Technical Aspects of Speed Racer

This summer, Prime V video takes you back before legally blonde, before law school, and into the world of Elle Woods in high school. Set in nineteen ninety five, this Gemini vegetarian knows exactly who she is until her family moves from Bela Air to Seattle. Packed with iconic fashion, nineties nostalgia, and a throwback soundtrack, Elle proves one thing Law school was hard. High school was harder. From the world of legally blonde, watch L, a new original series only on Prime videoide. Watch now. Experience a membership that backs what you're building with American Express Business Platinum. Enjoy complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge collollection and apply to find out your welcome offer, which could be as high as three hundred thousand membership rewards points. American Express Business Platinum. There's nothing like it. Terms apply. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Learn more at Americanexpress. com slash businessash pllatinum. Nil Hirch. Kevin McCarthy. We just realized that you have a cousin. My cousin, Kevin McCarthy is named Kevin McCarthy. It's incrediblely. He's a very talented doctor Well, I wish I was doing something as important as him. I'm hosting nerdy movie podcasts talking about movies, which is something that you and I both love. And Kevin McCarthy, obviously also the actor from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which is one of my favorite movies ever. So All right, so we are here to talk about a lot of things. I mean the filmmakers that you've worked with, your relationship to music Cinematography, just like the incredible filmmakers you've worked with but also speed racer hitting four K as of may nineteenth, which is today the day we're awwarding this.. And I actually brought the physical copy with me because I want to talk about physical media. But the question I always open the show with is this idea of the communal experience in theaters, right? There's nothing like going to the movies and sitting in a theater Seeing Once Upon Time in Hollywood in seventy Mill at the Arc lightight was like a pivotal moment for me. But as a kid, there was those movies that were really important that made you understand why the theater was so special. I know the Matrix is obviously an easier answer because I think you and I are around the same age. We were like thirteen, fourteen when that came out. But when you were a kid growing up, what were those theatrical communal experiences that you remember Having at a younger age that meant a lot to you. Well, I the very first film that I to in the theater, I think I was like one year old and I went and saw the prrincess bride. Wow. I went and saw I was taken to the Princess Bride. You drove yourself. And I just remember that rat creature in the swamp just scared the shit up And I just there was such a magical kind of enchanting movie. It's weird because I actually really do remember watching it and I would have been like one and a half or something Um And then I got the soundtrack and I just played that song All like. I played that like a million times on my little tape deck And then also like Batman with Michael Keaton. I remember my dad took me to see that. We were staying right in Hollywood and we walk down to the man's Chinese and ghostbusters. You know, my dad would walk me down and we would see these like cool movies right at the Man's Chinese and I would get to see like all the handprints of the actors and stuff. It was kind of a cool like magical time. and also a lot of Disney movies, you know, Aladdin And you know, the lion King and the littleittle mermaid, I saw the little mermaid at the cinorama dome when I was Really young I mean, that, I mean I missed the cinorama dome and obviously like I remembering Once U upon Time in Hollywood there, which obviously you're phenomenal in that film. And like I but that that's a theater I deeply miss Yeah when that I mean, like as somebody who's from L.A. and someone who frequented that theater growing up, like Do you ever see that coming back? Like how has someone not bought that yet? You know what I mean? I mean L I just don't see how they could get rid of it. I know Like what would you use like you'd have to tear it down, which would be like right It kind of sacrilegigious to do it in Los Angeles. Yeah, you know, to deemo, the centeramadom and it's still there. If you drive and buy it, it's still. What do they do? I wonder I'm curious like the ownership of like what they're doing with it. It's just probably just like some someome billionaire who's just sitting on it who's like, I'll get to it later or something. I mean, we live in L.A. and I'm recording this in LA. and the beauty of living in LA., as you know, is that you have access to these incredible theaters like the Vista, Tarantino and that and Nu Bev and the Egyptian. There's just like, I mean, there's so much iconic. That's so cool. You saw those movies at that theater when you were growing up In that time you were growing up, was there a moment where you saw a film where you were like, that's kind of where I want to be. I want to be on screen telling stories? Well, you know as a kid, I so associated the movies with almost like the actual experience of the movies because you're not as aware of like the nuts and bolts of filmmaking as a kid. you're like, oh, yeah, they make the movie When I watched H Alone in the theater, It was like Oh my gosh, like this is just a world that I wanted to, you know, like live in and be a part of and all the booby traps. and's just such a cool such a cool world And I think that that was a film that I saw I was like, o man, I wantan to try that. and you know, me and a billion other kids. Yeah. Im trying to think there was also Homeoan's also extremely violent for a PG movie. I always forget how like what he does to Joe Pes and Daniel Stter Hilarious is so brutal. so violent. They would die. Kids laugh so hard. Like we' throwing bricks off the buildingone two I'm like that every one of those would have killed some everyvery single one. And it's funny becausecause it's like, even as a kid, like you know you can't do that real life. It's not like there was a rash of kids throwing bricks at people after the movie came out. It was like slapstick. I don't think I don't think so. Yeah. But yes, so you started getting that kind of bug at that point. Yeah. And I used to also like I had this black and white TV Um, at my, uh was like antenna V and I used to just like literally like work the antenna and get the channels And I watched all these different TV shows. A lot of times I was like not watched. So I was able to like watch a lot of TV. I probably shouldn't have like the A team and stuff like that. and also watched a cururrent Affair, a lot of episodes of a current Affair and in Living Color. and in Living Color was actually the show where I was like, I think I really was so into the cast and Jim Carerey and you know, so goofy. And I think that was even that that was almost like one of the first ones and I started to want to like goofy like the characters on in li in color. And I remember I put on like a little littleittle theater show with my sister made the tickets for my parents And I was like F years old or something Funny cowboy and I like did this like Goofy act. It's like ridiculous, but you remember that's a core memory? Yeah, I was like, I'm fununny cowboy. And I just like destroyed the room and that was the whole show. And And like when you got that reaction that felt something like something important to you in terms of like how that I just had a lot of fun in the performance. Like I had a good time doing it. Wow And then you know, we're sitting here now for Speed Racer on four K today. The movie came out in two thousand eight. I carry this with me today because I'm a physical media collector. I'm somebody who listens to vinyl constantly. I listen to I watch movies on discs because especially if like a Chris N Oolenan fan, for example, if you want to get his iMAax shots, you have to get the physical disc to get those. Are you somebody who Had a DVD collection, a Blue ray collection? Are you somebody who collected movies? Yeah. I mean, I used to I used I had a big VHS collection and a big DVD collection and then U kind of just I don't want to say that I surrendered to the man, but like I just became I just watched stuff digitally. yeah. it's kind of sad Uh, but You know, I don't know, that's just sort of where I'm at right now. but I watched like this Nolan interview last night and the way he talks about the IMax and the immersive and he represents the audience on set. it was just it's like such a cool. He wants to just give them the most authentic version of possible.' It's like taking analog to like every single aspect of filmmaking. Yeah. He still hand cuts. I know. it's and color times in in practically. Yeah, no, it's amazing.'s actually it's like a real He's really locked into like that kind of era of filmmaking and he's a purist at it. and it's cool. it's wild that he seems like such an outlier Yeah went away that was the way that everybody used to workar. But then on Hollywood, which you know, Tarantino obviously famously still shoots thirty five mill, you know, Robert Richardson shooting that. That was very much like made like an old school film. I remember hearing a story about like that scene where all the buildings light up at the end. The taco Bell sign lights up. He spent like two days just just rebuilding that taco Bell just to get that light to light up the way it did because it meant so much to have it done in person, in camera. Yeah. And I'm curious did you get that vibe on that set? Did you feel like you were making something a little more precious in the modern day? This summer serve up the cookout cllassics, Heinz Ketchup and Kraft singles. Every good burger needs a layer of perfectly melty cheese and thick rich ketchup. We all know it's not a cookout without Heinz and Kraft. Tomorrow morning is knocking. Stock your fridge now. How about a creamy moocha Rrappuccino drink? or a sweet vanilla? Smooth caramel, maybe, orr white chocolate mocha. Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Find Starbucks Frappucino drinks wherever you buy your groceries. Well I think yeah, I mean, that felt analogue too, and even like Tarantino's rule where you can't bring your phone on to set? Yeah He was very like that. So it felt like He's such a fanatic about historical detail. Um And he just he went to the ends of the earth to get every little aspect of that to be completely in sync with the times. And I remember I was just so impressed with Tarantino, just his level of like He would bring a lot of his own like memorabilia and put it in certain scenes and stuff. And he was like so specific about it. And I was like, man The care that he put into it was like remarkable. Yeah. I mean, your performance in that film is amazing. and I wantan to get to that later on because obviously the relationship that Jay and Sharon had is just it was a fascinating part of the storyline. But we're here tal talk about Speed Racer, obviously and the physical media of it. But there's a lot of themes in that film that I want to use to kind of steer No pun intended the interview in a way where there's so many things in that film that I think are so grounded in such an emotional reality and core. Like Susan Sarandon has these amazing sequences where she's speaking to you. And as fantastical as the film is, there's this grounded nature to it. And one of the biggest themes is this idea of business and art Right And I think this idea of like the character, you know, he's there's a company that wants to sponsor the family and obviously bring money and those types of things into an independent world. And John Goodman's character is like, no, we're running our things the way we do. And you're conflicted with that as, you know, you're like, oh, this is amazing. all these things they're offering me I also still want to stay in that independent well As an actor in the business that you work in as movies, that's obviously an interesting metaphor as well to use of the idea of business and art. and the decisions you make as an actor to take a role, whether it's for business decisions or artful decisions. And I would imagine everything you want to do is artistic, But there's a business side to it and selling tickets and getting people in seats Can you speak about that difference for you as an artist? Yeah. I mean, specifically within the context of speed race or, you know, speed U he's tempted to sell out by Royalton. and, you know, in a way I was very conflicted initially about signing on to do spepeed Racer, Even though I fought for everything I had to get the part through the audition process when Push came to shove and I actually got the part I actually had a moment of fear Because I sort of felt like it was almost like speed signing with Royalton. because you just come off of into the wild. You just shot into the wild And it was like this outdoor nature experience. and suddenly it was like, okay, you're signing up for, you know, four movies or something like that And it was like a very corporate ted thing and the contracts were, you know, a million miles long. just like Royalton presents those contracts speaks. That was what I had to do ironically to do the movie where I play the guy who doesn't do it, you know, it's like this weird mind screw thing. Um, But yeah, no, I, you know, I mean There was something intimidating about you know, the corporate nature of of Speedracer. And in hindsight, you know, because we it was a one off movie, you know, it came out and it, you know, lost Yeah one hundred fifty, two hundred million dollars. whichich is insane to me because I rewatch it now and I'm like, how did this not connect I don't know. I mean, you know, Vincent Van Gogh only sold like a penny or two in his lifetime, so you never know. I mean, it's a wonderful life bomb to the box office. Wow It made like nothing I mean, like and now it's one of the greatest movies of all that. Yeah, it didn't do well at the box office. And and some of the and that's what's interesting to me is that like Fight Club I don' think did really that well at the box office either and now it's considered a classic. And so I just wonder that business and art thing. So you felt that. And then once you signed on and actually did the work, did that go away or did you still feel No, I don't think it went away because in a certain sense, it almost intensified because you gotta remember, I was only twenty two And, you know, suddenly this movie comes out and it's like this worldwide advertising campaign You know, I went from being like sort of, people knew who I was to suddenly it was it felt at the time like a lot more And I feel like I was maybe in hindsight little bit young to deal with some of that kind of like pressure. I feel like, you know m forty one years old now. I feel like that's the kind of thing that wouldn't wouldn't really bother me in the same way. But when you're that young You know, so there's definitely a certain kind of pressure to the whole through the whole thing. But I don't know. I mean in because we only made one, I'm really able to appreciate it it as like a singular movie and it actually works really well. and there's almost something too. there's something really bittersweet about how Tx's story arc is never resolved Yeah and like leaving it that way as like he made this devastating choice and that choice sort of has to be like reckoned with. there's something kind of poetic about that You talk about that film happening at such a younger age in that way. and then you obviously talk about how it didn't succeed at the box office. Where are you mentally though when after it comes out and that happens? Do you start to feel like you want to go back to more of the indie route? do or do you find like like what was like what was going through your mind at that time when it opened? I think I was kind of like it was weird. It was like it was like shock because it was like, oh man, this the world sort of shunned this movie But then also too, it was like It almost felt like door closed, but then another one opened because I psychologically was like, okay, I'm speed Racer. I'm making four these movies for the next, you know, twelve, thirteen, fourteen years or something like that. And then sudenly it was like, no, you're not, that was just a one off And I was like, whoa You know, and which was funny because if I had known from the get go, that Speed Racer was just a one off movie. You know, I wouldn't have had all those like concerns and the feeling of the pressure the from the franchise element of it. You know what I mean? And I could have just enjoyed it as a standalone film. So interesting. I'm glad it got made. That's what I'll say because I love this movie. it's amazing. Michael Jcino scores incredible So good. Yeah So good. We're going to get into that too because I know you're a musician and want to talk about that as well, Little details of characters are fascinating to me. The first time we ever meet spepeed is it's a shot from behind. He's sitting down like obviously in the locker room of some sort. his leg is tapping And then we cut to the younger version of you in school. He's fidgeting a bit as well. I'm somebody who taps my leg constantly. So I picked up on that immediately. There's just this movement to him, this constant movement to him in that way. Those things speak volumes. We learn a lot about him just in those moments before we even see him speak And I love stuff like that. I love like kind of like strangers on a train, the Hitchcock movie. You learn who those guys are by their shoes and their feet as they walk onto the train before you even see who they are. Talk about little details like that. likeike something about him shaking his leg or the way he moves his feet or the chucks he's wearing or something like that. I felt like Speed had There was an essential sweetness to him. Yes that was just It you know, he's not, he's not cynical. He's not jaded Um He's he's open and curious and mellow in a lot of ways. Even though he's speed, he doesn't necessarily and hell, you know, he'll shake his leg, but he he doesn't feel like one of these hyper kinetic personalities. in certain sense he's almost only fast like on the track Um And there was a there was a cool there was a cool to speed that I sort of, you know, I kind of like stole from what Keanu did in the Matrix a lot. You know, I figured the Wichowskis they liked that as like a protagonist template And certainly the dialogue when I would when I read their dialogue, it' sort of was like, okay, I see like an angle into this where, you know, it's it's like he's ultra sincere and he's not there's not he's not like winking at the audience and you know, he's sort of like a heart on his sleeve, you know, hero. almost like a more I don't know, like a very open hero. And then, you know, I rewatched the movie, you know, two weeks ago in IMax at the Chinese theater and it was like was was it was incredible. Yeah and the four K upgrade is insane and the sound was insane. And and I really realized I was like, you know, I love the cast, I love the movie. and also I really like the character of speed as like an aspirational character. you know, I like as an actor, I like playing parts that like I feel make me a better person or make give me a viewpoint of being the kind of I want to be like that kind of person. And I feel like speed is the kind of person I would, you know, like to be like or like to have the qualities that Speed had. They really U they imbued him with such a strong morality and kind of backbone and also Um a resilience, but in a vulnerability though that wasn't it wasn't like u you know, the traditional macho kind of hero at all. like a cool You know, he just wasn't he wasn't like a bro. He wasn't like a tough guy. He was like an artist. Yeah. I mean, sometimes you hear I'll hear actors talk about these little things that help them find their way into a character like Denzel Washington will speak about shoes. And I put the character's shoes on and I found that person O over your career is has there been a consistent anchor Thout the characters that you play like for example, into the Wild, I know he really exists, but like what was your in for him? Like was there and what was your in for speed? Like there has to be something I would imagine. Well, as a younger actor, I feel like some of my inss were false inss. Interesting. So like on Io the Wild, for example, there there was a college video that Chris McCandlas shot where it's sort of like a skit And I watched it M, many times. and he kind of did this a certain voice in this kind of way. It was kind of like this weird way of speaking where I was like, o, that's so cool. That's Mcanless. That's Mcandless. And I just like doubled down on this very, very particular like tone and note. And to the point where when we were shooting it, Seaan was like, I know what you're doing there, but he's like, but you can actually like take your foot off that pedal a little bit and just like open the floodgates and bring more of yourself And he was actually right, you know what I mean? And then I did that and I immediately like felt the change Speed racer I feel like it was K kind of like almost like a play where it was like really learning the lines in your bones. And Wachowsky's dialogue is so like complex and just rich So I kind of rehearsed it like a play and I just knew it all, you know, by heart and And I really got into the minute of the way that they work and I was able to appreciate that. So I got like I would get excited about, o, okay, so we're doing this scene and I get like fifteen takes And it's basically like we're going to figure out like the perfect and we're going to discover like all these great notes in the scene. and would I would kind of get excited about achieving those for the Wichowskis and for myself and like seeing the like subtle little things that we could bring to it. Another theme in the film is this idea of kind of being in the flow. I'm going to read this quote, You say when I'm in a T one hundred eighty, everything just makes sense. And I think that's an interesting idea because I think about the flow state you become when you're an actor I imagine that not every scene probably feels that way. I'm sure that like you have to find that flow with your actors. I don't know, but I'm curious if you can Comare that to the feeling of acting and when do you feel that sense that Speed feels when he's in the car I mean I feel like As an actor, you're always like terrified. before you're performing like. likeike before any movie or any scene I made so many movies, I'm still like, I don't know if I do it, I don't know if like How do I get how like when they say action, like how do you How do you act? L I don't even like how do you say how do you remember your lines? Like just the most basic stuff that anyone would think, right And I guess the difference is then when I actually do it Everything sort of just like clicks and I can kind of like do it and in a way like all of the doubts and the fears that you had leading up to it like like sort of melt away. At least that's how it is with me. Um and I've been fortunate, you know, I mean, there's obviously I've worked with a lot of people exact opposite reaction you know, where like everything's clicking and then the camera's on and it's just like You know? Yeah, its it's tricky Yeah. I don't know, for whatever reason, u Maybe that's what, you know, that's the mark of like, oh, you're going to be an actor. like, you know, you have this switch that goes on or something, like. That' fascating. Do you remember the first time you felt super comfortable in a scene? Probably was a four year old doing my funny cowboy show for my parents. as well I was like, Ohh, this is great. That's the first time you really felt that flow. Yeah. And I was like kind of like a you know, was like I don't want tona say I was like a showman But I think I kind of was like and I mean We used to do like singing contests in the car with my sister and me and my dad And we would just like go off and I would just like make and, you know, I could kind of like freestyle even as like a kid So I would just make up these songs that would just go on and on and on like forever. Yeah. you know. And now you got two albums out, like actually full albums and other singles Not rap albums. Yeah, but you kind of like carried that through in the music and things like that The filmmakers you've worked with are I'm just gonna to read a couple of these off, by the way. These are directors that you've worked with Luke Greenfield We have Katherine Hardwick on Lords of Dog Town, Nick Cassaveett's Alpha Dog, Seaan Penn into the Wild, Lachowski's and S spepeedracer, Gus Vanana Milk Engley on taking Woodstock, William Frikin on Killer Joe, Oliver Stone on Savages, Peter Burg alone Survivor, Tarantino once uppon T timee on Hollywood. That's just like nine or ten names out of all the amazing people you've worked with, like when you hear that list, what does that mean to you in terms of like That's my that's part of my filmography. I worked with William Friedkin on one of his last movies. Yeah It's kind of wild, man. Yeah, I mean, William Friedkin, I almost have to put Like Mbe like he was the most charismatic director. Really? Yeah, he was the he was he just had so much charisma and was such a Just like a shining light of like wisdom and humor and knowningness and excitement and I don't know. I on Killer Joe, I mean, it was like I remember I forgot my lines like once because he liked to do one take. Like If we knew more about our sleep, what would we do differently? Would we go to bed at a consistent time or take steps to reduce interruptions to our sleep with Sleep score Apple Watch measures your bedtime consistency, interruptions, and sleep duration And then, every morning it combines these factors into an easy to understand score, from one to one hundred. So you'll know how to take the quality of your sleep from okay to very high. Know your sleep score with Apple Watch iPhone eleven or later required. At Ollie, we've got wellness down to a science. fromrom PMS to pregnancy to menopause. Our women's wellness line offers science backed support for every stage. No judgment, no shame, none of the stigma. J supplements designed to meet you wherever you're at Ollie, choose science over shame Find support at a retailer near you or on Ollie. com. That's ollY. com P would stop. Yeah, he wanted to do everything one tpe. that's. And I forgot my lines once and I had had like two days off and he wases like, man. Here lines and then and then I like when I like stepped off the set because we're shooting inside at a studio And I stepped out of the like indoor house set, and then Fed can like open the door behind me and just pops head and goes, last time I give you three days off and then slam the door. Dude, when you o, so as a film fan, I'm looking at this list of people you've worked with and I would just immediately start geeking out with them about some of their classic films. and I know sometimes that might not be the best thing interview when you're on a set for a different film But do you talk to him about the exorcist? you talk about French connection? He would yeah, he would talk about exorcist and French connection constantly. Like in terms of making the Killer Joe film, like in terms of how it was gonna Not necessarily in terms of relating to Killer Joe. He would just constantly have cool exorcist and French connections. Do wors? Yeah, I remember he said one story where He showed the movie to like these tribes in South America that had never seen a movie before. And he said that they didn't know how to like pay for the movie when they were watching the screen. So they literally took change and was just throwing the change at the screen. Okay, that's crazy.w This is awesome, man. Dude, I mean, again, just going through I'd be like, I don't know if we should show these people this movie. This is gonna really mess them up. They've never seen a movie and you're showing them the exorcist You're gonna cause death My wife and I rewatched the exercis recently. I was living in DC before I moved here and we went to Georgetown to go to the steps where they filmed the famous sequence And like that movie to this day still scares the shit out of me. Yeah one of the scariest movies of all time. It's so scary. It makes you think you're going insane when you're watching it too. And Ellen Burston, like Linda Blair, everybody's amazing in that film. I'm jumping around a lot, but the first time I ever saw you was the girl next door because I remember but I just miss Good R rated ROM coms. We don't get them as much anymore. I feel like in this day and age. I don't know why. but I'm just curious about that part of your career before you enter into the into the wild, before you enter into Speed Racer. That's such a great remain. I mean, a Romc is maybe not the greatest term to use for because it does have like it's more of a raunchy R r businessy kind of Exactly A little bit more goofy though, with a little Luke Greenfield added. Y Luke was great and he was certainly very committed to the film and did a great job and got a really talented cast. And we had a good time, you know, it was wasas an Ophant and that? Yeah. And then later on, you guys are. Yeah. he's great. Hollywood together. Yeah, that's amazing. So and Luke Perry was in onnce upon of timeime in Hollywood. and I used to send actors fan letters as a kid. I had like this book of like actors and so I would like write all these letters I got like You know, Amelia Westez sent me his autograph and I got I got McCully Colkin to send me an autograph. Waitit And I got Harry, he sent me an autograph. So when I saw Luke at the reader, I was like, hey, dude, listen, I know this is kind of stupid, but I wrote you this. I wrote you a fan letter when I was like eight years old and I got the autograph back. so just thank you What were your letters like? Did you hand write them out? Like I loved you in this movie? Like would you remember what you said to any of them? I don't know. know, I was like probably such a little hustler. I was just like just trying to get the autograph I watched a lot of nine hundred two one zero, know what I mean? It's like I was fronting. But dude, I mean, that's the beauty of so you brought up something just now that I think is extremely underrated. Now we all have phones. so everyone wants the picture or the selfie with somebody. The autograph used to be such a big deal. I used to go to baseball games and get my ball sign, but like when you got those autographs back in the mail Like what was that what did that feel like? Becauseuse at that time, like getting an autograph from somebody that you admired It was a huge deal at that time. It was amazing. I mean, when I got McCulluly Caulkin's autograph, I was so stoked and they sent it to me in like a really nice picture It was like a black and white, super nice picture and he signed it. Or at least I think you signed it. and it was awesome. Do you still have it Maybe somewhere. I don't don't don It's not up on my wall. It's been a long time. Well, spepeaking of walls, again, I'm jumping around, but like there's great sequences when we're in the home in spepeed Racer and we see the posters on the wall. Even in Rex's room, it's like the Ben is it Ben Burns? Yeah What posters did you have on your wall as a kid U I didn't really have a lot of posters on my wall. I had a lot of glow in the dark stars. wasn in the ceiling. Yeah. and I had like glow in the dark paint So like I painted like constellations and all it was like kind of crazy actually.. U And then in high school I had all these prints of like kind of classic paintings and artworks I would kind of post up and But I don't remember a lot of like Posters Well, I'm sure there were. I brought up the Girl Ne door only because that's two thousand four, I want to say. And so that's two years after I turned seventeen. So the reason I bring that up is because I remember as a kid, all I wanted to do was go to R rated movies and you couldn't like they would always card you and like follow you into the theater, but I remember that one. I remember being like, I'm nineteen or whatever. I'm getting a ticket to this. I don't have to sneak in. What was your relationship to R rated movies growing up L did you sneak into? I watched well, so I was I spent like about four years in Santae, New Mexico. uh, living with my mom. And I got There was this store called the videoide liibrary. and like I would always go down there with my mom and rent movies and sometimes I would just go down there and they would basically like rent me whatever I wanted to watch. So I was like, you know, nine, ten years old and I would like I remember I would watch like three movies a day. likeike crazy. like I wish I could watch movies like that now I would watch so many freaking movies and they would rent me like everything. Yeah, you know. But now you're a dad now. Yeah. So you're probably having are you having experiences where you're showing him your movies? I have shown him well, my dad showed him Speed Racer Oh and he's I think he saw He's seen some other ones Um But yeah, I mean, he's he's my son's a little bit more mellow. He doesn't I showed him alien M What's that? And he's like, that's not even scary. Like I was like, what Dude, alien crazy. Are you an alien? scared of alien? Yeah. tough. Remember the tagline on the poster for that? No. In space, no one can hear you scream. Oh yeah Dude Really arere you a Ridy Scott alien or James Cameron aliens guy Um I was a James Cameron aliens guy because as a kid that was the one that I really gravitated. But then I think I saw it either remastered or rereleased or something. I don't know if it was in theater on like a really high quality DVD, but I watched Alien again and I like was like really, really impressed. your mind? The first one yeah So kind of continuing down this list of filmmakers. Nick Cassaveti's an alpha doog. What's a memory of that filmmaker? He was just fun. He would like we would do tons of takes. He was super into like having all the ors train like physically trained with like a workout trainer. We all trained at this boxer' house in the like deep, deep valley. So it wouldd be like me, Sean Hatesssey, Ben Foster, Timberlake, Amanda Syred, Amber Heard, like we would all be training in this like one K kind of Chris Marquette would be coming and goingow and you know, just doing like tons of just unpleasant physical activity stuff that, you know it led to a great film. Yeah, yeah. I mean it kind of kind of bonded everybody together and I guess it made me slightly beefier than I had been after Lord's of Dog Town, all the skating and stuff. Yeah, Catherine Harbick on that one, who's an amazing filmmaker. What did she give you as an actor? Catherine was great because it was one of the first times where I really felt like I had a true collaboration with the director where She like really like brought me in and we were working scenes in character together and like reworking scenes together Um And she just, u, you know, she's sort of like she really liked working like that. And I just I loved working with her. and we had so much fun and I was so into that role of Jay. Adams and The physicality of it and spontaneity of it U And she was the perfect director to make that because it's all these like male egos and she just comes in and just like crushes everybody This is why I'm going through this because the way your mind is going to certain memories from these films is incredible. No, but you genuinely remember very specific core things about what these filmmakers gave you because the artist that you are now sitting here is partially due to the different relationships you have with filmmakers. And then you get to like Sean Penn obviously into the wild And you're talking about an amazing actor who's now directing I have to imagine that that led to some interesting insight into process having an actor on the other side of the camera as well. Yeah, I mean, working with Sean, I would say actually probably Um Not only did it kind of key me into like sensitivity, but also I think working with him made me a lot tougher because So much of what we were doing was physically arduous and mentally intimidating Um, you know, like Hanking rapids is scary and jumping off cliffs, you know, u carrying your pack and all this kind of trudging and just just the scale of it. And u And you know, Sean was very upfront with me before we started. He's like, this is going to be reallyally, really hard. And so I was fully prepared and that was what I signed on for Um And, you know, I think I lived like a monk shooting that movie. I mean, I would like wake up in the morning and run five monthes before work, you know, it was that kind of thing I know a lot of people asked you about your weight loss and I'm sure that came up a lot, but I'm actually more interested in the emotional weight that that film took on you. because I feel like there's a physical process and then there's an emotional process. and I feel like those inform each other. When that film ends, are you is there a down period of coming back to yourself? L I don't know if you your method in that way, but like I'm just curious I think there. I think that There's a certain, it's almost like the rooadrunner in looononey tunes when he like The cooyote when he goes off the cliff, and then he's just suddenly there and he's like, you know, it's sort of like that where it's not like you get depressed because the movie's over necessarily. You just don't have nearly as much to do as you did just days prior. Interesting. Yeah. I mean, on into the Wild it was like we had these clear goals and scenes we' shooting and then suddenly I'm like back in Venice Beach, skateboarding around Nothing to do, know. But then is the character like as your career went forward, did characters ever stay with you for longer periods of time? Were there ones that were harder to shake Um I don't yeah, I mean, maybe to a certain degree, I like to think that I've certain taken certain lessons from different characters Certainly,, you know, Danny Dietson Lone sururvivor, the Navy SEL, like just just like learning about him from his family, he was like, It's just such a badass ass. Yeah,s like such a bad ass. Peterberg is such a good gum Yeah Yeah and getting to hang out with all those seals and stuff. there are a lot of really interesting guys, a lot of broy guys, but a lot of really sharp sharp guys. And the guy that I played Dets was just a ust like a tough But like artist, like a really talented drawar Just tough as nails. J like no quit. I remember seeing like a little video of him in Buds, like the basic underwater in school and like He just's like they're like panning. Sal seal, seal, seal seal, and then just gets to him and he just like looks so hard. And I'm like, damn. He's like probably like twenty, you know. But you said something interesting a little bit ago in the interview where you were talking about like I play characters sometimes and they make me want to be a better person in a way. And I have to imagine like the catharsis that you find through performance. I was talking Ben Stiller once for the severance show. And I was asking him about this idea of severance and the idea of like, you know it's kind of a metaphor for acting in the sense of like when you go to a set, you're playing somebody else. and then when you go home, you go back to being yourself. And in severance, they don't know who they are in and outside of work. And he said, I was like, how do you then sever into your real life from the character you just played that day? he goes Basically, your body doesn't know you're acting. yourour mind does, but your body doesn't. So you're still putting yourself through the emotional experience and the toll of what that character's dealing with. Do you feel that these characters ultimately change you and you find catharsis in your own life? even looking back as we talk about them now, do you find that you've become a different person from these people It's hard to know how different or how much it has affected me. likeike you know, I was in into the wild. Am I like an obsessive camper You probably could do, but I like going on a hike. You know what I mean? I'll hike the shit out of laurel Canyon Um so, you know, I'm just not like popping a tent and, you know, jumpster diving and foraging for food. You know, I learned my lesson on that one, you know Um, so, you know I mean, I like to think that the roles have sort of changed. me I like to think that I was as hard as a Navy seEal after a Lone Survivor, but I just don't think that I am. But that experience has to change you. I mean, the way that it makes you tougher. Yeah. It doesn't make you a seEal at all Yeah, but it makes you tougher than you were as like a you know, touchy Fey actor, you know, whistling into the audition office I have to imagine that gives perspective too, because you get to live the life of people you're not Yeah. And you get to see the world through their eyes. And I have to imagine and you know, this is what it's like to have balls. Damn. That movie is one of the most immersive when they're falling down the hills, like that's one of the most like like it's a very brutal. it's a very it's true story. I want people to understand what these guys went That stunt guy One of the guys on the fall, he was like flew in was like his first day, first shot, first scene Tumble, tumble, tumble, hits the tree, breaks the ribs. Your punctures the lungs rap Not mine. I think it was Foster's Wow, and the shots in the movie. And it's like It's like the hard it's like the one where everyone's like, Oh yeah That scene hurts to watch. Yeah It's when he hits the tree it's like the exclamation mark to the foalling sequence is that and that Yeah, Be Gus Van Sant, you make milk whichich again, Danny Efman scoring that, which is one of the greatest composers of all time. You've had some amazing people scoring your work over the years. Michael Jino on Sed Racer, but Gus Vanant is one of those filmakers I discovered Obviously, probably Googball Hunting was the first and you watch all of his movies going forward and elephant and all these amazing movies he's done. What was it about him as a filmmaker that meant a lot to you? He just has such a cool style and just like such a cool like artistic sensibility Um I really I loved Goodwell hunting and I love my own private Idaho too. I like really loveved that. I was so into River Phoenix as a teenager just like watching his films and being inspired by those performances And to get to work with Gus was was amazing. I mean, u you know It's funny because people are like, o, you work with Gus and And I'm like they're like, what was it like? And I'm like, He set the camera up, set action, I did the scene and then He usually like just moved on. What do you? I mean, he's like, he's like even with Sean You know, it's like a couple he's not he's not like a He's not like an over director, at least on that film. He wasn't. And I think that there's something kind of smart about that in a way. You know, it's like there's certain directors where it's like you're doing this choreography tap dance, kind of like speedracer where we're hitting all these very specific notes and everything like this And then Gus is like it's just a different kind of sensibility where he's like, I'm not going to say anything. And I'm going to see what they do, and I'm just gonna let them surprise me. Does that scare you? It's exciting Interesting. Yeah, I was it was so exciting because I was like do whatever It' probably gonna be in the. Wasn't that delicious? So good. Your bill, ladies? I got it. No. I got it. Seriously, Iist. I exist first. I't be silly. You' be silly. People with the Wells Fargo Active Cash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited two percent cash rewards on purchases. Okay, Rck paper scissors for it. Rock paper scissors. To Wells Fargo Aive cash credit card, visit Wellspargo. com slash active cash terms apply. And you' already worked with Sean that into the wild. Yeah Seawn's. I don't know Sawn wanted me to even do Moke. He might have been he might have been like, okay, I got enough of this kid out into the wild. because like we were around each other a lot. Yeah. And but it was funny, Gus later was like, yeah, like I brought you up toean and Seanwn was like, yeah, if you want him, you know, but he was like he was like he was very neutral And I was like, he was neutral,u All right I don't blame them. you know, and we're going through this list of different directors, obviously likes it's an incredible filmography you have. Then you get to Ang Lee, who, you know, again, revolutionary filmmaker, crouching Tiger blew my mind as a kid, Life of Pie, the three D use in that. but Working with someone like that now looking back on him, what did he give you? He was like, he just had like a crazy like He told me he was like When we were talking, he was after he shot Broke Back Mountain He was sort of like, Heath Fedger, I mean he was like He was a little bit I was like, oh He's this director so intense. It's almost like he wants to like jump in my body and play the part for me or something like that. Yeah. And I remember being like, hmm, that's interesting. And then The film like one Venice or something Yeah. And I remember texting Heath or calling him and being like, dude, congratulations. And I just remember he was like Aang's a fucking great direction, mate? You know what I mean? Like He like gave it all to Aang there. and I was like, damn So when I got the chance to work with Hang, I was like really excited and he would like, He was so on it. L he would be like would call he would call me and we would just like talk about the character on the phone for like a while. It was It was actually really awesome And and he was also, you know, kind of like he said, he was very specific on like we would work on these These u character elements together. It's already I can't believe we've already almost got an hour. I got to speed up. Peterburg, we talked about with one sururvivor, Tarantino finally. This That's my favorite Tarantino movie ever. And it became that on the third viewing The first viewing I saw on thirty five at the Arc light I liked it, but I wasn't I didn't love it. You thw your change at the scre. Well, I was kind of like this is not this is not Tarantino. This is this is so but then I realized, no, no, this is closest you'll ever get to Tarantino probably because its's it's in his bones. This is like the And the third viewing on seventy Mill and the soundtrack. It's one of the best vinyl I own. your character and Sharon I love that ending so much because I want to believe that's it happened. You know what I mean? I want to believe that Sharon lived and there's that beauty and that light still in the world. That's what I think Quintinon did so well in the film is he allowed me to remember Sharon Yeah, you know, and I'm just curious if you can speak to that revisionist ending style. Yeah. And I think there's there's there's like an artistic justice that he's sort of like writing You know, you can't change the past, but you can can kind of like tell a story in a different way and not let the bad guys kind of win And there's something kind of cool and that's what art can do. It can kind of like, you know, change change things and show you different paths that could have could be And I think that there's something very aspirational about that. And as a huge film lover and film fan, you know, I think Quintin, Quintin, you know like loved Sharon and the idea that someone would do that, you know, it's like he almost would like want to punish them You know, u and I totally understand that. And working on that was incredible. mentioned this story before, but like he hit me up on Facebook. What? Yeah, I got a Facebook mess From him? Yeah. and I looked at it and it was like like a little toy emoji as like his avatar. And I was like, what? I was like Is this him? And I was like, but I saw a mutual friend of Mike Judd Facebook user Mike Judd Um And And I was like, okay, well, maybe this is legit. And and he was like, oh, I saw the autopsy of Jane Doe. I really love this movie. I have something I'm working on. I think you might be right for So I call my agent, and I'm like, this is like a weird development, but I really hope I'm not being catfished And uh And I thought at first, I thought he wanted me for Manson Interesting Beuse I was like he's making a Charles Manson movie and I'm like, five six. You know what I mean? I'm not like, okay, well, U You know, and I was like, ight for Manson I actually felt As excited as I was, I actually felt a little uneasy because I didn't really feel like I was like the right guy for Manson Uh, and then Mr. DiCaprio, later told me I saw him out and he was like, Ohh I talked to Quint And I was like Gimme, Gime me. what's the information? What Is it Manson? It's tellell me tell Is it Manson? And he wass like, No Now he looked at me like disgusted for first second he was like, It was like it was like a hairdresser. I was like a hairdresser Sott Manson is his hairdresser. I immediately like skied I'm like and then I see and then I see J Sbring Yeah and he looks Eactly like I look like in the autopsy of Jane Do. Like it made total sense. I was like, of course. Hes watching the moie. He's like, okay, there's the gu And there's I got that big book recently and there's that picture I think it's a picture of you and Tim Roth in a deleted scene. Yeah, Oh my God. was like pouring you something? Yeah. Tim Roth was my British butler. Oh whereere did that scene go? Giving me hot chocolate and cocoa puffs. As I'm watching Johnny Quest. I was like, I literally We sh There's like four scenes in that movie that were like when I first read the script, I was like, those are my big scenes. And then I saw the movie. I was like, God all the scenes. Oh man. And I guess, you know, that's what he does. I mean he'll shoot a four hour movie and it's like a two and a half hour Yeah. but I was I was I was a little I was a little bummed. I was still I was happy that the final scene made it. You're c in it. Final scene Nice and intact. I mean, you're right there as DiCaprio is like as the police are going away, like this like super like nice guy. and he's like, come on it. Oh, what an ending and that shot that goes over the house. Yeah. incredible. Okay, so real quick, I started the show because I love DVD features. So growing up like like Lord of the Rings, like the DVD features that came out for that, I learned so much about filmmaking I was like, Oh, Howard Sward does the score. Cool. You know, that's what Andy Cirkcus is doing with the performance capture. I'm watching rew watchatching Speed Racer last night and just a few DVD feature S type questions The actual driving scenes are remarkable in the film but they have like this heightened look to them, of course. like there's and I'm assuming you're on some kind of green screen with a car that actually can physically turn. Can you speak about what that looked like? It was like a huge robotic box with something called a gimbal, which is basically an electronic arm. Yeah. So there's like the cockpit, but the gimbal is like this robotic arm that's capable of like Moving.