Latest / Bulletproof Screenwriting™ Podcast / BPS 342: Misadventures in Raising Money & Getting Your Film Made with Alex Lehmann

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BPS 342: Misadventures in Raising Money & Getting Your Film Made with Alex Lehmann · Bulletproof Screenwriting™ Podcast

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You are listening to the IFAH podcast Network. For more amazing filmmaking and screenwriting
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podcasts, just go to ifahpodcastnetwork dot com. Welcome to the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast,
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Episode number three forty two. There is an electrical thing about movies.
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Oliver Stone broadcasting from a dark, windowless room in Hollywood when we really should
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be working on that next draft. It's the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast, showing you
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the craft and business of screenwriting while teaching you how to make your screenplay bulletproof.
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And here's your host, Alex Ferrari. Welcome, Welcome to another episode
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of the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast. I am your humble host Alex Ferrari. Now,
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today's show is sponsored by Bulletproof Script Coverage. Now. Unlike other script
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if you need your screenplay or TV script covered by professional readers, head on
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over to covermiscreenplay dot Com. Well, guys, today on the show,
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we have returning Champion Alex Lehman. Now, Alex has been on the show
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multiple times before and I love talking to him. He's had an amazing journey
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from cinematographer camera op to directing some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and
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his new movie Acid Man is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival starring Thomas Hayden
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Church and I've seen the film and I absolutely love them. We're going to
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talk about how he got that made, the struggles he went through to get
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his film made, and his new project, very exciting project coming out in
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the fall as well. So, without any further ado, please enjoy my
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conversation with Alex Lehman. I like to welcome back to the show returning champion
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Alice Leeman. How you doing Alex, Hey, thanks for having me back.
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Thanks for coming back, brother. I mean, you're one of one
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of the ogs here at any film Hustle. You were the oldest episode.
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The first time you were on the show, you were promoting a film called
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Blue Jay. I forgive me, I don't remember the episode, but I
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think it was in the hundreds. We're now closing in on episode six hundred.
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Congratulations to you. That is huge. It's insane. I appreciate that.
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It's insane. It's definitely a hustle, as you can tell by the
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branding. You have shirts, you have wall Live, whatever that is you've
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got. It's everywhere. It's part of my life, sir. I don't
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have a tattoo yet, but that's that's nice. But listen, man,
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I was telling you before we got on. Man, I'm so happy for
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you. Man. You've done You've done so well. I've had so many
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The thing is, I've had the pleasure of talking to a lot of filmmakers
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over the years, and you and I've met and we've we've hung out a
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little bit, and it's just remarkable how your career has progressed because a lot
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of people who I've talked to they don't have they don't progress that way,
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So your your your success story, and that's why I wanted to have you
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back on the show to like let everybody know, like you know, he's
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he's done good, he's doing good, he's he's moving along, he's telling
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stories, he's building a career for himself. So it's it's a pleasure just
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to be able to witness it from that point from when you like kind of
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were first beginning getting your feet off the ground with an amazing film by the
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way, with Mark Duplas and uh Paul and Sarah Poulsen. But we also
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talk about all the failures in between. Well no, yeah, first of
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all, okay, after the first note, look, listen, let's let's
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keep it real, Alex. After the first movie, Hollywood just brought the
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dump truck full of cash, dumped it in front of your and then anything
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you wanted to do, they just said, Alex, name it and how
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much all you have is time and money and any star you want. So
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that's how it's as been. So yeah, I am no, I understand,
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there's been. I'm sure for every one movie that you get made,
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there's thirty that get don't get made or really close to getting made, or
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the money drops out or the actor drops out, or oh this doesn't happen
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or that doesn't happen. So, of course a struggle. Can I say
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it good, it's a hustle. You owe me fifteenth cents, sir.
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So, So for people who didn't listen, have the pleasure of listening to
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our other episodes. Can you tell everybody a little bit about yourself and how
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you guys started the business? Sure? Absolutely, Yeah. I was a
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cameraman and a cinematographer for solid ten years, more than ten years, and
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that was just my source of income. And my career path was being a
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DP, and even I gone to film school thinking it was going to direct.
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I kind of, I don't want to say, got sidetracked, but
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I'd found this passion of cinematography and it also paid the bills. And and
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then I did get a little bit antsy at one point and felt like I
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needed to make my own stuff. So I was writing some pretty bad scripts
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and and then I made a documentary called Asperger's or Us and I connected with
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with Markey Plas on that one, and he helped me, uh, get
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that one, you know, into festivals and get it out in the world.
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And then and then he and I started, you know, becoming collaborators
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on a couple of things like like Blue Jay and UH and Paddleton. So
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that's kind of, you know, it was I kind of in the shoots
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and ladders of it all. I feel like, you know, being completely
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honest, I feel like I kind of hit that big ladder. Your audience
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knows what shoots that matters, is right, that's not that's an obscure or
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you are old, sir, you are old. If it's not an app
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my audience doesn't know about it. I'm joking. I got the magic star.
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Uh, I don't know. Pick whatever? You got a lot of
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you want? You want? You want the lottery, you want to scratch
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off lottery ticket. The opportunity that I got was was really big. And
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you know, I mean the lesson I share with anybody is like, the
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opportunities will come and you don't know in what form, and sometimes it's a
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huge opportunity, sometimes a small opportunity. Can't really control them, but you
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have to be ready for them if they show up. And you know,
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I kind of feel like I lecked out as far as the timing of being
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ready and having the right stuff at the right time for when a guy like
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marketyplus said you know, I'm going to open the door for you'. That's
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how that worked out. And it's interesting for people that don't know the full
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story because we're kind of glazing over how you work. You were you were
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a camera on a show. Forgot the name of the league, exactly the
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league, and Mark was on it. And as every independent film, every
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any movie about an independent film being made, there's generally the DP or the
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grip or someone with a script in the back of their pocket that hands it
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to the star, which you didn't do. But he heard that you had
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made this documentary and the timing of that it's exactly what it is. It's
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luck, right place, right time, light product. If you made that
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film three years later, it doesn't it doesn't, it doesn't have that connection.
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So those stars aligned and then you Mark said, hey, let's take
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your movie out into the world. Oh and by the way, I just
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like hanging out with you and working with you. Let's collaborate on another project.
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And then that kind of starts that off. But what is interesting about
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your story, Alex, and please forgive me for blowing a little bit of
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small cup your button, not too much. I'm gonna try to keep it
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to a minimum. Don't worry. Well, I'll bring you back that I'll
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crash your back down, don't worry. But the thing that's fascinating is that
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I know a lot of filmmakers who get those those kind of lottery ticket moments,
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with those opportunities, with those kind of either big stars or people who
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open the doors for them. But many of them don't stay in the door.
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Many of them don't have the chops to stay in the door, many
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of them don't have the personalities to stay in the door. Because you can
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get a shot, you know. You see, I'm sure you have a
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lot of friends that get they possibly out of a lottery ticket situation, get
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a shot. Sure, but they either blow it, their egos get in
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the way, their personalities get in the way, something happens that it's that's
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the end of that's the peak. But you kept you kept that that thing
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going, and people are like, you know, I want to keep working
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with I want to keep working with that, Alex, I want to keep
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doing this. So that's a lesson for everybody listening. Just because you get
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if someone opens the door, you're lucky. Enough for someone to open the
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door. That's when the work begins. That's not where the work ends.
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Do you agree with that? Yeah, yeah, I would. I would
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agree with that, and I would say that for every success you know you
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have, you there will be some more opportunities that happen. And like,
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did you get let into the party to a certain extent, Yes, but
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I don't know, just to mix metaphors, like, I think every party
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ends and then there's going to be a new party, and then you got
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to get into that one. And you do have to keep earning your way
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back. And it's it's at I do and most of my friends, like
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we find ourselves constantly having to re earn ore you know, our wor so
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there isn't usually that one thing that changes everything as the as the incomparable Miss
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Jennet Jackson says, what have you done for me lately? That's basically that's
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basically the town. It's like, great, you have you want an oscar?
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Fantastic? Now what? And it should be though you know, I
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I right, it sucks because I'll be honest, there's there have been times
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where I feel like, you know, why, you know, why can't
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I just get the next thing made. I've just proven that, you know,
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I'm consistently making movies that are getting good reviews and that people love and
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blah blah blah. And yet you know, I I mean, I'd say
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two things. First of all, the landscape's constantly changing. And I'm sure
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you've had a bazillion episodes that have talked about you know, the streaming and
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the whatever, everything pandemic. Everything has changed, and like what audiences want
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that's constantly changing. So a there's that. We'll be right back after a
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word from our sponsor and now back to the show. And so what you
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might be good at is in for a moment and then and then it's not
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in, and like you have to reinvent yourself. That's that's cool, that's
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fine. And the other thing is this town is full of such talented people.
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There's so many, there's not enough room for us all to constantly be
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making all the things. And and so the way I look at it is
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like, you know, I get something made and it's fantastic. So you
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know, it's fantastic for us that the project might be fantastic, but maybe
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it is who else. But But we we celebrate, we feel great,
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and people watch it, and then it's back to square one. You get
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thrown on this pile of billions of talented filmmakers that's maybe maybe not billions,
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maybe just millions, I don't know, but so many talented filmmakers, and
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and it's back to square one, where we're all trying to get something made
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again. And that's okay. The meritocracy does exist to a certain extent.
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And you know, if if we were, if we were benefiting from like
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our past successes too much, that would also be leaving the door closed completely
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for that that filmmaker who's listening right now who hasn't made their first thing.
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So I like the fact that the door gets to stay open a little bit
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for them too, absolutely because you need it. I mean, that's that's
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the business. The business needs to be refreshed with new blood and all that
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kind of stuff. Now, I want to ask you, know, you've
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directed a handful of features, what in your in your opinion, is the
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biggest challenge in directing an indie or you know, non studio or just like
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you know, none hundred billion dollar franchise kind of film. What are these
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challenges the biggest challenge you think I mean, I think the biggest thing is
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getting it made. I still think it's harder than making it. I don't
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know that that'll ever change. You're right to a certain exemple. I mean,
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unless you're unless you're playing out a different league where the movie is going
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to get made, regardless if you're on or not. That's a different conversation.
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But for most film makers that's not the conversation well, because I mean,
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it's pretty messed up if you think about it. You're trying to convince
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somebody to make something that doesn't exist, that's never existed before, exactly in
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that form, and they're asking you in that room on the zoom, so
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what is this like? And so you're trying to convince them to spend a
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lot of money to make something that's never existed before. But they don't have
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the imagination that you have because they're not you, and so they don't exactly
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understand what it is you're trying to make. And yet you have to promise
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them that you know it will exist. You don't know exactly what it is,
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but it's going to be this thing that is just out in the ether
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right now. It's it's not like building I can't show you the blueprints.
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I me guess I can show you the blueprints. But you know, everybody
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knows the difference between script and screen. That's why we have reviewers. That's
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why we don't, you know, so we don't finish with reviewing scripts like
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that. The work is only getting started, and so I think there's a
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lot of fear and uncertainty and so trying to convince people that this is the
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right thing to be made and it's going to be artistically valid and probably financially
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has to be valid as well. Those are those are some pretty serious hurdles.
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Now, since you've you've you've been around the block a little bit,
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You've got a little shrapnel in you from the business over the years. Is
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there some with a limp you walk? Yeah, we all walk with the
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limps, or some of us walk with more than just that. But is
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is there anything you wish? Is that that one thing that you wish that
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someone would have told you at the beginning of this conversation, if you trying
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to be a filmmaker, to just go, hey, man, keep an
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eye out for this thing. I wish somebody had maybe told me that inde
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financing is fickle, and maybe most people that say they have money don't actually
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have money. No stopping, stopping, I'm naive, I really am.
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I'm sorry. I I when someone tells you, when someone tells you I
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have I got one hundred thousand dollars I could put into this. You believe
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them? Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to go through the details
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of my latest films because they got made, and you know, at the
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end of the day, I feel very lucky that they did, and that
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the rest is is the rest, and and the more I share the specifics
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with friends, the more they tell me there's similar stories, and I feel
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like the whole the whole world of indie financing is is a very comical place.
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It's it's a euphemism, comical. But but but I got lucky because
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my first couple of narrative features were fifty plus right, Like Mark was instant,
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Like Mark, if we're making the movie together, he was starring in
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it, he was, you know, able to pay for it, and
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he had a distribution deal with Netflix. It was so turn key, and
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so it wasn't until Acid Man, which I, you know, specifically set
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out to make on my own, my own. It was such personal story,
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and I felt like, I want to produce this myself and you know,
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just really just take the full ownership. So raising raising finances for that
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one I wish. I'm glad I learned what I learned, but I wish
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somebody maybe had given me a crash course or two before before I headed out
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into that way. It is the only There's just two words I can tell
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you, sir, Verifiable funds. That's the two magic words in indie finance.
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Verifiable funds. They wrote it down on an apple napkin with a crayon,
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and that was good enough for me. Yeah, for everybody listening.
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There are multiple episodes about film financing on the show, on the podcast.
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You could go back into the archives, but two words, verifiable funds.
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But here's why maybe that doesn't matter that you have those episodes, and why
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maybe doesn't matter that, like I where somebody would have told me, is
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we we believe so bad? Of course you do. Of course you want
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to believe. And I've got friends in situations where they've come across some shitty
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financing and then they try to tip off the next person who might get tied
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into that shady financing and say like, don't work with this person. Their
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money is not real. And the response nine times out of ten is yeah,
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but he's our best shot, so we're gonna go with him. Anyways.
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It's like it's like, yo, don't you know. It's like,
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don't get in the don't get in the train. It's heading off a cliff,
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and somebody goes, I kind of want to go somewhere. I just
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you know what. And this is this is a deeper conversation because I was
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having a conversation with this film distributor the other day and he I was asking
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him straight up, I was like, why are filmmakers always getting taken advantage
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of in film distribution? And this goes for film financing as well, and
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he's like, because they want to believe because we're not business majors, because
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we're but not even but not even that, but not even that part,
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even if you're smart enough, because there's a lot of smart people I know
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in the business who got taken because they want to believe because either actually at
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the beginning of this the situation, or at the end. So film finance
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is at the beginning, film distributions at the end. Both times, there's
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a lot of pressure on you to make something happen. You want to get
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your movie made, and then in film distribution, you're so exhausted that you
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believe anything that anybody tells you, like, oh, someone loves me,
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someone loves my work that I've been spending the last two years for. I'm
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sure there's no MG. I don't need it. I don't need any money
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up front twenty five years. Sure, I'll sign that. Uh uh and
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uh okay, great and uh oh five thousand and five million dollar expense cap
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Great, that's fantastic. But you want to believe, So that's something that
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it's it's hard. It's even when even if you know this information, when
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you're in it's kind of like being in a bad relationship. You know,
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you're just like I know she, I know she's not good for me.
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Yeah, but damn, I can't quit her. I can change her.
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That's it. I could change her. I could change her. I could
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I can make I can make her. I can make her better. I
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could change her. Yeah, that doesn't work out in film financing or in
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film distribution. But don't you think that probably the shady people that are pretending
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to have money but are really out there to like, you know, well,
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whatever, screw us over. Don't you think that they're also saying,
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like, I can change, I could be a better person. I think
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that time, I'm really going to have that money that I promised the filmmaker.
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Well, I think I think those people are I think few there are
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people who do go out there with malicious intent. I think other people truly
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believe that they're just they want to play the role of the high roller that
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I want to be in show business kind of vibe, and they they might
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have the intention of getting you the money, but they just don't have the
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capability of doing so. But they just kind of roll the dice. They
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like, oh, I'm just going to say I have the money so I
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can play. I can go along this train and have these conversations and pretend
18:41
that I'm a filmmaker, a producer or finance or so on. There's a
18:45
certain point we're all doing that though, right Like the very fabric of filmmaking
18:48
is we're trying to get people to believe in something that's totally made up,
18:52
and we're taking them mon a journey and we're saying this is this is a
18:56
story worth it? Now? Gather around everybody. This is this is allowed
19:00
them to take two hours of your time and it's gonna be worth it.
19:03
It's story, it's it's uh, there's there's something romantic in that. And
19:07
I do think that, I mean, I don't know. I think that
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probably like like the real scammers are probably another businesses because there's there's more money
19:15
being made scamming in medicare. Yeah, yeah, I would Scamming medicare is
19:22
a lot better, more lucrative than scamming independent filmmakers. Yeah, So I
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think I just I think the heart goes out even to like the the indie
19:30
film scammers, because like at the heart of it, and you touched on
19:33
this, like they want to be part of making movies and like it's like
19:37
I was gonna have to scam somewhere, might as well scam here and make
19:40
movies because as a kid, I always wanted to scam and make movies.
19:45
So I just disclaimer everybody, I do not do not suggest you scam medicare
19:51
or any independent filmmakers. That's not part of what we're saying here. I'm
19:53
just just using an example. We'll be right back. Throw a word from
20:00
our sponsor and now back to the show. Now, I wanted to ask
20:08
you something else because you have been a cinematographer for most of your career and
20:12
most of the films you've worked on you've been the DP. Yeah, but
20:15
this one you didn't. So what was it like acid Man? What was
20:19
it like not having the controls of the lighting and the camera and did you
20:27
let did you how did that work for you as someone who's done As for
20:32
me, I've been editing all my life. Anytime I've ever worked with an
20:34
editor, it's it's it's an adjustment. It takes a minute. Yeah,
20:38
yeah, for sure. Well, you know Palleton, I also was in
20:41
the cinematographer, so that was the first one. But I'll be honest,
20:45
I struggled on Palleton to let go of those rings and the DP I had.
20:51
He had he had shot second unit for me on Blue Jay when I
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repeat that myself, So there was you know a little bit of comfort there,
20:56
and he also had he was very patient in in my inability to completely
21:03
let go on Paddleton. I'll say that the first day of Acid Man was
21:07
still tricky, and I was still like kind of gripping onto that hat a
21:11
little bit, and my cinematographer John Mattishak. He really got me there.
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This was this was a cool experience for me because it was the first time
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that that just and is very early on in the filming process. I just
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started seeing what he was doing and I started trusting, and you know,
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I think it became clear to me that we were going to approach things differently.
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But I loved, you know, the end results, and that I
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just needed to trust, you know, the process until I would get to
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see the end result, because you know, otherwise, like instantly, I
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just start looking at like where somebody puts a light, and like, well,
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that's not where I put the light. It's totally subjective, but you
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know, to keep my mouth shut as both a I think a very good
21:55
collaborator but also control freak, and that's I think you're supposed to have a
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little bit of both of those to direct. I was really excited to be
22:03
able to, Like, YO, funny story about John, he literally shot
22:07
my first short film in college. That's how long I've known him, and
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we didn't you know, he went out to Nashville for for a while and
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was shooting commercials, and you know, I was raising a family out there.
22:19
So he didn't come back to LA until just a couple of years ago
22:22
and we reconnected and he was saying, like, I want to get back
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in the indie feature game, you know, move move in LA with my
22:29
family. I really want to make movies again. And that's how I reached
22:32
out to him for for Acid Man, and and you know, he was
22:34
fantastic and and I've you know, I've been using him since and it's it's
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so freeing not to have to think like a DP much anymore. We can
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still have the conversations in the shorthand. But but yeah, I felt the
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same way as like when you like and I see an assemble cut of something
22:56
I did, I was like, oh, I didn't have to spend six
22:57
hours to go disassemble cut. Oh that kind of feels nice. I just
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would come in and tweak. Oh that's it feels a little bit better.
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Well, and here's the good thing, whether it's editing or cinematography, photography
23:10
a little less because you you know, you only have a certain amount of
23:11
time and resources. Sure, but to say, you know, I've got
23:15
something in mind, But before I take us down that path, what are
23:19
you thinking? Let me see what you're thinking, it's like you only have
23:22
one opportunity to really see how your collaborator artists sees things before you, you
23:30
know, smother them with your vision and ask them to like try to understand
23:36
what it is you want. And there's a curiosity I have when we get
23:38
the time. It's like, what did you see when you read the script?
23:41
Or you know, what are you feeling in this moment? Because I
23:45
know what I'd like to do, but I might be able to learn something
23:47
from you. And you know, as much time as we have and you
23:51
know, as much exploring as we can do, I'd love to do a
23:52
little discovery before we go down a path. And by the way, I
23:56
might still say, like, that's really interesting and let's shoot up. But
24:00
then the shot I really need that's been in my mind's eye since the first
24:03
day I wrote this is the shot over here. And you know, we'll
24:07
get both of them and figure it out later. But sometimes I abandoned.
24:11
Sometimes I say, that's cool, that's that's more interesting than what I was
24:15
going to do, and and thank you for challenging me. And that takes
24:19
time to allow yourself to be confident enough in your own skin, comfortable enough
24:26
in your own skin to allow that the ego starts to pull back a little
24:30
bit and you and as you get a little bit older, you've been around
24:33
town a little bit longer and doing this, you realize you're like best idea
24:37
wins. Manda, You're right, it's all it's all about ego or hopefully
24:41
lack of ego for sure. Now you you've had the pleasure of working with
24:47
some amazing actors, some some some legends. You know, Ray Romano,
24:52
Duplas. Now you worked with Thomas I had in a church in an acid
24:56
man. How do you approach working with actors of that, of those that
25:00
kind of caliber, because I can imagine it might be intimidating working with someone
25:04
you might have like with Raymond or you know, having him working with him
25:11
Ray Romano, not Raymond, but Ray Ramano. But like working with someone
25:15
like that that you might have been watching him as you grew up, Like,
25:19
how do you approach the relationship of a director actor? And that's an
25:25
area well, I like to start out, you know, exchanging some really
25:30
vulnerable information about each other so that we both feel, you know, and
25:33
then I blackmail them. Great technique guys, picture photos work, photos,
25:42
work, if you could get photo you were, you were in their trust,
25:45
and then you weaponize it against them. No, the first part is
25:49
true, I would say more even more importantly, I mean when when you
25:55
ask yourself, especially if somebody is a little more legendary, who's been doing
25:57
who's been doing so much? Who you know is getting ten offers a week,
26:02
you know, Sarah Paulson, Ray Romano, Thomas Hayden Church, You
26:06
have to ask yourself first, like, Okay, why why are they why
26:08
did they choose this project? And and I think it's a really fair thing
26:12
to both ask yourself maybe their reps and and and ask them what is it
26:17
that you're that draws them to the project, and really make sure that you're
26:19
honoring that, Like, if there's something that they came here specifically for,
26:25
as long as it falls within the the scope of what you're trying to make
26:29
with the film, make sure there's there's room for that. If if raise
26:33
like I always you know, comedic, and I want to make sure that
26:37
like I have the opportunity to really you know, show the world my dramatic
26:40
chops. Don't make them say a bunch of dick and fart jokes, like
26:44
let him, you know, really build it around those those moments that he
26:47
wants, and in return, he'll, you know, he'll give you the
26:49
goods. And and as far as Thomas goes, you know, I wanted
26:52
to understand why he was drawn to this and and and and understand what,
26:56
you know, what what excites him, because obviously the paydays on these smaller
27:03
films is not what makes these people leave their their home when they made all
27:07
that nineties TV money. I mean, listen, listen, Thomas. Thomas
27:10
just got off of Spider Man, the Latest Spider Man. So I'm sure
27:14
he's okay, he's okay, but you know, but the things he did
27:18
for our film that he you know, he's willing to put up with,
27:22
you know, the the lack of trailers, the limitations that we have,
27:26
there's obviously something there. And you know, for for him, it's he
27:29
was finding the character of acid Man really relatable. He was honestly, you
27:33
know, he was. He was saying like, I'm becoming more of an
27:37
acid Man myself all the time, which you know, for your listeners,
27:40
I should say this, This character is you know, he's a reclusive,
27:45
very intelligent man, but a reclusive guy who lives in a small town and
27:48
is kind of he just kind of keeps himself and he tinkers. You know,
27:52
he's got some of his own hobbies and some of his own his own
27:55
interests and beliefs, and he's maybe not where he's definitely not understood it by
28:00
by the town or really by anyone. He's just kind of mining his own
28:03
business. And and you know, Thomas had been I mean, the pandemic
28:08
didn't, but Thomas felt like he'd been living in his little ranch house a
28:12
lot lately, just not not feeling as motivated to connect with people, and
28:18
and started to feel that distance to grow, and he was saying, like
28:21
what what's that about? Why am I comfortable with this? And like is
28:25
this going to continue? Like like is this pattern going to continue where like
28:30
maybe I stop a turning deal phone calls completely at some point. Let me
28:33
explore these feelings with with the character of acid Man. So, you know,
28:37
making the room for for Thomas to explore those those elements that was really
28:41
important and then adapting to his process was really important. So he loves to
28:47
find the character, you know, everything that's beneath the page. And so
28:51
we had so many long phone calls himself and Diana Agron, who plays his
28:56
daughter. The three of us had, like you know, on the weekly,
29:00
just like maybe two or three phone calls. They would last a couple
29:03
hours each. And this went on for months, and we just really dug
29:08
beneath what was, you know, the script and found these characters and that
29:14
fits my improv process anyways. But it was really about like this is this
29:18
is what makes Thomas excited? Is like building out a character and flashing him
29:22
out. I mean, it's it's easy for me to give that when that's
29:23
something I want as well. But but yeah, I would say to answer
29:27
your question in a roundabout way, you figure out what it is they want,
29:33
you make sure that they get to have it. That's why they showed
29:36
up. Now, can you tell me how acid Man you knew from asad
29:38
Man came to life. Yeah, so that's that script I've had since we
29:45
were taking Blue Jay on tour promoting Blue Jay. It was, Yeah,
29:49
this is a it's a very personal story. It's something that I started writing,
29:52
you know, way before Paddleton. We'll be right back after a word
29:59
from our sponsor and now back to the show. And I don't really think
30:08
I was ever going to make it, certainly not after Paddleton. It just
30:11
kind of felt like maybe the opportunity had come and gone for this movie and
30:18
the character of Acid Man. The name acid Man, there was actually this
30:22
guy you know, in the small town where I grew up. His he
30:26
was probably schizophrenic, but but you know, like the kids had a nickname
30:29
for this guy who walk around the town and he lived with his parents.
30:32
He's probably in his thirties, and they would like throw eggs at his house
30:34
and spray paint stuff and did harass them and call acid Man. The mythology
30:38
was, you know, he'd gone on a bad acid trip and never came
30:41
back. And I think a lot of towns have their own acid Man,
30:45
right Like I usually like everybody, you know, like people go like,
30:49
oh, yeah, we had Charlie on a lawnmower. We had you know,
30:52
our guy dressed up like Abraham Lincoln. I would walk around and I
30:57
was always really cures about that that man when I was young, and about
31:03
how what his relationship was with our town, Like, you know, we
31:08
this is weird to me that like we could just write somebody off and kind
31:11
of harassm even the adults called him the walking man. It's just felt very
31:15
you know, I think we fell short of really respecting that person. And
31:22
and I think probably loneliness and and and you know, searching for connection or
31:27
themes that have kind of been throughout all of my films, and and so
31:32
I was I was always kind of connected to that character. And then the
31:36
ultimate question of like what if you know you're strange from your parents or your
31:38
father, and you reconnect with your father who used to be this brilliant scientist,
31:45
really intelligent man, this this you knew him as one person, and
31:48
then you reconnect with him and he's become the acid man of his town,
31:52
right like and and and so I think something that's obviously just exploring the aging
31:57
you know, our parents and who may be common will become day. Yeah,
32:02
that's some that I was telling you earlier. I was as I was
32:06
watching it, it was connecting with me at a whole other level, because
32:09
you know, when you're twenty and you watch a film like this, you're
32:12
like, that's kind of a this or that. But when you're you know,
32:15
I'm getting close to fifty, I'm like, you could say that word,
32:20
but I have a few years away still but you know, I'm getting
32:22
to that age and you just start thinking about things a lot differently. You
32:24
start thinking about life differently. Where am I going to be in twenty or
32:29
thirty years? You definitely have more behind you than you do ahead of you.
32:35
That's a very strange place to be as a person's and I think they
32:38
do call it a mid life crisis. Though I'm not getting a Corvette anytime
32:42
soon. But and I love my wife. But it was really interesting the
32:46
way I really attached myself to not only the acid man as a character,
32:52
but the daughter and seeing hit her father through his eyes. And I still
32:57
and I have my parents still. So you start looking at them and who
33:00
they were when they were when you were a young man or a young you
33:04
know, a boy, little boy, little girl, and who you thought
33:07
they were and who who they become later in life, and it's it's fascinating.
33:12
And then I start thinking about what my daughters are going to look at
33:15
me, Yeah, in twenty or thirty years, like this crazy podcasting,
33:19
filmmaking guy who made some movies and hung out with some stars or did some
33:22
of this and or did that, and like and then like and now look
33:25
at them just living off all that crazy podcast money. But but it was
33:32
just very fascinating. It was really I mean again, it hit me at
33:36
the right place. I'm your demographic sir, so it was it was really
33:37
touching. I appreciate that. Yeah, I think it's interesting to explore those
33:43
blurred lines, because you don't there's no day that you just say like,
33:47
all right, you know, I was a child and you were an adult,
33:51
you know, to your parent. You know, you don't say there's
33:52
no day where you say, okay, you're no longer the parent, and
33:55
I'm no longer the child, because I too am an adult, you know.
34:00
And we don't say that to to our kids either, So it just
34:02
kind of you. And so at some point, you're a child and you're
34:06
a parent. Uh So that's weird, right, Like how can you be
34:09
both? But I mean you are look at you like you are you're you're
34:13
a dad, but you're you're a son as well. And and it's it's
34:19
no secret that at some point we lose a little bit of either either faculty
34:23
or or just like some strength in life, you know, as we age,
34:28
or at least we don't necessarily have the same qualities and strengths that that
34:34
our society may be right virtually honor right so so or respect as much.
34:39
And so there's this kind of softening of of where older people go into and
34:49
how do you say that, How do you say, like at some point
34:51
like, well, you're my because at one point, you know, you
34:53
say you're my parent. I look up to you. When you're really young,
34:58
you say like you're my parent. You're a there's nothing wrong with you,
35:01
you could do no wrong. And then there's everything in between. And
35:06
then we get to a certain age and we're like, oh my god,
35:07
my parent can't is incapable of anything, and that's a horrible feeling, you
35:13
know, to try to somehow tie this same person who is a god to
35:16
you as this person who now needs help with everything. And so I think
35:21
acid Man to a certain extent is an exploration of that and trying not to
35:27
rush into pity or you know, resentment for the things that we don't understand,
35:34
and also just honoring the fact that those connections never never go away,
35:39
Like to a certain extent extent, you'll be your parents' child no matter how
35:45
old you are. Oh, my kids will always be my kids. I
35:49
don't care how old they get, I'm gonna fl successful they get. I
35:52
don't care how big they get. It doesn't matter. I don't care if
35:54
they have kids themselves. They will always be my little girl. Like girls,
36:00
just you can't look at it differently, just the same way my parents
36:02
say the same thing to me. You know, I'm like, I'm a
36:05
grown ass man. She's like, yeah, you're still that little kid I
36:07
grew up, I raised, And it's you just you know, to you're
36:12
a parent, you don't get it. You might intellectually, but when you
36:15
actually see a child, or if you have, you know, children in
36:17
your life in some way, shape or form, you start to understand that
36:21
a little bit differently. It's it was a meditation in parenthood, to say
36:25
the least, this this project, but it was really really cool, brother,
36:30
Thank you. I appreciate it. I'd say, if there's one other
36:31
theme that that I could share, And I don't think it's a spoiler really
36:35
because it happens early in the film and we'll probably have to mention it anyways.
36:37
But but so this character, you know, acid Man, who it's
36:42
really referred to just as Dad in the film because he's Diana Round's dad,
36:45
a strange father. His name is Lloyd, and he he has this obsession
36:52
with UFOs. He's got these he sees these blinking lights out in the sky,
36:55
and you know, he just really feels connected to them. But he's
36:59
a believer in this stuff, and you know, I just the other.
37:05
The other thought really in in writing this was like what if you're trying to
37:09
like reconnect or just connect with your parents and like now they're into you know,
37:14
QAnon or whatever it is that they're into, and you're like, how
37:16
the hell do I reconcile the differences in beliefs and opinions that I have with
37:22
this person that I love and I respect, But like, I don't know
37:24
how to talk about that. You know what I don't. I don't want
37:27
like a political film, and like sure, I don't even want to like
37:30
piss anybody off like Q and on. Although it kind of feels like it's
37:32
going away, it's it's fine, we can we can move Onstirs, Okay,
37:37
I should have checked with you first, so we are good. I
37:40
believe in you and any day now. No, I'm joking. Whatever people
37:45
s Q I have I heard it here first listen. Whatever people want to
37:51
believe it's up to them. I could care, yeah, and that you
37:52
know, and that's that's I guess that's really what what the film is about,
37:57
to a certain extent, is like if whatever you want to believe,
38:00
that doesn't hurt anybody, and that you know, and that doesn't cause harm,
38:05
like those those kinds of beliefs, like I could just ridicule you.
38:08
I mean, we have opinions of everything, and like you know, extreme
38:12
opinions of everything. It's all we do. And uh and and so for
38:16
me, it's an exercise to show patients, uh, with someone who believes
38:22
in something supernatural that doesn't have any like you know, evidence exactly. Well,
38:27
well, obviously, but we did see the congressional hearings or the UFOs.
38:30
Obviously, the larger are real. They're there. We've seen videos.
38:32
Now I want them to be real. I hope we all do. We
38:36
all seen movies. But the filmmaker, you want that you want that situation
38:40
to be real. Listen, regardless of if UFOs or I do believe that.
38:45
This is just my personal belief that in this giant universe there has to
38:49
be some life somewhere. Have they visited I don't know. I just don't
38:52
know, but logic dictates that billions and billions and billions of planets out there,
39:00
probably something happens, something's got something's got some some sort of organism somewhere,
39:05
even if it's something has to be living somewhere else in this universe.
39:08
But roasting marshmallows in my backyard tonight, like really I do. Thank you,
39:15
Steven Spielberg, you know, but it's but it's but it's very true.
39:20
But it's really fascinating too because that concept of not being able to connect,
39:24
and you did it very eloquently too, because UFOs is just one of
39:27
those things you're just like fine, So it's not a political statement, but
39:30
being able to connect with someone you love, whose blood, who has wildly
39:37
different views on certain things, and it could be something as Madonna, Mdina
39:44
Madonna. I can't say the word as Madonna. Will be right back after
39:50
a word from our sponsor, and now back to the show. Yeah,
39:58
Madonna, Madonna Madonna these days. No, no, no benign like believing
40:04
in UFOs or not, because I heard really nobody generally speaking, but when
40:09
it's something very deep, either either in the religious world or in political world
40:14
or whatever it is, it's so difficult to connect with someone you love because
40:16
you still love them regardless of their beliefs and where they were, because they
40:21
weren't there maybe thirty years ago. So I think you danced that line so
40:24
eloquently and beautifully in the film that you said what you needed to say about
40:29
that idea without really really stepping on anyone's toes. Unless the UFO were lovers.
40:37
Well, I appreciate it, I mean, even though you I mean,
40:39
I think at the end of the time, we don't know if that
40:40
was a UFO or not. But but but or maybe we do. I'm
40:45
not going to tell you exactly. Sorry, the movie is about more than
40:49
that. I didn't give anything away, but I would say that that I
40:54
think maybe the reason it works in the film is because I wasn't putting it
41:00
on anybody else. I was really putting it on myself to find more empathy
41:05
and compassion and curiosity for the people who have different beliefs than I do.
41:10
And instead of even just saying like, well, I don't believe that,
41:13
but good for you to say, like, well, I mean, what
41:15
do I know. I'm just another person and you know we're all wrong about
41:21
plenty of things. So let me be a little more curious and let me
41:23
respect this and let me figure out why this is, you know, relevant
41:28
to you. And when you hear someone talk about whether it's their religion or
41:32
or you know, a spiritual belief they have, or ghosts or aliens or
41:37
anything, you listen to them enough and they do start talking about something that
41:42
is like a little bit more grounded and more personal. Anyways, Like I've
41:45
got this great story when we're when we're scouting for Acid Man, we were
41:50
on this like you know, mountaintop overlooking you know, the Oregon Rogue Valley,
41:54
and and this is like random guy just like walks up on us and
41:58
he's like, oh, you guys make it. You're the ones making the
42:00
movie here. It's about UFOs or something like. You know, he didn't
42:04
want to tell him too much, but he's like yeah, and and he
42:06
starts telling us about, you know, the UFO setings that he's had,
42:09
and you know, this is you could you could at that point voudly say
42:15
that here we go, like this guy is gonna you know, be but
42:17
but you know, we just kept listening. And first of all, the
42:22
stories were really entertaining and maybe want to see what he had seen. And
42:25
the second thing is out of nowhere. He starts talking about the passing of
42:30
his father, who his father had died just a few years ago, and
42:35
was telling us about how he still talks to his dad every single day and
42:37
that he's never really brought that up to anybody, And I'm thinking, like,
42:40
holy shit, he just used UFOs as a conduit to talk about his
42:45
feelings about his deceased father. And he's a guy who's maybe I don't know
42:50
him, but he's maybe not as emotionally vulnerable and capable of talking about that
42:54
stuff all the time. And I don't think UFOs were created in a mind
43:00
or a substitution for those feelings, but they certainly made it easier to talk
43:04
about certain things. And so all of a sudden, it was this really
43:07
generous connection that we had. You know, it's interesting that a lot of
43:12
people get out so caught up with everything that's going on right now or in
43:15
our lives right now, in one hundred years, what does it matter?
43:17
Just be kind to people, the kind of try to help people as best
43:22
you can. Man. That's the way I look at things, Like,
43:24
at every moment in time, humanity thought they had everything figured out. That's
43:30
not till next week. At everyone was there at every moment. There was
43:36
a moment where the Earth was the center of the universe, the Luna was
43:38
flat. Sorry, flat earthers. You know, there's always everyone's got to
43:44
figure it out. So when you understand, they're like, yeah, maybe
43:46
we've got a couple of things figured out. Maybe we don't. Maybe in
43:50
a hundred years or in five hundred years are going to be looking back at
43:52
us. I'm like, can you believe the barbaric in two and twenties?
43:58
Oh my god? Crazy? Well, I do think for we get back,
44:02
I'll just get on the soapbox for one second. I do think that
44:06
probably in one hundred years, people are going to say the ship that they
44:09
allowed with homelessness, Oh oh, it's gonna be you know, it's it's
44:15
it's gonna you know, the way we look at at certain things that happened
44:20
a couple hundred years ago today, I think people are going to look back
44:22
and say, like, Wow, they just didn't give a shit about all
44:27
those people. That's weird, but hey, you know, it was the
44:30
Dark ages, it was the it was the early Internet ages, like they
44:34
didn't know how to be people. They weren't humans. They were they were
44:37
they were They were getting all this information, but it was all bad information,
44:39
and anyone could write any information they wanted to on the internet. Basically
44:44
cavemen. They were still, you know, with podcasts. They were cavemen
44:46
with podcasts obviously, Yeah, exactly, But I think, you know,
44:52
to the whole to the point of like of like, yeah, what does
44:54
it all matter in a hundred years that there's obviously there's a lot of and
45:00
going on the anime, it's been going on for a while, but sure,
45:04
man, I don't know. It just feels like a lot of people
45:06
are wanting to feel heard right now, and there's so much noise, and
45:09
I guess we're contributing to it with you know, now I'm doing interviews,
45:15
so I'm making more noise. But but I don't know. I I just
45:20
think the practice of listening to people and making them feel heard, we could
45:25
we could probably all heal each other a little more just by by replacing some
45:30
of the shouting over with with listening. I agree with you one hundred hundred
45:36
percent. Now, to get back to the filmmaking side of this, this
45:39
movie what there you know, And I don't know if I've asked you this
45:44
on any of the other shows, but it's a question I've been asking lately.
45:47
We all go through every day. There's always when we're shooting, when
45:52
we're shooting a movie, we're on set, there's always that day that everything
45:55
goes to hell, lost the sun, the camera breaks, the actor can't
46:00
make it, something happens where you have to completely compromise. What was the
46:06
worst day of this besides every single day, besides every single day, What
46:09
was the worst of every single day of that situation? And then how did
46:14
you overcome it? Okay, I there's a of course, there are a
46:21
couple of moments, and I just got to think about which one I can
46:23
share the story without publicly Well yeah, publicly, yeah, yeah, I
46:29
will say that the filmmaking experience, and this is either going to piss people
46:34
off or they're just not going to believe me. But it was such a
46:36
positive experience, and it was just you know, it was like May of
46:40
twenty one, so people were just starting to get their vaccines and just kind
46:45
of coming out a little bit. There was such a everybody was so excited
46:47
just to be on a set together, and I don't know, just the
46:52
nature of what we were doing enabled everybody to just be vulnerable and really lean
46:55
in that. Like I like the joke that if we had, if the
47:00
shooting schedule had been like a week longer, we probably would have turned into
47:02
a cult. It was just the vibes were that good on on on that
47:07
set, And that's it happens all the time, some really positive sets though,
47:14
but but this one, you know, really this one, this one
47:16
was special. But but sure there were there were you know, there was
47:22
an angry neighbor at one point because we had to drive through a private road
47:25
and you know there's those Oregon private roads are people moved to Oregon to be
47:34
left alone. Usually now talk about Portland, I'm talking about like clodskirts Out,
47:38
That's where we were shooting. It was very uppropos for for acid Man,
47:44
and the neighbor was was well known. It was infamous for for shooting
47:49
at cars that drove too fast on the on their private roads. I don't
47:52
think that anybody got shot at, but we we definitely were confronted on a
48:00
certain day where we were shooting a really emotional scene and he came. He
48:05
just came in screaming at at at some of us, and uh, you
48:09
know, he just you just don't know. I mean, and this is
48:14
honestly, this is scarier than anything else because you just don't know, like
48:15
does this guy have a gun like this? Sure? Yeah, yeah yeah,
48:21
And so like diffusing that situation and then also recognizing the fact that it's
48:24
gonna emotionally shake everybody when you're asking not just the actors, but especially the
48:31
actors to be vulnerable, because that's you know, that's what we're doing.
48:37
We're making a film. I mean, if we've been making an action film,
48:39
maybe it would have like pumped everybody up, but we weren't. We
48:43
were making a film where people were trying to shed these layers and not take
48:45
each other down, but but but like connect and bring each other and to
48:51
do that you have to put the armor down. And so when a guy
48:53
comes under your property and screams and you think he's got a gun, like
48:59
everybody wants to put that emotional armor up. Like I wish we'd had real
49:02
body armor, to be honest, it's a little nervous, but but yeah,
49:06
so I think really just recognizing everybody's feelings and just kind of like emotionally
49:10
making the transition from stuff like that, which, yeah, we lost,
49:15
we lost you know, a half hour, and like for you know,
49:19
for a second, there's some logistical stuff and you got to keep the day
49:22
going for sure. But but I think crew morale and just really making everybody
49:27
feel safe is so important. I agree with you one hundred percent is a
49:31
good answer, sir. There's always there's always that day, There's always that
49:35
thing. There is always and there's always that day. There's always that thing.
49:38
Now, what are you going to try back? Obviously because you're in
49:42
you're where this is our try back of coverage, So of course I always
49:45
like to ask what was that phone call? Like, we'll be right back
49:50
after a word from our sponsor, and now back to the show. Because
49:58
you haven't been in trebacka before, or have you? I had a doc
50:00
series here a couple of years ago, the Aspergers. We made a doc
50:05
series with the Asperger's Troupe and that's on HBO and we premiered it at Tribeca.
50:12
But that was, you know, those before the pandemic. It was
50:15
right before the pandemic. It's like what twelve years ago, now fifteen years
50:19
ago? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so it doesn't really count,
50:23
but this is the Yeah, this is the first narrative film that I've
50:27
had a Tribeca and I'm super excited. It's you know, I was talking
50:31
to my DP about this the other day. He said, isn't it cool?
50:34
Like there was like we were essentially like a crew of fifteen people like
50:37
living out like in these woods. These happens in these woods making this film.
50:42
Is like, is it cool that we were in the middle of nowhere,
50:44
Oregon, like just fifteen of us like doing this this thing. And
50:46
now we're premiering in like the you know, one of the biggest cities in
50:49
the world. You know, like this is huge, you know. Now
50:52
now a little birdie told me that you have something else coming up at the
50:57
end of the year. You shot not just one film, but back to
51:00
back. Can you tell me about your next project coming out? Man?
51:02
Yeah, so so acid Man. I thought it was going to be my
51:07
movie last year. This is my coming out of the pandemic. Pandemic movie
51:09
and this other film that I'd been attached to you for a little while,
51:13
all of a sudden kind of pulled all the actors and all the money together.
51:15
And so I basically shot these back to back, which was crazy.
51:20
But there's this film it's called Meet Cute, and it's starring Pete Davidson and
51:23
Kaylee Cuoco and I'm super proud of it and we'll have we'll have more details
51:30
soon. But I think, you know, I should be looking forward to
51:32
seeing it at the end of the year. And uh, it's it's kind
51:36
of a It presents as a rom com, but it's a It's a really
51:39
great script by Noga Neuelli. It was on the Blacklist years ago, and
51:46
it devolves, it twists into some other stuff. There's UFOs involved, obviously,
51:52
there's there's close close it gets it gets weird, man, But but
51:58
it's it's funny. Isn't like Michelle Andre weird? Is it like Michelle Gondrey
52:00
weird? Or are we Yeah, it's like Michelle Gondrey weird. Nice.
52:06
So that's one of his films, is most famous film is definitely one that
52:09
we used as a comp And I don't know, I'm just I'm really excited
52:14
about what that is. And I think Kaylee does an amazing job in it,
52:16
and you know, Pete does an amazing job in it. But I
52:21
feel like I'm lucking out because with Acid Man, you know, I think
52:25
tom Aiden Church is an amazing actor. He crushed the Acid Man that you
52:30
know, his his his acting in this film. You know, I just
52:35
everybody keeps telling me they just they love this side of Thomas that they hadn't
52:39
really gotten to see. And then I think Diana Agron was fantastic in it.
52:43
She was a creative collaborator, you know, on it from the very
52:45
beginning. I mean I should say that, like, she really helped me
52:47
put this all together. When you know I've been I've been used to,
52:52
you know, just going to Markey Plus and saying, lucky me, I
52:55
could just call Mark up, Hey, Mark, id idea, let's let's
52:59
go make this. Yeah. Uh And and so you know, basically calling
53:04
calling Diana up and saying like I've got this movie and you're you're perfect for
53:09
it, and you know, could you help me? You know if you
53:13
sign on, I think we can get a really great actor and and some
53:16
money, and you know, I just really need you to be behind this.
53:19
And she's been behind it from from day one, you know, creatively
53:23
and logistically, and and you know someone like that when they when they give
53:28
you that confidence. And when they when they stand behind you, you know,
53:30
they give their stamp of approval. That's a great way to get something
53:34
made. She delivered it in every way. Yeah. Well, I'm looking
53:37
forward to seeing your new movie at the end of the year. And uh,
53:42
and I tell everybody goes see as man, it's really just really interesting
53:46
meditation. I look at this, it was very much as a meditation.
53:50
You sit there and just absorb with the cinematography s gorgeous, the performances that
53:54
just kind of wash over you. There. It's beautiful. Man. Now
53:57
I'm gonna ask you a couple of questions. Uh, I ask I guess
54:00
what advice would you give a filmmaker trying to break into the business today.
54:06
Yeah, I would say, keep keep doing, keep being yourself, keep
54:10
doing you. I see a lot of filmmakers trying to be another filmmaker,
54:16
right, or you know, trying to make their version of Well, you
54:20
make your version of something, but make it your version of something. Don't
54:22
don't try to make the carbon copy of whatever movie it is you have.
54:27
And I think that the sooner they discover themselves and don't try to be anybody
54:30
else, the more quickly audiences will be able to see their authentic filmmaker self.
54:38
Now, what is the lesson that to keep the longest to learn,
54:40
whether in the film industry or in life. Hmmm, that I don't know,
54:49
because I think I'm still learning that mm hmm. Every time. It's
54:52
kind of a cop out answer, but it's kind of not because you you
54:58
have to know certain things that and every time certainty creeps in, at least
55:04
for myself, I have to take a step back and say, like,
55:06
all right, tie it back. You know, it can't be too certain
55:08
of anything because there's a lot of learning enough to do. Yeah, and
55:13
three of your favorite films of all time, three of my favorite films of
55:16
all time. Okay, I'm going to start with. What is I think
55:22
a cousin to our film is Close Encounters of the Third kind. I think
55:27
we share a lot of the same emotional and thematic DNA slightly different budget,
55:35
even the seventies budget is still slightly different than today. It's different budget.
55:39
Yeah, but you know, there's there's a there's a real connection there.
55:44
And I would say four hundred blows is a big one for me. And
55:50
then I mean I could try to like dig deep and be cool. But
55:52
Jaws. I'll just go to Jaws because I've never seen anything more than Jobs.
55:57
It's like, what, like, I don't need to impress anybody Jaws.
56:00
Jaws, It's it's I mean, it's a masterpiece and it still holds.
56:04
It's still scares the living hell out of you, even now, like
56:07
it doesn't. I mean, the shark might look a little janky, but
56:10
even then it doesn't look that janky. I mean, Jows three D looked
56:15
much worse than Jaws three what the shark. At least I'm gonna be,
56:20
you know what, I'll be a Stan Is this? I don't Stan?
56:23
I think is the I'm going to be a Stan in Spielberg stand and say
56:28
e t as well, Like it's too many Spielberg movies for a list,
56:30
but like I don't. I don't care ET because you say it still holds
56:34
like that movie, So like ET. If I need to cry, I
56:37
watch ET. My My my daughters were traumatized when Et was found down at
56:43
the river, traumatized, like they watched the crew when they when he was
56:47
down at the river and he's like dying. Sorry, guys, starts spoiler
56:51
alone. If you haven't c e T. If you're listening to this m
56:52
CDT, I'm sorry. But when he's down there and they were like five
56:57
or something, we showed it to about five or six traumatized. They still
57:00
talk about that they love the movie, but they just remember the image of
57:05
Et because they loved them so much, and like it was an emotional rollercoaster,
57:09
to say the least. I don't know how to explain this because it's
57:13
gonna sound like I'm pretty dumb. That's okay, maybe it's right, But
57:17
but when you said that they found e T by the river, my mind
57:22
immediately went to, like Et lives like in a van downe by the river.
57:25
Now, like that's where his career, that's where his career is at.
57:29
I was like, we got to start to go fund me for e
57:31
T. Like I literally went there first. And I'm not stupid. I
57:36
know, I know he's fake, I know he's done, but I was
57:39
just like that because I saw your face. I saw it. I saw
57:44
it in your face when I said it. It took you like like a
57:46
five or ten seconds, and then I saw you click, oh, he
57:50
means that scene in the movie. But I didn't know where you were thinking.
57:52
About thank you for My mind went a few places because first it was
57:55
like, oh maybe maybe you know, like there was like a stuffed eat,
58:00
like maybe like the universe whatever, right, like that the actual Et
58:04
puppet that they use in the movie somehow got dumped by a river and like
58:08
scene in the movie. Yeah, yeah, I know, I remember the
58:10
movie one of my favorite movies. But like my mind, my mind did
58:15
not choose the path of logic, my man, my mind, it chose
58:19
the path of ill logic. Et lives in a van down by the river.
58:28
That's amazing, that is cigarettes. The times are tough. Spielberger and
58:35
him had a falling out because they couldn't get the sequel up and running.
58:37
He's hanging out there with Roger Rabbit because Roger Rabbit couldn't get the sequel either.
58:40
I mean Elliott as an adult. One day drives by and he sees
58:45
them, and he like looks away, trying not to make eye contact because
58:47
he's like, I don't even know how to like help him coach this situation
58:52
to feel too guilty to like it's fun. We should we should listen,
58:55
man can't help? Can we get a kickstarter going right now? For the
59:01
sequel. Well, we'll call up, We'll call up Henry Thomas if you'll
59:05
come out and do it for us. And I really know how to take
59:08
the blockbuster out of a blockbuster, turn it into meditation on stardom. Yeah,
59:16
yeah, Alex, it is. It's a pleasure. First of all,
59:20
you have the best first name ever. But other than that's or it's
59:24
a pleasure talking to you, bro. I always love catching up with you.
59:27
You're welcome back anytime. I look forward to seeing your new movie at
59:30
the end of the year. Please come back and tell us about how that.
59:32
I'm sure you have insane stories about how that got very different and you
59:37
know, hanging out with some I mean two very big star I mean these
59:40
are monster stars right now. And Pete. Pete's a little well known now
59:45
in the world in the news for something down by the river. I think
59:50
we should we should do it. Go fun before for Pete because I think
59:52
he just got he just left standing at Live. I mean, he's he
59:55
needs help. Poor guy. By the way, say one thing. I'll
59:58
just say really really quickly, that that I'm proud of that maybe it is
1:00:00
worth sharing with your your audiences. You know, the budgets on Acid Man
1:00:07
and then the new one Meet cute, very different and who went from like
1:00:09
middle of nowhere Oregon crew fifteen people to you know, shooting in Manhattan.
1:00:15
I you know, same DP same. I brought over as much of the
1:00:19
same crew as I possibly could. Anybody that was available that said had you
1:00:23
know, held their own on the smaller film, there was no fu I'm
1:00:28
going to go hire the the the bigger version of you, like I'm not
1:00:32
gonna I'm gonna get whoever I can you know, whoever did Sandler's last movie.
1:00:37
Whatever. No, I wanted to work with the same people. And
1:00:38
I would say that that's good advice. You should have said that, that'st
1:00:43
with the people that you know, that that you've been succeeding with, you
1:00:45
know, have their back, you know they've had yours for long enough.
1:00:50
Agreed, agreed, really yeah, really proud of the team that they made
1:00:53
both of those movies with. Yeah, Alex, A pleasure is always my
1:00:57
friend. Continued success and you're welcome back anytime, my friend. Thanks for
1:01:01
having me. Congrats to you, thank you. I want to thank Alex
1:01:07
so much for coming on the show and sharing his journey with the tribe.
1:01:10
Today Thank you so much, Alex. If you want to get links to
1:01:13
anything we spoke about in this episode, head over to the show notes at
1:01:16
Bulletproof Screenwriting dot tv. Forward slash three forty two. Thank you so much
1:01:20
for listening, guys, As always, keep on writing no matter what.
1:01:23
I'll talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to the Bulletproof Screenwriting podcast at
1:01:28
bulletproof Screenwriting dot tv.