BONUS: Actor Jeff Goldblum on Film, Music, “Insect Politics” and Being Weird in Ari Melber Intv

26:05Kendrick Lamar wins the Pulitzer Prize for the words. You said Frost and Poe. One of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe is, I had long periods of sanity capped by occasionally wonderful periods of insanity. It's often nice, isn't that? And didn't the seal sing? sometimes you gotta go a little crazy isn't that right? well that's what that means wonderful insanity wonderful insanity and playing with see what I love about that is in both when he wrote it and I believe through most of time the typical reader hears the word insanity as a negative pejorative you said it better pejorative and once you digest this short couplet or this line And you say, oh, but he means the opposite.

27:01And what does he mean? And is it literal or not? You're now thinking differently. And to do that so quickly. Yeah, somebody said, yeah, it's brilliant. Isn't that, yes, that is poetry. And that I admire it. And isn't that brilliant? And it gives you, somebody said, it's a new, it's a clearing area. Like a clearing out of which you consider new questions. You know, you don't have an answer. You don't come up with an answer. It just opens up. It offers you, it makes available to you a clearing out of which you can consider something else. It's nice, isn't it? I love that. So in television, which is a field I entered, I didn't get trained in it or anything, you're supposed to do these transitions when you go to the next thing.

27:46But I am feeling there will not be really possible transitions speaking with you. So I'm not even going to try. I'm just going to show the clip. That's good. Yeah, no transitions of sorts. I'm not even going to try. I'm just going to go. I'm going to have to give in to this. You're so talented. You're very, very good. And then I'll answer your question about the, I know I took a little side trip, but about five senses. And being in California for a couple of decades, I have a little bit of an allergy toward, oh, yes, ghosts. And ooh, and I can see the future. Oh, I see. There's a lot of hooey and baloney out there.

28:23But because I like science, but even scientists now are just on the forefront and taking baby steps into what consciousness is. I think you're right. I tell my friends, you shouldn't have to ever pay someone by the hour who claims to see significant events in the future. Well, that's what we just said, too. I'll say it again. Yeah, right? So if it's that, if it's a scam, that's different. But if we're talking about how'd you do a no-look pass, yeah, that's a different future. Well, that's a high level of functioning. Function. Yeah, I like that. With the five senses, possibly, so that they're, you know, in some kind of zone, as we know, and they're present in some way.

29:01Because we're talking about consciousness. They are free of, you know, being in their head, so-called, or they're just, they're kind of present and they're going with, you know, the ability to make it. Yes. All right, let's take a look at you. Okay. One might be tempted to say you're an overnight success But you've been at this long and hard Yet you're suddenly hot Why? Well, listen, Brian Gullin Thank you for saying that I don't know You know, I've been in some good movies recently I've been lucky I've been in some good pictures One would like to think that Knows for that kind of thing And could strategize But in fact, I think I've been lucky And worked with a lot of good directors And still like that Same guy?

29:45Well, that's so interesting Why do you show me that? So good. This is like Scrooge's Christmas Carol. Why do you show me a scene from Christmas past? What are you getting at? I like the tinted glasses. Boy, how about that shock of dark hair? Nothing wrong with that. Although I don't mind the passing of the years, you know, and how the flower goes like that, and the flower, then the flower goes like that. It's a lovely thing to feel lucky and to be aware of luck's role in one's life. but that claim cannot hold up objectively over time because something more than luck or what, you want to hear another new song, the new 21 Savage.

30:27He has a song called Way Past Luck with Khaled. And the idea is, yes, there's some luck, but from what they came out of and how hard they work and what they've achieved, it's way past luck. And so we're going to look now at a longer montage of what some would call an oeuvre. You will start to call it an oeuvre now. Right, little tad on the androgynous side. I forgot my mantra. Have you ever heard of insect politics? They're very brutal. No compassion. Kibner's book is awful. His ideas are garbage. Kibner's ideas are pure garbage. Why didn't you say that about a man like Kidner? I'm not saying it about a man like Kidner.

31:13I'm saying it about Kidner. I do half my work in the book. Are you a chauffeur? No, I'm a journalist. Life will not be contained. Life breaks free. Life, uh, finds a way. You do. Oh! Elvis has left the building! Oh, thank you very much. Oh, I love you, man.

31:41Did you just throw my cat out the window?

31:46Yeah. How about that? That's enjoyable. Well, it strikes me. I have been lucky. You know, there are better actors than I am who never make it in movies. You get a chance to do that. You can't be good unless you work with a good director, unless the movie's good. That's surreal. I'm telling you. I've actually learned that. So there are a lot of good directors there You know Wes Anderson and Phil Kaufman Invasion of Body Snatchers So one thing that people see in common here And you may see it differently Because it's your performances But it's a lot of Supernatural Weird Phantasmagorical But then You being almost Like Relatable within The absolutely absurdist situation.

32:42Insect politics and the way you were inhabiting the situation. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about that? Uh, well, yeah. Interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe that's something I've been able to contribute. You know, I remember in, in, um, well, I worked hard on, I was lucky to work with David Cronenberg. Wonderful Gina Davis was in that. But, yeah, I worked hard on it and tried to make it real and credible. And even though it's a crazy story about this guy who made this invention, teleportation, and gets mixed up with a fly. So, you know, it's kooky. But he was very poetical and brilliant and brave. He's got a singular voice, David Cronenberg.

33:24So that's a good movie. And, you know, it was fun to try to be worthy of that. I worked very hard on it. I'm nothing if not conscientious. and my approach was to try to make it, you know, real in this kind of crazy situation, real. Likewise, with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, where there's an alien invasion, but Phil Kaufman is a person of rare intelligence and sensitivity and cinematic talent, and he helped me do that, what you're talking about. So, yeah, that's what I've been trying to do. Independence Day, another alien invasion, dinosaurs on the loose. Yeah, those are crazy situations, but yeah you try to fill it up with reality somehow or try to make it look you're like you're making it up as you go along you know if you have anything to say and but like that try to just try to do a good job and that you're imagining how a person would really feel in this situation that seems to many people like it would never happen that's true well all good actors are trying to do that but yeah if you really apply yourself to that and sometimes you don't do it until way later, I go, dinosaurs, what would happen if we, you and I found ourselves in, you know, proximity with something like that?

34:32You don't know how your thinking and feeling would transpire, would process itself. You know, you don't know. So you can only imagine if a T-Rex was like this, you don't know what we'd possibly do. But that's the opportunity and challenge to say, what would I actually be feeling? You know, all good. They're all trying to do that. But, you know, it's an interesting little puzzle to solve. Well, let's get into that. I'm going to be 100 with you. I'm going to keep it 100. 100? 100. 100? I'm going to be real with you, right? Oh, you've got, you know all the new phrases. I didn't know. In deep cover, I said, hey, Audi 5000.

35:08Is that something they still say? They're not saying that anymore unless you're like at an Audi dealership. And even then, it's like a dad joke. So I'm going to keep it real with you and tell you that in preparation last night, because of when people see this, it might be later, but last night was a news event where the former president announced his run. And so last night in preparation, I watched some of that because that's part of my job. And then I rewatched Jurassic Park. And I have to tell you, out of my two job prep assignments, I really enjoyed the Jurassic Park more. Oh, thank you. And watching it back, what you just said, I mean, you were in it, so I'm sure it's all very redolent to you.

35:49And I'm curious which of all your roles, I'm sure many people must still come up to you about that one, right? Yeah, yeah. But you just said something I want you to tell us about, which is amazing CGI, amazing sci-fi story. The original book was great. Well, Steven Spielberg. Almost every time they introduce the dinosaurs, who are characters or whatever, first time we realize they exist, as we learn about different types, then as we see that life finds a way, that they are dangerous, almost every time director goes to the humans first that the person's response is what helps us understand the other thing.

36:27Sometimes it's your face, sometimes it's others. How was that done in the film? Was that explained to you all and you knew that and every two you're like, hey, you're going to see Jeff being afraid before we see how bad it's gotten. Or was it just you're doing your thing and then they cut it later? Yeah, you know, like this. You know, you get raw material. Although Steven Spielberg, and that's what you're talking about, that first movie in 93. He's a rare genius and brilliant filmmaker. As you know, maybe he knew what he was doing. He didn't tell me, although he's very open. I should have been smart enough to ask him, hey, how are you going to tell this story?

37:00Are you going to show? That would have been an interesting question. We don't know how that works. So as a director, he's not giving you that, or that may come over time. He's just telling you, be real in this and go with it. Because you guys, you know, you start to, the film, it's not just for kids. You start to believe that. The terror of if a T-Rex was after you. Yeah, well, good, good, good. Yeah, well, that's his talent, and I was doing my best. But, yes, he may have had an idea about how to tell that. Sometimes they'll show you a storyboard, or Wes Anderson will have these animatics where he's made a cartoon, a moving cartoon animation of the whole story.

37:35He voices all the parts, so you can, if it doesn't mess you up, you can watch that, which I like to do. and so you can see so you can see if the shot you're doing is going to fulfill his idea of okay we're going to see you then we're going to see the dinosaur sometimes they have that i'll bet steven spielberg knew some things in fact the t-rex scene i remember they had a kind of a claymation version of that before we did it so they could do it but i'll bet in another way he's improvising and he got raw material i remember on that day he said okay put the camp jeff i'll talk to you and keep the camera moving well that's the you don't have lines i'm not going to mess up your lines but go look it looked up there and laugh and now kind of because if i may that would be the the meiser question as you've explained it today if the most important character in that shot is the dinosaur and you're supposed to react off it but it's not there yes so you were figuring out both sides of it yes well uh first of all you said a couple of things first of all in the meiser world the most important person in any scene is the other person because it's natural to go hey hey, I better fix myself up.

38:42Forget that. Leave yourself alone and make the other person important. The other person's a dinosaur. Yes, well, so that's one thing. That's one thing you mentioned. I'd be remiss if I didn't say that. Now, if the other person is not there, you can do it because it's all pretend and it's not, yes, you might say, hey, Meisner, how are we going to do this? There's nobody to work off of. There's nobody there. But that's only a piece of the puzzle, this first business of I have a person to look at. But I could do this. I should be able to do it. And just imagine Ari Melbury there. I could do this without you.

39:15It would be different and it wouldn't be as nourishing. and I would be different. But, you know, I could do something pretending you're there. And sometimes, famous scene in On the Waterfront with Brando and Rod Steiger, with whom I worked, he was always mad for the rest of his life that Brando, after they did the two-shot with them together, and then they did Brando's close-up, where off-screen Rod Steiger was feeding them, hey, get there, you know, do the thing, he left. And Rod Steiger was left to do his part of it with the script supervisor reading Brando's lines and he had to just imagine, like what we're talking about now, that Brando was still there.

39:52Well, some people call that a boss move because you can walk out on your own film, but it's also not as artistic. Well, I don't know about this boss move idea. It is not in any way a boss move, although anything Brando did was worth investigating, but I don't think that was his best moment. He should have stayed there. But big actors do that in certain films today. No, they shouldn't, and they don't. The big actors I admire. Maybe we're talking big versus good. Yeah, the good actors. Big and big, so what big. Big. So what big? So what big. That's what Clifford Odets was saying in his play that we were talking about before.

40:30And big means nothing. Real means something. And making a contribution means something. And being good. And having integrity is good. And as a professional actor, you've got to help your fellow actors and do the scene. That's all there is to it. So, yeah. I love that. All right. Are you ready to get meta? Yes, I think so. I'm ready. Anything, you have me. I'm completely yours. Amazing. When I saw your Portlandia cameo. Yes, sir. I did a few. Which one are you talking about? I'm talking about the knots. Okay, yes. I thought it's like Jeff has reached this point in career or life where he's fully actualized and aware of the Jeff Goldblum of it.

41:19And I've seen this with musicians where they struggle, understandably as human beings, with what the audience expects, their persona, and how to maintain themselves. And I thought, this riff feels like you're just going with it. This is just funny. It's not a big deal. But as you know, some people start to feel like, oh, I got to do that thing or that thing I got famous for or whatever. So I want to just reflect on this. That's my kind of what I loved about it. And it's funny. But here we are. Let's take a little visit. Let's take a little visit. To the Nostro. Very interesting what you've said.

41:57Very interesting what you've said. And let's talk about it. Okay. All right. Fantastic. fantastic. Oh, huh. An artist that we work with makes these by jamming them into his pocket.

42:17What do you think of that? And then he pulls it out. You know how you, they never come out. This is how they come out. Huh. You know, you could pair this with a, a rosé or even a white burgundy. It's like, but a lot of that, We improvise a lot of that, as you know, and they're fantastic, aren't they? You know, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. Are you doing Jeff Goldblum? Yeah. Well, yes, probably. That's the question. Yeah. Yeah, I know. Yes, yes. I've sort of evolved this little bit of a corner of my, you know, personality that can be used. And people seem to want to encourage, at least in part, for some renderings of one kind or another.

43:03and it does sound bad. It sounds like it could be a potential pitfall if you say, oh, you don't want to do that. You don't want to repeat yourself or satirize yourself or, you know, that's no good. And that's correct. That sounds like you want to keep, if you're an art person who aspires to artfulness in some way, you want to keep, you know, not repeating yourself and kind of not doing anything. But in the couple of opportunities I've had to do that And even a little scene like this, improvised scene like this, I sort of enjoy. I'm not doing anything, you know, inauthentic, I feel, or, you know, mocked up.

43:44I'm just kind of. So I'm freer. And I kind of enjoy myself like that. Anyway, if that's any kind of answer. You know what I mean? No, I do. Because it's really that you're, you know, happy, at peace, whatever. Like, it's like, cool. And I still like to act. There's, you know, I like to play. I like to characterize and drop my straight behavior or so-called straight behavior and do many things. And I want to keep challenging myself and da, da, da, da. But I still feel there are many ways I can use myself or this voice that I've, you know, kind of found in myself and way of being that I can get a kick out of.

44:21You know, that series we did, The World According to Jeff Goldblum, was a little bit in pursuit of that and thinking. And that's what I said to them. They said, oh, you can. I said, you know, I think I can use this thing that I kind of do that maybe people will enjoy that I might enjoy kind of developing further and actually encountering people, talking to people, talking spontaneously to the camera, you know, voicing my thoughts such as they are, you know, et cetera, et cetera. Amazing. No, I just want to, I was curious about that. Yeah. I want to hear about your jazz. This is real for you. I mean, some people know about it, but some people might not.

44:55This is something you've been doing for a long time. Yes. Do you like jazz? I know you like jazz. I do. I do. I love jazz. You do? I do. Yeah, well, I like it. You know, I took piano lessons when I was a kid, and my dad was, you know, my parents were jazz fans, and they brought home Errol Garner. If you know him records, he was also from Pittsburgh, and so I was exposed to it. I took piano lessons, and when I discovered jazz and the piano, that's when I kind of really got to be a better student and would, you know, practice and go, hey, I really want to learn how to play this thing that's kind of like that syncopated.

45:25And then I sought out jobs when I was still 15, 16 in Pittsburgh, in cocktail lounges around Pittsburgh. I got a couple of my parents, drove me, and then I put it in movies like you saw in those clips. And then about 30 years ago, started to play out and about with a band. And now we've made, and that's been fun, and now that's allowed me to develop, get a little better. I play with good musicians. And now you have the Christmas wall? Yes, yes. We have a couple albums out with Dekka and Verve that have done well. And now we have a new one coming out. And we just released this single, this Christmassy holiday single with me singing while the band plays Christmas waltz, if you know it.

46:04Do you know that song? I don't think I know it. I thought Christmas, perfect for you. Oh, thank you. Really? Well, thank you. I like Christmas time. I like Christmas time. We celebrate kind of both. You do both. Okay. Yes, we do do both. And my parents, I was telling, who was I telling today? Oh, I was telling somebody else today. In Pittsburgh, we didn't live in Squirrel Hill. We lived in West Homestead. And my sister and I were the only Jewish people in the school. And we liked to look at decorations. But we had a bit, we didn't want to get, my parents, I guess, didn't want us to feel left out of anything.

46:39So we had a big tree, much decorated, with lots of presents. So you were aware of, oh, I'm the only Jewish family in this place. Yes. But we're doing Christmas, too, so you're doing both. Well, and we had train sets, but we kept it all in the basement. Oh, so explain. Well, you take what you want from it. Wait, wait, wait. All right, now this is interesting. We kept it in the basement. Upstairs, downstairs. Was the menorah on the main floor? Not really for anybody to see. I think we may have lighted a menorah a little bit, but they were not serious. The Christmas stuff is in the basement. Yes, sir.

47:12There is Hanukkah stuff? Yes, not... Where is it? You know, in the kitchen. Okay. Kitchen. Is it better to be in the kitchen or the basement? Well, neither were displayed for public decorations. Did this make you feel that your religious experience was somehow not to be shared? That's a very deep question. I'd be interested in your experience. Well, you know, I had many experiences that started to, you know, wise me up about this, what I was. Jewish? Yes, yes. About being Jewish and da-da-da-da-da-da. Yeah, yeah. I became aware by and by. And my parents, you know, my dad was a doctor but volunteered for World War II.

48:01So I became aware of all that and my parents' perspective on that. and I was bar mitzvahed and blah, blah, blah, blah. Interesting. Well, I would say, because I want to be judicious with your time, I just have a couple more things. But if this were our therapy session, I would say, let's come back to that next time. Oh, yes, yes. There's plenty much to say about that and I'd love to talk to you especially about it. But that's striking. And then the positive on the musical side is that you're sharing something that's obviously important to so many people around the country. That would be a TV transition.

48:31That's how we do that. Yes, yes. And this song, here are the lyrics. A frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside, painted candy canes on the tree, so far secular and kind of part of the spirit. Santa's on his way. He's filled his sleigh with things, things for you and for me. It's that time of year when the world falls in love. Every song you hear seems to say, Merry Christmas, may your New Year dreams come true. Well, this song of mine in three-quarter time, it wishes you and yours the same thing too. That's the song. So that's not too religioso. No, yeah. But it's quite, I love the jazz of it.

49:08I love the musicality of it. It's not Jesus died for your sins. No, it's not. Yeah. No. Yeah. Also a theme in Christianity. As we know, yes, yes, yes. Much to speak about, about all of that. Yes, yes. How about that little drummer boy song? All right. Here's what I feel. I feel that all peoples of this earth are made of stardust. That's not just hooey. That's as per Neil deGrasse Tyson. And we are all very intimately similar and connected at our essence. And all of these, what do you call it? Taxonomy. Taxonomical differences are artificial and superficial. You could run for office if you wanted.

49:51There we go. Here's what I want to do with you before I lose you. Yes, sir. I have a question about your youthful demeanor. And then I want to do a lightning round with you. I'll have a lightning round. Okay. If somebody spent time with you, like I said before, say they don't know any of your films, and they spend time with you as I just have in this room, and I'm a journalist, so I try to be accurate. I would say I was with a very uproarious, energetic man in what we would call the medium prime of his life. He could be 50, maybe he's 55, whatever. If they didn't know who you were and they had that experience, they would be surprised to find out today you are 70.

50:34I turned 70 a couple weeks ago. 70 years old. Yeah, I know. And so when we say you don't seem 70, that actually seems like an error of mind. It's not that you don't seem 70. This is 70. You could be this energetic and this uplifted, and there's many reasons for that. I'm just curious. I do know you've talked about it before, but the reason it comes up is that you have a boyish, almost puckish demeanor. Yes, I'm puckish. So just tell us, what's that about? Is any of that practicable for someone else? Do you think there's anything you could share that other people can apply? Or how did you get this way?

51:12Because I'm for real. I don't want to say you don't seem 70. I want to say you seem great 70. Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, you should see me sometimes, like I say, at the house shuffling around. But, you know, and I'm coming and going. You know, I don't want to be like Dick Clark. You know, you go, hey, he's known for this is his signature, you know, there's a painting in the attic, you know, et cetera, et cetera. Now I'm coming and going, believe you me. But, you know, I've lived a lucky life and was exposed to some good advice or, you know, wisdom, maybe. And I don't know what, but, you know, and I've been careful crossing the street, you know.

51:55And by the way, that's a good piece of advice. Hey, get off your devices. Take everything out of your ears. Look both ways. And hurry across the street. So not getting hit by a car has helped you get to 70. That's part of why I'm here. Okay. And then get a good night's sleep. I've just learned that more and more. I'm always, well, I'm a late bloomer, meaning I'm staying interested in life. And I'm always trying to get better. I tell you, I'm getting better at some little things like brushing my teeth. and oh there was a i don't even want to tell you about some aspect of my personal hygiene that i just came upon this last week or two that was a total revelation and i was through and i said this has changed my life i'm a new man i'm telling you i'm discovering things about how to take care of myself etc etc and how to and i'm interested in relationships and doing the best i can and making my life useful uh you know so that's a pretty good i would say you know there's the George Bernard Shaw quote that I like a lot, which has to do with the real joy in life and handing the torch on to future generations, making it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations and really contributing, et cetera, et cetera.

53:07Having a purpose like that is a pretty invigorating one. Having kids right now is delightful. That keeps you young. Well, I think so, or it's going to knock me out. I love that. All right, life is going to be hard for you. All that stuff. You know why the lightning round is going to be hard for you? Because I'm loquacious and verbose, and I can't answer anything in a pithy moment, but I'll try. It's supposed to be a word or a sentence. Okay. We'll make some exceptions, but not for every answer. Is that fair? Whatever you say. You cut me off whenever you want. I'm at your disposal. In a word or a sentence.

53:42Okay. So if I said X, you would have to respond Y or the sentence of Y. Sounds too mathematical to me. I was not good at that, but I think I get the idea. Michael Gold of the Big Chill. Michael Gold of the Big Chill. Yes, that was his name, now that I remember. In a word or a sentence. Oh, who is he? Oh, you know, a frisky. Seth Brundle in The Fly. Passionate. Passionate. Dr. Ian Malcolm. Wise, wise, and droll. David Levinson of Independence Day. Heroic. Heroic. You can't go up against a almost suicidal, you know, with a suicidal mission to save the planet, but you still do it. A director you haven't worked with that you would love to.

54:31P.T. Anderson. The Coen brothers. No, those two. An actor that I haven't worked with. Ooh, ooh, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett. Ooh. Yeah, I mean, I was in a movie with Kate Blanchett, but we didn't have any scenes together. So success means? Success means, oh, this is a good one. And it doesn't mean what most people think it means. It means whatever you think it means. And better off you'll be if it's something having to do with your humanity instead of your checkbook or your notoriety or anything like that. As a matter of fact, the success in relationships, how you actually impact other people and the contribution you make to others while you're here.

55:31Being a maverick means. Being a Maverick means, it's your show, I don't know why, you know, going your own way and following your own beat of your own drum, I suppose, and trying to, although I don't know if anybody can really break their own patting themselves on the back for doing this. Because I don't know who is not, can really jettison the influence of the group and the norm and the convention. You may tell yourself, and you may be able to do it in some ways, Miles Davis. You know, like what you were saying, people expect me to do this, but I'm going to try this. Yeah. He's a maverick, even in his own evolution.

56:15He breaks through new, unexpected, surprising barriers in his own development. Jeff Goldblum? You're a great, great man. Thank you so much. I will now watch everything you do with renewed and enhanced interest and appreciation. Amazing. Thank you. Thank you. On any journey using Uber, it helps to know you're getting into the right car. Pin verification adds an extra step to make sure your ride is your ride. Before the trip begins, your app gives you a unique pin. Just tell it to your driver and they'll enter it in their app before the ride can start. Hey, what's your pin? 2538. That way you know you're in the right car taking the right trip and your driver knows you're the right passenger.

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