Lou Diamond Phillips Talks New Movie Gangland

Read Shepherd and Dana McKay talk to actor and director Lou Diamond Phillips about his new movie Gangland which hits theaters July 10. They also discuss the recovery of the movie industry since Covid and how technology has changed filmmaking.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Burst onto the Hollywood scene with films like La Bamba,
Stand and Deliver, one of my favorites young Guns. He's
picked up two Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, a
Tony nomination for Best Actor for his role as the
King in the Revival of the King and I. His
latest film hits theaters in digital on July tenth, Gangland.

(00:20):
Lou Diamond Phillips joins us today. Well, no spoilers, Lou,
but talk to us about Gang Lamb, which is I
guess the story about a tribal cop and a new trainee.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Absolutely, and it's a bit reminiscent of Denzel Washington's training day,
you know, he and Ethan Hawke, except in this I'm
bringing in a young female officer played by Donna name
Road into the tribal police force on the reservation and
she comes in at a time when a young man

(00:51):
is just getting out of prison played by Alesha Pratt,
who was just fantastic, a real discovery, young Indigenous actor,
and his presence could spark a gang war. So a
lot of tension, a lot of you know, in impending
threat throughout the film. And it's quite good. I mean
We're at one hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes right now.

(01:13):
That's great. Yeah, it's crazy.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
So it's been forty years since La Bamba first came out.
Did you ever think when that movie, you know, kicked
off your career, that you would still be doing this
and having so much success.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
In Hollywood and people are still yelling Richie at me
from across the street. Yes, no, no, you know, I
mean when when you look at it, I was an
unknown kid from from Texas playing the lead. Richie himself was,
you know, a bit obscure, not not as well known
as Buddy Holly or all of us or any of

(01:49):
those guys. And we didn't have any huge stars in
the cast. I mean, he did not have blockbuster written
all over it. And and the fact that it blew
up the way it did and it shot me out
of a cannon. You know, it's it's still a little
hard to grasp. I'm eternally grateful for it, you know. Coincidentally,
there's a wonderful documentary that premiered at Sun Dance that

(02:11):
I was supporting there with my dear friend Eddie, almost
called American Pachuco, The Legend of Luis Valdez and that's
going to be in theaters as well, coming up in
the next month or two and also on PBS in October.
But it gives a lot of great behind the scenes
insight into the making of La Bamba as well.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Question. I imagine you've been asked a zillion times over the years,
lou but do you have.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
A favorite role? I do not, And my stock answer is,
you know, yeah, I do not. I mean, I mean,
my first three films in Hollywood were low i'ma standing
delivering young guns, and they could not be more different
from one another. And those roles, you know, were very
different from one another, and that's by design. You know.
I have an agree in theater from the University of

(02:55):
Texas at Arlington, and and it was very much like
what I was doing in you know, my theater work.
In this, you know, sometimes you're supporting, sometimes you're the lead.
Sometimes it's a comedy, sometimes it's Shakespeare or Mammut or whatever.
Sometimes you're running the spotlight. So you know, there are
many many different reasons for me to love any particular project.

(03:17):
And my stock answer, you know, I go to you know,
they ask, you know, what my favorite genre is, and
My favorite genre is the genre of employment.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yes, yes, yes, radio people, we understand that we're talking
to lou Diamond Phillips. And I'm wondering, over the years,
how has technology changed how.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
You make movies?

Speaker 1 (03:39):
Wow?

Speaker 2 (03:40):
Uh uh? And we're on the cusp of that already,
aren't we. I mean, my goodness, where everybody's scrambling, you know,
to figure out what we're gonna do about AI. I know,
the screen Actor's gill is doing a bunch of stuff
the Academy. You know we uh I just got re
elected governor of the Actors Branch. Quite proud of that,
you know, I mean we put the caveat on our

(04:01):
you know, uh category for best best performances by actors.
You know, it has to be human based. Uh. So
you know, we're we're figuring out how to navigate this
new thing. And you know, I mean with the advent
of digital, you know, back in you know, with the nineties,
and everybody started shooting things, you know, on tape as
opposed to film. Uh, you know, it became a lot

(04:24):
faster and and you could go you know, longer takes,
and you could you know, and not have as much
set up time. So I mean, uh, and then you
know the CGI and now CGI is becoming a AI
and and you know what, what you can imagine as
a filmmaker, you know, you could, you can create. And
yet what we have is we have you know, some
of the real tours, you know, like Christopher Nolan going

(04:45):
back to the old school, is going, I'm gonna shoot
this on the biggest cameras possible on IMAX and and
you know, limit the amount of CGI that I use.
And so I do think even even with the the
advent of this technology, there is a uh uh, I
don't want to call it a backlash, but you know,
a pushback on on authenticity, about about real artistry, real

(05:09):
hands on uh, you know, artisanal filmmaking. So uh yeah,
it's it's an interesting time.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Lou Let me approach Dana's question from a slightly different perspective,
and that is, uh, the industry kind of took a
hit doing during COVID. Uh you know six years ago.
Has the industry come out of that and how has
it changed?

Speaker 2 (05:32):
We are crawling out of it, I would say, I mean,
you know, it's it's not one of these big splashy
oh we're back kind of things. Uh, a number of films,
thank goodness, are are reviving you know, theater going, which
which is very very important. Uh. But after COVID, Uh,

(05:53):
there is there is uh, you know, less content. The
the industry is contracted. We are we are producing you know,
as many films or as many TV shows as we
were prior to that. And because of that, you know,
there are a fewer roles, and there's much more competition
for those roles. And it used to be that you

(06:14):
could go into a room for an audition and you know,
charm them and you know all of that. Now, with
the self tapes and zooms and everything else, it's harder
and harder to break in. I feel for any young
actors that are trying to, you know, to make it
these days. But I'll be honest. I mean, one of
the things about Gangland that I'm so proud of is
that a number of indigenous actors are getting their biggest

(06:35):
roles to date, getting real opportunities because of a director
like Vincent Grashaw, who will beat the bushes and look
for the right person for each role.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
We're talking to lou Diamond Phillips and I'm wondering one
last question for you. How will you be celebrating the
fourth of July this weekend and what does it mean
to you?

Speaker 1 (06:54):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (06:55):
My goodness. Well, I'm actually popping down to Dallas for
uh we have a theatrical run there. I'm gonna help
launch gang Land there, so I'll be traveling on the work.
But there you go, exactly. But you know, I mean
when I get home, I'll be with you know, my wife, Yvonne,
and my daughter Indigo, and you know, I'm sure we're
gonna I'll probably end up grilling, thank goodness. But I mean,

(07:19):
as far as you know, Uh, I just had the
opportunity to be the Grand Marshal in the Memorial Day
Parade in BC.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (07:27):
And you know, my my father did two tours, and
I've been a supporter of the military, you know, my
entire life. And and I think it's a day of reflection,
you know, especially when you know when we're coming up
on such a h a pivotal you know, anniversary on
what what America means. And you know, not not to

(07:47):
be opportunistic, but you know, it's like the film itself, Gangland,
It's like we all deserve a seat at the table.
We all deserve respect and and acceptance and and you know,
looking at where our countries come and where we need
to go too, and what and and the values that
we espouse and the values that we stand for, and
how do we protect those and and ensure that they are,

(08:08):
you know, for for everyone, you know, created equal, all
of that good stuff. You know, I believe in all
of that, And and that is that is the flag
that I've been carrying my entire career and will continue
to do so, all right.

Speaker 1 (08:20):
Actor director writer Lou Diamond Phillips. His latest film hits
the theaters in digital on July tenth, Gangland. Lou, thank
you so much for joining us today, and happy fourth
of July.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
To you you as well. Happy fourth