Trevor Young on Dazed and Confused

Musician and podcast producer Trevor Young joins the supporting cast today to talk a bit about Richard Linklater and his seminal film, Dazed and Confused.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Movie Crush production of I Heart Radio. Hey everybody,

(00:30):
and welcome to Movie Crush Friday Interview edition. Here with
another office colleague, get brand new to the Hopefully we'll
be the rotating cast unless you really screw up. We
have Trevor Young here. Hey, Trevor, Hey, how's it going?
Thanks for having me? Of course, Trevor, you are a
podcast producer, engineer, editor, uh, soundscape er. What what shows

(00:53):
you working on right now? So, right now, we're working
on a lot of really cool what we're calling by
neural recording and um, you know these like kind of
like three D shows. Are you doing that? Yeah? Yeah,
we um did one back in the fall called Thirteen
Days of Halloween and um yeah it's it's supposed to
be this kind of like full three sixty experience and

(01:15):
we're doing a lot more of that now. Um. And
so I can't really say much about what's coming, but
we have some cool stuff and I promise it's gonna
blow some people away. Awesome. Yeah, you know, they they
asked stuff you should know if we wanted to try
one of those just as a like a test or
not as a test, but just sort of to like
show off the technology and we're trying to figure out

(01:37):
if there's a way to do it. Um, we'll see
what happens. It will try. If you're stuff you should
know a listener, and we do that, it will not
be the new stuff you should know. It will just
be like, hey, here's what this thing is. If you
want to go listen to other stuff, yeah, highly recommend
it. It It just kind of adds a whole new layer
to you know the audio world. So yeah, that's very cool.
So Trevor, you got in touch with me too because

(02:01):
you love Richard link Ladder and said, would you ever
want to talk about Richard link Ladder's movies? And I
was like, yes, absolutely, Um, and I think before we
jump into days and Confused, we should just talk a
little bit about this guy. Um, one of my favorite
all time filmmakers. How did he come into your life? Yes,
So it's interesting. I actually have like a weirdly personal

(02:23):
connection to link Later and um, you know his work
and everything. Um. So I grew up in Austin, Texas,
which is where you know he's from. He's based and
you know, has lived most of his life and bases
a lot of his you know, movies, in and around,
including days and confused. Um, So I grew up there

(02:44):
and it was just kind of this thing growing up
there that you know, there's this famous movie director who
lives here and makes movies about Austin And that was
kind of always in the back of my head and
I didn't didn't really fully hit me until, you know,
I think I got to college and I was studying
film or but not only that, his daughter, Laura I,

(03:05):
um was at my high school in my graduating class
and somebody like had classes with and I like never
really put two and two together that my classmate was
like Richard Linklater's daughter Boyhood, right, Yeah, she was in Boyhood.
And so I graduated in Boyhood came out like three
years later, and I saw her on the screen. I

(03:27):
was like, holy crap, that was Laura. I Like, I
like ad math class with her. That's so bizarre. Oh wow,
So you weren't like good friends or anything like that. Um,
it was kind of like a like she was like, um,
you know, in a circle that like had a bit
of a ven diagram with the circle I was in.
But like can't say we like talked her interacted very much. Yeah. Yeah,

(03:48):
it's well, it's funny because that kind of comes into
playing dazed and confused. I have a note here about
just how he nails the clicks and different clicks sort
of overlapping in the then diagram style, and just how
that he just really nailed at it stuff. Um Man,
that's awesome. I didn't know you from Austin, did you?
When did you come to Atlanta? I moved here? Yeah,

(04:09):
so I I uh, after I finished up school. I
came here to work in public radio for a few
years before coming here. I heart or how stuff works
as it was then. Yeah, man, Austin is one of
my favorite cities. It's uh, you know, I went to
south By Southwest for many years in a row, and
then um have also gone beyond that, and uh it's

(04:31):
just great, man, what a what a great place. It was.
It fun growing up there. Yeah, yeah, I miss it
every day. It's um you know, you'll hear anybody from
Austin kind of gripe about this, but it's changed so
much and it's like really not the Austin I grew
up with anymore. But like that's fine. I'm not going
to be one of those people who write complains about
Californians and you know, tech bros. Coming and ruining their city.
But um, you know, it's just it's just different, you know.

(04:53):
It's it used to be a very like, um, small,
very like everybody knows everybody kind of city, UM, really
tight knit community, and it's a it's definitely lost that sadly.
You know. It's not as many like mom and pop
shops around. Its kind of like Athens. Um. You know,
I which school and Athens in the in the late

(05:14):
eighties and early nineties, and I love going back. It's
different and it's just one of those things you got
to reckon with. It's like I'm marches On. It won't
always stay that the quaint, little charming place that we
knew and loved, but they're both still great places, I think. Indeed. Yeah,
I've always seen that comparison in that parallel with Athens.
If anybody's never been to Athens, you should go. But um, yeah,

(05:36):
And I think it's interesting that we're talking about Link
later because you know, he really captures so much of
like what Austin was, you know, in like a little
time capsule way when that like Austin charm that once
was that you know, is now a thing of the past.
So I think that's another reason I'm so drawn to it.
You know, is it like, is the is the last
vestige of the home I once had? Yeah, yeah, I

(05:59):
get it. Um So, Link Ladder came into my world.
And when I was in college in Athens and I
worked at a sort of the cool indie video store there,
Vision Video, and that's when I talked about this on
the show a lot. That's when I really got into
independent cinema and foreign films and you know, all these
things that I had never really been exposed to that
much outside of mainstream, you know, kind of Hollywood movies.

(06:21):
And I saw Slacker. I rented Slacker, and it was
those were people I knew. It was that was Athens,
Georgia at the time. It was as much as it
was Austin. It was a very similar vibe. I knew
the weirds and the creatives and the cools and the
musicians and the artists, and it just that was a movie.

(06:43):
I was like, man, this is I don't know who
this guy is, but I'm down with Richard Richard Link
Ladder from now on and I've been a fan ever since. Yeah. Yeah,
it's Um, it's it's just so amazing how he like
captures that spirit of the creative city you and I
think you're right, it's like pretty universal in the sense

(07:03):
that you can really apply, like especially Slacker to like
really any place like that. You know, any um, you know, Athens, Georgia.
You know, trying to think of other cities that are
like that. Madison, Lawrence, Kansas, the cool classic college sounds yep, exactly.
So um yeah, I think I'll just always love that

(07:26):
about it. And you know, you you still have some
places like that, but who knows how much longer they'll exist. So, right,
what is your Do you have a I mean his
Days and confuse your favorite movie of his or do
you have what are some of your others? Yeah, it's interesting.
I mean when we were thinking about like which Week
Later movie to pick for this, I had a really
hard time with it just because, um, there's so many

(07:48):
of his movies that really strike a very personal chord
with me. And you know I'm not alone in that.
You know, so many people I talked to about Link
Later they're like, yeah, just like that one movie really
like mental Lot. I think Boyhood was one I was
on the fence about just because loved it. Um that
really like felt like my life, you know, um, so
much about them, the little details like everything from him

(08:11):
having like the little dragon ball Z poster on his
wall when he was a little kid, to like you know,
the scene where he's a teenager in the back of
somebody's car, like you know, going home at like three
in the morning after like smoking weed and drinking beer
when he's not supposed to like it all just like
really um like looked familiar. Yeah. I love Boyhood, not

(08:33):
only just the experimental nature of it. I think it's
such a cool idea, but um, he's a filmmaker. I
think that is a lot about those little details. When
he's making these movies he's he's done you know, big
big movies like School of Rock and kind of these
more mainstream films, and those are all really fun too,
but when they're sort of the link ladder films, they're
all about those small moments and those small details. I

(08:55):
think that just really give it so much richness in depth.
I think, Yeah, agreed, I think um the other one
slash ones that do that, uh maybe the best or
just really well are his like before movies, before Sunset
Before Sunrise, I think before Midnight. Yeah, like, you know,

(09:16):
great for anybody hasn't seen him. I mean there's just
two people walking around having really quaint but like really
meaningful conversation and um, you know, if you, I think
you have to watch all of them a few times
to really get the subtlety to the things they're talking about.
And um, you know, the more it kind of sits
with you, I think, the more you realize, like, wow,

(09:36):
this is like pactful of a lot of personality. Yeah,
you know, I saw Um I may have mentioned this
on the show before, but I saw Before Sunrise for
the first time literally the night before I left to
go to Europe backpacking with my best friend for two
and a half months, and it was like, talk about
a movie like aligning with my life, and I was,

(09:59):
you know, it's like, oh, man, I'm I'm going to
meet at Julie Delphi over there. It's gonna be so great.
I'm gonna fall in love with this French girl, which
that didn't didn't happen. But I'm just a sucker for
those movies. Man. I love those characters. I love what
he's doing following them throughout their life. I hope he
I'm I'm not sure about his plans. I really really
hope he keeps going like well into their old age.

(10:20):
It's just such a rich palette to work from. I think. Yeah,
I agreed. I know he had um mentioned in an
interview with Ethan Hawk that like they were going to
do up to like five movies or something like that
with those characters. I don't know if that's actually gonna
happen to but you can't stop now. It'd be great.
I mean it's I love the way, and I know
you kind of already said this, but I love the

(10:41):
way it captures them at like different very pivotal moments
in their life. You know. The first one is like
them if they're you know, the prime of their youth,
really naive, really just like able to go for anything
and fall in love. You know. The next ones them
kind of like on the cusp of like middle age,
you know, not sure where their lives are going, having
to reconcile with their youth. And then the last one

(11:04):
is just like now they're like officially middle aged, and like,
how do we stay in love? How do we continue
to be excited by life? And um, he you know,
he just nails it. So, yeah, you're right, there's a
lot more phases. I think he could still capture really well. Yeah,
And it's just I mean, what a great idea to
get together with these two people, and I know that

(11:24):
they make those movies very much as a triad, and
they all get together, you know, Julie and Ethan and
Richard link Ladder and and put together the story together,
and they're just so invested. And it's just I love
his I love his spirit of creativity. I think that
so many filmmakers may lose that after they've made it

(11:47):
or whatever. And it feels like, even after all these years,
he's still that Texas guy that just that wants to
tell people stories. Yeah. Yeah, I think he nailed it. Um. Yeah.
I think at the end of the day, he wants
to like show people in their most authentic form. And
you know, he produces everything he does with so much

(12:09):
like integrity and realism, and he has never lost that
in any project he's ever done, you know, even on
some of those bigger ones you mentioned, like The School
of Rocks and The Bad News is Awesome. Yeah, they're
awesome movies. And even in you know, those bigger budget films.
He like never lost that integrity, and I think I
think that's why he's my favorite director, you know, above

(12:30):
all else. Um. I always thought that I would end
up meeting him somehow. Um. She He's just one of
those guys where I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna meet
Richard Linklener one day, like through movie Crush or stuff
you should know or something like I need to make
that happen because he seems so relatable that like that
could happen. And that's probably just a fantasy of mine,
because if you're listening, come on movie Crush, he seems like,

(12:53):
you know, like everyone's friend. You know, he's very it
seems very approachable and down to earth, and and I
think he is. I think he still very much that
guy and very rooted in his and his roots. But yeah,
and I mean totally. I mean he still lives in Austin.
I think he has talked a lot over the years
about how he like never wanted to be like a
Hollywood dude. He never wanted to like move to Hollywood

(13:16):
and be one of those guys. He was always like
very against all that. And you know, he still lives
just outside of Austin. I think, Um, I did have
the opportunity to meet him once. Um, I can you
know briefly mention, I went to the Austin Film Awards
one year. That's a thing the Austin Film Society, which

(13:38):
he founded, puts on every year. And I think it
was the one that came out right after Boyhood or
the ceremony right after Boyhood came out. Um, And so yeah,
he was there, he was doing meeting greets and stuff,
and I had the opportunity to walk up to him,
and yeah, I think everything you assume about and it's correct.

(14:00):
You know, he's just like super down to earth. You know,
he talks to you like you're just like in a
record store, like chatting, chatting about something you pulled off
the shelf. That's great. Yeah, And you know it's weird
that I met him there. You know, after I had
moved away from Austin, considering I was thinking about him,
like he probably like dropped Laurel eye off at my
high school like every day and I like somehow never

(14:23):
even realized it. Um. I think he even like came
and did a couple of presentations for our film class
at high school. But um, yeah. I mean he's super
down to earth guy. You know, I like now that
I'm like much more familiar with his films over the years,
I'd love to have that opportunity again. But you never know, guy,
he also seems kind of elusive. Well, yeah, that's true.

(14:47):
Sometimes it's all about just sending that email though, you know,
true thinking that stab. Al Right, well let's jump into
days and confuse. This is uh, this is a movie.
And I kind of just told the story to Nolan
a mini crush about forty five minutes ago, because someone
asked on the Facebook page and we used as as
a segment, what was your favorite movie going experience? And

(15:09):
mine was dazed and confused. I saw it, uh in
ninety three the Georgia Theater and Athens, which is a
music venue mainly, but they had occasional movie screenings and
it was just a party. Man. It was everyone was
smoking weed, everyone was drinking. I mean it was a theater,
so they sold beer and stuff. And I sat up

(15:29):
in the balcony and I'll never forget it. It was
just it was one of those nights where it was
just a party, rollicking laughter, the music just I mean,
we'll we'll talk about the music like possibly the greatest
soundtrack of all time. Um, And it was just one
of those movies. It was set in the Bicentennial, which
I was five years old, and you know, I remember

(15:49):
that summer. Um. I was only five, so it wasn't
like the most vivid memories, but I remember it happening.
These kids were like my older sister and her friend
ends and it was it was sort of just above
my generation, but a generation that I still knew. And uh,
it just it's It's a movie I've seen fifteen times

(16:13):
and watching it last night was like the first time again.
It ages so well and it's still so fucking great. Yeah,
I couldn't agree more. When did what was your first experience?
Do you remember? Days and confused? Yeah, I think, um,
I think it was my junior of high school. Some
friends and I decided to sit around and watch it,
and um, you know, it's so weird. The movie takes

(16:35):
place in seventy six, and we were like, funk, this
is like our high school, Like this is us right now,
you know, And it really felt that way. It really
felt like we were living the same lives as these people,
you know, thirty five years earlier. So it's it's cool.
I mean, that is one of the things about it.
It's it's um. And I had the same experience watching

(16:55):
the movie Crookland from Spike Lee when I was like
these kids, this back family in Brooklyn in the nineteen seventies,
Like that was my family, this white family in suburban
Atlanta in the seventies. It was like it was the
same stuff. There's sort of this universe, that universality aspect,
I think too certain ages, and uh, it doesn't surprise

(17:18):
me that. I mean, it was my high school experience
to a large degree to you know, yeah, I mean, um,
you know, I've heard a lot of people say, like
there are things in that movie that don't really feel
like they resonate with um. You know, like the the
fact that like most people seem to like really get
along even though they were like kind of these sub

(17:40):
clips excuse me, sub clicks. Yeah, and the like you know,
the the way that like people drink and smoke, you know,
the way they got away with stuff back then. It's
just like not something you would like see any time
in the last years. Um, but boy, it was that
was a case back then that we were feral and

(18:02):
parents didn't know where you were half the time, and
drinking age was eighteen back then. Yeah, so like a
high school junior could probably buy beer and get away
with it even without a fake I d as Wiley
Wiggins does as a as a freshman. But um, yeah, man,
just starting with that opening music cue, when that when
Sweet Emotion starts with the black screen and the credits

(18:24):
are rolling, and then it clicks in with that orange
muscle car creeping through the parking lot. It just it's
such a tone center, you know. Yeah, yeah, I mean
I I love the vibe and it's um, you know,
it definitely takes you right to the seventies, even though
you know, I think link Later didn't necessarily intend for

(18:45):
it to be like necessarily an homage to the seventies.
I think he's always kind of said, like, seventies kind
of sucked, and I wanted to, like to be real
about that. But there's still something about that, like opening
scene and so much for the rest of the movie
where you're like, I don't know, man, you're making the
seven seem pretty cool. Well, he does address that a
couple of times in the movie. You know, there's and
this is another point I wanted to touch on is

(19:07):
that in in link Ladder movies when they're sort of
Link laddery and not the School of Rocks, there are
all there are these moments where it is clear that
it's Richard link Ladder talking and musing. I call him
Richard link Ladder musings. Kevin Smith does the same thing.
I think, way, way, way too much and in a
very sort of forced way. But I think Richard link

(19:28):
Ladder sprinkles throughout his movies. The opening of Slacker when
it is Richard link Ladder in the back of the taxi.
I mean, all of Slacker actually is Richard link Ladder musings.
But in this movie they have you know, the scene
at the end where where Randall is talking about high
school and like, if these are the best years of
my life, you know, remind me to kill myself? Or
Marissa Rabisi talking about the every other generation theory, how

(19:51):
you know maybe the eighties are gonna be radical, And
it's clear these are Richard link Ladder's thoughts, and I
just think he works them into his movie so well
and very deftly, and it's not like, uh, it's not
kind of rammed down your throat. Yeah, Yeah, I think, Um,
it's it's so obvious when it's a link Later talking
to you, you know, through these characters, and yeah, I

(20:13):
think he summed it up perfectly. But um, you know,
I've always kind of assumed that link Later has just
been like journaling all the time throughout his entire life,
and you know, when he's writing scripts, he's just like
pulling straight from those journals. You know, when he's going
on greyhound bus trips across the country to Montana, you know,
he's he's making his life into movies, and um, yeah,

(20:36):
you know, I think especially the early ones like Slacker
and Days, it's so obvious. Yeah, And I think smart
smart enough to take the best parts for the most
cinematic parts of his life and then make up the rest. Um,
because you know, there's a lot of talk about Days
being autobiographical, and he's like, you know, some of the
stuff was they we were paddled and hazed, and there

(20:56):
was this, and there was that. But I think he
was like, no one wants to see a movie about
Richard link Ladder's life. Um, so he just sort of
sprinkles it, which is a good, good move, I think. Yeah,
that's a good point. I mean, it's always amazed me
how you can like take the mundane and make it
so like fucking interesting and fun somehow, you know. And yeah,

(21:17):
you're right. He's got that talent of just making anything
seem like cool and interesting. Um. Like one of the
best writers ever. I meant, most of his movies are,
especially those before movies, they're just these long conversations. Slack
slacker is a long conversation between you know whatever, three
dozen people. Yeah, the cast of this movie. It really

(21:47):
hit me last night more than ever that outside of it,
maybe Matthew McConaughey, and maybe George Joey Lawren Adams and
Parker Posey. Joey Lawren Adams didn't have some huge career,
but she had a quote probably better role in Chasing Amy.
But almost every other actor in this movie, this is
their best role, probably of their career, you know. Um.

(22:10):
And they're the most unlikely characters to emerge out of
you know, this movie to become famous. You know, Matthew McConaughey,
who would have thought, and I guess been Affleck of
course went on to do big things. He's so great
as Obeyion it's like everyone knew that guy. Uh. In
that part in the movie when Wiley Wiggins gets confirmation

(22:31):
from Randall that he's you know, he's like, yeah, he's
kind of a joke to us too. Like that was
such a big moment, you know when these kids and
I love their relationship, like him and Wiley Wiggins and
then Wiley wiggins sister and the other girl. How you know,
you take these kids under your wing. Um, And it
seemed almost as ritualized as the hazing, Like we do

(22:55):
the hazing and then the cool kids find one other
kid that's younger and kind of teach him the ropes. Yeah. Yeah,
there's that one scene where Pink, the you know, the
main character. He's giving Wiley Wiggins or Mitch a ride
home or something, and he even like tells that allegory
of how he when you know, when he was a freshman,
he got hey, super bad, but there was this really

(23:18):
cool senior who took him beers afterwards, and then right
after that he's like, hey, man, you want to come
out with us later? You know, he's like literally passing
that torch. Um. Yeah, I mean I didn't have that experience,
but um, you know, I love that idea, you know,
in a sense that like, you know, we're gonna put

(23:38):
you through hell, but at the end of the day,
we're gonna like build you up at the same time.
So well, that's what the cool ones do. And then
there's the ben athletic character, who was also a stereotype
of the real person. It was just an asshole and
angry and uh, you know, now that I'm a grown up,
I see that character and I'm like, well, what happened
to him when he was a kid? Like why is

(23:59):
he like that? Yeah, you try to have a little empathy,
you know. Yeah, totally, those those asshole characters, I think
we're more frequent, uh into my memory. But you know, um,
I feel bad for Ben Affleck. Um. I think he
like was constantly getting type cast is like assholes in
his early days and he like all rats, yeah exactly.

(24:21):
He had to like, um, write his own movie a
good while hunting to get out of that stereotype. So yeah,
I wouldn't feel too sorry for Ben Affleck, but yeah,
yeah he's fine. Um, But I mean, you know, Wiley
Wiggins definitely the biggest or best role for him. Jason
London's best role. I guess Anthony um Rap ended up
being in Rent, so that was his best role. But Cochrane, Um,

(24:44):
Marissa Rabisi, Cole Houser, all of most of those female characters,
Christine Harnos, Michelle Burkendina Martin is sort of trio of girls.
They you know, that was the biggest stuff they were
ever in, Like, we're really good in this movie had
inc Yeah, I mean it's tough. I mean they were
all really good. But I think when you have a

(25:06):
cast of this wide and you know, only a few
people really get to stand out, you know, it's just
it's kind of a bit of a shark tank, I
think is in terms of like who emergence, who emerges
out of it? Yeah, I mean Rene's lager was an
extra for God's sake. Uh. The other character too, Um

(25:27):
that played Dawson Sasha Jensen Um. He I used to
work in film production and when I was in l A,
I was working a job. I was in the production
office is a p A and he walks in and
I was like, wait a minute, what are you doing here?
And he was like, I'm an art department coordinator with
this TV commercial. I was like, but you were and

(25:50):
he was, and he did that, and he did the
you know, the tongue out. I was like, dude, what
are you doing? And he was like, you know, he's like,
it's acting stuff. It's hard to get working. I really
liked a business and so I do this too. It's
just like, wow, that's crazy, man. Yeah, I bet you
recognize those eyebrows immediately. Oh yeah, I mean it was unmistakable.
And you know, I worked this like two week job

(26:10):
job with him. Super nice guy, and he did act
in you know, a bunch of kind of lower profile
stuff and I'm not sure what he's doing now, but uh,
you know, I hope he made his way in film production.
It's just interesting. You know, you you're in a movie
this is cultural touchstone and one of the bigger, most
memorable characters, and uh, you end up as an art

(26:32):
department coordinator. Maybe. Yeah, it's it's interesting shame in that. No, No,
not at all. I mean he was one of my,
I think my favorite characters for a number of reasons.
I think he was just like, very very like charismatic.
It's also a bit of a a misogynist character, and
I didn't like that that aspect of it. On rewatch,
but you know, it's a time capsule. It is a

(26:52):
time capsule. There's you know, there's plenty of butt slapping
and stuff like that, but I mean that's that's how
what it was in high school in nineties six. Yeah.
So I mean, despite that, he was a very interesting character.
And yeah, I don't I don't know why a lot
of those people didn't, um, you know, keep going up
and up and up in that particular field. I mean,

(27:12):
you know, I know Wiley Wiggins. You know, he was
on one other link later movie Waking Life, and other
than that, like he went on to like program video games.
I think, um, yeah, I think fairly successfully. I met
him at a bar in l A one night, and
he was with some people that knew that people I
was with, So I kind of was loosely hanging out
with him one night, just kind of fun. Um. I

(27:34):
did want to mention though you just talked about Sasha
Jensen's character being a misogynist. He certainly was, But watching
last night, I noticed that like in the scene where
he uh where they were hazing the girls and he
told the one girl like open your mouth, and it
was really just awful. Like his friends call him out.
And granted they called him out in the way you

(27:55):
would in high school in nineteen six. They weren't like
that was wrong, But I like that link Ladder threw
that in there at least, like Rory Cochman was like, dude,
that's terrible, Like it's so degrading, and the girls said,
you're such an asshole, like they didn't say that. Hey,
that's really funny, you know, yeah, totally. Um, I feel
like that's real too. You know if anybody like pulled

(28:16):
that ship when I was in high school, and you know,
it's like somebody would be like, yeah, come on, man,
we don't do that, and you know it's just like
so naive looking and it's just like I'll do whatever
you want. I guess, yeah, you know, not understanding the
application there so well, so many of those kids in
the movie had just with like one line or whatever,

(28:38):
and you know, they just never did that. They never
even acted in anything else. And you can tell some
of them were not actors, including some of the adults
like the old man after the football uh talking about
football next season, Um, the guy I think, the liquor
store guy. There were a few people in there that

(28:59):
it was like, man, these are these are Austin dudes.
They gotta be. Yeah. I mean I think that's the
reason I love the movie so much and I love
link Later is you know, he he was only a
wet like two years off of Slacker, so he still
has a whole like, yeah, let's just get Austin people
in here, Like, yeah, this is just an Austin movie. Still, Um,

(29:19):
you know, who cares if we have a slightly bigger
budget and we have you know, l A producers, Like
this is an Austin movie and we're gonna have Austin
people in Austin places. It made it so authentic, Like
that fucking head football coach. I didn't even look him up,
but I mean that guy had to be real. Yeah,
there's no way that that was just some actor doing
that perfect, perfect accent. Yep, Yeah, that was just some

(29:43):
some actual football coach he picked up off the side
of the road. I don't know, I'm just that way.
I mean I feel like I had that coach, you know. Yeah. Um.
One thing that occurred to me last night that I
never really considered is there were no se seniors in
this movie. Um. I kind of always thought that the

(30:03):
main olds, we're high school seniors. They were juniors, rising seniors.
There there's nothing. There's no seniors in this movie. Who
who had just graduated that day? He just left them
out of the movie. Yeah. Um, I mean I guess
there's Obanion who's technically like a failed senior. He was
like going to be a senior again, right, I mean

(30:24):
there's probably some levity there, But you know, I think
that's a I think that's intentional on link later as part.
I feel like he always likes to show people in
moments of transition, you know, like, um, you know, I
don't think he ever likes to represent groups or people
who are like stuck in any sort of power dynamic.

(30:44):
It's always like, you know, we're changing, we're moving, We're
going through some period of of alteration, you know, alteration. Um.
And that's what makes these experiences interesting because you'll always
remember those moments where you felt something different or you
felt yourself changed in some way, right, Yeah, I mean
I think those are the moments that are the most

(31:06):
cinematic or when you're in or most dramatic at the
very least, where you're in these periods of flux and
there is uncertainty. Um and that I mean this, this
whole movie is about that. I think Randall kind of
addresses it most directly, but they're all feeling it. Uh.
And I remember that feeling even though I knew like, yeah,
I'm going to college, I'm going to Athens, that uncertainty

(31:29):
is exciting and scary as ship. Yeah yeah, I mean
you know, and and again you mentioned Randall a k A.
Pink Um, Yeah, you're right. He captures that philosophy so
well by just constantly being on the fence about what
he wants to do with his future. And I love
the fact that they leave it so ambiguous. You know,

(31:50):
he's going through this thing throughout the movie of like
am I gonna play football next year? What am I
gonna do with my life? And you know at the
end he's just kind of like, I'm gonna do whatever
I want and I will decide whenever I want to.
And it's like, yeah, completely up to me on my
my terms, my schedule. Um. You know, I feel like

(32:10):
that's so much just encapsulates that, you know that that
coming through that era flex and with a triumph, right,
like it doesn't it doesn't matter, you know, I'm going
to do what I want to do. Yeah, and he
he manages to do it without ramming it down your
throat as a filmmaker. I think, Uh, there's just this

(32:30):
sort of easygoing authenticity. I think through all the link
Lattery movies, UM, that you feel like you're you're watching
these people that you know. Um, I mean, generations of
people love this movie. Um. You know, my sisters in
her like mid fifties, and people in their sixties relate.

(32:52):
And then you're you know, how old are you? Yeah,
you people younger than you probably relate to this movie.
It's really kind of a bit of a miracle like
taste and confused. This movie set in seventy six is
kind of like a touchdown for so many Yeah, that
universal appeal. But you know, I mean again, I think
he does that with all these movies in so many ways.

(33:13):
When we were talking about Boyhood earlier, like yeah, you know,
I remember I saw that with my dad and I
walked out. I was like, Dad, that was my life.
He was like, that was my life too, you know. Wow,
So that's cool. I get so annoyed when people don't
like Boyhood more than other movies. Like Boyhood is one
of those I just thought was so real and authentic
and uh an experimental. And I've had some people I

(33:38):
know in respect they were like, loo, could nothing happen
in the movie. It's just so long, And I was
just like, it just breaks my heart. Do you hear
people think of that movie that way? It's like, I
don't know, Yeah, I mean, it's all kinds of personally, Yeah,
I know your pain. I mean to me, like, uh,
link Later is a lot like David Lynch in the
sense that like, if you go into it looking for

(34:00):
like plot or like you know, a traditional narrative arc,
you're you know, you're not going to get much out
of it. You're not You're going to be disappointed. But
if you go into something, you know, looking to like
experience something very real and relate to something or or
you know, notice little details about life that you know,
maybe don't ever get touched on anywhere else, and I

(34:22):
think you're in for a treaty open your heart. Yeah,
exactly to Richard Letter. Uh, Parker Posey is one of
my favorite actors. I've tried to get her on the
show before. I'm going to try again, but um, this
may be like peak Parker Posey. Yes, even though it's
not a very big role, she just like made such
an imprint in this movie. Is the the asshole, the

(34:45):
asshole rising senior girl. Yeah, God, she's she's brutal. Um
that you still like her somehow? Yeah you do? Um
I saw um. I don't know if you ever like
read letterbox reviews, but um, half of them mentioned Parker
Posey and they're just like, man put Parker Posey's like

(35:06):
the like girlfriend that I always wanted, who would just
like being that outgoing and dominant all this like weird stuff.
But um, yeah, I mean, yeah, you're right. She made
such an impression and that's probably why she was one
of the few to really go on and be successful afterwards. Yeah,
she was so funny. Emily and one of our my wife,
one of the things we say in our house, probably

(35:27):
six or eight times a year is wipe that face
off your head. Yes, like one of us, one of
us will be making kind of a gnarled at face
about something and she'll go, hey, wipe that face off
your head. I remember reading about that line. Um how
she somebody like said it to her in real life
and she was like, that is like the weirdest thing
I've ever heard anyone say, And I'm going to take

(35:47):
it and I'm going to use it in the next
thing that I do. And she like brought it by
a link later she was like, I have this weird
thing that's been like, you know, circling around my head
for a while. Can I like please say it in
this movie? And he just like I was like, yes,
that's Genia say it. So oh boy, it was such
a fun uh fun line, oh I had. Pickford's dad

(36:08):
was another one of those guys that seemed totally real
and like a non actor, you know, were you going
to have a party, just that formal sort of Southern
way of talking, like unpack your bags, honey, we're staying
home right. Apparently that guy, Sean Andrews was a real asshole.
I was reading some sort of behind the scenes stuff
and he and and Jason London didn't get along. Well yeah,

(36:34):
and link Ladder talked about it. He was like, it's
kind of one of those things. He said, Sean was
going through his own thing and it was very aloof
and he said, this is not the movie to be
a loof on like part of the He said it
was a hard movie to make, and he said part
of the success of it was due to the summer
camp thing, with all this cast being together, real life partying.
Apparently in the last scene when they're driving get the

(36:57):
Aerosmith tickets, Joey Lawren Adams were like, we were really stoned.
He was like you were, and He's like, you guys
weren't supposed to be doing that. She was like, we
didn't do it much, but she said, we were all
totally high in that last shot. Yeah, I mean, it's
kind of a weird thing if you think about it,
Like the link later and the producers like took this
cast of like you know, teens and twentysomething's, put them

(37:18):
up in the same hotel for two months and like
gave them like free rein to do whatever the funk
they wanted when they weren't shooting. It sounds like a disaster,
but I mean, you're right, I think that was so
integral to the the authenticity of the film, right, Like
let's let's get some actual communal vibes going that they
can like channel on on the screen. So, um, I

(37:41):
think it was really unfortunate to hear that. Sean Andrews
who's he and Mila Djovivic were supposed to be like
pretty pivotal characters in the movie, got cut out of
most of it because like behind the scenes, like you
were saying, like the two of them were just so
like not interested. You know, they like didn't participate in
the summer amp thing you were talking about. They kind

(38:02):
of like broke off and like isolated themselves, and as
a result, like the you know, the rest of the
cast kind of hated them and didn't want anything to
do with them. And well, he said he had to
tell them at some point he had to pull he
in London aside and was like, listen, guys, you don't
like each other, but you gotta we gotta get this done,
so like, you know, get it together. You guys gotta
be friends on screen. Uh, they got married that they

(38:25):
like eloped and John Andrews, Yeah, I think they got
annulled like two months later or like what the fund
did we do? But um, it's really interesting a little
bit of behind the scenes drama there. Yeah, did you
hear about the the other behind the scenes drama where um,
Sean Andrews and Miladjovivic like lock themselves in a trailer

(38:46):
because they wanted a link Later to like rewrite some
lines for them what they like, refused to come to set. Yeah. Yeah,
so um, they got I guess, real cocky, real real
egotistic about their role in the movie, and they were
we want more scenes and we want to write it
our way. And you know, this is like I think
near the end of production, and link Later is like, no,

(39:07):
I mean, come on, yeah, we can't fire you, but
like just like please play ball with us, and they
were like no. So they like through like a little
fit and they locked themselves in a trailer and they
said they weren't going to participate in any more scenes
until they like got what they wanted. And so I
think that's ultimately why they got cut from like so
much of the movie is like link Later was like, well, no,

(39:30):
funck you guys, Like I'm not doing that good. I
mean she was almost entirely cut. Um yeah, I mean
I guess he had a couple of livotal scenes in
the car with a bowling ball, which is great. Uh,
and then the you know, the party stuff when they
were up in the beer kicked livery mishap, which was
pretty funny too. I mean he was pretty good in it,

(39:52):
and that's it's a shame he was he was not
playing ball because uh I thought the character was pretty good.
Actually yeah, he was funny. Um yeah, just it's just sad.
I think that's just ultimately the kind of actor he was.
You know, I just thought too much of himself and
you know, cost him his career. It sounds like he

(40:12):
wasn't in a lot after that. Um, let's talk about Waterson.
Oh my god, what else was there to talk about?
You could spend a whole episode of the show talking
about Matthew McConaughey as Waterson. I mean, it's one of
the genius characters of all time, and uh, you know,
sort of the legend around it. It's like, how many movies,

(40:33):
especially a movie this small that you know, didn't make
a lot of money, has become a cult hit. But
um how many movies like this went on to spawn
something that's like remained part of the lexicon and the
cultural zeitgeist with the alright, alright, alright thing. I mean
that alone is like that doesn't happen much. I oh yeah,
I mean I can't think of any more or any

(40:55):
other movie that has more like gifts or memes that
I can pull them on my phone and into people,
you know, that are almost all entirely Matthew McConaughey based
there's alright, alright, alright, yeah, there's a be a lot
cooler if you did that. Man. We say that all
the time. It's such a great line. A whole lot
cooler if you did. I thought he was a real guy. Man.

(41:19):
I think I've told this story before, but when that
movie came out, I did. I thought he was one
of those and he was a real Texas guy. But
I thought he was a non actor that he just
put in the movie, and that he really was sort
of one of these old, sort of losery guys. I was,
and my sister a couple of years later said, oh, yeah,
this guy Matthew McConaughey, he was the guy Watterson and said,

(41:39):
no, no no, no, I said that can't be. I said
that was just some guy, and she said, no, no, no,
he was. It was an actor. And my sister is
not even like some big movie buff and she kind
of schooled me on that, and I was just my
mind was blown. Man. He was so real, and especially
when you live in the South like there was that
I mean, there are these guys everywhere, but there was

(42:00):
always that guy that was, you know, twenty two and
still hanging around. You know. It's it was so authentic
and great. Yeah. Yeah, I think, um, every every like
high school click has that guy you know, that who're
just like never really found his way after high school

(42:21):
and just kind of wanted to like stay eternally a
high school senior um. And you know, It's it's always
been really interesting to me how Matthew McConaughey um simultaneously
captures like that creep status, but he's also like super
likable somehow, Like they made him really like you still

(42:41):
want to hang out with him even though he's like
so weird and creepy and talks about uh, you know,
teenage girls and very inappropriate ways. Um, you're still like
but he's somehow lovable. And it's only Matthew McConaughey could
pull that off. I think anybody else that would have
been super gross. Yeah, and you know, he was creepy
and gross and not to excuse anything, but like in

(43:03):
nineteen seventy six, it wasn't the most uncommon thing for
like a sixteen year old to date a twenty one
year old. Um, you know, that kind of stuff happened
back then, and of course ten years later, it's no
big deal to be five or six years apart from somebody.
But it's that high school non high school boundary. That's
just it adds that creep element, you know, like, uh,

(43:23):
the older boyfriend, like going to prom or something like that.
He's been out of school for four or five years.
It's just no getting around that. That's very uncomfortable, you know. Yeah, yeah,
And you know again somehow, even by the end of
the movie, you know, Watterson still becomes this like leader
amongst the troop of them, right. Yeah. That football scene,

(43:44):
a football field scene at the end is I mean,
it was kind of the perfect way for that movie
too two to end. Uh. That that's where you get
that great scene of Jason London sort of just looking
off in the distance talking about the future and Matthew McConaughey,
who apparently his father died in real life kind of
in the early days of making this movie, and that

(44:05):
whole just keep living thing was that all out? Yeah? Man,
L V I N. I mean that's the name of
his production company, J K. Livin Productions and Uh, you
know it's they tread in some deeper waters throughout this
movie here and there, but not so much that it
gets bogged down. Yeah, it's it's very light touch, and

(44:27):
I I always appreciate that, you know. Um, I think
when you're like that young and you really are just
kind of like, you know, partying, experimenting with romance. Um,
that's about the extent to what you think of stuff, right.
You know. It's like there's always like this philosophical backdrop,
but at the front of everything, you're just like trying

(44:49):
to find yourself, you know, and um, you know, taking
it one step at a time. And um, I think
I think it just has to be that jovial for
it to work. And with this with this cast, in
this age group and that time period. Yeah, and it
was a time like not to be old man, but
it was a bit more of an innocent time. I

(45:10):
don't know how things are now, you know, as a
parent myself, you have all these fears that there's just
so much more overt sexuality at younger and younger ages.
And I don't know if that's just a fear, if
that's the reality, I'll find out soon enough. But you know,
back then when you were fourteen, like at least me too,
I was. I was a religious kid in a late bloomer,

(45:32):
Like I wanted to kiss a girl, and you know,
like making out what the girl was the biggest thing,
like the highest achievement romantically I could think about. And
it did not go beyond anything beyond that scared the
hell out of me, to be honest, until I was
much older. But um, and you know there were kids
around me of course that we're kind of like monkeying
around with other stuff, but it was just a more

(45:54):
innocent time where like you you hook up at a
party and you like kiss somebody and that was like
the best night ever. Yeah. It makes me like remember
a scene in the movie that I totally forgot about,
but it's like really funny. It's really funny rewatching it.

(46:17):
And uh, they go to the middle school dance and
there's that little back room where all the like eighth
graders are all just like making out totally and it's like,
oh my god, like like it makes you realize, like
when I first made out with someone or like you
know whatever else, like was it that Like I don't

(46:38):
want to call it like pathetic, but like I don't know,
it just it feels so pathetic, you know, And oh
my god, I felt so bad for that girl because
they you know, she's making out with Hirschfeld and his
friends basically rip them out of there. He's like, we
gotta go, we gotta go to get the tub. He
gets battle, but she just sort of sitting there like

(46:58):
now she's all alone in the makeout him and feeling
just so awkward and uncomfortable, and I'm just like I
just want to go give her a hug and be
like it's okay, like you know, get out of the
makeout room, go back to the dance. And it feels
so intense when you're that age too, right, like oh yeah, man,
Like you were saying like that's just like the pinnacle
of like your your romance goals at that age, and

(47:19):
you like got it and it means the world when
it's happening. Yeah, So it's so devastating when things like
that happened. But that's that link letter touch man. That
It's so there's so many little details like just that
shot of that girl for two seconds, or when the
I think he writes female characters really really well, um

(47:40):
more so than like most male writer directors. Uh, you
know the other little moments like when, um, they're all
getting ready to go out that night and the girls
laying down on the bed and her friend has used
the pliers to zip her pants up because they're so tight.
Like there's a generation of women from the seventies and sixties.
I think that we're like, oh my god, how did
he know that? He must have sisters? Because we totally

(48:01):
had to do that to help each other in our pants. Yeah,
he had two older sisters. I know link later did Well,
there you go. That that helps. I'm sure I think
one of his sisters works with him on his movies too,
so yeah, yeah, I mean, such a nice detail. There's
another one. I don't know if you remember seeing this,
but when Mitch goes to get beer at the liquor store,

(48:22):
right before he checks out, there's this lady who checks
out who's like pregnant or and she's like smoking and
getting alcohol, and he's like, I hope that baby comes out,
you know, it's good for you. Yeah, and he's like,
remember to take your vitamins, like totally pass you by
if you're not paying attention. But it's just like such

(48:42):
a funny like I think, like, you know, I don't
want to call it homage, but like funny imagery of
the seventies and when yeah, smoking and drinking when you're pregnant,
like of course, yeah, man, I mean it's crazy to
think about people doing that now, but it used to happen.
It's nuts. Um. I want to talk for a second
about the little uh, the triad of Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp,

(49:07):
and Marissa Rabisium. Yeah, I mean you've got this. I
think I think more people like us identified with those
three than than the others. Um. Like I was in
the I kind of spanned clicks. In my school. I
was really popular because I liked everyone and was well

(49:27):
liked by everyone, So I hung out with the cool kids,
but I hung out with this sort of these three
that were sort of like what I would just call
sort of not unpopular but kind of the the sort
of smart crowd but not super super super nerdy. But
I was also friends with the super nerds just because
I don't know, I always just wanted to be nice

(49:47):
to people and to be liked by people. So that
was my goal, um or not my goal, that just
my nature. But those three man there. I think my
favorite in the movie too, is there is there one
in particular you identify with the most curious. I don't
really even identify so much. It's more just well, probably

(50:07):
Anthony Rapp a little bit. Uh, he's a little bit
shy and thinks he should maybe be playing a certain part,
but it's not comfortable playing that part. Uh. Definitely not
Adam Goldberg because he was you know, kind of neurotic guy. Uh,
he's so good in it too. Yeah, if if I
was to pick one, I'd probably say Adam Goldberg just

(50:29):
because when he's having his a little cil crisis, his
existential crises, you know, calls himself a missingthrope and he's
talking about how he like just can't stand people. Like
I wouldn't say I'm like that extreme, but like I
feel that sometimes, you know, I really know what he's
going through in that moment, and I've been there so well.
I mean, then what do you how did it make

(50:49):
you feel? Later when he gets in the fight with Clint,
And I mean, Nikky Cat was so good in this,
Like we all knew that guy too that was just
so overly aggressive and wanted to get into a fight
everywhere they went, and it's such a especially for guys
like us, Like those guys just scared the hell out
of me. I didn't want to be anywhere near them,
not for fear of getting beat up, just that that

(51:11):
energy was so bad for toxic. Yeah. Yeah, I mean
those guys who were just like unnecessarily a grew all
the time. Um, I agree. I I avoided them like
the plague and um yeah, I mean god, that's seeing
that fight really like yeah, it's it's hard to watch,
you know, like it. Um, I don't know, Like something

(51:34):
clicked in me when I saw that, where I was like, man,
that's like that was like my worst fear was that happening.
Like I feel like I had nightmares as a teenager
of like bumping into some dude like that the wrong
way in the hallway and like him exploding. And I
would do the exact same thing Adam Goldberg did, where
I'd be like, I don't know what you're talking about,
Like what's going on here? Like I'm sorry, I guess

(51:54):
like afterwards, yeah totally, and you like you're done afterwards
and you're like in your head like oh I should
have said this or I should have done that or
I'm gonna get back at him somehow, and um, I
don't know, Like it made me feel really like pathetic
watching Adam Goldberg be pathetic man and sweet guy. I

(52:17):
know what you mean though, It's I mean I was
always using personality and humor to avoid any confrontation like that.
So I was never threatened by bullies, but I saw
it happen, and it always just it always just made
me really uncomfortable. And I guess scared is the right word.

(52:38):
I remember being scared a few times, like an elementary school,
that kind of male aggression. Yeah, yeah, I like, I
really hope it's gotten better. I feel like it hopefully
has um for like high schoolers and young people now,
but um, yeah it was. It was really hard to
like ever feel comfortable in high school for that reason.

(52:59):
I think, I think, like more than anything more than
like stress of classes, more than like romance or dating
or you know, feeling like you're going to fit into
any clique. Um, the like thread of machies moo dudes,
I think the number one aggressor to my life back then.
You know, yeah, and almost universally you know, you're you're

(53:22):
still pretty young, but you see how it works, like
almost universally, those guys, that's their peak in high school,
you know. Ah, and you know, and and what happened
to Clint. You know, his dad probably beat the ship
out of him, you know, alcohol, Yeah, probably, And it's
that that cycle of of abuse that's just so real. Um.

(53:44):
But you know, now people like you are like super
talented musicians and podcast producers and cool and artistic, and
those guys are are selling hun Day's. Yeah. It does
make you wonder, you know, And I think that's one
of the things you leave dazed, you know, always like

(54:04):
thinking about, is like what happens to these people later?
You know, everybody from Clinton Adam Goldberg. You're just like,
who do these people become? You know, I've really I've
always really wanted to know totally, because it's nice to
think that, like, you know, this person becomes this successful
person in that asshole like ends up just becoming a
you know, living in a trailer park whatever. But right

(54:25):
who knows, you know, It's just like it might not
turn out that way. It's just I don't know, there
are outliers, but I'm a firm believer in the good
people usually come out on top in some way. It
may not be necessarily riches and fortune or anything like that,
but I just think that that leading a good life

(54:47):
and being kind to people just leads to more goodness eventually.
And in the opposite, the people like Clinton obanion that
that never leads anywhere good. They're never going to find
great successes in life by being assholes. But sometimes that happens,
you see it. Yeah, Yeah, it's It's definitely not a
black and white thing. But yeah, I think I I

(55:09):
too hold that that hope and that belief. Um. Yeah,
And for for the good of these very lovely, beautiful
characters in this movie, I I hope that dynamic works
for them. Yeah. They were so fun to watch, the
three of them, and I thought it was so great. Um.
I read this morning and apparently link Ladder went to
Marissa Rubis and was like, who, we gotta get you

(55:29):
a guy, and like, you think about who that might be,
and I'll think about it too, and we'll come back
tomorrow and talk. And he came back and he was
like Waterson and she said, that's perfect. She's like the
one guy that it shouldn't be. And there was something
about it when I don't know, man, there was something
kind of sweet about it, like she was charmed by

(55:49):
his waterson nous and I think, you know, I could
see them being good for each other and her making
him a bit of a better guy instead of the
other way around. Like I want to think good things
about those two. That's a really good point. I never
thought of that. Um, you know, I think I was
so caught up with the creepiness of him dating or
going after, you know, a high school girl, that I

(56:11):
hadn't really ever considered the actual chemistry there. But you know,
I think you're right. You know, she is like of
the whole cast of you know, female characters, like probably
the most mature and able to like handle his bullshit.
Yeah yeah, not that like the responsibility. But what happens
at that Aerosmith concert, Like that's the sequel, Yeah, you know,

(56:32):
it's two weeks later they're going on this date. Uh
that that's pretty great. Um. The thing about that fight,
though I wanted to kind of put a button on,
is that it is such a great moment in the movie. Um,
because you know that it takes place over a big
long day and night, which is one of my favorite
kinds of movies. I love it when movies do that,
and he does that a few times in his movies

(56:54):
or you know, years or or the but he you know,
this fight happens. It's a big moment for Adam Goldberg's
character and that he did stand up for himself but
he got his ass kicked and when he was kind
of crying afterwards, it was so like so upsetting, but
it led to that great grain shot at the moon

(57:17):
Tower party and Tuesday's Gone kicks in by skinnered and
the beer kegs run dry, and it's just like it's
just perfect filmmaking, you know, yeah, yeah, Um, I think
like we were saying earlier, you know, link later, you know,
really values the mundane. But at the same time, he

(57:37):
has such like a cinematic eye, you know, like he
knows how to really fucking hit you where it hurts
in the heart, just by like you know, using certain
shots and imagery and yeah, you know, things like that,
and you're right like that, um, that little ending there,
it's kind of like a little montage of like, you know,

(57:58):
going home at the end of the night and everything's
over and you know, what could have possibly been the
best night of your life now in the rear view
mirror and that's yeah, that's a that's a tough pill
to swallow. I like, yeah, like that hit my heart
last night. When I was rewatching it, I was like, man,
like I I had a couple of nights like that
in my like high school college years, and I'll probably

(58:20):
never have them again. Yeah, I know, man, it's uh,
it made me miss um and not because of COVID,
just because being old, like you know, going to those big,
big fucking ragor parties like it just didn't happen anymore
when you're my age, and those were the days. Man.
It reminded me of those days in college when you're

(58:41):
with your best friends and the sun's coming up and uh,
you know you're gonna feel like ship and pay for
it and but like you wouldn't change a thing about it.
It's so evocative that that sun peeking up and and
the way he shot it too, and um, he must
have shot those scenes in a in a real morning,
because they all looked like it was morning, and they

(59:03):
all looked like they had been partying all night. I mean,
the whole look of the film period was so real,
Unlike a lot of movies set in the seventies where
it's so clearly dressed and decorated and hairstyle like it
just it looked like he managed to PLoP a camera
down in nineteen seventy six and kind of film these people. Yeah,
part of me wonders if that has to do with
the fact that it was, you know, relatively speaking, kind

(59:25):
of a low budget, you know, like, yeah, it's like
five or six million bucks. I think, yeah, you know,
so they weren't too concerned with like making everybody look
you know, glistening or anything, which is probably from the best.
You know. I think it gave it a more rustic,
you know, real lived in kind of look, which is good. Totally.
Those cars, I mean, the ages really well. As a result.
I think, um, those goddamn cars and that truck man

(59:48):
what's his faces at black pickup truck? So sweet. I mean,
if you're a Texas guy, you probably have an appreciation
for like sixties pickup trucks. Yep. So in Austin every
year they do forget what it's called. But um, I
remember my middle school was right on the main drag
on you know, South Congress Avenue in Austin, which is
the Staith that leads to the Capitol, and every year

(01:00:10):
they they do this like run of the Cars thing
where all these like old cars from the fifties, sixties,
and seventies, um like, over the course of two hours,
just like NonStop driving through Congress all the way to
the Capitol and around downtown. UM. So yeah, it's I
think it's like a very like nostalgic thing to like
see that, And I think it's a it's a big

(01:00:31):
part of the fabric of that city and the culture
there too. You know, it's very Texas, it's very Austin. Really,
I love it. They nailed that so well. Is there
one car that you love the most you wish you
could have had? Well, I mean I love Melbot Toast, yea,
I wrote, I mean I might as well. I copy
pasted that part. Let me tell you what Melbot Toast

(01:00:52):
is packing. Right here. We got four eleven posit track
out back, seven fifty double pumper edel Brock intake board
over thirty eleven to one pop up Pistons, turbo Jet
three ninety horsepower. We're talking some fucking muscle. That's so Texas.
I love it. They ganked that shot over lunch one day.
He said they had to do that a lot because
the budget, and they just were like sneaking things in

(01:01:13):
wherever they could. And McConaughey said, the camera his dp
uh he was, He's like, who knows about cars? And
his DP was like I do. And he went write
some ship down on this piece of paper. And then
Nicky Kat too, like he was so perfect. He's like,
you gotta get some shoes on that thing. Man. He
was like white lightning. He had that white trans am
and he's talking about his tires and he called his

(01:01:36):
ice skates or something. And I mean that is that
is Texas, that is Stone Mountain, Georgia. That is like Detroit, Michigan.
It's like these muscle car dudes. Yeah, Like even if
you don't know cars that well or no one they're
talking about ID, it's somehow just like it hits you
somewhere because you've known people who had those conversations around you. Yeah,

(01:01:57):
And it's just I grew up with a guy that
went to my church in the youth group that had
an old four forty two muscle car that was red
with black racing stripes. And my I talked to my
brother the other day he still has that car, and
I was like he does, and he was like, oh yeah, man,
and he was like that's he's had that car for

(01:02:19):
literally like forty years now and works on it himself,
that whole deal. And it's just like it's a machine.
I've never driven one of those. One of my life
goals is to, like is to drive like a really
sweet seventies muscle car one day at least once. I'll
keep an eye out. I mean, I'm not even a
car guy, but I love that ship. Yeah. Same. I'm

(01:02:39):
sure Rick Linklater knows where to get one. Um. Yeah,
my dad used to have. My dad was an old
Austin hippie and he used to have, um, one of
those you know, old school seventies VW buses. Oh yeah, yeah.
You see a couple of them in the movie Oh Cool.
And I remember he had it when I was a kid,
and I think he jumped it maybe like a couple
of years ago, which suck, but I think it was

(01:03:01):
just completely like useless at that point, you know, maybe
ten years ago, right, But man, what I would do
to like see that and have it in my possession again,
totally dude. Uh well, man, I think we did it.
I mean, you know, the soundtrack. We talked a little
bit about the it's just an assault of great music. Um.
I think my favorite kind of sequence in the movie

(01:03:22):
is it's almost unfair how he assaults you with these
songs all in a row. It's when he does a
Hurricane by Bob Dylan in the pool hall scene, that
great slow motion shot at Waterson, and then almost right
afterward it's followed by the bowling ball scene with I
Just Want to make Love to You, and then right
after that Paranoid by Sabbath comes on, and it's like, dude,

(01:03:45):
it's not fair, Like, how can you stack this movie
like that? Yeah? I think god, like half the movie's
budget must have gone to just licensing all those you know,
those tracks. It was one six actually I looked at
the full sixth of the movie, which doesn't sound light much,
but that's a lot of money to go towards music licensing. Yeah, yeah,
I know, Um yeah, I think you know, link Later

(01:04:07):
fought a pretty tough battle with it was a universal
I think, so yeah, yeah about like licensing that stuff,
because you know, when they gave him money for the movie,
you know, they were kind of just trying this guy
out seeing what he could do, weren't taking days and
confused super seriously as one of their top pictures of
the year or anything. So when this like you know,

(01:04:28):
new director comes around, like you know, I need to
license all these like super popular, like amazing tracks from
the seventies, They're like, yeah, we're not going to do that,
but somehow he got his way. Yeah you have to. Uh.
And it's one of the few movies. One of my
big pet peeves in movies is a music cue that's
two on the nose. Uh. And this is one of
the few movies where he does it a couple of times,

(01:04:49):
like when he plays schools out for summer, like literally
when schools out for summer and they're leaving the school.
But I don't care, man, what else are you going
to play there? Yeah? Trying to remember when I just
want to make love to you that line hits. I
feel like it's got to be in one of the
makeout scenes. I can't remember, but um, yeah, you're right.

(01:05:10):
For whatever reason, it's just like it works when it's
on the news in this movie, and it rarely does
anywhere else. It's all over the place. I think love
Hurts is one of this ad songs during the makeout stuff,
and uh, there was one other one I can't remember
that was super on the Nose, But I don't know, man,
It's just it's magic. It all works. It's one of
my favorite movies. I think the only you know track

(01:05:32):
we probably got to talk about at least for a second.
It's just the track that didn't make it, which was
Days and Confused, the led Zeppelin track. Yeah, and what's
the story? Um, so you know, led Zeppelin is pretty
notorious for like not letting anybody license their tracks for
film or anything else. Um, I think, you know, it's
been virtually impossible for anybody to get their songs for anything.

(01:05:55):
But um, you know, I think link Later pushed pretty
hard for this one. He was like, you know, it's
the name of our movie, Like, we gotta have this track.
It has to be the last thing they do when
they're going to get Aerosmith tickets. And um, they almost
got it. They got three out of the four members
to agree to it. They got Jimmy Page to sign
off on it, which was like pretty miraculous because he's

(01:06:16):
usually like the toughest of all of them. Um, and
then I forget exactly what the reason was, but at
the last minute it was Jim Um. Not to me,
it was Robert Plant, who was like nah, like he
like he like turned it down and he wouldn't let
them have it. Um. So yeah, for whatever reason, I

(01:06:36):
feel like it was just like some some scheduling conflict
to a Robbert Plant, just like I was, was doing
something else and didn't feel comfortable with signing off on
him at that moment. But I think that was the deal.
I read some about it too, and I think, Um,
I think the members weren't super communicative at the time,
and this was the time where they just weren't talking much,

(01:06:57):
uh and sort of doing their own thing. Richard Linkletter
wasn't some big name so there he was just kind
of like, well, I'm even paying attention to this. But
I think he did say link later said that later,
like ten years later, he met them and he might
have used something for something else, but he said it
kind of came full circle in a really nice way
later in his life with those guys. Yeah. I forget

(01:07:19):
what the anecdote is, but I remember reading that as well,
where I think he eventually got to license something from
them for a later movie. So, um, yeah, exactly what
maybe like Bernie or something, but another good movie. Um. Yeah,
and it's funny, like as much as you want to
hear that song in that movie that end with slow ride,

(01:07:40):
like you can't like what else does? Yeah, it wasn't
it more than once? Wasn't It was like two or
three times a couple of times. Oh wow, that's funny,
which is something I don't normally do. Yeah, yeah, it
was good. Absolutely well, dude, this is a lot of
fun Um. One of my favorite filmmakers, one of my

(01:08:01):
favorite movies. I say we make just this part of
a filmmaker series and go ahead. And you know, he
does so many we can't do them all, but maybe
we can pick out like four or five of our
favorites and uh and do this every couple of months. Yeah,
I'd love to. Um, you know, Waking Life is another
big one there. I mean, he's got so many things,
so anytime. Yeah, Suburbia that's another one I really like. Uh,

(01:08:25):
it's maybe we'll talk about the spiritual sequel everybody wants? Um,
did you like that? I actually haven't seen it? Okay,
well all right, but have been in that then yeah,
I think. Um. I've been on a quest recently to
watch all the few that have slipped by me over
the years, and that was one of them, along with
Last Flag Flying. I still haven't seen that one either,
but yeah, there's a couple of those I didn't see,

(01:08:45):
the one with Kate Blanchett or the last Flag Flag
Jesus can even say it last Flag Flying. Um, I
will just say this. I don't want it to taint anything.
Everybody wants some I enjoyed it is not this m
Great Days and Confuses is sort of lives in its
own space among all movies. Um. But it's good. It's

(01:09:08):
fun cool. Yeah, So I guess I'll have to rewatch
it and or just watch it for the first time
and then when reconvene and totally see see what happens.
All right, man, Well, this is a lot of fun,
and uh, I think people will enjoy this and look
forward to more Richard Linkladder stuff in the future. Not
agree more. Well, thanks Jack, I really appreciate it, Thanks, Bud.

(01:09:29):
Movie Crash is produced and written by Charles Bryant and
Meel Brown, edited and engineered by Seth Nicholas Johnson, and
scored by Noel Brown here in our home studio at
Pontsity Market, Atlanta, Georgia. For I Heart Radio. For more
podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,