August 20, 2024 • 45 mins
Whether he’s directing a movie, cutting in the editing room, or grabbing a bite to eat, Paul Feig wears a suit. In his view, dressing well both helps him focus and create strong first impressions. But Feig's elegance is also a reflection of his highly detail-oriented nature. Behind the camera, Feig’s acute perception and keen eye for comedy—his favorite genre—has led to hits like Bridesmaids and A Simple Favor (which has a sequel on the way), and the opportunity to direct television shows like The Office, Mad Men, and Freaks and Geeks, which he created. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the filmmaker joins host Bruce Bozzi and discusses his early years giving tours at Universal Studios Hollywood, what he loves about horror films, and why directing 2016's Ghostbusters convinced him to never work on a remake again.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey everyone, it's Bruce. Thanks for joining us for another
episode of Table for Two. Today we're back at the
Tower Bar in Hollywood for another amazing lunch.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I always get turkey chilly. That's the only thing I
ever got in. But I think I will do the
classic club. But now I'm now I'm gonna be the
guy that takes a bunch of stuff off.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
He always have exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
We're sitting down today with an incredible director. He's made
some of the funniest films I've ever seen, including Bride'smaids.
His new movie Jackpot just came out on Prime video.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
This water is yours if you want. I'm having a
new brew right now, lovely, which is just a whole
other conversation.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
See the only thing I can't do I can't have caffeine.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
We're having lunch with Paul Figue. We're going to talk
about things that we both love. Cocktails, movies, and fashion.
I mean every project that he directs, he wears a
suit on set.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
How cool is that?
Speaker 1 (01:10):
So pull up a chair, grab a glass of rose,
and I hope you enjoy. I'm Bruce Bosi and this
is my podcast Table for two.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Welcome to table for two.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
I love it. It's a thrilling to be here with you, Bruce.
I think you're the greatest. Thank you, and you know,
it's an honor to be here.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
What does your day look like like? What did today
look like?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I'm very much a creature of habit so much of
My wife makes fun of me all the time because
I'm a very much a three meal guy. So get
up and do my walk, and do like a four
mile walk most days, like a speed walk kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Starting your day with movement you have to do so
very important.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, I've owed my whole life kind of been plagued
with bouts of depression. And read years and years ago
an article about Charles Dickens then about how he fought
depression too and he would just walk. He would just
walk from one side of London to the other and
so way back when it's like, I can do that too,
and it is amazing how much it cures. You know.
(02:15):
It's just I think if your brain just sits and
your chemicals don't move around.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, no, I think, you know. And I find one
of the great things about New York is because I'm
a walker. Yeah, is when you are really processing something
in your head.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Yeah, and you just walk and walk and walk.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Down those cities that you know, you forget you're walking
because you're so you're looking in store windows, you're seeing people,
You're looking at fashion.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
You know, so true, so true. Yeah, you know, and
I live in London a lot too, so you know
the same thing. You're just walking constantly.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
That's why you're so full of style too, very style.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
You know it is nice. I mean, you know, we know, La,
we kind of battle the charity of the casual here, right,
but I'll tell.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
You, Paul, very similar to you, And how don't I
describe to the list and our support. You have a
double brusted suit, that is it's how about the pattern
would be considered?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
This is like almost like a a checkerboard.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, it's beautiful, it's blue, it's gray, right, and you
have a beautiful pocket square which I watched you on
YouTube teach how to part.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Your pocket square?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Right?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
They fair sort of and it's really the fig fold
is hey, yes, well you should understand that well, being.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
A manifest you know, like men are so put off
by pocket squares because there is this whole cult of
like folding them and it's so finnicky that I hate
anything that looks like so, you know, kind of just
obsessed over.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Do you when you dress? Are you dressing for you?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Like, when let's say you're in New York, you're dressing
for people on the street, Like, what's the motivation?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I turned you on about it?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I think I dressed for myself. Hilariously, when I used
to be in New York a lot, there was the
days when I kind of felt like I didn't want
to dress up. It was the Bill Cunningham day and
I was like, what did Bill hunting I happen to
be walking past? I don't want to miss my one opportunity,
I mean sweatpants. There's many reasons why I dress this way,
but one of them is it's a calling card that
tells the world who you are. You know, and not
(04:19):
that people know me, but people know that I do
this now. But you know, in general, if somebody's walking around,
if you show up like a slob, you're saying I'm
a slob. And I find it to be very egotistical
in a way of you're saying that people you better
get to know me before you can judge me. I agree,
(04:41):
you know, what I mean, yes, and so, but I'm like,
there's so much people you meet and stuff, why not
help them out? This is who I am?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, which I also love because you know, when you're
directing a film.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
You dress, oh yeah, always super time and.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
So you why do you dress? Because those are long
days and they're not you know, you're on a set.
You're seeing me up and down.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
What what's the it's to me?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I'm the captain of the ship. Yeah, And I always
say if the captain. If I've gone into a ship
and the captain is wearing sweatpants, I get off the ship.
It just I just kind of started because I love
old Hollywood and you know, coming up and I wanted
to be a director, and all I would see these
pictures of Hitchcock and john Ford and all these people
on the set in these suits and ties, and the
crew wearing ties and you know, kind of their sleeves
(05:26):
arerolled up but like dress pants and all that. Yeah,
it looks So I was like that I want when
I see a movie, I want to think that's who's right,
that's what the people who made it look like. And
it's also just a show of respect to the crews.
And to my my cast. But I I do it
across the board. I mean I do it anytime I
have business. I mean when I'm in pre production, when
(05:48):
I'm in the editing room. Every day, I'm always in
a suit and tie. I mean everyonce in blue Moons,
I won't wear a tie or whatever, just because I'm like, Okay,
I'm not going to see anything today. But yeah, it's
just kind of it feels professional of me. I feel
like a grown up, and it just focuses me. Like
you say, like during the pandemic, I was always saying
my little Instagram cocktails are like just change because if
(06:10):
you go through the day and the thing you slept
in there's it's depressed. I mean it's there's no delineation
between night and day, and you just lose track of everything,
including yourself.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Yeah, now it's very true.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Is there a period of time style wise that you
really relate to that you say, Okay, this.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Was Yeah, that's a great that's a great question. Actually
the thirties and forties.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I thought you'd say that.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Yeah, I love that, you know, I mean my mind
was just blown when I was in college and the
first time I saw his girl Friday, Okay, you know,
bring a baby, those things just that you know, carry
Grant and those those double breasted suits and the way
he would like, especially in his Girl Friday, but he
kind of uses it to make a point and he
(06:57):
snaps it clothes and buttons it up, and I would
just like, that's so fantastic. Things so much, you know.
But then I also really love the men's suiting of
the fifties into the early sixties, kind of the thin
tie thing. Funny when I did when I directed an
episode of mad Men in the first season. I came
(07:17):
in and that was a period when I was wearing
vintage suits from that era too, and I came into
the office to you know, to meet with Matt Winer
for the first time, and the receptionist is like, oh, oh,
castings down the hall. It's like, no, I'm not here
in costume. This is actually how I dress. And then
in the intervening years when mad Men took off, I
would wear that. People go like, oh, you're a Madman fan,
(07:39):
and it's like, no, I'm not doing cosplay. And so
finally I had a jettison that look because thanks Matt Winer,
my whole my whole closet.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
I loved Mad Men for the style.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
It's so important to get all those like details correct
and it's so fascinating. How does that play into when
you're doing a movie, you're doing a piece and you're like, oh, okay,
this is the time we're doing.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
How do you kind of go down the list of Well, it's.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Really important to not cherry pick the most over the
top versions of style at that period. Case in point,
when I did my show Freaks and Geeks, which I created,
you know, I I love, Oh, thank you, So.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I mean really, but I do want to talk about that,
and I want to talk cast about I mean, it
just was also like what where that came from? Inside
of each Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Well no, but it was, you know, because it took
place in nineteen eighty and that seventy show was on
and stuff. There was this whole thing of like, well
the seventies all that it's all leisure suits and bell
bottoms and you know, in platform shoes. I was like, no,
I so I made this point. I brought it all
my old yearbooks from that were from seventy six to
eighty and highlight all this stuff like this was how
(08:50):
we dressed yes, there were some disco kids. There were
some kids did that. I kind of did that. I
went through a period in high school where I was
wearing like angels flight pants, you know, and the collar
out on your on your jacket and stuff. But we
weren't cartoons.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Right, that's a good point.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
So you're saying you don't get so like bogged down
in the details, but sort of really understand the essence
of Yeah, because the clothes, you were right on with
the clothes. Like when I was, you know, one of
the things in sort of preparation of having lunch with you,
I was like, oh, let me like rewatch this, let
me see it.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
And it's really spot on.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
No thanks, I mean it's literally just pulled from those
from those yearbooks, and like this is what we wore,
you know. I mean, you know the reason that Lindsay
We're you know, Linda Carlini's character wears an army field
jacket all the time is because my dad owned an
army surplus store and uh, and so we've sold to
all a lot of kids in our school who weren't
the stylish one.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
We always this funny like why did like I mean,
I mean, I can use and many people have. There's
a number of them with bridesmaids. For example, you talked
about I mean literally fall out of your seat at
the moments that were created. And I've watched some of
your interviews in regard to like a lot of sort
of the improv piece of it, and also how you
shot it.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Were you always as funny and what do you look
for with when you're making a movie or choosing to
make a movie.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Well, thank you, first of all. But I've always loved comedy.
Comedies is in my DNA. It's all I've ever wanted
to do. I mean since I was little. I just
love it. I love making people laugh, making them happy,
trying to but in an honest way. Like I've always
been very sensitive to and against over the top dishonest
(10:40):
comedy because I can enjoy it really broadcast.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Let's give me an example of dishonest comedy.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
It's a lot of comedies that have been made over
the last you know, thirty years or whatever. I particularly
felt like the nineties were kind of not my style
of comedy because it was all performative. It was very like,
look how crazy I am, and you know I'm not
this crazy, and I know I'm not, so let's just
kind of make fun of this character, have like a
(11:05):
crazy character. And I was like, I don't buy. I'd
rather watch I want to watch a person who if
they're crazy, they don't know it, you know, And there's
an honesty to that and it's hard to put down,
but you know when you see it and you just
go like, I don't know, it just doesn't there's no
honesty to it. That's why I was always I was
very happy when I was involved with the Office because
(11:27):
that brought in this this docu style, right, so natural,
so because then you can you can be broad, but
it's in a context of like, oh that person just
is just kind of weird, you know. And then that
that I love. So it's a real high bar for that.
And yeah, then just I think I just love trying
(11:47):
to get the best out of funny people because I
I think one of my good skills is seeing what's
funny about somebody, whether they know it or not. And
a lot of times they don't, you know, and that's
what's really fun. That's why a lot of times I
don't of an audition, like you know, it's kind of
a name person you have them read the part. I
just want to have drinks with them or have a
meal to see. Yeah, I can go like, what's funny
(12:08):
about this person? And then you oh, man, especially when
you discover something about somebody that nobody else knows.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I think I think some people, like people were surprised
that John Ham was so funny, you know, because you
kind of look at the package that John comes in.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Well, a funny story about that. When I because that
same day when I went into you know, to meet
to direct an episode because it was it was it
was just in the first season, so nobody had seen anything.
I just seen the pilot, and I remember when I
watched the pilot, I was kind of like, do I
want to do the show because there's it seems like
such a humorless show to me when I watched the pilot,
(12:42):
and I especially went like that lead guy. I mean,
he's really good, but he seems like he doesn't have
a funny bone in his body like it was because
he's such a stoic character. Yeah, and so I kind
of go to the set and I'm like, oh boy,
what am I gonna do with this guy? So I'm
talking to Matt and he takes me down on the
set talking and stuff, and all of a sudden, this
like shaggy haired kind of surfer comes up, like joking around.
He's making these voices and he's hilarious and he goes
(13:02):
away and go like, who's that. He goes, that's John,
the star of the show. That's John, And then I
was like, oh my god. Then I find out he's
a huge comedy nerd and one of the funniest people.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I know, completely so funny, and that's like you would
never say like that's Don Draper and then be like,
oh my god.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Okay, oh no, I mean completely they that's when you
go out. He's a really good actor because he's nothing
like that guy.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Did you have because you know when John we have
lunch and he had like a plan for himself. So
like you went to sc you gave towards at Universal,
which is fine. I gave towards at NBC. That was
Abe in New York and those were some of the
most fun experiences.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
What were you like as a tour guy?
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Were you and then you know you did stand up
so you were you kind of yeah, well, developing all this.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Yeah, I mean I started doing stand up when I
was fifteen years old in Detroit. Yeah wow, yeah, and
you know I'd have to take my parents at the
comedy club to do it and all that stuff. So
but when I was a tour guide, I i it
was the greatest lesson ever of how to be yourself
in front of people. And I don't like because when
(14:10):
I first started, I just went in to total DJ mode. Hey, everybody,
welcome to the tour olds. I was just talking like
that the whole time. And like I remember one driver
kind of after a few like a month, and he's
just like, why do you talk like that? I said,
I don't know, am I supposed to? He goes, just
be yourselves, like okay, and then I get so I
finally kind of figured out just how to talk to
people and be natural in front of them. So it
(14:31):
was a great learning curve. But yeah, I was insufferable
at the beginning.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I mean I would find that giving those tours of NBC,
like you sort of you know, you'd go from floor
three to sevens. You know, you were in the The
Today Show studio or let them, and you were all
these places, but you had, like you know, you had
to hit your points and the more comfortable you became
with any of your points, the more you sort of
would then be able to joke or people are like staring,
(14:57):
and in New York you would do it. The elevators
at NBC's like, so you have fifteen people and yourself
and your jam packed, like you're facing them, right, they're
facing you.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
The elevator doesn't break, Okay, it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
And I can remember one day and it was the nineties.
I mean I just had hair that was bigger than curly, bigger.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I want to say, pictures, Bruce.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
You have to see pictures.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
And I said, so, you know, as we're about to
end the tour, does anyone have any final questions about
the Torrents?
Speaker 3 (15:24):
When I was like, yeah, is that a wig? I
was like, no, that's not yah.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
We're not here to roast me. That's all.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Welcome back to Table for two.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Paul Fiek's first big project was nineteen ninety nine s
beloved TV show Freaks and Geeks. Since then, he's found
massive success as a director on both the small and
big screen. Looking back, does he think it would be
harder or easier to.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Break through now.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Those early years which are probably very different now? For
people who are trying to, oh do write? You know
it was was.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
It harder than and how how did you kind of
drill your path?
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Well, there was more opportunity and less opportunity at the
same time. And I only mean that by you know,
I wanted to make movies, and back then to make
anything you had to buy film and you had to
rent cameras and you had it was expensive. You couldn't
do you know. The first movie I made is a
thing called Life Sohoul separately that has never been released
(16:48):
in my house, a feature film that I wrote and
directed and started and produced and all this stuff and
paid for myself. And it literally said, what's the cheapest
movie I can make? And it's like four people in
a one day waiting for UFO. Okay, So that's what
it was. I wrote this kind of piece, but I
was really proud of it. But it cost me thirty
five thousand dollars, you know, and that was all the
(17:09):
savings I had at the time. I could today make
that movie on my iPhone for free. Basically, I just
did whatever costume that I bought for the people, get
it edited on my laptop and be done, and then
put it out of the internet.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
That's amazing, you know.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
But this thing I walked around with it, finished this movie,
walked around with it for a year trying to get
a festivals, couldn't get a festivals, couldn't it. And it's
just like this disaster that I couldn't get anybody to see.
So in that way, I say, anytime I lectured to
film students or any any young young people, I like,
you have no excuse not to If you want to
make stuff, you have no excuse not to do it.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
If you go back to freaking geeks, you know, you
had this incredible cast that all went on.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
So I have this these illustrious careers.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Nobody got arrested.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
That's why I like, all right, nobody got arrested, and
the chemistry was so good. How does that work? You're casting?
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I mean your chemistry with like I mean, you know,
like looking at Christian Way with Melissa McCarthy, I mean,
how do you know how to put people together?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Well, it's I mean you see a lot of people
and you see what their vibe is and then you
kind of go, this would mix well with this just
like not so much visually, although visually sometimes, but just
kind of attitude wise, like these would be fun together.
But then you'll usually, like for Bridesmaids, we took like
(18:31):
our top twelve candidates and then mix and match them
in these in a session. You okay, you four coming together. Okay,
now you two go together. Okay, and you start to
see like, oh this it's not even so much anybody
good will find chemistry. I find, especially comedy people really
because you can't you know, unless you're one of these people,
just like I want all the jokes and you can't
be funny around me, which that's instant death of your
(18:53):
comedy person. They're used to being team players. You know,
you're very much a team player because you're lying on
the other person to set you up and all that.
So yeah, so it tends to kind of sort itself out,
you kind of know going in and then it just
becomes like, oh, whose energy is going to be a
good counterpart to this person? So I'm almost doing more
for the camera knowing I think they'll figure it out.
(19:15):
I mean if once a while you go like, okay,
those two people just don't have any it just doesn't
seem right together.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Does it ever gets to the place where you have.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Actually cast it begun shooting and then go ooh, they're
just not getting.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
I've been very lucky. I've only had a couple of times,
one in particular, where we had to replace somebody. But
it wasn't really it wasn't a chemistry thing. It was
all the other thing they had to do with. I
think I don't know what happened. It was in another country.
It might have been jet lag. There might have been
some ways to get past jet lag that didn't work.
(19:53):
But no, I've been very very lucky because but I
really vet who I work with too, Like I will
call around, but not just a one person, you know,
and just go like how But you know, if you
call one person, they go the person's terrible. That person
could the person who's telling you they were terrible could
have been terrible, right, you know. So I don't do that,
but I'll kind of if I hear somebody's like iffy,
(20:15):
then I'll call other people who they work with and
go like, what's the what's the story. And generally it's
it's almost you know, there's very few that people go
like forget it, forget it. And also I like working
with people who people who are particular when I was
a TV director, you know, I did it for ten
years before I started got to do Bridesmaids and all
that stuff. I was kind of good at coming into
(20:39):
shows that had difficult situations, especially with lead actresses, and
I was always just like, well, just take me on
the set. Let me go meet them before I even start,
and just go like, hey, I just want to find
out how you work, what way do you like to work,
you know, because I want to be I just want
to be here for you. And they loved it, and
we'd always have a experience. So you know, there's so
(21:01):
many people just.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Want to be seen. They want to know that they're
being heard in.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Respect, and if you're not giving them the respect on
the set in collaborating with them, they're just like the
trust is.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Gone, right, It's completely gone. I pursued acting for a
couple of years in the early nineties that came out here.
I was like, you know, yeah, it was so bad.
And I got this part on one movie under Siege
with Steven Savelle as a fighter pilot. The only thing
(21:34):
you could see with my eyes and I was going
to be blown up at beat thirteen. So I'm flying
this like F eighteen. It's like fake F eighteen, you know,
the second unit. It's like, okay, I'm beat twelve. You
have to or eleven. You have to start to show
panic because like, you know, so first I'm like flying
on like this. He's like no, there's like, you know, force,
(21:56):
so you can't just move like that. And so I'm
like one, two, three's counting, and I actually start to like,
you know, show it in my eyes. I go see
the movie they they blow up the plane and Beat
eight looks like I'm just like.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Having occasionally fired. Like I always said to myself, Wow,
like they really my one little performance.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
They fucked over.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
They fucked me over, like he didn't kill me, and
BE thirteen killed me and B eight thirteen. But I
think you're right, he's gonna fix worries.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
The editing room is that's that's where it all happens.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
It really does.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Yeah, you know, I was kind of just I like
actors who understand the filmmaking process. I could take something
from a different part of the performance and put it
over here, you know. And it's not like I'm trying
to fool you or anything. It's just like I need
something in this moment because I need you to look
over here. I need to see something in your face.
And the editing process, you know, it's like the Eisenstein
(22:54):
thing where he just photographed the guy just staring at
the camera and they intercut with different things in the audience, like, oh,
he was moting so much on this on that. It's
like we're building it right, you know. I mean, the
actor has to give you great stuff, sure, but at
the same time, then we're manipulating that beyond that. And
i'd like when actors who understand that. But even just
the way I wear, I don't rehearse or anything. I'm
just kind of like cameras here, no, no, I want
(23:16):
I want to know what they're going to do. I
don't even like to do rehearsals, like in the in
the run up to sometime we'll do them read throughs
and that kind of stuff, just more for the writing
to go like oh I need to change this or that.
The way that I get a lot of takes that
I like and a lot of variety is just don't rehearse,
and so we have to ferry with the cameras are okay,
just kind of you know, talk through it. But don't
you know where would you go? Where'd you go? Set
(23:37):
up the cameras, and then just start shooting. And what
happens is when I get the first few takes are
just coming out of that actor's brain what they think
it should be, and I'm usually got, oh, I kind
of wish it was this. So then I'll slowly and
incrementally move them each take with just another, try this,
try this, until I get them, you know, five ten
takes in to do what I thought I wanted, and
(24:01):
almost always what I thought I wanted isn't kind of
what I liked, or or if I go like that
last take, like that's the one I want, I never
end up using it, really cause the editing room, away
from what you are trying to control, suddenly you're like, oh,
this is actually better. And I have an editor. I
never I never circle takes my editor. I just say like,
just do your assembly, pick whatever takes you want. And halftime,
(24:23):
I watched the assembly, I'm like, why would you use
those takes? And he's like, we'll just watch it again,
and I'm like, oh, you know, that's that's actually way
better than what I wanted. Wow, I'd rather have a
ten percent less. Yeah, great looking shop and have this
lightning in a bottle moment that happened, because there's nothing
worse when somebody's off camera when they say something, you're like, oh, yeah, god,
that was great, trying to remember it. Could you do
(24:44):
that again? It's never the same. They never repeat it
the same way.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
You could never even if we were to do something
to say and then they say something here and you're like, okay,
if oh, can you pick that up and say it again,
it just doesn't.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
It doesn't resonate the same way.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Thanks for joining us on Table for two. Paul's movies are.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Not only hilarious, but have a powerful emotional center. As
someone with such great taste, I'm wondering what does he
like to watch and gather inspiration from?
Speaker 3 (25:34):
What growing up movies? Where your your sort of influence
your old movies? That really kind of okay.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Well, I mean all the comedy. I was a Marx
Brothers fanatic and oh yeah, and loved all Laurel Hardy,
any silent comedies in the black and white, old black
white comedies, all that stuff. I love. The first one
that blew my mind, well, first of one was Animal
Crack because they had the Marx Brothers movies because they
had re released it in theaters, and my mom took
(26:06):
me and I was probably like seven or eight, and
and it was all these college place was filmed college
and it destroyed and you're just like, how can an
old movie like this just but it was such anarchy,
you know, because Crouch, it was crazy and Harbo and
all of them. So that was cool. But then the
big one for me was What's Up? Doc? Ah, the
Bogdanovic film.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Yeah, I love that movie.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
That movie is so great. I did that like a
few years ago at the Austin Film Festival. They had
me like program a couple of movies, and I did
What's Up Doc for this young audience and it killed,
It just killed.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
I don't think that's a movie a lot of people realize.
Younger people know. I mean Madeline conn in that movie.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Oh my god, Kenneth Mars, Yeah, I mean I had
such a crush on her cute and he was great,
and you know, no, it's it's Austin Penalty and it
just goes.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Where I forgot about it. I mean it's I didn't.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Even know about screwball comedies, right, so I just kid
I was just like, oh my god, this is crazy.
And then you know later you see bringing a baby
and here's Friday, like, oh that's where this is all from. Yeah,
but it's done so well. And then you know it's
a kid that had a car, Chason, and so I
love that. But that was a mind blower for me.
And that was you know, back kids before you could
go watch stuff on you know, over and over on
(27:25):
whatever media you had. Right I had to go to
the theater. I saw it I think nine or ten
times in the theater. I would just go every few
days and watch it and study it and study it
and look.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
The most exciting, the most exciting thing to me is
being in a darkened movie theater movie. The lights go down,
the curtain opens up, and you know, for the next
two hours you're just in this incredible space. And that's
sort of like thankfully seemingly coming back, you know, the
sort of rhythm got broke with COVID and streaming and
(27:58):
all the crap that we all go through.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Are you watching you? What do you watch? What is.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Much of My wife is in dismay and sugrin. I
watch a lot of horror and thrillers. I don't watch.
I don't watch a lot of comedy for some reason. Yeah,
I just maybe it's a bust on was holiday. I
don't know, I just don't. I don't enjoy it anymore.
It's hilariously. The last night, I just I just finished
a giantry ride on my next movie, and I was
just like, I finally got time to sit here, and
(28:27):
I just was flipping around Netflix, and Blues Brothers popped up,
which I've seen a thousand times, and I was just like,
you know, I'm just gonna treat myself. I was gonna
watch right, and I just I was so happy. So
that's always been my problem. I've never seen a ton
of movies. But the movies i've seen, I've seen a
thousand times, you know, so it becomes comfort food. But then,
(28:47):
but then I really like what I like about horror.
And I'm not talking about like you know, Saw and
that kind of stuff. I'm talking about Megan and those things,
because those are the best comedies going right now. That
that is the new comedy is horror movies.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
I mean, you are right.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
I think Megan was the funniest movie last year. I
love that film and it made me laugh and I
just but it's still the stakes are high, so it's real.
So then it gets me out of silly comedy, you
know again finding dishonest comedy, you know. So that's I
think comedy needs a driver in the middle of it.
I always say my movies are just dramas that are funny,
(29:23):
you know, because you have to plot them out like
dramas otherwise, you know, so many big com so many
comedies go off the rails because you're kind of with
it and then suddenly somebody will do something and you're like, well,
why would they do that. It's like, well, because it
was funny. It's like, oh, now you've broken the reality
and I don't know why. Like, there's nothing worse than
a funny bad guy. Yeah, unless it's Alan Rickman Diehard,
who's terrifying, but he's still funny at.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
The same time you can deliver those lines.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
I was a Star Wars fanatic when I was okay,
you know, the first Star Wars and second Star Wars.
I remember, you know, so I'm both opening weekend and
what I remember about those two screenings where they were
getting a laugh every minute, every single minute there was
a joke or a laugh or something light that happened,
and they were so much fun. And then suddenly those
(30:08):
Time Wars universe became really serious, and I'm like, and
every time I watch they're really good movies and all that,
but I'm just like, we've lost that thing of like
this can all be fun. You know, It's like watching
and I've seen this so many times comedy stars who
want to be taken seriously, so they make a movie
(30:30):
and they purposely drain every ounce of humor out of
their body. So it's just like, you know, it's an
audience that person's normally funny, Well what's happening? Like is
this a setup? And then they're gonna do something crazy?
And then you're and you're so frustrated by that. But
my problem with it is like that's not life, Like
would you hang out with people who are just so
(30:52):
dour and never crack a joke and never laugh? Like, no,
you want to flee from those people.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Sure, I think you make a very good point with
the Star Wars.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
I can remember too exactly, like the theater I was
in in nineteen seventy seven when I saw the first
Star Wars eighty fourth Street, and there was so much laughter,
and yet you were like overwhelmed by this.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Like laughter and cheer, darkness, light, yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
Ale, this whole thing that you're also sitting on the
edge of your seat.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
But yet Raiders the Lost Art, I mean, yeah, that
was the Raiders of the movie that made me want
to become a filmmaker because I saw that opening morning.
I knew nothing about it. I'm a friend. When I
was a tour guy. They were like, we're going to
see this new Spielberg movie. Oh cool, and that theater
in the Chinese Yeah, gigantic. People went crazy then that.
(31:39):
You know, we've seen that boulder rolling down in a
billion times now that it looks old and hacky to us,
but the first time that happened literally entire I get
goosebumps every time I talk about, like people, the whole
everyone out of their seats and we're like screaming and
yelling and stuff. And that was when I went like,
that's what a movie directory is. Before that, I'd always
watched movies as an actor, going like I want to
play it that part or or is it like a
(32:01):
you know, Close Encounters, Like I want an alien to
come and take me away. Yeah, you know, but that
was the moment I go like, that's what. With a
camera and a good script and great actors, you know,
you're doing that's what you can do.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
And in those.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
Movies and you had, you know, when Harrison Ford al sudden,
you know, delivered the comedic line or took out the
gun and shot the guy with the sword, and you're like, okay,
it's it alleviates this moment and it is real life
in a way. You're like, okay, yeah, of course if
I have a gun and you have a sort and
you want to come on, guess what.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Yeah, exactly, which, hilariously, I know, you know. The backstory
on that gag is that they had a whole giant
fight scene choreographed and Harrison Ford either had food poisoning
or the flu or something and he was just sick
as a dog that day and they're trying to rehearse it.
He goes like, wouldn't I just pull out my gun
and kill the guy? And they're like, okay, let's just
do that. And that's one of those iconic movies.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
History story and it is. Yeah, and I think you're right.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
I don't think I've ever thought about it, but you know,
they're not they're serious stories that are funny, you know
what I mean, the real stories, real life stories, a
LIFETI lemons that are funny.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
You have to have steaks, you know. It's the hackiest
word that every executive will say in studio open had.
It's why I and this is slightly different, but I've
always had trouble with superhero movies. Okay, I think they're gray, right,
but for me, I go like, God just got punched
through a building, a skyscraper fall on top of him.
You got crushed between two buses and he kind of
(33:23):
comes out and shakes his head and he's fine, Like
how do I don't know how to invest in this?
You know, if you can't die, then I'm not really
worried about you versus. This is why I did that movie,
you know, did Ghostbusters, because I was like, yeah, it's
real humans with all this stuff on them, but they
could get killed. So at least I'm like, oh no,
I hope, I hope they don't die.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Is it more difficult to remake a movie like when
you you know, you look at Ghostbusters?
Speaker 5 (33:50):
Never again, I'm happy I did it, but it's just again,
when you step into fan service, and I didn't realize
I was stepping into fan service.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
It was just a movie that you know, had It
was twenty years twenty five years old by the point,
you know, it was brought to me and I was like, oh,
this is great. It was Amy Pascal's really won't talk
me into it. She was like, why don't you and
you comedy guys want to do this? This, this amazing
franchise is just sitting there, and I was like, because
it's it's this, you know, it's so such cannon now.
(34:22):
But then that's why I was like, oh, wait, if
I do it, you know, reboot it so I'm not
in the original world and I cast all the funny
women I know then who would be offended. So that
kind of went into just like his lamb to the
slaughter of like everybody's lots, you know, and then it
just all blew up. But I'm happy I did it.
But yeah, I just think if you can avoid doing
(34:45):
those kinds of things, plus all, I just want to
do original stuff.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
You know, it's fun understandable.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
I'm about to go in production on Simple Favor two,
which is my first sequel I've done. But I mean
we worked on this script so long or so hard
on it, because I like, if I'm going to do
a it's got to be great. It's got to pay
off for the people getting on fan service because the movies,
you know, found an audience, but it also needs to
be different. I'm really happy or finally got to really
(35:11):
happy with Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
That's like, you know, you really kind of roll the
dice when you say, Okay, we're gonna and not many
films that do the other succeed in that. They go, oh,
you know, you go like okay, I mean, but some do,
like you know, you have a lot actually a lot
to I take that back. You know, there have been
a lot of sort of number twos that I think
have been great. When they go to number three or four, sometimes.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
Yeah, you start to lose the mojo.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
It's just sequels are hard because the thing that made
you love the first one was the originality of it.
You know, I mean everybody wants Bridesmaids too.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Yeah, I don't know about like needing a sequel to that.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
I think you're right, Like, certain movies are so beautiful,
they're just meant to live.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
And why do we always want more?
Speaker 6 (35:57):
So watch it again as we sort of kind of
come to a close and a lunch, which is this
has been so joyful for me.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
And it's really having lunch with Paul Vegas, and it
is an amazing thing you are.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Your movies do make us.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Feel great and they make us laugh and they make
us have an and that's so important right now.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
And you're a man of such debonair style and thank you.
You always look thank you. So you love cocktails and
you have a gin and I didn't really realize that.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
And I have a my partner and I we launched
a liquor a couple of years ago called Mujen, which
is a Japanese show choo.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Oh oh my god, I love you.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
So this is for you, right.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
My partner Sandra, she designed the bottle. We have a
this is our thirty five percent great in cocktails, and
we have a ten year age and we have an
ai which is a light and you're gonna get all
the other two and there it's just we we didn't
know about show shows. Is an amazing Japanese spirits and alcohol.
So tell me about your love of cock So just
(37:09):
it's part thank you love for coming today. What what
do you love about cocktails and you know you're really
good at you're you know, making cocktails and how did
how did that?
Speaker 2 (37:21):
It's my love of adult life. To me, cocktails are
the embodiment of being an adult. You know, that's as
a kid, you know, the influence of Darren Stevens having
Martini we him from work every day was so monumental. Yes,
you don't know.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
The reference to Darren Stevens.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
He was the husband to Bewitched Samantha and a drinks cart.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
Did you have a favorite Darren Stevens Number one or
number two?
Speaker 2 (37:50):
No, number one, number one? There no shade to dig sart.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Yes, like they have the cocktail car.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yeah, and it either she'd have ate it and hands
with him or he'd go over and mix it himself.
I'm like, that looks fantastic, Like I just wanted that.
And then also when I was a kid, my parents
took me to Las Vegas when I was five or
six or something because they were going to see the
Muhammad Ali fight, and so I kind of thought I
was gonna go see it too, because it's a kid thing,
(38:19):
and they kind of parayed me through the outer edge
of the casino. I think we were staying with the
dunes or something, and then put me in this nursery
which was hilariously attached to the casino the old days
cigarettes for the kids. But it had this big sliding
glass door that looked onto the casino floor. And I
(38:40):
remember all these kids were being idiot kids behind me.
I was just at that door, pressed against that door,
looking out and onto that floor. And you saw. This
was back when people dressed up in Vegas. People are
glamoring touxedos and gowns, smoking and they're drinking. And I
just saw people drinking martinis. And I was just like,
God is my witness. I will have that when I
(39:01):
am not a child anymore.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
I love the way your brain works. I mean it
has worked that way since your human.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
I just didn't want to be a kid, you didn't.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
I love that you notice these things and they because
you could see it in every aspect of your life.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
So you have a gin and your website's phenomenal, you know,
having now.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Been in the spirits world for just a couple of years,
you know, three years and in UH stores, but six years.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
It's a it's a brutal.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
It is a brutal industry. Thank God, it's not our
main business street. No, I mean just trying to get
people to pick it up.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
All right, pick it up, just just distribution.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
I can't even get it in here. I've been trying
for three years to get into the tower. I can't
get it in.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
I mean, we do have much in here, so we
need to speak to JK. But again, we have a
category that is very unique. Most places you're competing with
we have we have to kill as we have Vodkas.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
Well, the problem with Gin is that Americans don't think
they like Gin. I mean, it's you know, cocktail culture
is kind of you know, the mixology is kind of
bringing it around the cool bartenders. But most people have
had a bad experience with Gin when they were kids.
They go down to the basements, open up the bottle
of beef Feeder's terrible, and that's it. And that's only remembers.
And I really formulated my Gin for people who don't
(40:23):
like Gin, you know, so it's still Gin. So it's
like people like Gin, really like it, but it's it's
it's mellower on the Juniper front, and so so many
people are like, oh, I don't like Jen. I we'll
just try this. Oh, I like this again because I'm
not going that hardcore pine pine, but yeah, exactly kind
of thing. It's it's really there, it is so yeah,
(40:47):
I'm really proud of it. We won a ton of
awards and stuff.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Yeah, now I look, do you still do the cocktail Instagram?
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (40:54):
Hour Like no, no, that was only it was really cold.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Yeah, and my wife always we should do it again.
There was just something I love doing it.
Speaker 3 (41:03):
Can we access it?
Speaker 1 (41:04):
Like?
Speaker 2 (41:04):
Does it still? It's still on my face so you
can see almost all. Sometimes occasional they'll take one down
for music rice, which is like, what's really somebody really,
I'm not making money off this, you know, I don't
think they mine. I love doing it. And then once
the pandemic was not even panic, it was over just coming.
Even after that hundred days, it was kind of like,
(41:26):
I think we're moving forward now, so like to do
it now just feels like I'm kind of self promote.
It had a purpose back then.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
Well, I mean I totally get what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
And I also think, you know, because you actually do
have a gin, it's like a fun thing. It's it's
you always are thinking of new ideas to short of
had to promote whatever you do, whether it's a movie
or you're but I loved it and I will be.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
I will be.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
I'm interested to know what you think about this, and
I'm going to send you the other ones.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
I'm going to create some cocktails. Yeah, you know, I
have a cocktail book out.
Speaker 3 (42:00):
I know you have a coctap book. You have memoirs?
You do? Have you done two?
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Two memoirs?
Speaker 3 (42:04):
You've done two? So your last one was in two
thousand and five?
Speaker 2 (42:08):
Yeah it was yeah, Yeah, there was like two thousand
and three and then two thousand.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
Got some years under our bettle? Is there another one? Comment?
Speaker 2 (42:16):
I always say I wanted to get in the trilogy
of shame. I call it so I need. I need
to complete the trilogy. And I've got stories that I've
written for but I haven't kind of put it together yet.
But then I have two other books. I put out.
These two like young adult sci fi comedy books called
Ignations like Farland, Yes, which was fun.
Speaker 3 (42:34):
I don't understand you. I don't.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
I mean I'm sitting here. I mean like I could
barely like do one thing in my day.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
I don't sit around. Well, I get it's so funny.
Whenever I'm working, all I want to do is be
off right a minute I'm done, I'm like, i gotta
do something. I can't stop.
Speaker 3 (42:49):
I mean, I'm just blown away.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
I look forward to all is there as I know
you're working on a bunch of projects. We though the
world will continue to have your voice in it.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
Have a movie that I finished that I shot last
year that's coming out this summer called Jack Pop, John
Cena and Aquafina and Lu And it's just a big
action comedy in the vein of the heat and spy
and it's it feels like a fun return to I
want to say return to form, because it feels like
like I've done terrible stuff. But I think it's just
(43:21):
a returned to sort of my roots of just like
lots of jokes. But you know, stakes are great and
that it is a very high concept, but it's very
emotional points and and I'm just excited about it. It
was just so much fun to work with them, and
it's a lot of action and stuff.
Speaker 1 (43:38):
Thank you so much for joining us, joining me today,
please on the table. Thank you for pulling up a
chair on the other side of the mic. And Paul,
thank you for more dinners, and yes, Laurie and Brian
and Vall.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Please Bruce, it's it's a thrill because we've we've always
known each other, but we've never got to spend any
extended amount of time together. So this has just been
an absolute joy.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
Thank you, thank you, Thank you everyone to have a
great day.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
Thank you for pulling up a chair.
Speaker 1 (44:13):
I love our lunches and never forget the romance of
a meal. If you enjoy the show, please tell a
friend and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Table
for two with Bruce Bozi is produced by iHeartRadio seven
three seven Park and Airmail. Our executive producers are Bruce
Bosi and Nathan King. Our supervising producer is Dylan Fagan.
(44:36):
Our editors are Vincent to Johnny and Cas B Bias.
Table for two is researched and written by Jack Sullivan.
Our sound engineers are Meil B. Klein, Jess Krainich, Evan Taylor,
and Jesse Funk. Our music supervisor is Randall Poster. Our
talent booking is done by Jane Sarkin.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
Table for two Social media manager is Gracie Wiener. Special
thanks to Amy Berman.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
Uni Scherer, Kevin Yuvane, Bobby Bauer, Alison Kanter Graber, Barbara Jen,
Jeff Klein, and the staff at the Tower Bar in
the world famous Sunset Tower Hotel in Hollywood. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey everyone, it's Bruce. Thanks for joining us for another
episode of Table for Two. Today we're back at the
Tower Bar in Hollywood for another amazing lunch.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I always get turkey chilly. That's the only thing I
ever got in. But I think I will do the
classic club. But now I'm now I'm gonna be the
guy that takes a bunch of stuff off.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
He always have exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
We're sitting down today with an incredible director. He's made
some of the funniest films I've ever seen, including Bride'smaids.
His new movie Jackpot just came out on Prime video.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
This water is yours if you want. I'm having a
new brew right now, lovely, which is just a whole
other conversation.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
See the only thing I can't do I can't have caffeine.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
We're having lunch with Paul Figue. We're going to talk
about things that we both love. Cocktails, movies, and fashion.
I mean every project that he directs, he wears a
suit on set.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
How cool is that?
Speaker 1 (01:10):
So pull up a chair, grab a glass of rose,
and I hope you enjoy. I'm Bruce Bosi and this
is my podcast Table for two.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Welcome to table for two.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
I love it. It's a thrilling to be here with you, Bruce.
I think you're the greatest. Thank you, and you know,
it's an honor to be here.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
What does your day look like like? What did today
look like?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I'm very much a creature of habit so much of
My wife makes fun of me all the time because
I'm a very much a three meal guy. So get
up and do my walk, and do like a four
mile walk most days, like a speed walk kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Starting your day with movement you have to do so
very important.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, I've owed my whole life kind of been plagued
with bouts of depression. And read years and years ago
an article about Charles Dickens then about how he fought
depression too and he would just walk. He would just
walk from one side of London to the other and
so way back when it's like, I can do that too,
and it is amazing how much it cures. You know.
(02:15):
It's just I think if your brain just sits and
your chemicals don't move around.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, no, I think, you know. And I find one
of the great things about New York is because I'm
a walker. Yeah, is when you are really processing something
in your head.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Yeah, and you just walk and walk and walk.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Down those cities that you know, you forget you're walking
because you're so you're looking in store windows, you're seeing people,
You're looking at fashion.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
You know, so true, so true. Yeah, you know, and
I live in London a lot too, so you know
the same thing. You're just walking constantly.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
That's why you're so full of style too, very style.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
You know it is nice. I mean, you know, we know, La,
we kind of battle the charity of the casual here, right,
but I'll tell.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
You, Paul, very similar to you, And how don't I
describe to the list and our support. You have a
double brusted suit, that is it's how about the pattern
would be considered?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
This is like almost like a a checkerboard.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, it's beautiful, it's blue, it's gray, right, and you
have a beautiful pocket square which I watched you on
YouTube teach how to part.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Your pocket square?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Right?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
They fair sort of and it's really the fig fold
is hey, yes, well you should understand that well, being.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
A manifest you know, like men are so put off
by pocket squares because there is this whole cult of
like folding them and it's so finnicky that I hate
anything that looks like so, you know, kind of just
obsessed over.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Do you when you dress? Are you dressing for you?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Like, when let's say you're in New York, you're dressing
for people on the street, Like, what's the motivation?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I turned you on about it?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I think I dressed for myself. Hilariously, when I used
to be in New York a lot, there was the
days when I kind of felt like I didn't want
to dress up. It was the Bill Cunningham day and
I was like, what did Bill hunting I happen to
be walking past? I don't want to miss my one opportunity,
I mean sweatpants. There's many reasons why I dress this way,
but one of them is it's a calling card that
tells the world who you are. You know, and not
(04:19):
that people know me, but people know that I do
this now. But you know, in general, if somebody's walking around,
if you show up like a slob, you're saying I'm
a slob. And I find it to be very egotistical
in a way of you're saying that people you better
get to know me before you can judge me. I agree,
(04:41):
you know, what I mean, yes, and so, but I'm like,
there's so much people you meet and stuff, why not
help them out? This is who I am?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, which I also love because you know, when you're
directing a film.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
You dress, oh yeah, always super time and.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
So you why do you dress? Because those are long
days and they're not you know, you're on a set.
You're seeing me up and down.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
What what's the it's to me?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I'm the captain of the ship. Yeah, And I always
say if the captain. If I've gone into a ship
and the captain is wearing sweatpants, I get off the ship.
It just I just kind of started because I love
old Hollywood and you know, coming up and I wanted
to be a director, and all I would see these
pictures of Hitchcock and john Ford and all these people
on the set in these suits and ties, and the
crew wearing ties and you know, kind of their sleeves
(05:26):
arerolled up but like dress pants and all that. Yeah,
it looks So I was like that I want when
I see a movie, I want to think that's who's right,
that's what the people who made it look like. And
it's also just a show of respect to the crews.
And to my my cast. But I I do it
across the board. I mean I do it anytime I
have business. I mean when I'm in pre production, when
(05:48):
I'm in the editing room. Every day, I'm always in
a suit and tie. I mean everyonce in blue Moons,
I won't wear a tie or whatever, just because I'm like, Okay,
I'm not going to see anything today. But yeah, it's
just kind of it feels professional of me. I feel
like a grown up, and it just focuses me. Like
you say, like during the pandemic, I was always saying
my little Instagram cocktails are like just change because if
(06:10):
you go through the day and the thing you slept
in there's it's depressed. I mean it's there's no delineation
between night and day, and you just lose track of everything,
including yourself.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Yeah, now it's very true.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Is there a period of time style wise that you
really relate to that you say, Okay, this.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Was Yeah, that's a great that's a great question. Actually
the thirties and forties.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I thought you'd say that.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Yeah, I love that, you know, I mean my mind
was just blown when I was in college and the
first time I saw his girl Friday, Okay, you know,
bring a baby, those things just that you know, carry
Grant and those those double breasted suits and the way
he would like, especially in his Girl Friday, but he
kind of uses it to make a point and he
(06:57):
snaps it clothes and buttons it up, and I would
just like, that's so fantastic. Things so much, you know.
But then I also really love the men's suiting of
the fifties into the early sixties, kind of the thin
tie thing. Funny when I did when I directed an
episode of mad Men in the first season. I came
(07:17):
in and that was a period when I was wearing
vintage suits from that era too, and I came into
the office to you know, to meet with Matt Winer
for the first time, and the receptionist is like, oh, oh,
castings down the hall. It's like, no, I'm not here
in costume. This is actually how I dress. And then
in the intervening years when mad Men took off, I
would wear that. People go like, oh, you're a Madman fan,
(07:39):
and it's like, no, I'm not doing cosplay. And so
finally I had a jettison that look because thanks Matt Winer,
my whole my whole closet.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
I loved Mad Men for the style.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
It's so important to get all those like details correct
and it's so fascinating. How does that play into when
you're doing a movie, you're doing a piece and you're like, oh, okay,
this is the time we're doing.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
How do you kind of go down the list of Well, it's.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Really important to not cherry pick the most over the
top versions of style at that period. Case in point,
when I did my show Freaks and Geeks, which I created,
you know, I I love, Oh, thank you, So.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I mean really, but I do want to talk about that,
and I want to talk cast about I mean, it
just was also like what where that came from? Inside
of each Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Well no, but it was, you know, because it took
place in nineteen eighty and that seventy show was on
and stuff. There was this whole thing of like, well
the seventies all that it's all leisure suits and bell
bottoms and you know, in platform shoes. I was like, no,
I so I made this point. I brought it all
my old yearbooks from that were from seventy six to
eighty and highlight all this stuff like this was how
(08:50):
we dressed yes, there were some disco kids. There were
some kids did that. I kind of did that. I
went through a period in high school where I was
wearing like angels flight pants, you know, and the collar
out on your on your jacket and stuff. But we
weren't cartoons.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Right, that's a good point.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
So you're saying you don't get so like bogged down
in the details, but sort of really understand the essence
of Yeah, because the clothes, you were right on with
the clothes. Like when I was, you know, one of
the things in sort of preparation of having lunch with you,
I was like, oh, let me like rewatch this, let
me see it.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
And it's really spot on.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
No thanks, I mean it's literally just pulled from those
from those yearbooks, and like this is what we wore,
you know. I mean, you know the reason that Lindsay
We're you know, Linda Carlini's character wears an army field
jacket all the time is because my dad owned an
army surplus store and uh, and so we've sold to
all a lot of kids in our school who weren't
the stylish one.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
We always this funny like why did like I mean,
I mean, I can use and many people have. There's
a number of them with bridesmaids. For example, you talked
about I mean literally fall out of your seat at
the moments that were created. And I've watched some of
your interviews in regard to like a lot of sort
of the improv piece of it, and also how you
shot it.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Were you always as funny and what do you look
for with when you're making a movie or choosing to
make a movie.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Well, thank you, first of all. But I've always loved comedy.
Comedies is in my DNA. It's all I've ever wanted
to do. I mean since I was little. I just
love it. I love making people laugh, making them happy,
trying to but in an honest way. Like I've always
been very sensitive to and against over the top dishonest
(10:40):
comedy because I can enjoy it really broadcast.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Let's give me an example of dishonest comedy.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
It's a lot of comedies that have been made over
the last you know, thirty years or whatever. I particularly
felt like the nineties were kind of not my style
of comedy because it was all performative. It was very like,
look how crazy I am, and you know I'm not
this crazy, and I know I'm not, so let's just
kind of make fun of this character, have like a
(11:05):
crazy character. And I was like, I don't buy. I'd
rather watch I want to watch a person who if
they're crazy, they don't know it, you know, And there's
an honesty to that and it's hard to put down,
but you know when you see it and you just
go like, I don't know, it just doesn't there's no
honesty to it. That's why I was always I was
very happy when I was involved with the Office because
(11:27):
that brought in this this docu style, right, so natural,
so because then you can you can be broad, but
it's in a context of like, oh that person just
is just kind of weird, you know. And then that
that I love. So it's a real high bar for that.
And yeah, then just I think I just love trying
(11:47):
to get the best out of funny people because I
I think one of my good skills is seeing what's
funny about somebody, whether they know it or not. And
a lot of times they don't, you know, and that's
what's really fun. That's why a lot of times I
don't of an audition, like you know, it's kind of
a name person you have them read the part. I
just want to have drinks with them or have a
meal to see. Yeah, I can go like, what's funny
(12:08):
about this person? And then you oh, man, especially when
you discover something about somebody that nobody else knows.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I think I think some people, like people were surprised
that John Ham was so funny, you know, because you
kind of look at the package that John comes in.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Well, a funny story about that. When I because that
same day when I went into you know, to meet
to direct an episode because it was it was it
was just in the first season, so nobody had seen anything.
I just seen the pilot, and I remember when I
watched the pilot, I was kind of like, do I
want to do the show because there's it seems like
such a humorless show to me when I watched the pilot,
(12:42):
and I especially went like that lead guy. I mean,
he's really good, but he seems like he doesn't have
a funny bone in his body like it was because
he's such a stoic character. Yeah, and so I kind
of go to the set and I'm like, oh boy,
what am I gonna do with this guy? So I'm
talking to Matt and he takes me down on the
set talking and stuff, and all of a sudden, this
like shaggy haired kind of surfer comes up, like joking around.
He's making these voices and he's hilarious and he goes
(13:02):
away and go like, who's that. He goes, that's John,
the star of the show. That's John, And then I
was like, oh my god. Then I find out he's
a huge comedy nerd and one of the funniest people.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I know, completely so funny, and that's like you would
never say like that's Don Draper and then be like,
oh my god.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Okay, oh no, I mean completely they that's when you
go out. He's a really good actor because he's nothing
like that guy.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Did you have because you know when John we have
lunch and he had like a plan for himself. So
like you went to sc you gave towards at Universal,
which is fine. I gave towards at NBC. That was
Abe in New York and those were some of the
most fun experiences.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
What were you like as a tour guy?
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Were you and then you know you did stand up
so you were you kind of yeah, well, developing all this.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Yeah, I mean I started doing stand up when I
was fifteen years old in Detroit. Yeah wow, yeah, and
you know I'd have to take my parents at the
comedy club to do it and all that stuff. So
but when I was a tour guide, I i it
was the greatest lesson ever of how to be yourself
in front of people. And I don't like because when
(14:10):
I first started, I just went in to total DJ mode. Hey, everybody,
welcome to the tour olds. I was just talking like
that the whole time. And like I remember one driver
kind of after a few like a month, and he's
just like, why do you talk like that? I said,
I don't know, am I supposed to? He goes, just
be yourselves, like okay, and then I get so I
finally kind of figured out just how to talk to
people and be natural in front of them. So it
(14:31):
was a great learning curve. But yeah, I was insufferable
at the beginning.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I mean I would find that giving those tours of NBC,
like you sort of you know, you'd go from floor
three to sevens. You know, you were in the The
Today Show studio or let them, and you were all
these places, but you had, like you know, you had
to hit your points and the more comfortable you became
with any of your points, the more you sort of
would then be able to joke or people are like staring,
(14:57):
and in New York you would do it. The elevators
at NBC's like, so you have fifteen people and yourself
and your jam packed, like you're facing them, right, they're
facing you.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
The elevator doesn't break, Okay, it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
And I can remember one day and it was the nineties.
I mean I just had hair that was bigger than curly, bigger.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I want to say, pictures, Bruce.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
You have to see pictures.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
And I said, so, you know, as we're about to
end the tour, does anyone have any final questions about
the Torrents?
Speaker 3 (15:24):
When I was like, yeah, is that a wig? I
was like, no, that's not yah.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
We're not here to roast me. That's all.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Welcome back to Table for two.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Paul Fiek's first big project was nineteen ninety nine s
beloved TV show Freaks and Geeks. Since then, he's found
massive success as a director on both the small and
big screen. Looking back, does he think it would be
harder or easier to.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Break through now.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Those early years which are probably very different now? For
people who are trying to, oh do write? You know
it was was.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
It harder than and how how did you kind of
drill your path?
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Well, there was more opportunity and less opportunity at the
same time. And I only mean that by you know,
I wanted to make movies, and back then to make
anything you had to buy film and you had to
rent cameras and you had it was expensive. You couldn't
do you know. The first movie I made is a
thing called Life Sohoul separately that has never been released
(16:48):
in my house, a feature film that I wrote and
directed and started and produced and all this stuff and
paid for myself. And it literally said, what's the cheapest
movie I can make? And it's like four people in
a one day waiting for UFO. Okay, So that's what
it was. I wrote this kind of piece, but I
was really proud of it. But it cost me thirty
five thousand dollars, you know, and that was all the
(17:09):
savings I had at the time. I could today make
that movie on my iPhone for free. Basically, I just
did whatever costume that I bought for the people, get
it edited on my laptop and be done, and then
put it out of the internet.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
That's amazing, you know.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
But this thing I walked around with it, finished this movie,
walked around with it for a year trying to get
a festivals, couldn't get a festivals, couldn't it. And it's
just like this disaster that I couldn't get anybody to see.
So in that way, I say, anytime I lectured to
film students or any any young young people, I like,
you have no excuse not to If you want to
make stuff, you have no excuse not to do it.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
If you go back to freaking geeks, you know, you
had this incredible cast that all went on.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
So I have this these illustrious careers.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Nobody got arrested.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
That's why I like, all right, nobody got arrested, and
the chemistry was so good. How does that work? You're casting?
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I mean your chemistry with like I mean, you know,
like looking at Christian Way with Melissa McCarthy, I mean,
how do you know how to put people together?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Well, it's I mean you see a lot of people
and you see what their vibe is and then you
kind of go, this would mix well with this just
like not so much visually, although visually sometimes, but just
kind of attitude wise, like these would be fun together.
But then you'll usually, like for Bridesmaids, we took like
(18:31):
our top twelve candidates and then mix and match them
in these in a session. You okay, you four coming together. Okay,
now you two go together. Okay, and you start to
see like, oh this it's not even so much anybody
good will find chemistry. I find, especially comedy people really
because you can't you know, unless you're one of these people,
just like I want all the jokes and you can't
be funny around me, which that's instant death of your
(18:53):
comedy person. They're used to being team players. You know,
you're very much a team player because you're lying on
the other person to set you up and all that.
So yeah, so it tends to kind of sort itself out,
you kind of know going in and then it just
becomes like, oh, whose energy is going to be a
good counterpart to this person? So I'm almost doing more
for the camera knowing I think they'll figure it out.
(19:15):
I mean if once a while you go like, okay,
those two people just don't have any it just doesn't
seem right together.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Does it ever gets to the place where you have.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Actually cast it begun shooting and then go ooh, they're
just not getting.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
I've been very lucky. I've only had a couple of times,
one in particular, where we had to replace somebody. But
it wasn't really it wasn't a chemistry thing. It was
all the other thing they had to do with. I
think I don't know what happened. It was in another country.
It might have been jet lag. There might have been
some ways to get past jet lag that didn't work.
(19:53):
But no, I've been very very lucky because but I
really vet who I work with too, Like I will
call around, but not just a one person, you know,
and just go like how But you know, if you
call one person, they go the person's terrible. That person
could the person who's telling you they were terrible could
have been terrible, right, you know. So I don't do that,
but I'll kind of if I hear somebody's like iffy,
(20:15):
then I'll call other people who they work with and
go like, what's the what's the story. And generally it's
it's almost you know, there's very few that people go
like forget it, forget it. And also I like working
with people who people who are particular when I was
a TV director, you know, I did it for ten
years before I started got to do Bridesmaids and all
that stuff. I was kind of good at coming into
(20:39):
shows that had difficult situations, especially with lead actresses, and
I was always just like, well, just take me on
the set. Let me go meet them before I even start,
and just go like, hey, I just want to find
out how you work, what way do you like to work,
you know, because I want to be I just want
to be here for you. And they loved it, and
we'd always have a experience. So you know, there's so
(21:01):
many people just.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Want to be seen. They want to know that they're
being heard in.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Respect, and if you're not giving them the respect on
the set in collaborating with them, they're just like the
trust is.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Gone, right, It's completely gone. I pursued acting for a
couple of years in the early nineties that came out here.
I was like, you know, yeah, it was so bad.
And I got this part on one movie under Siege
with Steven Savelle as a fighter pilot. The only thing
(21:34):
you could see with my eyes and I was going
to be blown up at beat thirteen. So I'm flying
this like F eighteen. It's like fake F eighteen, you know,
the second unit. It's like, okay, I'm beat twelve. You
have to or eleven. You have to start to show
panic because like, you know, so first I'm like flying
on like this. He's like no, there's like, you know, force,
(21:56):
so you can't just move like that. And so I'm
like one, two, three's counting, and I actually start to like,
you know, show it in my eyes. I go see
the movie they they blow up the plane and Beat
eight looks like I'm just like.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Having occasionally fired. Like I always said to myself, Wow,
like they really my one little performance.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
They fucked over.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
They fucked me over, like he didn't kill me, and
BE thirteen killed me and B eight thirteen. But I
think you're right, he's gonna fix worries.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
The editing room is that's that's where it all happens.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
It really does.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Yeah, you know, I was kind of just I like
actors who understand the filmmaking process. I could take something
from a different part of the performance and put it
over here, you know. And it's not like I'm trying
to fool you or anything. It's just like I need
something in this moment because I need you to look
over here. I need to see something in your face.
And the editing process, you know, it's like the Eisenstein
(22:54):
thing where he just photographed the guy just staring at
the camera and they intercut with different things in the audience, like, oh,
he was moting so much on this on that. It's
like we're building it right, you know. I mean, the
actor has to give you great stuff, sure, but at
the same time, then we're manipulating that beyond that. And
i'd like when actors who understand that. But even just
the way I wear, I don't rehearse or anything. I'm
just kind of like cameras here, no, no, I want
(23:16):
I want to know what they're going to do. I
don't even like to do rehearsals, like in the in
the run up to sometime we'll do them read throughs
and that kind of stuff, just more for the writing
to go like oh I need to change this or that.
The way that I get a lot of takes that
I like and a lot of variety is just don't rehearse,
and so we have to ferry with the cameras are okay,
just kind of you know, talk through it. But don't
you know where would you go? Where'd you go? Set
(23:37):
up the cameras, and then just start shooting. And what
happens is when I get the first few takes are
just coming out of that actor's brain what they think
it should be, and I'm usually got, oh, I kind
of wish it was this. So then I'll slowly and
incrementally move them each take with just another, try this,
try this, until I get them, you know, five ten
takes in to do what I thought I wanted, and
(24:01):
almost always what I thought I wanted isn't kind of
what I liked, or or if I go like that
last take, like that's the one I want, I never
end up using it, really cause the editing room, away
from what you are trying to control, suddenly you're like, oh,
this is actually better. And I have an editor. I
never I never circle takes my editor. I just say like,
just do your assembly, pick whatever takes you want. And halftime,
(24:23):
I watched the assembly, I'm like, why would you use
those takes? And he's like, we'll just watch it again,
and I'm like, oh, you know, that's that's actually way
better than what I wanted. Wow, I'd rather have a
ten percent less. Yeah, great looking shop and have this
lightning in a bottle moment that happened, because there's nothing
worse when somebody's off camera when they say something, you're like, oh, yeah, god,
that was great, trying to remember it. Could you do
(24:44):
that again? It's never the same. They never repeat it
the same way.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
You could never even if we were to do something
to say and then they say something here and you're like, okay,
if oh, can you pick that up and say it again,
it just doesn't.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
It doesn't resonate the same way.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Thanks for joining us on Table for two. Paul's movies are.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Not only hilarious, but have a powerful emotional center. As
someone with such great taste, I'm wondering what does he
like to watch and gather inspiration from?
Speaker 3 (25:34):
What growing up movies? Where your your sort of influence
your old movies? That really kind of okay.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Well, I mean all the comedy. I was a Marx
Brothers fanatic and oh yeah, and loved all Laurel Hardy,
any silent comedies in the black and white, old black
white comedies, all that stuff. I love. The first one
that blew my mind, well, first of one was Animal
Crack because they had the Marx Brothers movies because they
had re released it in theaters, and my mom took
(26:06):
me and I was probably like seven or eight, and
and it was all these college place was filmed college
and it destroyed and you're just like, how can an
old movie like this just but it was such anarchy,
you know, because Crouch, it was crazy and Harbo and
all of them. So that was cool. But then the
big one for me was What's Up? Doc? Ah, the
Bogdanovic film.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Yeah, I love that movie.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
That movie is so great. I did that like a
few years ago at the Austin Film Festival. They had
me like program a couple of movies, and I did
What's Up Doc for this young audience and it killed,
It just killed.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
I don't think that's a movie a lot of people realize.
Younger people know. I mean Madeline conn in that movie.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Oh my god, Kenneth Mars, Yeah, I mean I had
such a crush on her cute and he was great,
and you know, no, it's it's Austin Penalty and it
just goes.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Where I forgot about it. I mean it's I didn't.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Even know about screwball comedies, right, so I just kid
I was just like, oh my god, this is crazy.
And then you know later you see bringing a baby
and here's Friday, like, oh that's where this is all from. Yeah,
but it's done so well. And then you know it's
a kid that had a car, Chason, and so I
love that. But that was a mind blower for me.
And that was you know, back kids before you could
go watch stuff on you know, over and over on
(27:25):
whatever media you had. Right I had to go to
the theater. I saw it I think nine or ten
times in the theater. I would just go every few
days and watch it and study it and study it
and look.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
The most exciting, the most exciting thing to me is
being in a darkened movie theater movie. The lights go down,
the curtain opens up, and you know, for the next
two hours you're just in this incredible space. And that's
sort of like thankfully seemingly coming back, you know, the
sort of rhythm got broke with COVID and streaming and
(27:58):
all the crap that we all go through.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Are you watching you? What do you watch? What is.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Much of My wife is in dismay and sugrin. I
watch a lot of horror and thrillers. I don't watch.
I don't watch a lot of comedy for some reason. Yeah,
I just maybe it's a bust on was holiday. I
don't know, I just don't. I don't enjoy it anymore.
It's hilariously. The last night, I just I just finished
a giantry ride on my next movie, and I was
just like, I finally got time to sit here, and
(28:27):
I just was flipping around Netflix, and Blues Brothers popped up,
which I've seen a thousand times, and I was just like,
you know, I'm just gonna treat myself. I was gonna
watch right, and I just I was so happy. So
that's always been my problem. I've never seen a ton
of movies. But the movies i've seen, I've seen a
thousand times, you know, so it becomes comfort food. But then,
(28:47):
but then I really like what I like about horror.
And I'm not talking about like you know, Saw and
that kind of stuff. I'm talking about Megan and those things,
because those are the best comedies going right now. That
that is the new comedy is horror movies.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
I mean, you are right.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
I think Megan was the funniest movie last year. I
love that film and it made me laugh and I
just but it's still the stakes are high, so it's real.
So then it gets me out of silly comedy, you
know again finding dishonest comedy, you know. So that's I
think comedy needs a driver in the middle of it.
I always say my movies are just dramas that are funny,
(29:23):
you know, because you have to plot them out like
dramas otherwise, you know, so many big com so many
comedies go off the rails because you're kind of with
it and then suddenly somebody will do something and you're like, well,
why would they do that. It's like, well, because it
was funny. It's like, oh, now you've broken the reality
and I don't know why. Like, there's nothing worse than
a funny bad guy. Yeah, unless it's Alan Rickman Diehard,
who's terrifying, but he's still funny at.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
The same time you can deliver those lines.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
I was a Star Wars fanatic when I was okay,
you know, the first Star Wars and second Star Wars.
I remember, you know, so I'm both opening weekend and
what I remember about those two screenings where they were
getting a laugh every minute, every single minute there was
a joke or a laugh or something light that happened,
and they were so much fun. And then suddenly those
(30:08):
Time Wars universe became really serious, and I'm like, and
every time I watch they're really good movies and all that,
but I'm just like, we've lost that thing of like
this can all be fun. You know, It's like watching
and I've seen this so many times comedy stars who
want to be taken seriously, so they make a movie
(30:30):
and they purposely drain every ounce of humor out of
their body. So it's just like, you know, it's an
audience that person's normally funny, Well what's happening? Like is
this a setup? And then they're gonna do something crazy?
And then you're and you're so frustrated by that. But
my problem with it is like that's not life, Like
would you hang out with people who are just so
(30:52):
dour and never crack a joke and never laugh? Like, no,
you want to flee from those people.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Sure, I think you make a very good point with
the Star Wars.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
I can remember too exactly, like the theater I was
in in nineteen seventy seven when I saw the first
Star Wars eighty fourth Street, and there was so much laughter,
and yet you were like overwhelmed by this.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Like laughter and cheer, darkness, light, yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
Ale, this whole thing that you're also sitting on the
edge of your seat.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
But yet Raiders the Lost Art, I mean, yeah, that
was the Raiders of the movie that made me want
to become a filmmaker because I saw that opening morning.
I knew nothing about it. I'm a friend. When I
was a tour guy. They were like, we're going to
see this new Spielberg movie. Oh cool, and that theater
in the Chinese Yeah, gigantic. People went crazy then that.
(31:39):
You know, we've seen that boulder rolling down in a
billion times now that it looks old and hacky to us,
but the first time that happened literally entire I get
goosebumps every time I talk about, like people, the whole
everyone out of their seats and we're like screaming and
yelling and stuff. And that was when I went like,
that's what a movie directory is. Before that, I'd always
watched movies as an actor, going like I want to
play it that part or or is it like a
(32:01):
you know, Close Encounters, Like I want an alien to
come and take me away. Yeah, you know, but that
was the moment I go like, that's what. With a
camera and a good script and great actors, you know,
you're doing that's what you can do.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
And in those.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
Movies and you had, you know, when Harrison Ford al sudden,
you know, delivered the comedic line or took out the
gun and shot the guy with the sword, and you're like, okay,
it's it alleviates this moment and it is real life
in a way. You're like, okay, yeah, of course if
I have a gun and you have a sort and
you want to come on, guess what.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Yeah, exactly, which, hilariously, I know, you know. The backstory
on that gag is that they had a whole giant
fight scene choreographed and Harrison Ford either had food poisoning
or the flu or something and he was just sick
as a dog that day and they're trying to rehearse it.
He goes like, wouldn't I just pull out my gun
and kill the guy? And they're like, okay, let's just
do that. And that's one of those iconic movies.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
History story and it is. Yeah, and I think you're right.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
I don't think I've ever thought about it, but you know,
they're not they're serious stories that are funny, you know
what I mean, the real stories, real life stories, a
LIFETI lemons that are funny.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
You have to have steaks, you know. It's the hackiest
word that every executive will say in studio open had.
It's why I and this is slightly different, but I've
always had trouble with superhero movies. Okay, I think they're gray, right,
but for me, I go like, God just got punched
through a building, a skyscraper fall on top of him.
You got crushed between two buses and he kind of
(33:23):
comes out and shakes his head and he's fine, Like
how do I don't know how to invest in this?
You know, if you can't die, then I'm not really
worried about you versus. This is why I did that movie,
you know, did Ghostbusters, because I was like, yeah, it's
real humans with all this stuff on them, but they
could get killed. So at least I'm like, oh no,
I hope, I hope they don't die.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Is it more difficult to remake a movie like when
you you know, you look at Ghostbusters?
Speaker 5 (33:50):
Never again, I'm happy I did it, but it's just again,
when you step into fan service, and I didn't realize
I was stepping into fan service.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
It was just a movie that you know, had It
was twenty years twenty five years old by the point,
you know, it was brought to me and I was like, oh,
this is great. It was Amy Pascal's really won't talk
me into it. She was like, why don't you and
you comedy guys want to do this? This, this amazing
franchise is just sitting there, and I was like, because
it's it's this, you know, it's so such cannon now.
(34:22):
But then that's why I was like, oh, wait, if
I do it, you know, reboot it so I'm not
in the original world and I cast all the funny
women I know then who would be offended. So that
kind of went into just like his lamb to the
slaughter of like everybody's lots, you know, and then it
just all blew up. But I'm happy I did it.
But yeah, I just think if you can avoid doing
(34:45):
those kinds of things, plus all, I just want to
do original stuff.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
You know, it's fun understandable.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
I'm about to go in production on Simple Favor two,
which is my first sequel I've done. But I mean
we worked on this script so long or so hard
on it, because I like, if I'm going to do
a it's got to be great. It's got to pay
off for the people getting on fan service because the movies,
you know, found an audience, but it also needs to
be different. I'm really happy or finally got to really
(35:11):
happy with Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
That's like, you know, you really kind of roll the
dice when you say, Okay, we're gonna and not many
films that do the other succeed in that. They go, oh,
you know, you go like okay, I mean, but some do,
like you know, you have a lot actually a lot
to I take that back. You know, there have been
a lot of sort of number twos that I think
have been great. When they go to number three or four, sometimes.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
Yeah, you start to lose the mojo.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
It's just sequels are hard because the thing that made
you love the first one was the originality of it.
You know, I mean everybody wants Bridesmaids too.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Yeah, I don't know about like needing a sequel to that.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
I think you're right, Like, certain movies are so beautiful,
they're just meant to live.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
And why do we always want more?
Speaker 6 (35:57):
So watch it again as we sort of kind of
come to a close and a lunch, which is this
has been so joyful for me.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
And it's really having lunch with Paul Vegas, and it
is an amazing thing you are.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Your movies do make us.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Feel great and they make us laugh and they make
us have an and that's so important right now.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
And you're a man of such debonair style and thank you.
You always look thank you. So you love cocktails and
you have a gin and I didn't really realize that.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
And I have a my partner and I we launched
a liquor a couple of years ago called Mujen, which
is a Japanese show choo.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Oh oh my god, I love you.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
So this is for you, right.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
My partner Sandra, she designed the bottle. We have a
this is our thirty five percent great in cocktails, and
we have a ten year age and we have an
ai which is a light and you're gonna get all
the other two and there it's just we we didn't
know about show shows. Is an amazing Japanese spirits and alcohol.
So tell me about your love of cock So just
(37:09):
it's part thank you love for coming today. What what
do you love about cocktails and you know you're really
good at you're you know, making cocktails and how did
how did that?
Speaker 2 (37:21):
It's my love of adult life. To me, cocktails are
the embodiment of being an adult. You know, that's as
a kid, you know, the influence of Darren Stevens having
Martini we him from work every day was so monumental. Yes,
you don't know.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
The reference to Darren Stevens.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
He was the husband to Bewitched Samantha and a drinks cart.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
Did you have a favorite Darren Stevens Number one or
number two?
Speaker 2 (37:50):
No, number one, number one? There no shade to dig sart.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Yes, like they have the cocktail car.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yeah, and it either she'd have ate it and hands
with him or he'd go over and mix it himself.
I'm like, that looks fantastic, Like I just wanted that.
And then also when I was a kid, my parents
took me to Las Vegas when I was five or
six or something because they were going to see the
Muhammad Ali fight, and so I kind of thought I
was gonna go see it too, because it's a kid thing,
(38:19):
and they kind of parayed me through the outer edge
of the casino. I think we were staying with the
dunes or something, and then put me in this nursery
which was hilariously attached to the casino the old days
cigarettes for the kids. But it had this big sliding
glass door that looked onto the casino floor. And I
(38:40):
remember all these kids were being idiot kids behind me.
I was just at that door, pressed against that door,
looking out and onto that floor. And you saw. This
was back when people dressed up in Vegas. People are
glamoring touxedos and gowns, smoking and they're drinking. And I
just saw people drinking martinis. And I was just like,
God is my witness. I will have that when I
(39:01):
am not a child anymore.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
I love the way your brain works. I mean it
has worked that way since your human.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
I just didn't want to be a kid, you didn't.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
I love that you notice these things and they because
you could see it in every aspect of your life.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
So you have a gin and your website's phenomenal, you know,
having now.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Been in the spirits world for just a couple of years,
you know, three years and in UH stores, but six years.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
It's a it's a brutal.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
It is a brutal industry. Thank God, it's not our
main business street. No, I mean just trying to get
people to pick it up.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
All right, pick it up, just just distribution.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
I can't even get it in here. I've been trying
for three years to get into the tower. I can't
get it in.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
I mean, we do have much in here, so we
need to speak to JK. But again, we have a
category that is very unique. Most places you're competing with
we have we have to kill as we have Vodkas.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
Well, the problem with Gin is that Americans don't think
they like Gin. I mean, it's you know, cocktail culture
is kind of you know, the mixology is kind of
bringing it around the cool bartenders. But most people have
had a bad experience with Gin when they were kids.
They go down to the basements, open up the bottle
of beef Feeder's terrible, and that's it. And that's only remembers.
And I really formulated my Gin for people who don't
(40:23):
like Gin, you know, so it's still Gin. So it's
like people like Gin, really like it, but it's it's
it's mellower on the Juniper front, and so so many
people are like, oh, I don't like Jen. I we'll
just try this. Oh, I like this again because I'm
not going that hardcore pine pine, but yeah, exactly kind
of thing. It's it's really there, it is so yeah,
(40:47):
I'm really proud of it. We won a ton of
awards and stuff.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Yeah, now I look, do you still do the cocktail Instagram?
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (40:54):
Hour Like no, no, that was only it was really cold.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Yeah, and my wife always we should do it again.
There was just something I love doing it.
Speaker 3 (41:03):
Can we access it?
Speaker 1 (41:04):
Like?
Speaker 2 (41:04):
Does it still? It's still on my face so you
can see almost all. Sometimes occasional they'll take one down
for music rice, which is like, what's really somebody really,
I'm not making money off this, you know, I don't
think they mine. I love doing it. And then once
the pandemic was not even panic, it was over just coming.
Even after that hundred days, it was kind of like,
(41:26):
I think we're moving forward now, so like to do
it now just feels like I'm kind of self promote.
It had a purpose back then.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
Well, I mean I totally get what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
And I also think, you know, because you actually do
have a gin, it's like a fun thing. It's it's
you always are thinking of new ideas to short of
had to promote whatever you do, whether it's a movie
or you're but I loved it and I will be.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
I will be.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
I'm interested to know what you think about this, and
I'm going to send you the other ones.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
I'm going to create some cocktails. Yeah, you know, I
have a cocktail book out.
Speaker 3 (42:00):
I know you have a coctap book. You have memoirs?
You do? Have you done two?
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Two memoirs?
Speaker 3 (42:04):
You've done two? So your last one was in two
thousand and five?
Speaker 2 (42:08):
Yeah it was yeah, Yeah, there was like two thousand
and three and then two thousand.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
Got some years under our bettle? Is there another one? Comment?
Speaker 2 (42:16):
I always say I wanted to get in the trilogy
of shame. I call it so I need. I need
to complete the trilogy. And I've got stories that I've
written for but I haven't kind of put it together yet.
But then I have two other books. I put out.
These two like young adult sci fi comedy books called
Ignations like Farland, Yes, which was fun.
Speaker 3 (42:34):
I don't understand you. I don't.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
I mean I'm sitting here. I mean like I could
barely like do one thing in my day.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
I don't sit around. Well, I get it's so funny.
Whenever I'm working, all I want to do is be
off right a minute I'm done, I'm like, i gotta
do something. I can't stop.
Speaker 3 (42:49):
I mean, I'm just blown away.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
I look forward to all is there as I know
you're working on a bunch of projects. We though the
world will continue to have your voice in it.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
Have a movie that I finished that I shot last
year that's coming out this summer called Jack Pop, John
Cena and Aquafina and Lu And it's just a big
action comedy in the vein of the heat and spy
and it's it feels like a fun return to I
want to say return to form, because it feels like
like I've done terrible stuff. But I think it's just
(43:21):
a returned to sort of my roots of just like
lots of jokes. But you know, stakes are great and
that it is a very high concept, but it's very
emotional points and and I'm just excited about it. It
was just so much fun to work with them, and
it's a lot of action and stuff.
Speaker 1 (43:38):
Thank you so much for joining us, joining me today,
please on the table. Thank you for pulling up a
chair on the other side of the mic. And Paul,
thank you for more dinners, and yes, Laurie and Brian
and Vall.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Please Bruce, it's it's a thrill because we've we've always
known each other, but we've never got to spend any
extended amount of time together. So this has just been
an absolute joy.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
Thank you, thank you, Thank you everyone to have a
great day.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
Thank you for pulling up a chair.
Speaker 1 (44:13):
I love our lunches and never forget the romance of
a meal. If you enjoy the show, please tell a
friend and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Table
for two with Bruce Bozi is produced by iHeartRadio seven
three seven Park and Airmail. Our executive producers are Bruce
Bosi and Nathan King. Our supervising producer is Dylan Fagan.
(44:36):
Our editors are Vincent to Johnny and Cas B Bias.
Table for two is researched and written by Jack Sullivan.
Our sound engineers are Meil B. Klein, Jess Krainich, Evan Taylor,
and Jesse Funk. Our music supervisor is Randall Poster. Our
talent booking is done by Jane Sarkin.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
Table for two Social media manager is Gracie Wiener. Special
thanks to Amy Berman.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
Uni Scherer, Kevin Yuvane, Bobby Bauer, Alison Kanter Graber, Barbara Jen,
Jeff Klein, and the staff at the Tower Bar in
the world famous Sunset Tower Hotel in Hollywood. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Host
Bruce Bozzi
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