Stepping Out: Filmmaker Rob Moniot Talks About Making Movies, Working in Hollywood, Defining Success

1
00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:08,960
So everyone, this is Rob Migno.
Should we be Robert?

2
00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:10,040
This is my friends.
Call me.

3
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:14,880
Rob.
OK, this is he's a director and

4
00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,120
I actually just shot a short
talking about how excited I was

5
00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:23,800
because this man's dreams.
Like you don't give up.

6
00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,400
No.
And you're demanding and I love

7
00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,640
both of those things about you.
I'm like, I'm not married to

8
00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:30,240
you.
So I totally love them.

9
00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,640
I don't know about Steph, but
I'm sure she knew the package.

10
00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,880
But I would love to talk about a
little bit about the ice cream

11
00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,720
man and what keeps you going and
like your journey into

12
00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,480
filmmaking.
Right, Because we met in LA when

13
00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:52,400
we were children, we call it
right. 20s.

14
00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:59,280
Yeah, yeah, you're one of my.
Oldest and dearest or longest

15
00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:00,720
and dearest friends?
I won't say oldest.

16
00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,519
You know, even longer than me,
but I and our friendship has had

17
00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:07,840
many.
Like just like life, we're times

18
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,840
when we're closer and not and
times when we really understood

19
00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,040
each other and not.
And I think having those

20
00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,880
friendships also when you're a
creative person, like the person

21
00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:22,200
to be like you can do it and
shut up.

22
00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,680
I don't want to hear from you
right now because I'm in my own

23
00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,720
turmoil is really valid and
important.

24
00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,200
And another thing that I think
that's missing from the world

25
00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,720
where we can disagree on some
things or not go about it the

26
00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,240
same way, but it doesn't make
either of us wrong or bad.

27
00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:39,600
And I kind of want to dissolve
some of that.

28
00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,360
So tell the world how amazing
you are.

29
00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,640
Oh, please.
Well, I mean, it's, it's great

30
00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,320
to be here with you.
I mean, any excuse to hang out

31
00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:55,760
is is super awesome.
I guess I talked to them, not to

32
00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:56,360
you.
Really.

33
00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:58,320
You can just talk to me.
Talk to us.

34
00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:00,040
Just talk to me.
They're eavesdropping.

35
00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:02,880
Yeah, well, so everyone should
know that.

36
00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:04,720
Holly and I have known each
other, like she said, forever.

37
00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:10,360
We were roommates in the house,
so we know each other really,

38
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,320
really well.
Me and three guys, it was

39
00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:12,640
awesome.
Was.

40
00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:15,120
It three of us.
Yeah, Matt.

41
00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,920
Matt, you and John 4, let's not
go.

42
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,160
There's no Internet.
Then we don't have to go there.

43
00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:25,840
No.
And, and this was this was, this

44
00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,760
was, you know, everyone going to
Hollywood and, and, and chasing

45
00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,800
their dreams.
I was working as a, as a

46
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,520
stuntman at the time.
I got my first job as a stuntman

47
00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:40,280
in Hollywood at the during the
Wild West stunt show at

48
00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:44,320
Universal Studios and falling
off a a building head first into

49
00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,560
a pile of wood 6.
And how bad is your back now?

50
00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:49,400
Really, really bad.
My bad.

51
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,640
I can't feel my toes.
Kids, do not, do not be coming

52
00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,680
to that.
I, I I knew you.

53
00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,400
Toured with that Wait, I want to
go into this because you toured,

54
00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,440
you got to go to Japan.
Yeah, I, I got to go to Japan on

55
00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,040
a live show that was based on
all of George Lucas's movies.

56
00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,480
So I got to dress up and be a
stormtrooper and fight Indiana

57
00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:12,560
Jones and met George Lucas twice
and like, didn't just like, meet

58
00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,160
him, but like, had drinks and
chatted for an hour and a half

59
00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,360
per time.
You know, just the two of us.

60
00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:20,560
Really.
When you say Georgia Lucas,

61
00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,520
'cause then I jumped to Steven
Spielberg and getting to pitch a

62
00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,160
DreamWorks with you.
Yeah, well, I had done as a

63
00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:29,440
stuntman.
I'd done Hook.

64
00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,440
I was a pirate on hook.
And I didn't become friends with

65
00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,680
Steven, but I I got on his radar
in a big way.

66
00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,160
And I did become friends with
his then assistant and

67
00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,120
ultimately producer Bonnie
Curtis.

68
00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,200
And Bonnie and I have been
friends for a long time, too.

69
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,680
And yeah, after we made pH 2, I
think it was Pearl Harbor 2

70
00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:54,160
Pearlmageddon, you and I went
and pitched say was it before it

71
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:54,880
was?
After.

72
00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:56,440
It was after.
It was definitely after.

73
00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:01,120
She she'd seen the dancing cow,
but she was impressed with me as

74
00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,680
a director and she showed it has
a, you know, as right.

75
00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,080
So if people don't know we're
talking about short films that

76
00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,720
Rob held its direct and produce.
I'd like to say I gave the

77
00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,480
budget, man, that budget was
mine because I had ran away from

78
00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,800
LA because I got divorced and he
did my sabbatical in Denver.

79
00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,880
But you didn't let me go And I
like that about you and you were

80
00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:24,200
in down alone and you got you're
like, we need a budget.

81
00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,960
I'm like, so when we started
working together, I was more of

82
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,280
a producer at that time, and you
were a director.

83
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,480
I had worked at Spelling
Television as a coordinator, not

84
00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:35,960
really high up in the ranks at
all.

85
00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,480
But I had access to a lot
because spelling corporate

86
00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:44,840
really liked to have a spy in
theory on set, and they

87
00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:47,240
considered me a spy, although
they didn't want to pay me.

88
00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,640
So I really wasn't a spy and I
learned a lot about producing

89
00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,120
there because I had like
$3,000,000 to spend a week.

90
00:04:55,120 --> 00:05:01,040
And the first year I negotiated
contracts with like Iatzi and

91
00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,040
the DGA and all the grip and
electric equipment and camera,

92
00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,400
blah blah.
I was like a bugger.

93
00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,840
I was like the, I forget his
name, but Lightning works.

94
00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:14,200
What was the really big Grip
Electric company back in the

95
00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,600
day?
Good question.

96
00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,000
Yeah, anyway.
I think it was.

97
00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:24,160
So I negotiated with this guy.
I was 2425, I was young and he

98
00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,560
literally came to set because my
last, my maiden name is

99
00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,680
Balbinder and I got ball binder
jokes forever.

100
00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,520
And he was like, I want to know
who this ball Buster was that,

101
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,240
you know, whatever.
And then I realized I didn't get

102
00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,200
any of the money that I saved
spelling.

103
00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:38,880
So I was like, why am I saving
the money?

104
00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,200
And instead I learned to forge
relationships.

105
00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,360
So I was like, this is the
number I need.

106
00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,520
Let's do this.
How can I help?

107
00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,320
Let me give my best boy grip and
you know, whatever, let me buy

108
00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,920
some Expendables for them.
Make everyone want to work for

109
00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,880
you, which was my only talent.
Like I wasn't very good at

110
00:05:57,880 --> 00:05:59,920
schmoozing.
I couldn't kiss ass.

111
00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:02,440
That wasn't that wasn't your
only talent, but it.

112
00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:04,880
Really.
But it it was because I even

113
00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,920
when we did what short was that?
It was the Sony thing.

114
00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,280
Yeah.
And the crew came up like the

115
00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:15,520
best boy, didn't he was.
He just tested me every which

116
00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:17,200
way.
And at the end he shook my hand.

117
00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:19,760
I was like, yeah, you could have
shook my hand at the beginning

118
00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:21,440
and it could have been so much
easier.

119
00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:23,640
But I do think that was my
thing.

120
00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,280
I don't have the capacity to
Hollywood.

121
00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,680
Well, I again, I know what you
mean, but I disagree with you

122
00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:40,760
because if you decided that you
wanted to you, you definitely

123
00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,200
had the tools and, and, and, and
the chops and, and the talent

124
00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,120
and, and the, the, well, I mean
interpersonal skills.

125
00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:53,360
I mean, I always felt like I
understood it completely, but I,

126
00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,880
I, I felt like I missed out on,
you know, having one of the best

127
00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,520
producers in the world.
Oh, this is I'm.

128
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,400
So that.
Was true it's true I mean

129
00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:05,680
because because I mean we finish
each we already finish each

130
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,760
other's sentences right and
we're good friends and we we

131
00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:12,920
don't really fight ever I mean
the the tips we've had of have

132
00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,720
passed like 30 seconds and.
Yeah, but my favorite tip of

133
00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:17,640
ours was you.
I forget what you wanted.

134
00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:19,720
Do you remember?
This is my favorite us working

135
00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:24,080
together story.
It was we were in Venice in the

136
00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:25,640
what was?
What did you and Taz call

137
00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,440
yourselves then?
It was.

138
00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:28,720
It was built D.
Oh yeah.

139
00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:29,880
Built D Media.
Yeah, yeah.

140
00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:34,360
And we were in.
I'd like to direct yes.

141
00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,040
And TAZ by the TAZ, by the way,
is my former business partner

142
00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,440
and Holly's lifelong childhood
friend.

143
00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:42,720
Yeah, we knew it.
Yeah, totally.

144
00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:44,920
And talented as well.
Very, very talented.

145
00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,920
So we're not talking about him
because he's in here, but we

146
00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,040
were working on that.
I guess it was the Sony project.

147
00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,480
It must have been the Sony for
whatever event they were doing.

148
00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:59,040
And you wanted something
impossible.

149
00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,200
I can't remember which
impossible thing it was because

150
00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,800
that's what you always do.
And I was like, dude, that's

151
00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,280
impossible.
And you barked at me.

152
00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:09,840
Your job is to get it, not to
tell me.

153
00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:11,880
No.
I was like, snap, you're right,

154
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,520
but fuck you.
But and I think I tried and I

155
00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:16,160
think I might have made it
happen, but I can't.

156
00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:18,880
Remember, I think, I think I
remember that you did make it

157
00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,840
happen and you really, really
made me pay for it.

158
00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:25,960
Probably.
Probably in.

159
00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,920
The best possible way?
And on that same shoot, I would

160
00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,880
like to tell people these are
the things you overcome on set.

161
00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:33,600
We were shooting on the Sony
lot.

162
00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,960
To this day he will deny it, but
our location manager, it wasn't

163
00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,159
Rick Wolf.
It was the other guy was

164
00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:43,799
hungover and drunk and didn't
show up to unlock either.

165
00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:45,560
He didn't come to unlock any of
this.

166
00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:48,560
Like was like the wardrobe and
hair and makeup where everyone

167
00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:51,640
was getting ready.
So hair and makeup arrives

168
00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,880
earlier, at least an hour and a
half earlier than the crew and

169
00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,560
everything is locked.
Our grip truck was stuck in

170
00:08:57,560 --> 00:08:59,800
reverse.
Our steady Cam broke down that

171
00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,200
morning and I remember I was
wearing it was very the 90s and

172
00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,440
I was like in overalls and I had
like a wad of petty cash in my

173
00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,240
front pocket and I was like, So
what do you can you show?

174
00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:10,720
Oh, Henry's here.
We got steady Cam.

175
00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,000
Let's get the steady Cam out.
We were just like, solve it,

176
00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,960
solve it, solve it.
I don't think I got to sit near

177
00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,920
the monitor ever because it was
like you're.

178
00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:20,760
Too busy.
Yeah, it was crazy.

179
00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:25,440
And I, I remember that day, we
were, we were 2 1/2 hours late

180
00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:30,280
before we, we rolled anything,
I, I or I before camera was even

181
00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:33,960
up and we.
Had a kid woo Hoo and we had

182
00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:36,120
three.
Kids remember.

183
00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,080
Oh, that.
Yeah, three kids.

184
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,160
And do we?
We had a fan box, then we might

185
00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:42,520
have had an animal.
I think we did.

186
00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,880
I definitely know we had the
crane like we had this.

187
00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:46,600
Well, and then we had right.
And then we had the tech.

188
00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:50,280
We had a 30 foot techno crane.
We had an Academy Award winner.

189
00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:52,680
Ken Ralston on set has the
talents.

190
00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,040
Yeah, it was.
It was crazy.

191
00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,320
So you can only.
Do those when you dream.

192
00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:02,760
I find as I've gotten older when
I when I knew too much, things

193
00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:07,600
became harder.
You get in your own way, right?

194
00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:12,600
And, and I, I think, I think we
all when we were younger were

195
00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:20,320
benefiting from, you know, both
an arrogance of youth and an

196
00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,440
ignorance of inexperience.
So jealous.

197
00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:29,360
I'm so envious of that still.
Well, but it's still as an adult

198
00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:33,640
or more of an adult, you know it
it's it's it's still such a good

199
00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,560
lesson.
You know, talking about the ice

200
00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:39,360
cream man, my most recent short
film, and we can explain why all

201
00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:41,440
I've ever really done is short
films in a minute.

202
00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:46,520
But, you know, I, I stepped into
that project.

203
00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:47,560
Should I talk a little bit about
the?

204
00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:48,320
Yeah.
Absolutely.

205
00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,000
So so my wife is the United
States diplomat.

206
00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,680
So I made my first short film
with Taz, my former partner and

207
00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:57,880
Steven Spielberg bought it and
got a lot of hype off of that.

208
00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,400
Made our second short film that
I directed this time, and HBO

209
00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,760
bought that one and then I wrote
a feature script based on that

210
00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,720
short film and New Line Cinema
bought it and Bruce Willis and

211
00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,840
Jeff Goldblum and Ed Harris and.
And I was at the table read 1.

212
00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,840
Of my favorite stories and
Elizabeth Banks and all these

213
00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,640
other amazing people all signed
on to to be in that movie.

214
00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,200
So it went from a $12 million
movie to a $48 million movie

215
00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:28,080
overnight.
And, and for three years at New

216
00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:33,320
Line and then four years at Sony
and then three years at Odd Lot

217
00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,600
and then four years at MGM, that
movie kept getting set up with

218
00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,800
me attached to direct it with
all these stars.

219
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,360
And so I effectively was under
contract to prep a movie for

220
00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:48,240
over a decade.
And I would write scripts and

221
00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,400
try to sell them and try to get
them set up, but I wasn't,

222
00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:54,120
except for some commercials and
some television, able to really

223
00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:56,280
do anything else.
And I hadn't had my big break

224
00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,040
yet.
And then right around the time

225
00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,960
that that all kind of started to
to come to an end with that

226
00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,360
movie never getting made, it
just kind of fell apart under

227
00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:11,120
its own weight.
My then girlfriend, who at the

228
00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:15,040
time was a pretty high-powered
film and television executive,

229
00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,720
decided to become a United
States diplomat.

230
00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,720
And I was like, are you breaking
up with me?

231
00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,560
And she's like, no, I just
wanted to see if I would get in

232
00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:29,240
and don't worry, nobody gets in.
And I'm like, you're going to

233
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:30,680
get in.
And she took a test and then she

234
00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:32,280
took another test.
And a year later, after all

235
00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,800
these tests, she was in and I
had already been shopping for a

236
00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:37,440
ring.
So I had a big decision to make.

237
00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:41,480
Do I, you know, potentially kill
my Hollywood career and, and go

238
00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,640
on the road with her?
Or do I, you know, let the woman

239
00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:50,120
that I knew was probably the
only person I'd met that a

240
00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,800
marriage could work with after
all those years of dating in, in

241
00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,480
LA?
And so I I made the right

242
00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,960
decision and asked to marry me
and a year later I moved to the

243
00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:08,280
Caribbean where she was posted.
And that began what is now a 15

244
00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:14,440
year journey on the road.
We've got 4 kids and and it's

245
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,280
been a very cool existence going
from country to country on Uncle

246
00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,960
Sam's dime and I kept.
Writing a different perspective,

247
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,800
I think part of why I'm having
these conversations.

248
00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,000
I'm really trying to get better
because I used to be much better

249
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:31,520
at turning off my phone earlier.
But you know, they made it

250
00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,200
addictive for a reason.
But it's not helping us, right?

251
00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:36,800
And it doesn't help my
creativity.

252
00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:42,160
It actually makes me a bit lazy.
Yeah, well, it's I anything

253
00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:45,040
could be like that, right?
I mean the computer that I edit

254
00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,920
on has YouTube on it Lookout,
you know, forget about it.

255
00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,160
Then again, if I need to figure
out how to do something in an

256
00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,440
editing program, it takes me 6
seconds to learn it on YouTube.

257
00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:56,800
So pick your poison and pick
your tool set, right?

258
00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,320
Well, this will go.
On YouTube too.

259
00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:02,920
So yeah, YouTube, but but I want
I want to kind of flick back to

260
00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,760
the table read because that was
one of the coolest days for so

261
00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,520
many reasons.
So you had this amazing project

262
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:16,040
and new line back in the day was
right up there with Harvey back

263
00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,280
in the day while we were there,
right it was where the new

264
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:20,200
material was.
But if?

265
00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:22,560
There is such a thing, the good
version of.

266
00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,480
I never heard a.
Good story about him and was it

267
00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:26,600
because?
He knew that I met the.

268
00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,160
Producer who had the anthrax
beard guy.

269
00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:31,640
That was a trippy thing, too.
OK, that's a whole other one.

270
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,760
So many stories.
But I think for that table read,

271
00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:39,560
we're in Beverly Hills and I
walk in and there was Bruce

272
00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,200
Willis.
And especially knowing that he's

273
00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,000
what he's fighting right now,
knowing that I met him and he

274
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,400
was exceedingly private.
He wouldn't talk to anyone.

275
00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,000
He wouldn't look at anyone.
He had bodyguards with him when

276
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,480
I was down in the lobby before
we walked in.

277
00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,160
I think Bradley Cooper hadn't
done but the he'd.

278
00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,520
Done Wedding Crashers and that
was kind of his biggest and

279
00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,360
alias on TV that was yeah, but
he didn't.

280
00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,040
Do what's the his big one that
made him the he?

281
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,760
Hadn't done damn me.
The one where he's in Vegas and

282
00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:11,000
everyone is waiting.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

283
00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:12,720
Someone in the comments just.
That's when.

284
00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,600
No, no, not.
That's what party dude Bradley

285
00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:20,400
Cooper movies anyway.
I can't believe.

286
00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,840
I'm blanking, I know.
I know anyway we.

287
00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,920
Were in there and I had worked
with Jeff Goldblum, wedding

288
00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:32,320
manager friend Maestro,
Guardians, Avengers Hangover

289
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,280
Hangover the.
Hangover one country, Yeah, so.

290
00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,400
It was right before.
I don't know if he was sober

291
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:41,160
then I can't remember.
I remember he was like the main

292
00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:42,720
character talking.
About Bradley.

293
00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:45,040
Bradley.
Yeah.

294
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,280
In the movie, in in Hangover.
No, like in reality.

295
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:50,320
Oh.
Was he sober?

296
00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,200
In reality, I don't think so.
'Cause he was super edgy then

297
00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,000
at.
That point, at that point, I

298
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:56,880
don't believe he was sober yet
yeah, so I'm.

299
00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:00,320
At we were in the table with the
executives and I was like off on

300
00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,240
the thing and there's Jeff
Goldblum and he kept looking at

301
00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,720
me and I'd worked with him and
that man tried to get me fired

302
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,720
for making a wrong turn as Apai
had to drive him.

303
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,640
So many stories but he
remembered me and after the

304
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,760
table read and after he.
I don't know this.

305
00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:16,840
Story.
You never told this story.

306
00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,560
OK, so.
I worked on a movie as a so I

307
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:22,600
worked at Shannon Clear Films,
won so many Academy Awards.

308
00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:26,320
I chose to an intern there
because someone from college who

309
00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:30,200
I didn't think was that smart
got a job there and I called

310
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,520
them on a Friday.
This was after I visited LA

311
00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:37,800
twice and I was like, hey, are
you hiring any interns?

312
00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:39,640
They're like, can you start
Monday?

313
00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,440
I was like, yes, and they're
like, OK, we'll see you Monday.

314
00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:44,600
Number one, I didn't even know
where the fuck the building was

315
00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,320
#2 I never took a film and TV
class.

316
00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:49,680
I just know someone stupid could
work there.

317
00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,480
And if they're stupid and I know
I was smart, then that was a

318
00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,240
possibility.
And I knew Taz, right?

319
00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,680
So, and therefore I knew you and
I crashed on Taz's floor.

320
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:04,359
I left my roommate in DC four
months rent and left, got a

321
00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:09,560
borrowed car and a borrowed LA
411 map and showed up at

322
00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:11,839
Hollywood and Vine because
that's where the office was and

323
00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:15,880
Jonathan Sanger was there when
it so he was a huge Academy

324
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:17,960
Award winner.
And even though I didn't know

325
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,480
much, I knew that and I just
went in there green and eager

326
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,640
and I think I worked 22 hour
days for nothing and literally

327
00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,720
nothing for a long time.
Eventually got to be the

328
00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:33,960
assistant to the producer on
Lush Life and and one of my

329
00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,840
lucky jobs was I got to be
transpo and I got to pick up

330
00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,360
Jeff Goldblum who had just let
left Geena Davis and she and I

331
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:43,280
have the same birthday.
So this is probably why he

332
00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:45,920
didn't like me.
Picked up Jeff in his Hollywood

333
00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,720
homes that he was sharing with
Laura Dern because I think they

334
00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:54,040
had just done Jurassic Park.
And the first day he waited 15

335
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,760
minutes before he came out.
And if, you know, production

336
00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:59,240
time.
And so he was in the Hollywood

337
00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,360
Hills and we had to go downtown
off the 1:10.

338
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,440
And I had never driven there.
And I had like a little Honda

339
00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:08,800
Prelude, right?
Like this man barely fit in my

340
00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:10,840
car.
So he came down and Laura's

341
00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,680
like, honey, I love you.
And she was doing her full

342
00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,480
Southern, which I can appreciate
now because I live in the cell.

343
00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:18,360
I love you, baby.
I love you.

344
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:20,880
He's like bye, bye.
And he gets in my car and he

345
00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,920
proceeds to touch every fucking
button in my car.

346
00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:29,840
And he's like, yeah, OK, you
know how he he does that?

347
00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,120
It's not an act That is him.
That's who.

348
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:36,160
He is, That's who he is.
And as a 23 year old girl who is

349
00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:40,320
lost, who has a print out
because there was no maps, no,

350
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:45,280
no one dinging you to turn.
I lived in the valley, I did not

351
00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:46,880
know Hollywood.
I didn't like nothing.

352
00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,160
So I am holding this fucking
piece of paper.

353
00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:52,520
You would think the star would
have actually gotten a transpo

354
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:54,080
driver.
This fucker fucker was stuck

355
00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,120
with me.
We stop at a red light.

356
00:18:56,120 --> 00:19:00,200
He leans to make sure the people
next to us could see him.

357
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,680
He was so Jeff, Right?
And I was like sweating and I

358
00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,920
couldn't talk and be charming
because I was so afraid of being

359
00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,760
lost.
And then I was like on the 101.

360
00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:13,760
And you know where the 110
splits?

361
00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,080
Yeah, I turned the wrong way.
He.

362
00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:19,440
Went SI did.
So.

363
00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,320
But I realized it right away and
I got off with the first exit

364
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,920
and get.
Around back and Oh my God.

365
00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,560
So he said he's fired, yes.
So I realized it was the wrong

366
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:34,000
one.
I turned back around and I got

367
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:39,840
back on the right one and he's
like, I gotta and I was like, Oh

368
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:42,240
my God, seriously?
Maybe you're the one who showed

369
00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,800
up so fucking late.
And now I'm rushing, right?

370
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:49,120
I get to set, he gets out
because he was on his Jurassic

371
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:52,160
Park kick.
He ate three lean chicken

372
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,560
breasts and six eggs every
morning.

373
00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,440
And I, it was my job to drop him
off, get him and hair and makeup

374
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,560
and then go get the food
because, you know, I was APA.

375
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:04,320
I did everything right.
So by the time I got him his

376
00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,120
breakfast, the 80s were like, he
wants you fired.

377
00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:10,120
You made a wrong turn.
I was like that.

378
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,160
I didn't get fired, but I got in
a lot of trouble.

379
00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:15,880
I was like, fuck you.
And I was like, someone else can

380
00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:17,960
drive them.
Like I have no problem with

381
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:19,320
that.
Like, I don't want to drive this

382
00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:22,480
motherfucker.
He's annoying and late.

383
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:24,800
I had to keep driving him.
Did it?

384
00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:26,160
How?
Did how did the relationship

385
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,000
end?
I mean, what happened when he

386
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,120
saw you at at at the table read?
Oh yeah, OK.

387
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,680
So Fast forward or at the table
read and he's he's doing that.

388
00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,120
You know that Jeff, you see him,
he's got an ad now when he leans

389
00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:40,800
forward and he's like bad face,
right?

390
00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,320
Like his whole quirkiness.
And after we read, because I

391
00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,440
also remember him nudging Ed
Harris because Ed wasn't getting

392
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,520
the jokes because he's so dry.
Do you remember that?

393
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,400
I remember that.
So he's like, and we're walking

394
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:58,320
out and he goes, how are you?
I'm like, I'm good.

395
00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,040
He's like, I know we've worked
together.

396
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,680
I was like, yeah, man, I was the
driver on Lush Life.

397
00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:07,200
He's like, so good to see you.
And I was just like, he did all

398
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,760
the right schmoozy things, which
is why I couldn't work in

399
00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,160
Hollywood.
But it was the perfect example

400
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,480
or the epitome of be careful of
the toes you step on.

401
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,880
They might be attached to the
ass you have to kiss later.

402
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,720
So he was very kind.
I was impressed that he

403
00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,320
remembered me because it had
been many, many, many years at

404
00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:26,640
that point.
But he did make it difficult.

405
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,400
Like he, I would open the door
and he'd be in his underwear.

406
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:32,240
I'd be like, you got a great
body, Jeff, But we got to go.

407
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,320
I caught him in the room with
other people, like, you know,

408
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,040
like all the stuff you see on
set.

409
00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:41,480
So I just think that I didn't, I
didn't play along.

410
00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:43,200
Yeah, because.
I was so.

411
00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,520
Busy doing my job and that's.
Exactly why I say you, you if

412
00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,440
you'd made that choice, would
have been one of the best

413
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,120
producers in the business
because that you, you need to be

414
00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:56,520
able to not play along to do
that job successfully,

415
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,080
especially when you are dealing
with egos of stars, you know,

416
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,080
that's I mean, or, or egos of
anybody, really.

417
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:04,800
Yeah, it doesn't have to be a
star.

418
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,800
It could be ADP and.
And I mean, I, I, you know,

419
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,720
maybe he was having a bad day.
You know, we've seen that too.

420
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:12,480
Where totally.
It's it's.

421
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,160
Like, you know, not saying
anything bad or you know good

422
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,440
about Jeff because my, my, the,
the some of my experiences with

423
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,680
Jeff Goldblum were he said my
table removed an amazing time of

424
00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,600
the table read.
Then he was kind enough to go to

425
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,440
Take Me Out for breakfast and we
had a great talk at breakfast

426
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,200
and then he invited me to come
here as band play and he had me

427
00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:33,720
get up and sing.
And then he was blown away that

428
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:35,520
I could sing.
And so, you know, like I have

429
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,800
these great Jeff Goldblum
stories, you know.

430
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:39,840
Absolutely.
Like, like if I was the adult

431
00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,320
and I wanted to get on set on
time and I wanna, I would

432
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,600
probably be annoyed at the PA
who didn't know how to get there

433
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:45,840
either.
But I think I would have been

434
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,280
annoyed at production for not
giving me a teamster.

435
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,800
Well, so, so here's a funny
story, too.

436
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,640
So I was doing a a thing called
Commitment to Life, which was an

437
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,360
APLA AIDS project Los Angeles.
I remember that, yeah.

438
00:22:57,600 --> 00:22:58,560
Yeah, yeah.
Do every year.

439
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,160
And they'd have a big concert
and they'd raise a bunch of

440
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:02,280
money.
So the year that I helped

441
00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:05,840
produce that thing, I was kind
of the talent coordinator.

442
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,960
And it was a big year.
We had Billy Joel, we had Elton

443
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,680
John, we had Eddie Van Halen, we
had Barbra Streisand.

444
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,120
She's tough, she is tough, but I
know people who've.

445
00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:22,080
Worked with her.
But but but but also very

446
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:27,960
committed to getting it right.
And an artist, and everybody is

447
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:33,160
an artist knows that you you're
terrified half of the time about

448
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,400
what it is you want to do and
whether or not people are going

449
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,240
to understand it and whether or
not you can pull it off.

450
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:42,080
And I had the rare, rare
pleasure getting off the story

451
00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:46,200
for a second.
But David Foster was in the in

452
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,280
the concert hall, and she came
in and the orchestra was on

453
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,760
stage, and the place was packed
with people that had kind of

454
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,720
been sitting and watching the
rehearsal.

455
00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,200
And he cleared the room, but he
asked me to stay, and I never

456
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,360
really knew why.
So I got to watch Barbra

457
00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:02,920
Streisand working with David
Foster and the orchestra all by

458
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:09,560
the Zintech myself, you know,
and got to see a version of her

459
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,920
that was very unguarded because
she was working with her very,

460
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,200
very good close friend David,
who's a long time collaborator

461
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,760
of hers and the orchestra, who
she thinks of as family.

462
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:25,120
You know, they're pros, right?
And she was, she was scared and

463
00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:27,040
she hadn't sung for a long time
in public.

464
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,160
I think I remember.
And, and she she was, she was

465
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:34,040
very vulnerable, but also
incredibly creative in the best

466
00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:36,720
possible way.
But the story I was going to

467
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,240
tell you was so I've I've got
all these huge stars that I'm

468
00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:46,520
juggling and no money and no
time and, and, and somebody

469
00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,120
dropped the ball.
And the person that was supposed

470
00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:53,760
to go back and forth between
talent holding and the backstage

471
00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:59,680
area as the show was live didn't
get back in time.

472
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,960
So I'm getting calls on
Milwaukee to bring Eddie Van

473
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:08,680
Halen immediately to stage and
he's looking at me and I'm not

474
00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:10,800
sure I know how to get
backstage.

475
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:12,560
I know how to go around the
front of the building but

476
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:17,080
there's people there cuz the
show's live and Billy Joel's

477
00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:22,960
looking at me like I'm an idiot.
Elton John had just farted and

478
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:28,480
and so I say to to Eddie and
Valerie, OK follow me and

479
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:32,920
proceed to lead him and them.
They're still married on a on an

480
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:37,840
on a goose chase that ended up
with us being outside the back

481
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,960
of the auditorium pounding on
the backstage door.

482
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:44,760
And Eddie Van Halen is giving me
this lurk.

483
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,000
Right.
You know, and Valerie too, like,

484
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,760
like I, I had been on, I was
their favorite person right up

485
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:56,720
until that happened.
And, you know, I never got a

486
00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:57,720
Christmas card.
Let's.

487
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,240
And it wasn't my fault.
That was nothing.

488
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,520
It wasn't my fault.
I was just trying to help, you

489
00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:04,640
know, no.
I mean, I had amazing

490
00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,520
conversations with like my one
of my favorite conversations I

491
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:12,360
had was with Forest Whitaker.
I drove him home one night.

492
00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,440
It was, we'll say that for a
different episode.

493
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,800
It was just he was such an
introvert.

494
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,400
I think the interesting thing as
I'm listening to us have a

495
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:23,480
conversation and remember what
it was like to be like young and

496
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,280
so ambitious that way.
Because I still have ambition.

497
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:31,000
But me as a producer is a
different part of me because I

498
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:36,040
get and now have empathy that I
didn't for the creative thing.

499
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:40,160
Because when I go to speak, I
have been in environments that

500
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:45,040
weren't welcoming and where the
people backstage and the people

501
00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:49,280
who run it were rude to me or
cruel to me or just they kept

502
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:54,520
calling me.
You're so quirky and I'm like,

503
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,400
now I'm going to run you down
with my knowledge because I have

504
00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,040
the fuck you in me, right?
Because right.

505
00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,560
But when I am in my creative
space, which is what I was

506
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:06,160
yearning for, which what I see,
they make me cry to what our

507
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,760
relationship has always been
because you're like, no, let's

508
00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,120
write together.
No, can you read this?

509
00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:14,360
Can you give me your input?
Because you know and trust my

510
00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:19,240
creativity and that's a gift
because so much of what we do is

511
00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:22,240
never seen.
It's seen by you and you have to

512
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,520
keep going and be vulnerable.
Like when I get critiques on my

513
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:31,680
work out, like I just pout.
I just own it.

514
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,200
I am like, wow, it wasn't what I
wanted it to be.

515
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:37,880
It didn't come across.
What I thought was there is not

516
00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:39,320
on the page.
No one's getting it.

517
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:41,280
How come you don't get it?
I suck.

518
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:43,040
What am I doing?
How do I fix it?

519
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:44,840
Fuck you.
I think I thought is like pretty

520
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:49,080
much my process and then I take
a deep breath, I might go dance

521
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,120
or mutter and then a day or two
later I can get back to it.

522
00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:57,320
I often I have learned that I
really need space away to be

523
00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:01,640
able to fix something.
And like my longing in the

524
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:06,000
industry was to be seen as a
creative input and receive

525
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,040
credit for it.
And I think that was my big

526
00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:12,320
disconnect that I felt like I
never did when I was sharing all

527
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:14,760
these ideas.
Like I remember when Amelie came

528
00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,480
out and the use of the color
green, and I could probably

529
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,120
still talk about that for hours.
Like how the lighting mattered,

530
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:24,120
how all of that mattered so
well.

531
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:27,000
You invented Dancing With the
Stars before anybody else did.

532
00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:30,520
I did, Mother.
Why did I listen to?

533
00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:33,120
Yeah, I Really.
Why didn't you?

534
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:35,400
Yell at me.
Why didn't you yell at me?

535
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:37,600
I was.
You were busy.

536
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,040
Busy.
But but I but I did.

537
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,240
But I did agree with you, you
know I did.

538
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:48,960
I had a show idea to do, to show
people dancing and to show

539
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,000
people like in their 30s who
could have been or were

540
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,320
professional on how they could
still dance and what they could

541
00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,360
do.
And I had the idea of

542
00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,080
profession.
I had the whole thing and I

543
00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:01,120
pitched it to someone I really
like, really like him.

544
00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:02,960
He's like, no one would ever do
that.

545
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,840
We were working on a Food
Network show then, and I was

546
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:07,480
like, really?
They wouldn't even open the

547
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:09,640
door.
They wouldn't even like open the

548
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,280
door because he only knew me as
Taz's friend, as the

549
00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:15,200
coordinator.
Whereas I was like, I just moved

550
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,760
back to LA and I just need to
work.

551
00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,080
And I remember being insulted
that Taz didn't go to bad for

552
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:22,200
me.
Yeah, but.

553
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,600
That's that's that's an amazing
example, though, because it's

554
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:30,200
like no one, even your friends
in certain circumstances, no one

555
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:34,520
usually will really go to bat
for you unless they're getting

556
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:36,200
something out of it.
I know.

557
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:37,720
At least in Los Angeles, Right.
Yeah.

558
00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:40,840
And that's, that's part of the
disease of that town.

559
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:44,440
And like what you were saying
with, like, you know, going

560
00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:45,760
backstage and being treated
badly.

561
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:50,800
And now that affects how you
hope to treat people.

562
00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:55,760
I mean, when I'm on set, I, I I
tell everybody at the beginning,

563
00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:59,360
like, I'm gonna be stressed.
I'm gonna be too busy to see

564
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:01,760
straight.
I have a resting bitch face when

565
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,640
I'm thinking, so it might look
like I'm glaring at you.

566
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:06,720
Remember that PA on that one
shoot that thought I was really,

567
00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:09,960
really mad at her and she quit
because she kept thinking I was

568
00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:11,760
the blonde?
I.

569
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,280
Can't remember, but AJ was
standing next year by the

570
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,600
monitor and and she's like, why
is Rob mad at me?

571
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:18,360
He's like, he's not mad at you,
That's just what he looks like.

572
00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,480
And and and she's like no.
And so I go sit down there at

573
00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:23,080
crew meal and like how's your
day going?

574
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,400
She's like, fuck you.
I don't.

575
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,520
Remember that I remember all of
you guys had like he was

576
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:31,760
definitely before Steph so don't
get upset.

577
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,560
But I think like all all
everyone had this crush on this

578
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:36,640
blonde and I couldn't stand her
work.

579
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,720
She was not good.
Like she wasn't bad.

580
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:40,480
She was like the beginning of
reality TV.

581
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,160
I found her lazy.
What did she do?

582
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,400
She worked.
On what was the pilot we did for

583
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:50,200
Fox?
The one that I wasn't part of?

584
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,480
Yeah.
You wanna know something funny

585
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:53,840
about that?
So that was pain management,

586
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,400
pain management.
Pain management.

587
00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,280
I mean, I shot second unit on
it, but I didn't come.

588
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:02,800
I produced it.
Location managed it pretty much

589
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:05,280
coordinated the girl who was
supposed to be the coordinator.

590
00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:08,520
Everyone liked her but like she
was like the minimum.

591
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:10,760
I'm like it.
It's a three person crew.

592
00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,320
If I'm doing 4 jobs, you could
do more than make a phone call.

593
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,600
So that show was a really funny
pilot that my friend, our

594
00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,680
friends Taz and Joseph put
together with, with Burn Off it,

595
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:28,040
my other good friend who I moved
to LA with from Arkansas.

596
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,680
And and so you don't know this?
I don't think so.

597
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,760
So Steph was an executive on
that show, no?

598
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:38,520
Well, I find that.
Years later that my now wife pre

599
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:40,320
then girlfriend was she one of
the.

600
00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:41,920
Executives there she was, one of
the fox.

601
00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:45,840
Executives on that show.
I love that, isn't that?

602
00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:48,440
Great small world.
We totally could have been on

603
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,080
set at the same time and just
not even known it.

604
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:53,000
I don't think any.
Of them came to set.

605
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,600
That's when I met Maggie too.
It was a couple because she

606
00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:00,520
said, well, she said she met
Joseph before meeting me on that

607
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:01,880
set.
Isn't that crazy?

608
00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:04,920
Yeah, because.
Maggie again, last name I'm

609
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,440
forgetting.
Who was, Was it Janice on

610
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:09,240
Friends?
Yeah, Maggie.

611
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,920
Wheeler, Yeah.
She was on that show.

612
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:17,240
She and I loved her like she's
an I.

613
00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:20,480
I wish she gets.
I even know she could still act.

614
00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,080
I wish she would get more
attention.

615
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:27,800
It's, it's what I miss about
content.

616
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,880
Now I'll just, I'll do really
blanket content because I'm

617
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:34,120
going to go across all media in
the industries.

618
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:40,440
So film, TV publishing, right?
Like is that franchises have

619
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:43,600
taken over where there was a
thing called IFP, which was

620
00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:47,680
independent film projects, where
Miramax filled these niches,

621
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,760
where people who were creative,
there were B movies.

622
00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:54,640
It was before we had like all
this free content where people

623
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:59,240
with these amazing ideas could
fill the space and move up.

624
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,800
That's like where I always
wished like, I don't know why

625
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:06,600
the timing for you didn't work
because all those moving parts

626
00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:09,320
were there, right?
And I was like, why aren't they

627
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:12,920
getting a break?
Like I, I think you and Taz like

628
00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:15,040
I'll we'll include him because I
met you guys like you know him

629
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:17,200
longer than at that point.
I was like, you guys have the

630
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:21,160
talent and you're funny.
I think at one point for me, I

631
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,400
also backed away.
I think I said this to you.

632
00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:26,000
I don't think I said it to him.
You and I have a much more

633
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,960
honest relationship.
But I was like, it's the same

634
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:30,880
joke.
You're selling the same joke.

635
00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:33,080
And it's been 10 years.
You gotta change the joke.

636
00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:35,560
You gotta like, something's
gotta shift.

637
00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:39,000
Yeah.
Well, you know, there's a whole

638
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,920
I mean, Taz and I were were
joined at the hip and and we

639
00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,520
were selling ourselves as Co
directors and the only people

640
00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:48,040
that had success with that were
brothers.

641
00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:49,440
Yeah, they were.
Chowski's.

642
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:54,080
Right like you you if if you if
you were selling yourself as a

643
00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:57,320
Co director and you weren't
physically related in some way,

644
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,520
the students were were really
suspicious that there was

645
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,920
something wrong with with you
like you maybe you weren't a

646
00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:05,480
good enough director by yourself
or something.

647
00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:12,320
At least that was my take on why
we didn't get more actual, you

648
00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:15,880
know, jobs based on the success
that we had with the things that

649
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:17,520
we went and paid for and made
ourselves.

650
00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:21,239
I mean, having Steven Spielberg
and Ron Howard and David Geffen

651
00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:24,480
and Jeffrey Katzenberg and and
and Paul Allen buy your first

652
00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:29,159
short film and have it be front
page News and Variety, it

653
00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:33,120
normally gets people who have
that kind of experience a movie

654
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:33,800
deal.
Yeah.

655
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:38,159
And we, we had ideas that nearly
got set up and, and it so I, I

656
00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:41,800
do think that the dynamic
between Taz and I in the room

657
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,480
was, was part of the reason that
that kind of stuff didn't

658
00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:46,920
happen.
But honestly, I also really

659
00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:51,560
think that I was just being
protected because if I'd gotten

660
00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:55,639
the success that I was hoping I
would get at that young of an

661
00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:58,680
age, I would have killed myself.
I, I, I would have drank it away

662
00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:01,520
or, or, you know, gotten
something horrible.

663
00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,160
You know, it just it was because
it eats you up.

664
00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,680
Well, and.
Plus, if, if, if you get success

665
00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:11,800
where I was at as a human, if
you get success at that point,

666
00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:14,240
then you're right.
It not only eats you up, but you

667
00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:17,760
you buy your own press, you
know, you believe, you believe

668
00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:21,400
all the bullshit that they hand
you, and you turn into a really,

669
00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,960
really, really mean person a lot
of times.

670
00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,200
Yeah, I started.
Becoming what I hated, I got.

671
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:27,960
I was becoming more and more
edgy.

672
00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:30,480
I had my own.
I had so many of my own demons.

673
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:33,360
I had so much of my own healing
to do.

674
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:35,720
I think it's a great transition
cuz I wanted to talk to you

675
00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:38,680
about your faith and your work.
Yeah.

676
00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:43,080
Right, because I think you need
something to ground you and it

677
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:47,600
has to come from within you and
be more than you at the same

678
00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:49,760
time.
Like because relationships,

679
00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:53,280
especially in LA or
entertainment, are exceedingly

680
00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:55,320
challenging.
So my husband and I've been

681
00:35:55,320 --> 00:36:00,600
together I think 22 years, but
seven of them were in LA and we

682
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:05,880
count them in dog years.
See, you understand why the

683
00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:08,680
minute that man got a ring on
his hand, women would hit on him

684
00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:13,640
in front of me.
So my husband it everyone it

685
00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:15,000
didn't like.
I don't really, you know, we'll

686
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:20,120
just I'm using the I should go.
They they everyone, but the

687
00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:24,600
temptation whatever.
And in Lai was like mid at best,

688
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:26,840
right, because there's always
someone younger, thinner,

689
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:31,080
prettier, blonder.
What you know, beauty standards

690
00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:34,520
there, especially when I was
there was the heroin chic.

691
00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:37,040
You had to be like a 00 or you
were fat.

692
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:44,560
So for me being out there and my
back story is that my dad is an

693
00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:48,480
addict and that I lost my home
to a fire and an earthquake.

694
00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:52,280
I had so much loss.
I had been lost my virginity to

695
00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:55,760
sexual assault when I was 15 and
I hadn't dealt with any of it.

696
00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:01,520
My, my coping mechanism was to
show you I could do it, that I

697
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:03,200
could overcome, that I could
manage.

698
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:06,360
I knew how to deal with all the
bad things, which is why I

699
00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:09,720
couldn't survive in the industry
anymore because I don't have the

700
00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:12,480
need to prove that you're an
ass.

701
00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:15,760
Yay, next.
Like I don't need to fix it or

702
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:20,960
make it better for you.
I do still love the medium of

703
00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:23,120
storytelling that is film and
TV.

704
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:28,600
I just know that I can't be in
that creative process and handle

705
00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:31,920
all the stuff or I haven't been
able to for a long time.

706
00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:35,080
Like, that hasn't been my goal
that like, for me, the shift

707
00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:38,840
when I got divorced was, Oh my
God, there are all these

708
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:40,920
emotions that I don't know how
to identify.

709
00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:44,560
There's all this pain in me.
And if I if I let it out, I

710
00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,240
don't know if I could put myself
back together.

711
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:50,040
Right.
And so.

712
00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:54,880
How about for you artists?
Well, I, you know, I, I was

713
00:37:54,880 --> 00:38:04,040
engaged briefly and, and it was
at that point in my life where

714
00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:08,520
I, you know, cuz, cuz I always
imagined if I got married that

715
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:10,520
we would definitely have kids,
whoever I got married to.

716
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:14,920
And, and, and having been in the
rat race on the treadmill for so

717
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:19,640
long in, in, in Hollywood, I
wasn't at the point when I was

718
00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:24,640
engaged the first time.
I wasn't at the point where I,

719
00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:29,800
where I would have in a million
years given up anything for the

720
00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:32,480
woman that I was engaged to.
I wouldn't quit my job, you

721
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:36,320
know, or my career.
I wouldn't quit my, my quest,

722
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:41,080
you know, I, I, I probably would
use the excuse that I was too

723
00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:44,720
busy to, to really take any hard
looks at myself and, and, and do

724
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:51,240
any kind of work on myself.
And so, and I kind of realized

725
00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:54,800
that at a certain point, a
crucial point, and this was

726
00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:57,800
tough because this was a, this
was a family friend.

727
00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:01,320
So I, my, my mom and her mom
were really, really close.

728
00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:05,680
And, and so I ended the, I ended
the engagement and, and that was

729
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:09,240
a hard choice to make because it
would have been easier to just

730
00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:14,280
fake it and, and, and go through
with it and, and, and try to

731
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:18,480
just kind of, you know, keep my
demons at Bay.

732
00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:23,080
But I was also at A, at a
crossroads personally, where I,

733
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:28,520
I, I had, I had realized that
I'd seen enough very, very

734
00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:31,080
wealthy, very, very, very
successful people in Hollywood

735
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:35,240
to know that that wasn't going
to fulfill me even if I got what

736
00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:38,000
I really wanted to do.
And it's tough when you feel

737
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:41,440
like you have a calling.
I do feel like I have a calling.

738
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,320
I don't feel like I have a
choice whether or not to be a

739
00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:49,360
writer, director, you know, I, I
really feel like that kind of

740
00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:53,520
artistry, whether it's the music
part or the photography part or

741
00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:59,120
the acting, all of these things
that I've always really, really

742
00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:04,600
not only enjoyed, but craved
that those kinds of experiences.

743
00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:16,200
You know, I, I knew that even
the, the, the, the slightest

744
00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:22,000
success or the the most grand
version of success in my, in my

745
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,920
field, you know, was not going
to.

746
00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:29,560
Provide me a, a, a, a fulfilling
life.

747
00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:34,280
And so, you know, around that
time you, you speak you, you

748
00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:36,520
spoke of faith.
I mean, I, I did start going

749
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:40,880
back to church kind of like
examining all the things I've

750
00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:44,720
been taught as a kid.
You know, we were raised

751
00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:49,560
Presbyterian.
I didn't particularly, you know,

752
00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:51,400
other than going to youth group
and stuff like that.

753
00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:56,440
Have a have any kind of like,
you know, really strong base of,

754
00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:58,520
of faith.
You know, you get to a certain

755
00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:01,400
point as a as a, as a young
adult and you realize that

756
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:03,440
everything you know is what
you're taught by your parents

757
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:04,760
and you've got some decisions to
make.

758
00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:11,480
But I did, I did in storytelling
and in cinema, see a recurring

759
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:17,360
theme throughout the centuries,
you know, of, of good versus

760
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:24,200
evil and sacrifice and hope and
faith and love.

761
00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:27,520
And movies that combine faith,
hope and love, which is in the

762
00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:36,440
Bible, typically resonate so
strongly with people I found and

763
00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:41,160
I continue to find, you know, I,
I, I, I love that theme.

764
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:45,960
Because it's so you because your
daughter's name and and we don't

765
00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:47,800
have to share that because I
don't ever talk about my kid.

766
00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:51,720
But the other part is as you're
talking your.

767
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:53,680
Name is cinema.
Your name is Cinema.

768
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,040
The other thing I'm thinking is
I remember you read a story I

769
00:41:57,040 --> 00:41:58,960
wrote at one point you're like,
and it's just missing an

770
00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:00,480
explosion.
Like this just needs an

771
00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:02,960
explosion.
And I was like, it's so rough.

772
00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:04,160
It's like what you're talking
about.

773
00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:07,600
Like they an explosion.
They just blow something up.

774
00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:11,960
Well, true, cuz I, you know, cuz
I'm also a huge fan of, of

775
00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:14,720
spectacle, you know, I mean
Greek tragedy, come on.

776
00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:18,440
But, but I, I, so I was at this
point in my life where, where,

777
00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:23,360
you know, I, I decided that I
needed to look at myself before

778
00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:25,760
I could be really looking at
anybody else.

779
00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:29,280
And then I completely didn't
listen to any of what I was

780
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:30,680
telling myself.
And I got into another

781
00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:35,360
relationship right away, but we
started going into counseling

782
00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:39,360
and I had what was, I think six
years in that relationship of,

783
00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:45,320
of, of couples counseling.
That was really me just working

784
00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:48,400
on myself.
I mean, I, I learned a lot about

785
00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:51,800
relationships and, and, and
expectations that you have, you

786
00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,080
should have in a marriage and,
and ones that you shouldn't.

787
00:42:54,640 --> 00:42:59,680
And then I continued to to see
my my therapist after that young

788
00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:02,960
lady and I parted ways amicably
even.

789
00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:05,240
Though it was difficult.
I have a story.

790
00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:08,240
About this like around this
time, because I think that's

791
00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:12,080
when I, when I was married and I
was in my own real really dark

792
00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:15,600
place because I had a plan.
I was 23.

793
00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:17,160
I was like, I'm going to be
married by 24.

794
00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:21,040
I have a kid by 26, another 1 by
28, my third 30, and then I'm

795
00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:23,600
going to pull up to the Oscars
and open air Jeep and a fucking

796
00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:26,320
gown and my hair just messed up
by the wind.

797
00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,000
Like that was like, that was my
dream.

798
00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:31,680
And I was doing everything to
tick off those boxes.

799
00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:33,360
That's why I married my first
one.

800
00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:37,160
He's also all the pain that I
hadn't addressed in a human.

801
00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:41,840
And so as I was healing all of
that, you had a similar journey.

802
00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:45,840
We weren't really close then,
but I remember when you found

803
00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:50,320
God and everyone that we knew
mutually was like, Rob's found

804
00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:52,280
God.
Oh my God, he's found God.

805
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:54,880
And they were like as if it was
a rash, right?

806
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:56,800
I was like, OK, they're like,
you don't understand.

807
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:59,520
But it's but his faith is now
and he's really into it.

808
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,520
And I don't know, when we
reconnected, I was like, it's

809
00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:04,040
awesome.
What are you talking about?

810
00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:06,960
Like, I don't know.
I don't know why faith rattles

811
00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:10,320
people in California if it's not
like woo woo, which I am woo

812
00:44:10,320 --> 00:44:13,680
woo, but I'm also very grounded
in my own faith, right?

813
00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:18,960
That's our traditions of the
things that I have my family

814
00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:23,080
rooted in, I think is a good way
or the part of the foundation of

815
00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:30,760
the love and trust is that when
you found God, you then were, I

816
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:35,680
don't know the right word, but
you were more committed to real,

817
00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:38,160
real conversation.
Cuz you would always banter,

818
00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:39,960
right?
You would joke around and banter

819
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:42,720
and everything would be can I
lure you?

820
00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:45,400
Can I lure you?
Can I draw you in?

821
00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:47,520
Right?
Which always kept me a little

822
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:49,160
like, no, you can't.
No, right.

823
00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:52,120
And but then that went away and
then it was just Rob.

824
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:54,560
Yeah.
And I look right.

825
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:55,280
So that's amazing.
Well.

826
00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:58,480
There was, there was this like
there was this thing that I did

827
00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:07,160
because I was abused as you were
especially that abuse really

828
00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:09,320
tore my family unit apart
growing up.

829
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:17,000
I think that there's a history
of abuse in my for generations

830
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:22,680
preceding me.
So I think that if that is true,

831
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,000
and I don't know for sure, but
you know, it's just a gut

832
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,760
instinct.
I, I, I can see why my parents

833
00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:32,200
both have the separate reactions
that they did.

834
00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:37,600
So I don't hold it against them,
but and mom, if you're watching,

835
00:45:37,600 --> 00:45:39,800
I love you and dad, I love you
too.

836
00:45:40,960 --> 00:45:49,480
But you know, I had spent so
much time with my checklist like

837
00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:54,280
yours and also this mask.
What is the hot young Hollywood,

838
00:45:54,720 --> 00:45:58,200
you know, director supposed to
look like and wear and clock

839
00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:00,120
like and and and who does he
know?

840
00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:05,680
What parties does he go to and
and all of that bullshit and and

841
00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:08,480
and and I realized that, like
people that I thought were my

842
00:46:08,480 --> 00:46:13,120
friends were just tolerating me.
You know, you know, I wasn't

843
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:14,720
going to get invited to
anything.

844
00:46:15,240 --> 00:46:17,640
Like if someone was having a
special dinner or like a private

845
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:21,040
thing, I wasn't going to get,
yeah, like I was someone that

846
00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:25,200
they worked with.
And maybe they didn't mind.

847
00:46:25,200 --> 00:46:27,880
But but a lot of people, I
suspect didn't really like me

848
00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:31,400
when that started to become
clear, because a good friend of

849
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:33,520
mine who was a friend of mine,
because he had to be, because we

850
00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:37,680
were just always stuck together.
I thought I was really, really

851
00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:40,520
good friends with a mutual
friend of his and mine.

852
00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:44,320
And he goes, he is not your
friend.

853
00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:46,080
And I was like, what are you
talking about?

854
00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:50,600
And then I started seeing the
truth and I and, and, and that's

855
00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:52,280
when the the walls came tumbling
down.

856
00:46:53,400 --> 00:47:01,720
So I had to completely rebuild
from scratch who I thought maybe

857
00:47:01,720 --> 00:47:04,680
I was deep down underneath at
all, but hadn't paid any

858
00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:08,040
attention to since I was 10,
really.

859
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:13,800
And then, with the help of
therapy, figure out who I wanted

860
00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:14,880
to be.
Yeah.

861
00:47:15,080 --> 00:47:17,000
That's the tricky part, right?
That's.

862
00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:21,360
The real trick and who you're.
Supposed to be, or what you

863
00:47:21,360 --> 00:47:24,480
ought to be, or what you need to
be, or what everyone thought.

864
00:47:24,720 --> 00:47:27,320
You were going to be, yeah.
Who are?

865
00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:31,480
You.
And who do you want that entity

866
00:47:31,480 --> 00:47:33,320
to mature into?
Yeah.

867
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:38,800
Maturity and still have that
magical drive to be creative and

868
00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:41,200
tell stories.
You can still be both.

869
00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:46,240
I think that is sometimes the
tricky thing, like because as a

870
00:47:46,240 --> 00:47:48,160
mature person you have to make
choices.

871
00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:51,320
I I.
Don't I don't get to just run

872
00:47:51,320 --> 00:47:53,160
and be creative and selfish,
right?

873
00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:57,080
Like I have a family, I people I
love and sometimes they need me

874
00:47:57,080 --> 00:48:00,720
more or I feel like I'm better
served being there.

875
00:48:00,720 --> 00:48:04,440
I the one strangely traditional
thing about me because overall

876
00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:09,840
I'm not really is I believe in
motherhood and that is really

877
00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:13,640
important and that I chose to be
home, especially when my

878
00:48:13,640 --> 00:48:19,240
daughter was young and stayed
there and made those needs of

879
00:48:19,240 --> 00:48:25,760
her knowing her worth of what
value she is and really tried

880
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:28,560
hard not to give her minor
roses.

881
00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:30,720
Like I'm sure she'll end up with
therapy for something.

882
00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:35,000
I'm not perfect, but like, she
also has a sense of self that I

883
00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:37,120
don't think I had until I was in
my 30s.

884
00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:40,800
And she has a teenager's
crippling doubt.

885
00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:42,680
You know, it depends on what day
it is, right?

886
00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:46,120
Because she's a teenager.
But those things I think are

887
00:48:46,120 --> 00:48:51,320
gifts as we mature.
Like I said, like even when I

888
00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:54,480
process, I wonder how you are
when you process, like,

889
00:48:54,480 --> 00:48:56,840
feedback.
Sometimes I devour it and I'm

890
00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:00,920
glad, but I still go through my
whole pout routine and I just

891
00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:06,640
allow myself it because if I
deny it then this old version of

892
00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:11,040
me kind of trickles in.
I think, I think feedback for me

893
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:14,560
is, is, is always a little
different cuz, cuz it kind of

894
00:49:14,560 --> 00:49:17,320
depends on, on what I'm doing.
I mean, one of the things that's

895
00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:23,640
true about my journey as, as a,
as a creative, as a film maker

896
00:49:24,120 --> 00:49:27,480
is that I when, when Taz and I
started out, you know, if you

897
00:49:27,480 --> 00:49:29,440
wanted to make it a Hollywood,
you either made a horror film or

898
00:49:29,440 --> 00:49:31,640
you made a comedy.
And we chose comedy, which is

899
00:49:31,640 --> 00:49:35,520
harder.
But I didn't, I didn't I, I

900
00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:38,200
don't I, I there's some horror
movies that I've enjoyed.

901
00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:41,000
Like, I thought Scream was
unbelief.

902
00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:42,840
Yeah.
So that was brilliant.

903
00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:44,520
When it first came out, that was
brilliant, yeah.

904
00:49:44,720 --> 00:49:46,400
Because.
Because it was Poltergeist.

905
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:49,080
Yeah, Poltergeist.
When you're yeah, exactly

906
00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:52,120
Poltergeist and even even you
know, I mean alien, you know,

907
00:49:52,120 --> 00:49:54,960
and then and then alien.
But those that's not true

908
00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:55,920
horror, but you know what I
mean.

909
00:49:56,320 --> 00:50:04,560
So I I I do remember the thing.
Speaking of scream, like Drew

910
00:50:04,560 --> 00:50:08,160
Barrymore getting getting killed
the way that she is in that

911
00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:11,440
movie, realizing that I'd just
seen something that I was never

912
00:50:11,440 --> 00:50:15,440
gonna be Unsee, able to Unsee.
You know, that that there was a

913
00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:20,400
part of my psyche.
And and then later I realized my

914
00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:24,840
spirit that that, you know, I
think when you take stuff in, it

915
00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:29,280
does have a real deep effect on
you, whether you think it does

916
00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:30,720
or not, or whether I don't watch
it.

917
00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:34,400
Because like, so as an empath,
it's like too much or I also

918
00:50:34,400 --> 00:50:37,040
don't watch disaster movies
because I watched a movie called

919
00:50:37,040 --> 00:50:40,080
The Disaster in time and then
Northridge earthquake happened,

920
00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:43,160
then I lost my home.
So like, I don't, I won't watch

921
00:50:43,320 --> 00:50:46,320
like when Twister was big back
in the day or all these disaster

922
00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:48,640
movies.
No, you enjoy it, go to town.

923
00:50:48,800 --> 00:50:50,520
I'm just gonna, I'll be over
here.

924
00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:54,600
Yeah.
Well, so I so feedback for me

925
00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:57,760
when it when it, when it, when
it cuz it cuz like I was saying,

926
00:50:57,760 --> 00:51:00,360
like it took a long time for me
to realize a really long time

927
00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:02,000
for me to realize that I
actually had something to say.

928
00:51:03,320 --> 00:51:08,320
It wasn't until really the Ice
Cream Man the the short film

929
00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:15,000
that we did.
We finished it last year in 24.

930
00:51:16,080 --> 00:51:18,400
And.
I won a bunch of film festivals

931
00:51:18,400 --> 00:51:21,280
and a bunch of awards and made
the shortlist for the Academy

932
00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:29,840
Awards, which was incredible, a
very a very interesting and cool

933
00:51:29,840 --> 00:51:33,000
experience.
And the good news was, since we

934
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:36,880
always plan on giving the movie
away to museums, into schools,

935
00:51:36,880 --> 00:51:39,880
into libraries, that the Oscar
attention is has helped

936
00:51:39,880 --> 00:51:42,160
facilitate a way to do that.
That's that's really exciting,

937
00:51:42,160 --> 00:51:48,440
but but feedback for me, you
know, I, I've gotten, I think I

938
00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:50,840
don't want to say good enough.
I've, I've, I've, I've written

939
00:51:50,840 --> 00:51:57,520
enough scripts now that if
someone reads it and gives me

940
00:51:57,520 --> 00:52:04,640
notes, I, I've learned that
every note is valuable because

941
00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:09,800
if anybody is bumping up against
something in a, in a screenplay,

942
00:52:09,840 --> 00:52:13,880
anything, even if you ultimately
decide that it's OK and you'll

943
00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:17,600
leave it, you really, in my
opinion, should, should

944
00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:22,920
investigate hopefully with a,
from a powerful position, from

945
00:52:22,920 --> 00:52:25,520
a, from a position of strength,
from a, from a position of

946
00:52:25,520 --> 00:52:28,840
ownership, from a position of
creativity and, and

947
00:52:28,840 --> 00:52:32,320
improvisation, right?
A willingness to, to say, OK,

948
00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:35,960
well, you know, OK, so you don't
like this.

949
00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:40,080
Can you help me understand why?
And if you don't know, let's

950
00:52:40,080 --> 00:52:43,640
talk about it for a while and
maybe we'll osmos into some sort

951
00:52:43,640 --> 00:52:47,280
of version of what it might be
that's that's bothering you.

952
00:52:47,280 --> 00:52:55,480
And that has been so valuable to
me because on on the ice cream

953
00:52:55,480 --> 00:53:00,080
man, a good mutual friend of
ours just at a certain point was

954
00:53:00,080 --> 00:53:03,440
not understanding the script and
was not into it.

955
00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:06,080
And then when he saw the movie,
didn't really like or get the

956
00:53:06,080 --> 00:53:14,280
movie and and there was nothing,
you know, he wasn't trying to be

957
00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:17,240
mean there, there, you know, he
didn't have, you know, a chip on

958
00:53:17,240 --> 00:53:18,320
the shoulder.
It was nothing like that.

959
00:53:18,320 --> 00:53:22,360
It was just it was not for him.
What was fascinating about that

960
00:53:22,360 --> 00:53:25,560
was the the ice cream man is is
a story with a Jewish

961
00:53:25,560 --> 00:53:29,720
protagonist.
And I realized, and this was

962
00:53:29,720 --> 00:53:33,360
great because I felt bad.
I was like, I wish, I wish he

963
00:53:33,360 --> 00:53:36,120
really would.
I get it because he was a fan at

964
00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:37,560
the beginning when I told him
the idea.

965
00:53:37,560 --> 00:53:40,400
But then every draft he kept
saying it was getting, it was

966
00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:42,600
getting worse and worse.
I was trying to do too much blah

967
00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:47,880
blah blah blah.
And and I realized it's a Jewish

968
00:53:47,880 --> 00:53:53,400
story and my friend is Jewish
and and I realized that I was

969
00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:56,280
making a movie that the
Holocaust looms large over.

970
00:53:57,160 --> 00:54:04,160
And I realized, oh, he is so
steeped in this history that

971
00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:10,200
there was no way that anything
that I could do could compete

972
00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:13,600
with all the stories, many of
them I'm sure personal, from his

973
00:54:13,600 --> 00:54:16,840
relatives that were either
survivors or victims.

974
00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:21,920
Generations of stories from that
time period.

975
00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:28,920
I was just never gonna be able
to tell a version of the story I

976
00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:31,000
wanted to tell in a way that he
could relate to.

977
00:54:31,040 --> 00:54:35,120
Yeah, maybe he just has the.
Generational trauma that he and

978
00:54:35,120 --> 00:54:37,040
it's too triggering.
He's not even aware of it.

979
00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:39,640
I don't even think.
It was that I think really I

980
00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:42,800
think what it came down to me
and this was so freeing, was I

981
00:54:42,800 --> 00:54:47,560
was as a non Jew, the nerve.
As.

982
00:54:47,560 --> 00:54:50,520
A goyim.
And I'm like, this is my take on

983
00:54:50,520 --> 00:54:51,800
it, not anything he never said
to me.

984
00:54:52,480 --> 00:54:55,440
I was making the Michael Bay
version of the Holocaust for

985
00:54:55,440 --> 00:54:58,080
people that don't know anything
about the Holocaust.

986
00:54:58,520 --> 00:55:00,280
And when I say Michael Bay, I
mean Armageddon.

987
00:55:01,200 --> 00:55:04,120
Like a good.
Version like, like I was making

988
00:55:04,120 --> 00:55:07,800
a movie for people that had
probably never even seen

989
00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:10,920
Schindler's List.
Like I was making a movie for

990
00:55:10,920 --> 00:55:14,840
people that had no connection to
the horror and the truth of the

991
00:55:14,840 --> 00:55:18,560
Holocaust.
And the fact that someone who'd

992
00:55:18,560 --> 00:55:23,120
been raised in the Holocaust
wasn't on board with what I was

993
00:55:23,120 --> 00:55:25,400
doing was because he was.
He was not my audience.

994
00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:28,600
Yeah, I get that.
I think there's SO.

995
00:55:28,600 --> 00:55:33,640
Many things I think that I love
that you took on this project

996
00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:36,920
not knowing.
I think growing up and being

997
00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:41,160
Jewish and coming, my
grandparents were, some of them

998
00:55:41,160 --> 00:55:45,720
were Orthodox, so like, you
know, very and kosher and all

999
00:55:45,720 --> 00:55:48,720
that, all that stuff.
And in a time where being Jewish

1000
00:55:48,720 --> 00:55:57,280
is dangerous again, where where
the ancient like lies about Jews

1001
00:55:57,600 --> 00:56:01,240
are coming back again, where
social media can pump the lies,

1002
00:56:01,440 --> 00:56:05,480
where terrorists have
manipulated really much better

1003
00:56:05,480 --> 00:56:08,440
than the Jews like been able to
share a story.

1004
00:56:08,760 --> 00:56:14,280
What I found amazing about you
taking on that was that we grow

1005
00:56:14,280 --> 00:56:17,840
up when we go to let's we go to
Sunday School, which we don't go

1006
00:56:17,840 --> 00:56:21,000
to Hebrew school, but let's just
say we like go to Sunday school.

1007
00:56:21,160 --> 00:56:23,480
We learn all the history as
children.

1008
00:56:23,480 --> 00:56:27,080
We learn that we are not liked.
We learn these are the pictures

1009
00:56:27,080 --> 00:56:30,160
that the Nazis took and these
are people who have been skinned

1010
00:56:30,160 --> 00:56:32,240
and these are the people who
were murdered and they didn't

1011
00:56:32,240 --> 00:56:34,120
care.
And the mass graves like, oh,

1012
00:56:34,120 --> 00:56:38,680
and your grandfather and your
aunt and like we grow up, even

1013
00:56:38,680 --> 00:56:43,720
though our families might have
secrets, they tell that right?

1014
00:56:43,720 --> 00:56:46,600
It's we can't never forget means
never forget.

1015
00:56:46,600 --> 00:56:50,480
And we share the stories.
But since we're only .2% of the

1016
00:56:50,480 --> 00:56:54,880
world's population, 99 point
whatever doesn't know.

1017
00:56:54,880 --> 00:57:00,720
And so history fades.
And in today's climate, it's

1018
00:57:00,760 --> 00:57:03,360
easy to make a villain, right?
Cancel culture, whatever.

1019
00:57:03,360 --> 00:57:07,760
What I liked, the whole point is
what I liked is you were curious

1020
00:57:08,520 --> 00:57:11,920
and when you were asking
questions and receiving

1021
00:57:11,920 --> 00:57:14,880
feedback, I could feel you
processing it.

1022
00:57:15,400 --> 00:57:19,680
But I love that someone not
Jewish telling the story with

1023
00:57:19,680 --> 00:57:23,000
compassion and learning so much
and being like, I didn't know,

1024
00:57:23,760 --> 00:57:26,360
like why would you?
I also don't fault you for not

1025
00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:30,080
knowing right, right.
So I think there's some of that

1026
00:57:30,080 --> 00:57:31,280
people are like, how could you
not know?

1027
00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:33,480
We teach it in class.
Well, I got to tell you I got a

1028
00:57:33,480 --> 00:57:36,560
kid in high school learning
history.

1029
00:57:37,120 --> 00:57:39,640
They're not actually learning
about it anymore, not like how

1030
00:57:39,640 --> 00:57:44,440
we did.
So I I wanted you to grand scale

1031
00:57:44,440 --> 00:57:46,920
it.
That is part of your give it to

1032
00:57:46,920 --> 00:57:48,320
me.
I want it director.

1033
00:57:48,440 --> 00:57:52,280
I mean, you had a full scale
orchestra like who does this for

1034
00:57:52,280 --> 00:57:56,240
a short who who goes all over
the planet to to shoot and have

1035
00:57:56,240 --> 00:57:58,760
locations and get the yeah, like
you do that.

1036
00:57:58,920 --> 00:58:00,680
That's.
You right.

1037
00:58:02,480 --> 00:58:04,560
I don't dream of it.
I remember my first Hollywood

1038
00:58:04,560 --> 00:58:06,360
dream was to get my name in the
credits.

1039
00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:08,360
Was it in variety?
When they would do list

1040
00:58:08,360 --> 00:58:11,280
production, they'd tell you who
The Who was in the staff the

1041
00:58:11,280 --> 00:58:13,000
first time.
Like I'm sure that little piece

1042
00:58:13,000 --> 00:58:16,120
of paper is somewhere in a box
in my life, but like my that was

1043
00:58:16,120 --> 00:58:18,640
like my big thing and like
rolling credits.

1044
00:58:18,640 --> 00:58:21,200
So I was like, woo Hoo, that's
my name really fast.

1045
00:58:21,640 --> 00:58:24,920
And the only people who in
production will sit and read all

1046
00:58:24,920 --> 00:58:27,920
of that.
But I think the magic of you as

1047
00:58:27,920 --> 00:58:32,120
a creative person is every story
you tell, you tell like that.

1048
00:58:33,400 --> 00:58:37,080
Well, I thank you.
I, I, this was a story that I,

1049
00:58:37,120 --> 00:58:39,120
when we found out we were, we
were at the White House and we

1050
00:58:39,120 --> 00:58:41,200
found out we were being
stationed in the Netherlands and

1051
00:58:41,200 --> 00:58:43,320
we'd never been to Europe
before, not really.

1052
00:58:43,840 --> 00:58:49,160
I'd been to a Film Festival in
Spain and I just Googled the

1053
00:58:49,160 --> 00:58:53,480
closest beach to our house and
and beautiful photographs of

1054
00:58:53,480 --> 00:58:56,080
this amazing beach.
And Google in the right hand

1055
00:58:56,200 --> 00:58:58,640
bottom corner said this is the
beach where the Nazis executed

1056
00:58:59,040 --> 00:59:01,160
over 300 resistance fighters
during the war.

1057
00:59:01,160 --> 00:59:04,000
And I got this picture of this
guy with a blindfold on standing

1058
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:06,080
on that beach.
And then I read the story of

1059
00:59:06,080 --> 00:59:09,440
Aaron's Khan, the hero of the
short from the ice cream man

1060
00:59:09,440 --> 00:59:15,240
that I wrote and directed.
And this was a guy that had fled

1061
00:59:15,440 --> 00:59:20,320
Nazi Germany with his family to
escape, you know, death and

1062
00:59:20,320 --> 00:59:22,560
settled in Amsterdam because in
World War One, they were

1063
00:59:22,560 --> 00:59:24,360
neutral.
So everyone assumed that that

1064
00:59:24,360 --> 00:59:26,120
the Netherlands would be neutral
again.

1065
00:59:26,440 --> 00:59:31,960
And they were wrong.
And he was targeted, arrested,

1066
00:59:32,120 --> 00:59:36,680
tortured for for 10 days and
ultimately executed by Klaus

1067
00:59:36,680 --> 00:59:41,240
Barbie, who even I knew was one
of the most sadistic Nazis ever

1068
00:59:41,240 --> 00:59:47,600
to walk the face of the planet.
And I couldn't believe the, and

1069
00:59:47,600 --> 00:59:50,920
I won't ruin the story for, for
the folks at home, but but I, I

1070
00:59:50,920 --> 00:59:54,840
couldn't believe the impact that
this one man had and, and a

1071
00:59:54,840 --> 00:59:57,160
very, very difficult decision
that he had to make.

1072
00:59:58,400 --> 01:00:04,560
The, the series of dominoes that
that started, that that made

1073
01:00:04,560 --> 01:00:08,760
start to fall.
And, and it really gave me this,

1074
01:00:09,480 --> 01:00:14,640
this picture of the oversized
effect that one person can have

1075
01:00:14,640 --> 01:00:17,600
on their community.
If they're willing to stand up

1076
01:00:17,600 --> 01:00:20,440
and do the right thing in
impossible circumstances.

1077
01:00:20,440 --> 01:00:23,120
And you know, the tagline for
the educational program that's

1078
01:00:23,120 --> 01:00:26,400
based on the movie is, you know,
what do you choose when you have

1079
01:00:26,400 --> 01:00:31,640
no choice?
And instantly I knew that I

1080
01:00:31,640 --> 01:00:33,240
wanted my kids to know this
story.

1081
01:00:33,240 --> 01:00:37,880
And instantly I knew that I
wanted to to do it justice and

1082
01:00:37,880 --> 01:00:41,280
make it as big and as realistic
and as Spielberg as any, you

1083
01:00:41,280 --> 01:00:43,960
know, Nazi movie, you know,
should be, you know what I mean?

1084
01:00:45,200 --> 01:00:48,680
And we, you know, I went
literally to people's living

1085
01:00:48,680 --> 01:00:52,320
rooms and told them what I
wanted to do and why.

1086
01:00:52,920 --> 01:00:56,840
And we raised nearly $1,000,000
from private donations and I

1087
01:00:56,880 --> 01:00:59,160
love that.
Because only Rob can do that.

1088
01:00:59,560 --> 01:01:02,840
So it's like that's what a dream
can do when when you don't

1089
01:01:02,840 --> 01:01:05,080
buckle and you can have bad
days.

1090
01:01:05,080 --> 01:01:08,000
By the way, we all have the bad
day where and we're or we're not

1091
01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:11,480
creative or whatever.
And it's the discipline of

1092
01:01:11,480 --> 01:01:16,920
holding onto a dream rooted in
faith and family and desire and

1093
01:01:17,160 --> 01:01:19,560
fucking burning desire.
I'm dropping a lot of F bombs.

1094
01:01:19,560 --> 01:01:21,360
Just get over it.
Whoever's listening.

1095
01:01:21,360 --> 01:01:22,440
Like that just happens.
This.

1096
01:01:23,200 --> 01:01:26,120
Is our religion the only?
Part of New York, of me that is

1097
01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:29,360
like, remains just the only.
Pot not the only pot left.