Mom's Car: Larry Trilling

Summary

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Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Episode: Mom's Car: Larry Trilling
Date: November 11, 2025

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Overview

This episode of Armchair Expert welcomes acclaimed TV director Larry Trilling into "Mom’s Car," joined by Dax Shepard and best friend Aaron Weekly. The conversation weaves through Trilling's journey from public school in Santa Monica alongside future Hollywood icons, to his unexpected path to directing seminal shows like Felicity and Parenthood. With signature warmth and humor, Dax, Aaron, and Larry reflect on formative experiences, the craft of directing, the nuances of working with actors, and swap personal stories about friendship, aspirations, and the enduring impact of pop culture.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Larry Trilling’s Hollywood Roots and Early Influences

• Growing up in Santa Monica, Larry attended high school with the likes of Rob Lowe, Charlie Sheen, the Penn brothers, and Dean Cain (05:02).
  • “I went to Santa Monica High School with… the Penn brothers, Charlie Sheen, Rob Lowe. …Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe… just kind of trot around Brentwood together.” – Larry Trilling [03:38]
• Noting the then-public school environment for future stars, Dax and Larry discuss how LA's culture both normalized and demystified Hollywood dreams (06:53 – 07:00).
• Trilling’s transition into filmmaking came via a childhood friendship with director Matt Reeves, who drew Larry into early Super 8 filmmaking (09:49).

2. The Leap Into Directing

• Larry’s parents were supportive, with a crucial caveat: college before film school. This “broad education” route took him from Columbia (English major) to UCLA film school (13:07).
• Trilling’s early career involved years of “delivering pizzas,” working odd jobs, and making independent films as calling cards before gaining traction in Hollywood (13:55 – 14:59).
• His first TV break came from shadowing J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves on Felicity, leveraging old friendships into professional opportunities (16:56).

3. Directing for Television vs. Film

• Dax and Larry compare the unique challenges of TV directing, highlighting the difference between shaping a project as the “visionary” in film vs. honoring established show style in episodic TV (17:38 – 18:32).
• Larry describes the director’s role as requiring “confidence and having a point of view, but within the boundaries of what the show is,” as well as the humility to accept and adapt to better ideas from collaborators (19:47 – 20:50).

4. Working with Actors: Empathy and Tactics

• Dax praises Larry as one of the best directors at working with actors (20:50), “By a landslide, you’re such a beautiful person to work with... and respectful.”
• Larry learned actor-director communication in part from Judith Weston, focusing on actionable verbs rather than adjectives:
  • “Don’t talk about the result... Talk about the verb. So instead of saying, be angry at Aaron... say, ‘Scold Aaron.’” – Larry [22:44]
• Discusses “thin-slicing” personality types to direct each actor as the individual they are (23:52).
• Stories from set: balancing wildly different actor styles (e.g., William Hurt’s intensive rehearsal vs. Billy Bob Thornton’s improvisation on Goliath) and how to merge those for the best results (24:38).

5. Personal Histories and Friendship

• Dax and Aaron reminisce about their “golden year” of friendship in 7th grade (28:01), describing the invincible feeling of mutual comedic synergy and how it launched their social identities (28:39).
• The duo’s divergence in high school—Aaron into wild delinquency, Dax slightly less so—and eventual reconnection (29:05 – 31:11).
• Exploring punk and straight-edge music scenes, post-high school road trips, and how these formative years shaped both their outlooks (32:24 – 34:47).
• Dax’s move to LA: motivated by a fear of complacency and driven by creative ambitions, initially in writing and standup (33:55 – 34:53).

6. On Taste, Movies, and Directors

• Dax and Larry analyze what made them curious about film craft: Raising Arizona (visual style cues for Dax) and Annie Hall (for dialogue and behavior in Larry) were formative “gateway” movies (37:44; 38:45).
• Debate on Tarantino, with both sharing their top-three rankings (44:05):
  • Larry: “Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill… and then either Reservoir Dogs or Inglourious Basterds.”
  • Dax’s evolving love for Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood: “It’s almost challenging Pulp Fiction now.” [44:32]
• Larry’s three criteria for favorite films:
  1. Transformative first viewing impact
  2. Relevance/cultural influence
  3. Rewatchability (“There’s many films I love I don’t ever want to see again. I don’t ever want to watch Schindler’s List ever again.” [46:50])
• Comedy picks:
  • Larry: Annie Hall, Manhattan, The In-Laws, Airplane, Something About Mary
  • Dax: Raising Arizona, Fletch, Flirting With Disaster (47:07 – 48:33)
• Dramas: mutual love for The Godfather, Ordinary People, Shawshank Redemption, Michael Clayton, Thief (Dax’s all-time favorite drama) [48:39].

7. Reflections on Vulnerability, Masculinity, and Being “Emotionally Available”

• Dax asks Larry if he always felt at ease being emotionally available, prompting a candid discussion about the social trade-offs of sensitivity as a young man (42:08 – 43:45).
• “I didn’t have any game. I was just like, ‘I really like you and want to know all about you.’ And pretty soon… I have to hear about the guy they have a crush on…” – Larry [42:38]
• “If you can make them laugh, you can make them breakfast.” – Larry’s favorite expression (43:39).

8. Top TV Shows and Parenthood’s Legacy

• Larry names Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Sopranos, Friday Night Lights, and 30 Something as his TV pantheon (51:11 – 51:19), plus a nod to Parenthood:
  • “Can’t be objective about Parenthood, but would hope it’s up there somewhere.” – Larry [51:26]
• Mutual musings on the idea of returning to Parenthood for a reunion, with Dax expressing his desire to work with Larry again, regardless of the project (53:17 – 53:38).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “He’s just the sweetest, sweetest, sweetest man I’ve ever worked with... So smart and thoughtful.” – Dax on Larry [00:00]
• “I went to Santa Monica High School with, you know, the Penn brothers, Charlie Sheen, Rob Lowe...” – Larry [03:38]
• “If you can make them laugh, you can make them breakfast.” – Larry [43:39]
• “The director is the one thinking about everything… put your ego aside.” – Larry [20:50]
• “By a landslide, you’re such a beautiful person to work with.” – Dax [21:10]
• “Don’t talk about the result... Talk about the verb.” – Larry [22:44]
• “You have to have the confidence to go like, ‘You know what? That’s a better idea…’” – Larry [20:50]
• “I have two versions [of Brad Pitt]… I very much hold Brad Pitt on screen as this other person that I’m in love with and obsessed with.” – Dax [52:30]
• “Let’s make that happen.” – Larry on working again with Dax [53:34]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00 – 01:26 – Show intro, welcoming Larry Trilling
• 03:38 – 06:08 – Trilling’s Santa Monica High stories, famous classmates
• 09:49 – 11:02 – Early filmmaking with Matt Reeves, J.J. Abrams encounter
• 13:07 – 14:59 – College, film school, early struggles
• 16:56 – 17:26 – First break: shadowing on Felicity
• 17:38 – 20:50 – Navigating TV vs. film directing
• 20:50 – 24:38 – Directing actors, knowledge from Judith Weston
• 24:38 – 26:58 – Managing different actor temperaments (Goliath example)
• 28:01 – 34:47 – Dax & Aaron’s friendship, formative years
• 37:44 – 41:24 – First “gateway” movies; film taste origins
• 44:05 – 44:50 – Top three Tarantino films
• 46:09 – 47:07 – Larry’s film criteria
• 48:39 – 49:37 – Top dramas
• 51:11 – 53:38 – Top TV shows and Parenthood legacy, reunion musings

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Original Language & Tone

The episode maintains the show’s trademark mix of humor, candor, and camaraderie. There's a genuine sense of warmth between the guests, particularly as Dax celebrates Larry’s professional skills and their mutual love of storytelling, film, and friendship. Anecdotes range from hilarious (parking meter thefts post-Heat) to heartfelt (Dax’s devotion to Aaron, Larry’s vulnerability), all shared with open self-deprecation and insight.

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For Listeners Who Missed The Episode

This conversation is a masterclass on the creative and personal pathways into Hollywood, the craft of directing TV versus film, and the enduring value of empathy and connection, both professionally and personally. It’s a nostalgic, funny, and deeply relatable road trip through the decades—with movie lists, TV debates, and touching admissions about love, growth, and what endures beyond fame.

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Transcript

[A]

Hello and welcome to Mom's car Today. And this is a long time coming, I think I talk about Larry Trilling more than any other director I've ever worked with. He directed something like 60 of the hundred and some Parenthoods. And he's just the sweetest, sweetest, sweetest man I've ever worked with. And it's such a joy to have him in the car today and to get to introduce him to my best friend, Aaron. And we just had the most lovely, pleasant time. He's so smart and he's so thoughtful, and I just love them to death. Please enjoy Larry Trilling.

[B]

You know what's smart? Checking Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds on car insurance. You know what's not smart? Not checking the coffee lids secure before you take that first sip. My morning coffee ended up all over me. And let me tell you, that smell.

[A]

Does not come out easily.

[B]

Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds of. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary, subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate North America Insurance Company Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.

[A]

So what state were you just in? Utah?

[C]

I was in Vancouver, British Columbia.

[A]

Oh, were you by Whistler?

[C]

I actually drove up to Whistler for the day. Rented a car and drove through Squamish and into Whistler.

[A]

Have you been? Yeah, I went when I was probably 21. I was dating a girl that had moved to Bellevue, Washington. And then we were both snowboarders. It was very cool.

[C]

That's beautiful.

[A]

All I remember is it was illegal to sell cold beer. So all of the liquor stores had these cooling tanks in front that were like ice cold water. And you'd spill, spin the beer in there to cool it down.

[D]

That is insane.

[A]

Yeah, there's another one of these systems where you're like, oh, my God. So you can do it. It's just you gotta do it in a really complicated manner.

[D]

Spins the beer around, flattens it.

[A]

Either you can't have cold beer or you can't. You can't have a workaround.

[C]

What is the point of that law?

[A]

I guess to discourage people from pounding them in the store, I guess.

[D]

Well, you know, remember the south always had the workers. The tall boy cans at the register.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

In the big bucket of ice. And it was like. Well, you know damn well you're cracking it the second you walk out that.

[A]

Door and drive through liquor stores.

[D]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Okay. I've not told Aaron this. Cause I knew it would be too exciting to learn about you before he was around you.

[D]

He has a labradoodle? Is that what you're gonna tell me?

[B]

Yes.

[D]

That was it.

[C]

That's the most interesting thing about me.

[A]

I looked him up.

[C]

That's why I'm here.

[A]

Aaron loves his doodle. When he walks his dogs in Michig and people yell out the window, what kind of doodle is that? It's a very emasculating dog. Totally.

[C]

It's a very metro dog to have.

[D]

I've had the toughest guys go, yo, man, what kind of doodle is that? And I was like, I'm anticipating a fight. And I'm like, oh, golden.

[A]

Goldendoodle. Are both of them. What's the little one a cavapoo?

[D]

He's a King Charles cavalier and a poodle.

[A]

I wouldn't have predicted that for you in your future. Okay, so we both, of course, like everyone, were obsessed with Outsiders. The movie growing up.

[C]

Oh, God, yeah.

[A]

Loved All Gang movies. Aaron doesn't know that you went to school with virtually the entire class. Oh, you were in that.

[D]

They don't know you went to Santa Monica.

[C]

I went to Santa Monica High School with, you know, the Penn brothers, Charlie Sheen, Rob Lowe. And then I used to work out at the 24 Hour Fitness in Brentwood, and they all came in together. Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe as a Patrick Sway. They work out together, see Thomas how, and just kind of trot around Brentwood together.

[A]

Had their movies already aired. Did you have, like, a great interest in them?

[C]

Well, Rob wasn't at school that much, and he's a couple years older than me. But I remember when class came out, remember the movie class? And they were like, that guy went to Sammo. I said, oh, that's right. And I looked him up in the yearbook. He wasn't that involved in school versus, like, Robert Downey Jr. Was in the plays. And I saw him. He was absolutely riveting in this play. You thought that, oh, my God, he was magic. So Matt Reeves, the director, and I were students there, and so we tried to get him to be in our film.

[A]

Okay, student film and a student film.

[C]

And so he was like, how much are you gonna pay me?

[A]

Wow. Yeah.

[C]

And I said, no, we don't have any money. He's like, no, no, no. He's already a professional actor, you know? But he was so unbelievable. So none of his success surprised me at all. Charlie Sheen was a baseball player. He wasn't in drama.

[A]

He was playing at Sam, Ohio.

[C]

He played at Samoa and he was serious about baseball. I think he may have had professional aspirations before acting.

[D]

Then he did. What's the movie? The Cleveland Indians.

[C]

Oh, Major League.

[D]

Major League, yeah. I remember reading that about him, that he was a bas.

[C]

All those guys were a little older than me. The only one I was actually friends with was Dean Cain.

[A]

Oh, wonderful.

[C]

Who's Superman?

[A]

I mean, Superman.

[D]

Who didn't that school spit out the.

[A]

Next couple of years?

[C]

Well, the reason why is because at that time, Malibu didn't have its own high school. It was the Santa Monica Malibu School district. So all those Hollywood kids lived in Malibu.

[A]

Like the Sheens.

[C]

The Sheens, The Pennsy, Sean Penn. Dean Cain's dad was a director. He directed Young Guns. Chris Caine.

[A]

Oh, my God, we love Young Guns. Yeah.

[C]

So Dean, I played basketball with such a. Such a nice guy, an amazing guy. And then he went to Princeton, dated Brooke Shields, was the all time leading interception leader in the Ivy League.

[A]

Maybe took Brooke Shields virginity. She said in her book.

[C]

Could be.

[A]

I think in her book she said that lucky man. Lucky both of them.

[D]

I guess you're right.

[A]

Superman.

[C]

I hadn't seen him for a few years and then it was kind of a low moment. I was delivering pizzas and I wound up delivering to him. And he answered the door. How you doing, Dean? He said, oh my God, I just got cast as Superman with Terry Hatcher. I'm gonna be starring in this show. He's like, what are you up to? And I'm like, I'm giving you your pizza. You're up to.

[A]

I'm up to so much. It's even crazy I'm able to deliver this pizza in this moment. But look at, here we are, I'm delivering food. So you never know.

[C]

Nothing's popped up yet.

[A]

Oh, no, it'll take long. It won't. We'll mostly just drive around and we pray that it comes up. Something will hit. So none of those guys though, other than Dean, were your direct age, at.

[C]

Least one year older to a few years older. Holly Robinson also was there. Holly Robinson, Pete, remember her?

[D]

Holly Robinson.

[C]

She's on some TV shows and movies. She also married Rodney Peet, the football player. He was a Detroit Lion.

[D]

He was a Lion.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, good job, guys. Sports knowledge, don't you think it says something about the evolution? And this is a debate you and I were just in recently. But nowadays, all those kids. Because again, the Sheens are Martin Sheen's kids. Emilio Westeves and Charlie Sheen. A lot of these people had money. Downey's dad was successful.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

They would have definitely been at a private school. Now it says a lot that all those kids were in public school.

[C]

Yeah, well, Santa Monica. Santa Monica was a very esteemed school district back then and people moved to Santa Monica for the schools and private school wasn't really much of a thing in LA yet. There were a couple was Crossroads. Around Crossroads was a weirdo experimental school. So not until the middle to late 80s did it become more established as a more mainstream place to go.

[A]

And what about like the Harvard west side?

[C]

Yeah, there was that class of kids that went to Harvard or Brentwood. If you grew up in Santa Monica, I mean you went to public school, that's why you would live there.

[A]

What year did you graduate from there?

[C]

I graduated Santa Monica High in 1984.

[D]

Is that when the Outsiders came out?

[C]

84, 85. And then Rumble Fish was like the year after, Right?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

You guys Rumble Fish fans too?

[A]

Every SC Hinton movie. I love. My favorite of all of them was that was then, this is now. Do you remember that one? Yeah.

[C]

Emilio Estevez.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

And Craig Scheffer, right?

[A]

Oh, sure, sure, sure. Do you ever ponder on this? There was a group of really famous young actors when we were younger that were leads and quite successfully leads and then they just kind of disappeared. That guy was one of them that you just mentioned.

[C]

Well, I remember when Kirk Sheffer was in, I think it was what River Runs Through It.

[D]

Oh my gosh.

[C]

He was the bigger star. Pitt was not the star.

[D]

What a movie.

[A]

Oof. Yeah.

[D]

I'd have to get right down to the screen tonight.

[A]

That is a beautiful movie.

[C]

It is.

[A]

The narration's quite beautiful.

[C]

I know. I wonder about the people like that who, you know, if you have a little taste of that and then it goes away so quickly. Is it painful? I mean, I think it would be for most people. Some people might make peace with it and say that no, it's just a little chapter of my life.

[A]

Yes. And I've long had the urge to do maybe like a 10 episode little compartmentalized version of Armchair where I talk to all those people, but I'm so afraid of approaching them and that it would feel to them like, where are they now? But I would just be more interested because I bet we're wrong. I bet a lot of people just saw their way out one way or another.

[C]

And I think it's a battlefield for people who it happens to really young or. That's interesting. With someone like Ralph Macchio, who would have been that guy. But now he's having a renaissance in the same role, like 30 or 40.

[D]

Years later, has refused to learn a lick of karate.

[A]

Good for him. Sorry, I mean, like, if you're on ships for 35 years and you never.

[D]

Learned a write about. Of course. Yeah, believe me, I love the show. I watch it with my kids and I'm like, oh, he just really still hasn't worked out or learned karate, huh?

[C]

Now he's doing it with Jackie Chan in a movie so they made.

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[D]

I saw that coming up and now.

[A]

I see it's the universe. Cause I just saw a poster for like a Karate Kid something, and it's like unrelated to all of it, but it's Karate Kid.

[C]

Oh, my God, the universe.

[A]

Now, what age did you, Larry, set your sights on being a director if you were offering Robert Downey a role in high school?

[C]

It's interesting. Even though I grew up in Santa Monica and grew up adjacent to all of Hollywood stuff, I was not in that milieu at all. I didn't know anybody in the business.

[A]

What did your dad do?

[C]

My dad was a stockbroker and my mom worked in her brother's pharmacy. You know, very middle class Santa Monica existence. Upper middle class. But then I loved movies, just as a viewer. But then I had the good fortune to meet Matt Reeves. He was just this little cinema geek genius from the time he was like 13 or 14. And he seduced me into his little world of filmmaking.

[A]

Okay, he infected you with his drink?

[C]

Yeah, he had a great camera. He had all the equipment. And he asked me to write a movie with him. And then I wrote it with him, and then I acted in it, and then I just got bit. So we made three or four movies together in junior high and high school, but he owned all the equipment, so he got to be the director.

[A]

And what kind of equipment are we talking about? 8 millimeter.

[C]

Super 8 millimeter, but sync sound, so he had more elevated sound system.

[A]

Was his family in the business in any way?

[C]

Yeah, his dad was an ABC television exec and worked with Michael Eisner at one point. Had a little independent production company and made some movies of the week and stuff. So Matt was my entree. And then we had this film that we made that got onto the public access station in la.

[A]

Okay, how did that happen?

[C]

Because there was this dude named Gerard Revell and he had this show called air your shorts. And so all the kids would send in their short films and he would air them. So we'd be like, oh, my God. 3:00 clock today on Channel 3. Our movie's gonna be on TV and we run home from school to watch. It was so exciting.

[A]

Oh, that is so exciting.

[C]

And we met J.J. abrams that way. Because our film and his film were in a film fe of these films that screen at the New art Theater in LA.

[A]

And where's he from?

[C]

JJ's from the Palisades.

[A]

Oh, he is. I certainly meet a lot of people that work in this industry that are from here. But then also I've come up with people who were from here and they didn't have that same desperation. All of us who left our homes and our families. Your life would be a failure if you don't achieve that goal. Cause it's the only reason you're here. How do you think it's a benefit? And then how is it a curse?

[C]

Oh, that's a great question. I think the benefit is that you have better balance in your life. Like, my family and friends are here. My whole existence in LA isn't determined by the business, even growing up. So I wasn't feeling like a failure every second. I wasn't achieving my dream.

[A]

Like, I was right.

[C]

That's probably the benefit. I guess the curse is that it's just. It's not a curse. But it's just like, I think I got bit just as hard as you or anybody who came here. Maybe I had the advantage of a little balance.

[A]

I'm presuming you're that much closer to it. Cause you're living in la, you're seeing movie stars, you're going to school with kids who do this already for a living. That must seem at least more achievable. At least you're meeting people that do it.

[C]

You're right. I think it seemed less impossible or distant or remote. I didn't grow up with people other than Matt and his family. I didn't know other people whose parents were in the business. Even so it was just more part of the culture here. And it seemed more doable.

[A]

It made it more or less difficult for you to announce to your parents, like, I'm gonna go study this.

[C]

I'm really blessed that that was not a challenge for me. My parents were so supportive.

[A]

They wanted you to be a stockbroker.

[C]

My dad initially wanted me to be a stockbroker with him. He wanted to teach. He was very good at it, proud of it. And I just didn't have that in me. But he knew that pretty quickly. And then he was like, all right, but if you're Gonna do this. First of all, he said, I don't want you to major in it in college. He wanted me to have a good solid liberal arts education to fall back on.

[A]

So what was your major?

[C]

I was an English major. Okay, so I was just like a good liberal arts major at what school? At Columbia. Then I went to UCLA for film school. So these are like after you get your broad education, then we'll support you 100% going for it. Both my parents are really encouraging. When I meet young people who wanna do this and the first thing they say is, I don't know. My parents don't wanna. I know they're not gon. Because that either has to not matter to you or it's gonna stop you.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

But if you're mentioning it right away, it means probably ain't gonna happen.

[A]

It's not a great indicator. And how long after you got out of UCLA do you start being employed as a director?

[C]

Several years. So college, then film school for four years.

[B]

Four years?

[C]

Well, it's really like three. It's a lot of time for an mfa.

[A]

Should've been a doctor.

[D]

Yeah. Four at Columbia and four at ucla.

[C]

Four years and no employment skills whatsoever.

[D]

Comes out of your unemployable.

[C]

Because I was delivering pizzas during my time there and then after that. So yeah, I literally was like, here I come, Hollywood. But nobody cared. That's partly because it takes about a year to make a thesis film, raise the money to shoot it, to edit it, and so it's probably like two to three years of classwork and then you do a year where you're really just working on your thesis film. So I did that and it became a bit of a calling card. And I got meetings and stuff and some encouragement, but it took a solid five more years before I made a nickel in the business.

[A]

What was your emotional state during that time? Were you ever considering deviating or pivoting? For sure.

[C]

I gave myself this artificial deadline of five years and said, I'll go to law school in five years if I don't have anything happening. And it was just maybe slightly more than five years. But when that five year ceiling was coming, I was like, I just gotta take matters into my own hands. And so I co wrote with my cousin a feature that we made. Then I sold a feature too that I co wrote and that was produced as an independent low budget film. But the one that I made wound up becoming a calling card and got me an age. And it finally started to get the ball rolling. But that Was five years.

[A]

And do you start in tv?

[C]

I started off making two independent films and I had definitely had a goal of being a movie filmmaker.

[A]

Because that's what you had fallen in love with as a kid. Yeah.

[C]

I mean, I liked tv, but, you know, when we grew up, it was all about movies. That was where the great acting and great storytelling was happening.

[A]

All the lines you were quoting. Yeah.

[C]

It was just much more cultural. You know, the TV was fun and I liked it. But movies were.

[A]

It wasn't artistic at all.

[D]

Exactly.

[A]

I think it's funny. If you were born 98 onward, that would be a crazy thought, that TV wasn't appealing or a little. I know, but it was either super procedural one hour or it was a multi cam sitcom pretty much.

[C]

Right. And there were a couple of exceptions. Like 30 something was incredibly inspiring or Hill Street Blues or shows that broke the mold a little bit, that were more cinematic, more emotional, more meaty.

[A]

What was the first TV show you got to direct? Felicity, which was now J.J. abrams.

[C]

Yeah. So that came full circle. So I made this feature film called Dinner and Driving and it was a really fun little independent feature. Molly Shannon's in it. Adam Scott is in it. Joey Slotnick.

[A]

We love Adam Scott. Do you love Adam Scott?

[C]

I love Adam Scott.

[A]

Pumped.

[C]

When you see him, one of his first roles, do you have like that.

[A]

Sense of pride when you see him in severance?

[C]

100% him. And the other one is Eben Moss Bakrach. I gave him one of his first roles ever, too. Starred in porn and chicken that I wrote and directed, which was Comedy Central's first original movie.

[A]

Porn and chicken.

[C]

Yes. But you got a call.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Look at this.

[A]

This is called Petstaraut. Oh, my God, I hope this is a dog.

[D]

It's a dog. It is.

[C]

Look at it.

[D]

The universe is dog with us. Yeah.

[A]

If it's not a humbling enough job to deliver other people food, the notion that, like you're bringing a dog as food is really unique.

[C]

That's hilarious.

[D]

I would like to just uber for dogs.

[A]

Like, bunch of treats in your car.

[D]

Right.

[A]

They must have one. Right? Cause people need to get their dogs down.

[D]

I'm guessing, like, to the vet.

[A]

Yeah. You get bit attacks. So, Felicity, did you knowing J.J. play any role in that?

[C]

Yes. J.J. and Matt Reeves, they created the show. So what happened was I made this feature film that I told you about and they really liked it and they said, well, why don't you come and shadow and observe while Matt and I direct? JJ and Matt had made that Offer. And I shadowed them. I hung around the set as much as I could. And then they were incredibly generous. They gave me a shot and went well.

[D]

That was an incredibly popular show. Right.

[C]

It was never, like, an enormous hit, but it has a very devoted following. It's like Parenthood. But Parenthood was bigger than Felicity. But where it's grown over the years.

[A]

Right, right.

[D]

Like, I think my daughters have watched it just like they watch Gilmore Girls. Gilmore Girls, Yeah. Like, they are into all of the.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That's so nice. That stuff still holds up.

[A]

So when you started, I think. Well, you tell me. I've only directed TV a couple times. It's a tricky endeavor. As opposed to movies? Yes. Cause the director in a movie is the boss. It's the most important opinion on a set. And in television, the most important opinion is from the showrunner or the writer. And you're walking into a situation where the tone and everything's already established. So you kind of got to carry on the tone. It has its own unique challenge. Right?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

What were you immediately good at? And what did you immediately go like, oh, I gotta figure this part out.

[C]

What's one thing if you're doing the pilot or the beginning, first episode, where you're really establishing the visual vocabulary and the style and tone of the show, that's different. But if you're coming in to do an episode and it's been established, you have to walk that balance of being respectful and mindful, what's been there. But then you can still have the ambition to elevate it or tell a great story within the lines.

[A]

Be the best version of it. It could be.

[C]

Yeah. Same within the lines. But the competitor in me was always like, I'm gonna come and do the best episode.

[D]

Look at all this ice cream this dog gets.

[A]

Oh, my goodness. I'm joking.

[D]

It's not ice cream, but it looks like it. It's just a shit ton of dog food.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

This is great.

[C]

This is awesome. I think I was good at kind of navigating that piece of the puzzle, which is some episodic directors become too passive because they think they don't have, and they could just essentially come in and direct traffic, which I know you experience as an actor, those kinds. And then the ones who come and don't understand the show and are trying to take in a direction that doesn't belong. So it's about really being confident and having a point of view, but within the boundaries of what the show is. And I think maybe if I had any early mistakes Would have been not having enough confidence about where I thought, you know, like maybe listening to people who said, well, I think we should do it this way. And I might have deferred a little too much early on because. Oh, well, they're here all the time, so they know. But really the director is the one thinking about everything. And even if someone's been there all the time and they're the production designer or the editor or the dp, whatever, they're looking up their lane. They may not necessarily be looking at everything.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

And so I may have been overly deferential at the beginning to the other.

[A]

People that work there all the time.

[C]

Yeah, the DP or even a dolly grip or whatever. I think we should push in here. Well, no, let's not. We don't really do that. And I said, well, you know what? Let's do that anyway.

[A]

Right, right, right.

[C]

Finding my confidence. But that just came through experience. And then also got a lot better at staging things. So one thing is blocking and moving the act in space and the dance between the actors and the camera. You go in by yourself and walk the set with the script and imagine how the actors are gonna move through space. And then you write a shot list and you plan it that way. Well, when a talented, smart actor comes in, they might do something totally different in the rehearsal.

[A]

I never come in that door. I come in that door.

[C]

Yeah, I come in there. Why would I sit there? I don't wanna go there just cause the shot is cool. I mean, I have to be motivated. So a I'd learn to motivate blocking with storytelling and also then to be able to be nimble enough to be like, you know what? Let's throw that away. Okay, let's do it this way. That's a skill set. You have to develop blocking for the camera. It can really throw an inexperienced director when the actors or anybody wants to change the blocking. And you have to have the confidence to go like, you know what? That's a better idea. I don't look like an idiot for being overruled. I look good for being overruled because I recognize the better idea and just move on. So putting your ego aside, those are things that you kind of learn along the way.

[A]

Well, you are by far. And I would even argue, of everyone I've ever worked with, I think you're among the best I've ever seen with dealing with actors. You're really, really, really quite good at it. And I did wonder if that was always the thing that came easy to you. Or that required a lot of learning as well.

[C]

Well, thank you.

[A]

First of all, by a landslide. You're such a beautiful person to work with.

[C]

Oh, man.

[A]

And respectful.

[C]

Well, I'm very touched.

[A]

Cause I can get triggered easily. Yeah, I'm sure you saw. I mean, it's like male authority figures.

[C]

Well, we had a few battles too.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

But I mean, always very good spirited.

[A]

I think it was clear we loved each other. Which helps. If you were a visitor and we had no rapport and you had to deal with that, then. Yeah, that was probably annoying for them.

[C]

First of all, I did enough acting to at least understand a little bit about what the actor has to deal with and what the challenges are. Never aspired to do it professionally, but I did enough of it. And then I took classes directing actors. I had a wonderful teacher named Judith Weston, who wrote a couple great books about working with actors. And she was really, really helpful in helping me develop vocabulary.

[A]

Yeah. So what are some of the things. Cause I have no formal education, so I'm just.

[C]

Well, you have a formal education as an actor.

[A]

Sure, sure. And on sets for a long time. But I'm interested even that there is written about approaches. I wouldn't have even known that.

[C]

I mean, some of it is honestly just the natural empathic social skills, you know, about understanding how to move someone in a direction of a more emotional place or whatever the aim of the scene is, whatever you're trying to get to, whether that's a laugh or a cry or whatever it is. And then what are the behaviors? But that's a thing that I learned from Judith Wesson, is that don't talk about the result of what you want to see. Don't give the adjective. Talk about the process, how they're gonna get there. Talk about the verb. So instead of saying, be angry at Aaron because he fucked up the delivery. No, Scold Aaron for missing it. You know, attack Aaron.

[A]

Don't tell him what emotion they're supposed to have.

[C]

Don't tell me. Because, by the way, someone could attack someone very quietly. Someone could attack someone very loudly. Another one is a really good one, is the using imaginative substitution as if, like, open the door, as if you hadn't seen this person in 10, even if that's not what the scene's about. Or think about when you had a reunion with someone, you know, as if you had to confront your parents with something that was very shameful, or trying to put the actor in the imaginative space of something urgent and emotional, as opposed to just saying, can you be angrier here. Can you yell real loud and thrash this thing around? And then it becomes, you know, if the actor can process that and find a way to make it internal, great. But you haven't helped them get there.

[A]

Right, right, right, right. You're like a football coach too. I interviewed Pete Carroll and I was just fascinated he get of young men and some of them have had no dads and some of them have had a great dad who they love getting the approval of. And he clearly has to have two almost diametrically opposed approaches for those two situations. Do you think you got good at thin slicing personality types where you could go like, oh, yeah, I need this approach for this person?

[C]

I think so. Some actors really want a lot of engagement. They want to talk about everything, the whole life history of their character. Do you believe that?

[A]

Because as a fellow actor, I'm like, this is all bullshit. You want us to know you worked really hard on this. Because we all have this guilt that the job is too easy, which it is too easy and it's too fun and you get paid too much money. You have to really demonstrate at all times, like, I'm working so hard at this and I just, for the most part, I kind of reject that position.

[C]

Well, you're not that kind of an actor. For me, it's like whatever gets you there. For some people, that's their training. And especially actors that come out of the theater and they want to be able to be a deep well and pull from different imagined experiences to create the character. I think it's valid, but it's definitely not everyone's process. The challenge is when you' with two actors that working together who have opposite processes.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

Like when I worked on Goliath, I got to work with two of my heroes, Billy Bob Thornton and William Hurt, and they had the opposite approaches. You know, William was a Juilliard trained theater actor and I had to spend hours off set with him. And this is a guy who was like an Academy Award winning, amazing actor. But he had really wanted to investigate the text in a way that was so exhaustive and could be exhausting. And Billy was like, if I talk about it, I'm ruining it. Just say action and let's see what happens. Yes, yes, yes. And so those two guys in a scene together, one who wants to rehearse for weeks and one who refuses to rehearse.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

The one who refuses to rehearse wins. Cause he can't make them show up. So I would rehearse with William privately and then Willie would just do his thing on the day. And they're both amazing. So it's like, to me, as long as you get the performance.

[A]

Well, I gotta say, I was in the tricky situation on chips, which is Pena's very much like William Hurt and I'm very much like Billy Bob Thornton. Right. So we have the weird dynamic of scene partners who have a different approach. And then we have me directing and I have to do for him things I wouldn't do as a scene partner. It's very complex at first.

[C]

When you were off camera and he's on camera, were you being more of a director than a scene partner? And like, were you manipulating his performance through your off camera performance?

[A]

So I was definitely manipulating my off camera. Right. Cause what's easy for me is to go big. And he is an incredible actor and he's reticent to just go big. Like, if there's explosions going off, like, I want to hear screaming. And so that wasn't his first instinct. And I would just be so big knowing I'm not even gonna use it. Just minimally. He'd have to match somewhat. There was that dynamic, but the one I totally missed. It took me a good two or three weeks of filming before this occurred to me, which now is so obvious and stupid, is we would cut. I wouldn't go anywhere. I'd be like, oh, that's great. Let's do it a little faster. Blah, blah, blah, blah. And I would just say some things. And that was going on for a few weeks. And then one time I yell cut. And I go, do you know that I say to myself, dex, you gotta be way louder and have way more energy. I go, you're not hearing it vocalized, but I'm beating the shit out of myself in my head. And then I talk to you. And he was like, oh, yeah, I'm glad I know that. And then I was like, yes, of course. He must think he's never heard me receive an adjustment. Now I'm making adjustments, but he's not receiving it. He's just hearing adjustments for him in the theme park.

[C]

Yeah, the other guy's crushing it. I'm making all these.

[A]

He thinks he's flawless on take one. I was sympathetic to that, but it just went over my head. I'm like, oh, he knows I beat the shit out of myself. And I hate everything I do.

[C]

I really admire that ability to be in those two spaces at once. Cause you have to be so present for the other performance. And then you have to give your own.

[D]

Did you ever act outside of high school?

[C]

Not seriously. I was in a few student films. It was never gonna be my life's ambition. I just didn't have it.

[A]

Did you love it, though?

[C]

Yeah, it's fun.

[B]

It's really fun.

[D]

Yeah. Pretending.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

How about you, Aaron? Have you ever done any performing?

[D]

Oh, gosh, no.

[A]

He should have. I mean, he should have come out with me.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

It could have been a comedy duo.

[D]

Yeah, that would have been fun. Regrets, right? I enjoyed performing.

[A]

Yeah. Junior high.

[C]

Just being like, spontaneously funny and goofy. And were you guys kind of like a team together that way?

[A]

We were a duo. I'm sure you've heard me say this, but for both of us, the best year of our entire lives. And I've had a charmed life. Still. 7th grade is the best year of my life.

[C]

Did you grow a bunch that year? Right? You got tall that year?

[B]

No, I was already in.

[A]

But I had moved to a new junior high and Aaron and I had become friends. And we became friends in a way. And I'm sure you have these. Everything became crystal clear, which is like, as long as Aaron's laughing, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I have a single audience member in my life now. It's so important to me that I make him laugh. And I think vice versa. And I think when you're that age, that reads us. Such confidence. So we became this really popular duo. Like, the kids would imitate whatever voices we made up and we'd go to parties and act obnoxious and everyone loved it. We were movie stars, were so popular all of a sudden. And we loved. We loved it so much.

[C]

And did it grow from 7th to 12th or where did it go from there?

[D]

We had a couple year gap in our seeing each other.

[C]

Did you guys have a falling out?

[A]

We were starting to go on divergent paths. I was into being bad, but I wasn't into stealing four wheelers. I was into throwing apples. I wasn't into smashing plate glass windows. I was into stealing cigarettes from the store. But I wasn't into getting hammered and huffing gas.

[C]

Mild delinquency versus ser. Instilling.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. I couldn't make the cut at some point. Yeah.

[B]

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[D]

But then we caught back up in 11th grade and it was as if no time really had lapsed. I couldn't believe like why did I even leave this? Like what I didn't like that other stu. I don't know what I was doing.

[A]

It was just all fighting and getting fucked up and stealing shit and just Sean Penn bad boys.

[C]

Yeah, at that age you're exploding in all different directions. It's all happening so radically.

[A]

And Aaron's home life was considerably worse than mine. Mine had straightened out by the time we met. That was the sweet spot of my life. There was no stepdad. Financially, it was working. Everything for me started getting good and.

[D]

Promising and then all of a sudden I met him, who was the most understanding and non judgmental and very caring and it was something you rarely would.

[C]

See in a. Yeah, I've always been like that.

[A]

And a young kid. Yeah, I love kids. I loved Aaron so much.

[C]

Where have you always been? Easily express your affection for people and kind of thing. That's been something you've always been like.

[D]

That we came to the conclusion that, oh, my God, did you just always want a child since you were 12? Like, he just needed to take care of someone.

[A]

Always. Yeah. Aaron's been calling me dad since we were in jr. That's my nickname.

[C]

Yeah, that's beautiful.

[A]

But, like, I got him a car for Christmas in 11th grade. I like, Yeah, I got this car.

[D]

Running and I'd be like, look what my dad got me.

[A]

This is the great love story of my life is Aaron Weekley.

[C]

Yeah, I know.

[A]

Together in high school, Aaron was now sober. I was sober then. We entered the punk rock scene full on. Every single weekend. We went to shows in Detroit. In Detroit.

[C]

What were the main bands like? Who were you guys hardcore into?

[D]

At that time? It was a lot of bands from Washington DC. We were into, like, that straight edge.

[A]

Ian McKay, you know, Fugazi. And his label was Discord. So everyone on Discord we liked. But we go to these wild shows. Larry, that were like, sick of it all was a band from. And half the people that followed sicapitall were like Straight Edge progressives like us, and then the other half were straight skinheads, like racist skinheads. And you'd go to these shows and it was just terrifying in the most exhilarating way.

[C]

Would you get into this scrum with them and bash around with all those guys?

[D]

Yeah, sure.

[A]

But we also, we were the jesters there. It was almost seventh grade all over again. Like, we had this little scene and we did weird stuff and people thought it was funny. And, yeah, we were just kind of back in back, you know. When we graduated, we then went and lived in the car for six months together, driving around the country. And then when we got home, everything was hunky dory. And then I just woke up one day. I was like, I gotta get out of here immediately.

[C]

Gotta go to college.

[A]

I'm having so much fun. We drink every day. Yeah. Yeah.

[D]

He was like, I gotta go back to Los Angeles and try to do something.

[A]

Yeah. And I was like, see ya already.

[D]

Like, wait. I'm kinda like just getting my foot in the oven here.

[C]

What was that inspiration, Doc? Like, why did that happen?

[A]

When it happened, I just could see my life was very obvious what was gonna happen, which is I worked for my family business. My brother and mom were partners. I was getting entrusted with more stuff. I was kind of good at it. And I just was like, this is what I'm gonna end up doing. I'm gonna blink and I'm gonna be 30. I just had the sense that I was gonna blink and be 30. I got myself in kind of a really fun cage that maybe I'd be afraid I wouldn't break. And then when I came to California, it was like I wanted to be Bukowski. That's all I wanted to be. I wrote every night for hours and I submitted short stories. I was obsessed with that notion. And then also I told myself I'll do standup. And I never did it in Santa Barbara. And then I took a little trip on the weekend to LA and I did an open mic night and I was like, okay, we're in, we're gonna move to la. And I had met someone that explained the Groundlings to me and that was less scary. And so I was a little embarrassed in our friendship group that I was out here pursuing acting.

[C]

Did it just seem soft?

[A]

It felt soft, yeah. Yeah, it felt emascul somehow that I was doing this.

[C]

What were you doing to pay the bills then?

[A]

Still working for my mom's company all through college. On the weekends I'd get out of class at UCLA at like 2pm and I'd immediately get in a car and I would drive all night and get to Detroit Friday night. I always got there around midnight. We had two hours and then we would get shit faced till like four in the morning. And then I'd wake up on Saturday at like 7 or 8 in the morning and get in the car and drive back to la.

[B]

Oh my God.

[D]

He ends up to go to Detroit, to LA in a week.

[A]

Yes, back and forth.

[C]

That's insane.

[A]

And then go to school Monday. And I would do often that, twice in a month. And every single time, it was always when I'd be in Colorado on the way back, I would go, I can't ever do this again. I cannot say yes. When they asked me next weekend, oh my God. And I couldn't resist not partying with my friends because I didn't live there and I get so excited to be home. I did that. Or in the end, the summer we would go away into these big elaborate events at racetracks where you'd invite cars and they would drive all the new GM cars and those would be a week long and you could work 100 hours and make a lot of money. And then I worked at CPK for a minute, but generally I just did that. So one thing I thought could be really fun, Larry, to talk about is to make a couple lists maybe. And people may or may not know. 99% of being on a set is not acting or filming it's hanging out, waiting for them to light. Waiting for something to. And you're really just shooting the shit nonstop. And you and I had just endless interest in each other's opinions. Monday's a great day. Cause everyone's watched 60 Minutes. How do we feel about 60 Minutes? But along the way, I discovered that I think you and I have very similar tastes in movies. We seem to have almost identical. And so I thought because Eric asked you to make him a list of movies he should watch with his daughter.

[D]

Right.

[A]

And you did, and he has loved it. And he is supposed to have forwarded me that list, which he's forgotten to do over the last few days. But I thought maybe we could do some top. Like, top five comedy, top five drama.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

All right. You have time to think right now while I go up to get the thinking you're going to.

[C]

How often do they know you?

[A]

I can't believe. Almost never.

[C]

Really?

[A]

Yes. It's a wonderfully humbling experience.

[D]

Kristen went with us once and people saw it.

[A]

Yeah. And every single person.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right. Nice meeting you.

[D]

Bye. Well, that was cute.

[A]

Yeah, that was lovely.

[D]

Cute dog. It was a doodle, honey. Can you even believe it?

[C]

It's meant to be, man. It is meant to be.

[D]

I mean, I can't believe that's where we started. And our pickup was at a pet restaurant.

[C]

And have you not been called again?

[A]

That is insane. Yeah. Well, I guess my first question before we do a list is I'll go first, so you can go first.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

The very first thing I ever watched that made me question what is going on that makes this what it is, is. Was Raising Arizona, where you were thinking.

[C]

There'S a voice or a person or an entity that's making this happen. It's just not unfolding in real time.

[A]

And more than that, you remember the sequence where he steals the Huggies and he's running down the street and then the dogs are chasing him through the house? I mean, what I didn't know then is, like, they're on a 17. They're on this really wide lens, which looks very specific. And most things are not shot in that. So, like a. Just visually there was something going on that was much different. I just started realizing, oh, these are assembled and manufactured in a way that they can come out differently visually. And then obviously, it was so original tonally. I think before that, I just took movies. As a matter of fact, here's a movie. I love movies, but I never got bogged down into, like, the mechanics of why it was pleasurable or that I liked it. That was kind of my gateway movie. How about you? Did you have a gateway?

[C]

Yeah, but I think it was Annie hall for different reasons, because I didn't really develop a visual sensibility. I think I had more of an ear for dialogue and for behavior. The eye came later. But the way that people talked to each other and the way that he talked to the camera directly, the snappy banter and the way that there was a combination of comedy and then genuine emotion.

[A]

How much of it? There was a Jewish lead. Was that in the mix?

[C]

That was in the mix. That sort of self deprecating, neurotic Jewish trope was very familiar and hadn't really.

[A]

Been done or had it?

[C]

It had, but not in that particular. There were TV characters like that, but.

[A]

I would imagine those were gentiles kind of lampooning what they had witnessed versus coming from the inside.

[C]

Yeah. Also, he would always get the girl, even though he was nerdy, you know, So I think that spoke to me.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Also like the smart guy wins kind of thing. You know, it's not the jock, it's the smart guy wins. He gets the girl, you know, so it's part of that. But it was really just the idea that there's this music to the language and there's a romance about New York City and that I just felt swept up in it. Movies were always immersive, but something I was just ready to go to recognize that there was a hand in that. And I think it was easier to know that because Woody Allen wrote, directed and starred in it. So it was very clear to go, oh, that's his movie. And he made this as his point of view and his sensibility.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It wasn't a committee.

[C]

Right. That's when I realized, oh, there is a point of view like you were talking about from a visual standpoint.

[A]

Yeah. Well, related to that reaction. My breakthrough in that realm was definitely Pulp Fiction, which I was like 18, I think, when the movie came out. I'm just starting to. To go to weird movie theaters that aren't the Cineplex to see things. And that was the first time I was like, I wouldn't have again known this language at the time. But where dialogue could be the set piece, dialogue could be the big monster, it could be the big attraction. And I found that, like you, I always loved communicating. I loved words so much. I loved vocabularies. And I just thought, oh, wow, I'm very attracted to that. And I think I could write like that. Do you remember watching Pulp Fiction the first time?

[C]

I do. I loved it for all the same reasons you did. But I think just like with Muse, I'm older than you. I was already steeped in loving movies. But I do think that with movies and with music, between the age of, like, 13 and 20 is the spot for things making lifelong gut punching impact.

[A]

Yeah. They.

[C]

Diminishes. Even if you love something, it's unlikely to be seminal in your creative thinking.

[A]

Yeah. You don't incorporate it into your identity.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. You were, what, 27 when that came out?

[C]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

And so you had already kind of defined your identity.

[C]

Yeah. But I did love the movie. There's nothing against the movie. It's just literally how it hits you.

[A]

If you had to list the top three, Tarantino. Well, first of all, how big of a Tarantino file are you? Some people are obsessed. I'm obsessed.

[C]

Yeah. I would say not as far along as you are. But I love him and admire him. My very favorite movies make me feel deeply. And his don't. They are wildly entertaining.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

They're visual delights and I love them, but they don't rock my world. Water doesn't come out of my face watching a movie. So my favorite movies do that for the most part. Like, something about it just gives me the chills, and I don't get that from him. Not a criticism. That's not what he's trying to do.

[A]

Let me ask you this. You are very, very, like. I guess I get credit often for being very emotionally available as a dude, but you're even nine years ahead of me. Were you hiding that side of you, or were you very comfortable being that way? Cause I think that's something I like a lot about you.

[C]

Thank you. I was comfortable with it, but I had conflict because I always got along really well with girls and, you know, growing up. But I think that I put myself in the friend zone so often with girls I actually was attracted to.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I didn't have any game. I was just like, I really like you and I want to know all about you. And pretty soon he's telling me about the guy they have a crush on, and I have to hear all about it, and it sucks. I wish that I didn't reveal it so much.

[A]

You paid a little price for it.

[C]

I paid a price. And I also feel like maybe because I have this high lispy voice, that people maybe thought I was gay. You know, stuff like that.

[A]

So were you self conscious?

[C]

Self conscious about being effeminate? Yeah. And so that thing of being emotionally available and all that was.

[A]

It was a surprise to me.

[C]

There wasn't a whole lot of currency. It did make me popular, but in terms of where the currency was, you know, getting girls, getting the girlfriend, that didn't help me there. So I think it would have if I made a little pivot. Looking back, like, I could have done that and just been more confident with it.

[A]

You could have been swimming in ass.

[C]

Totally.

[A]

Yeah. You would have mixed in a couple wheelies on dirt bikes. That's what I did. And that seemed to level everything.

[C]

But I think I underestimated the humor. You guys were funny and you could do the wheelies. But they say, you know, if you can make them laugh, you can make them breakfast. You know, I love that expression.

[A]

Oh, I like that a lot. If you can make them laugh, you can make them breakfast.

[C]

Yeah. So I think I wish I knew that a little younger.

[A]

Okay, so if you were to just give me your top three Tarantino movies.

[C]

Top three Tarantino movies.

[A]

In order.

[C]

Yeah, in order. Okay, I'm gonna go. Is Kill Bill one movie or two movies?

[A]

Great. I'll let you pick that as one.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, I'm gonna go Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill. To me, those are above everything else by a lot.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

And then I would say the next one, I could go for either Reservoir Dogs or Inglourious Basterds.

[A]

Okay. Now, I'm gonna make an educated guess right now.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

I'm gonna predict that you saw Once Upon a Time in the theater and you have not seen it since.

[C]

That's correct. And I do like it, but it didn't even occur to me.

[B]

You might.

[A]

Must, must I proselytize this movie. That's all I talk about. I have watched that movie six or eight times in the last 18 months.

[D]

And then he asked me, when's the last time you've seen this? I go, when it came out. So he watched it again. I watched it again when I got home, and I was like, oh, my God, he was fucking right. How did I not love it that much? I know sometimes you have to watch a couple, but, yeah, dead on.

[A]

So I would have put Once Upon a time after the first viewing, I would have put it in, like, the four or five slot. And I'm telling you now, it's number two. And it's like, the more I watch it, it's almost challenging. Pulp Fiction. Wow. I really need you to watch it again as quickly as you can possibly. The ending sequence in the house is the craziest 20 minutes of a movie of all time, and you'll have forgotten.

[C]

And the revisionism of it is so great, you know, it's like, oh, if only it turned out this way, you know?

[A]

Yes. If only Cliff Booth had intervened.

[C]

Well, what you're hitting on, though, is I've thought a lot about. Because people often ask me my favorite movies. And so I decided to make a list of my 100 favorite movies. This is a long time ago. But then I decided I have to figure out the right criteria because I'm not really a cinephile like I am that I love and adore movies, but I'm not a person who can tell you everything about the French New Wave and Italian neorealism.

[A]

You've already blown by my knowledge by just knowing these words.

[D]

I thought you both knew what that was.

[C]

I'm not an erudite film person. Mike, if you would talk to certain filmmakers who've watched everything. Tarantino, Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, James Gray. These guys, they've seen everything.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I'm not that I. Pretty mainstream taste.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, me too.

[C]

My favorite thing is smart Hollywood movie. I like other things, too, but I said I have to make my own criteria. That is not pretending like I could be a film critic standing here telling you what the greatest movie is.

[A]

Yeah. Graduate class.

[C]

So I made it very clear to say favorite, not best. What makes a favorite film? There are three, and the favorite film ideally hits all three, but must hit at least one. Okay, one is the size of the impact it had on you when you first saw it. How much did it blow your mind? How transformative was it? Number two? How relevant, important, influential, culturally speaking? Where does its rank among in its time, in its place? How is it, you know, how important is it? How much did it influence people in general? Right. And the third thing is how rewatchable is it? There's many films I love I don't ever want to see again. I don't ever want to watch Schindler's List ever again.

[A]

Yeah, agree. You know, yeah, you couldn't pay me. I loved it.

[C]

But the Godfather, Shawshank Redemption, there's movies. If they are on, I'll just watch them.

[A]

Those are your criteria. Are you open to giving me, though, in genres? Could we start with what you think are a few of your favorite comedies of all time?

[C]

Okay.

[A]

So I told Jenny hall, that's number one. Yes, of course. You can't take that one away.

[C]

Other Woody Allen movies on there that haven't aged as well, but that I used to love Manhattan. Was one of my favorites. Now it's sort of creepy. And what happens?

[A]

What's he doing that way?

[C]

Well, he's a 43 year old. He's in love with Mariel Hemingway, who's 17. You know, he actually did wind up marrying his stepdaughter. So, like, it has a kind of unsavory. It hasn't aged well.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

You know, but I did love Manhattan. I loved the in laws. The in laws is amazing. Alan Arkin and Peter Falk. It is hilarious.

[A]

I love Herbie Goes Bananas.

[C]

I mean, I love Something About Mary. Something about Mary. Yep. How about you? What are your top comedies?

[A]

Okay. It is Raising Arizona. That's my Pulp Fiction of comedy. Yep. And then Fletch, one that I had.

[C]

The most joy in the theater watching was Airplane, because I was exactly the right age for it and it was just mind blowingly hilarious.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I think that's the hardest I've ever laughed in a movie.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

So that's the thing with Something About Mary too, which is like, I don't necessarily want to rewatch it all the time, but how hard I laughed in the theater or watching it.

[A]

Yeah. Surely you can't be serious. Yes, I'm serious. And don't call me Shirley.

[D]

He was great. I mean, naked guns, all of them.

[A]

My third comedy would be Flirting with Disaster.

[C]

Oh, that's way up there for me too.

[A]

What a movie.

[C]

It is great.

[D]

That's the Ben Stiller, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

You know what, Patricia?

[C]

That's way up there.

[A]

Okay, now what about dramas?

[C]

The Godfather movies, are they dramas or are they crime thrillers? I don't know, but they're dramas. One that I really adore is ordinary. I just find it deeply emotional. Makes me cry every time.

[A]

And you can re watch it?

[C]

Yeah, very much so. Shawshank Redemption's way up there for me.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Is Michael Clayton a drama or a thriller?

[A]

I would put it in my drama, kind of.

[C]

Okay. I'm gonna put that way up there too.

[A]

My number one drama of all time is Thief. Michael Mann's Thor adore Thief.

[C]

I just rewatched it. It's pretty spectacular.

[A]

I've watched that movie more than any other movie. And you know, my history with this movie is I would get drunk, Brie would go to bed. I'd be kind of blackout drunk. I'd watch Heat, and then I'd get crazy. And I stole a parking meter. I like, went and dug up a parking meter. Cause I just wanted to steal it, really. I tried to rob 711 with a fake gun after watching Heat.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And Brie was like, you're not allowed to watch this movie. After I go to bed, threw the.

[D]

VCR out the window.

[A]

I would watch Thief almost every night. I was hammered that she went to bed.

[D]

He used to call me and tell me about the next thing that he had. I remember going to Santa Monica and there was a fucking parking me in my living room.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And you couldn't get into it, of course.

[A]

Wow. Yeah. That movie would make me crazy.

[C]

What would inspire this antisocial in you?

[A]

Well, it was this self righteous, justified. I didn't have anything and I'm gonna take it. It's so toxic and dangerous. But I do recognize I was fully like, well I didn't get what I deserved. And now I'm gonna take it. Cause fuck everyone. And this is my one chance on planet earth and I'm not gonna not experience this.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And in my mind I was, am I gonna be rich from these like stealing the parfum. And it was the best part of me stealing the parking meter is you couldn't really pick it up. Cause I took the concrete with it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Then drug it to my apartment. If you were missing this parking meter, all you'd have to do is look at the sidewalk. And I drug it all the way up to my steps and then fucking got it up my steps. And then Bree comes out in the morning. I'm now passed out and she wakes me up, she's like, there's a parking meter in the living room.

[C]

Did you ever break it open? Did you get the change out of it?

[A]

Oh no, I would shake it. I saw, I got a hacksaw and I cut the top off. So I'd get rid of the post and the cement and then I would shake it. No, I cut that thing's somewhere with all the change in it. Oh my God. No, I was never successful in any of them. The 711 thing was he said, give me your money.

[D]

And the guy said no.

[A]

Panicked and then sprinted out of the 711 and got on my motorcycle and rode way too fast all the way home. So I'm like, well now the police are coming. Okay, let's talk TV shows. I think that should be our last bracket.

[C]

Okay, great.

[A]

What's your all time favorite TV show?

[C]

Ooh, might be Breaking Bad or it could be Mad Men.

[A]

So the new the Sopranos in your list.

[C]

Sopranos up there, Friday Night Lights, 30 something. Those are the ones jumping right out. Of course. Can't be objective about Parenthood, but would hope it's up there somewhere. I mean, it's one of my favorites.

[A]

I think people will get a kick out of this. You and I were in the pool the other day, and we were, like, trying to understand whether or not Parenthood was as good as Friday Night Live. Because Jason Katum, same creator, same showrunner, and we had many cast members from Friday Night Lights on Parenthood, and we would always. Or I would always gush about Friday Night Lights, like, well, you were on the best Kadum show ever. And they often said, no, Parenthood's better than that.

[C]

Yeah, Linka said that.

[A]

Right? And I thought, yeah, I guess you can only know so much about the show you're inside of. I asked Pitt that when I interviewed him. I asked Brad Pitt is the only bummer about being in these Tarantino movies is you can't actually watch the Tarantino movies without it being very scary. And he said, there's no bad part about being in a Tarantino movie.

[C]

That's awesome. That is awesome.

[A]

And then I couldn't hear anything else he said. Cause I was just like, I love you. I love him so much. It's very fun to love a man that way.

[C]

Oh, yeah. He knows how you feel about him.

[A]

Yeah. I think it's pretty obvious. We even talked about in the interview that I have two versions of him. I have this person I know which is just a person, but I very much hold Brad Pitt on screen as this other person that I'm in love with and obsessed with.

[C]

Does he embrace that duet or recognizing.

[A]

Yeah. I asked him if he could relate to that, and he said, for sure. First started with Redford, and then he said, you know who's really like that for me is Sean Penn. Which is like, he'll always be Sean Penn, and yet I know him and we're friends.

[C]

Right.

[A]

And I'm like, yeah, I have that with Downey. Robert Downey's still this angel that fell out of the sky, and he's a dude. I know, right? And they're fine. Yeah. They can coexist. Lastly, as we're parked, we've kind of talked about this loosely. I think people who did love Parenthood would know, like, would we ever do that again?

[C]

I think Jason would be down. I've talked to him about it.

[A]

Oh, really?

[C]

He would have to figure out a way to do it that wasn't just. Well, it wouldn't be a repetition, but what's a fresh take on it? Would you want to be part of something like that?

[A]

I would want to be on a set with you again for some years.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

That sounds really fun.

[C]

Well, let's make that happen.

[A]

That would actually just be the priority.

[C]

Let's make that happen.

[A]

Yeah. You have to consider the notion of it's kind of like going back to high school. And that would be tragic, because if we went back, I don't want it.

[C]

To be the high school reunion where you're like, oh, my God, everybody looks not that great.

[A]

We go back and that magic that I just cherish is not there for whatever reason. Yeah, well, there's numerous reasons that could be. You're doing all your own stuff. I've quit acting. There's a lot of reasons it could go sideways when I found out I had to work more than three days a week. That could backfire. Well, I love you to death. I'm really glad that you came out.

[C]

It's fun to be a witness to the beautiful friendship and love that you guys have for each other.

[D]

I'm so happy I got to meet you finally.

[C]

Me, too. Aaron. I've heard so much about you for a long time.

[A]

Sweet boy crew.

[D]

Vulnerable boys.

[A]

Vulnerable boys.