I have already been using them before we partner with them. So very privileged right now to be working with them.

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Starting point is 00:21:34 invested over $25 billion with Acorns. You can head atacorns.com slash rejects or download the Acorns app to get started. Once again, acorns.com slash rejects, link in the description box and pin comment. And since we are talking about finances, it's important that I do say this. Payne-on-clined endorsement. Compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorn C-R-2. Compensation provided investing involves risk. Acorn Advisors, LLC, and SEC-registered investment advisor, view importing disclosures at acorns. Thank you again, Acorns for making my life better, and hopefully it makes your guys' life better, too. Now, we talked earlier, but with how much you dive into these characters, you and I've talked about Weasel before, we've talked about how much that origin meant a lot to you. And I was fascinated by how early that was mapped out for us to be revealed, too, but how early you knew it. How far ahead do you like to have those things in mind when you're going to be portraying? something as nuanced as a non-verbal character.

Starting point is 00:22:22 Is it something where you'd like to have their full arc mapped out so you can add that to your palette, or do you want to be surprised through the journey too? I don't want to be fully surprised. I need a, you know, like, it depends. I need a little bit of time, but for the most part, you work with what you're given, you know, but I would assume, like, for example, with something like Creature Commando Season 2, I would assume that I'll be able to read in a absorb scripts, you know, at least within a, you know, with a few weeks or a month or so to

Starting point is 00:22:57 absorb it and think about it and digest it before I go in and start, like, laying anything down. Because I feel like the two characters, I mean, we've talked the most about, but between Weasel and Rocket Raccoon, those are characters whose origins are revealed to us later that I imagine informed so much of the DNA of setting them up in the first place, like especially Guardians 2, that felt so informed by where we got in Guardians 3. So is it something that when you're building the character, do you have conversations with writer or writers about the elements you want to play up emotionally and those pieces of the character? Yeah, I mean, well, with Rocket, I definitely knew. I had a substantial breakdown of what Rocket's backstory was and where it was

Starting point is 00:23:43 going um by the end of the first movie and before we checked the second movie i knew a lot about about about like i knew about um i think i i think i actually knew what when we were shooting the first movie i knew that that the high evolutionary was the one who had created rocket and why he created him and and where that was coming from so um i i had uh some kind of you know the more information the better but sometimes you're not going to have all the information you know and with Creature Commandos same kind of thing

Starting point is 00:24:18 I knew Weasel was innocent when we shot Suicide Squad I was James gave me more of a breakdown of his backstory before we ever did Creature Commandos

Starting point is 00:24:31 G.I. Robot was very new to me all I knew was that James was interested in me playing this character and then I read the scripts so it was like all like I I read, and that, you know, that project was complete.

Starting point is 00:24:49 So it was like, I got all seven scripts at once. Wow. For that character. That show, man, was like magic in a bottle. It was, it was all done. You know, like, I remember reading, like, James had told me the idea before I read it. He was like, I kind of want to do this show, Creature Command is about these monsters. and, like, Frankenstein's in it and the bride and all this stuff.

Starting point is 00:25:16 And I was kind of like, oh, okay. You know, I mean, A, I'm not a comic book guy anyway. And B, it's like, that sounded like kind of lame. Sure. I mean, on paper, like, show me why. I was like, cool, you know. I trust you because you like it. So it's not like I'm saying you're going to do something bad.

Starting point is 00:25:40 Like, I know you're going to, like, do something interesting. but it didn't it wasn't like oh I can't wait to read that you know like I was like the elevator pitch isn't like oh whatever but I wanted to do it and I like the work and like I said I trust him I know he's smart and has good ideas and then he finished it and sent me he's like oh I'm sending you the scripts for for creature commandos and and I read it all in one shot and I remember saying to my wife like God I don't want to be crazy but I think this is the best thing James has ever written you know yeah um and I was just like blown away absolutely blown away by it um and then it

Starting point is 00:26:25 it just all the pieces fell into place he got such amazing casting um such uh you know the animation is incredible it's very much was exactly it ended up looking on screen exactly the way it was written on the page. It was no, there wasn't a lot of messing with it. There wasn't a lot of, like, it was just kind of done. And it became this, like, sort of magic little project. So I love it that I know that it's finding its audience, and I know, again, from having people, talking to people in conventions and stuff,

Starting point is 00:27:03 like, you know, people, I don't have a lot of people who have seen it, who are uninterested in it. There are only people who haven't seen it. The people who have seen it, love it. Yeah. And that's why I'm like, I'll push the hell out of it. I just think it's awesome. It's so special, especially in the run.

Starting point is 00:27:22 He's talked about that year where you wrote that and Peacemaker and Superman and he just went on this tear. And I, as a comic fan, I'm so impressed at the spinner rack feeling. Because going from Superman to Peacemaker, what a different tone. You've picked up such a different book. But Creature Commandos is maybe the most comicy thing. Like, it feels so inspired by, like, how does this translate to moving pictures that feels so like this? Was it something that you said it was magic when it came to you?

Starting point is 00:27:46 When you were filming and once the cast came together, were the sessions? Like, was there a spirit of, oh, my God, I can't believe we get to do this? Because I feel like David Harbor is Frankenstein. There's a, there's a joy de Viro that translates. And Frank Grillo, I didn't think could voice act that well until he did it. Like, it's so special. I mean, you know, it felt special again kind of after it was done. able to see it. But it takes a long time to make a project like that. You know, the voice part of it

Starting point is 00:28:16 is a lot of sessions over a lot of months, and the animation part is even more. So it's like, so like I read it and it was magic, but then, you know, a year or more goes by where my only connection is every couple of months going into a booth by myself, you know, and like, And so I'm not, it doesn't feel as collaborative, but that's the job, right? And some of the actors worked together. So some of the most important scenes, you know, like when Flagg and Frankenstein have some of their coolest scenes together, Gorillo and Harbor would really be in the booth together and interacting with one another.

Starting point is 00:29:03 But I didn't have any of that. Both Weasel and G.I. are very sort of insular, and they don't. So I didn't have any scenes where I was there with another actor. So I'm just kind of by myself for a while trying to do what I can. But, you know, that's the job. That's why it's hard work, and that's why you stay focused. You reread the script. You make sure you know where you are.

Starting point is 00:29:34 and what is expected of the character and try to work it out and put it together. And it's a testament to how excellent the performers are that are all, you know, Alan Tudek and Zoe and Zoe Chow and, and Deere Vermeer, who have never met in real life still. Wow! And like, and obviously Harbour and Grillo

Starting point is 00:30:01 and Maria Vakalva who's, who had worked with and is brilliant and like like all these like amazing performers and we're all um it's kind of a fun thing to know that we're all on the same page working towards this project to make it is as beautiful and and fully realized as possible but not seeing each other and for a long time surreal or ever that's like so special because it feels so cohesive and I think a lot of that's the writing a lot of that is that magic but I always wonder in the collaborative element of you having so much acting experience and you working with so many different writers and directors and you obviously knowing your brother your whole

Starting point is 00:30:42 life how much collaboration comes into play with a character that you've played multiple times like a cragglin or a rocket do you get to have a conversation about like this is what I feel instinctively let's have a dialogue yeah I in in general I'm a I'm pretty hands off I know that I know that my ideas would be heard. Like, I know if I said to James, well, one thing I've really learned about Craglan is blank. You know, he would listen to me and understand it and absorb it. And I'm sure I did that once or twice. But for the most part, I always stay away from actual story ideas, from actually saying, like, well, I think he should do this.

Starting point is 00:31:27 Sure. Or would act in this certain way. like I don't it's just not really that's what writers do that's not my that's like that's kind of not my call to make and it's not my um it's just kind of not what I do in general fair and last two questions for you because I saw the MF Doom shirt before and I had to ask uh MF Doom like is there a favorite album a favorite track like I feel like MF Doom doesn't get enough love today as such a forefront of very conscious hip hop yeah I mean look I can tell you that when I heard how much time do you have 20 minutes I love I love MF Doom so much is my

Starting point is 00:32:08 favorite musical artist ever I remember um sitting in front of my computer and listening to rhymes like dimes from Operation Dooms Day and being like I've been waiting my entire life to hear this music yeah um mad villainy's probably my favorite album but uh No, I actually probably like Operation Doom's Day even more than Mad Villainty. And in some ways, the first Victor Vaughn album is what was more of a doorway into Doom's music than anything else. But I love all of it. I love King Guterre. I love Doom and all his incarnations.

Starting point is 00:32:47 And, you know, I could probably, if I had to only listen to one artist for the rest of my life, I would not, I wouldn't have to hesitate for more than five seconds before I would have an answer. of knowing the conviction because like MF Doom I find is someone it's actually kind of like GI Robot when I've seen an MF Doom person I'm like I know we at least have a lot in common you're exactly right and I have this is one of like seriously I have at least probably 12 or 15 MS Doom T-shirts and I and it is it is exactly that it's another thing that when people pointed out when people are like hey man cool shirt I'm like that guy's cool yeah there's like she's cool and and I and I also uh yeah It's, it's, um, it makes me feel like, it makes me feel not as old that I get a lot of 20

Starting point is 00:33:39 year olds who are like, yeah, hey, cool t-shirt. I'm like, hey, the kids are, they know what's up. I find MF. Doom and Wu-Tang have found Gen Z in such a unique way. And I never thought I'd see as many Wu-Tang shirts or MF Doom shirts come back. Because it doesn't feel like the Nirvana Rolling Stones thing where it's like a hot topic, like I wear this for the symbolism. They tend to know what it is. is they're representing. And I love that for him. I feel like MF Doom would appreciate

Starting point is 00:34:03 that he's caused this culture shift back in the right direction. Yeah. And lastly, Gilmore Girls, man, I am always fascinated by the Gilmore Girls Army.

Starting point is 00:34:13 And I feel like the audience would be upset with me if I didn't bring up any questions about this very iconic show. We live in this very interesting age of holding on to pieces of art that make us feel comfortable.

Starting point is 00:34:24 And for me, that's comic books. And in some ways, friends and in some ways shows that feel like a blank And Gilmore Girls, I know, is like Amy Sherman Palladino's, like that locked in a lot of people to this type of dialogue. When you talk to Gilmore Girls fans that are new to this tribe, do you find that there's a different, like, relationship to the material than the ones that have been with it from the beginning? Because I've noticed a surge in the last seven years.

Starting point is 00:34:50 Or is it like, oh, you're my tribe. You're my people. Well, there's a, the thing that's the same amongst all Gilmore Girls fans is. is, I think, a sense of, first of all, the show itself being comforting, which I have my own sort of theories about why. But it definitely also bridges these generational gaps between women. And I think that a lot, or among women, I should say, because I don't think that there are, I don't know.

Starting point is 00:35:24 I'm not an expert on this, but maybe there aren't enough shows that do that. But I get so many people who talk to me about the show where, and I mean, you know, I don't mean just hundreds. I mean thousands and thousands of people who tell me that their connection to the show is that they enjoyed it with their mother or their mother's mother and now they enjoy it with their daughter or their daughter's daughter. and it spans this generation of people in a really cool way. It blows my mind that I'll still have seven, eight, nine-year-old girls come up to me and Kilmore Girls is their favorite show. Like, it is not ever anything I would have imagined or understood. It's only with age that you can appreciate something like that.

Starting point is 00:36:22 yeah um and uh i'm incredibly grateful for it i think that there was there have been moments in my life or in my career where i was like i wouldn't say embarrassed by it but it's like you want to you want to move past your previous work and go towards your next work so it's like okay yeah i was kirk on gilmore girl but what a goofy character i want to now do this next thing and i want to be known i want to be known for the next project right not the last project that i do and i And I really am grateful for the fact that I was able to be a part of something so, so cool and so interesting and have it live, have it still breathe in 2025, something we were doing in 2001 and two and 2003, that like it's still alive. And it's alive in a way that a lot of other fandoms, I think, aren't as much. And I won't, not to name anything of my name, but there's a lot of things that, like, you get people who are loyal to them forever, but they age with the show.

Starting point is 00:37:29 So it's like the show's getting older, and so the fans are getting older. Gilmore Girls fans are staying young, which I don't even know how to process that, but I'm grateful for it, and I hope people love it forever. I think that Amy Sherman Paldino and her right-hand man, Dan, are absolute geniuses. I think they created something just absolutely gorgeous

Starting point is 00:37:58 and I'm in their debt. I'm grateful to be a part of it. I do feel like it's one of those shows that is more MF Doom, Wutang, as far as the iconography, than another T-shirt. People know what it's about to this day and it ages gracefully with them.

Starting point is 00:38:14 I think that's the first MF Doom, Gilmore Girls, uh, analogy that I've heard in my, in my years in the industry. And I'm here for it. Yes. I put those words together for the first time in that order, bringing together. And also when Rachel Brosnan got cast, that was my first thought. I went right to Marvelous Miss Maisel and connected it to Gormor Girls. And that was my thought for Lois Lane was how perfect she was going to be because she nails that pantameter.

Starting point is 00:38:39 I knew she was up for the role and I, and I, and I, and I, Actually, I don't know if this info is out there, but I emailed, I emailed Amy. I was James. I'm like, James says recon on every actor because he wants to make sure that they're cool. And I emailed Amy. I was like, hey, you worked with Rachel forever. And she's up for this thing with my brother. And what did, like, do you have anything that you would say about her?

Starting point is 00:39:09 Is there any, like, any red flags, anything you would say? and it was the most glowing, like, like, it was, it was, it was, it was the most, like, uh, positive review anybody, you know, Amy wrote me back and she's like, she is the greatest actor that you would ever want to work with, like open and, and, and giving and smart and driven and caring and cool and nice and everything. like she said all of the most glowing things about Rachel that you could ever say and so I passed that along

Starting point is 00:39:47 I don't know if it made a lick a difference I think at the end of the day really I think her audition gets her the role no matter what but I like that there's that loyalty and that Amy was was so kind about what she said about Rachel

Starting point is 00:40:04 and I do think it's a testament to all the casts that he doesn't tolerate assholes like the thing about your brother is like he doesn't want to work with people for 10 years that suck. It's smart. It's why. It's like you see you see actors talk on in interviews and they're like, oh, yeah, James's

Starting point is 00:40:20 sets are amazing and he's such, he creates such this warm environment. And I can imagine being an outsider in hearing this, me like, okay, everybody's drinking this Kool-Aid, saying the same thing. It's like, no, no, no. It's really true and it's true because of that. Like he really does do background work on who these. people are and understanding that like we're trying to make something really excellent together as a team and so you have to be a team player you can't be somebody you you know you like

Starting point is 00:40:55 egos aren't aren't helpful you know and and I think it shows in the work I've been doing this more than 10 years and that Superman cast was the most I've ever spent with a full cast and every interaction was great and I always love talking to you man whether it's cons or panels or now finally Maxwell Lord, but always a pleasure, and I'm very excited for the experience of seeing those levels of Maxwell Lord play out, and I always love your work, man. I appreciate it. I appreciate you. Thank you.

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