Dive into the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly as we uncover "The Dark Side of Nostalgia: Baywatch's Impact on Us" featuring Jeremy Jackson and Matthew Felker! 🌊🏄♂️ This engaging episode is packed with valuable insights into the iconic sho
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A
In order to be seen as a commodity or worth worthy and worth something.
B
You're trying to. People please, basically.
C
Oh, yeah, you're still doing that. I mean, you go actually out of your way. I actually get upset with you sometimes because you actually do too much for people. People that aren't really worth your time. But he is really willing to do every and anything you ask. But you need to be more sort of structured on who you give your time to, I think.
B
All right, guys, Baywatch is back. We got Jeremy Jackson and Matt Felker here today. Thanks for coming on, gentlemen.
C
Thank you. Yeah, thanks for having us.
B
Thanks for coming.
C
Appreciate it.
B
How'd the new series go? I know it took a.
C
It was a while long. We started in 2019.
A
Five years, dude.
B
Damn.
C
Pre. Pre Pandemic. Jeremy was our first interview, and he really brought it. He was actually the. We filmed about 10, 15 people, like back to back to back to back. And everyone's interviews were really bad, really. And we watched playback. And my wife, actually, who's about 12 years younger than me, she's pretty funny. She. She's like, it's terrible. And I got super. Got super offended by it. But Jeremy actually was good. He was the only one that was like kind of off the cuff and open and had some stuff to say. He had his. I mean, the. This panty sniffer comment that was like three minutes was. That interview that was literally three minutes out of the gate.
A
I mean, this is one of my catchphrases, is you're. You are only as sick as your secrets, you know?
B
So just let it all out.
A
Just let it all out, dude. If you can't take me at my worst, you can't have me at my best.
B
I feel that.
C
But how. Remember I told you I literally clipped it. I go, that's going to go viral.
A
That's going to go five years ago.
C
I go, that's the one. You're like, you're not going to use that. I go, I'm absolutely. But I think it got taken out of context because, like, everyone's like, oh, he's so fucking gross. What's wrong with him? What a pervert. He was fucking 12.
B
Yeah, he's 12 years old.
C
Like, if you're 12 years old, then you have Pamela Anderson running around you, like, half naked all day long. You're probably gonna smell her swimsuit or do something with a swimsuit. When you were like, a little. You're like. When you're a little kid, you like going to people's. You want to see what your parents are doing. You like explain to being a little.
A
Kid on a set, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. I'd rather be 44 years old today looking back and go, I'm so grateful. I went into every trailer, sifted through everybody's stuff, looked at all the girls, Playboy magazines naked while I smelled their panties, dude. Like I was ragingly hormonal. They would all flirt with me, they would like show me their tit and like a little bit of beaver.
B
Wow.
A
And I'm like 12, 13, 14, 15 going like, please, you know.
B
Yeah.
A
So I was like, you just run into the trailer room, I'm gonna get the goods, man. And you're a kid, you want to know what's going on, you know, Snake and David Hasloff's trailer. What's he hiding? What's he doing? You know, I, I, I thought it was normal for everybody to have diarrhea every day. He's always had diarrhea in his toilet, you know. Luckily he's sober now like me, so probably is having nice hardshits finally is, is good. But yeah, dude, I just went in and, and sniffed around, went through their cupboards, went through their clothes when, you know, and, and looking back, I'm glad I did it, you know, you explored.
C
Yeah, but what is that? I mean, we kind of explored in the documentary, but we had so much to go through. We didn't really go into it like just going through puberty as a kid on a show with what were like the most beautiful women in the world at the time. Or at least because it was the.
B
Hottest show at the time.
C
Yeah. And those were literally hand picked, like the most beautiful women. Like what is being 11, 12 years old, you're getting your first little puppy. Like what, what is that?
A
Like, I mean, you know, it brands into your, you know, cellular matrix what it is to be cool. What is hot. I actually like chicks with hair in their armpits and supernatural that don't wear makeup, but does it. My style now is totally twisted because what was hot back then, it's just like normal.
C
But it like, you know, think about like just society. Like, you know, we're in this zone where The Kardashian body, JLo, that kind of thing is like what's beautiful to society type thing. And the Baywatch era was kind of what was beauty to society.
A
Right.
C
Does that fuck you up as an adult? Like what you're choosing in partners or what you're.
A
For years it warped me. I chased an illusion I chased a fantasy trying to recreate in my private life, personal life, what was seen as necessary and or normal. To be successful you got to have abs, you got to be super tan and you got to have a blonde chick with big boobs. You know.
C
Were the bolt ons a necessity in dating?
A
I, I actually it's weird because I just kept attracting that. It isn't even what I liked really, but I just attracted that and only that. Hence my ex wife, you know. And the outside, the outside world is a projection of your inside world. Right. So inside I believe that you must have this thing and be this thing and do this stuff in order to be seen as a commodity or worth worthy and worth something.
B
Right, Right.
A
So I just keep, kept trying to regenerate that. And that's a self defeating prophecy. That's a dead end road, you know. Does that answer your question?
B
Yeah, yeah. You're trying to people please, basically.
C
Oh yeah, you're still doing that.
A
I think it's human nature.
C
Right.
B
We all are to survive.
A
Yeah.
B
You know, fit in.
C
You, I mean, you go actually out of your way. I actually get upset with you sometimes because you actually do too much for people. People that aren't really worth your time.
A
Wow.
C
And I feel like you over you always. I mean this guy would do anything for you. Like, hey, Jeremy, we need you. We're doing the premiere. Oh, I'm gonna be in Costa Rica. I'll just fly back tomorrow. I'll pay for it. Don't worry, I'll be there and say, no, no, Jeremy, let them pay for it. Let them do it. But he is really willing to do every and anything you ask. But you need to be more sort of structured on who you give your time to, I think. I mean you give it to me all day long. You're very helpful.
A
Yeah. Everyone else, but also, you know, thank you, thank you for that. I appreciate you and I do that for you out of respect because I mean this guy came out of his own pocket $4 million.
B
Wow.
A
He had a project that he believed in. He had a vision, he had, he had passion and nobody else saw it.
C
I think Jeremy is the only person that actually believed that. I mean, I used to get calls from when I was trying to deal with David Hasselop. Used to get calls from his publicist who kind of runs him, this woman Judy. Every time I would call her, oh, you're still doing that little Baywatch project. How's that going? Are you ever going to finish it? I always just get Belittled every time. And it was just like, wow. I don't think anyone thinks we're going to finish this. And it's partially because let alone be.
A
On Hulu with record breaking views, 30.
C
Million, a lot of numbers.
B
Wow.
C
The. I think the difference is the people in the documentary space now are big filmmakers. Like five, 10 years ago, you could do like what I did. Netflix would buy it. They were acquiring a lot of stuff. It's just, I mean, it's like Skydance now. It's doing the documentaries. Like the deal they did before me was Ridley Scott and then Ron Howard's doing the one right after him. These are like, how do you compete with that? And even I don't, I don't think I'm like a bad barometer for filmmakers. What I did was nearly impossible and I got lucky on top of it.
B
Wow.
C
I got one deal and I took it. I called caa. They're like, don't walk, run. Like nobody's getting deals right now. You need to take that deal. And I mean, I've been in LA for 24 years. I've done a lot of things that are failures, but I've also made a lot of relationships with people and I used every single relationship on this product. The reason we got a distribution deal. So not only did I, we were supposed to start as a 90 minute movie and we're going to go to like Sundance, Telluride, you know, cute little film. Maybe we'll get picked up, maybe we'll get distribution. And we started filming so much, I'm like, there's no way we're doing 90 minutes. We're going to do at least four, maybe six episodes. Whatever. So what your budget is, which is you have to even to do a 90 minute documentary. You're seven figures. You cannot even, you're not even in the playing field. Maybe Vice or any of these like, bullshit, that's like 150,000 bucks. Whatever. But those are like one off specials. It's like a controlled studio. You're not doing locations, you're not traveling. It's, it's very quick in and out. And so we had one budget and now we have four episodes. So now that's four times your budget. So it's, it's, it's sort of like you really believe in yourself. It's like, well, it, I'm, you know, I'm betting on myself and if I fail and if I lose, it's on me. And, but just with our deal. So the only reason we got the deal is because this. No. 1. We talked about this off camera. No one gets paid. Usually for documentaries. It's used as promotional purposes, some streamers. I think Netflix allows small pay. Normally they structure it as the producer, not as the actual talent. But hbo, ABC News studios, Hulu, they won't acquire something if you pay the talent.
B
And why is that?
C
It's not objective journalism. And it also comes from non union to union. So the actual pay is different. Then you have to be part of the guild and all that kind of stuff. So it becomes a totally different product. And then it's actually seen as almost reality to you. TV, where you can, hey, Jeremy, here's $10,000 to show up on camera.
A
It's a hyper documentation.
C
I know you don't have any problem with David Hasselp, but you talk about David House. Because I really need this right here. Because you're paying the talent.
B
Yeah.
C
But I had done a documentary with a filmmaker friend of mine called the American Meme on Netflix about social media. And I was kind of like, anti social media. I didn't have social media for years, and I was sort of the antithesis of it, along with, like, people that really leaned into it, like the Fat Jew and DJ Khaled and I think Haley Bieber and stuff was in it. And this woman from ABC News Studios had seen it, and she called me during the pandemic. She's like, hey, I saw you in this. In this thing. Would you be willing to do like a 2020 special? Just same kind of premise. You're kind of good in that space. Talk about pop culture, whatever. I said, sure. And at the time I started filming Baywatch, we were paused for Covid. So we didn't really know what to do or how to, like, remote shoot yet type thing. But I had. We bought all the cameras. We own cameras, we own lighting, we own sound. So I did her interview, remote shot it on red cameras and just sent her a hard drive. Like, you know, it's a $5,000 shoot, just free of charge. Just sent it to her, like, here you go. Ended up using it, did this 2020. She's like, how did you do that? I'm like, I'm doing this, like, Baywatch thing. It's like, you know, taking forever. Have all the equipment, and she kind of like, put that in her head. Well, fast forward four years later, the strike starts. She's like, hey, we got a spot for August 28th. We need content for. Where are you at with that? I'm like, I got four episodes Here you go. And she watched it and she's like, this looks really expensive. We don't think we can afford this with just ABC News studios. Let me try to walk it up the chain to Hulu, which has a bigger budget. They're all owned by Disney, so Disney plus has the biggest budget. Hulu's got the second. ABC News studios is the smallest. They own espn, that kind of thing too. So they walked up the food chain. They got us more money. I still took a loss, but it didn't matter. I didn't. If anyone goes into the documentary film space thinking they're going to make a bunch of money, you're in the wrong space. It's just there's. There is no money left anymore. The only way there's money left is if you skim off the product and you put it in your pockets and we put all the money on the screen. I mean, the theme song was $50,000 a use, front and back.
B
Holy crap.
C
And I read some review on Reddit. Some. Some fucking dickhead is like, I can't believe they didn't use the real song. And they re sung it. I'm like, yeah, dude, that's like $3 million.
A
Who re sung it?
C
Scott Grimes and Debbie Gibson. So we got Scott, who does all the voices for Family guy, and Seth McFarland who has this incredible voice, and he can do any voice possible. So he sang it for us. He brought in Debbie Gibson. You're way too young to know who she is. I'm almost too young to know who she is. She was like. She was like the. Sorry, Debbie. She was like the Britney Spears, Christina aguilera of the 80s type thing. So anyways, it fit in our time frame type thing. So all these people came and did favors because they believed in the product. Jeremy got us location.
A
I think they believe in you, bro.
B
Nice.
A
You know, I don't know.
C
I don't know what I think is the ball got rolling. I feel they believed in me a little bit. But I think everyone's like, who's this fucking clown? Fucking guy was in Britney Spears video. What is this guy?
B
Yeah. You had a chip on your shoulder.
A
Yeah.
C
And I think for me it was. It wasn't only I think everyone that comes Hollywood's got a chip on the shoulder. I mean everyone. Unless you're like a kid actor like you were. If you're moving from like the Midwest or out east or whatever. I feel any person that comes in entertainment industry is there to prove something. And normally it's like you're trying to prove you're a little better than your hometown or whatever. I got to a point where I felt that I'd been overlooked in a lot of areas because I had my 15 minutes of fame and stupid, and I was like, it. No one's gonna give me an opportunity to direct anything too pretty for that. How do you. How do you. How do you. How are you gonna. How are you gonna get anyone to give you a shot? Yeah, you got to pay for it. You got to do it yourself. So, you know, most people spend their lives running around chasing financing and money and, oh, give me this. And here's my pitch. And here's that. And it's, you know, it's people trying to make money, Right? But when you're doing something and money is your last focus on your mind, and you're like, you know what? The money will come if the product's good. And, I mean, I overspent. That was the problem. But if I had known how to do this. I mean, you make a lot of errors first time you do it. I've never done this before. I mean, I've been a producer on things, but I've never done everything. Like, I licensed the music. I figured out the legal. The. The fair use laws, and that's. I don't let you talk. In a second. I'll shut the.
A
No, no. I'm loving this. I'm loving it. I miss into this, man.
C
What kids don't know even my age, your age and younger. Specifically, they see like, Tick tock and Instagram where you can use really expensive music for nothing. It edits for you on a. On AI. So you just put it in and you have this beautiful edit.
B
Yeah.
C
That all cost a fuck ton of money. When you're playing on a streamer like you. Oh, you like that song that, you know, Billy Isle service song. That's $600,000 a year.
B
Wow.
C
So they don't really understand, like, oh, I wonder why they didn't have this song or this music. It's like you can't afford it. You know, every single clip that you use that you don't own, if it doesn't follow in a fair use law, you have to pay for it. Like E, we're trying to get E clips from. Back in the day, they were like $15,000 for 30 seconds. Like, that's just like. So you have your film costs every time we run a camera, depending on. If we're in LA, Hawaii, whatever, it's five minimum all the way up to like $30,000 for Carmen because we had her stylist, we had her lighting because she wouldn't do it otherwise. So we're not paying the talent, but we're paying to make them look the way they want to look, you know, And I, I got really close to everyone that it was really important to me that they liked the story I was telling. And I didn't give a fuck if you were the biggest star in the show or the littlest star on the show. It was whose story was the most interesting and, you know, Pamela Anderson. I got some flack. I read some other reviews. I read all the reviews.
B
Oh, you do?
C
I read the bad ones because I think they're funny. Because I laugh at critics, because what is a critic? It's a failed creative. You can critique me when you've done what I've done better, worse, whatever. If you make the shittiest movie in the world, I have respect for you. But if you're here, oh, why didn't he do this? Why didn't he do more of Pamela Anderson? He should have done this. Because I couldn't. It wasn't physically possible. That's why there's parameters. Sure. If you have an endless budget, you can fucking pay for anything. Get any music you want. I mean, Megan Allison, billionaire Larry Ellison's daughter, she makes great product, but she's a fucking billionaire and she loses money on every single thing. The entertainment industry now is like a museum. It's rich people donating art. And the stuff you see on Netflix that you're like, oh, that looks like a Hallmark movie. That's a piece of. Because that's the in house stuff. And the good stuff is literally just product being donated by rich people. And that's what this entertain the entertainment industry has become, because there's no money left.
B
Wow, interesting.
C
No money left. Like you guys, what were you guys getting paid per episode on Baywatch?
B
100K penny.
A
No pennies, dude. But cast of Friends was making a million dollars an episode. We were making like 3, $500.
B
Wow. You know, that's just timing because you were before that show, right?
A
It's, you know, it's syndication.
C
Explain the difference of syndication and network. Like, that's a lot of, like I read a comment. Pamela's son Brandon was like, oh, my mom got fucking ripped off. And she makes this, that and the other. The reality is that show was not set up to pay these actors. Friends was on an advertising model. It's NBC. It's a huge show. They're Getting huge advertising dollars to have advertising during that show. And that money's going back in the actors pockets because we can afford a million dollars an episode. Because you guys are selling huge ad revenue. It's like YouTube. Like if you have a gazillion followers on YouTube, you're getting more money because your, your channel is getting more views type thing. Whereas the syndication model, it's these little tiny territories that there's no money. They're not, there's no ad revenue. They were, they were trying to take money from brands to build advertising within the show. Like, hey, give me, you know, sunglasses and then we put it in there. And I mean, these guys, you know, say what you want about Burke and Schwartz, those guys are pretty crafty, like way ahead of their time in like branding and cross promoting before, you know, that word was even a thing. So. But you know, licensing deals. Yeah, I mean, you guys, there was money to be made, but there wasn't money technically for the actors. And did they kind of screw you guys? Sure, they could have paid you guys more, but they were smart enough to realize they didn't allow anyone to become a big star and they, they kept you in your place. Whereas I want to negotiate, I want, I want more money. I'm a star on the show. Like, no, that's cool. We'll find another hot blonde. It's all good. You know, that's cool. You know this, we're paying you $9,000. Like that's where you're getting.
B
Yeah.
C
Oh, you want 50? Oh, I got, there's another girl with big boobs in this blonde and we can just put her in and name her the same character and it's all good.
B
And that's where I think social media has changed the game for actors. Because if you build up a brand now, you can negotiate your pay. You see these Netflix stars signing like a million dollars a year deals.
C
Well, it's, it's brilliant because they there, it's like a proof, it's proof of the product. Like, hey, I got, you know, like your, your Instagram, you have 12 million viewers.
B
Yeah.
C
There is proof that you have interest in your product. So if you're going to go negotiate a deal, like, I mean, here are my numbers, here's my stats. You can see exactly what kind of audience I draw. You guys really didn't have any of that kind of stuff, right?
B
You had no leverage.
A
Yeah. And you know, when you're 15 year old kid making 15 grand a week, you think it's pretty sweet back then.
B
I thought it was good.
A
Yeah, it felt cool.
C
No, I mean for a kid actor. You put that away. I mean, did you put it away.
A
Or did you put it up my nose? Where else you put it?
C
Where else you put it?
A
I put it in my lungs, put it in my nose. Got a lot stolen.
B
Stolen.
A
Plenty of hookers. Yeah. So many hundred thousand dollar deals of lawyers, rehabs. It goes quick, man.
C
When did you start to kind of lose control? I mean, you said it was kind of at the end of Baywatch. You really got up.
A
Yeah, into Baywatch is where I really started partying hard. But you know, I had a single mom, I'm from Orange County. I'm a beach kid, you know, with a single mom and a dad that's in and out of prison and you know, on housing, low income housing and food stamps and stuff like that. Getting free cheese and rice, standing in line at the, at the church because my mom's too embarrassed to go in there and admit how poor we are. So, you know, coming out of that, buying my mom her, her first not broken down car, you know, being able to give that to my grandma and buy my mom a brand new 4Runner back in the day was a big deal. But she's taking me to all these freaking auditions. You know, it didn't see. I don't feel like she stole anything from me. It was really hand to mouth, you know, never, never had a whole bunch of money stacked away. And when we did, then, you know, I'd get in trouble and it'd be a couple hundred thousand dollars to a lawyer and a rehab to, to stay out of trouble because I was partying so hard so, so early on.
B
Wow.
C
I think your mom was a good mom. I mean, I think, you know, it's funny when his mom has never done an interview before.
B
Oh yeah.
C
And it was really, it was actually hard to talk a lot of these people into doing interviews because they didn't want to do them because you're not paying them. They're like, you know, we just get massacred in the press all the time. Why do we want to be in the spotlight again? This is like counterproductive for us. But she made comments, I think off camera there or stuff that we just ended up not using that she said, even if you weren't a kid actor, you would have done what you did.
A
Yeah. Oh yeah, for sure.
C
It wouldn't have mattered.
A
No, the Hollywood, that's one where the main questions I get is like, oh, you know, you were probably just around so much Bad influence or something. I was like, dude, no, I. I was seeking that. I was dying for that. I was gravitating towards that. The entertainment industry just provided me more money and more power to utilize, you know, by being recognized to sneak into the club. And I had $1,000 to pay the bouncer when I was 14 to get into the club, you know, so it just gave me more opportunities to dig a deeper hole faster. It was not the entertainment industry that was a bad influence on me. I was. I would have been in gangs. I'd probably be in prison for the rest of my life if I wasn't on TV and didn't have the money to get out of the trouble that I was getting myself into.
B
Wow.
A
Yeah, for sure.
B
So you think it was just in you?
A
Oh, yeah. I. I could. I could go on, you know, forever on this topic. There's. There's something that exists in the amygdala of about 9% of the world's population. It's a mutation of the brain, which we can call a mental defect.
C
Mean you're.
A
No, no, it's actually called the warrior gene by science. They breed this into mice to make mice harder working, more dedicated and harder to kill. And they put a thousand mice in a cage with booze, toys, food, and shelter. And out of the thousand, about 9 to 10% of them, lots of them, try the booze, most of them, but about 9% will stay at the vodka and drink until they die. And so what they do is they grab that 9% before they die, and they breed them. And now you got a 26% out of the next thousand. And then they grab those 26% before they kill themselves with the booze, and they breed them, and now you got a 50%, and they just keep doing it until you got 100%. Now you got a thousand baby mice, never tasted booze in their life, and they're all just around booze, ignoring the shelter, ignoring the food, ignoring the toys, and they're going to kill themselves. They take those mice, they breed those mice, they take that offspring, and they never expose them to booze. And Those mice are 10 times more expensive for research purposes in the research community. I mean, this is genetics.
C
I think you have that gene.
A
I definitely have that gene. I was. I was mixing household chemicals with a towel under the drawer when I was a year old. I was. I stuck something in every electric socket of my house. I wanted outside power.
C
Oh, you're poor.
A
Oh, man. Can you imagine?
B
Probably worrying about you every night.
A
Oh, God. Yeah.
C
Jeremy put his penis in the light socket again.
A
It was a terror. No, I would stick my penis outside of the screen door to have the neighborhood kids suck on.
C
Do not use that. Do not use that.
A
You go ahead, man. But it was electric sockets and it was household chemicals and nobody ever showed me that. What, what I was told is be, don't do that, it's dangerous. It's be careful, this is not for you. So my little mind decided that there is something that people know that I don't know and that's something that they know that they're not telling me about. Is my answer to feeling a part of this world. Because I don't interiorly feel, feel like I'm a part of this world. I have an internal searing going on. I'm restless, I'm irritable, I'm discontent. And it seems as if there's a secret that I must find. So I just got real busy doing anything and everything. Especially if you told me it was dangerous, naughty, wrong. Then I thought you were keeping a secret from me, so I needed to go do it right away.
B
Wow.
A
Yeah, that's crazy.
C
Tell Jeremy not to do it and he'll do it.
B
Yeah.
A
So yeah, I got the warrior gene, but they call it the warrior gene because through studying some of our civilizations and different, you know, smaller groups of people, Irish, fighting Irish. You ever heard about an Irish joke and holding his liquor and you know, a priest and Irishman walk into a bar, yada yada, it's socially acceptable that Irish people are crazy when they drink. Well, it turns out for 100 years, when England tried to have a genocide and kill all of Ireland, the ones that were the most likely to survive were the ones that were most likely to have this warrior gene because they will do anything. Your peripheral vision in the eye of chaos, in the eye of certain death, or when somebody else or your life is in danger, your peripheral vision expands, your sense of smell, hearing, and an innate knowing of what to do becomes very clear and concise. So you're more likely to survive. And then they have babies, so their babies are more likely to have this genetic predisposition to drink, right? Same with the Native American community. Oklahoma's is in dire straits right now. You go over there, half of the people are all drug addicted and drinking themselves to death, right? Same thing. Conquistadors, cowboys, we've been trying to smoke the red man for a really long time. Turns out the ones that are most likely to survive, their children are more likely to have this warrior gene. Which they call it the warrior gene because we think it's a God given protective mechanism to protect the procreation of mankind or something to do with evolution. That at least 9% of any small bespoke community, whether it's way out in the Andes or you know, the Aborigines in, in Australia or whatever, that when a bear comes into the camp, at least 9% of them are going to run at the bear rather than away. When there's scarcity of food or water, at least 9% of them will go to any extent to make sure their people survive. It's a. And that's, that's really what drug addiction.
C
How do you control your mind?
A
It is a superpower.
C
I'm just trying to follow you. And it's just like drug addiction is actually a superpower.
A
It's not a curse. You just need to learn how to wield it in the right direction.
C
How did you figure out how to like sort of control your, your head and, and manage it? I mean, I think it probably took you 40 something years.
A
Yeah, it did. It took me a long time. But it doesn't really matter how long it takes. Once you have that liberation, once you crack through the firmament of your own constructs, it's worth every stitch of pain that you ever went through. And I would say it's by self forgetting that I found ego death. What?
B
Yeah. Because I know you had an ayahuasca journey, right?
A
Well, I've, I've participated in, I've, I've held space, I've been a facilitator in both ibogaine and ayahuasca journeys. I've done a lot of DMT myself. However, I've never done the ayahuasca. But I did a breath work at an ayahuasca ceremony with the president of the international committee representing Spain. He flew in. We were outdoors in Punta de Meda, Mexico. We had a surgeon, a guy curing cancer down there. Holistically we had a double MIT PhD guy there, multimillionaires, this kind of really, really powerful group of dudes. And I asked the guy if I could just do breath work. And I just, I laid there and I thought I had been breathing for 45 minutes. When I sat up to take what I thought was a break, it had been four and a half hours.
B
Whoa.
A
And I had gone into every realm of awakening that anybody else had. It was insane. Like I tapped into grandma through breath work.
B
Crazy.
A
I might as well have done it.
B
So you were hallucinating on Breath work all the time.
A
That's normal.
B
Wow.
A
Losing complete concept of your physical self and of time. By the way, you know the Icarus that they, they sing and they play, they have this rattle or. And a flute. And every time the music stopped, I had to stop breathing. And I would hold my breath and anytime I tried to breathe faster than the cadence, I couldn't. I had to. I was, I was locked in, dude. And I played around with it. I was like, oh, I want to go deeper, right? I want to go deeper. I couldn't. I was in flow with this dude now. The next day I realized there's no possible way. The shaman stopped playing for only two or three minutes. In four and a half hours, he might have left the room for 20 minutes. I have no clue. But I know that I held my breath anytime the music wasn't playing. I could have been holding my breath for 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 30 minutes. I. I don't know. Because I had no concept of time or of physical flesh vessel. I was like totally astral projected for a long, long time.
B
That's impressive.
A
It was incredible. It's one of the most incredible experiences of my life. And that's why the power of breath work for me is, is so. It's such medicine. The medicine is inside. I run a company in Orange County.
C
We have tell them like kind of what you do now for a living.
A
Yeah.
C
Sort of how you, you've kind of left entertainment away and you don't really give a about it. If it comes, it comes.
A
It's so cool, man. Because as soon as I really didn't care anymore, as soon as I didn't have some like Hail Mary, you know, saving grace idea, you know, that glimmer of hope that some movie or some TV show or some reality show, I'll give me another couple hundred grand real quick. And if I had that other 100 grand real quick, then I could do what I want to do and enjoy it and blah, blah, blah, blah. As soon as I really didn't care anymore, like, it came to me and I was like, oh God, I just got out. But it was in a very, very different paradigm. Like I was working with this dude's heart, with this dude's vision. By the way, what you said about putting that project together, facing the uncertainty, forces coming against you, having a vision.
C
Everyone tried to fuck with me for years.
A
He said he's like, he's not really into the spiritual shit. But you, you heard every bit of spiritual journey applicable to any human experience. Any Undertaking in life. You just, you A to B, it was full Buddhism. You were open to anything, attached to nothing. It was quantum leaping from where you're at to where you went with no effort, not caring. Like it was so beautiful. Everything you said was super freaking spiritual about. And if you could take that recipe.
C
You know, after we filmed you, like the first day when I remember when I got in the car and I was talking to you about going to jail and stuff like that, we're filming in the back of the car. So initially Fremantle is a company that owns Baywatch.
B
Yeah.
C
And they're the distributor in the uk and they kind of became a big production company because of Baywatch type thing. And now they have all these like big shows. But Baywatch is really kind of what put them on the map. And I did a real like ballsy move and I just did a, like a 10 page release in the Hollywood Reporter with all the actors, their quotes, and I'm doing a Baywatch documentary. And then everyone that like owns the show, they're like, who the is this guy? Like, how the does he think he's gonna do this? He never talked to us, he never called us. I'm like, oh, fuck it, I'm doing it. And they called me right away. Like the two creators called me, they got my number. They like literally called me within two hours of the trade release. And then Fremantle, the head, like the CEO of Fremantle uk, like called me, like, not like a lackey, like the dude and he's like, oh, well, how are you doing? So I'm like, we're finance, we're good to go. It's like, oh, well, like we'd be really interested in this. This would be really great. So they're like, I'm like, well, this is fucking great. You know, we'll give you full access to our archives and whatever you need. And this is so great for the brand and this, that and the other. And then because many of the actors don't like the creators or don't not like them, they feel like they're owed money when they do, you know, a licensing deal with Amazon or Hulu or whatever, theoretically they don't owe them anything. Contractually, no one's going to just give you money. Oh, I just made a million dollar deal. Oh, Jeremy, I'm sending you a $40,000 check just because I love you. Like, it doesn't work that way. So I had to balance the creators against some of our higher talent because they didn't like them. So the creators now are Nervous thinking I'm doing this is like, the beginning of me too. And you have a show like Baywatch, which people just assume, like, that's gonna play in there, and they think I'm doing this, like, Ronan Farrow expose. Gonna take everybody to, like, Nickelodeon, like, the Nickelodeon thing. Never my intention. And I assured them that, but they didn't believe me. So they emailed us right after I finished Jeremy, and they're like, we have no interest in this documentary. We will not help this in any way, shape or form. This is five years ago.
B
Wow.
C
First day of filming, my co producer, who put in some money to Ari Shofit, he looks at me, he goes, dude. He goes, maybe we should just, like, eat the money on the shoot and just say, fuck it. And I go, no, tell the fuck off. Let's go. And we just did that continually. And then they would come back and they'd want to see it. And then there was a third creator that didn't participate, that I just assumed he didn't want to participate because not everyone does, you know, like, he's an older guy, like, you know, doesn't want to participate. No big deal. We got Michael and Doug, who were awesome, and the two other creators that gave us, like, great archives were, like, really behind the project. Turns out, two years into this thing, this fucking guy is pitching his own thing behind my back, trying to compete with me, like, just working in the shadows. No idea. Now here's some spirituality for you. So a friend of mine, Kyle Newman, who's a pretty established director, like, big NYU film school stud, he calls me up one day, and he was very helpful. He helped me with all my friends, helped me. Even people that weren't credited, they all helped me. This wasn't just, like, I was able to navigate. I was asking a lot from a lot of people, and he goes, dude, my friend just told me he's doing a Baywatch documentary. And this is three. This is about a year and a half ago. And he said, you're doing a Baywatch documentary? I'm like, oh, you do? My friend Matt's. He's like, no. He's like, well, my buddy Matt just interviewed, like, 38 of them, and he spent a bunch of his own money. Like, you should maybe call him before you try to start this. So these guys call me and they're like, you know, how much money did you spend? Like. Cause no one knew I had the ability to finance it. I just. I don't live flashy. I don't. I don't you know, no, no, I had a pot to piss in. And they're like, well, how much you spend? I told how much I spent. They're like, really? And I sent him the trailer. I sent him the. The breakdown. I sent him that. We licensed the song. I sent. Everyone's involved. They're like, oh, well, we were told this project wasn't real. So this guy is going around telling everyone this project's not real while he's trying to pitch it.
A
He ends stealing your breakdown, right? So email, verbatim.
C
So he got one of the actors, they're like, still friendly, sent my email over. And then they sent it back to me from a different production company. They didn't even change anything. They just signed their name on it. It was literally my internal email explaining what the project was. And it was about the 90s and this and that and the other. I was like, wow. So I. I sent this guy the trailer. I. I sent him a. This was a friend of a friend too. I mean, he didn't know what he was doing, but it was fucking personal. I had followed these guys. Mike Newman is really sick with Parkinson's. It meant a lot to him. And this guy was trying to derail it. And I wasn't worried about another project. I was worried about a piece of shit that would have been made that would dilute our project. That was my concern, right? So I'm like, I gotta be first to market. We're fucking around with this too long. I really pushed it forward. And I sent this guy an email and I just told him, I go, look, I go, this is really personal. I spent birthdays with these people. I spent holidays with these people. If you try to do this, I will go out of my fucking way to make sure no one talks to you. Have a good day. That was it. Then the people that bought my product, they sent me the breakdown from this guy being like, this isn't your project, is it? Looks really, like kind of bad. And I go, that's not me. Saw it was the guy. So then he gets upset silently. And after, while our acquisition is happening with Disney. We start the acquisition, we talk to fremantle. They know what the project is. They saw it, they had the ability to buy it. They didn't want it. They only wanted to commit to international and not domestic. And you don't want to break the territories up. It's just a bad deal. Everyone wants all world. And they knew what the project was. So this third creator, obviously he saw it because they probably sent it to him and he's like, oh, well, I heard it's just not that good. And you know, it's not really good for our brand. And so while I was in acquisitions, they had a deal with Fremantle to give us four minutes of Baywatch clips that we're going to pay for like a lot of money, like a couple hundred thousand dollars. Like not, not like chump change. It goes in their pockets. And we got an email like at the 11th hour, at like 3:00 in the morning. We're no longer gonna license any clips to you. This fucking guy lobbied Fremantle to not license me clips to try to blow my deal up at the end.
B
Wow.
C
Everyone tried to drop bullshit on me, but guess what happened? I had all their fucking home videos. This guy goes to Florida and he's got. I got 11 years of home videos. And it's all the behind the scenes of the episodes. Why do we want to see some lame Baywatch episode of like some slow motion bullshit that's remastered and you know, looks like it was filmed yesterday, but it's got like a bag phone instead of a regular cell phone. I mean, you can't even tell if it's new or old because of how it's remastered. And we finally got everyone to realize that we don't need these clips. We have fair use. We can use much less and we can get away with this. So Jeremy came, then David Choka. She gave me like 10 years. Then Nicole came, Gina came, and we just fucking trump carded him.
B
Wow.
C
And it was just like they, they tried to stop me until six weeks ago.
B
So even after a release, they were still trying to stop you?
C
Three weeks before the release, my deal was not signed. I worked unpaid delivering this thing for seven months just solely with, with ABC News and Hulu. And they didn't sign my deal till the very end. Business affairs was, was trying to tell the ABC News studios, by no means do this deal. This is going to happen. Don't do this, don't do that. And literally at the 11th hour, we signed the deal.
A
And it was like five years ago, I would have told you and lived by the credo, you can't polish a turd, you know, but this guy did the impossible.
B
Damn.
A
The problem is that most people that were involved in Baywatch, they only see the turd. You know, they're trying to resell the turd. Matt turned it into treasure. Like literally. He got, he got into the, the heart of, of people in the story. He made Baywatch not just the pretty bullshit, but helping people Realize that they're humans too, who are hurt, who are stuck, who have moved on, who are half in and half out, who are sick and dying, who are battling cancer, who are helping other people in the addiction world. Like, it's. It's just nobody else could have done it.
C
I never. I never really thought. I mean, I grew up on Baywatch. I mean, I'm probably like most people. You wouldn't watch a full episode. You kind of just have it on the back. You look at like, oh, that's what I'm supposed to look as a guy. And that's, you know, the girl I'm supposed to date type thing. But it was very influential. I mean, I was a real Lifeguard. And probably 80% because of the show, because it looked cool. Like, I'm gonna go to the beach, I'm a tan, I'm gonna be ripped. I'm gonna, you know, be with hot girls. Like, I live in California. I mean, I live in Malibu.
B
Yeah.
C
I mean, I came from Wisconsin. I mean, there's probably a reason I live where I live. And I, you know, I'll be lame enough to admit it probably was this guy. My. My older brother's friends used to call me Hobie, which was his character. Like, little Hobie. What's going on, man? I was like a little Wisconsin, because I want to be Californian. Yeah, we're all like the surf gear. Even though we couldn't surf because we were Wisconsin.
B
Did they hit you up when they made that movie a few years ago with Zac Efron?
A
They did.
B
Oh, they did.
A
Yeah. I did a FaceTime kind of pre check in interview in the back seat of a car. Probably been out for two weeks smoking meth pretty regularly.
C
He probably didn't get the job.
A
Pretty sure I had just stabbed a knife wielding gunman and I was on the run for like, attempted murder. And I was like, yeah, I can pull it together, no problem. They never called me back.
B
Holy crap. That's crazy.
A
You know?
C
Yeah.
A
Everything. Everything that exists on the face of this planet to make supercars and computers existed when cavemen were here, but they didn't have a conscious awareness of it. The opportunities are abundant and infinite and endless. The opportunity came to me. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. I wasn't aware, you know.
B
Wow.
A
So stay ready, man.
B
So then you went to rehab from there, right? Celebrity rehab, yeah.
A
Celebrity rehab was a. Was quite an adventure.
C
She had kicked out right away.
A
What's that? No, no, no. You know, they had offered me the Show a million times. And, you know, I was clean and sober for over 10 years during that time. And I was like, no, no, no. And then they, they called me and I was like, I mean, 15 years ago, okay, Ashwagandha, cordyceps. Freaking. Holy basil.
C
All that. That's like super popular.
A
All the stuff that I'm injecting. IGF, BPC, TB500, I'm taking copper peptide, I'm taking human growth hormone. I'm injecting procaine solution, Geral, Vital, cereal, Vital, all of these anti aging biohacking stuff. I'm on B12. I mean, I'm sticking, you know, L, carnitine and glutathione. And I'm doing. Just doing like 11 injections a day. And I'm like, I'm sober, but if you come over to my house and see what I do, like, I look like I'm out of control. And they're like, no, no, no, no, no. You got to be like, on drugs. I'm like, just come spend a day with me. Watch. They come over to my house and I got kilos of human growth hormone and all these different injectable peptides and. And they're like, whoa, okay, you can do the show. So I went on the show. Oh, you are fucked up for steroid abuse. You can come, right? And I'm saying these words and all these, you know, things I'm taking to them. It sounds like I'm on illicit.
C
Yeah, but the irony is, like, Rogan and all those guys, they're all like.
B
15 years ago rejecting TRT now.
C
I mean, every actor now, if you're.
A
Not doing it, you're every actor over.
C
35 that's in a Marvel movie. Jack is on growth hormone and testosterone.
A
And 100% years ago, I walked in to the set of Celebrity Rehab with my water purification. And they said, what's going on? And I said, oh, dude, tap water, like, fucks with your sexuality. Like it calcifies your pineal gland, and it creates a lot of sexual deviancy and all kinds of free thinking issues. And it's basically one of the hugest problems in our world today. And I got slammed in the media. Jeremy Jackson says drinking tap water makes you gay. And I was like, trying to explain that it perverts.
C
It doesn't your normal.
A
No, it's. You know, there's the frog stuff, fish and frogs and all this stuff about hormones in the water and birth control in the, in the tap water.
C
Why do you think everyone misquotes you too. I find it funny how everyone, it actually, it actually makes me mad because I really know these people really, really well now and I know how hesitant all of them were to go on camera because they just get fucked with. Right all the time. They take well.
A
That was. Even though.
C
Even the fucking panty sniffing thing.
A
I think I'm just ahead of the curve.
B
That's pretty normal to me.
C
I'm like, he's fucking 12.
B
I would do.
A
You should go to prison. You're a rapist.
C
Yeah. What a fucking pervert.
A
Normalizing normal limitations is up. I'm going to come arrest myself. Okay.
C
Yeah. Funny is Jeremy and I read all the bad stuff, which most people don't. I actually kind of.
A
I love it.
C
I think it's kind of funny. But yeah, all you guys get misquoted or, or like the girls always get like, you know, all the girls, I mean, they're in their 50s, some are even older. Like Alexander, I think just turned 60. And these are still really beautiful women. And they get them coming out of the grocery store in sweatpants. They're like, oh, look what happened to so and so. She looks terrible. It's like, wow, you look like ass too. When you go to the. You know, it's like. And it's an unflattering photo and it's like, I don't care how good looking you are, you can have an unflattering photo. But the, the tabloid media chooses who's gonna be like the villain and who's gonna be the prince or princess thing.
A
It's whatever.
C
And they've chosen for whatever reason. I feel it's like anyone that's gotten too much fame or validation for looking a certain way, they love to kick them off. They do to Britney Spears. I mean, it's like you build them up and then you kick them off.
A
And for millions of years, you sacrifice the virgin to the volcano. You put Jesus up on the cross. You build these people up in your own mind. You praise them and worship them. They're perfect. They're purity. And then let's smoke them. You know, that's how the entertainment industry used to be. It's. It's not that so much like that.
C
Well, no, it's different. The media has been like bullied into saying, oh, you can't say that anymore. But now it's the consumer that's the. It's the cons that. The dude in his basement. Oh, Jeremy, Jack, him. He looks terrible. He's on steroids. Him. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Pervert. His girlfriend's homeless. It's all his fault, you know, he.
A
Used to chew me up. Now. Now it doesn't bother.
B
Yeah, it used to bother me. Now I. It's funny, like you said.
C
What can they say bad about you?
B
Mainly the guests I have on, but. Yeah.
C
You had the Hawk Tui girl on.
B
I had her on.
A
I saw that.
C
I mean, Jeremy, you had to be on 11 years.
A
Stink bugs.
B
Yeah.
C
You had to be on TV for 11 years. I had to struggle for five years.
A
Yeah.
C
She got to just spit on a penis and get on.
A
Yep. Not even. She probably didn't even really. She probably doesn't even really do it. She just said it.
C
Yeah, it's probably not. It's probably dry handshake.
A
That's probably just.
C
Wait, is she. Is she of age? She's old enough, right?
B
She is, right? She has to be.
C
Okay, good. Then I feel.
B
Really.
C
Then I'd be there.
B
So we won't get canceled.
C
Okay, good.
A
It's all teeth. I've been with the Huck to a girl.
B
Yeah. That's the technique. Teeth. These child stars, man. It could go either way. Did you see what happened with Amanda Bynes?
A
Oh, man.
C
You know, it's. I feel bad for her. I used to see her at Equinox all the time, like in West Hollywood. And she was so cute and so fit and just so talented. And you just, you know Britney Spears. Same thing. I mean, I. I saw. I mean, I did the video with her In I think 2004 or five at a girlfriend that ended up being in rehab with her when she shaved her head. So I was in Promises watching my girlfriend at the time with Britney Spears. So I was seeing the shaved head, the wig, all that kind of stuff. And it's. It's sad, it's wild, and it's. It's. I think it's just. It's pressure from. I don't think you've ever had a proper nervous breakdown.
A
You personally, maybe just no one was there to film it.
C
No, but I just. I think they're. It's the pressure. It's just like nervous.
A
Nerves don't break down. People break down.
C
Well, I think it's just they. They've had just such traumatic. It's. It's just if you're a kid, I mean, you know, the pressure. Yeah, but imagine the pressure, like, of a Britney Spears or Amanda Bynes is a pretty big deal.
A
It's not too. Too dissimilar from like Michael Jackson, you know? I mean, what is Corey Feldman doing The whole Michael Jackson thing right now, you know, when, when you are have to be this product or you have to be this package and the product and the package is dependent upon your livelihood and you can't do it enough. You just want to become a different person. And you know, most of these really good entertainers, most of these highly gifted, highly talented people are doing it to win approval because inside they really hate themselves. And if they get enough accolades outside themselves, they might like themselves more on the inside, which is of course an illusion and a fantasy. It doesn't work. But when you can't get enough, when that dwains and dwindles and wanes, then you just want to emasculate yourself. You know, when you realize like a Michael Jackson sue, everybody loves him bowing at his feet and he still wasn't happy because there's those couple people who talk bad about you. You just, it's, it's a, it's self harm. It's self harm and self soothing all at the same time. You want to just become a different person on the outside. And Amanda Bynes really made herself a different person.
B
She didn't know physically.
A
Yes.
B
Did you see the recent surgery? Crazy.
C
Yeah. It's like they almost don't want to be that person anymore and it doesn't, doesn't matter what it is or like even if they, you know, quote unquote make themselves worse or a worse version of themselves or whatever the public wants.
B
Us because they get wrapped up in that childhood identity, right?
A
Absolutely.
C
I think you, you want to, you want to get rid of childhood identity forever.
A
Totally. I mean potentially that's what my whole drug addiction, you know, running around with criminals and doing crime and just trying to sell drugs. I wanted to just be the furthest thing away from a Hollywood pretty beach boy I possibly could. You know, running around in the San Fernando Valley stealing cars is pretty far from that, you know.
C
Does he a car?
A
Not really. A couple times.
B
Statue of limitations.
A
I, I'd be, I'd be under the jail if they caught me for all the stuff I've done.
B
We'll put it guys, it's been a blast. Closing thoughts and where could people watch the show?
C
We're on hulu internationally starting September 19th and we've been on Hulu domestically since September 28th. And then Disney plus in every country that you don't have Hulu.
A
Boom.
B
Here we go.
A
Closing thought. Jeremy Jackson fitness launches tomorrow. Oh, I go live with my, my in home program for people struggling with mental health. Body dysmorphia anxiety and depression, creating morning routines, PM journaling routines, nutrition and fitness to build the mind, body and spirit. A lot of people are just trying to get in shape. The building collapses because they don't have the proper foundation. I've put together a formula that's worked for me to be in the best shape of my life, both mentally, physically and emotional. So giving people a process to follow along, to lift up people from zero to hero. Those are my people. And you can find me at Jeremy Jackson Fitness on Instagram.
C
Man, I just want to take a nap.
A
Let's go.
B
Episode Guys, thanks for coming on. We'll link everything below. Appreciate it. Yup. Thanks for watching guys. See you next time.
Digital Social Hour: "The Dark Side of Nostalgia: Baywatch's Impact on Us" with Matthew Felker & Jeremy Jackson
Release Date: October 4, 2024
In this compelling episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly delves deep into the multifaceted impact of the iconic TV show Baywatch with guests Matthew Felker and Jeremy Jackson. The conversation navigates through personal anecdotes, the darker aspects of childhood fame, the complexities of the entertainment industry, and the enduring legacy of Baywatch. Below is a detailed summary of the key discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn from the episode.
The episode kicks off with Sean Kelly welcoming Matthew Felker and Jeremy Jackson to discuss the revival of Baywatch and their experiences behind the scenes.
Sean Kelly: "Baywatch is back. We got Jeremy Jackson and Matt Felker here today. Thanks for coming on, gentlemen." ([00:26])
Matthew Felker shares the challenges faced during the initial phases of the documentary: "We filmed about 10, 15 people, like back to back to back to back. And everyone's interviews were really bad... Jeremy actually was good." ([00:37]-[01:25])
Jeremy Jackson reflects on a controversial moment during the interviews: "he had his... this panty sniffer comment that was like three minutes was... three minutes out of the gate." ([02:07]-[02:36])
A significant portion of the conversation centers around the influence of Baywatch during the guests' formative years and its lasting effects on their personal development.
Jeremy Jackson discusses his childhood behavior influenced by the show: "I just went in and sniffed around, went through their cupboards... looking back, I'm glad I did it, you know, I explored." ([02:07]-[03:09])
Matthew Felker adds: "We're getting a dog. Like what's that?" ([03:32])
Jeremy Jackson elaborates on societal beauty standards shaped by Baywatch: "For years it warped me. I chased an illusion... to be successful you got to have abs, you got to be super tan and you got to have a blonde chick with big boobs." ([04:06]-[05:10])
The discussion shifts to the intricacies of producing documentaries in the modern entertainment landscape, highlighting the financial and logistical hurdles faced by creators.
Matthew Felker explains the difficulties in securing distribution deals: "It's like Skydance now. It's doing the documentaries... you have four episodes... you're betting on yourself and if you fail and if you lose, it's on me." ([06:10]-[07:24])
Jeremy Jackson contrasts traditional syndication models with today's streaming platforms: "Friends was on an advertising model. It's NBC. It's a huge show... Whereas, I want to negotiate, I want, I want more money. I'm a star on the show." ([17:03]-[19:30])
Matthew Felker underscores the financial constraints: "It was in very different parameters. Everything that exists on the face of this planet to make supercars and computers existed when cavemen were here, but they didn't have a conscious awareness of it." ([41:34]-[41:50])
The guests candidly discuss their personal battles with addiction, shedding light on the psychological toll of early fame and the path to recovery.
Jeremy Jackson opens up about his tumultuous past: "But when we did, then, you know, I'd get in trouble and it'd be a couple hundred thousand dollars to a lawyer and a rehab to stay out of trouble because I was partying so hard so, so early on." ([20:55]-[22:11])
Jeremy Jackson introduces the concept of the "warrior gene" and its implications on addiction: "I definitely have that gene... it's a mental defect." ([22:10]-[26:37])
Matthew Felker connects personal struggles to broader societal issues: "They think it's a God-given protective mechanism to protect the procreation of mankind... that's what drug addiction." ([26:37]-[26:45])
A fascinating segment delves into the genetic predispositions that contribute to addictive behaviors, drawing parallels between human and animal studies.
Jeremy Jackson explains the warrior gene concept: "It's called the warrior gene by science... It's a mutation of the brain... more likely to drink until they die." ([22:28]-[26:37])
Matthew Felker questions and engages with the concept: "How do you control your mind?" ([26:38])
The conversation highlights the strategic maneuvers required to successfully produce and distribute a documentary in a saturated market.
Matthew Felker recounts the competitive landscape: "They were trying to go to like Sundance, Telluride... I got lucky on top of it." ([07:24]-[09:14])
Matthew Felker discusses sabotage attempts: "Everyone tried to drop bullshit on me... we have fair use. We can use much less and we can get away with this." ([35:29]-[38:50])
Jeremy Jackson adds his perspective on industry sabotage: "And they tried to stop me until six weeks ago... We're on Hulu internationally starting September 19th." ([30:38]-[31:15])
Reflecting on the enduring legacy of Baywatch, the guests discuss how the show has shaped societal norms and individual aspirations.
Matthew Felker shares personal anecdotes: "I was a real Lifeguard. And probably 80% because of the show... I want to be Californian." ([40:35]-[41:02])
Jeremy Jackson ties the show's influence to broader cultural phenomena: "It was very influential. ... But it was very influential. I am probably like most people." ([40:09]-[40:35])
The final sections tackle the challenges of media portrayal, public misrepresentation, and the resilience required to maintain a personal narrative amidst external judgments.
Jeremy Jackson discusses media misquoting and public backlash: "They try to get you to say bad things, but I have respect for you." ([44:12]-[44:36])
Matthew Felker addresses the psychological impact of public criticism: "I read some bad ones because I think they're funny." ([44:02]-[44:47])
Jeremy Jackson emphasizes personal growth beyond public perception: "Used to chew me up. Now it doesn't bother." ([46:14]-[46:25])
"The Dark Side of Nostalgia: Baywatch's Impact on Us" offers an unfiltered look into the complexities of early fame, the challenges of the entertainment industry, and the personal journeys of overcoming adversity. Matthew Felker and Jeremy Jackson provide invaluable insights into how a cultural phenomenon like Baywatch can leave lasting impressions on individuals, shaping their lives in profound and sometimes troubling ways. The episode underscores the importance of resilience, self-awareness, and strategic thinking in navigating both personal struggles and professional endeavors within the ever-evolving landscape of media and entertainment.
Notable Quotes:
Jeremy Jackson ([02:07]): "When you're 12 years old, then you have Pamela Anderson running around you, like, half naked all day long. You're probably gonna smell her swimsuit or do something with a swimsuit."
Jeremy Jackson ([04:31]): "I believe that you must have this thing and be this thing and do this stuff in order to be seen as a commodity or worthy and worth something."
Matthew Felker ([26:37]): "It's a mental defect."
Jeremy Jackson ([22:28]): "It's a mutation of the brain... more likely to drink until they die."
Matthew Felker ([35:34]): "He ends stealing your breakdown, right? So email, verbatim."
Jeremy Jackson ([41:34]): "Everything that exists on the face of this planet to make supercars and computers existed when cavemen were here, but they didn't have a conscious awareness of it."
For those interested in exploring the full conversation, the documentary discussed in this episode is available on Hulu internationally starting September 19th, domestically since September 28th, and on Disney Plus in regions without Hulu access.