Watch Party S1 E25 | Ep. 54 - The D-Con Chamber

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The show has been done.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
We've come.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
It's the conch ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, trekkies
and trekkers. Welcome back to another watch party of the
Decon Chamber. I'm your host, Dominic keating Joiners always with
my co host mister Connor Trenier in the house, and

(00:26):
we are delighted to have back in the chair. Our
dear friend mister Michael Dawn is joining us to talk
about his his only directorial episode of Enterprise, which was
a great shame because two Days and two Nights, which
I think is episode twenty five according to my notes,

(00:49):
is a really fantastic episode and really fun. How did
you directed before, Michael, hadn't you surely with yeah Deep
Space Nines?

Speaker 3 (01:00):
Right?

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, I did. I can't remember it. This came about
interestingly enough, and it adds I mean, it adds a
little something to it. Is that when they came up
with our last movie, that was the movie that that
we didn't we weren't contracted.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
We thought that would have killed the end, the whole
that last Yeah, Nemesis wasn't great.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Was it?

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Wow?

Speaker 1 (01:25):
We thought that was going to kill the frenchise.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, what a wonderful episode we've just had.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Think Nemesis didn't kill it surely and surprise anyway.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
No, no, we and so in our negotiation because uh,
and this is this is, this is the facts. I
read the script and I wasn't very happy with the script.
I went, you know, just I mean, number one thing,
there wasn't Nemesis. You mean, yeah, yeah, there wasn't much
war fit it at all, right, And I kind of went, well, oh,

(02:04):
you know, and so but they said, well, what do
you want? And I said I wanted to direct, and
they said and I was supposed to do three episodes
of Enterprise of Enterprise or three or four And it
was my fault because and you should for the future,

(02:26):
just so you know. Uh, they said, well, look we'll
give you one guaranteed and three payer play. And I
should have said no guarantee, and so they I did
the one and they paid me off for the other three.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Really horrible.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
But you know, I mean, as an artist, obviously disappointing
you want to work.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
It's extremely disappointed, extremely disappointed because you kind of go,
you mean, I was that bad that.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
I know you've held like.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Saying we don't want to see him ever again, it
was just terrible.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
And I'm going it wasn't wasn't it was? It was
bloody good?

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Uh, I thought, I But then and then also they said, uh,
my agents called him and said, look, what the hell
is going on? What? And they said, Scott Bakula hated
Michael that's what bush. Yeah, so that's why they didn't

(03:34):
want to Yeah, yeah, that.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Was they manufactured.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
Oh that's pretty that's pretty rude to use Scott's name.
Uh yeah, that fashion and if he if he ever
got wind of it, and he might.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
You know what I had talked to Scott. Yeah, god, yeah,
we saw him. You know, he was at he was
in London at Patrick's place and had a lovely time,
you know, And and I knew it wasn't true. I mean,
you know, Scott was you know, everybody on that show. Uh.
The actors were consummate professionals, and they just there wasn't

(04:14):
there wasn't stuff going on.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
There was going on.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
The only interestingly, here's another interesting part. When we went
through the casting process, I said, they said, well, I said, well,
what are you looking for for this character, which is
Linda Park's love interest, And they said, we're looking for
just a regular guy, just a just a regular kind

(04:41):
of guy. And uh, and this guy came in, regular guy,
nailed the you know, the the part I mean, and
I went, he's the guy. And then another role was
Scott Backula's kind of love interest.

Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
And there was a lady that I so you.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Didn't cast day Young? She was because they used her before,
hadn't they? Yeah, okay, it's been in a few episodes
of EST nine and the next Gen.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
I don't know about next gen maybe some of the
next gen.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
So done one.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, yeah, And so I said, we were looking. They said,
what do you think, Mike? I said, well, this Stephanie Romanov,
who I knew was was great, perfect, wonderful actress. And
they were like, well, we don't know.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
And then here's is that Brannon Rick.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Brannon Mary Howard and Rick wasn't even really involved in
the casting except that I was walking out because we
haven't chosen her yet. And they came up, drove up
in a in a card and said, in Michael, we
cast day Young as this part.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
And I went, do you even mess her?

Speaker 2 (05:53):
Never?

Speaker 1 (05:54):
Never?

Speaker 2 (05:55):
And and she had done she They sent a video
and I went, well, you know, she's wrong for the part.
And then they hired instead of the guy, they hired
this guy who was really hot in those days. He
played he was on some HBO or some cable show
and he played a like a Russian. If you look

(06:16):
at a who it is, you'll know it is and anyway,
and I went, but that's not right. You know that
he's not right for it. And they went away.

Speaker 1 (06:26):
Well they weren't awful. I mean, I mean, have me
seeing the episode, I mean, you know, what did you
Is there anything about their performances that or their interpretations
of the roles that you were like, now, that's not
what I saw at all?

Speaker 2 (06:40):
Well, day isn't. It wasn't at that time an older
lady And that's fine. It's not about the age.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
It was age appropriate though for Scott's interests as it
were not.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
She had to be in a bathing suit and she
had to be like an angeknew.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Are you well okay? I mean and actually get some
wheeze here, because I mean, yeah, that's that is early
two thousand's, late nineties TV where you know the guy
is fifty five and the girls twenty eight? I mean,
is that what you and is that what you saw.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
I mean, that's what they saw.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
That's what they saw.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
I didn't. It wasn't. I said, well, what do you
want for this? What we want? And they brought in
a number of people, and this lady Stephanie Romanov was
the one who kind of nailed it all right. She
had done She played Jacqueline Kennedy in that movie Thirteen Days.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
Oh, I know exactly, man, Yeah, she.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
Was not twenty five. She wasn't twenty five.

Speaker 1 (07:47):
Steve Kulp was in that, of course, wasn't. He played
Bobby Kennedy.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Who he was so the guy that they hired to
play Linda Parks. He didn't even learn his lines. Oh,
he didn't learn his.

Speaker 1 (08:01):
Line, but the additional general.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
For for the when he came into work and they
looked at me, well what are you going to do?
And I went And then we had a thing with
Day where I said, Day, this has to be this
and this and this and this and and she and
I kind of got into it. And then they came
back and said, Michael, you got to reshoot Day's stuff
because it was supposed to be this.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
And didn't they have an idea that they wanted that
sort of relationship to be sort of ala Hitchcock, that
they wanted some sort of tension there.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
That you know, she didn't want to do. She didn't
want to do the tension.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
She didn't know.

Speaker 3 (08:42):
And I said, but.

Speaker 2 (08:43):
I kind of and I kind of yelled at her,
I said, you have to.

Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
After anyway, so.

Speaker 4 (08:51):
The young man had to learn this other language that
he decided not to bother, not to bother two si
tusn Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Was he was? He just goggled the gooking? Was he
making it up? Was he? Yeah? I mean, God bless him,
because you know, I mean I wasn't it didn't stand
out that he's talking nonsense. Well, I mean, whenever I
saw Linda ever have to learn that stuff on the page,
I was like, oh, thank god, I don't have to
do that.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
Well.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
The thing was, Linda was so good.

Speaker 1 (09:24):
She's very good.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, but it didn't it didn't really. She was right
there and whenever he's talking gobbled the book, she'd wait
and listen, and then she'd come in and it was,
you know.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, that scene in the cafe where she first first
talks to the horizons.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
Carabatas lives.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
They did. They were great. They were professional actors, you
could tell.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yeah, and they had just in case they had some
of the dialogue written on there in their day.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
They did on the ever all right, but.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
Now those are the guys that I hired, and they said, okay,
we'll take those guys. And they were terrific, wonderful anyway,
So that leads into the meat of the of the series,
I mean, of the of the episode.

Speaker 1 (10:16):
Should we sort of let's we in the in the
In these watch parties, we do sort of chronologically go through,
you know, the show. So the teaser, we draw lots
to see who's going to go down to this planet Riser.
Everyone drew lots. You had the same chance as the others.
So we draw lots and uh and lucky Malcolm and

(10:37):
Trip get to get to go down. Well, how we
choose to relax in our own business? My god, I mean,
they are hot and bothered. It's we'll get to that.
I have to say. It's the one time there's no
Malcolm anywhere in sight in that bar. It's just it's pathetic, really,

(10:58):
it really is.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
Oh my god, it's a lot.

Speaker 1 (11:01):
So we're all going to go. The captain he doesn't
want to go because you know, he's just stoic and
he needs to look at some star charts, but he's.

Speaker 4 (11:11):
Going to odd to you, Michael that the captain had
been nominated to go down.

Speaker 3 (11:16):
I mean, that would be weird, a captain leaving his ship.
If anything happens, you know where to reach me.

Speaker 2 (11:21):
At that point in the Star Trek universe, I think
that they they were really trying to do as much
as they could interesting and include everybody right in the
in the episode.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
So yeah, you can't, you know, you can't leave Scott
the captain out of too many episodes. I mean, it's just,
you know, it's not the thrust.

Speaker 2 (11:43):
And I liked the what they came up with because
she wasn't a love interest, No really she was. They
liked each other in terms of you know, but there
was something always kind of off with it.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
It was and I liked the way he shot it.
She had a dog that was obviously an alien dog.
Apparently those two dogs had worked before. Did you know that?

Speaker 2 (12:07):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (12:08):
I did, Yes, cats and dogs they knew each other.
But that face off, that dog face off was well done.
Not easy to shoot, I mean is that? I mean?
I mean, I've worked with animals. It is tricky to
get them to do it. It was. It was at
a moment.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
Oh that beagele was just amazing, amazing, Holy smoke.

Speaker 1 (12:31):
There were two of them, but they were both and
they were both girls, but they looked just Forike.

Speaker 2 (12:36):
And there was a scene in the elevator where he
gets in the elevator when he's going down to the
thing and the dog has a look at both him
and the vulcan.

Speaker 1 (12:49):
Is it a pool, Yeah it is. Yeah. Yeah, he's
escorting him off the ship and he just and did
it on cue. Yeah, amazing.

Speaker 2 (12:59):
No, it wasn't a big deal.

Speaker 1 (13:01):
Yeah, that wrangler was very very strict with those dogs.
You were not allowed to interact at all them. I
joke often each season we come back and they'd trot
by me and they'd sort of sniff up and go, oh,
they had you back. They had a bigger trailer than
mine too.

Speaker 3 (13:22):
Uh totally.

Speaker 4 (13:25):
This episode is the one time that I can think
of that we looked for the humor in any given opportunity.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yeah, yeah, I mean to that point. So we'll get
to so Malcolm and Tripp, they're the first sort of ones,
you know, just gagging at the bit finding you know
the riseing bar. There is one you know, saw thumb

(13:58):
point where we're looking around and I think Malcolm makes
the derogatory of mark about is that a man? Or
is that a girl or something? Now, she's interesting.

Speaker 3 (14:10):
I don't think she's right pronoun.

Speaker 1 (14:13):
And of course, you know in this day and age,
you know, that doesn't fly anymore. And it was a
very nineties early two thousands trope to, you know, to
just take pot shots at what we now would know
was a trans person. That's a she. Yeah, that's stuck

(14:35):
in my throat a bit when I watched that, you know,
but it was it was the times. And then of
course you know Deanne and what was the other girl's name? Latya?
Is it something like that show up? And you know, yeah,
I love your line Calm when you go one and

(14:57):
Malcolm looks the other way?

Speaker 3 (14:59):
Mary, one ain't zero behind you? Casting? What's it like casting?
You know those sorts of characters.

Speaker 2 (15:11):
You know, it's it's a real kind of hierarchy because
the main the guest stars, the kind of main guest stars,
they sort of it's it's collaborative, you know, with the
producers and everybody. As you go down the clall sheet. Uh,
they're they're more guarded about who they choose. The producers.

(15:35):
They sort of like, go, no, no, we want this,
we want that, right because because we were going to
interchange the two actresses, one was going to be another
part and other and they said no, no, we want
her to be that part. And I said, okay, that's fine.
I mean they both are really good, So I didn't.

Speaker 1 (15:52):
They were great. Yeah, they were great. Fun to work
with too. I remember they were. It was a fun day.
And uh, they filled the they filled the shoes, so to.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
Speak, spectacular book and I mean one of them I
talked to Don for a bit after that, and the
other lady I really liked because she was she was
almost New Yorkish, you know, yes, but she didn't play
New York.

Speaker 4 (16:20):
Well, then we'll have to make sure that your first
visits Horiza is memorable, like a Deborah Mazar sort of
yeah right, yeah, yeah, totally totally.

Speaker 1 (16:31):
Uh so, and then I love that stuff that so,
and Flox is left to be in hibernation. They choose
this moment to put him down. I think that had
come up in a previous episode, that maybe in Dear
Doctor that the Genobilians. Genobulans do hibernate.

Speaker 2 (16:49):
Unless your count our annual hibernation title. Now do they
they did they hibernate in an earlier episode or is
this the one.

Speaker 1 (16:57):
That they really No, this is the first time we
ever seen go under as it were, but it is
talked about that, you know, much like the you know,
the Brown Bears at the moment scoffy their faces off
with salmon up in Alaska, you know, getting ready for
their five months amazing thing. I mean, they don't I

(17:17):
mean not to get too graphic, but they literally they
don't pee, they don't defecate. They just go under for
five months in stasis. I mean, I much like John,
you can always wake me if you need to, please,
only if it's an emergency.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
There was he John Billingsley had an assistant.

Speaker 1 (17:41):
Yes, crime and cutler Kelly. It was Kelly Way Myer's
last episode got bless her before she passed away. She
was a lovely lady, lovely girl, and she was obviously
going to be, you know, an integral part. I mean
they were sort of you know, they'd introduced her really
as as possibly flocks his love interest, and she's gonna

(18:05):
man sit by while he takes his nap. What happened
to her? Yeah, bless her.

Speaker 4 (18:11):
She What happened to Kelly was that she had a
pre existing heart condition that she didn't know about, and
literally one morning.

Speaker 3 (18:20):
Passed away over her bullet cheerios.

Speaker 2 (18:23):
Just out of the blue.

Speaker 1 (18:26):
Yeah, she lived by the grace it was.

Speaker 3 (18:28):
I had known Kelly before Enterprise.

Speaker 4 (18:30):
She she was in a in a long term relationship
with a uh, a designer for the theater group. I
was with Circle X, Gary Smooth, and you know.

Speaker 1 (18:43):
She was.

Speaker 4 (18:45):
Man, she was on her way, she had done. She
she was, she had a career going for her. And
you know, sadly it didn't you know, I didn't make it. Oddly,
Gary her partner, then he passed like eight years later
of kidney cancer.

Speaker 3 (19:04):
Young people, I mean.

Speaker 2 (19:06):
Just yeah, that's that's insanity.

Speaker 3 (19:09):
It is.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
It's it's hard to reckon it really is. People are
taking so young from us. And and she was such
a just such such a lovely way about her and
uh and and it translated so beautifully on screen.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
Oh yeah, she was, she was. She was once again,
you know, everybody in that except for you know, the
you know, the two actors. We talked about. I mean,
everybody else was just fantastic.

Speaker 3 (19:34):
Those two guys could not figure it out.

Speaker 1 (19:38):
Dominican me, well, let's get to that that scene in
the club, because I mean, that is I have to say.
Whenever I see it, I'm like, oh, dear, dear, I
you know, I didn't rain that in. I don't know
whether I think maybe the audience has liked it. But

(19:59):
you know, you know, as an actor, when you look
at yourself and you go, yeah, you were, you were,
you were on set, but it wasn't playing the character.

Speaker 2 (20:09):
I mean, the thing is that, you know, what, what
else could you have done? You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (20:13):
I could have been a bit more Malcolm and and
I and I it was just such a fun day
I remember, and you know, the place was buzzing and jumping,
and there were tons of extras scantily dressed, and you know,
and as Connor said, we'd come to the end of
a long, long season and.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
And it was it definitely was supposed to be a
fun episode and it was, you know, And I think
that's the whole.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
Thing is nitpicking a bit, and I aways nitpit my
own acting. And there's one look, I've got it's like
that is.

Speaker 4 (20:46):
Not well, we're on furlough too, and it's this other
side of who these people are at work.

Speaker 1 (20:54):
Okay, I'll accept that.

Speaker 4 (20:56):
So we get completely from us, you get that, you know, uh,
and yeah, I literally just sort of turned the fun
button on.

Speaker 1 (21:06):
You did, And I'm glad that you because you you
sort of mirrored what I was doing, and so it
doesn't look completely out a souls don't.

Speaker 2 (21:14):
But you guys, you got to realize that, you know,
even even in those days, I think that we were
pretty much you know, you know, aware of the stuff
that goes on, and you know, aware of the world
around us, and things were changing blah blah blah. But
I think that, you know, the people that were writing
the show and we're you know, okay in scripts and

(21:36):
stuff like that, that's what they that's that's their fantasy.

Speaker 1 (21:41):
Yes, the boys Room, you mean, yeah, the boys club
up at the Cooper Building. You're right, I mean it was,
you know, really you know, yeah, no kidding, I mean
it was. And we're utterly seduced by the two ladies.
Deann and what is the other girl's named Lattio? Is

(22:01):
it something like that? I did write it down and
then we're asked to go and see the subterranean gardens.
Have you seen the subterranean gardens? Who doesn't want to
go and see the terranean Now that I say it
out loud, I just got the joke subterranean?

Speaker 2 (22:22):
Wow?

Speaker 1 (22:24):
Tell me are there any Are there any flycatchers in
the subterranean gardens? So they lead us downstairs and suddenly
we're in, you know, the basement of this club.

Speaker 3 (22:35):
We're the wine cellar.

Speaker 1 (22:36):
This is a strange way to get to the garden.
They're in the yeah, the wine cellar bar, and the
two lovely ladies you know, turn into whatever aliens they are.
It's definitely been a misunderstanding. And they're just a couple
of you know, grifters who are on the make to
uh and we've got nothing for them, nothing, So they

(22:58):
take our clothes. Why not.

Speaker 3 (23:01):
It's one of my favorite reaction moments that that I have.

Speaker 1 (23:07):
It is great.

Speaker 3 (23:08):
I remember when when they shape shift.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
Like you, It's like you guys grabbed on each other.

Speaker 1 (23:20):
It's kind of like the Marx Brothers. I mean, it
really is. I mean we did it was it was
it was Abbott and Costello, it was Bob Hope, and
you know, on the it was quite good, I have
to say. And the next thing, we know, there's a
lovely shot when we're tied up against that pole. There's
a lovely two shot you had. I thought that was
a great shot. And and the the the row ensues

(23:45):
about you know, who got us into this? You think
this is my fault?

Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (23:51):
Whose fault this was? And it's a good it's a
really good scene. It was nicely directed me.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
And h and the you guys came out of that
in your underwear.

Speaker 1 (24:02):
That's the saying, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (24:03):
And I think it's everybody.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
It's brilliant of shame. And then and we do, we try,
and we try and muster as much dignity as we
can as we take to the stairs and shake our
asses out of the club.

Speaker 3 (24:18):
And then there's a laughter.

Speaker 1 (24:19):
There's a bit of laughter and stop, and it's brilliant. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (24:24):
And the thing is, you know, and I wanted to
tell you both this is that you know, you know,
it wouldn't have worked if you didn't.

Speaker 1 (24:33):
Go for it, you know, thank you if you wouldn't go,
If you didn't just.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
Go, you know, otherwise it could have been it wouldn't
have worked.

Speaker 1 (24:43):
I don't know whether it was your direction, but there's
that pause before we take to the stairs and we go,
you know, I think you might have told us to
just hold it there.

Speaker 2 (24:53):
I think it was all of us. I think I
think if I recall, I think that you guys did
it in in the rehearsal or something like that, and
we all kind of went, oh, do that because that's funny.

Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah, Connor and I had done that shuttle Pod one
show and we'd found the funny between us and and
his friends, you know, as actors, and you know, you know,
if we blow our champions a bit, we're both quite
good at at the kemp, at finding those moments you
know what's going to translate and with the right man

(25:26):
at the helm. Yeah, it was. It's one of my
favorite Malcolm trip moments in the entire show. As as
you see us disappear around it really is Kashi who
has conjugated in a new language, and it's a lovely

(25:51):
scene that with him when they wake up the morning after.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
I could spend the entire day right here.

Speaker 1 (25:58):
What what were your what was your directions to them?
Because you know, was she shy? Was was Linda shy
about doing a love scene though.

Speaker 2 (26:08):
Now, but it wasn't. Of course, it wasn't a love
scene because we didn't see anything just so, but I mean,
she was just wonderful, yeah. Person. Also she played the
character as as as we've never seen her like that,

(26:29):
but we've never seen that character before like that, and
so she created this sort of you know, person who
is understands that this is just a one night affair.
She gets it, you know, she understands, and she's happy
about it. Not not happy, that's not the right word

(26:52):
for it.

Speaker 1 (26:53):
But she's like going peace, you know, and it was
on her terms, you know. I mean when they walk
out of the restaurant, uh, you know, it's definitely it's
it's it's more than consensual. It's like Linda's like, no,
the the.

Speaker 2 (27:08):
Cafe, the restaurant. This is just to give you what
you were talking about about the times. H We're all
in there and I'm sitting looking at all the you know,
all the restaurant people, their extras are there, blah blah.
There's a lot of people and I go, well, the
black people are sitting with you know, with the black people,

(27:29):
and the white people are sitting with the and I
was going, why don't you guys switch it around? Why
don't you just have you know? And they were like.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
They got up. They got a bit weird about that,
did they.

Speaker 2 (27:40):
They got a little weird about it. No, no, no,
well don't. I mean it was like a discussion.

Speaker 3 (27:49):
You mean, production got weird about it.

Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah, interesting, Yeah, it was interesting. I mean I find
it with uh that when there's a black story they
have to send the black reporter to report on the
black story. Really, I mean, if we keep doing this,
we're not. If you always do what you always did,

(28:11):
you'll always get what you always got. Doing that we
need to come to get it's a cohesive country. Meanwhile,
back at the ranch, so Travis has had a dreadful
rock climbing accident. The problem is the headholds changed too,
and has to be taken back early to the ship,

(28:33):
only to find that the doctor is you know, deep under.
This is a brilliant sequelce Peru mc cutler is in
charge somewhat, but she's given him some forget what it is,
but it's something for the pain, and he's had an
allergic reaction to this.

Speaker 3 (28:55):
The pain medication was given on Riser and they didn't
realize that he was.

Speaker 1 (29:00):
That's right, well, well caught just for the pain. But
he comes back and he's now, you know, in some
straits and shivering and it's time to wake up the doctor.
This is brilliant and I don't know where to start.

(29:21):
John was hilarious.

Speaker 3 (29:22):
And when he's like, where is he?

Speaker 1 (29:24):
Is he here?

Speaker 3 (29:25):
And he lifts up the blanket, where is he?

Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yes, that's that he's told that story. He didn't think
he was going to get away with that. He goes,
is he here? He did that as a sort of
ruse and went cut that out. Yeah, brilliant.

Speaker 2 (29:46):
Maybe they didn't understand it, you know, but his.

Speaker 1 (29:50):
Whole secret, the whole bit when he first wakes up
and the move and then and then straight back down.
Did you how much I mean how much did you
have to direct John in that scene? Did he just
have it? Oh? No? No.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
Now, the thing is, especially with you guys, with with
any actors that have been on a show for twenty five,
you know, twenty five episodes or something like that, you know,
you're not telling them to do anything. Really, they know
their character, they know what they're doing.

Speaker 1 (30:17):
It's and John's got natural You know with yeah, you
know it's fun.

Speaker 2 (30:22):
Yeah. Basically as a director, you're you're there to set
the camera. You're really unless there's something that that isn't happening.

Speaker 1 (30:34):
And in response to that, how was how was Marvin
with you that week? We see helpful and attentive? Did
you need Marvin much? I mean, did you consult with
Marvin much?

Speaker 2 (30:48):
I felt the whole culture of Star Trek had changed
a lot, had it?

Speaker 3 (30:55):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (30:55):
Where they were yeah, on the set, not that not
the front of the camera, but behind the camera. It
really is, you know, the culture had changed a lot.
And and they were like, Michael, we're going to help
you out. Well, we love you, you know, we've been here.
And I found that there was there was a different
feel and I don't know what it was, but it

(31:17):
was sort of like there was one shot where we
see a day with with Scott. They're looking through a telescope.

Speaker 1 (31:30):
Through the telescope, so what's going to be earth?

Speaker 2 (31:32):
Yeah, And all you had to do was put down
a track and and you go from there to them
and he wanted to use the lumicrane or something like that,
And a twenty minute setup turned into like an hour
and a half and they and Mary Howard came down, Michael,

(31:53):
you're gonna have to do better than this.

Speaker 1 (31:55):
Really, it wasn't you whose fault was that? I mean
when Marvin, Marvin could be you know, he could be
helpful and he could be difficult, and uh, well, if
he got it in his mind that he wanted to
do this shot, what are you going to do?

Speaker 2 (32:10):
I don't think I don't think it was I don't
think it's anybody's fault. I think it's just the idea
that that it's it's a it's the culture that was
there at that time. And uh, and Marvin is you know,
when you get to doing television, the director is is
basically a traffic cop. Yeah, he doesn't really in television,

(32:30):
he doesn't really have that. Yeah. I mean if you say, oh,
I'd like to do a solid, they're going to go, no,
we don't do it that way. No, we're not going
to do that.

Speaker 1 (32:39):
You know.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
And if you do do it, then you're gonna have
to come back and reshoot.

Speaker 1 (32:43):
Right now.

Speaker 3 (32:44):
Was it different for you in sort of I don't know.
In the culture it's it's because it's the same crew
for the most part. When you were directing on DS nine.

Speaker 4 (32:55):
I mean, was was there a big difference between what
was going on then versus what was going on during
your time directing this episode.

Speaker 2 (33:04):
No, it's it's it was the same.

Speaker 4 (33:06):
It was.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
There was a there was a real culture of of
you know, this is how we do it, and this
is how it's going to be done. And uh, but
I gotta say I did two other jobs in between times.
There was a little little thing called VIP with Pamela

(33:28):
Anderson that I directed, and then there was a sitcom
in New York that's right. And both of those shoots
were amazing because they gave you all the help that
you needed. Yeah, they said what would you like, Well,
I need that, okay, and boom and it's there. And
there wasn't that sort of culture of Star Trek that

(33:51):
was with those things. So I think and I don't,
and I couldn't tell you what it is or why
it happened. I do know that it changed a lot.
From Next Generation to Deep Space the culture started to
started to change.

Speaker 1 (34:08):
But in the in their in their watching the money
or or their or they're just their their hand, their
their controlling hand on this is how you know we
do our show. I mean, god, I mean I've heard
stories that Rick if if the if, the alert lights
weren't in sync.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
Yeah, you know, I think it was. I think it
was just the culture of And it's not so much
Star Trek as much as it is the whole business
had changed right where before And I was I'm old
enough where I started back in the late seventies where

(34:46):
everything and even next generation everything was about.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
The eighteen seventies.

Speaker 2 (34:51):
Yes, that too. You know that scene you did for me,
I can cut you out.

Speaker 1 (35:02):
To carry on. It's gotta be funny too. I mean.

Speaker 2 (35:10):
When they were sus and we were the culture, the
entire business culture changed because before then, the only thing
that mattered was the show, getting that show, and the
thing was about making you making sure you get that show.

(35:33):
And I think what happened in the late eighties more
and more like the nineties, it sort of switched around
to where the producers, yeah, were the most the most important.

Speaker 1 (35:46):
The writer producer. The the rise of the of the
of the writer producer, and they became just godlike.

Speaker 2 (35:53):
Yeah, I won't I won't worry you with this long story,
but I had a I had a pretty tough situation
with Michael Pillar and we had this pretty loud argument,
not on the set, it was over the phone, and

(36:14):
it was like, I just said, you know, he I said, look,
you know, why didn't you just walk across the street
and ask me? You know? And he goes, I did.
I don't have time for that.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
Yeah, and I'm not giving that away.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
Yeah, where Geene Roddenberry, the door was open. He would
down on the set, even though he was really get sick.
He would be down set and talk to him.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
Yeah. Strange enough. We recently interviewed Rick and Brannon talking
about our episode Shuttle Pod one, and there was a
story that Rick told about Kerry McCluggage coming when they
were devising enterprise and carry would come to Rick's office
to have pizza lunches to devise the inception. And he
made a point of saying and he came to my office,

(37:04):
which was you know, unheard of.

Speaker 2 (37:09):
That's that's that's, that's that's what happened. Yeah, and the culture,
the whole culture change. It wasn't about just Star Trek,
but the whole culture change.

Speaker 1 (37:18):
It became a power set of you know, yeah.

Speaker 2 (37:21):
Well when you see when you see Paramount and there's
a hundred thousand new offices and no ages. You know,
see where the money is going. So that was that
was sort of like the the.

Speaker 1 (37:39):
The culture, the happier things. This final shot of Flocks
flats on his back, on his front rather like a
beached whale. I love that sort of the final.

Speaker 2 (38:00):
Well, you know, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to
take credit for it because you just you know, most
of the time I just said, hey, look, John, do
what you want to do. I'm just going to.

Speaker 1 (38:10):
Say, this is a funny man.

Speaker 3 (38:12):
Yeah you can't. You can't give John enough rope.

Speaker 1 (38:15):
No, no, you can't. I mean, and we see it
at conventions. Never try and take the stage with him
at the Q and a sesch. It's just it's the
It's the easiest forty minutes I ever do. I did
try and go up against him once or twice, and
it was like, man, this is a losing battle. Baby.
He will drop trout, he'll do whatever it takes, but

(38:35):
you're not going to win that match.

Speaker 3 (38:37):
And uh, but Michael, I wanted to ask you about
because I believe we shot the entire first.

Speaker 4 (38:42):
Season on film and that would include this episode. Have
you directed other things that were digital, not at that point,
but after that I'm asking because you know, we're talking
about you know, what you're allowed to do or not
allowed to do based based on a budget. And when
you have when you shoot digital versus film, you're saving

(39:04):
so much time and time meaning money. You know, what's
what's the difference between those experiences?

Speaker 2 (39:14):
If any uh? You know, you know, everybody kind of
has their their their their way to do stuff, and
when you get to digital, people have a tendency to
not be too precious about digital. They just shoot and
shoot and shoot and you know, let the camera go
and you know who cares and and that's fine, I mean,

(39:36):
people they there's just another way to do it. But
when you're shooting digital, the one thing that I was
concerned about is that, you know, I didn't want to
just let the camera roll because then you get so
much stuff and it's it just kind of goes all
into one and you don't know what you have. But
the digital part is not any different. There really isn't.

(39:59):
The only thing is is that you know, I just okay, cut,
you know, let's cut the camera, right, you know, we
reslate so we know what we have. But other than that,
there really isn't a a difference.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
Well you ever conscious of shooting only what you wanted
them to have to edit, or so that you could
strong arm them in the edit room, or.

Speaker 2 (40:21):
Well, yeah, yeah, I learned that on Deep Space, where
I was shooting something in column. I don't know what
got into him, but he did this this thing and
I went, Column, that was terrible, you know, and I said,
don't do that. So he did it again like he

(40:43):
was supposed to, and they used the one that I
didn't like. Oh, and I went, it was so bad.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
I was. It can be. It can be very even
as an actor. I mean I remember shooting scenes and thinking, damn,
that was good, and then you see the finished cut
and you go, last what you so that's what you used? Unbelievable.
And so.

Speaker 3 (41:12):
What you do.

Speaker 2 (41:14):
If you if if you're not in charge, if you're
for enterprise, you have to even if it's people aren't
gonna like it, you kind of have to cut before
the scene's over. If it's not what you want. You
got to cut before the scenes because you even you

(41:35):
can't even say after the scene's over you say, okay,
we're not going to use that. Use one and two
they'll find the one that you discarded and use it. Well,
you have to, I mean, I mean Marina, not Marina.
But now visitor got pissed at me because she was

(41:56):
doing the scene and I went cut and she goes,
what are you talking?

Speaker 3 (42:00):
That was?

Speaker 2 (42:00):
I said, you don't understand it wasn't going to work,
and they're going to use it, and you're going to
be happy with that.

Speaker 4 (42:10):
I think the actor learns that lesson too, the longer
you do that on a show that I remember a
few times where I would step out of the scene
because I didn't think it was going in a direction.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
You know, it just didn't It wasn't working.

Speaker 4 (42:24):
Now, maybe that's whether that's right or wrong, I don't know,
but I did know that what we were going to
keep were two takes, right, and in those two takes,
I wanted to have, you know, a modicum of control,
which you know, the actors got none unless you abort

(42:45):
the scene and say I'm sorry.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
Or cough or do something.

Speaker 1 (42:49):
Yeah, just go up exactly you gotta find Yeah, they're
not happy. I mean that that. You can have all
technical difficulties and reasons to cut the scene, but the accent,
you know, not knowing is lying is not a popular
way to stop a scene.

Speaker 2 (43:06):
They you know, and they will they will, you know.
The The interesting thing is that the other shows that
I've worked on that was not an issue, but it
was pretty prevalent on the on the Star Trek shows. Yeah,
so the culture has changed a lot. But you know,
I mean, I mean on this one show I acted on,

(43:27):
it was I mean, they were like on it. I mean,
it was so good and and you know, they didn't
use what they what they shouldn't use, and so it
was I I don't want to say it's it's a
it's a Star Trek thing, but I just realized it.
I mean, I just well, I.

Speaker 3 (43:47):
Think it goes into the stew of.

Speaker 4 (43:50):
The word perfectness and the there's a particular Star Trek way.

Speaker 2 (43:57):
I think of the.

Speaker 4 (43:58):
People who are ultimately with final cut determining what that
episode and show is going to be like. But you know,
I think that the fact that we had to be
word perfect on our show goes into that.

Speaker 1 (44:12):
It's part of the culture of it. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (44:15):
Yeah, I think I think I told you guys this.
There was on Deep Space, my first episode, I had
a twenty minute talk with Ira about about a line.

Speaker 3 (44:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (44:28):
Really, you know, he comes out and the guy and
call him says, oh, you look good in that uniform,
and the line was it feels good too, And I went, Okay,
first of all, Warf doesn't talk like that. Yeah, I said,
war would say thank you. And I had a twenty minute,

(44:49):
twenty minute conversation.

Speaker 1 (44:51):
Where about that line.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
Say the line, say the line, say the line, say
the line.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
And that's just power man, that's just yeah, I think
it is. It is and that's you're right. I mean,
that's the culture. It's like, I you know, you're not
in a position to argue with what I'm telling you
to say. And I'm and I'm that's not your job.
Your job is just stay what I wrote because we
are we are because where the gods? So yeah, it's

(45:19):
like you're my baby's close is what?

Speaker 3 (45:22):
You can't change my baby's clothes. Legal, I'll be the one.

Speaker 2 (45:27):
And that happened. That happened a few times in the
movies too. You go, really, that's what Worf wouldn't talk
like that, Just say the line. It's funny.

Speaker 1 (45:37):
It's as an actor, it's tough because you to find
the conviction to say it. Yeah, and have it work.
Is you know, it's not coming from the boots as
it were, it's it's coming from well.

Speaker 4 (45:50):
I do liken it to a play in a certain
sense where like say, it's not a new play, but
you're doing a player that's been produced before, and you
come in and everybody, if you have a decent sized role,
a significant role in a play. Every time you go
do a play, there are certain lines that you are like,
you just can't. You're like, I don't think, I don't

(46:13):
know how to get this in my own head, but
you have to be it's the classic and to do it,
you have to do it because you have to do
their work.

Speaker 1 (46:22):
Yeah, you know, you know.

Speaker 2 (46:24):
And the thing is directors, producers, writers, the really great
writers that I've worked with, and the great directors and
the great producers they all kind of go, you go,
I don't know about this line. I don't I don't
know how to get there, and they say, oh really okay,
and the writer will go what about this?

Speaker 1 (46:47):
Yeah, and so oh now it makes sense, yeah, you know,
or the.

Speaker 2 (46:52):
Director will go what is it? Well, you know, I
don't know why, Oh well this is why we and right,
But the ones who aren't so good? Are the ones
that go just just do it like I say, yeah, yeah,
but it didn't make any sense. It was yes, it
does well if you have to tell me it makes sense,
it doesn't make right right, just like there was a

(47:15):
there was a thing with Dominic when he came over
and did that that line, I mean, there was a
line where he said, you know what I'm trying to
say rather clumsily, and I didn't right.

Speaker 1 (47:25):
I mean, in your yes, let's talk a little bit
about I feel well, I was going to say we
I feel we've left. There's one other scene I want
to talk about before Roger is the scene where where
the captain and Kayla get into it.

Speaker 3 (47:40):
They may be able to change your face but not
your DNA, and.

Speaker 1 (47:43):
She turns out to be a tandoran uh tandarn Tandarsala.
She did look a bit like look a bit of
creamy chicken massala with half neck. That scene I thought
actually did work well and and the tension built quickly,

(48:07):
and she played it well and did you. I mean,
I thought that was a good scene, and I think
we should just just comment on it, because obviously she
then scratches him and knocks him out when he's not
going to give up any help to her as it
were an assistance. Did you have to direct much of
that or did you? Did they just go?

Speaker 2 (48:30):
That was that was the scene that that I yelled
at her about. Well then, because we shot the scene
and I said, look, you know this is this is
the drama in the whole, in the whole show.

Speaker 1 (48:48):
No, that isn't true.

Speaker 2 (48:50):
I mean this, you know, you have to like go
at him and really, and she goes, I can't do that.
I just can't do that.

Speaker 1 (48:59):
Oh where are their helixes? Where do they live? No?

Speaker 2 (49:03):
No, no, you have to Yes you can. Well I'm
standing so close to them, it doesn't matter. You got it.

Speaker 1 (49:08):
And so.

Speaker 2 (49:10):
We shot it, and then Brandon Braga came and he said,
we got to reshoot that scene because she wasn't you know.

Speaker 1 (49:17):
It just doesn't work if you do it, if it's
a half mast, it's not going to work. You've got
this is the the reveal that you know this, this
this would be Roman holiday romance is not at all
what it would seem. The dogs and the whole all bullshit.

Speaker 5 (49:37):
You must know something about them, Jonathan.

Speaker 2 (49:41):
By her going you know, lie, you know then he
kind of goes, what the hell is going on with you?
Sweet person? And now you're you know, and that's when
he you know, goes, let me just figure this out.

Speaker 3 (49:53):
I'm transmitting a bioscandy. You run it through the computer.

Speaker 1 (49:56):
Yeah, he doesn't scan on her.

Speaker 2 (50:00):
In fact, when we reshot at, Brandon was sitting right
behind me.

Speaker 1 (50:05):
And he never went to set. So how about that? Well, well,
well that's interesting because that's it's actually works out really well.
It's a really dynamic scene and you know, and ending
with the captain being you know, taken to his knees.

Speaker 2 (50:21):
If it wasn't great, then who was it.

Speaker 1 (50:24):
It's it's as you say, I think that the hitchcocky
and nature of it is really well, you know.

Speaker 2 (50:30):
And the the last part where he where he kind
of goes, yeah, it goes out. Yeah, that was that
was me on the camera.

Speaker 1 (50:38):
Good for you. Yeah, it's very hitchcock it's and it's
really well done.

Speaker 2 (50:46):
So what about what about the last scene?

Speaker 1 (50:50):
What about in the in the in the shop going home? Yeah,
it's great. I mean, I mean it's never really explained
my Malcolm and trip and naked passionating culture, sir, which
just in US. In US, givies huddle up in blankets.

Speaker 4 (51:08):
Yeah, it's sort of thing like you know, ah, the
young the young Turks come back in their underwear.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
Oh really, get on, we're going home.

Speaker 1 (51:17):
What's that smell? I don't smell anything, but it's a
great scene. And uh yeah, and then the sort of
you know, the contented smugness of how she's look and
I love to.

Speaker 3 (51:30):
Stop fine where he says, you know how how you know?
How'd you sleep last night?

Speaker 1 (51:34):
Did you get a good night's sleep?

Speaker 3 (51:37):
Well out like a light out like a light.

Speaker 1 (51:43):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (51:43):
We had to we had to reshoot that too, did we.

Speaker 1 (51:47):
I don't remember that, did we? Why?

Speaker 2 (51:49):
You know? We had to reshoot it, had come back
and reshoot it. And I can't remember why. There was
some and yeah, I don't know why. I said, hey,
I suggested an ex change. Are different and uh and
they shot it and they said no, no, we got
to shoot it again. We got to reshoot it.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
Hey, guys, Dominic here, Connor here, and look what we've
got here, guys, poor face. I know it's a little early,
but the holidays will be upon us before you know it.
This is a first of a run of a few
new t shirts that we've come up with, and we
hope you really like it, and.

Speaker 4 (52:25):
You've got several more coming in our catalog on the
website and check those out all.

Speaker 1 (52:30):
Really the meantime for the holiday, let's talk about with what.

Speaker 3 (52:35):
Time we have left your plays.

Speaker 1 (52:37):
So getting back to script, Yeah, you've just written a
rather interesting film and new and filmed it in London, Yep,
Life two point zero three hander with you in the
lead and the lovely Michelle Hurd and Marina Curtis. Con

(52:58):
doesn't know anything about it, but basically you find Michael
playing this character who's seemingly alone on a space mission
and enjoying having a good time, and then things aren't
what they seem to be at all, and there's there's
a couple of twists that I did not see coming

(53:18):
and it's Michael.

Speaker 3 (53:20):
Michael, you wrote it right, he did? Yeah, directed, Wow.

Speaker 1 (53:25):
One little snippet of me, I'm going to steal the film.

Speaker 2 (53:29):
You know what I gotta say. I was very fortunate
because all of them, all of you guys, gave just
lovely performances. And when I look at your performance, I
kind of go, you know, and the reason I did
the movie One of the reasons is, you know, a

(53:52):
lot of us on the show on Star Treks. If
you're not the captain, you just don't get the accolades
were doing really good work, you know. And and I said,
you know, I have this idea. I don't know if
it's going to turn out where we have a production company.
I gave this idea to Jonathan and LeVar, where it's

(54:14):
a production company, we just do science fiction sort of
like you know, Twilight Zone or whatever the case, with
only Star Trek actors. That's it. It's a good idea
because they're just they're just too many really good actors.

Speaker 3 (54:31):
Yeah, I agreed.

Speaker 1 (54:32):
And as an audience, it's built there's a built in
audience for this. I mean, it's it's a no brainer.
It's a no brainer as long as it's as long
as it's not Tosh. I mean, I have learned one
thing about Star Trek fans. They don't just watch any
old Tosh. You know, they might give it a cursory look,
but if it's yeah, if it's not really you know,

(54:56):
touching them, I thought, but you know what we thought
we were going to do seven years because well, they'll
just watch anything I'm not saying our show was bad.
I mean there were other many, many other elements elements
at play, Thank you, sir. That's why we do it,
that's why we do it together. There were many more

(55:20):
alements at play. But yeah, they but they won't watch Tosh.
But yeah, this is your script was extraordinarily thoughtful. Not
an easy script to film, I think. I think because
it's it was. It's kind of linear and not there
are no there are no real sort of designated scenes.

(55:42):
It really it marches along at the pace. And how
to keep all that in your heads as a story?
Did you find that the trickiest part of filming this
because you can't You can't have shot in sequence, could you? No?

Speaker 2 (55:58):
We could not.

Speaker 1 (55:58):
No. Uh.

Speaker 2 (56:00):
The lucky thing is that we had three days where
it was just me on the set, right, so we
shot everything that that had to do with me and
the and the Uh. The other actors weren't there.

Speaker 1 (56:12):
Uh, but I was at the first stuff you did,
so you got to kickoff.

Speaker 2 (56:19):
Yeah, and they were. They got used to me, and
they got used to you know how I like to shoot,
and so everybody. But when the when Michelle finally got there,
we were like a machine. We were like really zooming along.
But you know, the thing with me that one of
the little things that I that I'm good at is
is editing in my head, like I I know exactly

(56:41):
what goes with where without really having to, you know,
go to the script and say, oh my god, what's happening?
You know, I said, no, No, this goes from there,
This goes from there, This is the tone we want,
and and it really became easy. We shot eight pages
a day. How long was your shoot twelve?

Speaker 3 (57:01):
Well you shut you shut television pages?

Speaker 1 (57:03):
Yeah? Were they good?

Speaker 2 (57:09):
Oh they were?

Speaker 1 (57:10):
Oh they were just I was.

Speaker 2 (57:15):
I was just blown away because we had a great time.
We had a great time.

Speaker 1 (57:21):
Did you take did you take anyone from l a? Uh?

Speaker 3 (57:25):
Couldn't afford them, couldn't not shitting No, let's bring out
did you Okay?

Speaker 4 (57:30):
So did you shoot this in London because you couldn't
afford to shoot it in Los Angeles.

Speaker 3 (57:35):
This goes to nothing's happening here in town.

Speaker 2 (57:41):
It goes deeper than that. I think people in this
town are are trying to get rich quick, so they're
not giving you any deals whatsoever, even even in the
little stages that are down in East ell Or or
South Central. You know, they're talking pretty decent sized money,

(58:02):
O kidding And and we went and when she when
the producer said, okay, Michael, this is what we have.

Speaker 3 (58:09):
It was.

Speaker 2 (58:11):
Half of what it would cost.

Speaker 1 (58:13):
Amazing. It's cheaper to find and put yourself up in
an Airbnb in London and London.

Speaker 6 (58:20):
And fly and fly Michelle over business business. You know,
it's still cheaper, still cheaper.

Speaker 1 (58:31):
Luckily Marine is on the ground.

Speaker 2 (58:34):
Yeah, but yeah, no, we we were we were very fortunate.
I was going to tell you Connor that, uh, the
producers and I think the the A D and this
other producer Michael. You know it's eight pages a day.
Are you sure you can do that?

Speaker 1 (58:50):
What we do?

Speaker 3 (58:52):
My life.

Speaker 2 (58:55):
Talking about?

Speaker 1 (58:56):
They call me eight pages eight.

Speaker 3 (58:59):
Nine pages, you know.

Speaker 1 (59:01):
And we we went over, Michael late pages eight We
went over.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
There were two days that we went over and each
of those days was about ten minutes over, not kidding.
But the other time we onto and what.

Speaker 1 (59:18):
Did you do in your time off? Did you have
some did you do did you do anything?

Speaker 2 (59:23):
I know, you know there was no time off. The
off Marina had. Marina had a couple of dinners and
there were a couple of people that I knew that
that we had dinner with, and and I knew some
a couple of good friends that were there, and so I,
you know, go and have dinner and stuff like that.
But otherwise, you know, I came home and and I

(59:45):
was living near Gloucester Road, very nice, right near the station.

Speaker 1 (59:50):
Man. I used to man the newspapers down at Gloucester Road.

Speaker 2 (59:53):
Oh my god. Oh yeah, it was.

Speaker 1 (59:59):
Nineteen seventy nine.

Speaker 2 (01:00:01):
Baby, I was the new boy going back on the
second for sure to do to pick up. So, yeah,
we're going to try to do some adr and uh,
it's basically to lock the film in. Right, we're going
to be done. I'm going to be there till the
fifteenth of November, and that's when we're supposed to be done.

Speaker 1 (01:00:23):
Where do you where do you plan to sort of
you know, release it and premiers and so forth.

Speaker 2 (01:00:29):
Well, we don't know. We have a there's a couple
of salespeople that have contacted us, and there's also I
have a manager here that that has connections to you know,
the Netflix, Hulu and all those guys here, and uh,
but we are going to do a premiere it looks

(01:00:50):
like it depending if they say we want we don't
want you to do it, that's great. But in San
Francisco at the convention there, well nice, that'd be great,
that's right. The North America premiere.

Speaker 7 (01:01:02):
That's a that's a pretty quick edit, buck, Yeah, that's
that's fast. Yeah, because you just don't you know, we
you know, we didn't. It just wasn't because of the
way we shot it. Just everything kind of fell into place,
and it kind of happens with not so much the

(01:01:26):
Star Trek stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:01:27):
But when I did the other shows. Once I gave
it to the to the editor, he said, Michael, we
got everything we need. And when I saw it, it
was what they needed and what they got, and so
I think that's what it was, you know, they they
the editor got it and he put it together and
he gave me a cut, and I went, well, that's
that's the fucking movie, you know. Yeah. Yeah, so so yeah,

(01:01:52):
there wasn't. The Only thing we have now is special
effects and music, and we're working on that.

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
Are you going to do Yeah, you've got to. You're
going to do your original score or you're going to
pinch music? Yeah? You are goodality of the look of
the film is it because it is it chromatic? I mean,
it's you know, it's it's.

Speaker 2 (01:02:17):
It's dark in Moody.

Speaker 1 (01:02:19):
It's darker Moody. I had a feeling it would.

Speaker 2 (01:02:20):
Be the We had a little a few discussions with
the director photography, because that's one thing I didn't know.
But my the producer said that in America the director
is the boss, and a lot of times in England

(01:02:41):
the director photography is the boss. Yeah, and so he
he had some ideas and it it's I wanted it darker,
and he wanted it lighter, you know, terms of the
actual lighting, and so we came to a consensus.

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
M Yeah, sometimes those really dark looking movies can be
a little oppressive, can't they And and you can lose somehow,
you lose the emotion.

Speaker 2 (01:03:12):
A little when it's so he had a good idea
that we didn't do. I wish we had where it
starts out dark and dark and a little by.

Speaker 1 (01:03:22):
Little here and there, you know, and it should do
because by the sime Michelle Hurd's character shows up, that's
when it, yeah, it becomes more human. Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:03:33):
And but also that's dark too because and this is
the interesting thing, I've showed it too. The rough cut
to three individuals. This couple. Oh, showed it to Tim
and Janey. Oh did you they were, They were, we

(01:03:55):
want to see it. We don't care, we don't give
a fuck about you. We want to see it now.

Speaker 1 (01:03:59):
And I and my brother Allan by the way, he
knows that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:05):
Yeah, and my brother and and they everybody had a
different reaction, which is really interesting.

Speaker 3 (01:04:15):
Well that's a good thing.

Speaker 2 (01:04:17):
And my oh, my manager and she was like, oh god,
it's really sad and dark. And and my brother was like, oh,
that's okay. You know, Tim and Janey were riveted.

Speaker 1 (01:04:32):
They were like, he's not easy to impress.

Speaker 2 (01:04:37):
No, he's not so so I'm very happy the way
it turned out. And and like I said, I was,
the performances are just just nailing performances. I mean, just.

Speaker 1 (01:04:52):
Yeah, ceiling over here, but you might be cut. I'm
talking to myself out of this film.

Speaker 2 (01:05:00):
And you know what he Dominic, uh remember because and
I'll tell you this Connor is that Uh. Dominic comes
in and we shoot, shoot, shoot. It wasn't very long shoot,
but we got all we needed. And I said, I said, Dominic,
we we got everything you need. Legit. Okay, you just
do whatever you want to do. Don't listen to me,
don't just just do whatever you want to do. We're

(01:05:21):
just going to roll the camera.

Speaker 1 (01:05:22):
That was the one, wasn't that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:23):
That was the last one, And that's the one we used.

Speaker 1 (01:05:25):
That's the one he used.

Speaker 2 (01:05:28):
It was hilarious because I'm sitting standing behind the camera
with Jeff and Dominic's going on and he's going and going,
and both of us are going, don't fuck up, don't fuck.

Speaker 1 (01:05:39):
Up, don't fuck up, which is just up for me
because I'm usually.

Speaker 2 (01:05:46):
Uh, you finished, you finished that, and we went.

Speaker 1 (01:05:51):
That's the one. Remember the camera. I remember your DP
guy saying that's the one.

Speaker 2 (01:05:56):
That's it.

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
It was very naturalistic and I threw it away. Yeah,
but you also you you mail the the Yeah, I
got what you wanted.

Speaker 2 (01:06:07):
I knew that because especially when you talk about your
your sister. Yeah, I think that's that's gonna get people
a lot more than you think. I think they're going
to go, what what is this?

Speaker 1 (01:06:22):
I know because because he's a he's really he is
a ruse thrown into the into the early into the film,
like it's I don't want to give too much away
because it's uh yeah, he's yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:06:34):
Well, fortunately it turned out to be five minutes too
long and then you just got.

Speaker 1 (01:06:41):
Like that, have you met my best mate? Like that?

Speaker 2 (01:06:50):
But no, but it was I'm very happy I did
what I wanted to do in terms of how having
you know, star Trek actors in there. I love science fiction,
always have long science fiction, like from the sixties, and
I wanted to see if I could do it.

Speaker 1 (01:07:12):
Well, God bless, I have to say off my cat mate.
I mean, the thought of sitting down in front of
a blank screen and who says what first is daunting,
beyond belief and then yeah, you're honestly anyone that sits
down and does that, mate, and you and you're no
spring chicken. I don't mean to be rude, but it's like,

(01:07:32):
you don't need to do this. You could be playing tennis, mate,
and having lunch, and you chose instead to you know,
stick your neck out.

Speaker 2 (01:07:41):
I love the business, I really do. I love the
business of the business is tough, but I love the business.
I love, you know, working with actors. I just get
such a joy from it. You know.

Speaker 4 (01:07:52):
I hope that that you know, you Jonathan and LeVar
can put that together, because man, if you're if you're
if you're looking to work with star Trek actors, you're
mining with gold.

Speaker 2 (01:08:01):
Oh yeah, are you kidding me? I mean I look
and I go, there's enough actors to where you could
do I don't know how many movies Oklahoma never and never.

Speaker 1 (01:08:13):
Recycled, seven Bryce to seven whatevers.

Speaker 2 (01:08:18):
And uh. But I think what's really gonna dictate if
that happens is depending on what happens with this. Well,
if they see that there is to be made, yeah,
then people will yeah, well they will say, yeah, I
want to. I want to.

Speaker 1 (01:08:39):
I'm not thinking you you paid for this, didn't you?
You put your own money behind this?

Speaker 2 (01:08:44):
Yeah? Yeah, God bless me. That's uh hey, it's it's
low budget. So yeah, it's a really low budget. But
I got to tell you it's it's pretty spectacular.

Speaker 3 (01:09:00):
Really, I'm proud of you. I think that's that's very Yeah,
thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:09:04):
I'm enviously proud. I have to say. I just I'm
wish I had that bone in my body that would
that has would want to sit down and do that.

Speaker 3 (01:09:13):
I am.

Speaker 1 (01:09:16):
He will see. Not to end on a sad note,
but how you doing since the fires and uh, and
you know you lost your family.

Speaker 2 (01:09:26):
Home and oh it's it is a every day there's
a couple of minutes where you just think about the
things you lost and you never recycle what they are.
It's always something like something so small. I had this

(01:09:48):
this what do you call that? A scale that you
step on? Right, I've had it for I don't know
how many years or whatever the case, you know, and
I just went, oh and all the stuff in the
bath room, and you know, and then you go great,
you know, and then you know it goes away, and
then the next day there's there's a little something else,

(01:10:10):
you know. Yeah, but you can't Our house was right
in the middle, I mean smack dab in the middle
of the fire. And if you look at that place,
it's Hiroshima.

Speaker 1 (01:10:27):
What do you do? Are you gonna? Is there any
thought to try and rebuild or are you just done?
It's let that go And it is possible to take My.

Speaker 2 (01:10:38):
Brother and I own it together, and he would like
to rebuild.

Speaker 1 (01:10:44):
And is there a community? Is there anything left there?
I mean, it all got blasted, didn't it. Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:10:50):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (01:10:51):
And I personally I think that people are going to
come in and want them to buy it.

Speaker 1 (01:10:56):
They're going to buy up the lots they are, aren't
they the encircling Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:11:02):
And my my cousin who lived up the street is
my mother's my mother's sister's son. He lost his place too,
but he got you know, a developer came up there
and already paid him. Right, So I think it's not
costing us a thing, you know, I think the the

(01:11:23):
property taxes are like one thousand dollars or something.

Speaker 1 (01:11:27):
Right, did it get clear? Did the the army whatever?
What's it coming and clear it? Yeah? They didn't so
And what about the toxicity? Is that sort of is
that being monitored?

Speaker 2 (01:11:38):
And they they went down pretty far. But if you
if you were going to build, if somebody buys it,
they're going to have to test it.

Speaker 1 (01:11:49):
They're gonna right and see what happens.

Speaker 2 (01:11:51):
I don't think that they're gonna kind of going there
and start doing stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:11:53):
But your story, I mean, you went to bed at
eleven and it was the fire was pretty you know,
it was raging.

Speaker 5 (01:12:01):
Yeah, you woke up at three and went outside and went, oh,
it's not over the hill, it's right blood, that's right here.

Speaker 1 (01:12:13):
And you literally got on your car with an overcoat,
didn't you? And just drove with a.

Speaker 2 (01:12:18):
Coat and my backpack and a change of a change
of clothes.

Speaker 1 (01:12:22):
You didn't even have. Did you take your computer? I
don't think even a computer, did you? I'm believing? I
mean I a couple of nights ago I went to
see Paul Greengrass's film at this bafter screening, The Lost Bus,
which is about the Paradise Fire. I had a hard
time looking at it.

Speaker 3 (01:12:41):
Me.

Speaker 1 (01:12:41):
I got to tell you, it really just shut me up.

Speaker 2 (01:12:48):
Nothing's left, you know it. You know, things get stolen,
you know, things get this, you know, but I have
nothing left?

Speaker 1 (01:13:00):
Is there a freedom? I remember seeing you at the
convention shortly after up in San Francisco. I think we were,
and you you said there was a certain freedom. You
just two suits, and you know.

Speaker 2 (01:13:14):
You you you start to make decisions, different decisions than
what you would have made before the fire.

Speaker 1 (01:13:21):
All right?

Speaker 2 (01:13:22):
So you know, Okay, how many suits do I need?
How many shoes do I need? Do I really need
to buy? You know, ten thousand dollars worth of paintings?
Do I need to have a dining room set? You know,
with a set for sixteen?

Speaker 3 (01:13:39):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (01:13:41):
When I think back to when I first bought this
house and the girlfriend I was with at the time,
and we did all that and it's all useless crap.

Speaker 2 (01:13:52):
To say. My philosophy is just And I tell people,
I go, you know, you have all this stuff, and
you love this stuff, and you know if you have kids,
you know you're gonna give it to your kids, and
it's very important. And the paintings and the stuff, yeah, everything,

(01:14:14):
and the minute you.

Speaker 1 (01:14:15):
Die, they sell it all. It's dunk. I mean, I
have to say when my mom died and that house
that was full of really lovely stuff and silverware and
you know, as you say, endless, you know, sets of crockery,
and you know what, it all ended up going to
auction and selling all.

Speaker 3 (01:14:35):
You can't take it with you. You can't take it
with you in the connor.

Speaker 2 (01:14:39):
I mean, it was funny. You know, this lady I
taught you lived up the street and I saw her
at on airplane. We started talking. She goes, my kids
don't want my.

Speaker 1 (01:14:47):
Stuff old fashion now And you know the idea, you know,
from you know, Jane Austen's time, that we would hand
down antiques through the generations. That's all gone man.

Speaker 2 (01:15:01):
Yeah, so yeah, my PTSD. I have PTSD, which is
I don't want to buy anything. I don't want to
buy a painting. I don't want to buy you know. Uh,
you know, I had a bunch of really nice cameras.
I don't want to buy a camera. You know what
do I need to buy an expensive nikon when you're.

Speaker 1 (01:15:22):
Got a phone exactly?

Speaker 2 (01:15:24):
You know, So.

Speaker 3 (01:15:26):
Recognizing that it doesn't really matter, it doesn't really matter.

Speaker 1 (01:15:30):
No, And I had to say, I mean I get
PTSD about all the crap I do keep that crosses
up my house and knick knacks that you know what.
You know, Tona is much more brutal about that stuff
than I am.

Speaker 2 (01:15:46):
Is here are you really? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:15:47):
He doesn't keep crap. I've got stuff that fans have
given me twenty five years ago.

Speaker 2 (01:15:52):
Oh god, I know, I know. And you got to
keep it. You have to.

Speaker 1 (01:15:57):
I honestly, it's a desk there, it's it's on it's
in the it's in the woods, it's it's a lawyer
of the bloody place.

Speaker 2 (01:16:05):
I told a lot of people, I said, look, if
you have if there's a lesson, if you have very
important stuff that are that is that you can't replace,
then put it someplace that is secure, it can't be destroyed,
and if not, it's all bullshit.

Speaker 1 (01:16:25):
Yeah, so yeah, because I mean ultimately, what you what,
what's you know valuable of the friendships and the relationships
and yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:16:38):
Uh, I'll end on this. Yeah, a psychiatrist that was
helping this lady get through all the fire stuff. She
lost her house and blah blah blah. And she goes
to the psychiatrist, this true story, and she goes, so,
how do you feel about this? And the lady, you know,

(01:17:00):
the patient goes, well, you know, it's been tough. It's
been you know, really hard. But you know, people have
told me, and I kind of believe it that you know,
at least I've got my at least I'm safe and
I've got my health and and that's all important. And
the psychiatrist says, yeah, that's all important. But when people
say that to you, that means that you're fucked. I

(01:17:35):
fell out. At least you got your health and you're
this You're.

Speaker 1 (01:17:41):
Like, as your fuck. It's hilarious, Michael, God bless her
coming on again. It's always can't wait to see the
film when it's ready. And I wish there was another
episode later on in the in the telling of our

(01:18:02):
show that we could have you back for Sadly, there isn't.
Badly that's the one you did direct was damn good mate.

Speaker 2 (01:18:09):
And otherwise I had a great time. You guys were
were really really good and and solid and uh and
it was that wasn't the issue.

Speaker 3 (01:18:21):
You know, right, So did a great job.

Speaker 4 (01:18:25):
And thank you for being there and and creating this
this episode that you know we'll live on forever, and
thank you for on talking.

Speaker 2 (01:18:32):
About no problem. You know, when I when the movie
comes out, I'd love to come back with Michelle.

Speaker 1 (01:18:38):
Yes, oh absolutely, that's that's that's exactly when we'll have
you back. Yes, indeed, Yeah, okay, perfect, okay, guys, all right,
all right, God bless you. Com com com in com

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Watch Party S1 E25 | Ep. 54

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Watch Party S1 E25 | Ep. 54