The Treat: Phil Lord and Chris Miller

0:00Chris Miller:I'm Elvis Mitchell, and this is The Treat. Writers, producers, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have made their signature on projects of their comedies from one angle and melodramas from another. Their latest is the film Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling. But they've also brought us the Lego movie and the Spider-Verse animated films. Their Treat is an intimate film that has grown epic over the decades. I'm Chris Miller. I'm Phil Lord. And this is The Treat.

0:35Chris Miller:Phil and I met in college, our freshman year, and quickly realized that we both had the same favorite film, which was Harold and Maude. Don't be shy. Just let your feelings roll on by. Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there A film about a young man who is trying to find his way in life and has a dark take on humanity and meets up with an older woman who is all joy and positivity and appreciates life and teaches him a thing or two. Tell me, Harold, what do you do for fun? What activity gives you a different sense of enjoyment from the others? What do you find fulfilling? What gives you that special satisfaction?

1:40I go to funerals. And I found myself alone, hoping someone would miss me.

1:48Chris Miller:This movie is extraordinary because despite opening to no acclaim and instantly bombing, it has become a classic. It's the second movie directed by Hal Ashby, at that time an Oscar-winning film editor. And it's the first produced screenplay by Colin Higgins. It was at the time a UCLA student. So it has this, I don't know, this like naivete. It's very hippy-dippy. It's got songs by Cat Stevens. And it's sort of about one person who's afraid of living and another person who's not afraid of dying. A lot of people enjoy being dead, but they're not dead really. they're just backing away from life. Reach out, take a job, get hurt even.

2:52Play as well as you can. Go, team, go! Give me an L, give me an I, give me a V, give me an E. L-I-V, live! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room.

3:09Chris Miller:It is very funny, but also very poignant and emotional and very serious at times. And that's something that people often ask us about movies that we make, especially this one, Project Hail Mary. Is this a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it action? Is it, you know, what is it? And it's all of those things. You laugh and you cry. and in that movie you laugh and cry, and in that way that, you know, the best dramas make you laugh and the best comedies make you cry, and human beings are capable of feeling multiple things at the same time. And if you want to be high, be high If you want to be low, be low Cause there's a million ways to go You know that there are And if you want to be high It's just the oddest movie.

4:02Chris Miller:And it's so delightful and universally delightful, despite all of its really unusual elements. We like what we like. The heart wants what it wants. Well, if you want to sing out, sing out. And if you want to be free, be free. Because there's a million things to be. You know that there are. And if you want to live high, live high Harold and Maude starred Butcourt and Ruth Gordon and was director Hal Ashby's second film, After the Landlord. It's The Treat, from filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, whose most recent film is Project Hail Mary. The Treat is produced by Rebecca Mooney and mixed by Katie Gilchrist.

4:50Chris Miller:And I'm Elvis Mitchell. Morning is broken. It's The Treat. do it today. You can make it all true and you can make it undo. You see, it's easy. You only need to know. Well, if you want to say yes, say yes. And if you want to say no, say no. Cause there's a million ways to go You know that there are And if you want to be me Be me