Ellen Burstyn: Stop Acting

25:48Rob Lowe:And Alice doesn't live here anymore. Or was it your direct follow-up from The Exorcist? Was that the next movie? I think it was, right? Yes. Yes, and it was because John Calley, who was head of Warner Brothers, was looking at The Exorcist every day at the dailies and called my agent and said, we want to do another film with that girl. So then I had to find the script and the director and so forth. You found the script for Alice? Yeah. Well, the script had come to me, and it was not the kind of script I was looking for. It had, I always think of it as it could have been a script for Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

26:40but it had basic elements that I thought could be worked with single mother for one thing I wanted to do a movie about women as I do them at the time which was we were at the beginning of the transformation for the women's movement and we were just discovering that great line that I'm not sure if I said it or another name, my friend who died recently, Diane and I, thank you. No, I think I said it. I mean, it's my life. It's not some man's life I'm helping him out with.

27:31Rob Lowe:It's a great one. And, you know, that was the transformation that was going on. Yeah. Because we were just getting it. We were not assistant people. We're actually people, you know. And that's what I wanted to bring to the screen and did. Well, and it was the beginning of many, many, many, many, many, many movies with that theme. including a hit TV show, the sitcom. Right? That sitcom is based on Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, correct? I mean, I'm not making this up. Right? It's called Alice. Yeah. Absolutely. Were you, sidetrack, did you know they were going to make a TV show about Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore?

28:26Rob Lowe:Or was it one of those things where you woke up one day and went, And wow, that seems really familiar to me. No, I knew they were going to make it. When I put all of this together with Warner Brothers, John Kelly said to me, do you want producer credit? And I, being one of the stupidest people alive on the planet at that time, said, no, I don't need that. I just want to make a movie with a good party in it for me. Right? those residuals those residuals would have been nice right well i get residuals for actually in it but not for producing it so when they sold it to whatever the network was i think the author never forgave me for talking publicly into the press like i'm talking to you about what our process was that somehow I believe he felt that we had, I had distracted from his contribution, you know, in talking about, he called me and was quite angry with me after, you know, I'd done publicity and so forth.

29:47And so I think that might be why I wasn't invited to be part of the television.

29:55Rob Lowe:Amazing. Had I been smart enough to say yes to John Kelly, I won producer credit, that might have been different. Yeah, you would have had it no matter what. So Friedkin, obviously, there's so many legendary stories about Friedkin as a director. So many. I knew him just in passing many, many, many years, obviously decades after he directed The Exorcist. But was he as advertised? Oh, yes. He was. Yeah. You know, it's so funny the way movies have a resurgence. And for whatever reason, everybody is talking about Sorcerer right now. I don't know what's going on in the zeitgeist, but everybody's talking about Friedkin's Sorcerer.

30:51And it is amazing. I think it's a great companion piece to Exorcist. I think the two of them are just... You know that it didn't get good reviews.

31:02Rob Lowe:Oh, I was young enough. I was very young, but I was paying very much attention to the business. And I remember it like it was yesterday. It came out, same time as Star Wars. So Star Wars took all the oxygen out of the room and it was a huge bomb. And it put Roy Scheider, one of my favorite actors, in movie star jail for a long time. I like that phrase, movie star jail. Movie star jail, we all have a cell. There's a, we all get to, if you survive long enough, you do your time in movie star jail and sometimes you get let out Sometimes you die in prison. That's so funny, Rob.

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32:33Rob Lowe:And in terms of outcomes, 93 % of Rula patients report symptom improvement. If therapy has been sitting in the back of your mind, Rula is a pretty simple way to take that first step. So turn off the talk track that's keeping you from progress and head to Rula.com. That's R-U-L-A.com to find a therapist the easy way. Spring has arrived. Spring is also the perfect time to refresh your outdoor space. and Paragold is a destination for luxury home bringing design's best brands together in one place. Paragold offers its largest ever selection from ready to ship outdoor furniture to weatherproof lighting, accents, and serve wear for every style and space.

33:25Rob Lowe:It is the first to bring design's best brands together in one place, making it easy to shop, enduring all-weather pieces. Many of these brands have been around for decades and prioritize quality materials, solid construction, and traditional craftsmanship. Paragold also offers free, fast, full-service delivery on most items and complimentary design services, making the whole process easy. I've been checking it out and everything looks super fun. There are many great options, particularly some outdoor chairs that look great. There's lots of great stuff. So go shop in-store and online at paragold.com.

34:13Rob Lowe:Guys, let's face it. As we get older, we can't just skip sleep and eat whatever we want and still feel great the next day. But if you're entering your men's health era, you know it can feel complicated. Sprouts Farmer's Market makes it easier. Not only do Sprouts have the high-protein foods, nutrient-dense organic produce, and innovative snacks your body craves, it's also got the newest supplements, vitamins, joint support, even creatine to help get you feeling more like you used to. Whether it's men's health or any other health journey, it's easier that sprouts farmer's market. Dads find one version of things they like and they stick with it for decades.

34:58Rob Lowe:A wallet, sneakers, even the haircut. From watches to cologne, Macy's Father's Day online gift guide makes it easy to upgrade dad's go-to favorites. Same vibe, better version. Give his wardrobe a refresh with a Tommy Hilfiger printed floral linen shirt or level up his signature scent with a Rabanne 1 million elixir gift set. Does dad basically live at the grill all summer? Set him up with a Cuisinart Deluxe stainless steel 14-piece grill set. For the watch collector, ooh, yes. Macy's has instant favorites like a Casio men's digital vintage gold toned stainless steel bracelet watch. And for dads who never met a sport he didn't love, That'd be me.

35:46Rob Lowe:Shop at an Adidas World Cup fan jersey or an Under Armour golf polo. Plus, you don't have to splurge to make dad feel appreciated. Macy's has a whole lineup of gifts for$50 and under, including Perry Ellis dop kits and Levi Chino shorts. This Father's Day, give him something he'll actually use. Something that feels unmistakably him. Let Macy's be your guide to gifting for Father's Day. Shop now, online, or in-store.

36:24Rob Lowe:Do you remember being at any of the early audience screenings when people saw The Exorcist, those famous, famous screenings of people passing out and all of that stuff?

36:39First of all, I was at the very first screening. and I was sitting next to Billy.

36:47And the first scary moment is when I go up in the attic. And then the candle gets blown out. And there was a scary reaction. And then there was laughter. And Billy looked at me. He said, why did that happen? And I said, because I was scared. That's right. And I read after that, that it's when people are scared, they have several methods of restoring order. And one of them is laughter. Yeah. But the movie I attended to where somebody fainted was actually while I was shooting Alice. And it came to town where we were shooting in New Mexico. and I invited all the crew to a screening and we all went and saw the exorcist.

37:48Oh, Jesus. And at one of the, I think at the part where somebody was getting a needle in their neck, which is where they fainted mostly, somebody ran up the aisle and, you know, we all saw somebody running up the aisle and then fainted and collapsed on the crowd. And I got up and ran over and took her hand and was tapping her hand. And then I realized if she opens her eyes and sees me, she's going to think she's diving in the hell or something. Oh, my God. So I said to a stranger, here, take her hand. I've got to get out of here.

38:28Rob Lowe:So I turned her over to somebody else. The thing about The Exorcist in all great movies is that there's, for me, there are these little grace note scenes that get lost amongst the bigger, more obvious stuff. And to me, I remember when Reagan, when you have the party at your Georgetown house and Reagan is supposedly upstairs asleep and there's that astronaut and she comes down the stairs and everybody can't believe like, oh, what is the kid all doing awake? All of a sudden there's that moment and you go over to you and say, oh, Reagan, are you okay? And she looks at the astronaut and says, you're going to die up there.

39:10Yeah.

39:10Rob Lowe:And goes to the bathroom on the floor. Yeah. To me, that's the gnarliest thing in the movie. I mean, honestly, I mean, that it's such an amazing, like who would write that? Where did that, that's such an amazing, amazing moment in a movie where you said to the audience, buckle up. Yeah. Well, you know, there was a lot of research done on actual cases. I don't know if that was one of the things that he saw when he was researching, but... Amazing. The chest of drawers moving across the floor was from the research event. I, whenever I go to Georgetown, I run the exorcist stairs. It's my, one of my favorite.

40:07Rob Lowe:That was, I shot a movie there years ago and, and all the young people would always go, let's go smoke a joint on the exorcist stairs. But then you go there and you realize, wait, the apartment window isn't there. Cause you know, they, they, the way they made your house look, because when the priest falls out of the, gets ejected out of the window and falls down the stairs, there's nothing, it's an effect. But those stairs are pretty creepy. It's a great, it's like the Hollywood sign. It's an all-time movie set for sure. Have you ever visited it? Have you ever been to the Exorcist stairs in Georgetown?

40:42No. Oh, come on. I spent enough time there.

40:50Rob Lowe:That would freak people. People would faint if they saw you. That's right. My favorite moment in that whole movie is with Lee J. Cobb, where he comes to visit me and I make him tea. And then he starts asking me about the stairs. And I realized from what he's saying that my daughter pushed him out the window. But I can't show that. You know, I have to realize that so it's readable for the audience, but not for Lee Jacob, the detective. That's one of my favorite spots because it's subtle and scary. Yeah. Do you have a Friedkin story as an actor who collects great director stories? Anything come to mind?

42:00Rob Lowe:I'm going through them. So many that you have to go through them.

42:10Rob Lowe:Ellen, have you seen the great YouTube thing where he's talking about Al Pacino? That's a great one. No. Oh, have somebody look that one up when we're done with our interview. It's really great. He's, you know, it's him talking about actors and acting and he's just, you know, doing his thing. It's so great. So opinionated and belligerent and funny. Yeah. He was quite something, that one. He was. he, do you have a type of director that you are continually attracted to in terms of, like, I love a leader. I love to be led. I want to go onto a set and I want to know that's the director. And because particularly now, with video villages and everything else is like, you can't, sometimes you can't tell who the director from the script supervisor, from anybody.

43:08Rob Lowe:It's like, and maybe it's because I grew up watching these types of movies that were directed by big, big personalities. Coppola, Friedkin, even Lucas as a, as a, um, more of an introvert still was occupied a lot of, a lot of space in the room. So I can imagine the working with Friedkin was the same. Oh yeah. Yeah, my worst memory of Billy was when Linda slapped me across the face and I had to fall on the floor. And I had a wire around my midriff so Linda didn't have to really slap me and this stuntman could pull me to the floor. And so we rehearsed it and I said to Billy, he's pulling me too hard.

44:06Tell him not to pull me so hard. And Billy said, well, it's got to look real. I said, I understand it's got to look real. I'm telling you, I could get hurt. Tell him not to pull me so hard. And the stuntman was standing there listening to this. And Billy looked at him and said, okay, don't pull it so hard. As I turned away, I felt behind me, Billy, cancer. and on the take the guy pulled me so freaking hard that I screamed in pain which is on camera I mean it's in the film and I looked to Billy to say cut which he did not do and I saw him moving the arm of the cameraman to move in closer to film my screaming in pain closer and i was so enraged at that that i screamed i think now this might be my memory i might have rewritten my part here i'm not sure but i think i screamed turn the frigging rewrite camera off.

45:30Now, I might have just said turn the camera off loudly and in agony. But in my mind, I swore. And he just was getting the shot. And that was his criteria. Anything to get the shot.

45:50Rob Lowe:That's what they did in those days, man. You watch Francis in the documentary Hearts of Darkness that Eleanor, his wife, did on Apocalypse Now, where he's directing my old good friend Marty Sheen. Drunk, got him drunk, hits his, you know, and I've interviewed Francis on the show. And that's the way they grew up. I mean, now, if you work for a Disney company thing, movie, any type of thing, you can't stand more than three feet above the floor without being harnessed into something because their insurance thinks you're going to hurt yourself. Can you imagine? You just could, you cannot do today.

46:40Rob Lowe:When you just told me that story and you said that you were on like sort of a ratchet, I know what that device is. I can't believe they put you on that. That's insane. But that's the way we rolled in those days, right? I mean, directors were kings. And that injury on my lower back was permanent. Really? And caused me trouble today. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Well, I mean, it's probably not worth it, but I mean, I hope you're getting a lot of mileage out of saying, Yeah, it's that old exorcist back injury. That's a conversation starter. Yeah. I think Linda Blair has the exorcist neck injury. She's like, yeah, I turned my head 360 degrees and I've never recovered.

47:32You know, she, do you know what she does with her life? No, I don't. Stray animals. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

47:47Rob Lowe:I'm a big sucker for animals. I do dog rescues. I love hearing that. Oh, well, maybe you should connect with her because she, I send her money sometimes, but she needs money for, because that's her life is rescuing animals. And she has no way to support herself. That's amazing that she did that. I mean, it's a legendary thing to be able to have that part in the zeitgeist of the world. Well, this has been amazing, I have to say. I've been looking forward. I knew you were coming on. I've been looking forward. I just have such a visceral memory of watching. I saw Alice before I saw The Exorcist. and it's like my mom was getting divorced at that time.

48:46And, you know, I was on the peripheral,

48:49Rob Lowe:like being aware as just a young, as a kid of women sort of claiming their lives.

49:01Rob Lowe:And obviously that was, to me, that was like the epicenter of it. That was the real beginning. It's funny, you didn't take producing credit, but as a producer, you did the number one job that a producer has, which is like feeling the zeitgeist and finding a project that speaks to it. Yeah. I was recently doing a film in Australia, and it had a lot of producers, which I think were actually investors. Sure. But two of them were women, and they came on the set, and they were talking to me. And one of them said to me, do you know what you represent to women around the world? I said, yes, no, not really.

49:50It's true. And she said, no, you're it. You're the leader. I don't remember her exact words. I'm not quoting her exactly. But I said, from Alice? She said, yes. So I didn't know, actually. Really? I didn't know that it was around the world. You know, I didn't know that women went way beyond my boundaries. Yes. And infected. Infected. Affected. Affected. Affected.

50:30Rob Lowe:You infected with The Exorcist and you affected with Alice. Yeah, right. I just didn't know that, but it was very occasion. I tried not to let it be food for my ego, but it took some effort. I was very glad that it had widespread effect. Well, I know people listening are going to, if they haven't seen it, are going to watch it. which is great. There's nothing better than sharing favorite movies with people who haven't seen them. And like, there's so much to recommend about that movie. It's Marty Scorsese, Early You. I mean, it's a... Either way, I won't keep you anymore. You have been fantastic.

51:17Rob Lowe:This has been a great... And I think we need to do this every decade. So when you turn... At 100... That's what I'm saying. Yes. Oh, I am very aware. 103. Mark it on the calendar. All right. You and me. And we're going to do more deep dives into your amazing career in life. And I'm super excited to read the book, which, by the way, comes out on any day now. I think it's out right now. Anybody who's interested, Ellen's Poetry Book is out anywhere you buy books. And thank you for coming on this. You've given me a great inspiration to start the rest of my week. Thank you so much. hello you've reached literally in our lowdown line where you can get the lowdown on all things about me roblo 323-570-4551 so have at it here's the beep hi rob i'm cindy i'm from nevada My amazing mom recently retired, and her and my dad are going to embark on a summer of world travel.

52:27But my mom hasn't done much international travel before. So for Mother's Day, I was thinking of getting her some gifts that she can use on planes, trains, at hotels. So can you let me know what travel gift ideas you would have for her? Thank you.

52:46Rob Lowe:Thank you for the question. That's really, really a good question. So I will tell you what are musts for me. Noise-canceling headphones and a great sleep mask. And the sleep mask needs to be cupped so your eyelashes don't get smashed. So I don't like the – it can't be the flat kind. We want some puzzles, you know, whatever puzzles she's into. A good pair of sunglasses. and a great pair of hiking shoes. Right? That's pretty good. Also tells you what I'm into when I'm traveling. And sure enough, in the Macy's gift guide right now, you can get your mom noise-canceling headphones from Beats or JBL, you know, long flights, a Nikon mirrorless camera.

53:42Rob Lowe:Oh, that's a great idea. Of course, great for capturing every moment. wow, I should have thought of that Hey Rob this is Vernon from Ohio my mom is finally redoing her kitchen her beloved kitchen and I want to get a few things for Mother's Day that she can use in there once renovation is complete stuff that's useful and also stuff to make it feel a little more homey and I was wondering if you had any ideas about that so yeah, thank you Great question. There's nothing I love more than A, somebody from Ohio, and figuring out what's great to put in the kitchen. It's where we start our days. It's where family gathers.

54:30Rob Lowe:And I think people's kitchens always say a lot about them. I got to have a good coffee area. And I do mean area, like a corner. It's got to have the coffee, different types of coffee. It's got to have maybe a French press, but also a drip. Maybe there's an espresso machine. That can take up a lot. And not everybody's into coffee, but I would say that. Some people like tea. My wife does. So she has a tea section. That is always great. Air fryer. An air fryer is pretty sick. In the Macy's gift guide right now, you can get your mom a new KitchenAid stainless steel mixer or a cast iron signature La Crusade Dutch oven.

55:16Rob Lowe:Oh man, the cast iron signature La Crusade Dutch oven is the bomb because not only are they great, but they look sick. So hopefully that's helpful. Thank you to Macy's for sponsoring today's Lowdown line. You can find amazing gifts like these and more at Macy's. Just visit macy's.com slash gift guide or book an appointment with a personal stylist at your local Macy's. Yeah, all good stuff.

55:52Wow, what a legend.

55:56Rob Lowe:What a legend. I hope everybody who's interested in movies and actors, please share that. That was really special to have her and have that talk with her. Uh, anyway, um, as usual, there'll be more to come next week, but that was a special one. Uh, I'll try to top it next time on Literally.

56:23Rob Lowe:You've been listening to Literally with Rob Lowe, produced by me, Sean Doherty, with help from associate producer, Sean Calvano. Research by Jeff Fox. Engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel. Our executive producers are Rob Lowe for Low Profile and Nick Liao, Adam Sachs, and Jeff Ross for Team Coco. Booking by Catherine Cook. Music by Devin Bryant. Special thanks to Hidden City Studios. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time on Literally.

56:58Rob Lowe:Calling all daydreamers and date nighters. Come immerse yourself in the rich culture of Texas. and dig into our mouth-watering barbecue. Trailblazers can explore our natural wonders. And beach lovers will wonder why they've never felt so relaxed before. You're invited to discover experiences you can only find in Texas. Visit TravelTexas.com and plan your trip today. Let's Texas. The Spriteberry Blast is here. A crispy blue Sprite with a dollop of cold foam. It's very, very good. One of many new drinks now at McDonald's.