This Past Weekend - #578 - Ben Affleck

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Starting point is 00:00:31 actor, a writer, a director. He's won an Oscar award. You know his movies like Good Will Hunting, Gone Girl, Batman. The list goes on. He has a new film, The Accountant 2, it's in theaters this Friday, with Jon Bernthal. You may have seen the first one. I had a great time getting to know him. Today's guest is Mr. Ben Affleck. ["Shine On Me"] I'm off. Yeah, I lost my... I wonder if you lose vanity as you get a little bit older. Like not you, but like do you...

Starting point is 00:01:18 What does that... I don't know. I see some people like, I don't know. It's hard to tell because you know, you see some people like doing crazy looking things and you think like, that looks crazy, why are you trying to look 18 years old? You know what I mean? Oh, like that guy who's on Celebrity Big Brother right now.

Starting point is 00:01:34 Who's that guy? He kind of looks like Jack Sparrow. I don't know what you're talking about, but I can imagine, you know what I mean? You kind of can like, I think you can go one of two ways. Like if you see yourself all the time, and especially if like the way you make a living is by, kind of in part the way you look or whatever,

Starting point is 00:01:53 it feels like, you know, people can get like obsessed with it. You know what I mean? Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking of Mickey Rourke, I think. Yeah. No judgment against him, but he tries, you know, it's like you can, it's definitely an active, yeah, some people it's like an active thing.

Starting point is 00:02:07 And then you're in a real kind of like conundrum with yourself because you have to get old so then you would constantly be feeling like afraid to get older, I guess, or you'd be in like an a- Yeah, I think it's a tricky thing, right? Like, you know, nobody wants to get older, right? Because what it means is like you're gonna die

Starting point is 00:02:23 and nobody wants to really face that. And also you just find out like, you know, nobody wants to get older, right? Because what it means is like you're gonna die and nobody wants to really face that. And also you just find out like, you know, you're just 50, man. When you get there, you'll see like just regular shit that used to be normal hurts. Like moving around, you're like, damn, what happened to me today? You're like, why's my back hurt?

Starting point is 00:02:38 Oh, cause I got up and then I sat back down. You know what I mean? Yeah, I petted a small dog. Movement creates like small injuries all the time. So you start to get a little bit, that can kind of affect you. And I think part of it's you gotta just get comfortable with the fact that, and I guess I'm lucky

Starting point is 00:02:55 because I don't feel like, oh shit, I better look young and I kind of am who I am and I'm all right with that. And also kind of what I'm interested in more and more is stuff that doesn't necessarily involve how I look. Like that pressure, I think for women, for anybody who sees himself all the time, it's like, I think that can turn into a vicious cycle

Starting point is 00:03:20 of trying to look at shit and fix it or look younger or something. Whereas like you don't have to look any kind of way to direct movies, you know what I mean? Or have a business, you know, so I guess I'm lucky. Do you, it's hard to know if you, it would seem like you seem like a guy who likes being in Hollywood or doesn't like being in Hollywood, I guess. There's things I really like about it and things I really don't like. Yeah. Right.

Starting point is 00:03:42 And I wish they didn't have to be together, but they are right. Like Like this kind of life is just you got to take the good with the bad. I don't really like to like do big social events or go out much. I'm kind of sure I don't really want to be on care. Certainly when I'm like in my regular life and I'm walking around in my, you know, whatever underwear and T-shirts, I don't want people looking at me. I like my family and my kids and my life. I wish that were more private. I don't know how many people really want

Starting point is 00:04:10 to be sort of scrutinized in that way, but I really like making movies and I like telling those stories. And so look, the truth is I always knew that was kind of a part of it. And so, you know, I deal with it. I don't, there's things I don't love about this business, a lot of them, you know, it can make you kind of crazy,

Starting point is 00:04:28 you know, it can record, and there's stuff that's just no fun for me, like, you know, events and shows and stuff like that. I don't, some people really know how to have a good time. I wish I did. I wish I was out there like, great, we're gonna hit it, and I'm gonna, you know what I mean? Like, as if I had that attitude,

Starting point is 00:04:42 I'd probably be happier about it. Yeah. You know what I mean? Oh yeah, dude, I'm always trapped inside of myself. There's always like a lot of this, like, some people are like, you don't like being in a crowd. I'm like, I have a crowd inside of me right now. There's a crowd in my head that's busy enough.

Starting point is 00:04:54 I got 30 people in here, and we're out of hors d'oeuvres. So I got enough fucking problems on the interior right now. So I can totally, dude, I can totally I can totally I can totally relate to that and every time there is an uh And then we'll get off this I want to talk I know you I want to talk to you about directing and acting but Because yeah, I was just I was like this bit It's so because they always get pictures you where you seem like you're like the the dwarf that like is kind of like the backup dwarf You know like you're on the side. You're smoky like you're like... What is that guy? I don't know that character, man.

Starting point is 00:05:26 It's like, is he pissed? I think he's a little pissed, yeah, he's an understudy. He's the understudy dwarf, okay. And not dwarf, like you're a regular-heighted guy, but it's like, and I shouldn't have said dwarf, I shouldn't say anything, but it was like, I don't know, and it's like they only put this chronology out of you that makes you seem like you're kind of bummed.

Starting point is 00:05:45 Well, here's the thing. If the only time, like when somebody's taking a picture of me, I'm bummed because usually I'm with my kids, I'm trying to go somewhere and then there's four guys who are like, hey, hey, hey. And I'm like, hey man, every time, can you give me some time? I'm trying to be with my kids, do you mind? Can you, you know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:06:01 So the look on your face is kind of like, and then they go away and not taking the picture, you go inside and you're having a good time the look on your face is kind of like, and then they go away, not taking the picture, you go inside and you're having a good time, but it's this selective experience of like, take a picture of somebody every time they're feeling irritated, they're gonna look irritated. Especially if you're the one irritating them.

Starting point is 00:06:15 Yeah, it's like, I'll come piss you off and then take your picture and then put it, and then be like, look how pissed off he is. That's exactly what that whole system is really. Right, and it's useful, because that's why, I'm sure you've seen on all the stuff, the idea is like, follow somebody around, antagonize them, and then hopefully they'll have a nervous breakdown

Starting point is 00:06:36 and go crazy on you, and then your video will be worth more money. Yeah, it's such a, that whole thing gets really black mirrorish, man. It really gets kind of like... That whole thing gets really black mirrorish, man. You know, it really gets kind of like... Like, I can remember a long time ago, you know, years and years ago,

Starting point is 00:06:51 like I really had a lot of empathy for Britney Spears because I remember that it seemed like, and it's not somebody that I knew or hung out with, but I just like everybody else. You see all this shit that comes through. But having had my own experiences myself, I knew like these are people who are following her around in a time where she may or may not have been having difficulty, I don't know,

Starting point is 00:07:12 because I don't know her, but I do know that the cycle of having people harangue you and yell at you and hassle you and follow you, it kind of seemed like that itself was kind of whipping up the whole thing into a tizzy. So it's, and I- Like they're not helping. Well, yeah, and they're kind of poking like that itself was kind of whipping up the whole thing into a tizzy. So it's, and I, Like they're not helping. Well, yeah, and they're kind of poking a stick at it.

Starting point is 00:07:29 That's sick. And go, look, look at it. And that's where it felt kind of like, that's the first time I thought, this is kind of a weird kind of unintentional, I think culturally, but kind of collective cruelty, where what's taken out of the image that you see are the people around waving the stick at the tiger

Starting point is 00:07:51 or poking on it or whatever. And all you see is the growling animal, whatever it is. But like a part of that is because somebody come around and hitting on it or whatever to make it get active. And that's where you think, okay, well, this isn't really news. It's not even real. It's not what would be happening

Starting point is 00:08:09 if this effect wasn't taking place. And that's where I thought, okay, the sort of wise thing to do is to just sort of maintain one's perspective and try to remove yourself a little bit. Which is what I would like to do. I think there's this sense that like, if you see someone's picture all the time,

Starting point is 00:08:27 they must want you to be seeing it, right? Which is not the case at all for me. I'm self-conscious. I don't really want you to be seeing that. I don't see any reason for it. As an actor, it's no good for you because I don't really want people, if they watch a movie, to be like, that's not him

Starting point is 00:08:42 because I saw him yesterday eating lunch and I know he's who he really is. It gets in the way of you being able to create, like, the illusion. It's really hard work to create the illusion that this person, like the character in the Counting Two, for example, is a real person in a real circumstance. And in order to get the audience to care about it,

Starting point is 00:08:59 to laugh, to find it exciting and empathize with the character, they have to suspend disbelief. That's harder if you're constantly being shown something else. So I think it gets in the way. It makes it harder to be an actor. And it's also just not good for you.

Starting point is 00:09:14 People start to resent you if they see you too much. No matter whether or not you're trying to be seen. You go, no, I don't want to do this. And nonetheless, I remember 20 years ago, going through an experience where I was like, it feels to the world like I'm trying to shove myself in their face. And nobody likes that, right?

Starting point is 00:09:32 Nobody wants to be the camera hog, the guy who's trying to get a bunch of new pictures. Get these Ben Affleck shoes or whatever. These hair. And I'm like, man, I'd just leave me alone. And I would be much happier. So in a way, it also can damage your career. Although I think it's, I don't pretend to understand

Starting point is 00:09:48 the nuances of social media and how to manage that as a celebrity, so I don't do it. Some people do it really well. And I think there is a difference now because it's like if you have 100 million followers, that's actually valuable and meaningful in a different way. I still, I'm kind of old school, I guess, in a way of seeing. Medium school, I think.

Starting point is 00:10:08 I'm middle school, yes, I am a seventh grader. That's true. Oh, dude, yeah, I don't even think of that. I don't know if I graduated that one. Some of them, they let you skip, I guess, if you're, you know, depending on what county you're in. Sometimes they hold you back. Sometimes they hold you back, dude.

Starting point is 00:10:23 Bro, the scariest thing was when, like, the dumb bully kid got held back and you're like. You had to stick around and you're in. Sometimes they hold you back. Sometimes they hold you back, dude. Bro, the scariest thing was when like the dumb bully kid got held back and you're like. You had to stick around in your grade and you're like, oh man. Dude, they'd be like, bro, I remember we got word. The kid's six, 10 and like sixth grade. Dude, we got word that Damien had gotten held back and people were like, oh hell no, dude.

Starting point is 00:10:43 We cannot do Damien again. Hold me back dude. We cannot do Damien again. Hold me back too. We cannot do Damien again. Like Damien has to go out to pasture wherever they put these kids that leave sixth grade. And they're like Damien's coming back. Finish their education at sixth grade. Shut him down, dude.

Starting point is 00:10:58 Taze him or something. Put a tire spike when he's leaving out of his driveway in the morning, but Damien cannot come back. But yeah, it is interesting and it is kind of a sickness. I think a lot of people see that stuff as a sickness these days, but I do think it's fascinating about the suspension of disbelief and that that was something that used to be amazing about celebrities

Starting point is 00:11:19 is like you never got to see them, right? And so you only got to see them and actors and you only get to see them on screen in this way and so you really envision them that way I mean you would almost be shocked if you saw a celebrity in person or an actor in person who didn't like like Indiana Jones if he didn't have his head in with. It's funny I was just going to say that is that when I was a kid I kind of thought Harrison Ford was that guy you know what I mean like it that's Harrison Ford I think he's probably the biggest movie star

Starting point is 00:11:45 of my childhood. And whether it was like, you know, Indian Jones or Star Wars, like he was the guy. And I kind of thought he was that guy. And so it's a little weird to see that guy just like, you know, in his sneakers and his kind of raincoat walking around Brentwood. It's sort of like, of course it's disappointing

Starting point is 00:12:01 or it's disillusioning or something. Cause you have this thing in your mind that people went to, you know, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas went to a whole, you know, use all their talent, went to a bunch of work to make this dude look like Indiana Jones and Han Solo. And I think what I've seen now is like,

Starting point is 00:12:18 I actually don't even want to see like the actors that I really like. I don't want to go on your social, because I don't want to know what you had for lunch because it just makes it harder for me the actors that I really like. I don't wanna go on your social, because I don't wanna know what you had for lunch, because it just makes it harder for me to get into what you're doing. I love that.

Starting point is 00:12:30 And I think that is a real directorial way to think, I think. I can see that in your brain. I'm just a guy judging you. They just met in a room somewhere. But I never thought about that, that that's how it is. That, yeah, you don't yeah, you want them kind of, you want to,

Starting point is 00:12:50 Hollywood has almost bitten its own tail in that way because there's this underlying like valueless current really that's kind of like a very cheap currency. It's Hollywood sort of adjacent, which is this sort of media culture that profits from and circles, and there's a symbiotic relationship between Hollywood and obviously like here I am promoting my movie

Starting point is 00:13:12 and running around and now I don't wanna go on like a tabloid and do that or whatever it is, but that becomes part of that culture too. And then you have like any interview show or all these, you're right, in a sense it is Hollywood because if you do a movie at Universal, you'll see that person's doing all NBC, Comcast owned talk shows and appearances, right?

Starting point is 00:13:33 Like it's not a coincidence because when they do their presentation in the boardroom for Comcast to their shareholders, they go, look, we make these movies, we spend a lot of money and then we get the stars and we plug them into all of our other shows that we also own and there's a lot of money, and then we get the stars and we plug them into all of our other shows that we also own, and there's a lot of synergy, so on and so forth. The idea though is like, okay, that's a kind of a tax

Starting point is 00:13:52 that you end up sort of paying on your sort of life and on this thing that you're trying to build, which is something that connects with people and moves them and that they wanna go out to a fucking movie theater and pay good money to see. And it makes it a little bit harder than to have to kind of go around

Starting point is 00:14:10 and do all that other stuff and be like, okay, well, that's not who I really am. And to try to sort of be interesting and relevant in some other way that isn't really what you kind of even wanted to do. And so you're right. It's sort of part Hollywood and you kind of even wanted to do. And so, so you're right. It's sort of part Hollywood and also kind of Hollywood adjacent. And it is eating it's, it does eat its tail in a way, because it's, because the

Starting point is 00:14:32 acting in the creation, it's like a watch looking at the beauty of a lake, right? It's like, this is picturesque and this is like how they meant the waves to look. And there's a current here and there's an inflow and outflow and something landed in the water over here and left a ripple and something else is this is the B story and there's a ripple. But then it's this under it's this all this stuff under it and it's almost starting to like kind of drain its own lake in a way. It's a good metaphor. Yeah, like the movie has the kind of lake and the underneath of what's both what goes into it and what happens behind the scenes and also what's what it

Starting point is 00:15:01 takes and it does kind of like it's interesting like, like yeah, if you overtax it, it lowers the lake and all of a sudden it doesn't look like a beautiful lake. It starts to look like the low country marsh and it pulls down, you start to see all the black mud around the edges and the muck. And that's, yeah, I don't know how to kind of balance that but as a director, you know, you're right. Like I would say that's the way,

Starting point is 00:15:25 the principal way I've always kind of looked at this stuff. So it used to be that you had an actor and you had people knew less about them. And now a part of even casting for me is what do people think or of and expect this person to do and or be? And how can I both, I have to rely on that and use that, but I also have the opportunity to kind of subvert that

Starting point is 00:15:49 in a way. And so you have to be mindful, not just of the story you're telling, but what does the audience bring into the theater with them or when they turn on television, you know, expect. Dude, that's, yeah, I think that's advanced thinking, to be honest with you. I really do.

Starting point is 00:16:07 It's just learned by lived experience. Mostly, you know, find out, like I even often make mistakes. You know, like if I sometimes have found, if I sort of, I did a movie where I had like a very blonde wig that was like a medieval. Ric Flair or something? I wish I was Ric Flair, that would be spectacular. I'd love to play, it was actually a good movie. I really liked it, it was called The Last Tool.

Starting point is 00:16:30 The point was, I know it's great director Ridley Scott and he had this idea for it. Oh yeah, Ridley Scott. And yeah, there's the thing there you see. And I liked the, if no one I think had ever seen me or whatever, I thought that was really, yeah, interesting. The problem is that people, I think what it did, people first created noise around,

Starting point is 00:16:47 you know, look at this hair, is this different? And we know it's a wig. And so now you look at it and you go, but I know he doesn't look like that. And so it causes you to kind of think it's false. That's an example of kind of probably not being able to go that far away from myself and still have people go, okay, I can sit aside what I know and just watch this story and like it and believe in it.

Starting point is 00:17:09 Dude, that's fast. That's insider baseball, man. No, it makes total sense. It makes total sense that that would start to affect how we see things. You know, there's something that's happening where it's hard to get people to believe in some of these movies, you know?

Starting point is 00:17:23 And people's attention spans have changed. It's gotten interesting. Yeah, that's a bunch of things. The fact that even the online world, for example, you see now that shorter and shorter and shorter clips. Even my son, who's constantly showing me clips of you, by the way, he's always like, you know what I mean? So it's how I-

Starting point is 00:17:42 Is he a nice kid? He's a great kid, yeah, he's a fabulous kid. And he's, now when I watch him like scroll, it's like he doesn't even get through the six seconds. Right. You know what I mean? He's like, you know, and he'll like a long period of time for him is four or five seconds.

Starting point is 00:17:58 And then I'm like, hey man, you know, let's watch this show or watch this movie. And it's like, he gets bored fast. He got to really love something to sit through it. And then he binges like all the episodes. We just sat through and watched Invincible, this animated show. And then it's like, let's keep going.

Starting point is 00:18:15 So it's this weird dichotomy of on the one hand, it's like, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, okay, then plug in and mainline this one thing and eat it all up till it's gone. And yeah, so it has really changed. You didn't used to be able to pause and select or even have that much to choose from. Like that many choices is overwhelming to the mind.

Starting point is 00:18:37 We weren't made, I don't believe, evolutionarily and as human beings to like, we're supposed to be living in like a village and see about 100 people in our lifetimes, right? That's the vast majority of human history, that's how we did it. And I still feel like in a way that's how we're socialized. It's why, for example, if you're,

Starting point is 00:18:57 feel left out of a group, it's very painful. Because like in, you know, thousands of years ago, if you got left out of the village, the group, whatever, and they didn't take you to hunt, you died. You needed those people to live. And so- So it hits something really limbic inside. And even social media, for example,

Starting point is 00:19:14 you're looking at stuff and you go, damn, why is everybody else's life so good? And I'm seeing the life you're advertising looks so fucking cool. And in my inside life feels like shit. That also is like a basic primal thing. And I think that's what this stuff kind of touches. But the amount of information now that comes in,

Starting point is 00:19:32 because really now everybody's a celebrity, right? Everybody is a celebrity, everybody is followed, everybody's life is out there. There's newborns, there's four months old and 1,100 followers. And it's really, like 1,100 followers is kind of's really a fun, like 1100 followers is kind of, it's just a, it's not any different from celebrity, it's just a matter of degree.

Starting point is 00:19:49 But this is a four month, he can't even open both of his eyes at the same time. And it's like, yeah, exactly. And that's kind of become the, that as the currency of man, that looks great, you know, like the currency of like fame in and of itself as a desirable thing. Like people go, man, I of like fame in and of itself as a desirable thing.

Starting point is 00:20:06 Like people go, man, I want to be rich and famous. Like take rich. You know what I mean? You know, famous is not, not gonna make you happy. It seems like it will cause it's like, oh, people like me and know my name and kind of know who I am and I'll feel like I've done something. I think a lot of times what happens is if it doesn't come with a real sense of like achievement or accomplishment, it actually feels hollow and empty and bullshit

Starting point is 00:20:27 and undeserved. Do you think you wanted to start directing because it gave you even more of a sense of accomplishment? Yeah, I wanted to. Is that a weird question, but does that make any sense? No, it does make sense. I wanted to fail on my own terms. So I had gone through some movies where I was like,

Starting point is 00:20:43 I don't like this, I don't agree with this, but you gotta do how it's like being a playing a football team, whatever. You gotta run the plays that the coach sets up. You know what I mean? They're gonna run a draw play, get the ball and turn around and run a sweep right because they're not blocking that way. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:20:58 It's just, that's not gonna work, right? So that's how that whole art form is sort of structured by and large. And what I found was, you know, I had a real strong sense of the way I wanted to do it. And when it didn't work, when it worked, I didn't feel great because it wasn't me that had that feel, you know, I didn't feel like, I didn't feel proud of it.

Starting point is 00:21:21 And when it didn't work, I just felt pissed off, like, fuck, I didn't wanna fucking do it. God damn it, I didn't wanna, you know, I said it, and that's a terrible feeling. So I'd rather fail on my own terms or succeed on my own terms. And that's where I kind of got into directing. And I always, I wanted to do it even when I was younger. And I liked it, I just didn't have the confidence.

Starting point is 00:21:40 And at a certain point, I kind of had nothing to lose. And that was really what kind of gave me the courage to take that leap. In the directing, you mean? Yeah, because my, like as an actor, I sort of got real cold and like had a couple of movies that didn't work and then, you know, all of a sudden it can be kind of over for you.

Starting point is 00:21:58 That's why it's a tough business. Fuck, yeah, man. Like there's no like seniority, there's no tenure, there's no,, uh, seniority. There's no tenure. There's no, you know, retirement, no gold watch. If your show doesn't work or doesn't work and nobody wants to hire you, like they're just gonna hire someone else. You know, it's, there's a 130,000 people in sag and there's only 30,000 people that work every year.

Starting point is 00:22:19 Right. And then there's a even smaller amount of those roles where, you know, you have more than two lines. So it's a very, it's very tough. Right. And then there's an even smaller amount of those roles where, you know, you have more than two lines. So it's a very, it's very tough. Right. And so if you're not, people aren't watching, not coming, or it's not interesting, see later. And now it's different because I think the movie theater, you know, it's like, it's a new attack. I think it takes novel thinking these days. I think it takes, I think that movies themselves long form,

Starting point is 00:22:49 I think it's, they're gonna have to find some new, unless it is like great or new or so novel, they're gonna have to find some new ways to either present it or edit it. I'm not sure what it is, but to me, just as a viewer, it feels like we're in this shift because so quickly have people gotten into these quick moments. And it's not even that their attention span is short, their commitment. It's like they don't want to, it's like, I'm not committing to that.

Starting point is 00:23:12 Think about all the other options that you have. Totally. You're sitting there with a computer. You have to do. Like when I was a kid and we went out, there wasn't shit else. There was three channels and nothing on TV and it wasn't, and if you didn't go see the movie in the theater, you had to wait, you know, a year for it to come out on like VHS or DVD or whatever it was or cable and so you were You just had to wait for it to come out a diorama like it was bad

Starting point is 00:23:32 Cave painting and shit how long it's gonna take you to paint this on my cave or a tattoo a guy came through the tattoo And it told a story And so you had to like it looked like a domestic dispute a lot, but you're like hey We you know there's every there's a story for everything But dude even like this like Danny McBride gave me this like to like a month ago or something this light It's like a flashlight or something Well this side just like a flashlight right but the other side is like a wiener light like you can put like a wiener on something It has like a but I'm just saying like, everything has like two, like seven things now.

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Starting point is 00:26:57 Terms apply, see visible.com for plan features and network management details. But I'm just saying like everything has like two, like, two, like, seven things now. Right. You know? And I think you're right. If you want to get people to go to the theaters, movies have got to be really good.

Starting point is 00:27:13 Like, you can't just, you used to be like, okay, there's going to be three movies in the theater every weekend. People are going to go to one of them. Now you got to have a reason to want to go out and see it. And I'm lucky because, you know, the reason why I'm really confident about this movie that you can count on too

Starting point is 00:27:26 is it actually plays great. It's a really good movie. People love it. I've been, you know, but I was one where I was like, let's make, let's test this movie. Let's take it out there. And I'm like, okay, this movie belongs out there theatrically and there's still, it's still more difficult.

Starting point is 00:27:39 In old days, this movie would have a home run easy. Obviously I'm like, the movie's great. It works great. It's a big smash hit. Now you have to like, okay, work hard to get it out. Because ahead of time, you screen it for people, you see what they say. And the reaction's pretty consistent, interestingly.

Starting point is 00:27:53 But now it's like, I think your point about what you have to do, like the Minecraft movie or Barbie, or it almost has to become like a cultural event, like where people are going acting the scenes out. Like there's a whole reason to go do it. Or else it's really good. And that's really what I believe about. And you really believe in this.

Starting point is 00:28:09 This movie is, listen, absolutely. Would you come out and say it was good if it wasn't? Not like that. I would sort of talk around it or talk about, well, there's some things I like about it. But now I wouldn't even want a movie to go out theatrically that I didn't think was gonna work theatrically because I think most,

Starting point is 00:28:26 you know, there's people that will watch this on streaming because I do think the bar is lower and I think that different kinds of movies work on streaming and, you know, great movies work on streaming too. But I would say I would choose to do that. This was one that was supposed to be, I wasn't, you know, it wasn't like,

Starting point is 00:28:40 we're gonna go out theatrically. It was when the movie came together and worked as well as it did, you know, we thought this is definitely a theatrical movie. And I think it's really good. I'm really proud of it. I love it. John Bernthal's great.

Starting point is 00:28:52 It's funny. It's better than the first one. Yeah, John Bernthal was my brother. He's great. He's your brother? Yeah. To me, and we're like a two-hander. What the fuck?

Starting point is 00:28:59 I didn't know that. Y'all are brothers? In the movie, he's not my real brother. Oh, shit. And he's fucking amazing in the movie. He plays your, so wait, so who is the accountant or you can't tell us? The accountant, oh, it's me, right?

Starting point is 00:29:11 I'm this guy's accountant who's got, who's- Are you a CPA? We're, I'm a CPA, but it's sort of one of these things where it's gonna sound a little bit far fetched when I tell you, but it's actually very, which is we grew up, obviously, together as we're brothers, and we had this father that was very tough on us, like heavy duty military guy.

Starting point is 00:29:28 This is in the first movie, right? And we were kids, you see flashbacks, and he kind of was trained us. Oh, we've seen this movie. You've seen the first movie, right? This is the second one. You saw the first one, me and John came out like eight years ago.

Starting point is 00:29:40 Oh yeah. So this is the second one. This is the sequel to it. Oh, yeah, sorry man. I didn't put it together. But I think this actually, you know, which is rare, and I definitely wouldn't say this for sure, is better than the first movie.

Starting point is 00:29:52 It's funny, it's got more kind of heart, it's more broadly accessible, the action's better, and I really liked the first movie. And you directed this one too? No, I acted in a guy named Gavin O'Connor directed this movie, who's a really good director, who directed the first one. And how do you decide who is a good director?

Starting point is 00:30:09 Cause you're a good director yourself. Thank you. But I guess the way you decide that honestly is by watching their movies. You look at it and you go kind of, you know, and if it's something that you do, you sort of watch it and you can tell, even movies where there's instances where it's like,

Starting point is 00:30:24 might not be my kind of movie or it might, you know, my taste, but you can still say, okay, well this is somebody who really understands, this is like a master, this is somebody who's very competent or it really is to my taste. And I'm like, this is amazing. But you know, it's hard to get good at. So, you know, there aren't very many great directors

Starting point is 00:30:43 and that's one of the really tricky things about making movies. I'm really glad, this is the third time I've worked with this director, Gavin, and I really like the guy. He did Miracle, he did his movie Warrior. Uh, is your MC with the boxer? Warrior is with the boxer? And, uh, yeah, yeah.

Starting point is 00:30:57 And, uh, no. Charlene. Jake, uh. Charlene, thank God we've been there. Well, I'm not forgetting his name, the dude from Venom. Um, Tom Hardy. Oh, yeah. And Joe Edgerton and Nick Nolte. People love him. Yeah, and, uh, there's, The dude from Venom, Tom Hardy.

Starting point is 00:31:05 Oh yeah. And George Chin and Nick Nolte. People love him. And there's, and he did Miracle, which is about the Olympic hockey team. Oh yeah, against Canada, America versus Canada, I think, or something, Russia. Yeah, Russia the original, oh no,

Starting point is 00:31:18 Russia's like dirty Canada. What's right, exactly. Yeah, it's kind of like, and that's yeah, no offense to anybody, it's Russia, but also, you know it. So, it's not like we're keeping that's yeah, no offense to anybody who's watching, but also you know it. So it's not like we're keeping secrets from them. We're advertising that. So is it, would you go work on it? So if you and Jon Bernthal, you guys are buddies, you get along well.

Starting point is 00:31:34 I love the guy. Yeah, I knew him. I liked him. So that makes it fun. We became really close with him on this movie. Yeah, we just hit it off really well. And it's like, I'm sure you experienced this like in your line of work. Like some people you kind of just hit it off with the works, it's a great, oh my God, you don't even know kind of how it happens. Sometimes the chemistry is just not there.

Starting point is 00:31:51 You know what I mean? It's got Tim Dillon. Have you ever seen Tim Dillon? No, what about him? Oh, you just gotta watch him, dude. He's so funny. He's just one of the funniest guys they ever made. He just made me think he's somebody that's really funny.

Starting point is 00:32:02 Shane Gillis. Yeah, Shane Gillis is funny. But I'm saying for you personally, right, think like he's somebody that's really funny. Shane Gillis. Shane Gillis is funny. But I mean, so what I'm saying like for you personally, right? Like you might find that like you sitting down talking to somebody works, even if somebody's great, they might come in and you guys just don't hit it off or you might be great together. In this case, I really felt like with John, like we got really lucky and we both kind of, it's like a two-hander. It's like a kind of odd couple sort of because I'm very reserved, very straight.

Starting point is 00:32:26 He's very tough and ballsy and so like, you know what I mean? And so we're kind of opposites, but we love each other, but we're kind of brothers. We drive each other crazy and we're frustrated with each other and there's kind of, those things really, those kind of relationships, dynamics and stories really depend

Starting point is 00:32:40 on the chemistry you have. And John's just an amazing actor, but also it was great to work with him. And I love the guy, I respect him. He's a good man, he's a great father, he works hard, he's just everything. I've heard a lot of neat things about him because he podcasts as well, you know? I think he has, you might have to take breaks from it if he's acting a lot. How long are you shooting something like that and then are there phases during a movie shoot where it's like it starts off, you shoot where it's like, it starts

Starting point is 00:33:05 off, you know, it's like, and you just kind of get burnt. Like, is there a way to kind of Yeah, because the way they set it up is like, you know, and I don't think this is like optimal set necessarily, but because of how you got to get everybody together and, you know, build the sets and do all this shit and all at once, you know, it gets you end up working like, you know, 14, 16 hour days. Oh, yeah. And, you know, there is, you know, it's a function of just some inefficiencies

Starting point is 00:33:29 and the way it works. And sometimes it's just what you have to do. So you're constantly working on sort of all you're thinking about morning, midnight, and then you go home, go to sleep, wake up, go back to work. So you can get burned out on it, but you can also like with account two, it was like, it started to just work better and better

Starting point is 00:33:43 than I thought. And so every day I was thrilled to go to work. You know what I mean? And I found as I get older, it was like, it started to just work better and better than I thought. And so every day I was thrilled to go to work. You know what I mean? And I found as I get older, I'm like, I wanna work with people that I really like. That make, cause like so much of your life is spent at work. That becomes kind of what, like obviously, you know, I have my family, that's the number one thing in my life.

Starting point is 00:33:58 And I just make the time for that. I have my kids, I'm divorced. I have them, you know, half the time. So I got them half the week. Then I'm like with them, that is part of my life I'm gonna spend at work and that's, so I've realized like, we want my life to be, we want to be happy, I gotta have fun.

Starting point is 00:34:13 Then I wanna be working with people that I really like and respect and enjoy being around. And it's not always easy to choose that, not everybody can, you get lucky, you know? And so I was, this was really lucky, I love John. Do, have you ever made, yeah, cause David Spade and I was, but this was really lucky. I love John. Have you ever made, yeah, cause David Spade and I wrote a movie that we just shot a couple months ago.

Starting point is 00:34:29 Oh really? Yeah, so it was fascinating. I've just kind of learned about how to do it. Like we've been friends for a while. How long, how long did you shoot for? Four years, we shot for 23 days. And we got quick. That's pretty quick.

Starting point is 00:34:38 It was, it was quick. We got pushed by the fires. So everything kind of got messed up and we kind of, not everything got messed up, but we got like sandwiched in a moment where it was like everybody's here, the winds are 40 miles an hour today, we have to, there's no, we paid for it ourselves.

Starting point is 00:34:53 So it was like, we have to do this. Did you find out when people have your own money on something, all of a sudden, they're like, okay, we're gonna do this. Like, people have a whole different attitude, that's something I've found. They're like, oh, we need a Dalmatian. I'm like, we don't have a Dalmatian,

Starting point is 00:35:03 we'll fucking shave that sheep and fucking staple some. So we can tattoo some spots on this motherfucker and shoot. And with removable glue, glue some Oreos to it and get that bastard out there. Teach it to bark. We have 40 minutes, get on YouTube and teach that thing to bark. Have you ever made a movie that you didn't put out

Starting point is 00:35:24 or that wasn't put out? Oh, yeah. Early on, I made a bunch of movies that were like independent movies that, you know, they didn't have like distribution. They had like a studio that said, okay, we're paying for this and when it's finished, we're gonna put a bunch of money in advertising

Starting point is 00:35:39 because you gotta spend a bunch more money to advertise a movie after you make it. And, or at least, you know, and that's one of the big things that's changing. Now people are like, okay, how can we do this in a more intelligent way? Because all that money spent on television commercials just, A, wasted now, that's why I'm here.

Starting point is 00:35:54 Like this is a much more effective way to do it. You know what I mean? And more. Yeah, dude, it seems exciting. Well, here's the thing. I think when you tell me that it's good, I honestly think that I believe you that it's gonna be good.

Starting point is 00:36:04 Yeah, I'm telling the truth. The movie's really good. I wouldn't be, like, if you had a movie that it's good, I honestly think that I believe you that it's gonna be good. Yeah, I'm telling the truth. The movie's really good. I wouldn't be, like, if you had a movie that wasn't good, you just, you kinda do a few of the basic things, and because look, it's gonna turn out like, you know, you're gonna, it's gonna be a bell curve one way or the other. The better you are, you're gonna move your bell curve

Starting point is 00:36:18 a little bit further down and have a better chunk of movies, but I got about like 12 movies that I really love and I'm proud of, and about 25 that are like, I like this, I didn 12 movies that I really love and am proud of, and about 25 that are like, I like this, I didn't like that, and about 10 or 12, whatever, that are like, that's fucking terrible, I hate this, I can't watch it, and it was awful.

Starting point is 00:36:35 And when I did independent movies, sometimes they just didn't get distribution, like no one wanted to put it out, or I went to a film festival. I haven't had movies that were so, like just something so terrible happened when the studio already was making it that it wasn't put out.

Starting point is 00:36:49 But you know, you have like, they changed their plan. You can kind of see, oh, now we're gonna shift to this or that now you can put something on streaming and you don't, it used to be like, you were gonna go out theatrical. So you kind of were like naked. You just had your, you know what I mean? And if it didn't work, everybody knew

Starting point is 00:37:02 cause they're say, look, this movie made 10 cents this weekend and you know, you'd want them to take the fucking billboard down. You drive past the billboard like, the billboard's like, here's the bomb, the movie's a bomb. You're up there at night in your Batman costume just painting over it with one of those big paint reachers. Dude, did you ever see Family Man?

Starting point is 00:37:19 Did you see that movie? Yeah. I love that movie, man. That's like, oh yeah, Family Man I liked really a lot. Dunkirk I liked, I thought that movie. Family man I liked really a lot. Dunkirk I liked. I thought was cool. Chris Nolan's a brilliant, brilliant guy. Tell me about your movie with Dave Spade.

Starting point is 00:37:33 Who do you play? Is it comedy? Yeah, it's just Busboys. It's like he's like a guy. He's just like, we're just two kind of dumb guys or whatever. We just got the first edit through. So it's like, I'm watching it right now, man.

Starting point is 00:37:44 Let me tell you, like that first cut of the movie, like when I see the first cut of my own movie, I wanna kill myself. Really? So like you should not go crazy seeing the first cut and not like it. I almost have never, like now I have a company and we make a bunch of movies and you know,

Starting point is 00:37:58 the first cut, this is one of the only movies where the first cut came in, I was like, it's great. Really? 90% of the time, you're like, okay, we got a long way to go. It's a very iterative process. They get better and more work is done after you finish shooting to make it good.

Starting point is 00:38:11 So what I would do is go in and sit down and be like, this is what's supposed to be funny about this scene. And explain it to them. What you think is funny and is good because it may seem obvious to you and it probably doesn't to that person like You can lose track of me go look the reason it's funny is because you think we're gonna do this

Starting point is 00:38:30 We know this about us from the first you know Whatever scene and we come in is that take where I like yell that they got that should be a surprise like You'd be surprised how often it's hard Because I've been spending my nights like watch and now I'm gonna feel shitty too to put your cut, go in and tell them. Yeah, it's been tough, because I've been spending my nights, like, watching, and now I'm gonna... It feels shitty too, to put all that work into it and look at it and go, what the fuck is this? It's the worst feeling in the world. It feels fucking horrible, because it's like I'm very particular about, like, what I create. Like you said in the beginning, it's like I like to make things, I know what I want, you know?

Starting point is 00:38:58 It's like, I know my intuition, and if I fail on my intuition, then that's exactly where I want to fail, because that's pure to me, right? Like that's okay. Yeah, and like that's what you want to do. Great. Right. But it's a very tricky thing for other people to like get you. Yes.

Starting point is 00:39:10 And to know, you know what I mean? Your sense of humor, your worldview is all obvious to you, right? But it's just not to people. So a lot of times you have to spend like more time than you would have thought literally going, here's what should be funny. If you can explain the joke, like you're a super funny guy funny comedian you understand comedy very well so you can sit and break it down to him and go like you

Starting point is 00:39:32 got to know this about it what's funny is that you know we didn't expect me to do this right that's a call back to this other moment or the the whole thing that when I did it what I thought was funny is this take where I did that like because on the set I'm sure you know you're if you're doing a comedy and you shot it, you had moments where you were like, that's funny, right? That, I think that's funny. I think that's good. Sometimes it's literally about going back into the dailies

Starting point is 00:39:54 and saying, like, okay, go find the close-up or find this two-shot. The thing where I said to David, and David looked at me like this and whatever, that was the one where I left and thought, that works. Like, there's no mystery or magic to why they're doing it a different way. They oftentimes just need feedback.

Starting point is 00:40:08 It is, this is not like sculpting or writing a novel. It's not a single person, you know, it's collaborative. It has to be collaborative, right? If I'm directing a movie with you in it, and it obviously is gonna have your comic sensibility, like I gotta know and get what's funny to you, or I'm not the guy. And I'm gonna need help along the way. Any director is going like, so how come, what do you imagine about this or what do you think, you know what I

Starting point is 00:40:32 mean? Like that's why you have to explain it and sort of talk about it because that person's got to understand all those things that made you be funny in the first place and start going, oh people are laughing when I say, oh these are funny, you know what I mean? And you've put it together and professionalized it, but like, you gotta share that with them, really. And then this is also where people sometimes get into fights, of course,

Starting point is 00:40:51 because people's ego gets in the way. Ego will kill you. You have to be able to hear, I don't care what you do, you have to be able to hear like, this doesn't work, this is dog shit, because the audience will tell you. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:41:00 Right, that's the thing. And it's like, I'm so particular, I'm not particular, but I just know what kind of has worked, you know? That's valuable, because not everybody does. So what you have, Right, that's the thing. And it's like, I'm so particular, I'm not particular, but I just know what kind of has worked, you know? That's valuable, because not everybody does. So what you have, right, is that awareness. You don't think about it, you don't have, you feel it.

Starting point is 00:41:10 Right, you're like, that feels funny. Or when you see something, you're like, oh, this feels wrong. Like, makes you uncomfortable, right? You see it. So that is a thing that's unique to you, right? So you need to give them access to that and get it. And when you, you know, and if somebody's gonna like, take it personally, it's not it. And if somebody's gonna take it personally,

Starting point is 00:41:26 it's not personal. It's your, and when David thought it was funny, like, okay, you have to be connected in that way and you have to understand that. It's not about like, okay, fuck you guys, now I'm gonna go make my vision of this thing. That's a disaster. No, no, no, I just think like, yeah,

Starting point is 00:41:42 this is why this was written this way and this is why it's funny And so this is the first time that we're like more hands-on with it Oh, then you should definitely be hands-on because by the way, no one's gonna do it for you, right? Oh, I agree with that on its own man It's gonna get better if you get in and work on it And by the way, you're gonna see it again and you have to go okay closer now. Let's try this Let's try that and then again the way movies like get better

Starting point is 00:42:02 Really is iterative. It's like it's like it's like coats of paint, you know what I mean? You gotta keep on, it's like a good paint job on a car as like 12 coats of paint. That's why it looks good. You know what I mean? That's it. Do movies take a long time to edit sometimes? Yeah, 26 weeks is the post-production schedule

Starting point is 00:42:18 for most movies, right? That includes music and sound mixing. That's half of one year. Yeah, and it's longer than the production. You're trying to grab everything you can during production that's more expensive every day to shoot. Editing is, you rent mixing. Yeah, and it's longer than the production. You're trying to grab everything you can during production that's more expensive every day to shoot. Editing is, you rent the editing room, the facilities. We needed an owl one day, we had an owl, right?

Starting point is 00:42:32 This bitch, it was $1,100 an hour. For an owl? Yeah, it was like a semi-in danger, I don't wanna say in danger or whatever, but it was like, at work. Do they charge more if it's like, you know what I mean? Like, if you can get a chicken, they're not in danger, you can kill, that shit just cut his head off.

Starting point is 00:42:46 That's $10 for the owl. You can get a tall chicken. No one's gonna know the difference. Take the chicken, break his neck, and he's turned around. You can get a tall curious chicken. We'll give you that. I think maybe that's just like one of those things where it's like, what's the rate for owls?

Starting point is 00:43:01 You just get to make it up if you sell owls. It's just so, it's like, God, you get into there and there's just all this animal entrapment. I, what else was I thinking about? Would you let your children, well, I wanna talk to you a little bit more about directing, so, cause Argo, you directed, right?

Starting point is 00:43:19 And did you care about the Middle East? How much were you like a Middle East guy? I knew you, I read some of- That was not really, I did study the Middle East in school, and so I understood about it. I wouldn't make a movie that I didn't... It'd be like making a movie with you and not getting your humor, right? Like it would just be crazy. Like you...

Starting point is 00:43:37 As the director, you got to care more, be more interested in that movie than everybody else. Everyone else is going to be bored of it, right? You got to love it the whole time through. So the big key is like, this is gonna be interesting to me. There was a lot of things that were interesting to me about that movie. One was the real story, the CIA agent who had done it,

Starting point is 00:43:50 the people that I met and talked to at the CIA, the actual nature of like intelligence work versus, you know, what you had seen with a like, you know, you know, like super spy shit that's not really realistic. And this story was really interesting to me. And also, I thought it was like the fact that they had this, like, bizarre connection to Hollywood and this Hollywood makeup artist,

Starting point is 00:44:12 and that we're trying to bridge those two worlds, was really interesting to me. But it was a scary, challenging movie, because the director's main job is tone, right? Like, that's the main dress that the director is going to really create is like, what's the tone of this? Like, what's the vibe? What's, is this serious?

Starting point is 00:44:28 What are we interested in? Like, what do we consider funny? What do we, you know, all those things that, you know, go into all the choices we make in life from the car you get, the clothes you buy, all that, what kind of, what is your taste? And not everyone's gonna like it, right? Some people, it's just not gonna be their taste.

Starting point is 00:44:42 You gotta at least make it as good as you can to your own taste, to like you said, your own instincts. Yeah, you gotta find that tone that matches, because people wanna believe, they're gonna expect a certain tone from you as well, I think, you know? Yeah, and when you don't, when that tone doesn't work, you're like, this is kinda crass, Jesus fucking,

Starting point is 00:44:57 you know what I mean, corny, it's like, it seems silly or whatever, and it's like, because you're asking someone to take something seriously that they can't take seriously, or think is is funny that they don't think is funny. And that's where it's a tricky kind of nebulous job, but that's the most interesting to me, important thing about it. And that's, yeah.

Starting point is 00:45:20 Would you let your children act, do you think? Well, I wouldn't let them act professionally while they were children, no. But I would let your children act, do you think? Well, I wouldn't let them act professionally while they were children, no. But I would let, you know, if they wanted to play, and shit, and make their own kind of stuff with their friends, that's fine with me. I don't think it would be, I don't know judgment against people that do it.

Starting point is 00:45:38 I've done playing movies with child actors and stuff, and that's fine. From my experience acting as a kid, and what I want for my children is not that, but also you gotta understand that I got a 19 year old, I got one 16, I got one 13. They're gonna make their own choices. Yeah, oh yeah, that's true, right?

Starting point is 00:45:57 As a dad, you're just like, is that gotta be tough for, when you're a dad, like you kind of have already lived some life, so you were like, ah, and not even about acting, it's about anything, a dad. Like you kind of have already lived some life. So you were like, ah, and not even about acting, it's about anything. And then your kid is kind of like making it, like is that, and you don't wanna like

Starting point is 00:46:12 probably push them too much, because then you're pressure some dude, that's gotta be a real like walking up police line or something. Yeah, I mean, that's the whole job of life. It's like for me, before I had kids, I didn't really realize what my life was about. And then this becomes the central challenge of your life. It's like for me, before I had kids, you know, I didn't really realize what my life was about. And then this becomes the central challenge of your life.

Starting point is 00:46:28 And if you have a, everybody has complications and tricky shit in their life. And that's part of being a parent is managing that with what kind of life I'm bringing my kids into making a good life for my children. How do you know? And that's part of that is my kids are growing up here in LA. I didn't grow up in LA. I didn't, I never met a famous person or actor or anything. That shit just seemed like a million miles away to me

Starting point is 00:46:48 and totally fanciful. Oh, for sure. If you're in the rest of the world, it feels so far away. And then you forget after you're here for a while how far away it seems to other people. Like if you meet, you know, like just anybody who was in, and it just like, that's like, it was a little.

Starting point is 00:47:03 I remember I was 12 years old in Boston and I saw Christopher Lloyd, who played the dude on Back to the Future, you know? And I saw him walking down the street, I think he was doing a play. Yeah, exactly. I followed the guy for like six months. Like now I'd be like,

Starting point is 00:47:18 this is fucking told you a kid following me, right? You know what I mean? Like I stalked him, like I couldn't believe it that it was the guy from Back to the Future. I lost my mind. And it was the only, you know, celebrity, famous, whatever person I'd ever seen or known. And so my kids are now, they're seeing different stuff.

Starting point is 00:47:34 Some of it's useful for them because it disabuses them of some illusions that I think are worth being disabused of. And also, but I'm also like, I don't, look, they're gonna, if you, if you, their kids are gonna kind of and do what, who they are, what they wanna do, which your job is to let them know that they're loved, that they're, keep them safe, you know, provide them opportunities, and also not, you know, you gotta resist the temptation to,

Starting point is 00:47:56 to try to get everything out of the way for them, because you don't learn anything or develop any grid or, or resilience if shit's just easy for them. Yeah, that's crazy. I didn't even thought about that. It's like you're watching them walk and there's something kind of in their path.

Starting point is 00:48:09 And if you take it away completely, then they're not gonna learn how to deal with an obstacle. But if you leave it there, then you're gonna have to watch them go through an obstacle. That's gotta be crazy. And it's hard watching your kids even trying to climb over something. Your instinct is pick them up, take them over.

Starting point is 00:48:24 But you have to, yes, you don't want them to put up, take them over, but you have to like, yes, you don't want them to put their finger in a socket, you know what I mean, or drive a cliff. But that doesn't mean life has to be hard. It has to be difficult in some ways. It doesn't have to be, shouldn't be traumatic, shouldn't be awful or painful, but things have to be hard for you to learn

Starting point is 00:48:41 to do hard things. And this world, like it or not, is gonna demand that you do hard shit. If you wanna have anything, if you wanna be able to provide for your own family, have your own dreams, have the things that you wanna have, because if you don't do it,

Starting point is 00:48:55 the guy next to you is gonna do it better, or the woman over here is gonna do it better, and you're gonna lose out. And also, I don't want my kids to have that first big, tough experience in life and like kind of fall apart. You know, you got it like some of the best lessons I ever learned in life were from failure. In fact, for sure, I didn't learn much from success. I learned a lot from failure. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:49:17 But the most important thing you learn is that you can survive it. You can be okay. They can knock you the fuck down. And you know, it's like getting, like when I was a kid where I grew up, I mean, we used to get in fights all the time. We'd fight all the time. And you found out that you get punched in the face and get your ass kicked and that's not,

Starting point is 00:49:35 and you'd be like, yeah, he kicked your ass. And you go like, and you get up and you come to school next day. And you know what I mean? It's kind of like- It was a tough day, dude. That first day was so tough. Yeah, it was know it's worse that you have to hear about it then like just getting hit five times it's like yeah you kind of get your belt

Starting point is 00:49:53 wrong you know I mean and but it's the like that's kind of going back to that thing about like embarrassment like kids will suffer more from being humiliated than physically hurt for example like that's the shit that really is painful. But no, I don't, I don't wish to be clear that on my kid. Like you don't need to be fighting and shit all the time, but it's, you know, it is valuable to know that you can fail or have something difficult happen, really painful or get your heart broken. Have some girl be like, you know, be like, I don't like, you know what I mean, embarrass you, whatever. You're gonna be okay. These things are not gonna kill you.

Starting point is 00:50:27 In fact, they actually do make you stronger if you kind of go like, okay, that was, if I didn't have some of the resilience that I picked up by, you know, my early life trying to, you know, see, I would have just kind of given up or collapsed or had, would be the bad, people say bad shit, I'd be like, oh, you know, and I'd fall down kind of given up or collapsed or had bad people say bad shit. I'd be like, oh, you know,

Starting point is 00:50:46 and I'd fall down and never get up again. Yeah, you'd have no experience. And you also, it sharpens your intuition. You start to, it all learns. It's all, it is, if you can see yourself as a tool, sometimes it's definitely harder when you're younger because some of those feelings are new and it hurts so much, you know?

Starting point is 00:51:00 Here's the thing, getting better at anything never feels good. Like if you're building resilience, it's not a time that you're liking. You know what I mean? It doesn't feel good. Like so that's, okay, I don't like this. This feels like shit.

Starting point is 00:51:12 But because it's hard, because I can't lift these weights anymore, because I can't, these other, you know, I'm exhausted and the other kids are still, you know, running sprints or whatever, you know, but like those are the moments for what it's worth where you're getting better. What is, what's something that you admire about each of your children just so one day

Starting point is 00:51:29 they can look back and know? Is that uncomfortable? I mean, the thing I really that I care most about, and it's true of all three of my kids, is that all of them have like an innate, like goodness of character, like a kindness. They don't, they're not trying to go out and hurt other people. They have empathy, like they care about and respect

Starting point is 00:51:50 other people doesn't mean, you know, that obviously they don't make stage where they're perfect or whatever. But that basic thing about them is, is really, really important. I think it's, it's definitely also credit to their mom who's, who's amazing and who's spectacular and it's great. Like we're divorced, but we, we I think do's definitely also credit to their mom who's amazing and who's spectacular and is great. Like, we're divorced, but we, I think, do pretty good together, raising the kids, going back and forth and all that stuff. And they're, I mean, they're all, look,

Starting point is 00:52:14 I think, like any parent, you're gonna be like, my kid's so cool, and I love. I feel like something you admire individually about him that's maybe unique. I think my oldest kid, no, not at all. Listen, I think truly there's so much that I just don't want to come off. And I know my kids will be like,

Starting point is 00:52:31 dad, don't fucking go on there and talk about me. You know what I mean? So I'd like, my son especially is like, dude, he's right now watching this, like, oh no, no, no. But here's the truth. My oldest one has got a beautiful commitment and sense of wanting to make the world truly a better place and she'll put her money where her mouth is.

Starting point is 00:52:50 She doesn't wanna do something. She's not asking other people to do. She makes personal sacrifice. She has that kind of integrity. My middle child is really, is this incredible, feels things deeply, like artist, you know, kind of, is brilliant and so funny. And my son has got like this incredible, like,

Starting point is 00:53:12 joy of life and magnetism and sweetness and goodness to him. And like, that's the stuff where it's like, whether you can like dunk a basketball or write a great paper, like great, and I'm not, you know, but like that's the shit that to me is more important than like kind of internal character stuff. Yeah, that's cool, dude. That's nice, man.

Starting point is 00:53:30 Yeah, it's nice to hear dads talk about their kids, you know? I think sometimes you just don't hear it enough sometimes, you know? I agree. I think it's, it's so important. Like, it's the most important thing in the world. There's not as many male leaders as not as many male teachers as there were.

Starting point is 00:53:43 There's not as many, like there's, there's a space where we're missing a gap of mentorship from male to male because a lot of people will some people were Pedophiles whatever but outside of those people it's like there's not as much rule those fuckers Well, also anybody pop out to you driving around taking pictures of kids anybody else would be arrested I agree taking a photo of a kid in public. But I think absolutely boys need important male leaders. And so do girls, like you need to see that there's good men, you need to understand that good men are accountable, they tell the truth, they can say they're sorry when they make a mistake, they're strong,

Starting point is 00:54:16 you can rely on them, they're funny like that, they can show you strength and love, and all this stuff that is good and beautiful, and the people you want to be drawn to in your future life about masculinity, you wanna know and see that modeled. And if you don't, first of all, there are children who are expecting,

Starting point is 00:54:34 because we're expecting to have that. If you don't, it fucks you up. And if you don't see what that looks like, you don't know kind of what to look for. Oh yeah, dude. Did you have a fun, do you have a memory of your dad that was like, you don't know kind of what to look for. Oh yeah, dude. Did you have a fun, like, do you have a memory of your dad that was like fun for you? I'm trying to think of one.

Starting point is 00:54:49 My dad would, dude, my dad was like, my dad was really old when I was born, and so my dad was 70 when I was born, right? He was born in 1910. Dad was a serious guy. Yeah, I wish he had some money, which was crazy, because usually if a woman's hooking up with an older guy, he's got some money.

Starting point is 00:55:05 He's got some money. What did your dad have going for him? It was not money, dude. It must have been charming. He didn't have a bank. He was very charming. My dad was very, very charming. But he would take me to the...

Starting point is 00:55:17 He would sometimes have a beer by this bar at the Rebel Tracks, and he would let me walk on the bar, and they had these little bowls of of chocolates whatever and if the barton I remember if I danced good She would like give me some some of the chocolates or whatever and he'd be like go wiggle for chocolates or whatever And I remember so I just remember I think you like when my dad pimp me out. That was a good time Well, he was just a shame. He was just pimpin me for confections, you know or sugars You know, it was kind of an outtake from that movie Chuck-A-Lot if you've ever seen that.

Starting point is 00:55:46 But yeah, he would be like, go wiggle for chocolates. And I just remember that was one thing that I remember. Anyway, sorry, I made that about me. It was nice to take that walk down memory lane. Yeah, it's fun. Well, there's things I remember about it, like the bowls of peanuts and just being at a bar at like 5 p.m.

Starting point is 00:56:01 Because my dad was older, he would go to rest. He would rest pretty early. I remember, that's funny because I was gonna say, oh I don't have that kind of memories of my dad really but the truth is like, you know, after he got out of the house, you know, as a kid, he worked at bars and so that's where I'd go see him, up at the bars and he was like a bookie

Starting point is 00:56:19 and you know, taking bets on the side. Oh really? Yeah, a little bit and he was, but that's what he did. He was a bartender and then for that period of life when I was kind of eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, whatever. Did he have a jukebox in there or anything? They had jukebox and then he'd be like,

Starting point is 00:56:35 oh, go get the cigarette machine. I went in the bar and it was cool to visit him in there. You know the cigarette machine, they had that pull out thing. Yeah, you could pull on them. But those days, and they'd be like, tell you the kid that, go to the store and get me some cigarettes.

Starting point is 00:56:44 You walk in, eight years old, buy cigarettes. And so, yeah, exactly. But yeah, and also we were, I mean, my brother would go up to the bar. And that, those were, there was some, I do have some kind of fond memories of that. I wish I had more of them, which is one of the reasons why,

Starting point is 00:57:01 like it's important for me in my life to make sure I don't, that I create those for my own children. Yeah, I think that's something that we probably learn I think as we go along. Um... Unwrap the early days of your favorite hockey stars with Tim's new retrospective rookies hockey cards featuring exclusive NHL and PWHL players and retired legends. Collect them all only at Tim's at participating restaurants in Canada for a limited time.

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Starting point is 01:00:03 Did you, was it weird, were you, were you famous before your brother was famous? Is that a weird question? Not at all. You know, I guess, yeah, a little bit, like in the sense that he was in Good Will Hunting with me and Matt, and he was fucking brilliant in it. And then, but you know, like anybody,

Starting point is 01:00:26 like and Matt's like, who's like, you know, my best friend as a kid and stuff, like Matt Damon, you know, you had like, and he got more famous of Good One Thing and then my brother, you know, so you kind of, and you know people, if you really like try to map it out, like those sort of how famous are, which is kind of a weird and a hard thing to tell.

Starting point is 01:00:42 It kind of moves around, but my brother was always a working actor and then he became, you know, he really established himself, won the Oscar for acting and kind of established himself as a great actor and had a more steady kind of arc. In Pittsburgh number with Michelle?

Starting point is 01:00:58 Oh yeah, you're talking about Manchester by the Sea. Yeah, that's what he won the Oscar for. He was amazing in that movie. God, it was so good. Is it, yeah, I just always want- He's a great actor, my brother. Is it, yeah, are you guys pretty close? We are, you know, we're close.

Starting point is 01:01:17 He's got great kids, I love his kids, and he's a great guy, and you know- I guess you get through phases in life too where you're kind of like, people are, you're kind of you know, um, I guess you get through phases in life too, where you're kind of like people are, you're kind of doing the same thing or you're just in different spaces. Well, that's what happens when you kind of really like get older and then we were like, it was up to 30 or whatever. I was just like hanging out with guys all the time. You know what I mean? We were going out, we're doing this or whatever.

Starting point is 01:01:38 And that was kind of life most of it. And so you see all your friends all the time and my brother was one of the, you know, we'd all hang out and then you have kids, you have family. And my brother is one of the, you know, we'd all hang out. And then you have kids, you have family. And then it's kind of like, okay, I'm gonna have Friday at five, whatever, from seven. And then you kind of have to, you lose a little bit of that bigger network of like, who are the, like, I know who 10 of these guys are.

Starting point is 01:01:57 Who are the other six? You know, that starts to kind of go away. And you kind of have to be more selective. But, you know, my brother is a brilliant, funny, amazing guy and his kids are, it's a joy to see his kids grow up and be, you know. Yeah, being an uncle's fun. Oh, it's the best, because then you don't really,

Starting point is 01:02:15 you can kind of just like let him do shit, you know, you don't have to be really the dad. Yeah, you know, I'll tell you this, so there was, I live in Nashville, so I moved there about four years ago, and there was, so the other night, there was like tornadoes or something, and I didn't know, like, and I live in like, it's a there about four years ago. And there was, so the other night, there's like tornadoes or something, and I didn't know. And I live in like, it's a nice area, but it's nothing crazy. It's not like rich enough where you're away from tornadoes.

Starting point is 01:02:33 You better be pretty, however rich you have to be to get away from tornadoes. I don't know, I'm still in the wind district. So there's a fricking tornado warning. There's sirens going off over town. I didn't even know we had sirens. So I'm texting my nephew, thank God, I called him twice and then finally I text him. I was like, dude, I was like, bro, tornado warning, what do I do?

Starting point is 01:02:52 And he's in middle school or whatever. And thank God, he's like, get under your desk. That's what he fucking says at 4 a.m. And I was like, dude, I don't have a fucking desk. You know what I'm saying? And he goes, don't curse at me over text and I'm like this fucking kid does not know how to support a family member It just like That's hilarious anyway, I mean what I told you that story about were we talking about weather?

Starting point is 01:03:17 I don't know about the family members. Oh, yeah, and what it's like to be an uncle Yeah, I get to see my nieces and they're coming for Easter tomorrow, so I'm excited about that But yeah, um, yeah being an uncle so many like nieces nephews. Yeah, I got five total one I'm just going to prom so I got to be there when she took pictures. I was in Baton Rouge for that It's fun Yeah, and you kind of get to be like a little bit of the confidant like you're kind of like on the edge of day Because they'll tell you stuff that's kind of like you can't talk to your parents about like whatever you know something Yeah

Starting point is 01:03:46 But you can kind of let you know the uncle kind of know and you so you can be kind of on the side a little bit a little cooler even if you're really not that much cool And they're like fucking don't try to play it off like that But you kind of get away with it a little bit And you know you got to like you can't you can't push it You know what I mean right it's like and you got to know when to snitch too on him too and tell the dad what's going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Did you, let me think about a movie thing. Oh, did you get to keep your Batman outfit?

Starting point is 01:04:11 I did, yeah, I did. In fact, it's at our office. And it's one of those things people like. It's like, it's one of those things that's sorta like, I don't know, people like to see it. It kinda reminds me a little bit of like Planet Hollywood a little bit. So I'm always like, oh, we got this rubber bat suit here. It's just, but it's like, I don't know, people like to see it. It kind of reminds me a little bit of like Planet Hollywood a little bit. So I'm always like,

Starting point is 01:04:25 I don't get this rubber bat suit here. It's just, but it's like, I don't know. It's hard to tell. Like, look, I get it. That's a kind of a cool movie souvenir. Sometimes I feel like if you put a grapefruit on like TV every week, you know what I mean? And then you just put it to the mall,

Starting point is 01:04:39 people will go by and be like, oh, there's that grapefruit from TV. You know what I mean? So it's sometimes hard to tell whether something's interesting because it's interesting or because, but I can see how that is kind of interesting. The most interesting thing about it when people see it

Starting point is 01:04:49 is like, damn, how do you wear this? And it's true. It is like of all those type of roles and stuff, like the superhero thing, the outfits make it a lot harder to do your job because you're kind of constrained and they're real hot. It's like, you know, when like wrestlers, like when I was a kid used to run around with like trash bags to lose weight because you just dump all the water, you know what I mean? Like that's sort of what those outfits.

Starting point is 01:05:12 Oh yeah. You'd see like some guy that's with us. Yeah. You see some guy in your neighborhood who's on the wrestling team or whatever. I know the wrestlers had a wrestling team and then he's running down the street like a California. Yeah, exactly, 15 pounds in 10 minutes, you know what I mean? He's just spitting on his family members and he's just cursing, because they say cursing helps you burn calories or whatever.

Starting point is 01:05:34 Yeah, that's kind of interesting. But you never put it back on for anything fun or to surprise family members. I did it for my kid's birthday when he was, yeah, my son's birthday, and he was like, he was a little young, but it was fun. I got the pictures now, now he was like, he was a little young, but it was fun. I got the pictures now.

Starting point is 01:05:46 Now he's like, I guess that was cool that you did that. At the time I didn't know what the fuck you were doing. And I'm like, but it was cool though. Do I get credit for it now? He's like, I guess. He barely, but I had fun. And that was the whole reason I did it. Like, let me be Batman, my son, like,

Starting point is 01:05:58 how cool is it your dad's Batman? My son was like, you know, three and shit. And so he was like scared of the movie. But, but, but, you know, since then it, and he was scared of the movie. But since then, it's become kind of, in retrospect, I think, kind of cool. It's hard to tell what your kids think is cool, because most times they're kind of like, uh-huh. Yeah, they don't really tell you kind of,

Starting point is 01:06:15 because it's almost like you're like, yeah, I don't know, I just watched my brother have nephews, like I want to get a wife and children, I don't have a wife yet, but yeah, you all, it's like. Your parents are never gonna be like, cause part of the thing is like, you need to separate from your parents, right? You need to like move away, get out of the house,

Starting point is 01:06:33 that whole thing, like move on, become your own man, and all that stuff. And if you're too wrapped up and like you're folks, and you know, it gets in the way of that. Right? Yeah, you gotta start to slowly separate in those ways that kids do. So there's part of it where they're like, you know,

Starting point is 01:06:47 and it comes off like, well, I'm like, hey, you guys wanna play some games? I'll like close the door. Get out of my room. Close the door, I'm like, just, so just leave. You know what I mean? Aw. And then there's that moment,

Starting point is 01:06:56 it's the first time you kind of close the door and there's that moment where the dad's just by the door and he's kind of sad that he's in the hall. But then he goes in his room, he takes three steps and he's like, oh, good, I got some free time. But there is that moment. It is, yeah, absolutely. And they come back around, you know what I mean?

Starting point is 01:07:10 Do you think, I auditioned for a Project Greenlight movie that you guys had years ago. Really? Yeah, it was one where there was like a guy in a wheelchair and there were like dangerous people were coming in, like you were trapped in a bar or something. Feast, maybe the horror movie, yeah, yeah, yeah. I just remembered that, that's crazy.

Starting point is 01:07:24 You auditioned for it, really? Yeah, I was not any good. That's wild. I'm not a good actor something. Feast, maybe the horror movie. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just remembered that, that's crazy. You auditioned for it, really? Yeah, well I was not any good. I'm not a good actor, I think it's a bad idea to do that. I just, but anyway, I just remembered that, it popped in my head, do you still like Project Greenlight? It's, no, it's not, I mean it's not currently,

Starting point is 01:07:38 we did it with the company, we have them, but we are not doing it now, and we took it, we had it on for a while back then and then brought it back. And it's interesting, I really liked it and I thought it was interesting that like, cause it's, because that's what I do. And I know, okay, that's tricky.

Starting point is 01:07:54 Like it's hard, you get all this drama that comes up on a movie. But we had like a million dollars to make the movie and everybody's like, a million dollars? Like, that's like nothing. And now it's almost setting people up. It would kind of just be like, then you'd just be doing a show about people

Starting point is 01:08:08 getting into arguments and smashing things and having a breakdown, because you can't really even do it for a million dollars. Tons of change. Unions and wages and all that stuff. But I really liked that idea of that show and what we were able, because to me it was about also creating opportunities

Starting point is 01:08:24 for people that are outside Hollywood, you know, who could come in and be like, look, I know what I'm doing, I wanna do something. And then you got to like, okay, well, let's see what you can do. Do you think Tom Brady's good as an announcer? Yeah, I think Tom's good as an announcer. I think he's, look.

Starting point is 01:08:41 Me too, dude. I think he's really smart, obviously, about football. I think that like, it's a, people kind of, even you're the like, the greatest quarterback who ever lived, they think, okay, now he's gonna come in and change broadcasting, and like, just being a normal human being seems kind of like, I mean, who do you wanna listen to analyze something?

Starting point is 01:09:03 Like, if I wanna, like, somebody tell me about, like, a concert, like, I wanna hear from do you want to listen to analyze something? If I want to, like, somebody tell me about a concert, I want to hear from some great musician. If you figure, well, nobody's going to have better or wiser analysis than Tom, it's maybe not about telling jokes or whatever. That's something different. But yeah, I think so. But he's a surgeon.

Starting point is 01:09:23 He seems like a surgeon when he's talking about it and the way he breaks down certain moments and how long it takes to do certain things. He's like, well, they got about this many yards. They're going to have to move about this many yards a second. Like, he's definitely, you start to see who he really is. You start to see how much analysis went into that. I still think one of his like real,

Starting point is 01:09:40 like one of the things that really separated him, because everybody knows about how like, he was like drafted late and all this stuff, like, and his, you know, his like combine numbers weren't, like, you know, people weren't just like, this guy's gonna be amazing. I feel like one of the things that he has that people don't really talk about is like, and this is so fucking important, is like,

Starting point is 01:10:00 I feel like he has this thing where he doesn't get tight. He just doesn't get nervous. Like, I think that there is a huge advantage. Imagine like you're in Super Bowl. And it's like, you know, fourth and eight, and you got, you know, second, third, whatever. And you're good. Everyone else's heart rate is banging,

Starting point is 01:10:17 their adrenaline's on the. I think it's what makes actors good too. Good actors at certain moments. Getting relaxed, the ability to relax in tense situations where other people get tense, because tension and stress, it locks you up, you panic, it's like everything, it's all bad.

Starting point is 01:10:31 Oh, it's horrible. That's when, yeah, dude, it's definitely, there's moments, the first time I'd ever audition, I was like, open the windows, open the windows, and like, there's not a lot of windows in here, and they're like, they're already open. I remember I was, it kept blacking out, and then I had to like do some scene

Starting point is 01:10:43 that I didn't even care about. What are we doing here? Why are we doing that? I'm sorry. That was not a plan um Oh, yeah, dude I want to tell you about the ever see that Dunkin Donuts commercial cuz I know you did a commercial with them Yeah, you ever see the more they shut down that one and uh Is it boy show break what is it play shamokin? Duncan's closed by five.

Starting point is 01:11:06 My favorite dude. A coffee shop in Shamokin is closed following an arson over the weekend and we say a teenager is responsible for all that damage. He's watched 16th Nikki cries. Joins us live from the Central Pennsylvania newsroom with more tonight, Nikki. Julie, a lot of people in

Starting point is 01:11:21 Shamokin are upset that Duncan Donuts is closed because they didn't have anywhere else to go for coffee and donuts. Julie, a lot of people in Shimokan are upset that Dunkin Donuts is closed because they didn't have anywhere else to go for coffee and donuts. Today, we also learned new information about the teenage girl police charged with setting the place on fire. Setting the fire is currently at a juvenile detention center. Many people who live in Shimokan are upset that Dunkin Donuts is closed.

Starting point is 01:11:43 Now I have to rely on myself to go to maybe a Turkey Hill or something where I don't like their donuts. I rather the donuts at Dunkin Donuts. And I'm kind of dealing with it, but I really miss Dunkin Donuts. I go there every day. I get a chicken bacon croissant or I get some coffee, powerade, if I'm dehydrated, I sit there all the time. If I have any legal work that I need to do, I go there, I meet with my attorneys there.

Starting point is 01:12:07 I'm gonna miss that place. What's going on? Don't open up. A lot of my friends go in there, get the cold coffee, ice coffee I guess it's called. People miss their local hangout and hope doesn't do it to real people. Anyway, that's just that when that one closed down, man,

Starting point is 01:12:23 it was just like a real, people kind of went bananas on the internet. Cause it turns out, guys, that's just that when that one closed down and it was just like a real People kind of with bananas on the other side. Because it turns out guys that's the legal clinic that shut down in two guys' parts. I was sitting there with my attorneys. My legal work, you know, my probation officer meets me in there I usually deal out of that place. I'm like, all right. Yeah, you just, you don't know when a Dunkin' Donuts closes down. You don't realize how many lives intersect in that one place. The whole community is paralyzed. What's something else that you want to direct, man?

Starting point is 01:12:49 Is there something, what about you directing Timothy Chalamet, that'd be so dope. Oh, he's a terrific actor, man. He's great. And I think, and that's really what you kind of like, no matter what you do, a big part of it is, 90% of it is, as they say, is picking the right actors. Because there's really nothing you can do, you're kind of like, okay, now go ahead.

Starting point is 01:13:07 And you can, you know, get about 10% calibration. But the right people for the right role is so much a part of what goes into directing. That's why I was talking about like kind of understanding what people sort of think about or assumptions they have about actors that they are gonna watch. There's a lot of actors that I would love to work with that I haven't worked with, and I'm lucky to have worked with some great ones so far. And I have a movie that I've just finished shooting

Starting point is 01:13:32 called Animals that's... Make your own movie? ...that'll be out on Netflix that I directed. Let's go. Congrats, dude. Yeah, and I may even direct another movie next year, which is actually pretty quick, but it's not all set up yet. But it's something that I really love doing and I will do it, especially like,

Starting point is 01:13:51 I got one kid that's in college now and the other two, by the time my son, who's 13, goes to college, then I plan on kind of just directing all the time. But like I said, it takes so much focus and energy that one of the regrets I have, even about movies that I really like and I'm proud of focus and energy that one of the regrets I have even about movies that I really like and I'm proud of is like

Starting point is 01:14:07 what periods of time that I miss with my kids because that just doesn't come back. You know? You almost have to plan ahead. Like okay, maybe they're gonna be on a semester abroad or this is gonna be going on. Or like this last one, I do them in LA, you know what I mean?

Starting point is 01:14:18 So I'm not traveling, so I can be home for dinner and come, you know, and just make that a priority. But it's a part of why I slowed down a bunch from directing because it just, in order to do it in a way that I understood that it required, it just requires almost total commitment and concentration. Yeah, man, because we gotta keep telling good stories

Starting point is 01:14:37 because it's important. That's how people learn things and that's how you remember things and they become part of history. They really kind of tell history a lot of times. Yeah, it's definitely interesting about, oh, you said something about, oh, yeah, shooting in Hollywood has become so tough, huh? But it's supposed to be getting easier.

Starting point is 01:14:55 Well, you know, it's tricky because what happened, one of the things that's happened is that, first of all, movies just used to be made here, like country music was made in Nashville. Oh, everywhere. Like that's how it was. And then you had other states and countries that started kind of offering incentives

Starting point is 01:15:12 because they felt like, you know, if we bring this business here, and like, it stimulates all our other businesses because there's this huge kind of trickle-down effect of from the restaurants, the dry cleaners, the drivers, to blah, blah, blah, blah, all this money into the economy. And, cleaners, the drivers to blah, blah, blah, blah, all this money into the economy.

Starting point is 01:15:27 And, you know, LA or California didn't really, I think, whatever, I'm not sure what happened. They didn't respond or try to compete. They have a small incentive now and they've actually broadened it some and I think they're aware of it, but it's tricky. Whereas other states, and they're kind of controversial. Some states have felt like they worked out for them

Starting point is 01:15:45 and they're happy. Georgia's got a huge incentive program. They get all, I mean, Marvel movie shoot down there. I got a place in Georgia. And I filmed in Georgia. In fact, The Count was, we filmed in Georgia. And that's why, right? They start offering the incentives.

Starting point is 01:15:57 Obviously been successful for Georgia. California has ego about it in some weird way. It's hard to figure out. Yeah, I don't really know enough about the politics of it to know, it seems to me like, I think it's like, well, we've always had it here. We don't have to give the incentives. Like that's what's pulling people away.

Starting point is 01:16:11 Right, but it's like at a certain point you have to. But now everybody's moved and moving away and moving around. And if you can't make a movie without the crew, what's gonna make or break your movie? Now you have 3,000 people flying to like Tibet or whatever to shoot for, you know. Like the UK, they do these big movies. So you have all,000 people flying to Tibet or whatever to shoot for, you know. Like the UK, they do these big, so you have all that Harry Potter movies

Starting point is 01:16:29 and all the like DC movie, all these, this stuff goes and shoots like out of the country. You know, look, it's obviously, selfishly, like this is where my kids are, so this is where I wanna be. But also the best technicians I believe in the world by and large are here, and they're really artists too. And they're ready to work too, a lot of them.

Starting point is 01:16:49 They've been waiting. And look, you have these fires and all this stuff. But look, it's hard all over, and I get it. I don't begrudge anybody anything. I would like to preserve, like, look, it's a big business for this country, right? Like show business. This is something that we make

Starting point is 01:17:03 that everybody buys all over the world. Oh, for sure. We buy a lot of shit from other countries, right? Like show business. This is something that we make that everybody buys all over the world. We buy a lot of shit from other countries, right? Like this is something that people want to buy from us. Well, I'm amazed that, I was talking about this with somebody and it may have been, damn, I can't remember. My brain's off on the weekend,

Starting point is 01:17:16 but we're talking about how California hasn't really done a great job of like kind of museuming some of the, a lot of great parts about that were in movies and like, you know, Sydney Portier, this is where he lived for 20 years, or you know, this is the Bad News Bears Park where they play. Like Brady Bunch House.

Starting point is 01:17:35 Right, there's some of it, and it's like bits and pieces on the internet, but it doesn't seem as preserved. Like when you get here, you almost think, it would seem like more of a museum in itself, the city. Because at the time, I think people just didn't think about it or somebody's house, they went through whatever it was. But yeah, they haven't really, I mean, you almost think it would seem like more of a museum in itself, the city. Because at the time, I think people just didn't think about it or somebody's house, they went there, whatever it was.

Starting point is 01:17:48 But yeah, they haven't really, I mean, you know, you can do some of these tours and stuff, but it's kind of like, I think California, I'm not, I still feel like, even though I'm a resident now like that, I'm from somewhere else, you know, from Boston. Yeah, for sure, Massachusetts. It feels like California is like, is felt, I think in a way like, hey, people come here.

Starting point is 01:18:05 You know what I mean? So we don't need to bring people here, but times are changing. Movie business, like you say, is changing. It's theatrical business is changing. It's all, the number, you're looking at the thing that, one thing that people watch more than anything else, which is-

Starting point is 01:18:19 Fires and Dunkin' Donuts. YouTube. Yeah, I know, yeah, exactly. But Accountant Two is in. Accountant Two is out in theaters on Friday. This Friday? Yes, F. See it.

Starting point is 01:18:30 Go out and see it. It's great. It's really, really good. Do I take a date? Do I take my cousin? Who do I take? Take your whole family, everybody you know. Actually, the truth is,

Starting point is 01:18:37 this is a movie that anybody can see. Real accountants can see. Real accountants better like it. That's the core. If accountants don't like it, we're so fucked. I mean, you know what I'm saying? You're gonna call the movie The Waiter and waiters don't go.

Starting point is 01:18:50 You think anyone else is coming? But it's, yeah, man, it is a movie that I think honestly like works for, you know, it's smart and it's not like, oh, well, only young people like this or only old people like this. It's got everything. It's hard to make a movie that I think strikes this chord and kind of works for a broad audience

Starting point is 01:19:07 and it is better seeing it in the theater. So, and it's one that I'm be willing to leverage my kind of personal word and credibility on. Like go see it, you won't regret it. It's really good. You heard that. Ben Affleck, thanks man. Thanks for coming in and just sharing

Starting point is 01:19:20 and thinking with me and just having a good time. Thanks for having me man, this was cool. We're excited. I promise that I'll go see it. Thank you. And I think a lot of people will. I hope so, listen, a lot of people listen to your show, so I appreciate it very, very much.

Starting point is 01:19:32 Thanks for having me. Tell your son I said hello. Well, dude, that's right there, that's the whole reason for coming right there. That makes me cool right there. Now I'm just floating on the breeze and I feel I'm falling like these leaves. I must be cornerstone

Starting point is 01:19:49 oh but when I reach that ground I'll share this piece of my life out I can feel it in my bones

This Past Weekend - #578 - Ben Affleck

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