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Podcast Summary: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von - Episode #578: Ben Affleck
Episode Overview In this episode of *This Past Weekend*, host Theo Von interviews Oscar-winning actor, director, and writer Ben Affleck. The conversation touches on various topics, including Affleck's experiences in Hollywood, his new film *The Accountant 2*, parenting, and the impact of social media on the film industry.
Key Themes and Discussions
- Life in Hollywood
- Duality of Fame: Affleck discusses the positives and negatives of being in the spotlight.
- Likes making movies and telling stories.
- Dislikes the lack of privacy and unwanted attention from paparazzi.
- Emphasizes the psychological toll of constant public scrutiny.
- Age and Vanity
- Acceptance of Aging: Theo and Ben delve into losing vanity with age.
- Ben describes the physical realities of aging and how he tries to come to terms with it.
- He expresses a shift in interests toward projects that don't focus on physical appearance.
- Parenting Insights
- Value of Family: Affleck shares his experiences as a father and what he values most about it.
- Discusses the challenges of balancing Hollywood life with being a present parent.
- Emphasizes the importance of teaching his children resilience and independence.
- Social Media and Acting
- Changing Landscape: Affleck reflects on how social media has altered the dynamics of celebrity culture.
- Actors are now more accessible, which can undermine the mystique of their characters.
- Discusses the challenges that come with maintaining an illusion for audiences as a performer.
- The Accountant 2
- Upcoming Film: Affleck discusses his new movie *The Accountant 2* set to release soon.
- Shares insights into the film's plot and character dynamics, particularly his relationship with co-star Jon Bernthal.
- Encourages audiences to see the film in theaters, highlighting its broad appeal.
- Directing and Creative Process
- Desire to Direct: Affleck expresses his passion for directing and storytelling.
- Talks about the challenges of filmmaking, collaboration with actors, and the importance of casting in achieving the right tone.
- Mentions future projects he hopes to direct.
Key Takeaways
- Balance in Life: Affleck emphasizes the need to balance professional ambitions with personal life, especially in parenting.
- Social Dynamics: The conversation touches on the changing social dynamics within the film industry due to social media, impacting how actors present themselves and how audiences perceive them.
- Artistry and Vulnerability: Acknowledges that the process of directing and acting involves vulnerability and the necessity of collaboration for success.
Conclusion Ben Affleck's candid conversation with Theo Von provides a glimpse into the life of a Hollywood star navigating fame, personal challenges, and aspirations in filmmaking. His reflections on parenting, aging, and the industry's evolution resonate with listeners, making this episode both insightful and relatable.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Today's guest is an actor, a writer, a director. He's won an Oscar award. You know his movies like Good Will Hunting, Gone Girl, Batman. The list goes on. He has a new film, The Accountant 2. It's in theaters this Friday with Jon Bernthal. You may have seen the first one. I had a great time getting to know him. Today's guest is Mr. Ben Affleck. Shine on me. And I will find a song I've been singing I'm on the show
0:43Yeah, I lost my name. I wonder if you lose vanity as you get a little bit older. Like, not you, but like, what is that? I don't know. I see some people like, I don't know. It's hard to tell because, you know, you see some people like doing crazy looking things and you think like, that looks crazy. why are you trying to look 18 years old you know what I mean oh like the guy who's on Celebrity Big Brother right now who's that guy he kind of looks like Jack Sparrow I don't know what you're talking about but I can imagine you know what I mean you kind of can like a lose I think you can go one of two ways like if you see yourself all the time and especially if like the way you make a living is by kind of in part the way you look or whatever it feels like you know people can get like obsessed with it you know what I mean Yeah, that's kind of who I was thinking of, Mickey Rourke, I think.
1:30Yeah. No judgment against him, but he just, you know, it's like you can, it's definitely an active, yeah, some people it's like an active thing. And then you're in a real kind of like conundrum with yourself because you have to get old so then you would constantly be feeling like afraid to get older, I guess, or you'd be in like in a. Yeah, I think it's a tricky thing, right? Like, you know, nobody wants to get older, right? Because what it means is like you're going to die and nobody wants to really face that. And also you just find out like, you know, you're 50, man. When you get there, you'll see like just regular shit that used to be normal hurts.
2:04Like moving around, you're like, damn, what happened to me today? You're like, why is my back hurt? Oh, because I got up and then I sat back down. You know what I mean? Yeah, I petted a small dog. Movement creates like small injuries all the time. And so you start to get a little bit, that can kind of affect you. And I think if you, I think part of it's you got to just get comfortable with the fact that, you know. And I guess I'm lucky because I don't feel like, oh, shit, I better look young and kind of am who I am. And I'm all right with that. And also kind of what I like, what I'm interested in more and more is stuff that doesn't necessarily involve like how I look.
2:40Like that pressure, I think like for women, for anybody who sees himself all the time, it's like I think that can turn into like a vicious cycle of trying to look at shit and fix it or look younger. something uh whereas like you don't have to look any kind of way to direct movies you know what i mean or or have a business you know so i'm i guess i'm lucky you love me do you it's hard to know if you it would seem like you seem like a guy who likes being in hollywood or doesn't like being in hollywood i guess there's things i really like about it and things i really don't like yeah right and i wish they didn't have to be together but they are right like it's kind of life it's there's you got to take the good with the bad i don't really like to like do big social events or go out much.
3:24I'm kind of sure. I don't really want to be on care. Certainly when I'm like in my regular life and I'm walking around in my, you know, whatever underwear and t-shirts, I don't want people looking at me. I like my family and my kids and my life. I wish that were more private. I don't, I don't know how many people really want to be sort of scrutinized in that way, but I, I really like making movies and I like telling those stories. And so look, the truth is I always knew that was kind of a part of it. And so, you know, I deal with it. I don't, there's things I, I don't love about, um, this business.
3:55A lot of them, you know, it can make you kind of crazy, you know, it can record and there's stuff that's just no fun for me. Like, you know, events and shows and stuff like that. I don't, some people really know how to have a good time. I wish I did. I wish I was out there like, great, we're going to hit it. And I'm going to, you know what I mean? Like, as if I had that attitude, I'd probably be happier about it. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah, dude. I'm always trapped inside of myself. There's always like a lot of this, like, so we were like, you don't like being in a a crowd i'm like i have a crowd inside of me right now there's a crowd in my head it's busy enough 30 people in here and we're out of hors d 'oeuvres so i i've got enough fucking problems on the interior right now um so i can talk dude i can totally oh i can totally relate to that and every time there is a and uh and then we'll get off this i want to talk i know you i want to talk to you about directing and acting but um because yeah i was just i was like this bit is so because they always get pictures of you where you seem like you're like the the dwarf that like is kind of like the backup dwarf you know like you're on the side you're smoking you're like what is that guy i didn't i don't know that character but it's like you're like what is he pissed i think he's a little pissed yeah he's an understudy he's the understudy dwarf okay and not dwarf like you're a regular headed guy but it's like but i shouldn't have said dwarf i shouldn't say anything but it was like um i don't know they all and it's like they only put this chronology out of you that It makes you seem like you're kind of bummed.
5:15Well, here's the thing. If the only time, like when somebody's taking a picture of me, I'm bummed because usually I'm with my kids. I'm trying to go somewhere. And then there's four guys. We're like, hey, man, every time. Can you give me some time? I'm trying to be with my kids. Do you mind? Can you, you know what I mean? So the look on your face is kind of like, and then they go away and not taking the picture. You go inside and you're having a good time. But it's this selective experience of like take a picture of somebody every time they're feeling irritated. They're going to look irritated.
5:43Especially if you're the one irritating them. Yeah. It's like, I'll come piss you off and then take your picture and then put, and then be like, look, I'm pissed off. That's exactly what, that's exactly what that whole system is really. Right. But, and it's like useful. Cause that's why, like, you know, I'm sure you've seen on all this stuff like the, you know, that's kind of the idea is like follow somebody around, antagonize them. And then hopefully they'll have like a nervous breakdown and go crazy on you. And then your video be worth more money. You know? Yeah. It's, it's such a, it's that whole thing gets really black mirrorish, man.
6:12You know, it really gets kind of like like I can remember a long time ago, you know, years and years ago, like I really had a lot of empathy for Britney Spears because I remember that it seemed like it's not somebody that I I knew or hung out with. But I just like everybody else, you see all this shit that comes through. And I but having had my own experiences myself, I knew like these are people are following her around in a time where she may or may not have been having difficulty. I don't know because I don't know her, but I do know that the cycle of having people harangue you and yell at you and hassle you and follow you, it kind of seemed like that itself was kind of whipping up the whole thing into a tizzy.
6:54So it's – Like they're not helping. Well, yeah. And they're kind of poking a stick at it and going, look, look. Look at it. And that's where it felt kind of like, that's the first time I thought, this is kind of a weird kind of unintentional, I think, culturally, but kind of collective cruelty where what's taken out of the image that you see are the people around, you know, waving the stick at the tiger or poking on it or whatever. And all you see is the growling animal or whatever it is. but like that a part of that is because somebody's coming around and you know hitting on it or whatever to make it get active and that's where you think okay well this isn't really news it's not even real it's not what would be happening if this effect wasn't taking place yeah and and that's where i thought okay you know the the sort of wise thing to do is to just sort of like maintain one's perspective and try to remove yourself a little bit it doesn't which is what i would like to do i think there's this sense that that like if you see someone's picture all They must want you to be seeing it, right?
7:59Which is not the case at all for me. I'm self-conscious. I don't really want you to be seeing that. I don't see any reason for it. As an actor, it's no good for you because I don't really want people, if they watch a movie, to be like, that's not him because I saw him yesterday eating lunch and I know he's who he really is. It gets in the way of you being able to create the illusion. it's really hard work to create the illusion that this person like the character in the accountant too for example is a real person in a real circumstance in order to get the audience to care about it to laugh to find it exciting and empathize the character they have to suspend disbelief that's harder if you're constantly being shown something else so i think it it gets in the way it makes it harder to to be an actor and it's also just it's also not good for you people start to resent you if they see you too much no matter whether or not you're trying to be see you go no no i don't want to do this and nonetheless like i remember 20 years ago going through an experience where i was like it feels to the world like i'm trying to shove myself in their face and nobody likes that right nobody wants to be the like you the the camera hog the guy who's trying to yeah get a bunch of new ben affleck shoes or whatever and i'm like man just leave me alone and i'd be I would be much happier.
9:12So in a way it also can damage your career. Although I think it's, I don't pretend to understand the nuances and the, of social media and how to manage that as celebrities. So I don't do it. Some people do it really well, but, and I think there is a difference now because like, it's like, if you have a hundred million followers, that's actually valuable and meaningful in a different way. I still, I'm kind of old school, I guess, and a way of seeing. I'm medium school, I think. I'm middle school. Yes, exactly. I am a seventh grader. That's true. Oh, dude, yeah. I don't even think of that. I don't know if I graduated that one.
9:47Some of them, they let you skip, I guess, depending on what county you're in. Sometimes they hold you back. Sometimes they hold you back, dude. Bro, the scariest thing was when the dumb bully kid got held back. And you had to stick around in your grade. Dude, they'd be like, bro, I remember we got words. The kid's 6 '10 and like sixth grade. dude we got word that damien had gotten held back and people were like oh hell no dude we cannot do damien again hold me back too we cannot do damien again like damien has to go out to pasture wherever they put these kids that leave sixth grade and they're like damien's coming back finish their education shut him down dude tase him or something you know put a tire spike when he's leaving out of his driveway in the morning, but Damien cannot come back.
10:37But yeah, it is interesting. And it is kind of a sickness. I think a lot of people see that stuff as a sickness these days. But I do think it's fascinating about the suspension of disbelief. And that that was something that used to be amazing about celebrities is like, you never got to see them, right? And so you only got to see them and actors and you only got to see them on screen and in this way. And so you really envision them that way. I mean, you would almost be shocked if you saw a celebrity in person or an actor in person uh who didn't like like indiana jones if he didn't have his head i was just gonna say that is that when i was a kid i kind of thought harrison ford was that guy you know what i mean like that's what harrison ford i think he's probably the biggest you know movie star of my childhood and whether it was like you know indian jones or or star wars like he was the guy and i kind of thought he was that guy and so it's a little weird to see that guy just like you know in his sneakers and his kind of raincoat walking around bretwood it's sort of like of course it's disappointing or it's disillusioning or something because you you have this thing in your mind that's people went to a you know steven spielberg and george lucas went to a whole you know use all their talent went to a bunch of work to make this dude look like indiana jones and han solo and i i think what i've seen now is like i actually don't even want to see like the actors that i really like i don't want to go on your social because i don't want to know what you had for lunch because it just makes it harder for me to get into like what you know what you're doing I love that.
12:00And that's I think that is a real directorial way to think. I think I mean, I can see that in your brain. I mean, I'm just a judge. I'm just a guy judging you. They just met in a room somewhere. But but I never thought about that, that that's how it is that. Yeah, you don't want you want them kind of you want to. Hollywood has almost bitten its own tail in that way because there's this underlying like valueless current really that's kind of like a very cheap currency it's Hollywood it's it's Hollywood sort of adjacent adjacent right this side of media that's what culture that that profits from and circles and there's a symbiotic relationship between Hollywood and obviously like here I am promote my movie and running around and now I don't want to go on like a tabloid and do that or whatever it is, but that, that becomes part of that culture too.
12:50And, and then you have like any interview show or all these, and you're right in a sense, it is Hollywood because if you do a movie at universal, you know, you'll see that person's doing all NBC Comcast owned, you know, talk shows and appearances, right? Like it's not a coincidence because when they do their presentation in the boardroom for Comcast to their shareholders, they go, look, we make these movies, we spend a lot of money and then we get the stars and we plug them into all of our other shows that we also own and there's a lot of synergy so on and so forth the the idea though is like okay there's that's a kind of a tax that you end up sort of paying on your sort of life and the one and on this thing that you're trying to build which is something that connects with people and moves them and that they want to go out to a fucking movie theater and pay good money to see and it makes it a little bit harder than to have to kind of go around and do all that other stuff and be like, okay, well, that's not who I really am.
13:45And that's, and, and, and to try to sort of be interesting and relevant in some other way that isn't really what you kind of even wanted to do. And so, so you're right. It's sort of part Hollywood and also kind of Hollywood adjacent, and it is eating its, it does eat its tail. In a way, because it's, because the acting in the creation, it's like a watch looking at the beauty of a lake, right? It's like, this is picturesque. And this is like how they meant the waves to look. And there's a current here and there's an inflow and outflow and something landed in the water over here and left a ripple and something else is, this is the B story and there's a ripple, but then it's this under, it's this, all this stuff under it.
14:21And it's almost starting to like kind of drain its own lake in a way. Good metaphor. Yeah. Like the movie as the kind of lake and the underneath of what's both what goes into it and what happens behind the scenes and also what's, what it takes. And it does kind of like, it's interesting. Like, yeah, is if you overtax it, it lowers the lake. And all of a sudden it doesn't look like a beautiful lake. It starts to look like, like the, the low country marsh and it pulls down. You start to see all the black mud around the edges and the muck. And, and that's, um, yeah, I don't know how to kind of balance that, but as a, as a director, you know, you're right.
14:52Like I would say that's the way, the principal way I've always kind of looked at this stuff. So it used to be that you, you had an actor and you had people knew less about them. And now a part of even casting for me is what do people think or of and expect this person to do and or be? And how can I both I have to rely on that and use that. But I also have the opportunity to kind of subvert that in a way. And so you have to be mindful, not just of the story you're telling, but what does the audience bring into the theater with them or when they turn on television and expect? that's dude that's yeah i think that's advanced thinking to be honest with you i really do it's just uh learned by lived experience mostly you know find out like i even often make mistakes you know like if i sometimes i found if i sort of uh i did a movie where i had like a very blonde wig that was like a medieval were you rick flair or something i wish i was rick flair that would be spectacular i'd love to play it was actually a good movie i really liked it was called the last stool the point and it's great director ridley scott and he had this idea for it oh yeah really scott and yeah there's the thing there you see and and i liked the if that if no one i think had ever seen me or whatever i thought that was really yeah interesting the problem is that people i think what it did was aaron carter created noise around you know look at this hair is this different and we know it's a wig and so now you look at it and you go but i know he doesn't look like that and so it causes you to kind of think it's false that's an example of kind of probably not being able to go that far away from myself and still have people go okay i can sit aside what i know and just watch this story and and like it and believe in it dude that's fast that's insider baseball man no i could it makes total sense it makes total sense that that that would start to affect how we see things you know there's something that's happening where it's hard to get people to believe in some of these movies you know and people's attention spans have changed it's gotten and interesting yeah that's a bunch of things the but the fact that like even even the online world for example you see now that like shorter and shorter and shorter like clips or even my son who's constantly showing me clips of you by the way you know what I mean so it's a nice kid he's great kid yeah he's a fabulous kid and he's uh and he's he now when I watch him like scroll it's like he doesn't even get through the six seconds right you know what i mean he's like that you know and he'll like a long period of time for him is four or five seconds and it's and then i'm like hey man you know let's watch this show or watch this movie and it's like he gets bored fast he got to really love something to sit through it and then he you know binges like all the episodes like we just sat through like and watch you know in uh invincible this animated show you know and then it's like let's keep going it's so it's this weird dichotomy of on the one hand it's like nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
17:49Okay. Then plug in and like mainline this one thing and eat it all up till it's gone. And yeah, so it's all, it has really changed. You didn't used to be able to, to like pause and select, or even have that much to choose from. Like though that many choices is overwhelming to the, to the mind. Like we weren't made, I don't believe evolutionarily and, and, and as human beings to like, you know, we're supposed to be living in like a village and see about 100 people in our lifetimes. That's the vast majority of human history. That's how we did it. And I still feel like in a way that's how we're socialized.
18:24It's why, for example, if you feel left out of a group, it's very painful because thousands of years ago, if you got left out of the village, the group, whatever, and they didn't take you to hunt, you died. You needed those people to live. So it hits something really limbic inside of you. And even social media, for example, you're looking at stuff and you're going, damn, why is everybody else's life so good? And I'm seeing the life you're advertising looks so fucking cool. And my inside life feels like shit. That also is like a basic primal thing. And I think that's what this stuff kind of touches.
19:00But the amount of information now that comes in, because really now everybody's a celebrity, right? Everybody is a celebrity. Everybody is followed. Everybody's life is out there. There's newborns. There's four months old and 1 ,100 followers. And it's really, like, 1100 followers is kind of, it's just a, it's not any different from celebrities, just a matter of degree. But this is a formal, he can't even open both of his eyes at the same time. And it's like, yeah, exactly. And that's kind of become the, as the currency of, man, that looks great, you know, like the currency of, like, fame in and of itself as a desirable thing.
19:35Like, people go, man, I want to be rich and famous. Like, take rich. Yeah. You know what I mean? I mean, you know, famous is not going to make you happy. It seems like it will because it's like, oh, people will like me and know my name and kind of know who I am and I'll feel like I've done something. I think a lot of times what happens is if it doesn't come with a real sense of like achievement or accomplishment, it actually feels hollow and empty and like bullshit and undeserved. Do you think you wanted to start directing because it gave you even more of a sense of accomplishment? Yeah, I wanted to.
20:05Is that a weird question? But does that make any sense? No, it does make sense. I wanted to fail on my own terms because I had gone through some movies where I was like, I don't like this. I don't agree with this. But you got to do – it's like playing a football team or whatever. You got to run the plays that the coach sets up. You know what I mean? They're going to run a draw play, get the ball and turn around and run a sweep right because they're not blocking that way. You know what I mean? It's just – that's not going to work, right? So that's how that whole art form is sort of structured by and large.
20:36and what I found was I had a real strong sense of the way I wanted to do it and when it didn't work when it worked I didn't feel great because it wasn't me that had that I didn't feel proud of it and when it didn't work I just felt pissed off I didn't want to fucking do it I didn't want to I said it and that's a terrible feeling so I'd rather fail on my own terms or succeed on my own terms and that's where I kind of Got into directing. And I wanted to do it even when I was younger. And I just didn't have the confidence. And at a certain point, I kind of had nothing to lose. And that was really what kind of gave me the courage to take that leap.
21:16Into directing, you mean? Yeah. Because as an actor, I sort of got real cold and had a couple of movies that didn't work. And then, you know, all of a sudden, it can be kind of over for you. That's why it's a tough business. Really? Fuck, yeah, man. Like, there's no, like, seniority. seniority, there's no tenure, there's no retirement, no gold watch. If your show doesn't work or movie doesn't work and nobody wants to hire you, they're just going to hire someone else. There's 130 ,000 people in SAG and there's only 30 ,000 people that work every year. And then there's an even smaller amount of those roles where you have more than two lines.
21:55So it's a very tough. And so if you're not, people aren't watching, they're not coming or it's not interesting, see you later. And now it's different because I think the movie theater, you know, it's like it's a new attack. I think it takes novel thinking these days. I think it takes I think that movies themselves long form. I think it's they're going to have to find some new unless it is like great or new or so novel. They're going to have to find some new ways to either present it or edit it. I'm not sure what it is, but to me, just as a viewer, it feels like we're in this shift because. so quickly have people gotten into these quick moments and it's not even that their attention span is short their commitment it's like they don't want it's like i'm not committing to all the other options that you have totally you're sitting here a computer you're fucking i was a kid and we went out there wasn't shit else there was three channels of nothing on tv and it wasn't and if you didn't go see the movie in the theater you had to wait you know a year for it to come out on like vhs or dvd or whatever it was or cable and so you were a rumor you just had to wait for to come out in a diorama.
23:01Like, it was bad. The cave painting and shit. How long is it going to take you to paint this on my cave? Or a tattoo. A guy came through with a tattoo and it told a story. The whole thing, yeah. And so you had to like. It looked like a domestic dispute a lot, but you're like, hey, you know, there's a story for everything. But dude, even like this light. Danny McBride gave me this like a month ago or something. This light, it's like a flashlight or something. Well, this side is just like a flashlight, right? But the other side is like a wiener light. You can put a wiener on something. But I'm just saying, everything has seven things now.
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If you want to get people to go to the theaters, movies have got to be really good. it like you can't just used to be like okay it's gonna three movies in the theater every weekend people are gonna go to one of them now you gotta have a reason to want to go out and see it where and i'm lucky because you know the reason why i'm really confident about this movie the account two is actually plays great it's a really good movie people love it i've been you know but i was one where i was like let's make let's test this movie let's take it out there and i'm like okay this movie belongs out there theatrically and there's still it's still more difficult in old days this movie would have been a home run easy obviously i'm like the movie's great it works great it's a big smash hit now you have to like okay work hard to get it out because because ahead of time you screen it for people you see what they say you and the reaction is pretty consistent interestingly so but now it's like you know i think your point about uh what you have to do like the minecraft movie or barbie or you know it almost has to become like a cultural event like where people are going acting the scenes out like there's a whole reason to go do it kind of you know or else it's really really good and that's really what i really believe in this this movie is listen I you know absolutely would you come out and say it was good if it wasn't not like that I would have talked or talked around it or talk about well there's some things I like about it but now I wouldn't even want a movie to go out theatrically I didn't think it was going to work theatrically because it's it you know I think well you know there's people that watch this on streaming because I do think the bar is lower and I think there's different kinds of movies work on streaming and you know great movies work on streaming too but I would say I would choose to do that this was one that was supposed to be i wasn't you know it wasn't like we're going to go out theatric it was when the movie came together and worked as well as it did you know we thought this is definitely a theatrical movie and it's it's i think it's really good i'm really proud of it i love it john bernthal's great it's funny it's better than the first one yeah he was my brother he's great he's your brother yeah that's to me and it's we're like a two-hander yeah yeah y 'all are brothers in the movie he's not my real brother but yeah shit yeah he's and he's fucking amazing in the movie and he plays your so wait so who is the accountant or you can't tell no it's me right i'm this guy's accountant who's got who's are you a cpa we're i'm a cpa but it's sort of one of these things where it's gonna sound a little bit uh far-fetched when i tell you but it's actually very plot which is we grew up to obviously together we're brothers and we had this father that was very tough on us like heavy duty military guy this is in the first movie right when we were kids you see flashbacks and he kind of um was you know trained us movie you've seen the first movie right this is the second you saw the first one me and john came out like eight years ago oh yeah yeah so this is the second one this is the sequel oh oh yeah i didn't sorry man i didn't put it together and it but i think this this actually you know which is rare and i definitely wouldn't say this for more true is it's better than the first movie it's funny it's got more kind of heart it's it's more broadly accessible the action's better and i really like the first movie so and you directed this one too no i acted a guy named gavin o 'connor directed this movie who's a really good director who directed the first one and how do you um decide who is a good director because you're a good director yourself thank you um but i guess the way you decide that honestly is by watching their movies okay you look at it and you go kind of you know uh and and and if it's something that you do you sort of watch it and you can tell even movies where there's instances where it's like might not be my kind of movie or it might you know my my taste but you can still say okay well this is somebody who really understands this is like a master this is somebody who's very competent um or it really is to to my taste and i'm like this is amazing yeah but you know it's uh hard to get good at so you know there aren't very many great directors and that's that's one of the really tricky things about about making movies i'm really like this is the third time i've worked with this director gavin and i really like the guy he did miracle um he didn't movie warrior uh warrior is with the boxer and uh no jake uh why am I forgetting his name?
30:32The dude from Venom. Tom Hardy. Oh, yeah. And Joe Iston and Nick Nolte. People love him. Yeah. And he did Miracle, which is about the Olympic hockey team. Oh, yeah, against Canada. America versus Canada, I think, or something. Russia. Right. Yeah, Russia, the original. Oh, no, Russia's like dirty Canada. That's right, exactly. Yeah, it's kind of like, and that's, yeah, no offense to anybody who's Russian, but also, you know it. So it's not like we're keeping secrets from him. We're advertising that. So is it, would you go work on it? So if you and John Berndtall, you guys are buddies, you get along well.
31:04I love the guy. Yeah. I knew him. I liked him. So that makes it fun. We came really close with him on this movie. Yeah. We just hit it off really well. And it's like, I'm sure you experienced this like in your line of work. Like some people, you kind of just hit it off with the works. It's a great, like, oh my God. You don't even know kind of how it happens. And sometimes the chemistry is just not there. You know what I mean? It's got Tim Dillon. Have you ever met, seen Tim Dillon? No. What about him? Oh, you just got to watch him, dude. he's so funny he's just one of the funniest guys he ever made he just made me think like he's somebody that's really funny right um shane gillis yeah shane gillis is funny but i mean so but i'm saying like for you personally right like you might find that like you sitting down talking to somebody works even if somebody's great they might come in and you guys just don't hit it off or you might be great together in this case i really felt like with john like we got really lucky and we both kind of it's like a two-hander it's like a kind of odd couple sort of brother because I'm very reserved, very straight.
31:56He's very tough and ballsy and so like, you know what I mean? And so we're kind of opposites, but we love each other, but we're kind of brothers. So we drive each other crazy and we're frustrated with each other. And there's kind of those things really, those kinds of relationships dynamics in the stories really depend on the chemistry you have. And John's a just amazing actor, but also it was great to work with him. And I love the guy. I respect him. He's a good man. He's a great father. He works hard. He's just everything. I've heard a lot of neat things about him because he podcasts as well you know i think or he has you might have to take breaks from it if he's acting a lot um how long does like so how long are you shooting something like that and then are there phases during a movie shoot where it's like it starts off you know it's like and you just kind of get burnt like or is there a way to kind of yeah because the way they set it up is like you know and i don't think this is like optimal necessarily but because of how you gotta get everybody together and you know build the sets and do all the shit and all at once you know it gets you end up working like you know 14 16 hour days oh yeah and uh you know there is you know it's a function of just the some inefficiencies and the way it works and sometimes just what you have to do so you you're constantly working on sort of all you're thinking about morning moon night and you go home go to sleep wake up go back to work uh so you can get burned out on it but you can also like with account too it was like it started to just work better and better than i thought and so every day i was thrilled to go to work you know what i mean and i found As I get older, I'm like, I want to work with people that I really like.
33:20Yeah. Because so much of your life is spent at work. That becomes kind of what, obviously, I have my family. That's the number one thing in my life. And I just make the time for that. I have my kids. I'm divorced. I have them half the time. So I got them half the week. Then I'm with them. That's part of my life I'm going to spend at work. And so I've realized if I want my life to be happy, I got to have fun, then I want to be working with people that I really like and respect and enjoy being around. Yeah. And it's not always easy to choose that. Not everybody can. You get lucky, you know. And so I was, this was really lucky.
33:53I love John. Do, have you ever made, yeah, because David Spade and I wrote a movie that we just shot a couple months ago. Oh, really? Yeah. So it was fascinating. I've just kind of learned about how to do it. Like, we've been friends for about - How long did you shoot for? Four years. We shot for 23 days. And we got - That's pretty quick. It was. It was quick. We got pushed by the fire. So everything kind of got messed up and we kind of, not everything got messed up, but We got like sandwiched in a moment where it was like, everybody's here. The winds are 40 miles an hour today. We have to, there's no, we paid for it ourselves.
34:23So it was like, we have to do this. You find out when people leave your own money on something, all of a sudden it's like, okay, we're going to do this. Like people have a whole different attitude. That's something I've found. They're like, oh, we need a Dalmatian. I'm like, we don't have a Dalmatian. We'll fucking shave that sheep and fucking staple some. Fucking tattoo some spots on this motherfucker and shoot. and with removable glue glue some oreos to it and get that bastard out there you know teach it to bark we have 40 minutes get on youtube and teach that thing to bark um have you ever made a movie that you that you didn't put out or that wasn't put out oh yeah uh early on i made a bunch of movies that were like independent movies that you know they didn't have like distribution that i'm like a studio that said okay we're paying for this and when it's finished we're going to put a much money in advertising because you got to spend a bunch more money to advertise a movie after you make it right and or at least you know and that that's one of the big things that's changing now people are like okay how can we do this in a more intelligent way because all that money spent on television commercials just a wasted now that's that's why i'm here like this is a much more effective way to do it you know what i mean yeah dude it seems exciting well here's the thing i think when you tell me that it's good i honestly think that i believe you that it's going to be good yeah i'm telling the truth the movie is really good i wouldn't be like if you had a movie that wasn't good you just you kind of do a few the basic things and because look it's going to turn out like you know you're going to it's going to be a bell curve one way or the other the better you are you're going to move your bell curve a little bit further down and have a better chunk of movies but i got about like 12 movies that i really love and i'm proud of and about 25 that are like i like this i didn't like that you know and about 10 or 12 whatever that are like that's fucking terrible i hate this i can't watch it it was awful and when i did independent movies sometimes they just didn't get distribution.
36:08No one wanted to put it out or went to a film festival. I haven't had movies that were so like just something so terrible happened when the studio already was making it that it wasn't put out. But you have like they changed their plan. You can kind of see oh now we're going to shift to this or that. Now you can put something on streaming and you don't. It used to be like you were going to go out theatrical so you kind of were like naked. You just had your, you know what I mean? And if it didn't work everybody knew because they're saying look this movie made 10 cents this weekend and you'd want them to take the fucking billboard down you'd drive past the billboard like the billboard's like, you know the bomb, the movie's a bomb you're up there at night in your Batman costume just painting over it with one of those big paint reachers dude, did you ever see Family Man?
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36:49did you see that movie? I love that movie oh yeah, Family Man I liked really a lot Dunkirk I liked, I thought was cool Chris Nolan's a brilliant, brilliant guy tell me about your movie with Dave Spade who do you play? like what is it comedy yeah it's just bus boys it's like he's like a um guy he's just like we're just two kind of dumb guys or whatever we just got the first edit through so it's like i'm watching it right now let me tell you like that first cut of the movie like when i see the first cut of my own movie i want to kill myself really like you should not go crazy seeing the first cut and not like it i almost have never like now i have a company and we make a bunch of movies and you know the first cut it's this is one of the only movies where the first cut came in i was like it's great really 90 of the time you're like okay we got a long way to go it's a very iterative process they get better and more work is done after you finish shooting to make it good yeah that's what i'm meeting with an editor next week sit down and be like this is what's supposed to be funny about this scene like and explain it to them what you think is funny and is good because they it may seem obvious to you and it probably doesn't to that person like you can lose track you go look Like the reason it's funny is because you think we're going to do this.
38:00We know this about us from the first, you know, whatever scene. And when it come in, it's that take where I like yelled at the guy. That should be a surprise. Like you'd be surprised how often it's hard to go in and tell him. It's tough because I've been spending my nights like watch. And now I'm going to – It feels shitty too to put all that work into it and look at it and go, what the fuck is this, right? It's the worst feeling in the world. It feels fucking horrible because it's like I'm very particular about like what I create. Like you said in the beginning, it's like I like to make things.
38:26I know what I want. You know, it's like I know my intuition. And if I fail on my intuition, then that's exactly where I want to fail because that's pure to me. Right. Like that's okay. Yeah. And like, that's what you want to do. Great. Right. But it's a very tricky thing for other people to know that you and to know, you know what I mean? Your sense of humor, your worldview is all obvious to you. Right. But it's just not to people. So a lot of times you have to spend like more time than you would have thought literally going, here's what should be funny. If you can explain the joke, like you're a super funny guy, funny comedian, you understand comedy very well.
38:59So you can sit and break it down to him and go like, you got to know this about it. What's funny is that, you know, we didn't expect me to do this. Right. That's a callback to this other moment. Or the whole thing that when I did it, what I thought was funny is this take where I did that. Like, because on the set, I'm sure, you know, if you're doing a comedy and you shot it, you had moments where you were like, that's funny. Right. I think that's funny. I think that's good. Yeah. sometimes it's literally about going back into the dailies and saying, okay, go find the closeup or find this two shot.
39:26The thing where I said to David and David looked at me like this and whatever, that was the one where I left and thought that works. Like there's no mystery or magic to why they're doing it a different way. They oftentimes just need feedback. It is, this is not like sculpting or writing a novel. It's not a single person, you know, it's collaborative. It has to be collaborative, right? If I'm directing a movie with you in it and it obviously is going to have your comic sensibility. like I got to know and get what's funny to you or I'm not the guy. And I'm going to need help along the way. Any director is going like, so how come, what do you imagine about this or what do you think?
40:02You know what I mean? Like that's why you have to explain it and sort of talk about it. Cause that person has got to understand all those things that made you be funny in the first place and start going, Oh, people are laughing when I say, Oh, these are funny. You know what I mean? And you've put it together and professionalized it, but like you got to share that with them otherwise really. And then this is also where people sometimes get into fights, of course, because people's ego gets in the way. Ego will kill you. You have to be able to hear, I don't care what you do. You have to be able to hear, like, this doesn't work.
40:28This is dog shit. Because the audience will tell you. You know what I mean? Right, that's the thing. And it's like, I'm so particular. I'm not particular. But I just know what kind of has worked, you know? That's valuable because not everybody does. So what you have, right, is that awareness. You don't think about it. You don't have it. You feel it, right? You're like, this feels funny. Or when you see something, you're like, this feels wrong. Like, makes you uncomfortable, right? So that is a thing that's unique to you, right? So you need to give them access to that and get it. And if somebody is going to take it personally, it's not personal.
40:57It's your, and what David thought was funny, like, okay, you have to be connected in that way. And you have to understand that. It's not about like, okay, fuck you guys. Now I'm going to go make my vision of this thing. That's a disaster. No, no, no. I just think like, yeah, like this is why this was written this way. And this is why it's funny. and so this is the first time that we're like more hands-on with it um then you should definitely be hands-on because by the way no one's gonna do it for you right oh i agree with that on its own man it's gonna get better if you get in and work on it and by the way you're gonna see it again and you have to go okay closer now let's try this let's try that and then again the way movies like get better really is iterative it's like it's like it's like coats of paint you know what i mean you got to keep on go it's like a good paint job on a car there's like 12 coats of paint that's why that looks good.
41:41You know what I mean? Do movies take a long time to edit sometimes? Yeah, 26 weeks is the post-production schedule for most movies, right? That includes music. That's half of one year. Yeah, and it's longer than the production. You're trying to grab everything you can during production. It's more expensive every day to shoot. Editing is, you rent the editing room, the facilities. We needed an owl one day. We had an owl, right? This bitch, it was$1 ,100 an hour. For an owl? Yeah, it was like a semi-endanger. I don't want to say in danger or whatever, but it was like adverse. Do they charge more if it's like, you know what I mean?
42:12Like if you can get a chicken, they're not in danger. You can kill that. She just cut his head off. That's$10 for the owl. You can get a tall chicken. No one's going to know the difference. You can take the chicken and break his neck and he's turned around. You can get a tall, curious chicken. We'll give you that. I think maybe that's just like one of those things where it's like, what's the rate for owls? You just get to make it up if you sell owls. It's just so, it's like, God, you get into there and there's just all this animal entrapment. I um what else was I thinking about would you let your children well let's I want to talk to you a little bit more about directing so um because Argo you directed right and did you care about the Middle East that much were like a Middle East guy I knew you I've read some not really I did I did study Middle East in school and so I understood uh uh about it I wouldn't make a movie that I didn't it'd be like making a movie with you and not getting your humor right like it would just be crazy like you if as the director you got to care more be more interested in that movie than everybody else everyone's gonna be bored of it right you've got to love it the whole time through so the big key is like this is going to be interesting to me there was a lot of things that were interesting to me about that movie one was a real story the cia agent who had done it the the guy the people that i met and talked to at the cia the actual nature of like intelligence work versus you know what you have seen with a like you know you know like super spy shit that's not really realistic.
43:33And this story was really interesting to me. And also I thought it was like the fact that they had this like bizarre connection to Hollywood and this Hollywood makeup artists. And that we're trying to bridge those two worlds was, was really interesting to me, but it was a scary, challenging movie because the director's main job is tone, right? Like that's the main, that's what the director is going to really create is like, what's the tone of this? Like, what's the vibe? What's our, is this serious? What are we interested in? Like, what do we consider funny? All those things that go into all the choices we make in life, from the car you get, the clothes you buy, all that.
44:07What is your taste? And not everyone's going to like it, right? Some people, it's just not going to be their taste. You've got to at least make it as good as you can to your own taste, to, like you said, your own instincts. Yeah, you've got to find that tone that matches, because people want to believe, they're going to expect a certain tone from you as well, I think, you know? Yeah, and when that tone doesn't work, you're like, this is kind of cranny, this is Jesus fucking, you know what I mean, corny it's like it seems silly or whatever and it's like because you're asking someone to take something seriously that they can't take seriously or or think it's funny that they don't think is funny and and that's where it's a it's a tricky kind of nebulous job but that that's the most interesting to me important thing about it and that's yeah you know um do you would you let your children act do you think well i wouldn't let them act professionally while they were children no but but I would let, you know, if they want to do plays and shit and make their own kind of stuff with their friends, that's fine with me.
45:02I don't think it would be, I don't know judgment against people that do it. I've done playing movies with, you know, child actors and stuff. Oh, yeah. And that's fine. From my experience, acting as a kid and what I want for my children is not that. But also, you got to understand that then they, you know, I got a 19-year-old, I got one 16, I got one 13. Oh, wow. They can make their own choices. Yeah. Oh yeah, that's true, right? As a dad, you're just like, has that got to be tougher? When you're a dad, you kind of have already lived some life, so you were like, ah, and not even about acting, it's about anything, and then your kid is kind of making it, and you don't want to probably push them too much, because then you're pressuresome.
45:45Dude, that's got to be a real walking a police line or something. Yeah, I mean, that's the whole job of life. It's like, for me, before I had kids, I didn't really realize what my life was about. And then this becomes the central challenge of your life. And if you have a, everybody has complications and tricky shit in their life. And that's part of being a parent is managing that with what kind of life am I bringing my kids into making a good life for my children? How do we, you know and that's part of that is my kids are growing up out here in LA. I didn't grow up in LA. I didn't, I never met a famous person or actor or anything.
46:16That should just seem like a million miles away to me and totally. Sure. If you're in the rest of the world, it feels so far away and then you forget after you hear it for a while how far away it seems to other people like if you meet and you know like just anybody who was in and it just like that's like it was a i remember i was 12 years old in boston and i saw um christopher lloyd who played the dude on back to the future you know yeah and i saw him walking down the street i think he's doing a play yeah exactly i followed the guy for like six blocks like now i'd be like there's this fucking 12 year old kid following me right you know what i mean like i stalked him like i couldn't believe it that it was the guy from back to the future that i lost my mind yeah um and it was the only you know celebrity famous whatever person i'd ever seen or no and and so my kids are now they're seeing different stuff some of it's useful for them because it disabuses them of some illusions that i think are worth being disabused of and also but i'm also like i i don't look they're gonna if you if you their kids are gonna kind of be and do what who they are what they want to do, which your job is to let them know that they're loved, that they're keep them safe, you know, provide them opportunities and also not, you know, you got to resist the temptation to, to try to get everything out of the way for them because you're not going to learn anything or develop any grid or, or, uh, resilience if shit's just easy.
47:34Yeah. That's crazy. I didn't even thought about that. It's like, you're watching them walk and there's something kind of in their path. And if you take it away completely, then they're not going to learn how to deal with an obstacle. but if you leave it there, then you're going to have to watch them go through an obstacle. That's got to be crazy. And it's hard watching your kids, like even trying to climb over something, your instinct is pick them up, take them over. But you have to like, yes, you don't want them to put their finger in a socket, you know what I mean? Or throw up a cliff. But that doesn't mean life has to be hard.
48:01It has to be difficult in some ways. It doesn't have to be, shouldn't be traumatic, shouldn't be, you know, awful or painful, but things have to be hard for you to learn to do hard things. Yeah. And this world, like it or not, is going to demand that you do hard shit. If you want to have anything, you know, if you want to be able to provide for your own family, have your own dreams, have, you know, the things that you want to have. Because if you don't do it, the guy next to you is going to do it better or, you know, or the woman over here is going to do it better and you're going to lose out.
48:30And also, you know, I don't want my kids to have that first big, tough experience in life and like kind of fall apart. you know you got it like some of the best lessons i ever learned in life were from failure in fact for sure i didn't learn much from success i learned a lot from failure you know what i mean but the most important thing you learn is that you can survive it you can be okay yeah it can knock you the fuck down and you you know you it's like getting like when i was a kid where i grew up i mean we used to get in fights all the time oh fight all the time and you found out that you get punched in the face you get your ass kicked and that's not and he'd be like yeah he kicked your ass and you go like and you get up and you come to school next day and you know i mean it's kind of like tough day dude that first day was so tough yeah like damn randy i know it's worse that you have to hear about it than like just getting hit five times it's like yeah you kind of get your belt rung you know what i mean and but it's the like that's kind of going back to that thing about like embarrassment like kids will suffer more from being humiliated than physically hurt for example like that's the shit that really is painful but now i don't i don't wish to be clear that on my kid like you don't need to be fighting and shit all the time but it's you know it is valuable to know that you can fail or have something difficult happen really painful or get your heart broken have some girl be like you know be like i don't like you know what i mean embarrass you whatever yeah you're gonna be okay these things are not gonna kill you And in fact, they actually do make you stronger if you kind of go like, okay, that was, if I didn't have some of the resilience that I picked up by, you know, my early life trying to, you know, I would have just kind of given up or collapsed or had bad shit.
50:15I'd be like, oh, you know, and I'd fall down and never get up again. Yeah. You'd have no experience. And you also, it sharpens your intuition. You start to, it all learns. It's all, it is. If you can see yourself as a tool, sometimes it's definitely harder when you're younger because some of those feelings are new. and it hurts so much, you know? Here's the thing, getting better at anything never feels good. Like if you're building resilience, it's not a time that you're liking. You know what I mean? It doesn't feel good. Like, so that's what, okay, I don't like this. This feels like shit, but because it's hard, because I can't lift these weights anymore, because I can't, these other, you know, I'm exhausted and the other kids are still, you know, running sprints or whatever, you know?
50:51But like those are the moments for what it's worth where you're getting better. What is, um, what's something that you admire about each of your children? Just so one day they can look back and, and, um, you know, I mean, the thing I really, that I care most about, and it's, it's true of all three of my kids is that all of them have like an innate, like goodness of character, like a kindness. They don't, they're not trying to go out and hurt other people. They, they, and they have empathy. Like they care about and respect other people. Doesn't mean, you know, um, that obviously they don't make mistakes or they're a perfect or whatever, but that basic thing about them is really, really important.
51:30I think it's definitely also credit to their mom, who's amazing and who's spectacular and is great. I mean, we're divorced, but we I think do pretty good together raising the kids, going back and forth and all that stuff. And they're, I mean, they're all, look, I think, you know, like any parent you're going to be like, my kid's so cool and I love it. No, but I feel like something you admire like individually about them that's maybe unique and if it's too personal, I'm not trying to No, not at all. Listen, I think truly there's so much that I don't want. I just don't want to come off. And I know my kids will be like, dad, don't fucking go on there and talk about me.
52:03You know what I mean? So like my son especially is like, dude, he's right now watching. It's like, oh, no, no, no. But here's the truth. My my oldest one has got a beautiful like commitment and sense of like wanting to make the world truly a better place. And she'll put her money where her mouth is like she don't want to do something. She's not asking other people to do. She makes personal sacrifices. She has that kind of integrity. You know, my middle child is really, is this incredible, like, feels things deeply, like, artist, you know, kind of is brilliant and so funny. And my son has got, like, this incredible, like, joy of life and magnetism and sweetness and goodness to him.
52:47and like that's the stuff where it's like whether you can like dunk a basketball or write a great paper like great and i'm not you know but like that that's the shit that to me is more important that like kind of internal character stuff yeah that's cool dude that's nice man yeah it's nice to hear dads talk about their kids you know i think sometimes you just don't hear it enough sometimes you know i agree i think it's it's so important like oh yeah well it's an important thing in the world there's not as many male leaders as many male teachers as there were there's not as many like there's there's a space where we're missing a gap of mentorship from male to male because a lot of people well some people were pedophiles whatever but outside of those people it's like there's not as many let's rule those fuckers out yeah well also anybody pop around to you's driving around taking pictures of kids anybody else would be arrested for taking a photo of a kid in public but but and i think absolutely boys need um and so do girls like you need to see that there's good men you need to understand that good men are accountable and tell the truth they can say they're sorry when they make mistake they're strong you can rely on them they're funny like that they can show you strength and love and and and all this stuff that is good and beautiful and what you the people you want to be drawn to in your future life about masculinity you want to know and see that modeled and if you don't first of all you in there children who are expecting because we're children expecting to have that it's important it fucks you up and if you don't see what that looks like you don't know kind of what to look for oh yeah dude did you have a fun like do you have a memory of your dad that was like fun with for you i'm trying to think of one my dad would dude my dad was like i'm trying my dad was really old when i was born and so my dad was 70 when i was born right he was born in 1910 that was a serious guy yeah i wish he had some money which was crazy because usually if a woman's hooking up with an older guy he's got he's got some money what did your dad have going for him it was not money it must have been charming he didn't have a bank he was very charming my dad was very very charming but he would like take me to the like um he would like go sometimes have a beer about like this bar at the railroad tracks and he would like let me walk on the bar he'd like and they had like these little bowl of chocolates whatever and if the bartender i remember if i danced good she would like give me some some of the uh chocolates or whatever and he'd be like go wiggle for chocolates or whatever and i remember so i just remember i think you're like when my dad pimped me out that was a good time well he was just a he was just pimping me for confections you know or sugars you know it was kind of an outtake from that movie chuck a lot if you've ever seen that but um but yeah he would be like go wiggle for chocolates and i just remember that was one thing that i remember anyway sorry i made that about me but it was nice to to take that walk down memory lane yeah it's fun well there's things i remember about it like the bowls of peanuts and just like being in a bar like at like 5 p.m.
55:31because my dad was older he would go to rest he would rest pretty early but um i remember that's funny because i was gonna say oh i don't have that that kind of memories of my dad really but the truth is like you know after he he got out of the house you know this kid he we he worked at bars and so that's where i go see him up at the bars and he was like bookie and you know taking bets on the side oh really right yeah a little bit and and he was um but that that's what he did was bartender and then for that period of life when I was kind of 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, whatever. Did they have a jukebox in there or anything?
56:04They had a jukebox and then he'd be like oh go get the cigarette machine and I went in the bar and it was cool to visit him in there. They were in the cigarette machine and they had that pull out thing. Yeah, you could pull on them and by those days they'd be like tell you the kid go to the store and get me some cigarettes you walk in eight years old buy cigarettes and so yeah exactly. But yeah and also we were I mean my brother would go up to the bar and that those were there was some I do have some kind of fond memories of of that i wish i had more of them which is one of the reasons why like it's important for me in my life to make sure i don't fuck you know that i create those for my own children yeah i think that's something that we probably learn i think as we go along um i want to tell you about true classic god you want to feel good you want to feel something good on your body and look good to people.
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57:36Grab yours at Target or Costco or head to trueclassic.com slash T-H-E-O to get hooked up today. That's trueclassic.com slash Theo. I am excited actually to get a hold of Nutrafol. That's something I've got coming in the mail to me because I've still got enough hair to need a cut and I want to keep it that way. I want to keep it healthy. Nutrafol men, that's who I ordered from. You may have heard of Nutrafol's hair growth supplements and wondered, do they actually work? Well, it's a fair question. You know, many hair supplements over-promise and under-deliver, but Nutrafol is different. As the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand, it's trusted by over 1.5 million people and is clinically tested to deliver real results in just three to six months.
58:31Nutrafol men is clinically proven to improve hair growth and quality. Plus, men also reported no impact to sexual performance. Start your hair growth journey with Nutrafol for a limited time. Nutrafol is offering our listeners$10 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com slash men and enter the promo code Theo. Find out why Nutrafol is the leading hair growth supplement brand on the market at Nutrafol.com slash men spelled N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L dot com slash men. promo code theo that's neutrafall.com slash men promo code theo what else is something i want to ask you about did you was it weird were you um were you famous before your brother was famous is that a weird question uh not at all um you know i guess yeah a little bit like in the sense that he was in goodwill hunting with me and matt and he was brilliant in it and then um but you know like anybody like and Matt's like who's like you know my best friend as a kid stuff like Matt Damon you know you had like and he got more famous of Good One Thing and then my brother you know so you kind of and you know people if you really like try to map it out like those sort of how famous are which is kind of a weird and a hard thing to tell.
59:56I agree. It kind of moves around but my brother was always a working actor and then he became you know he he he really established of course won the Oscar for acting and and kind of established himself just as a great actor and And had a more steady kind of arc. In Pittsburgh, remember? With Michelle? Oh, yeah. You're talking about Manchester by the Sea? Yeah. Manchester by the Sea, yeah. Yeah, that's what he won the Oscar for. He was? He was amazing in that movie, yeah. God, it was so good. Is it, yeah, I just always want. He's a great actor, my brother. Is it, yeah, are you guys pretty close?
1:00:29We are, you know, we're close. He's got great kids. I love his kids. And he's a great guy. And, you know, you know. Because you get through phases in life, too, where you're kind of like people are you're kind of doing the same thing or you're just in different spaces well that's what happens when you kind of really like get older and then we were like up to 30 or whatever i was just like hanging out with guys all the time you know what i mean we're going out we're doing this or whatever and that was kind of life most of it and so you see all your friends all the time and my brother's one of the you know we don't hang out and then you have kids you have family and then it's kind of like okay i'm gonna have friday at five or whatever for seven or whatever and and then you kind of have to you lose a little bit of that bigger network are like who are who are the like i know who 10 of these guys are who are the other six you know that starts to kind of go away and and you kind of have to be more selective but um you know uh my brother's is is a brilliant funny amazing guy and his kids are it's a joy to see his kids grow up and be you know yeah being an uncle's fun oh it's the best because then you don't really you can kind of just like let him do shit you know you have to be really the dad yeah you know i'll tell you this so there was um i live in nashville so i moved there about four years ago and there was so the other night there's like tornadoes or something and i didn't know like and i live in like it's a nice neighborhood it's nothing crazy it's not like rich enough where you're away from tornadoes you know you better be pretty how rich you have to be to get away from tornadoes i don't know i'm still in the wind district you know so there's a freaking tornado warning there's sirens going off over town i didn't even know we had sirens so i'm texting my nephew thank god i called him twice and then finally i text him i was like dude uh i was like bro tornado warning what do i do and he's in middle school or whatever and thank god he's like get under your desk that's what he fucking says at 4 a.m and i was like dude i don't have a fucking desk you know what i'm saying and he goes don't curse at me over text and i'm like this fucking kid does not know how to support a family member it's just like uh that's hilarious anyway i don't even know what i told you that story about what are we talking about weather i don't know family members oh yeah and what it's like to be an uncle yeah i get to see my nieces and uh they're coming for easter tomorrow so i'm excited about that but yeah um yeah being an uncle how many uh like nieces and nephews you got i got five total one of them just went to prom so i got to be there when she took pictures i was in baton rouge for that um it's fun yeah and you kind of get to be like a little bit of the confidant like you're kind of like on the edge of dad because they'll tell you stuff that's kind of like you You can't talk to your parents about like whatever, you know, something, but you can kind of let, you know, the uncle kind of know.
1:03:03And you, so you can be kind of on the side a little bit, a little cooler, even if you're really not that much cool. And they're like, don't try to play it off like that. But you kind of get away with it a little bit. And you know, you got to like, you can't, you can't push it. You know what I mean? But it's like, and you got to know when to snitch to on them too. And tell the dad what's going on. Exactly. Did you, um, let me think about a movie thing. Oh, did you get to keep your Batman outfit? I did. Yeah, I did. In fact, it's at our office. And it's one of those things people like. It's like it's one of those things that sort of like, I don't know, people like to see it.
1:03:37It kind of reminds me a little bit of like Planet Hollywood a little bit. I'm always like, oh, you got this rubber bat suit here. But it's like, I don't know. It's hard to tell. Look, I get it. That's a kind of a cool movie souvenir. Sometimes I feel like if you put a grapefruit on like TV every week, you know what I mean? And then you just put it to the mall, people will go by and be like, oh, there's that grapefruit from TV. You know what I mean? So sometimes I would tell whether something's interesting because it's interesting or because – but I can see how that is kind of interesting. The most interesting thing about it when people see it is like, damn, how do you wear this?
1:04:06And it's true. It is like of all those type of roles and stuff, like the superhero thing, the outfits make it a lot harder to do your job because you're kind of constrained and they're real hot. It's like, you know when wrestlers – when I was a kid, I used to run around with trash bags to lose weight because you'd just dump all the water. You know what I mean? like that's sort of what those outfits oh yeah you'd see like some guy just with his yeah you'd see some guy in your neighborhood who's on the wrestling team or whatever i know the wrestlers yeah exactly at a wrestling team and then he's running down the street like a california raisin yeah exactly 15 pounds in 10 minutes you know what i mean he's just spitting on his family members and he's just cursing because they say cursing helps you burn calories or whatever um yeah that's kind of interesting but you would but you never like put it back on for anything fun or to surprise I did it for my kid's birthday when he was, yeah, my son's birthday.
1:04:57And he was like, he was a little young, but it was fun. I got the pictures now. Now he's like, I guess that was cool that you did that. At the time, I didn't know what the fuck you were doing. And I'm like, but it was cool, though. Do I get credit for it now? He's like, I guess. He barely, but I had fun. And that was the whole reason I did it. Like, I'm going to be Batman. My son, like, how cool is it? Your dad's Batman. My son was like, you know, three and shit. And so he was like scared of the movie. but but but uh you know since then it's like he'd be it's become kind of in retrospect i think kind of cool it's hard to tell what your kids think is cool because most time they're kind of like uh-huh yeah they don't really tell you kind of because it's almost like you're like yeah i don't know i just watched my brother have nephews like i want to get a wife and children i don't have a wife yet but um yeah you all look your parents are never gonna be like because part of the thing is like you don't you can't like you need to separate from your parents right You need to like move away, get out of the house, that whole thing, like move on, become your own, your own man and all that stuff.
1:05:50And if you're too wrapped up in like your folks and you know, you can, you know, it gets in the way of that. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You got to start to slowly separate in those ways that kids do. So there's part of it where they're like, you know, and it comes off like, well, I'm like, Hey, you guys want to play some games? I'm like, close the door. Yeah. Get out of my room. Close the door. I'm like, just, so just leave. You know what I mean? Oh, and then there's that moment. It's the first time you kind of close the door and there's that moment where the dad's by the door and he's kind of sad but he's in the hall but then he goes in his room he takes three steps and he's like oh good i got some free time actually but there is that moment it is yeah absolutely and they come back around you know what i mean do you think um i auditioned for a project green light movie that you guys had years ago really yeah it was one where there was like a guy in a wheelchair and they were like dangerous people were coming in like you were trapped in a bar or something feast maybe the horror movie yeah yeah yeah i just remembered that that's You auditioned for it?
1:06:40Really? Yeah. Oh, I was not any good. That's wild. I'm not a good at it. I would not. I think it's a bad idea to do that. I just, but anyway, I just remember that it popped in my head. Do you still have Project Greenlight? It's, no, it's not. I mean, it's not currently. We did it with the company. We haven't, but we are not doing it now. And we took it, we had it on for a while back then and then brought it back. And it's interesting. I really liked it. And I thought it was interesting that like, cause it's, because that's what I do. and I know, okay, that's tricky. Like, it's hard. You got all this drama that comes up on a movie.
1:07:12But when we had like a million dollars to make the movie and everybody was like, a million dollars, like, that's like nothing. And now it's almost setting people up. It would kind of just be like, then you'd just be doing a show about people getting into arguments and smashing things and having a breakdown because you can't really even do it for a million dollars. Yeah, tons of change. Unions and wages and all that stuff. Like, you know, so, but I really liked that idea of that show and what we were able, because to me it was about like, also creating opportunities for people that are outside Hollywood, you know, who could come in and be like, look, I know what I'm doing.
1:07:44I want to do something. And then you got to like, okay, well let's see what you can do. What, um, do you think Tom Brady's good as an announcer? Yeah. I think Tom's good as an announcer. I think he's look me too, dude. I think he's really smart, obviously about football. I think that like, it's a, it's a, um, people kind of, you and you're the, like the greatest quarterback ever lived. They think, well, okay, now he's going to come in and change broadcasting for good and and like just being a normal human being it seems kind of like i i mean who do you want to listen to analyze something like if i want to like somebody tell me about like a you know a concert like i want to hear from you know some great musician you know if i'm if you're you figure well nobody's gonna have better or wiser analysis analysis than tom maybe not about like telling jokes or whatever that's something different yeah but yeah i think so um but he's a surgeon he seemed like a surgeon when he's talking about it and the way he breaks down certain moments and how long it takes to do certain things he's like well they got about this many yards they're gonna have to move about this many this many yards a second like he's definitely you start to see who he really is like how much analysis went into that i still think one of his like real like one of the things that really separated him because you know everybody knows about how like you know he you know he was like drafted late and all this stuff like and there's you know his is like combine numbers weren't like you know so people weren't just like this guy's gonna be amazing i feel like one of the things that he has that people don't really talk about is like and this is so fucking important is like i feel like he he has this thing where he doesn't get tight he just doesn't get nervous like i think that the there is a huge advantage imagine like you're in the super oh yeah and it's like you know fourth and eight and you got you know seven seconds or whatever and you win you're good everyone else's heart rate is banging their head adrenaline i think it's what makes actors good too good actors at certain moments you getting relaxed the ability to relax intense situations where other people get tense because tension and stress it locks you up you know you panic it's like everything it's all bad oh it's horrible that's when yeah dude it's definitely there's moments the first time i'd ever audition i was like open the windows open the windows and like there's not a lot of windows in here and they're like they're already open i remember i was kept blacking out and then I had to like do some scene that I didn't even care about what are we doing here Why are we doing that?
1:10:02I'm sorry. That was not a plan Um, oh yeah, dude I want to tell you about the ever see that Dunkin Donuts commercial because I know you did a commercial with them Yeah, you ever see them where they shut down that one and uh Is it boy show boy? What is it? Shemokin Duncan's close by fire A COFFEE SHOP IN SHIMOKEN IS CLOSED FOLLOWING AN ARSON OVER THE WEEKEND. POLICE SAY A TEENAGER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THAT DAMAGE. THESE WATCH 16th NIKKI CRYZ JOINS US LIVE FROM THE CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA NEWSROOM WITH MORE TONIGHT. NIKKI. JULIE, A LOT OF PEOPLE IN SHIMOKEN ARE UPSET THAT DUNK DONUTS IS CLOSED BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYWHERE ELSE TO GO FOR COFFEE AND DONUTS.
1:10:43TODAY WE ALSO LEARNED NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEENAGE GIRL POLICE CHARGED WITH SETTING THE PLACE ON FIRE. SETTING THE FIRE IS CURRENTLY AT A JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER. MANY PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN SHIMOKIN ARE UPSET THAT DUNKIN DONUTS IS CLOSED. NOW I HAVE TO RELAY ON MYSELF TO GO TO MAYBE A TURKEY HILL OR SOMETHING WHERE I DON'T LIKE THEIR DONUTS. I RATHER THE DONUTS AT DUNKIN DONUTS. AND I'M KIND OF DEALING WITH IT, BUT I REALLY MISS DUNKIN DONUTS. I GO THERE EVERY DAY. I GET A CHICKEN BAKER CROSANT OR I GET SOME COFFEE, POWERADE, IF I'M DEHYDRATED. I SIT THERE ALL THE TIME. If I have any legal work that I need to do I go there, I meet with my attorneys there I'm going to miss that place If it don't open up A lot of my friends go in there Get the cold coffee Ice coffee I guess it's called People miss their local hangout And hope doesn't do it When that one closed down It was just like a real People kind of went bananas on the internet Because it turns out the legal clinic Got shut down I was like there with my legal work my you know my probation officer meets me in there i usually deal out of that place like all right yeah you just you don't know when a dunkin donuts closes down you don't realize how many lives intersected that community is paralyzed yeah um what's something else that you want to direct man where is there something what about you directing timothy chalamet that'd be so dope he's terrific actor man i uh he's great you know and i think and that that's really what you kind of like, no matter what you do, a big part of it is, you know, 90 % of it is, is, is they say, is like picking the right actors.
1:12:19Cause you, there's really nothing you can do. You're, you're, you're kind of like, okay, now go ahead. And you can, you know, get about 10 % calibration, but the right people for the right role is, is, is so much a part of what goes into directing. It's what I was talking about, like kind of understanding what people sort of think about or assumptions they have about actors that they are going to watch. there's a lot of um actors that i would love to work with i haven't worked with and i'm lucky to have worked some great ones so far and i have i have a movie that i've just finished shooting called animals that's uh make your own movie out on netflix that i directed oh congrats yeah and i got and i i may even direct another movie uh next year which is actually pretty quick um but it's not all set up yet but it's something that i really love doing and i'm i will do it like especially like as i got one kid that's uh you know in college now and the other two like by time my son who's who's 13 goes cause then i plan on kind of just directing all the time but like i said it takes so much focus and energy that one of the regrets i have even about movies that i really like and i'm proud of is like what periods of time that i miss with my kids because that that that just doesn't come back you know you almost have to plan ahead like okay maybe they're going to be on a semester abroad or this is going to be going on like this i'm like i do them in la you know what I mean so not travel some can be home for dinner and come you know and just make that a make that the priority but it's it's it's a part of what why I slow down a bunch from directing because it just in order to do it in a way that I understood that it required like it just requires almost total commitment and concentration yeah man because we yeah we got to keep telling good stories because it's important that's how people learn things and that's how you remember things they become part of like you know history they really kind of tell history a lot of times um um yeah it's definitely interesting about oh you said something about oh yeah the shooting in hollywood has become so tough huh but it's supposed to it's supposed to be getting easier well you know it's tricky because what happened one of the things that's happened is that like first of all movies just used to be made here like you know country music was made everywhere like that's how it was and then you had other states and countries that started kind of offering incentives because they felt like, you know, if we bring this business here and like it stimulates all our other businesses because there's this huge kind of trickle down effect of from the restaurants, dry cleaners, the drivers to blah, blah, blah, blah, all this money into the economy.
1:14:42And, you know, L.A. or California didn't really, I think, whatever. I'm not sure what happened or try to compete. They have a small incentive now and they've actually broadened it some. And I they're aware of it but but it's it's tricky whereas other states and they're kind of controversial some states have have felt like they worked out for them and they're happy georgia's got a huge incentive program they get all i mean you know a marvel movie shoot down there i got a place in georgia and i you know that's that's i filmed in georgia it's in fact the count was we filmed in georgia and that's why right they start offering incentives obviously been successful for yeah it's like california's ego about it in some weird way it's hard to figure out yeah i'm not i don't really know enough about the politics of it to know it seems to me like and i think it's like well we've always had it here we don't have to give the incentives like that's what's pulling people right people that but it's like at a certain point you have to but now everybody's moved and moving away and moving around and if you can't make a movie without the the crew is what's going to make or break your movie now you have 3 000 people flying to like to bed or whatever to shoot for you know like the uk they give out they do these big reviews so it's like yeah all that harry potter movies and all the like dc movies all these this stuff goes and shoots like out of the country uh you know look it's i obviously selfishly like this is where my kids are so this is where i want to be but also the best technicians i believe in the world by and large are here and they're really artists too and they're ready to work too a lot of them they've got to work and look you have these fires and all this stuff it's like but look it's hard all over and i get it i don't begrudge anybody anything i i would like to uh preserve like look it's a big business for this country right like show business there's something that we make that everybody buys all over the world oh for sure we buy a lot of shit from other countries right like this is something that people want to buy from us well i'm amazed that i was talking about this with somebody and it may have been um damn i can't remember my brain's off on the weekend but um but we're talking about how california hasn't really done a great job of like kind of museuming some of the all a lot of great parts about that were in movies and like you know sydney portier this is where he lived for 20 years or you know this is the bad news bears park where they play like brady bunch house right there's some of it but and it's like bits and pieces on the internet but it doesn't seem as preserved like when you get here you almost think i know it would seem like more of a museum in itself because at the time i think people just didn't think about it or somebody's house they're into whatever it was but yeah they haven't really i mean you know you can do some of these tours and stuff but it's kind of like i think california I still feel like, even though I'm a resident now, I'm from somewhere else, from Boston.
1:17:14Yeah, for sure, Massachusetts. It seems like California is felt, I think, in a way like, hey, people come here. You know what I mean? So we don't need to bring people here. But times are changing. Movie business, like you say, is changing. The theatrical business is changing. It's all the number. You're looking at one thing that people watch more than anything else, which is YouTube. Oh, for sure. but Accountant 2 is in Accountant 2 is out in theaters on Friday this Friday? yes go out and see it it's great do I take a date do I take my cut who do I take take your whole family everybody you know actually the truth is it is a movie that anybody can see like real accountants better like it that's the core if accountants don't like it we're still fucked I mean you know what I'm saying you're gonna call the movie The Waiter and waiters don't go you think anyone else is coming?
1:18:06but uh it's yeah man it is a movie that i think honestly like works for you know it's it's smart and it's not like oh well only young people like this or only old people like this it's got everything it's it's hard to make a movie that i think strikes this chord and kind of works for a broad audience and it is better seeing it in the theater so and uh it's one that i'll be willing to leverage my kind of personal word and credibility i'm like go see it you won't regret it it's really good you heard that uh ben affleck thanks man thanks for coming in and just sharing and thinking with me and just having a good time.
1:18:37Thanks for having me, man. This is cool. We're excited. I promise that I'll go see it. And I think a lot of people will. I hope so. A lot of people listen to the show, so I appreciate it very, very much. Thanks for having me. Tell your son I said hello. I will, dude. That's right there. That's the whole reason for coming right there. That makes me cool right there. Now I'm just floating on the breeze and I feel I'm falling like these leaves. I must be cornerstone. Oh, But when I reach that ground I'll share this peace of mind I found I can feel it In my bones But it's gonna take
From the publisher
Ben Affleck is an Oscar award-winning actor, director and writer. His new movie “The Accountant 2” is in theaters this Friday 4/25.
Ben Affleck joins Theo to talk about making movies in the age of social media, his thoughts on all the unwanted paparazzi attention he gets, and what he values most about being a dad.
Ben Affleck: https://x.com/BenAffleck
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Submit your funny videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear on the podcast to: tpwproducer@gmail.com
Hit the Hotline: 985-664-9503
Video Hotline for Theo Upload here: https://www.theovon.com/fan-upload
Send mail to:
This Past Weekend
1906 Glen Echo Rd
PO Box #159359
Nashville, TN 37215
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Find Theo:
Website: https://theovon.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/theovon
Facebook: https://facebook.com/theovon
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thispastweekend
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theovon
YouTube: https://youtube.com/theovon
Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheoVonClips
Shorts Channel: https://bit.ly/3ClUj8z
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Producer: Zach https://www.instagram.com/zachdpowers
Producer: Trevyn https://www.instagram.com/trevyn.s/
Producer: Nick https://www.instagram.com/realnickdavis/
Producer: Colin https://instagram.com/colin_reiner
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
