WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 699 - Susan Sarandon

Episode Date: April 18, 2016

Susan Sarandon achieved tremendous success as an actor, but one career accomplishment remains elusive. She tells Marc about this major goal and why she is willing to split it with Bruce Springsteen. They also talk about her impressive filmography, her thoughts on evolving as an actor, and why Bernie Sanders restored her faith in humanity. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Alright, let's do this. How are you, what the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fucksters? What the fuckadelics? What the fuckleberryfins? What's happening? I'm Mark Maron. This is my show.

This is WTF the podcast. Got a report for jury duty today. Got to go try to get out of my civic duty. I have to go try to weasel out of what we as citizens should do in the system we are in or what's left of the system we are in. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm not excited about that. But I got to be honest though, the last time I went in, I was ready to serve. I'm pretty ready to serve today. But I was honest. You know, the case was a class action against a drug company. I don't even know if it was a class action, but it was against an antidepressant company.

I got out of that, but I was honest. It feels a little heavy in court. We'll see what happens. This is positive, though. A new batch of special Wf mugs are in you can go to bryantjones.com starting at 12 noon eastern and 9 a.m pacific today for the mug while i'll be somewhere in the la superior court system trying to figure out a way out you'll be getting a nice mug also next monday my guest is steve o who you know from jackass his showtime special guilty as charged is now available on vimeo starting today you can check

that out before you hear him on here next week i guess i'll just you know kind of tell you what's going on i've nothing to complain about all All right, you know, I go out, maybe I'll make some dinner, I'll go out and do some comedy, then I come home, sit on the couch, maybe watch some DVR'd Better Call Saul's, and eat some ice cream, play a little guitar quietly.

But some part of my brain is sort of like, man, not again, I'm living it. There's nothing better than sitting alone, eating ice cream with the option and the choice to play guitar or watch any show you want. This is what sort of got me weirded out a little bit. The, uh, you know, I hung out with some friends, you know, Steve Brill and, and Judd and, you know, it was after comedy and we'd all, we're at, Steve Brill and Judd. It was after comedy. We're at the comedy store and Judd was hungry. And I'd already eaten once with Steve.

But we're going to all go eat again because that's what you do late at night. It's a good thing to go have a full fucking dinner with pasta, mac and cheese, chocolate bread pudding with ice cream, Mac and cheese, chocolate bread pudding with ice cream, grilled artichoke, meatballs, and fried chicken. It's good to do that, 1130 at night. That's the smart thing to do. But, you know, these guys, they live in nice homes, you know, up with their families. And I talked to another friend, talked to my friend Al, who's got a family, nice home. And, you know, I'm doing all right. i don't got to freak out or worry right now but they cannot on some level they cannot understand

why i'm living in the same house i cannot understand you know why why do i why do i have to get in the game you know there's some system in place that that is wired into some of our minds that you know I've struggled my whole fucking life to get somewhere and now I'm here to a degree this is where I'm going to be yeah I'm doing okay I'm earning an honest dollar I believe but what why do I why do I have to you know move up I'm good look I do look I just figured out what to do with my second bedroom I only have two bedrooms I just in the last three months figured out what to do with that room it was always clearly supposed to be a record storage room for my weird obsession that will soon become a problem uh that's what that room was be used to

be you know uh women that i was living with would move their stuff in and out of that room now it's just records it's a small record store and a giant closet that i built for a woman so it's just a room with a giant clothes closet filled with clothing that i stole from wardrobe of marin so i'm outfitted and then there's two huge record shelves in there and that's with a giant clothes closet filled with clothing that I stole from Wardrobe of Marin. So I'm outfitted. And then there's two huge record shelves in there. And that's what, so I'm good. I'm set in the house.

Do I need another room just to have a room? Well, that's the third room in case somebody wants to sleep here. Rarely happens. I bought a chair. That's something. I bought a nice chair from crate and barrel so why do i need to move up but there's this weird pressure to it they were going to go home which was down the street and then steve was like what do you got to drive an hour now i'm like no i'm going home don't this is not the center of the universe here and where we just ate all that food and where

there's fancy malls and people who live up in the hills and houses that you see from the street and go, what the fuck? Is that a house? Is that a fucking house? Jesus Christ, who lives there? I'm not going to have one of those houses. I'm fine.

And I'm just, I'm happy to sit in my small living room, eat ice cream, play guitar, watch DVR by myself. I've arrived. The other thing about moving up, I don't know what kind of life you live, and I'm grateful to be doing okay for once in my life. There's no real possibility at this point in time of a woman taking half or all my money. But you know, it's like, I come from the school of, Hey, I don't know if I'm ever going to have money again,

I'm going to save it. And then like, you know, I got a small office space for a reasonable price of money. Look, my house needs, my house needs repairs. You repairs you know i put the driveway in but i i'm gonna have to like start putting walls in or i'm just gonna gonna be shaken awake by a collapsing ceiling or something starting to look a little a little broke down up here but i got more space because i took that office that i was so excited about only to find that I'm being, you know, just drowned, drowned in radio frequencies of different kinds and Wi-Fi frequencies from being inside a cell tower. I'm so on some level, I'm so glad that, you know, my little stereo set up there in my new office picked up all this stuff and that it's relentless. This sound relentless. But that just means that the waves are relentless and then you've got the FDA or the FCC whoever decides that you know that's okay that's not too much of that stuff

I don't know I'm not clear anymore I'm not exactly clear how much of that frequency we I'm not exactly clear how much of that frequency we, I'm not supposed to be inside a cell tower. No one's supposed to be working inside a cell tower, except people who are there to repair the cell tower and then leave. And you know, when you walk down a hallway of someplace you work and there's a door that says, warning, don't go in here. Hide, stop. No machinery making things connecting with satellites in here yeah i mean cell phones are bad but i'm literally we'll see what happens att has been pretty good about trying

to figure it out but now i'm starting to worry about like am i like how much of that shit can i really take it's one thing that i can't play a record that's a pretty luxury problem but am i going to become some sort of am i maybe it's going to end up being a gift a superpower that i end up having at the end of my tenure if i am able to even stay in the fucking building maybe i'll have some superpower of being able to email and receive phone calls with no uh with no phone or computer maybe that's that's going to be my gift. I don't know how I would use that superpower. It'd be more like a parlor trick, I think.

Hold on, I think I'm getting a call in my brain. I hope ATT service is good if I start just picking up in my brain. I mean, we're run on an electrical system, right? Our brain is an electrical system. Like on some level, whatever I'm picking up through my brain i mean we're run on an electrical system right my our brain is an electrical system like on some level whatever i'm picking up through my stereo equipment that is relentless pounding in has got to be pounding into my skull i would imagine if a shielded wire that i could cover in copper is still picking up this intrusive frequency. I've got to feel, I've got to think that my brain is probably less shielded than that.

And I am an electrical system. Oh, fuck. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll let you know if I start picking up static. I think I have been picking up static for a long time. So my guest today, Susan Sarandon, came by for a tight hour. We had a tight hour. I'm a big, I'm not a fan of the hard out.

I'm not a fan of the hard out. Her new movie, The Meddler, opens this Friday, April 22nd. I had interviewed her once before with her then partner the tim robbins and uh it was for air america years ago and uh you know i asked her if uh if she remembered that and she did not so we're we're starting from a fresh start. Clean slate, no recollection of me, though I remembered her. So this is me and Susan Sarandon.

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Take a closer look how at calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com. To show your true heart, just to risk your life. When I die here, you'll never leave Japan alive. FX's Shogun, a new original series, streaming February 27th, exclusively on Disney+. 18 plus subscription required. T's and C's apply. Do you remember Air America? I don't remember anything anymore. Is that true? No, but it all kind of has blended.

If you give me enough details, things snap in. Really? Yeah, but there's been a lot of years and people. Wild, right? Yeah. It's just a lot of years and people. Wild, right? Yeah. It's just going away? No, I mean, I think a lot of it, it's good that it goes away.

You know, that's okay. This is how you forgive. It's how you forgive. Forget and forget. Yeah, things lose their relevance. They lose their ability. Well, you know what happens is you, like, especially when it comes to

suits surrounding a project, I'll go, hi, and I'll go, hi. And in my mind, I'm thinking, do I like this person? Was that a good experience? I don't remember exactly. How long ago? I know I know them, but which movie was it? Which one was it?

Should I be upset? I don't know. I know I didn't have your baby, but what else is this? I can remember that. I know that much, but I didn't sleep with you. But did you screw me another way? Right. Maybe you did.

I'm not. So I kind of get to a Switzerland. I'm not like air kissing, but I'm not cold. And you act like you know them. No. Well, I know I know them. Oh, you do. Because they come in and you like you know them no i well i know i know them because they come in and you know

you know them because but producers are so uh you know producers on a film are you can have that title and be the least qualified of anybody on the film and so there could be six people that you don't even you know maybe you actually interfaced with one producer, but they claim to be a producer. So when they come at you, you go, yeah, I had dealings, but I don't remember exactly. Or there are a lot of people on crews that I've worked with a number of times, but I can't differentiate exactly. I remember some of them. I mean, I remember them and I know they're the sound or i know they're props but i'm thinking like which one was that in the 45 years that i've been doing isn't that crazy yeah that's crazy have you looked at the list of movies you've been in lately well i had to

i had to look because they gave me an icon award last night at cinecon uh-huh which was everyone that goes to cinecon gets an award it's's kind of like Little League, you know, like most improved player. Right. And I got the Icon Award. And so they do a little. The montage. Yeah. So I saw every category of Cinecon on the screen, the breakout performance, the new,

you know, and they do like your career flashes before you and you get to see it all. That's what it's going to look like when it flashes before your eyes. Just a montage. But maybe not of my films. No. It'll be of my life, I think, maybe. There's a big differentiation, I guess. But I imagine your life is marked by the films, isn't it, kind of?

Yeah, yeah. But I have a feeling that it'll be people rather than films. You would hope so. Rushes, yeah, but I have a feeling that, you know, it'll be people rather than films. Sure, you would hope so. Russians, yeah. You grew up in New York? I grew up in Queens for a while, and then we moved to New Jersey. Jersey. Because I'm the oldest of nine.

That's crazy. Yeah. Wait, I mean, do you know all your siblings? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. And they're all younger than you? Mm-hmm. Yeah. And they're all younger than you yeah and they're all still with us yeah and today's my mom's 93rd birthday shit get the fuck out yeah 93 that's good yeah

you're probably and she's got tons of great grandchildren and grandchildren she can't even keep track do you have grandchildren now i do i have one and I'm going to have a second one and it is so much easier than having a child. Yeah, the pressure's off a little bit. Pressure's so off. And you can just be the great grandma. Oh, you're just unclutched. You just don't have any. Do you have kids? I don't. I don't know how it

eluded me. There's still time. That's what I hear. Yeah. Be careful. Every guy I talk to my age who does that has the first one in their 50s. About five years in, they're like, oh, my God. You know, I don't think about it a lot, but I'm old. It's just the sleep deprivation. If you're rich and you pick a good baby mama, you know, I suppose you could just.

There are a number of people who are just collecting children at this point. Okay, well, maybe I'll. Various women, but it depends on what your idea of participation is. They're like, I love this idea of having kids. Yeah, you're never there. Right. You've got a few women that are having little yous and it's a different thing. I'll get started.

I'm not encouraging you. Put it on Craigslist. I'm available to have a few little me's with various women if you don't pressure me. Just don't ask for anything except maintenance of the physical kind. It'd get messy. What part of New Jersey was that? Edison. I went to Edison High School.

I'm in the Edison High School Hall of Fame, actually. Just like the Icon Award. You're really building up. You got an Oscar and you're in the Edison Hall of Fame. The one thing I do not have yet that I really am working on and I really want is a rest stop in New Jersey. What is it? Named after me. The Susan Sarandon rest stop?

Yeah. I would even split it with Springsteen. Oh. It doesn't have to be all mine. Well, is Edison near Asbury Park? What part? No, but he's not in Asbury Park. No.

No, no. So what do you get? It can be anywhere in New Jersey. It doesn't have to be near where i grew up yeah you wanted to have a restaurant and coffee i wanted to be a rest stop but you know bruce springsteen and i talked about splitting one because if we have to remove somebody uh-huh right then we thought maybe if we split it so the springsteen's a random rest stop maybe you can have one of those ones that's on both sides of the road yeah and once i'd be springsteen once

i'd be surrounded oh you could call it Bruce and Sue. Yeah. Do you talk to Bruce a lot? Not a lot, no. Yeah? When our kids were younger, we did major memory events where you're making memories at their place or something. Do you bring them over to swim in the pool and stuff, that kind of stuff?

All even more detailed than that, you knowlloween trips and things and but i haven't seen them in a while but i love him and i love her he seems like a very earnest guy yeah very thoughtful works hard yeah talented he's all about the hard work somewhere yeah that kid's got potential yeah but when did you start uh acting are you the only one out of the nine that decided to? I didn't really decide. I kind of fell into it. At 20, I did Joe. But I was in college in D.C., which was a very—

At George Washington? No, at Catholic University. Were you brought up really Catholic? That was the end of it, was Catholic University, yeah. And do you remember the night? Catholic? That was the end of it, was Catholic University, yeah. Do you remember the night? Well, it was, you know, the more you

learn about institutionalized religion, the more you realize its flaws. You realize that as these good ideas became institutionalized, they really lost a lot in translation. Sure, it was about controlling people. It was about controlling people and

then religion starts to be exclusive and actually gets aggressive towards people that are not in. And I also really always had a problem with the doctrine of original sin. Yeah. I never bought into that one. That was tough for me. But how was the childhood? If you were the oldest and you're taking the hit for, you know,

you're the first one out. I mean, like, was it strict Catholic? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I have the most pathetic little picture of me in my Catholic grammar school uniform. I was very sincere. I was praying all the time to have the faith when the communists came over and hung us upside down that I wouldn't deny my faith. And then I went to Edison High School, a public high school with 500 in my class. And the very first day we did the Lord's Prayer, the Protestant version, and I just rolled right over. I just rolled right over.

Sold it out immediately. Sold out immediately with peer pressure to do the other version. What was the family doing? What was your dad doing? My dad started out as a band singer. Do you remember that? No, I wasn't around then. And he went to the war. Like as a band singer. Do you remember that? No, I wasn't around then. And he went to the war. Like a big band singer.

Big band singer. Then he went to the war and he was in charge in Italy of the entertainment there. And there was pictures of him with Marlena Dietrich. Oh, really? And introduced actually Burt Lancaster to his wife. Really? And then when he came back, he knocked out my mother.

Yeah. Before they were married? No, I'm kidding. Well, they got married before he went away. Okay. She never thought he would come back, she said. She asked her girlfriend, should I do it? And the girlfriend said, why not?

He'll never come back. I said, okay. So they got married, And he did come back. And then he got into the early days of TV and was like a stage manager and director. And then eventually, as he had more and more children and more and more responsibility, he ended up a vice president of Ogilvy and Mather in advertising. The advertising. That's a big one.

That's a big one. And so then when Mad Men came out, I really was curious as to what was going on with dad during that time. A lot. Maybe. Possibly. Was he boozy? I don't know.

I mean, certainly not at home, but he commuted. When you watch that thing, were like astounded by like could they really have drank that much all day long you know i don't really drink i'm more of a stoner yeah so this idea of just having a few martinis at night i i don't understand really what makes an alcoholic i don't know how you define that but it seemed like that generation drank a lot as like a social thing and smoked a lot. Yeah. Well, I like the smoking, but like three, I mean, I was a drinker too, but like three martinis at lunch, I'm done.

Yeah. How's the day go on? How do you go back to work? I don't know. I mean, now people are on antidepressants, so maybe it's the same, you know. Yeah, maybe that. Or Coke. I mean, there's a lot of drugs

in all kinds of it's coke back i guess it's back around i hear yeah yeah i don't i think there's certain professions that never left like wall street sure just get i did a movie where i played a drug queen uh paul schrader with willem dafoe so i learned a lot about the drug trade to wall street light sleeper i have to see that yeah it's pretty good i like schrader is a dark dude and this was kind of the continuation of uh willem defoe's you know various people yeah yeah yeah yeah so wait so you started okay so you go to college you you throw away catholic Yeah. And you acted there? Not really.

I had to work my way through. I was living with my grandparents, which meant I didn't really have a college experience. And I was working in the drama department on the switchboard. Like a real switchboard? Like a real switchboard. And cleaning apartments and doing stuff

to be able to pay for school. And I met a graduate student, and I was just 17, and he was a graduate student, so he knew everything. Right. He knew about Black and White film and poetry. Just blew your mind. Blew. That guy.

And was my first sexual experience. Uh-huh. So, of course, I was so grateful I married him. This was the Sarandon. This was Sarandon. So I married at 20. Because also I couldn't stay in school if we were living together. Right.

And I definitely needed to get out of my grandparents. So he blew your mind and you were in love. Yeah. He was kind. He was very... Pretty good actor were in love. Yeah. And he was kind. He was very... Pretty good actor. Great actor. Yeah.

Yeah, he got a nomination for Dog Day Afternoon. Dog Day Afternoon. And that was it. Couldn't work again for years after he was so good. Really? Because everyone thought he was actually transgender. Is that true? Yeah.

He had a really hard time after that getting work. And you were like... So, Joe, that's a that's a horrendously disturbing movie at the time it was everybody's nightmare it's not really a very good movie but the thing that happened though and it was john allison's first movie that he directed although he wasn't officially in the director's guild so he wasn't listed he was the dp yeah but what happened was that they had hired someone else who i won't mention but who was to play joe and he was crazy and he peed on the escalator at his wardrobe

fitting in bloomingdales or something how can you not tell me who that is are they still alive i i don't know i would be surprised if he was um And anyway, they hired Peter Boyle, who had been doing a character at Second City called Joe. Right. And he arrived with that character and all of that fabulous improvisational stuff. Was it a comedic character before it became Joe? No. Or was it just a bigoted? It was a bigoted.

It was just that guy. Yeah. And anyway, so he did the movie. And it was, you know, I didn't know what I was doing and I at least had the sense not to act. And I, you know, did my own makeup, hair. Oh, really? It was the first film that wasn't a porno film that this company had done. Canon. And I had been in New York.

It was Canon. And I had done about, I had been in new york canon and i i'd done about i had been in new york about five days and uh what happened was that jane oliver handled sylvester stallone and handled and she saw she saw chris in a play and she asked him to come in and audition and he brought me with him to read the scene my husband yeah married at the time? Yeah, we were married. Yeah, he was at the Long Wharf and I had graduated. And so we went into New York and I read with him and she said, well, why don't you come back too,

you know, in the fall? So we went back and within five days I went up for this and they'd been looking for someone and they asked me to do an improv and explained what that was. And that wasn't very difficult and I did it. And they said, okay. And she said, just come back.

Do not say anything. And I got the film. And he, you know, Chris also got work. He was in a Broadway show immediately. So I was like, oh, this is cool. And I had a scene where I got to completely trash a little store on 14th Street. And I loved that. That was so much fun.

And draw all over myself with some unspecified drug I was on. No one even figured that out. Right. And anyway, while they were editing it, there was an incident on Wall Street where some construction workers beat up some hippies. And they very cleverly refocused the film and called it Joe instead of just some kind of a generational conflict thing. And so it worked i think mostly because of him and because the idea if you were an affluent white family your daughter ran off to the village with a hippie down the street yeah yeah you know that was like she was lost and uh and they called it the easy rider of its

of the next year because it was made on a shoestring. I remember seeing it when I was younger. It's a very disturbing ending. Yes. Like horrendous. Yeah. Because I remember as a kid registering Peter Boyle as terrifying in that scene. But it's her own father that kills her by I know, yeah, right. By accident.

See, you can't go shooting people. It could be your own daughter. No, shooting people is generally never good. Not good, not good. But you had not done any acting before that? You did television or no television? Like before Joe? No, I hadn't done anything.

Then I got on a soap opera, and I was the girl everything happened to, and that really taught me a lot. But did you have any training? Was there any training ever? Really? You don't have to be trained to be an actor. Everybody can act. No, I know, but I mean.

Surviving is what's difficult when you're an actor, not acting. And also, it is a profession that kind of rewards mediocrity. So, you know, you can get in a situation and just develop terrible habits and whatever. But at some point you learned. Yeah, on the job.

That's the best, that's what I'm saying. It was a great way to learn. But if I had been on a soap opera for 10 years, I probably would have developed pretty bad habits because, but it taught me how to work basically live with cameras. And I was very lucky to have Bill Prince and Augusta Dabney and Stephen Elliott and Susan Sullivan, all these really people that didn't know what they were doing around me. And then I just kept working because I think I just thought it was hilarious.

Well, you are funny. And then eventually, no, but I mean, I just thought, well, yeah, why not? You know, and I'll pay back my school debt. But you got an agent, obviously. Eventually, yeah. Well, the gal, Jane Oliver, who was handling me, eventually I did. But they weren't really, looking back, I think they picked up on my kind of not very ambitious vibe, and they weren't particularly, and they matched it.

And they didn't because I really was just kind of bouncing around, and there wasn't any plan, and I didn't go up for the just kind of bouncing around and there wasn't any plan and I didn't go up for the godfather or anything you know at that time no

no no I never got a shot at some of those things but you worked were you in you were in a Billy Wilder film early on

yeah I got that and that was the front page and what happened was I I then lost it because they wanted me at that time, I think it was Universal, to sign for some other picture deals, which was customary at that time. But without any script approval.

And that didn't seem like a good idea to me. And so I lost it. But then I called them and I said, I just want you to know that it wasn't the money or anything I just didn't want to sign my life away yeah uh but I love you and and then eventually they called me back and I did it and I got it they wanted me and you worked with Jack Lemmon Did you have scenes with them and everything? Oh, yeah. Both of them. They were great. And actually, while I was doing that film, I was staying at the Chateau Marmont.

And I was going to go into an apartment because I was there for a while. It was the first time I'd been to L.A. I mean, I didn't have any idea. To me, it was all just scandalous. It was just crazy. And someone came into my room and stole the the night before, I was moving all my money and my diary and a number of other things. And that hasn't resurfaced? Maybe.

They're waiting until I run to office. And I went to this, and I was distraught, needless to say. Yeah. And not Jack Lemmon, but Walter Matthau. Yeah. Said, oh, I'll help you out. And he took out, because he's a gambler. Yeah. This huge wad of money and just peeled off, you know, a bunch of it and said, you can

pay me back it or not, whatever. And I had never seen anything like that. And that's how I survived until I could pay them back because they'd taken all my money. And you lived out here then? Just when I was working. I've never lived out here to live out here. I've only come to California when I've been working or when Tim was working. I would bring the kids out and stay.

And so I got to know. I lived in Rustic Canyon a couple of times. I lived in Laurel Canyon. I lived in Santa Monica. And the 70s were crazy here, right? Yeah. Was it fun? I mean, it seemed like a much more intimate business. Were you 70s were crazy here, right? Yeah. Was it fun? It seemed like a much more intimate business. Were you hanging out with people? It was more intimate.

Everything was more intimate. Of course it was. And I knew Timothy Leary. That made it. That was an icebreaker. Oh yeah? When you were out here in the mid-70s? Yeah. So you did some of that original acid? Yeah. How was that? Just what you'd expect. Did you learn anything did you get

a take your place did it change your life i think that like meeting chris rendon did i think yeah i think that those kind of drugs mushrooms and peyote and weed yeah you know are more um opening drugs than i never was into cocaine or any of that kind of stuff. Yeah, I mean, it was, I wasn't, I didn't do a lot of it. I preferred, I don't like chemicals. I don't like things with letters. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I prefer things that grow like mushrooms and weed.

Ayahuasca. I've done ayahuasca. Recently? Yeah. That seems to be a trendy thing right now.asca. Recently? Yeah. That seems to be a trendy thing right now. I didn't realize it, but there seems to be

a real therapy community around the ayahuasca adventure. Well, I think that's probably better than over-medicating with things that don't help your question. Oh, absolutely. Look, if you can handle it.

Yeah, I find that's not a recreational drug as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't sound like it. But people have been doing a lot of it, but I tend to take it more seriously. But when you say that, when you say take it seriously, do you have a goal in mind? Yes.

Really? Yes. That's part of that? Yes. Process. The first time I did it, no, the first time I did it, I was offered, I had been helping these shamans from Columbia actually to try to preserve their land. This was years and years and years ago. And they would come, and I went before Congress with them, and they needed to map their land. And we were trying to assign value to their land, showing what an ethnobiologist that I know was explaining all the different amazing drugs that were there. I mean, plants that were there and other things to try to establish worth, to map it.

And then at one point they said, well, you know, when we come back, do you want to do some ayahuasca? This is all through a translator because I don't speak Spanish. Yeah. I said, yeah, I didn't really know what it was, really. Spanish. Yeah. I said, yeah, I didn't really know what it was really. And, um, so the first time was kind of just a general seeking, but then recently I was looking for some answers and perspective. And so I had that intention when I went in because it is a bit of an adjustment. And did you get what you were going in for? I got what I was going in for, but it wasn't the answer I wanted.

Oh, really? No, it was not. Were you okay with it, though? Yeah. I mean, I was okay with it, but I was looking for something simpler. And it was not. It simpler. And it was not. It was not. It was not.

No. A little more complicated? Well, I wanted to kind of get a perspective coming out of a relationship where I was just like thinking, yeah, that was ridiculous. Why was I? Right. And be done with any kind of feelings there. But instead, I kind of got, you should just keep your heart open all the

time you should never close it to anyone because the whole point is to be open yeah the divine and every person in the world and you shouldn't be doling it out intellectually and it's okay to be hurt and it's okay to for it to be difficult you know right that wasn't what i wanted to hear that's true though if you're going to go through life open-hearted all the time it's hard not to It's okay for it to be difficult. That wasn't what I wanted to hear. That's true, though, if you're going to go through life open-hearted all the time. It's hard not to get cynical or closed off. Yeah. But you're all right? Yeah, I think I'm all right.

I think I'm going to survive. So when you started going back to the movies and going back to your education as an actor and a creative person, I have to assume that like each movie you were learning things. Still. I mean, that's the whole gift of this profession. Every single thing that you draw to you, and I think you draw projects to you the way you draw people at certain points in your life. certain points in your life, sometimes they present themselves because of some issue or interest or something that you're trying to either avoid or examine. Yeah. And, or sometimes, you know, you go into something and it's, you meet people that you wouldn't

have met and that are very significant in your life. And yeah. So what was the question? Well question well the question it was not really question it was just sort of a conversation because you work with like you work with you know george roy hill and louis maul and all these people and i don't know as directors i mean you had a relationship with louis maul right right so eventually not before i got the job but the first one was pretty baby right and that was a fairly provocative and controversial movie, correct? Yeah, I think more because he didn't see her as a victim.

Right. You really don't see her naked. I mean, they're... Who, Brooke? Brooke. I think that it just was a child prostitution. His way of framing it was what disturbed people because she was actually the most together of anybody in that movie right and uh when they were threatening to give it a x rating they couldn't i mean they

wanted the word uh nookie cut and they you never even see her nipples you never see her yeah touched yeah so they were hard pressed to figure out exactly what was so disturbing and I think that's what it was I think it was first of all that she was so beautiful in a kind of mean way and people lusted yeah and didn't like that feeling and and I think because she was so strong it wasn't the typical framing of a child victim what What did you learn from the relationship as an artist with Louis Malle in terms of your craft and how you approach things?

Well, I found him interesting as a filmmaker, and Sven Nyquist, who I worked with twice, who was the cinematographer, was amazing because his whole way, again, of framing the story was very European.

Yeah. But Sven's lighting, we were working with this crew that had done kind of B car crash movies, and they didn't have any idea who Sven Nykos was. And they just, the gaffer just, the first few days, kept putting more and more lights in all the time, and he just kept taking them out. And those when in those days of course that was film yeah so we didn't see the dailies for a while and when they finally saw the dailies they started to kind of give him some respect but they were very out of control and i think it's the only set i've ever been on where the cooler was just filled with beer and and people were doing all kinds of drugs and things.

And it was just wild, a group of guys. Yeah. And eventually he kind of, and Louis in his egocentric way, you know, of not caring if people are actors or not just went and got most of the cast during mardi gras yeah and those gals work ethic and way of of functioning was not really very professional a lot of times like we were not supposed to shave our underarm hair and they didn't listen to that and they would you know half the time people weren't showing up and uh so it was a a very crazy set yeah uh and uh it's a miracle that actually got done there was a lot of things that happened on that where cast members didn't come back from the weekend or oh my god sven nyquist's son committed suicide. During that shoot? Yeah. And so he had left for a week.

And there was very, Brooke's mom was incarcerated at one point. Was there a point where you're like, this production is cursed? You were in New Orleans? I love New Orleans. Oh, yeah. I've done a number of films, all of whom have been, which have been crazy, but turned out really well. Oh, it's got such a strong personality. Oh, my God. There's a lot of music down there now, yeah. I've done a number of films, all of whom have been, which have been crazy, but turned out really well. Yeah. Oh, it's got such a strong personality.

Oh, my God. There's a lot of music down there now, too. Oh, yeah. A lot of musicians are moving to New Orleans. I love New Orleans. It's great. It's beautiful. Jeff, who lives at home, was in New Orleans.

The client was in New Orleans. I've been walking for a bit. We were in New Orleans half of that. It's beautiful. Yeah. And did you have any idea that Rocky Horror would become what it became? No, nobody did. They didn't even release it for years. I mean, that is, I've been in a lot of movies that have had a very strange birthing. But no, I did that because I had a phobia about singing. Tim Curry was a friend of mine because I had girlfriends that were in the stage production in L.A.

So I had met him and hung out. And at one point, he was in casting. I just went by to say hi. And that was one of those things where they go, would you read it? Could you read it? And I was like, yeah, but I can't really sing. And they were like, just read it. And Janet was a part that people had sung very well but had never found a way to make it funny.

was a part that people had sung very well, but had never found a way to make it funny. Right. And I felt like she was kind of like a satire of every ingenue I had played up to that point. And so I read it, and then they said, well, you know, can you sing Happy Birthday? Can you sing, do this? And I said, oh, you know, you should really do it.

And of course, my agents weren't thrilled. And then I thought, well, when I get there, you know, they'll give me, they'll get me drunk or give me something that will help me sing because I'm still terrified. Right. Because I had always been told that I couldn't sing. It is a big thing. It's a scary thing. Well, it's ridiculous because everybody should be able to just sing. Right.

Not great. Right. But you shouldn't feel, that's your ego. It's a celebration thing. Well, it's ridiculous because everybody should be able to just sing. Right. Not great, but you shouldn't feel. That's your ego. It's a celebration of the spirit. But there's a vulnerability to it, I think, that for some reason, for me, it was just terrifying. Because I felt that it was more vulnerable than anything to sing. Because you didn't grow up in a culture where everybody's just allowing you to sing. Okay, that's probably true. Central America or South America or Africa, certain parts where people.

Just sing. When they wake up, they're're singing they're singing and they join in or if you belong to a church right in the south maybe you would have been singing but those of us who are repressed in this area um are self-conscious and i thought okay i'll do it because then i'll get over this this is ridiculous yeah of course i didn't get over it. You still have it? I've had to sing badly in so many films. And I am self-conscious. I had to. Dead Man Walking, when I sing. Sister Helen is a good singer, by the way.

But when I had to sing. And then I, you know, some hymn to him toward the very end of the movie. Yeah, yeah, right. And I went to one of the focus groups in New Jersey when they all complain about your performance. Right. You know, the part I didn't like was when she's got her face all squished between the bars and she sings so terribly and she's...

And I was like, oh. That was the only one you heard? Was that the only comment that you registered? Well, I remember it, obviously. Yes, you do. Shame on that person. I remember it. But your experiences

in working with these, with Louis again on Atlantic City, which is another very European movie that's a great American movie. I know that the score of it is so French

and it's kind of like a play. And the space of it, like it was like, oh my God. It's strange. I don't know if it holds up completely. John Guare was a playwright

and he wrote that script. He's an intense guy Guare was a playwright, and he rewrote that script. He's an intense guy. He was a friend of mine. I introduced him to Louis, and that's how that happened. And he put it in Atlantic City, which it wasn't written to be in Atlantic City. It was based on a play of his? No. There was a script originally, and it was Canadian money, and they had to spend it by a certain time.

And he rewrote it and placed it in Atlantic City. And it did have a voyeur thing happening, but John really made it his own and changed a lot of it. Because the voyeur thing was not menacing. It was sort of enchanting. No, no. It was just him across the way, right? Yeah. Why I'm putting lemon all over myself,

I've still never figured out. To get this fish smell out. Yeah, but I didn't open them with my breasts. So why was I doing, I got it from my hands, but seriously, I don't know what that was. It was a showcase for your breasts. Well, you don't see them, they're strategic. Just like right, the windowsills right there, right? Mm-hmm.

Now, and you did like that crazy late Cassavetes movie, right? The Tempest. Yeah. Yeah, that was fun. That was really fun. What island, were you on an island? We were in the Mani Peninsula in Greece, which is way, like seven hours below Sparta,

and we had taken over this little town, and quaaludes were being sold over the counter at that time so in the morning you would see people just all over littering the beach passed out casper be just passed out yeah and not me because again i don't really respond to those kind of drugs right we would take over the discotheque at night yeah it was called studio 54 even though right empty except for Saturday nights. And it was beautiful. It was gorgeous.

And all of us were there with Paul Mazurski leading us and Cassa Vettis and Victoria Gossman and Jenna Rollins. And we would do talent shows and things because we were all stuck

in the middle of nowhere. Were they fun people? So fun. So fun. so fun. Like he strikes me like with Jenna and him, like that whole crew just seemed like they knew how to have a good time. Totally. They were so interesting and so great.

And I actually tried to get fired from that movie. Why? Well, we were doing rehearsal and he wanted her to be in high heels and i my idea of what she was was more modern and kind of adventurous and i felt that she really loved the guy and he didn't feel that i loved john and and uh so i cut off all my hair thinking that would get me fired and that didn't work and then uh so then I just said I'm gonna quit and I because I thought I can't I can't go be with this guy on an island you know yeah like he we just so don't you and John no me and

Mazursky oh right so I went to John and I said he was staying at the Wyndham Hotel and I said you know I'm sorry I just came to tell you that I really have to, I can't do this anymore. We're just not in the same place and it's just not going to work. You know, he doesn't think I love you and I just don't understand what to play. And he said, if you leave me, I will break your legs.

Which was not at all what I expected him to say. He said, listen, you don't have to listen to him. You know, we'll just, you can love me. You just love me. Don't listen to him. Well, just do it. Come on, you have to come. You know, you can't leave me now.

You have to come. Just do it. You'll be fine. It'll be fine. We'll have fun. Did you? Yeah. He was right.

We just didn't listen. I stormed off the set once. Did you? Yeah. He was right. We just didn't listen. I stormed off the set once. I did storm off the set because there was some issue because my underpants, I was just wearing t-shirts and underpants.

Yeah. I think there were a number of movies with no bras. I don't know. That was like the thing at that time. But I had underpants on and it became all all about he said you're under that these are they're not there's two on the nose mazerski said that yeah and as i got it i was so pissed off i took them off and like threw them and as i walked off bare-ass i thought what are you doing you're this is so stupid this is so stupid anyway we had a good time. He would give, Molly Ringwald and I,

we, in our boredom, worked up that little singing number we would do in the pool at the hotel. We would do water ballets to Why Do Fools Fall in Love? And so he put it in the movie, the song. But anytime he wanted us to sing, we would charge him money. And that's how we got cash if we'd be out at a restaurant raul would sing and yeah and then he'd ask us to do something and we would say well you have to pay us and that's how you got cash and then you've worked with both scott brothers

i know there aren't too many people who have done that and like uh tony first though? Tony First was his first film, The Hunger. It's a crazy movie, huh? It's a crazy movie, and he was so wonderful. And that was a strange experience because in the middle of it, somebody had stolen a lot of money or something from the production, and suddenly they were cutting things out and changing the ending. And Catherine and I tried to stick up for him and protect him. Yeah, we did.

He was great. David was great. That's when I got to know David. Yeah? Yeah. Was that amazing? Yeah. Did you stay in touch with him?

It's so sad. We were together for like two or three years. Yeah. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, man. So you were on the inside there i was on the inside and and was uh did you stay in touch you know were you yeah we stayed in

and i mean like i i i so admire iman in that part of his life and and uh uh we did stay in touch we didn't hang out a lot but you know he was, he was in New York and our paths crossed. And I would see her a lot, too. And I really respected him. And I, thank God, reconnected with him. Before he passed? Yes. And I was so happy.

That was a real gift. It's very interesting to me about him is that, like, it seemed like at the core of it, he was a very sort of, you know, classy person. Very private. Very, had a lot of integrity, very traditional in some ways, especially where his kid was concerned and his, you know. His kid made a great movie, the Moon movie. Yes, absolutely.

It's a really good movie. I love that movie, yeah. Yeah, and so like, you know, behind all of the theater was a fairly private and well i think he evolved i didn't know him in the early days in berlin you know i right i didn't know him then but um i think like all the very interesting people uh artists of different kinds that he the the temptation is that when you find something that works you keep on doing that and preserve that and i think that milk it they're really interested and you're encouraged to do that

yeah of course by the character yeah well and as an actor they don't you know they if you're successful as a boot they don't want you to be a sandal next you know they want to buy what they know works yeah and i think that's true in that odd combination of art and commerce you know that's that's where you get in trouble and people like bowie and you know other there are other artists yeah that i really admire that are they keep looking and have their eye you know to the, and their finger on the pulse, and they work with different people, and they take chances. And he was doing that right up to the end.

When I saw him at the very end, he said, you know, what's amazing is this has been such a productive year. It's just been such a productive year. Because he had health issues, and there was a period where he wasn't writing that much. And then he just exploded with all of this and the play that um lazareth that was going on too yeah yeah and he seemed to sort of be very aware of the time running out and what to do with it aren't we all at a certain point i don't know how we'd be as productive as him necessarily. No, that's a whole other thing.

And then he also had this amazing younger child. And as I said, Iman, I think, matched him in terms of someone who had this incredible beauty and was so strong and also kind of alien-like from another culture. It was a really beautiful union. That's nice. So you did, okay, Rich as a Beast Wick was fun, I'm sure, right? No, Rich as a Beast Wick, we had a really hard time because George Miller really hadn't worked with the studio and the script kept changing and nobody knew what they were doing

and it was double the, it went from three months to six months. And, you know, for me it was very hard because everybody else lived in la and when we got to la oh and it started off i show up for work and they give me a different part so i've prepared yeah for the part which has all the scenes with him yeah and for some reason my lame agents at the time couldn't do anything about it. And I ended up doing a part where I now had to learn to play the cello

in like two weeks, two and a half weeks. And I've never played any instrument. Oh my God. And I had an 18 month old baby that I was single mom and I couldn't,

and they said, well, you can't drop out. If you drop out, we'll put a cease and desist on't and they said well you can't drop out if you drop out we'll put a cease and desist on anyone that tries to hire you and you know you just better oh my god find a way to do it you and do it so um or don't work for a while yeah and so i stayed and sat there and listened to share complain about my part but But all of us, you know, everybody got along and that whole part of it was great

but it was very difficult and I didn't even have, I mean, she gave me wardrobe from her show and a wig from her show. They didn't even provide me.

I don't know what was going on but it was not a very easy shoot. Well, then you do Bull Durham and you meet Tim. Right.

And Kevin. Right. And Ron. Right right and you get heaven and right right and you get involved with tim then yeah not immediately but afterwards and then i had two boys with him so that was a i saw one of them the other night tall yes jack henry yeah yeah he's a director now and a writer and right filmmaker and i think my assistant auditioned for him for something oh um but that like that relationship whatever happened ultimately it seemed pretty productive and very productive very productive i think that's a sign of a good relationship too is when you a lot of good stuff come out of it well you're so you're so sharp and you know and here i mean i imagine it was uh compelling to be to work with the person you're with like that.

For me, the hottest thing you could possibly do is to create something. It doesn't have to be film, but anything, you know, to actually have something outside of yourself besides your child that you work on. I think if you can sustain it, I think that just keeps a relationship alive and is so much fun. So much fun. And you liked him as an actor? Yeah.

I mean, it takes a really smart guy to play that kind of an asshole. You know, he specializes in assholes. And he brought to that project. And it was funny because the studio really wasn't high on either of us. And I think it was such a great give and take, the three of us, in terms of the music of the characters and the balance of the characters. And Kevin is so generous. He was the one that stood up for us. He was the one that made it possible.

He was so hot at that time, both as a person but also career-wise. And he, because it was a first-time director, there was a lot that, because of Kevin, happened. And as I said, they really weren't interested in hiring me or Tim. I had to audition. And all the women that they wanted wouldn't audition. And Ron, he really wanted to hear it. So I was living in Italy, and I flew myself over at great expense, left my child behind. So I turned right around and went back as quickly as I could.

Came in, did the audition, got on a plane and went back. But the audition was the entire film, reading the entire film. Oh, my God. And we didn't even have a phone in our house in Churchaya, which is where I was living. And a few days later, I got the call to come back. Great. Yeah. And Thlma and louise did like that's another movie that like changed lives yeah it's one of the great you know feminist

movies before there was really that in the mainstream but we didn't you know when we did it i mean ridley scott was not known as a feminist no i know but like it's something about the dynamic well we thought it was butch cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And I think the dynamic, I mean, we provided a lot, and it was a great idea and everything. But I think also Ridley put us in this heroic vista. I mean, he put us in, it could have been a little tiny movie. Right. But his eye, the joke when we were doing it was that, because we just shot so many sunrises and sunsets and travel shots, and we were like, the whole movie is going to be a voiceover.

You're never going to see us at all. You're just going to see all of this amazing stuff. And the guys on the crew just adore him, and they were all bare-chested with their T-shirts around their heads and going off into the sunrise, the sunset, catching this, catching that. And Gina and I would just go back and go, I don't know, you think we're going to be in this movie?

You think at the end of the day we're going to survive the cut? I don't know. That character was so like, you were so good. Thank you, thank you. Now we're having a renaissance. We keep seeing each other because the anniversary's coming up.

So everyone's taking pictures and asking us to do things together. So it was great. We've been able to see each other more. How's she doing? She's great. She's great. She just did a pilot. She's got kids.

She came the other day to the after party. Oh, at the theater? At the theater. I ran out. Yeah, she came just to say hi. That's sweet. Yeah, she's a great gal. And with Dead Man Walking,

like, so that was, had you been nominated before? Oh, yeah. Four times. Yeah. For Atlantic City? Atlantic City, The Client. That's a good movie.

Yeah. Yeah, I like it. It's a very good movie. He was great, that guy, Brad Redfield. That's a good movie. Yeah. Yeah, I like it. It's a very good movie. He was great, that guy, Brad Redfield. Sad. So sad. Sad fucking story, man. I know.

I see Joel often in New York, and we always, you know, that was so sad. But, like, with Dead Man Walking, that movie had, like, did you feel that when you and Tim were working on that, that you're both politically active? So the drive of that to create a sympathetic character out of that character. I met Sister Helen. Yeah. She gave me the book based on people that she knew that were political that gave me a good recommendation.

She had no idea who i was as an actor she knew i was in thelma louise and she was worried i was the other one and i came in and met her when i was there for the client actually in new orleans and i had dinner with her and over a handshake she gave me the book but it took me over a year to convince him to do it it took me having a little meltdown saying all right then i'm going to give it to somebody else he had another film he wanted to do that he was writing he really wasn't into it and so after a while i just said look i'm going to go to somebody else with this if you don't want to do it playing hardball and he said well i mean yeah you know i felt that for me it was a love story all the movies i do

are love stories and this was a question of unconditional love. Can you, I mean, that's what religious people do. They love you unconditionally like Jesus did. They don't ask if you're guilty. They don't, you know. We, except for having children, don't really love that way, and maybe it's a good thing we don't. So that's what I thought this is this love story that is compelling, a story of redemption, but has this other framing, which is the question of the death penalty. But it's a very personal story. And that's why I thought it would work.

So finally, he said he would read the book. And the people that had given him money for Bob Roberts, which was a great film, which should be released again now. Yeah. They were really interested in Dead Men Walking more than the other one, you know, which he didn't like. And finally, it kind of got in his imagination, and he did a brilliant job of combining the two people that are in the book and changing it from electrocution to the most humane way of killing someone. The lethal injection.

Lethal injection. And we never thought anybody would really, it was a low, but you know, a little bit less than a medium. It wasn't low, low budget, but it was definitely. How'd you get Sean involved? He just asked him and I, and there were problems with sean's availability and i said you know there's just so few people that will be scary enough and sympathetic enough we should wait for him yeah and uh we did and uh you know he knew a good role when he yeah read it you guys were

great it was amazing and i loved working with him. Yeah? Yeah. Great actor? Yeah. And, you know, I've never, I've worked with a lot of people who have bad reputations on films, and I've never had, and they've never had those problems. Yeah, it was like, it was an astounding movie. Now, I watched The Meddler. Uh-huh. And this is an independent an independent film that like how did you come to this project did you just love it or they came to me and um i met with laureen the writer uh director director who was writing it about her mother and her family and very very personal very personal

and um i liked her and i you know i always ask somebody if i'm going to do a film why do you want to do this film and you'd be surprised how many directors don't have an answer. She had an answer. And she was very passionate about it, which was seductive. And I knew it was a good part. But the script needed another pass. But anyway, then she sent me a little sizzle reel of her actual mom doing the actual beginning of the film, the whole beginning of the film. Driving the car in bed, waking up, going to the group.

And I just was, wow, you know, she's great. What a great character. She's so open and so funny and so inappropriate constantly. I thought this is going to be really fun if we can find, you know, a good cast. And then my agent really hung in there and tried to help with financing

and pushed it along. And eventually, J.K. said he would do it. And then he got the Academy Award and I was really worried that he wasn't going to do it. But then he said,

yes, he was still going to do it. And he's in, you've never seen him that way. Who are we talking about? J.K. Simmons, the zipper. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, no, no. He's great talking about? J.K. Simmons, the zipper.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, no, no. He's great. He's great. But I mean, he's always great. But you never see him like that. So sweet. And kind of sexy.

Yeah. Yeah. And then Rose said she would do it, which was amazing. I've interviewed her. She's nice. Oh, she's great. And I knew her. She's a friend and so and then the also the gift was just this army of

stand-up comedians and a great juror funny people you know all those gals so the all around me i was really surrounded even in the tiny parts by people that you could improv with or yeah you know that you and we were working needless to say very fast yeah because it was a low budget film and no you know trailers yeah yeah and you got to do a New York accent kind of New Jersey yeah yeah yeah and that was fun yeah yeah yeah so when you when you prepare for like how how do you put together like you got the material on the mother, but in general, you know, what's your preparation process for role? How deep do you go? What do you what do you start with? Well, I don't forget my own name. Yeah, that I do not go that deeply. But it depends. I mean, the the you know, it's a trade off when you're playing a living person because you have a wealth of specifics, which is the job of an actor is to make it as specific as possible so it becomes universal but then you have this weight of hoping that you're going to not patronize the audience or

the character not wink at the audience especially if it's a comedy and and and the approach to this one was to be as rooted in reality as possible. You're always trying to determine what the tone is going to be. And you can find out by asking, you know, what would be your ideal cast? And even if you can't get them, you get some sense of what you're talking about. And so I listened. I had Tim Monick, who's a great dialect coach, and I've worked with many. We couldn't afford to have him on the set, but he went through the script,

and I had on my phone, scene by scene, a lot of the words, the critical words. And I was wearing her clothing. It wasn't hard to figure it out. And then I think you just open yourself up and fly with it. You know, just jump in and kind of let it take you. And I think that, you know, I certainly know what it's like to be lonely or to miss someone. I, thank God, haven't lost a spouse that I've been with for that long. But you still, you know, I've had relationships end.

And I'm definitely not comfortable dating I you know I'm still trying to figure that out and it's been crazy and so I I you know it's not I think if it's there you kind of just surrender to it at the end of the day and so it went from being her mother to being me to being something else that just happens. Right, right. And that's what always is the surprise. The thing that's addictive about this process is that, first of all, you never feel you get it completely right. You're either not brave enough or specific enough or you were on to something but you

didn't really commit to it. And so you see it and you go, maybe next time i'll get that and also um when you're working with people and and things happen that are surprising and i found myself surprised a number of times so that was great a lot of improving not a lot there were there's some there are lines that i did and business i did that are in that were improv, you know, and it was great because like one of the scenes is a very quiet little talking scene with JK and he says, well, you know what they say about chickens or eggs or something? And I go, no, I don't.

And that wasn't the answer I was supposed to give him. And he just goes, oh, you don't, you know, and it went into something else. And that's in the movie. And he could go with it. And that's the joy of working with people that are flexible and confident. Yeah, yeah.

And if you're hiring local actors that haven't acted, you know, in movies sometimes you have to hire people that are there that have really

not done anything and then you get in a situation and something changes, they just freak out. Stop. They just stop. This is not what's on the paper. Was she going to be not done anything and then you get in a situation and something changes they just freak out stop they just stop this is not what's on the paper was she going to be saying that i didn't know that

um and i just had that loved all those gals yeah you know that were there and and jared was very special i've seen him since i got yeah i see him a lot at the comedy store we you know i do stand up and he's great well i had never gone on like a stand-up, and he's great. Well, I had never gone on a stand-up tour where you're going to one club, and then you can see that person in the next club change depending on the audience and how the timing changes, and that was really fun. Yeah, he's good, and he's very wide open and sweet.

So sweet, and he's got quite a schedule with that TV show now. Yeah, yeah, he picked it up. It's going well. Writing everything, yeah. So sweet. And he's got quite a schedule with that TV show now. Yeah, yeah. He picked it up. It's going well. Writing everything. Yeah. Well, look, you look great. Thanks.

You sound good. Thanks. And I'm happy to see you. Well, I'm glad I made this pilgrimage. Do you feel okay about everything? Yeah, I feel good about everything. Yeah? Yeah. Did I give away any secrets I should think about? Yeah, I feel good about everything. Yeah? Yeah. Did I give away

any secrets I should think about? No, I don't think so. I mean... No. No. No, I don't think so. You know, we talked about... It was good. And we didn't get, you know, mired down in politics. And, you know, we talked about stuff. I'll save that for the rest of the day. Oh, yeah? Is that what you're gonna do?

No! Well, it comes up because there aren't that many women that aren't supporting Hillary that are in this business and so when they find one that they can... Let her talk. And I think I'm doing Bill Maher tonight. Are you? Yeah. Are you going to like get into it deep? I have no idea what I'm going to do. I have no idea

what's going on. You love Bernie? I love Bernie. Yeah. Bernie's restored my faith in humanity and the United States of America. It's rare that you see somebody real, like who's righteous and means it. Well, he's earned it. He's been the same guy for years and years and years. Since the 60s.

Standing for the same things and has not accepted a dime from everybody. So it's kind of like in sports when everyone's on steroids and then you meet an athlete that's not and you go, oh, wow, that can happen? How fabulous. And also as somebody who really got battered in the lead up to the war,

when he stood, I still even now when I talk about it, it gets me emotional, but when he stood up and was so clear and so brave at that time because that was a hard thing to do

when he voted against the war and he every single, if you Google that speech and you see what hard thing to do when he voted against the war. And every single, if you Google that speech and you see what he said, then you go, oh my God. You know, he doesn't make a false move because it's so authentic. And I think people respond to that.

And it's been really special to go around the United States and see so many people who felt disenfranchised or, you know, farmers, people who care about the environment and finding the only candidate that's against fracking or, you know, GMOs

and to be able to see them want to believe again because you make yourself so vulnerable when you're not cynical about the process. And also you're vulnerable if shit has not gone your way and you don't get angry and you still maintain some hope. Yeah. Hope is all we got though.

So, you know, I'm encouraging hope. All right. Well, good. Thank you for stopping by here. Thank you for having me. Now I know where you are. I'll come back again.

Please. Anytime. Can we have a barbecue? I see you have a barbecue. Sure. There's a little barbecue out there. You don't even have to call. Just come over.

Just find a driver that can find it. Just knock on the door. All right. Susan's here. I guess we're cooking. You never leave? Sometimes I do, but you can wait.

But I should bring my own groceries if we're going to have a barbecue? All right. Well, then get in touch with me, and I'll prepare. All right. All right. All right. Honored that hard out. Got her in and out.

Boom, boom. onward she went to do some photos with the foreign press oh fuck I jury duty go to wtfpod.com for all you WTF pod needs I believe you get a link to

my upcoming shows my workshop shows my riffage shows at the Trippity House at the Steve Allen Theater here in Los Angeles. I believe those start May 10th and run through June on Tuesdays. Go get those tickets for cheap. Benefit the theater,

benefit me. Gotta figure some shit out. Gotta put together the new stuff. Go check out our new website, WTFpod.com. I believe you can still email, but no comment section. Oh, those words are so great. No comment section. How great does it feel to say that?

I wish that was everywhere. That should be some sort of unspoken rule. No more comment sections. Yeah, that's a... Just a Stratocaster straight into an Amplifier, and I, you know, I'm doing this because this is what I do at the end now. Thank you. boomer lives Boomer lives! It's a brand new challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer.

I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products in such a highly regulated category, and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store and ACAS Creative. It's a night for the whole family. Be a part of Kids Night when the Toronto Rock

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