193 - DJ 'The Curse' Arvizo Interview

Our series of interviews with the cast of 'The Curse' continues as we welcome DJ Arvizo.

DJ Arvizo portrays Jose, an audio technician helping shoot 'Fliplanthropy', following Whitney (Emma Stone) and Asher (Nathan Fielder) who use their property development empire to help locals while gentrifying the area in the process.  

Join us as DJ shares his experiences of working on the set and fake one too of 'The Curse'. 

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Welcome to the nerd Party. Hello, and welcome to the A twenty four
project Here in the Nerd Party Network, my name is Lee Hutchinson and Dallas
King and I make our way throughthe A twenty four filmography and along the
way bring you interviews with the talentinvolved in front of and behind the camera.

(00:25):
Our series of interviews with the castof The Curse continues as we welcome
DJ Aviso. DJ portrays Jose,an audio technician helping shoot Flipthanthropy, following
Whitney played by Miss Stone and AsherNathan Fielder, who used their property development
and empire to help locals while gentrifyingthe area in the process. Join us

(00:46):
as DJ shares's experience of working onthe set and a fake one too on
The Curse. Thanks so much toDJ for joining us, and I hope
you too enjoyed this episode. WhiteNight Edge your passion for for the industry,
DJ, Yeah, man, Imean I think ever since I was

(01:06):
a kid, I've always you know, had this big just excitement with going
to the movies, you know,especially in my earliest memory is my grandpa
taking me to the movies as ayoung kid, you know, and like
not only creating that bond with him, but also like creating this this this
new form of it planted the seedof like expression in me that was like,
oh whoa, you know, likethat's cool. Like it just it

(01:27):
was like this kind of this tunnelinto a bigger, bigger, imaginary world,
you know what I mean. Andso for me, that not only
brought a lot of healing, butalso a lot of curiosity. And so
I think from there, I justwanted to really dive more into the form,
like I was doing it subconsciously,you know, listening to more music
that I was accustomed to, youknow, I was in I grew up

(01:47):
in a very i want to say, protected household, very religious household.
You know, my parents, youknow, they grew up going to church.
You know, they're played everything bythe book, do as you're told
and everything. But me, youknow, this curiosity, the seed of
curiosity kind of pushed past those boundaries. And so you know, listening to
music that you know wasn't always allowedin the church maybe you know, watching
movies and stuff like that, itjust kind of led me to where I

(02:08):
am today. You know. SoI think just that form of expression and
like just the art of storytelling itself. How someone who doesn't look like me,
you know how a cartoon even,you know, how we could resonate
with that and it could move usin a certain way. I think that's
the beauty of everything, you know, It's just the heartbeat of what we
do. You know, I'm curious, what were those films that really stood
out for you when you yeah,I mean as a child man, the

(02:30):
first ones, I think we're HappyFeet first and foremost. My grandpa took
me to see I don't know whatmovie it was. He took me to
some movie that was beyond my comprehensionat the time, and so you know,
he he even he felt it.He's he used to say, like
he was really bored during the movie. And so like he asked me during
it, He's like, hey,do you want to go see another movie?

(02:50):
And I'm like, yeah, let'sget out of here. So he
left out the original movie, walkedinside and to see to see Happy Feet,
and like we kind of just watchedthe remainder of it there. So
that was like my early year.That was my earliest memory of you know,
of the whole movie and the wholeentertainment, you know, experience and
stuff like that. So so youhave a real passion for us. So
how have you kind of turned thatinto a career? Ah? Man,

(03:10):
I think so lately it's been it'sbeen really cool. Things have been really
unraveling and kind of, you know, for the first time in my life
seeing how passions could kind of turninto a profit, you know, for
financially and and and you know,relationally and everything. And lately I've been
really trying to figure out what partof the industry that I want to you
know, I want to get into, you know, it being like so

(03:34):
big that you could attack this thingfrom so many things, you know,
and like having the experience, youknow, being in front of the camera.
You know, before that, I'vehad a lot of experience behind the
camera and a lot of like theproduction side. So I think right now
I'm really just big on Okay,what is the smartest way for me to
you know, get to do youknow, really do this at the highest
level. And so being out hereso I'm I'm currently in Los Angeles.
Moving out here like about a yearago has really allowed me to kind of

(03:58):
sit back and observe every thing,you know, how I have friends doing
this, friends doing you know,other stuff, and it's kind of been
like a moment for me to reallysit and I guess evaluate within myself of
what I want to do, notonly as a storyteller, but as an
artist, you know, and assomeone who loves it so much they want
to present it for the first timein such a beautiful way, you know.
So I just being very intentional withthat and kind of learning what I

(04:20):
really want to do with that.Have you got one that you're maybe gravitating
a little bit more towards us momentof time? Yeah, I think right
now, I really want to focuson gathering the stories. You know.
So I'm a I have a Latino. I'm a I'm a Latino American,
which means, you know, myparents are from Mexico, but I was
born here in the United States,and so with that, I carry two

(04:41):
backgrounds of culture with me, rightI have the Latino side of the fun
Spanish like, you know, theloud, the you know, the family
oriented everything, and also have theAmerican side where we're here. You know,
we have the American hip hop,we hear about the business, the
American dream, you know, justall that stuff that is catered to us.
As kids, And so I thinkwith that there's a specific audience that
I know I'm not the only one, right, but a lot of those
stories that we grow up with inour own household, you know, aren't

(05:05):
always represented on the screen at thehighest level. And so I think with
that is like a whole audience thatis not only misrepresented, but also you
know, there's a there's just itchingfor something to you know, to be
to see themselves and you know,like it's just super cool, do you
know, to have your cities,to have your people and stuff like that.
So I think right now I'm reallygathered on I'm really focused on gathering

(05:27):
those stories and like, you know, how can we how can we portray
those stories that you know, arenot only a story, but are also
reflection you know, for the youknow, for the sake of the art
and stuff. So right now,I think I'm leaning towards the script writing,
just because I know scripts are reallygold, you know, and like
the they it's like they're like thefirst step to everything. But alongside,
you know, we've got a pairof bills. So I've been doing a
little bit of you know, DPwork, editing and like, you know,

(05:49):
just whatever it takes at this point, but I think, you know,
as a personal passion stuff, Ireally want to lean more towards the
script writing and product producing side.You know, just let's get this stuff
going. You know, you're atthe beginning of your career. But is
there any kind of work out therealready that kind of people can maybe check
out if they're they've just been introducedto you with The Curse. Yeah,
so, I mean my first timein front of the screen was definitely The

(06:11):
Curse, you know, and thatwas such such a great experience. Man.
I loved every part of it andjust brought a whole new scope to
this, to this, you know, the thing that we do every day.
But before that, I actually wasa director of photography in a short
film directed by one of my friends, a Cameron mc queen. It's called
The in House and it's available onYouTube and I could, you know,
send you a link if you wantto attach this to the video or everything.

(06:32):
But yeah, it's called The inHouse, man. He We we
shot that. It was like aforty minute film, filmed it in a
court over the course of a weekend, so it was a Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, you know, some pickupshots that following weekend. It was
it was fun man, you know, small crew all indeed, no no,
you know, no budget whatsoever,just a ton of people that are
down to to film this thing inTosa, Oklahoma. Man. So you

(06:54):
mentioned obviously the curse, like whendid you first become aware of the opportunity
for it and didn't catch your Absolutely? So I had, you know,
just being tapped in with people whowork in the industry back home in New
Mexico and everything. I kind ofhad rumors that, you know, Emma
Stone was going to be feeling newprojects and it was a twenty four and
it was directed by the Saftieviers.That's all we knew, right, So,

(07:15):
like, what the heck is this? What's going on? You know?
And so after that we knew therea lot of casting calls became available,
you know, to the local castingscene out there. And so one
of my cousins, and it wasLinda, one of my my dad's cousins,
she saw that and she sent itmy way, you know, on
Facebook. She literally sent me tolink on Facebook and was like, hey,

(07:38):
check this out. You know,you meet the qualifications. I think
the casting call mentioned that they werelooking for someone with prior camera experience,
you know, that's all they said, like, we're looking for someone that
knows how to do the camera work, but in front of the camera,
you know. And so I shejust sent them my way. I looked
into it. You know, Iknew a lot of friends that had used
that casting agency before submitted it,and yeah, man, the rest is

(07:59):
history. But so what happened withthe audition process to go from hey,
I've summit an interest. When didyou start to like get like a call
up? And what were they kindof looking for now audition process? Because
you have quite the recurring role throughthe series as well. It's an interesting
role because it's kind of I supposeI mean that kind of probably skips ahead
to a question, but I'll justask it. What was the audition process
like? First, of course,yeah, I mean, so they wanted

(08:20):
us to, you know, sendin a video talking about our experience and
talking about just you know, whatwe've done with the production side of things,
right because obviously they're looking for someonewith production experience, and so they
had us For me, it wasit was like, talk about your experience,
but also they want to see footageof you holding your camera. So
I got in my little DSLR literally, so they said hold your camera,

(08:41):
you know, and this only cameraI had, so like, they're holding
your camera, I mean want tosee how you look holding the camera from
all angles. So I was justthere holding it, you know, running
around like a three sixty model,and it was you know, just put
it together, sit together with that, and send it to the way.
Man. It was out of myhands from there. And was always kind
of the role of Josey that youwere up for or was it just sort

(09:03):
of like was it kind of likea very open kind of casting props.
Yeah, it was very open.They never mentioned whole said they just they
just mentioned it was a feature reoccurringand so you know, it was like,
okay, cool, it's a featuredbackground. So I mean, it's
okay some screen time. I wasn'treally prepared to do any lines or anything,
and you know, or or orso even have a name, a
character name, you know, andso I just sent that in and then

(09:26):
when we got it, we kindof just the didn't They kept it very
on the hush. We didn't haveno role for the first month, you
know, I was still officially backgroundand then after that month of doing background
work, you know, it's whenthey promoted a select of us. So
there was like one, two,three who who were became four of us
that became core of the of theof the team, and then they actually
gave me the name and bumped meup to that castro for that one episode,

(09:50):
Silvis that you mentioned like you kindof knew the saf day element was
involved to be on a stone,Like what did you kind of know about
this sort of show going because we'veheard from like some people that they only
really had their sides and they kindof would have an idea or some of
it, but a lot of itthat was ailing to them, whereas you're
kind of right there straight away fromthe beginning. So did you maybe have
a more overall idea about what thisshow was going to be or where you

(10:11):
kept in the darkness? Yeah,I mean, we knew it would definitely
be like a turn of events becausewe kind of got glimpse of the scenes
that we were recording, and youknow this rumors between the crew and everything,
but we really didn't have no ideauntil I actually got my hands on
the script and then we're kind ofsorry to piece things a little bit more
together. But even then, likeseeing the final product was really beyond anything

(10:31):
I could have ever like imagined,because you know it was you know how
it is. It's just different,bro. And so I think seeing,
you know, being there with thosequestions kind of added to the adventure of
recording every day, you know,because we don't know the whole scope,
you know, but we don't knowin that moment, and so seeing the
final product, you know, reallyjust piece everything together a lot of questions
we left set with, you know, I'm like, what the heck was

(10:52):
that about? Seeing everything put together? Was like, oh, okay,
it all makes sense. Even then, what the heck was that ending?
You know, like where the helldid it go? Is it gonna wake
up? And everything was a dream? We don't know? You know.
But yeah, we mentioned obviously youwere there from episode one, like how
much of the kind of shows liketolld and style was kind of built in

(11:13):
from those opening days or do youkind of feel it evolved over the time
that you were there on the show? Yeah, I mean definitely. The
I say it like that discreet,like that that ierky. I don't know
how to describe it. It's justa whole new feeling, you know,
like that ierky awkwardness but comedic.Like. It was definitely there from the
first you know time stepping on theset, but we didn't really understand it.

(11:37):
But I think as the more thatwe you know, filmed, the
more that we got involved, themore that feeling became natural to us.
And so we all kind of embodiedthat spirit of what the final product is,
you know, of what the showreally is by the by the last
take and stuff, you know.So it was definitely interesting. It was
definitely introduced to us, but yeah, I think we kind of grew comfortable
in it, and once we kindof understood the assignment, you know,

(11:58):
we kind of did what it did. It was all like film shooting a
TV show within a TV show,Like there you are like holding like the
boom mic everything, and there's likesomeone probably holding a boom mic over like
absolutely, man, it was reallylike this side of like looking at yourself
in the mirror. But obviously youknow, they're the they're the masters at

(12:18):
this craft. So I was reallylooking not only myself, I know a
lot of the other film crew memberswere like, you know, asking the
professionals, Hey am I doing thisright, you know, how do I
look like like just trying to takenotes and you know, to get pointers
from the people who do this everyday. So it's definitely you know,
really I think we all approach itfrom a really respectable way of like,
hey, I want to make surethis is authentic, so I'm looking at
the people that do this for real, you know, so like at least

(12:41):
I know, a couple of peopletold us like that we actually looked like
legit crew members and like even craftyand like other people were getting confused with
whose actual crew and who's you know, the cats and stuff. So it
was it was really neat to seethat kind of you know, unfold before
us. But like you know,I was there working with a lot of
the sound people too that you know, asking them for points and everything,
so they definitely taught me and guidedme along the way. You obviously mentioned

(13:05):
like there was a kind of coregroup of you like there's like Benny Saftda
is this like director, You've gotSamantha Ashley the assistant director, then you've
got like Oscar Avila. Feeling like, what was it like with this like
kind of core team. Did yousort of feel like over the episodes that
you bonded together to kind of createit, because like it's weird. You'll
just watch you guys just like doingbusy work in the background, and like

(13:26):
it must feel weird to just belike we're just gonna keep You're just gonna
kind of keep faking it all.Like what was that little kind of core
team Like yeah, yeah, no, I mean by the end of him
Rod, I felt like we couldactually get together and film something man Like.
We all handled our role so personallyand like, you know, we
were also committed to our role thatby the end of it, we knew
our assignment. You know, weknew like, okay, we're here to

(13:48):
know make sure that we looked likewe're you know, producing this whole thing.
So we definitely as the show progressed, we got a lot closer,
and you know, we even wentout for somebodys and drinks after and stuff,
and we all keep in touch stillhere and there, you know,
online and stuff. So it's definitelyit was definitely cool to see you know,
other people like in our same worldof like of roles and stuff,
and see even beyond that, youknow, how we're both actually and like

(14:11):
like we're on the same level forour careers, you know, like we're
all trying to pursue this thing.We're all taking a different roles and stuff,
and so keeping that energy from thescreen off to the you know,
it's kind of it's helping us growevery day. For what was that like
the downtime, Like, because Ican imagine you're there for a good few
weeks and so on, Like whatwas it like kind of like shootings finished
for the day, like off yougo out and enjoy time, Like like

(14:33):
what did you kind of get upto? Man? I mean, so
for the first month, I hadto drive back home. So we were
filming in Espanola, New Mexico,right, and which is like it's like
a little lesson. It's like aboutthree hours a little lesson, three hours
away from home. I'm an album. I was in an Albuquerque, So
that first month before the casting role, when I was still background, you
know, would go home long dayson say I just want to go back

(14:54):
home, you know, go tothe same stuff. So that for the
first half it wasn't really I willsay as luxurius, you know, we're
just there to work do our thing. You know, I'm here the part
of the team and go back home. But then as we kind of evolved
into the production everything I remember ourit wasn't until like the last day of
filming is when all the casts,you know, all the subcast members got
together, like, hey, let'scelebrate it was it's the last day,

(15:16):
you know, let's we went toSanta Fe, got some drinks and like
you know, got some food andjust kind of came together as one last
supper, you know. But downtownon set was fun. You know,
we kind of all just kicked it, you know, by crafty, just
talking each other, sharing personal storiesand you know, just the art of
connecting with the community that you knowthat you're placed in. I think it
makes all this very special, youknow. And how did the kind of

(15:37):
community greet you? Because I canimagine it's maybe slightly disruptive to their local
community, like there's like people likefilm cruise trucks like life pass through or
was it like I was just reallyexciting or then does it get excited and
aware off? What was it thekind of community reaction? I mean,
I think it was it was veryI want to say, imbrasive. You

(15:58):
know, they they understand their assignment, like I said, they understood that
we were there playing as playing asthem, and so they knew that,
you know, if we're asking questions, they're very patient with us, you
know, and it was very professional, but at the same time we allowed
it to become personal in the senseof you know, authenticity. And I
think there's a lot of good peopleon set that just made the days easier.
You know, they love what theydo, and like anything else,

(16:21):
when when you love something, it'sa thousand times easier, you know,
And so I'm very grateful for theopportunity to be around, you know,
just people that love what they do, you know, the directors of Safti
Brothers, you know, Nathan anda Mastall and everybody, like it was
just beautiful. Everybody. Everybody hada heart in it, and you know,
being around that definitely bled it toeverybody's interaction and stuff. Yeah,
of course there's long days like anyother big production. Family, people fight

(16:45):
and everything, but at the endof the day, you know, it
got done and that's the beauty ofeverything. You got to be there when
like the titular Curse was was castin that kind of parking lot. Can
you speak to what it was liketo kind of shoot that day in this
Espanola kind of carp car. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean it
was such like because I used toI grew up in New Mexico, right,

(17:06):
So growing up in New Mexico,I would always every summer growing up,
we would go to camp. We'dgo camping and Trauma and Tauma in
New Mexico is like a little outsideof Spaniola, so we would always pass
through the same exact like roads thatwe were filming on. And so me
just being on set, like seeingthis from a different perspective, you know,
from the production side, it wasjust a trip for me. You
know, like I was really justsurprised that like, you know, there

(17:30):
was a big production in this smalltown that it really didn't like you know,
like it was I knew people likewho lived there, and like you
know, we would always knew existed, but we just never had that kind
of you know motion in the citylike that. So it was really special
for me, man, you know, just being from New Mexico and and
kind of seeing that other people wereappreciating the land you know for what it

(17:51):
like you know, in a ina in the stage of the world,
you know, like it's it wassuper cool to see because we never really
had that exposure, and you know, being on set, you know,
it was very hard with the daywe filmed that Man, the New Mexico
Sun in the desert is no jokefor show, but it was really fun,
you know, like the kind ofbeing surrounded by so many, so
many talented and passionate people like yousaid, it kind of it doesn't I

(18:12):
don't want to say it's competitive,but it pushes you to kind of perform
at your very best as well.You know, It's like I'm here in
front of all these people that lovewhat they do. They have a track
record for doing what they do atthe highest level. I want to make
sure they know that I belong here. So how could I, you know,
play my role, do what Igot to do, play my part.
You know, we're all avengers,we all play a different piece in
the puzzle and stuff like that.So it kind of pushes you to actually

(18:34):
to reach the highest standard within yourself, but also sit back and learn because
this is the greatest school that I'llever you know, like I'm here first
hand experience, learning from the gradesin their craft. So I'm here to
shut up and pay attention, youknow, but yeah, it was very
great. Man. One of theone of the scenes where you didn't shut
off and is one of my kindof favorite scenes is like when Whitney like

(18:57):
comes up to you and she's likeyou eavesdropping, And I was talking about
it with my partner early we watchedlike the Cars together and like, I
just remember you just having this brilliant, like slightly cheeky smile, maybe a
bit of a shitty and grin andat the same time and it's just like,
sorry, what were saying, Andit's just like it's just it's I
kind of put my finger on howto describe her, but it's definitely like

(19:18):
a cheeky, kind of chappy thinglike you talk about sort of like that
scene and so on and what todo. Yeah, I mean I think
a lot of that was again justjust feeding off the improv. Aut of
it was improv you know, theykind of just set it out for me.
And seeing seeing Emma Stone just doher thing, you know, she
it really inspired me to Okay,she's locked in, I gotta lock in

(19:41):
and you know, ignore everything else. This is my role, this is
what I'm doing, this is whatI've been to sign, so let's just
go into it, you know.So it was very first nerve wrecky.
You know, this is like thisis Emma's Stone, like, you know
this she's She's you know, Gwen, Gwen and Spider Man. You know,
She's It's all these greats that Ilooked at La La Land, you
know, like all these movies thatI grew up that made me love this

(20:02):
thing. You know, seeing herin front of me, not only seeing
her, but like having conversation withher was was a huge deal for me.
So the first couple of takes,you know, ask the crew,
they'll tell you we're a little bitshaky, you know, the first the
nerves coming out and everything. Butby the fourth and fifth of it,
you know, like the later takes, I kind of got the hang of
it. Everything just kind of alignedand we were rolling. Man. So
yeah, it was, like Isaid, I really just played off the

(20:22):
part of they wanted me to.You know, I'm me dropping, but
you can't let her know because yourdirector is telling me something. But you
know, so it's kind of likethat separation of like what do I do.
I'm kind of cop but at thesame time, I can't let my
guard down what I've been a signand so like it was just it was
it was such a fun and naturalmoment of like, you know, just
rolling with her and how she approachedme and trying to match that with the

(20:45):
character that I created. We'll say, you know, it was a great,
great movement. So that kind ofquestion he was listening and would probably
be that is the I don't know. I don't know if I could say,
man and I love it, likeI want to know. It was
like one of the improv lines,like I like that bit where it's like,
oh no, I'm greasing the knobsand whenever I and I rewatched it

(21:06):
and like head of interview and it'slike that man does love greasing the noves
and so on, Like did thatcome from like the improv aspect of just
like watching, Like by that pointyou've done a good few episodes and you're
seeing how these people work and you'relike, that's kind of a funny line
greasing the knobs, like yeah,yeah, yeah, you're greasing the knobs
and stuff. So that was actuallythe term that the professionals told me.
You know, So we were talkingabout the scene. We're talking about like,

(21:30):
hey, she's gonna come up toyou. You're listening, but you
can't tell she's listening, and youknow, just work that out. And
again like I'm here to learn,I'm a suit out of the game.
And so the sound people there toldme like, oh, just how you're
greasing the noves and like when theywhen they told me that, I knew
that was like the term they actuallyuse. So at the same time,
how can I use it? Andlike, you know, in the response
to her attacking me, you know, is that something like the sound folk

(21:53):
would be like, yeah, itkind of happens, like you do overhear
these things like it's just part ofthe workplace, malicious or not exactly it
was exactly. It was definitely likereflection of what actually goes on, but
at the same time it was usedin such a practical and really perfect way
for that situation. You know,definitely like what work can you hear kind
of thoughts on on the dynamics betweensort of your character and kind of Whitney

(22:17):
and Ashers through the through the show, because like they definitely seem to have
an eye on you today. Yeah, definitely, I definitely think they're onto
me as far as you know,being a Benny's little henchman. You know,
we both have the magic curls andyou know, where as a hat.
But I think I definitely think they'reonto me, you know, and
I'm Josset is definitely he he's thereto you know, produce and capture the

(22:41):
sound. But at the same time, like you know, Benny is his
boss, right and so like he'sdefinitely there, like he wants to cater
to him, he wants to makesure he doesn't lose his job. You
know, this is a big project, some big funding, you know,
all that good stuff. At thesame time, it's like he's che he
said, he's checky man, likehe's gonna get what what gets done.
He has an assignment. And Idefinitely think, you know, they're their
suspicion is going on to me,and I don't know if I have their

(23:02):
full trust as I did, youknow, And everyone loves workplace gossip and
they can like it's just everyone canrelate to that. You're you're the most
relatable character in that whole show.Yeah, it's hilarious. I love it.
In in sort of episode seven,in a very kind of different tone,
when you start to see these kindof recorded confessionals from like Whitney and
Ashes, they're both being kind ofmanipulated and being manipulated about their relationship to

(23:27):
kind of create this drama. Likethey're really powerful scenes from from both Stone
and The Fielder, Like, whatwas it like to watch those kind of
quite raw scenes being shot as likeyou're jose and at the same time you
you're kind of taking it all inseeing some of these amazing professionals and action.
I was wholeset when I needed tocross the end of the camera and

(23:48):
as soon as I got out theframe, I think I just completely took
off that hat and was really justwitnessing, you know, greatness in the
room. You know, there's beena lot of times where we were on
set and you know, Emma wasprepping for her big monologue scene and like,
you know, like him, herjust telling us, like her assistants
telling us, you know, quietdown, or just setting the room for
her preparation just really allowed me torespect everything she does and where everybody does

(24:12):
just a whole new level, youknow, Like that really showed us their
professionalism, their passion behind all ofthis, and so yeah, man,
I just I couldn't help myself learnand sit back and observe. And you
know, if I wasn't on screen, if they didn't even as I'll say
it, I don't want to beany much longer, you know, I'm
here to like you know, it'ssoak it all in and embrace it for
sure. What would you say theone thing that you learned from both like

(24:33):
Amma Stone and Nathan Fielder and kindof what would you do that one thing
from each of them that, whetherthey shared it with you or you observed
that you would take away from Yeah, I mean, first and foremost,
they showed me the passion behind allof this. They really showed me that
you could have fun, you know, amongst your peers on a professional level,
you know, like there is reallyno identity if you don't if there's

(24:57):
no identity of the project, ifyou can't embody it personally, you know.
And I think throughout the whole filming, the whole production, we were
able to see snippets of their personalidentity, their personality right, and how
it kind of bled and affected thewhole production as a whole. You know.
So it was really cool to seethem all screens, you know,
hearing their their laughing in the conversationsjust kind of when to see how human

(25:18):
they are, you know, likewe're also alike, and like, you
know, we've only seen them onthe big screen that I feel like like
every other celebrity, you know,because that separation between human and celebrity,
but like when it comes down toit, you know, we're all kind
of alike, you know. Soit was really cool to just see them
on a personal level, and likeI said, really seeing how their identity,
their personality kind of shaped the productionwhat it was. Man. Absolutely

(25:41):
and obviously your partner in crime onthe shooting is Benny Safty Like I loved
him and this like I think youcan take it's I'm you know, old
enough, like I remember he wasjust like a director uncut movie. Speak
about it with one of your costars a few weeks ago, Smith Fashwars,

(26:03):
Like I love that video. Idon't know if you saw a few
weeks ago where like Benny Saftie ison some random red carpet for some event
and he just seems to be likestill dressed as Douggy, He's got their
hair, and he just looked likehe was deep in like it, fully
embraced and committed to bent like thatwas such a hysterical video. Absolutely,
man, Benny's great man, He'ssuch a at the depth to Benny.
I don't think the world has seenyet. I really do believe that there's

(26:26):
so much more to Benny Safti andlike, you know, both the Safti
brothers that we know of and uncutgems, the one with the Robert Pattison
I forget the name, but thatthey did that one together. Yea,
yeah, good times, yes,that one. You know, like like
this electro snippets of what and eventhe curse. You know, we're still
kind of unfolding what they have tooffer. But like I said, on

(26:47):
set, man seeing his ranging,his diversity, how he can lock in
from professional you know, he's actuallydirecting to like, you know, a
goofball, corny director that's just thereto recavoc on the show. Like,
just seeing that in person again wasvery inspired. I'm really excited to see
what else they produce and continue toyou know, put on for us.
Talking of inspiring, is he someonethat you kind of see, you know,

(27:07):
like a kind of role model forthe future. You're seeing, as
you mentioned someone at the beginning that'slike interested in writing, acting, direct
and producing all that stuff. Likehe seems like he is he's always done
these different things, and as yousay, there's so many elements to him
that we still to see. Doyou kind of see him as being that
kind of example of how it canbe done because he got really started in
those low budget films like like Eavanknows absolutely, Yeah, No, He's

(27:33):
definitely someone that I really again notcompare, but I like to kind of
see tell myself that it is possibleto do, you know, like him,
Adam Sandler, like you know,all these other director and actors,
you know, like like there's alot of great people who have done it
right. And so seeing in workingwith Benny so close, it kind of
you know, put things in arealistically for me, it's like, okay,

(27:56):
look look look what he's doing isit takes the holy level. Of
course, he's all the he hasthe experience, but it's not impossible,
man. And seeing the works thathe has to produced, from uncut Gems
to Oppenheimber like you know, liketwo different hats, but this man wears
them awe and he wears them personally, and you know, I really,
like I said, it's really inspiringto see someone be so passionate that they

(28:17):
you know, it kind of becomesa persona for the duration of the other
production. Yeah, Like what wasthe kind of like, you know,
Nathan Fielder was like the kind ofmain director of all, Like what was
his kind of directing style like inSomeone? And how did he sort of
manage the set? And like anactor like yourself, Like you're someone that's
quite young, Like are you someonesitting there thinking I want my director to
give me lots of advice, putme in the right direction, or just

(28:41):
like go, hey, he's castme, Like I know, I'm trusted
and that trust is more than enough. Like what was it kind of like
in you know, Yeah, Iknow absolutely, I think so Nathan's Fielder.
His directing style is very he likehe goes with it, like what
he goes with his gut. Youknow. I feel like he's very instinctive.
He's very he trusts himself more thananything, but he also trusts the

(29:02):
people around him to help him makedecisions, you know, and he will
when he when he believes in something, he will definitely fight for it.
And you know that again that's justinspired within itself. But at the same
time, there's that collaborative spirit thatyou know, we're all there to work
together. So seeing him, youknow, do that, you know,
it was really cool. And likeagain she showed me that these are our
professionals. You know, I'm herefor a reason. This is my moment,

(29:22):
you know where they're really gonna tellme to pack my bags and this
is not for me or you know, step up to the play and and
you know, see see what whatI got. And so being around them
when they set up the scene,he kind of he broke it down with
me when we're filming that scene outsidewith with the with Whitney, and he
told me, like, you knowthis was gonna happen. He's gonna come
here and do this, and likehe was very blunt, remind you,
this is my first time really actingin front of the camera, really do

(29:45):
anything at this caliber. So Iyou know, I kind of had to
just wear that. I'm good atadapting to my situations and you know,
I just kind of ran with it. So like, you know, it
was definitely an internal call to ahigher standard. And again being around these
people that are there, say okay, do I have what it takes.
Well, we're about to find out, you know, singer swim situation.

(30:06):
You know, you have to reallydig, and like I said, it
was really just a moment for meto even prove to myself that I can't
do this, you know that Ido belong here and I could you know,
contribute to this in my own way, you know. So it was
definitely, like I said, definitelypushed me, and it definitely just you
know, it wanted me to begreater being around people that are so genuinely

(30:27):
great themselves, you know. So, yeah, you'd mentioned obviously New Amma
Stone and ban A before sort oflike shooting this, Like were you kind
of familiar with with kind of NathanNathan. I had definitely heard of his
projects, you know, especially afterI got castd I went back to do
my research, you know, butI didn't really I had never really dove
into his stuff. But I haveseen you know, stuff online for Nathan

(30:49):
for you or the rehearsal really andthat's the one I kind of saw.
And like, once I saw therehearsal, I understood his comedic you know,
stance a little bit more. Andso being that I'm glad, I
went back in and did my homeworkbefore going on set, because that kind
of helped me, helped frame whatI was getting myself into. You know
a lot of the things that kindof made sense once I saw his personality

(31:11):
stuff. Yeah, and what isthat kind of is is there much difference
between like kind of you see himon even like advertising the Curse and you
know Nathan for you the rehearsal,Like how different is that to you know,
bolk standard Nathan that's at the crafttable next to or you know,
how different are they? I thinkthey're different in the sense of execution,

(31:34):
right. Once he's out in hispublic when he's out promoting, I think
he's he understands the assignment of promotionand marketing, right, and he embodies
that personality. And he's a professionalthat when he's on set, when he's
figuring out something, he has theyou know, he has a had a
director, he has a head ofa problem solver, you know. And
so I think the types of hatshe's wares are different, but they all

(31:55):
live under the same umbrella of youknow, like just passion, dedication really
to all of this. You know, he's just a hard work in what
he does. And like I said, he's able to navigate the different waters
in such a perfect and professional way, you know. So it's definitely inspiring,
Like, and I became a fan. I became more of a fan
of Nathan, like after working withhim and you know, just seeing how
he really does everything on a generalscopia. Did you have a favorite Nathan

(32:20):
for you sketch when you were doingyour your research Nathan for you? Not
really, I kind of dove moreinto the rehearsal, so I kind of
I saw a little bit Nathan foryou, but the rehearsal was really the
one that you know, Okay,this is hilarious. Yeah, what was
your kind of initial reaction to seeingthe kind of curse for the first time
and going on that ten episode experiencegetting the full full story man, the

(32:42):
curse. Man, I don't evenknow where to start. It was definitely
mind like I say, mind bending, genre bending, Like it was definitely
when I thought it was going tobe about something, it just took a
whole leftern and they included different elementsand it was really cool to see again,
like just seeing what the days thatwe were there like consisted of in
the bigger picture. Also seeing like, you know, my city, my

(33:06):
state being represented in such a differentway. You know, it's like,
okay, I can see like becauseit's true. You know, there's a
lot of people who go out thereto try to gentrify communities and sometimes we
don't know, like you know,the harm it does on the community around
them. You know. So thefact that that was a real issue being
spoken about, and like you know, with A twenty four and everybody involved,
it was really just inspiring to bea part of. And now it's

(33:29):
like, okay, how can wemake sure the stories of those communities are
told, you know, in thesame frame. You know. So it
was definitely inspiring. You know,as you say, it's a state that's
really close to your heart, andyou know you've touched on some of those
themes like of representation and so on, and you know there's that gentrification,
white saviors and so on, Likeyou know, what was it like to

(33:50):
kind of see them play out becauseit's one of those ones. There's been
a debate about the show of like, you know, there's these themes within
the show, but are they justthere on a superficial level, And it's
that kind of is a meta actualthing of like that's what it's often like
in these shows that people are makingof like, oh, we really want
to talk about how important you knowthese things are, but actually, you

(34:12):
know the amount of times that theyin the fake show, there's someone like,
oh, we're going to make thatperson work at a coffee shop.
Oh we've got this person here,but actually you're we've got fake representation behind
the house. Actually it's just somewhite guys that's buying the house. Like
it's there's an interesting debate of like, actually, is it doing real representation
or is it actually doing fake representation? But that's actually the real representation what

(34:37):
goes through If that makes sense,Yeah, I think I mean, like
anything else, man, there's manyperspectives and just different lanes from different points
of view, right, depending onwhere you come from or where you live.
You know, someone that lives thereis different from someone that doesn't live
there. You know, That's whatthat just goes on in a general sense
of life we all have. We'reall different universes experiencing one shared world,
you know. And so with that, I think the show doesn't great job

(35:00):
at showing the both sides, right, I really I really, like I
said, I really do respect thefact that they were able to point the
truth, you know, the goodand the ugly, with the you know,
like I said, the White Savior, but also with the people that
are that are you know that arethat are I say that I live there,
you know, the people that arepart of the community there. And
so I think from what they understood, right, being a lot of people

(35:22):
from out of state, you know, like and they were still so knowledgeable,
you know, and they treated thiswith with a very very respectable you
know, they wanted to honor thecity and the people. But again they
spoke from their perspective. I stillthink there is another perspective that not even
I could speak for, you know, because I don't live in that city.
And you know, there's a differentperspective that sometimes in anything are unheard

(35:46):
of because you know, they don'thave the production and money, they don't
have, you know, the theability to share their story and so and
that goes for anything. You know, like there's movies about about you know,
like old Mexican movies, how mexLi portraser in a way, right,
we have like African Americans libertat aerin way like you know, like
who is in charge of building thatperspective. And again with that, there's

(36:07):
a lot of power and influence thatyou have to be careful with with that
because you're literally shaping perspectives. AndI feel like, again Hollywood has just
painted a single perspective throughout the durationof the existence. But I think as
we're growing and and seeing past thesethese these borderline problems and seeing, like
you said, like seeing a biggerpicture of this, I think there's people

(36:29):
like A twenty four and directors likeyou know, the people that from The
Curse and the other projects that aretaking that into consideration when accommodating to these
products. You know. So Idefinitely there's growth. I like anything else,
I think we could do better,But like I said, perspective and
and it's it's just it's it's it'sso many perspectives, you know. So
you mentioned you've also got kind oflike family relations out there sorting what were

(36:54):
their kind of reactions to kind ofshow, because I suppose i've I'm assume
many of the reactions i've I've beenfrom it look like me and others.
But I'm always thinking, like Iremembered watching the show first and going,
oh that it was made up,like time, like it's a real place,
no way that this kind of likeit's a real thing. And I
remember hearing for someone, Oh that'sactually is a real place. That kind

(37:15):
of blew my mind a little bit. Yeah, it was Again, it
was very cool to see our stayand you know, our our just our
backyard really represent like you know,scene at the big stage. But at
the same time, it was kindof confusing for a lot of people that
didn't understand it. You know,like a lot of a lot of people

(37:35):
don't really live in that world.Like it's just a whole different you know,
the type of humor, the typeof like, you know, just
the script writing, everything just didn'tmaybe my not resonated with the personal interest.
And that's not to say anything aboutlike the production or anything. It's
just what people like, you know, And so I think it was definitely
like a like a a lot ofhome. I have a lot of friends
who didn't really like, we're intothe show because this not just not the

(38:00):
style, you know, I say, my friends that were like it was
it was too much for me towatch, Like I got I got a
couple episodes in and it was justI struggled with the awkwardness. I love
that sort of thing. But Isaid it to someone else, I needed
to watch that show once a week. Like I remember as you were saying
that you just don't know what's maybegoing on, Like there's a bit of

(38:20):
like it's that guy that has likethe gun, I'm like, when the
fuck is the gun going to gooff? That sort of stuff, and
just everything, there's always just everythingcomes with the stress and there's never one
more like I can just relax intothis, I'm going to put another one
on and stuff. It was.It was definitely. I think it's gonna
be a show that I don't thinkas many people probably seen it as I
would have hoped for for a showlike this, I can imagine it being

(38:42):
one of those ones that there's gonnabe a second wave and then a third
wave of people that continue to findthis one, and it'll be one of
those ones you'll see an article oflike ten shows people have slept on and
so on, and hopefully, Man, that's definitely the goal. And that's
definitely said because we see the potentialthis and we and we we love it,
you know. I definitely think that'ssomething that we are looking forward to.

(39:02):
But yeah, I think there's,like I said, some people just
had that disconnection, and hopefully itgirls to you know, be able to
connect and people john more interested withit as we progress. For sure,
I always think of back I gotme and the guy a co host this
we were lucky enough to see likeuncut gems like a surprise like Screaming at
London Film Festival a few years ago. I remembered like I knew what to
expect going in, I'd seen theirfilms prevously, but I remember just being

(39:25):
like so stress watching, especially towardsthe end of that film, like I
can't take this, I can't takethis, but I'm loving that it's putting
me in this position. I rememberjust every so often the would just be
people just set up and leave thescreen for either just just to personal taste
and so on. And it's filmslike this where you either love these sorts
of things or you're just like it'snot for me. I want something.

(39:46):
I'm gonna put the office on thesethings exactly the office or yeah, exactly,
but yeah, it's it's definitely youhave to have a specific like interest
in this kind of stuff to likehard skin as well, and you know,
just like a you have to beyou know, maybe on anti magic,
anti anxiety medication, something like exactlysomething. No, but it's been
a very fun show man, Andlike you said, the awkward experiences,

(40:08):
the fact that it's able to takeit, like take it from outside the
screen and kind of bring you intothat awkwardness with it. I think it's
very special in itself, and it'sjust exploring new emotions with us, you
know, I think within ourselves,it's kind of putting us, like you
said, in different situations that it'sI like it. I love it man.
Yeah, I'm the same like Istuff like this when like I want

(40:29):
more of that, Like you knowthat puts me in that awkward position where
I'm like, I can't believe youput me in that place. Is you
know, it's like not just youknow of say, part of the show
is passive living, but people domuch passive watching like something's on they're playing
on their fone mind numbing, Yeahit's mine numbing. They're not even appreciating
it. And what this kind ofpeople do that with with that show because
you're like, oh my god,where's this going, where's this going?

(40:50):
And you know, even up untilthat last minute, you never knew where
it was going, and it's soweird to get that experience. Yeah,
No, it was definitely a rollercoaster, and it's not the really cooler
that goes in the same loops.It's a lot of fun. Man.
You mentioned obviously A twenty four wherewe're behind this this sort of show,
Like, what are some of yourkind of favorite A twenty four films or

(41:12):
yeah, I'm in A twenty four. I've I definitely gained interest in them
since Spring Breakers and I never reallysaw it, but the fact that they
got a lot of old Disney starsand put them in this definitely tell your
age Cagary with like happy Feet,the Disney stars and so on like this.
Like I have a feeling like ifI find your like Letterbox or something

(41:32):
like high school Musical would be inthat like top four. Maybe No,
I don't think it would. Personally, I definitely watching it, but now
you know, after seeing and takingyou know note of what this art is
at the highest level for sure.But no A twenty four. I think
I've always again just that the wholenew style and visual that they brought to

(41:54):
the industry. Man, it's justin the storytelling itself. They spoke on
stories that you know, wasn't itjust felt like a fresh breath of air.
They were speaking on things and doingthings that haven't been done in such
a beautiful way, you know,and like the fact that they were doing
that, it really caught my attention. And so one of my favorite twenty
four films is Jonah Hill's Mid Nineties, and so that was like that really

(42:15):
was the one that sparked that seedof like, oh I got to get
til you know, like like justthat culture of validate culture really helped me
dive into it a lot more.Moonlight, you know, was another great
one that was just both visually stunningfilms that I loved, and like I
said, it's just kind of sparkeda whole new seed of what this could
be for me personally, but alsoas a fan and like someone who enjoys

(42:38):
this, you know. So theydefinitely helped elevate me to where I am
now. And like I said,I just I just love that they talk
on stories that it's just not youryour general you know, industry production.
You know, it's different, man, And I think that's what makes it
authentic, you know, if youask me the A in a twenty four

(42:58):
cents for authentic and you know,it's it's it's really like, I know,
it's cool, it's inspiring, man, it's really inspired. So what's
kind of next on the horizon forfor yourself? Teaj? Yeah, So
right now, like I said,I've just been big on just really observing
and studying everything from every angle andit just kind of settling down and seeing

(43:19):
how I want to approach, youknow, making a career out of this
for long term. And so withthat, I'm sorry to notice that scripts
are gold, right, and sobecause of that, I want to be
able to I says, not onlyprovide opportunities for myself, but also prior
opportunities for friends that I know arein this industry that look like me,

(43:40):
you know, provide opportunities for peopleback home that share the similar story.
But with all that, we need, we need a script to start,
you know, And so with that, I think, you know, I
really want to dive into the scriptwriting space just to be able to work
with people and like you know,create and not only create, but reflect
and retell some of our stories thatare your tour, our our culture and

(44:00):
our and you know, our ourancestors and and you know just everybody align
aligned to in our family and stuff. So with that, I think I
want to start, you know,getting more into my writing bag, learning
how to do a little bit moreof that, and just starting producing some
of our own stories, you know, acting as well. You know,
acting stuff pays the bills, youknow, and like there's other stuff that
you know, we need to survive, especially out here in La Man,

(44:22):
things get kind of expensive. Butso there's definitely stuff that would be kind
of juggling at the same time.But at the core of everything, at
the core of like you know,my love for the for the film,
my love for the stories, Ireally want to dive more into the script
writing and making things happen. Man. Hopefully won't be long before we've got
you back to talk about it,yeah, man, hopeful, absolutely,

(44:42):
And kind of where can people stayup to today on kind of like social
media and what's coming kind of nextfor you or there are these future future
plans, Absolutely so they could.So I'm mainly right now on Instagram.
You know, I have like someTikTok and stuff that I've always just really
used like my personal brand just youknow, I really just use it for
fun I'm traveling, you know,just like kind of that I say,

(45:04):
like that personal blog vibe. Iguess you could say, yeah so,
but for now, like they canconnect me there. It's just at DJ
Adviso my first and last ing andI'll be posting projects whenever they're done,
projects, you know, stuff likethat. It's gonna be my main form
of communication. I'm working on likea production company myself called Dorado and it's
it's called we want to do awebsite where we have you know, post

(45:27):
everything. There's kind of funnel moreviewers and like you know, we'll be
on YouTube and every other platform aswell. But Doratto is going to be
the production company where we you know, have a lot of friends who do
music. We want to start producingour own music on films, on musical
films, you know. So well, yeah, manaus a lot of stuff
in the works right now that I'mreally excited to dive more into, especially
being part of, you know,big projects like The Curse to kind of

(45:50):
put everything too into into perspective forus, for sure. I'm excited for
you. Well, it's been anabsolute pleasure to have you on DJ and
then to to learn about the manbehind the shitty and spy well and agrees
theves and pleasure. Thank you somuch for coming on, man, Thank
you so much. It has beena pleasure. Thank you for all that
you're doing. Man. You know, I definitely think that your your heart
and your appreciation for this stuff.It makes a difference. And and you

(46:14):
know, viewers around the world,you know, and I love seeing other
people that do what they love,and you know, you do it so
greatly, you do it so appreciatiically, So I'm like, yeah, man,
just keep doing it, man.And like you said, we'll see
each other soon. Man,