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Kate Hudson
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Ryan Seacrest
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Cindy Crawford
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Ryan Seacrest
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Sean Gunn
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Sean Gunn
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Oliver Hudson
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Unknown
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Kate Hudson
Hi, I'm Kate Hudson and.
Unknown
My name is Oliver Hudson.
Kate Hudson
We wanted to do something that highlighted.
Unknown
Our relationship and what it's like to be siblings. We are a sibling revelry.
Kate Hudson
No, no.
Sean Gunn
Sibling revelry.
Kate Hudson
Don't do that with your mouth.
Unknown
Sibling revelry.
Kate Hudson
That's good. Okay, well, this is fun we've got coming on right now. We have James and Sean. James and Sean Gunn.
Unknown
I mean, cool ass name.
Kate Hudson
Did James direct the episode? Pa was in the. I mean, the episode.
Unknown
Guardians.
Kate Hudson
Guardians.
James Gunn
I don't know.
Unknown
It's a good question. I'm not sure. Yeah, we gotta ask him that. Yeah, he's got Superman coming out. He's an incredible director. I think he was married to Jenna Fisher for a minute, who I worked with.
Kate Hudson
Oh, yeah?
Unknown
Yep.
Sean Gunn
And.
Unknown
I'm excited to learn about how, you know. And I think Sean has been in a bunch of his movies. He's an actor, I think. Let's just bring him on and talk to him.
Hi.
Sean Gunn
Hey. What's up?
Unknown
How are you?
Sean Gunn
I'm good. Good. There's Sean Gunn.
Kate Hudson
Hello, Sean.
Sean Gunn
Hey.
Unknown
So you guys grew. You guys grew up with the coolest last name ever. I mean, Jesus, a lot of pressure to become cool.
Sean Gunn
Well, there was a source of a lot of puns in grade school and so forth, you know.
Unknown
Yeah.
Sean Gunn
Tommy Gunn, BB Gun, Ray Gunn, everything.
James Gunn
But, yes, Son of a Gun was a really hilarious one.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Yeah. Hey, we have some connections, guys. A few connections, you know, so I'm. You know, we're friends with. Well, I'm friends with Meredith and. And Wyatt.
Unknown
Yes.
Sean Gunn
Because Meredith was in a movie that I produced called Brightburn, and she's lovely, and I met Wyatt through her. And then Oliver. Did we meet one time with Kurt?
Unknown
Well, yeah, because. Did you direct his Guardians?
Sean Gunn
Yeah, I directed his Guardians and we met in passing somewhere for two seconds.
Unknown
But then you were also married to Jenna.
Sean Gunn
And I was also married to Jenna.
Unknown
Who I worked with for two years.
Sean Gunn
That's right. That's right. Yes. So. Yes, so. Yes. So we have many connections.
Unknown
Lot of connections.
Sean Gunn
Jenna and I are still very close. She's a great person. We have. I was talking to her yesterday for a long time. Yeah, I know. The buck, all the bucks. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Unknown
It's all the St. Louis connections. Everyone knows everyone.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
You had a really big family.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, we have.
Kate Hudson
You have a big family.
Sean Gunn
There are. Well, there's four siblings between me and Sean.
James Gunn
Yeah, we're bookends, really.
Sean Gunn
Oh, really?
Kate Hudson
They're sick.
Sean Gunn
And a sister who passed away so there would have been five between us and. Yeah, yeah, there's. There's seven years between us. We had eight kids or six kids. Seven kids in seven years. Wow. I didn't have them. My parents had them.
James Gunn
Wow.
Unknown
Okay, so let's get into that. Okay, go ahead.
Kate Hudson
K. So what. So, like, so. So what. What was your family like? Like, what are your mom and your dad?
Sean Gunn
So how old.
Kate Hudson
First of. How old was your mom when she had. Are you the first one?
Sean Gunn
I'm the first one. She was 25 when I was born, and so, you know, she was.
James Gunn
Yeah, she was 33 when I was born.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Yeah.
Kate Hudson
So by the time she was 30, almost 33.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Not quite 63. Yeah. Yeah.
James Gunn
Not quite Sue's own. Yeah, she was 32amonth.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, yeah, yeah, 32. Yeah.
James Gunn
And she had all of us in that time.
Sean Gunn
We have two siblings that, like, my. How far are Patrick and then Beth are, like, 11. Yeah.
James Gunn
You're familiar with an Irish twin where there's. If there's less than 12 months that separates, you know, siblings, they call them an Irish twin. My sister Beth is an Irish twin on both sides, so.
Sean Gunn
Oh, my God.
Unknown
She.
Sean Gunn
She.
Oliver Hudson
So your parents.
James Gunn
My brother Patrick was born, you know, 11 months before her, and then our brother Brian was born. Month was born 10 months after her.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, she was born in February, and then Brian, who was born with a twin, had born in December.
James Gunn
Yeah.
Sean Gunn
So there were women.
Kate Hudson
Women who have families like this are just. They're like superheroes. I can't even imagine. Like, I have three.
Sean Gunn
Right.
Kate Hudson
I couldn't imagine having.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
And then. And then raising them.
Unknown
Well, at some point.
Sean Gunn
I'm.
Unknown
Deshawn. Did you eventually have to, like, just fend for yourself? It's like, I've done this a million times. Like, you're good.
James Gunn
Well, I think at some point, you know, there's like, a little bit of a pack mentality takes over, and we're like, our. Our mom is doing so much work raising everybody, but we're. But my older siblings also started to help share the load, so I'm also getting, you know, help and advice and things like this from all of. All of my older siblings. So, yeah, it's not like I felt neglected by my parents, but I also. I felt very much, you know, that. That my older siblings were very much part of. Of my upbringing.
Unknown
Were there some older siblings that were more nurturing than others, you know?
James Gunn
You want me to name names?
Unknown
Yeah, I do.
Kate Hudson
That's what this podcast is about.
Sean Gunn
Listen up.
James Gunn
List us from Most in order.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Unknown
Yeah.
Sean Gunn
List just who you love the most.
Unknown
Let's start with who. Who did not give a. About Sean, I was gonna say.
James Gunn
Can we start with the worst? He's the next. He's the next oldest from me, so he, you know, like, he's not doing his share of. Of the work raising me. If anything, he's picking on me too much. But no, you know, honestly, it's like the. It's. It's very interesting being the youngest in a. In a big family like this because I. I have little different things that I've. That I've learned from each one of my siblings and. And, you know, I could. I could go through and parse it all out, but I feel like there are elements of all of them in my personality, which is sort of a strange feeling. Mm.
Unknown
You're. You're a. A mix.
James Gunn
I'm an amalgamation.
Kate Hudson
What line of work were your parents in?
Sean Gunn
My dad was a lawyer and my mother was a homemaker. My. My mother took clean the house obsessively. With six kids, it was always completely spotless. And my next door neighbor never saw my mother without full makeup on until she was probably in her 60s.
Unknown
Wow.
Kate Hudson
Wow.
Unknown
So just so mom was on fire.
Sean Gunn
Old school type moms and 10 moms and 10 type.
Kate Hudson
A, like, was very structured household.
Sean Gunn
No, not really, because we kind of were left to our own devices. We just kind of did what we wanted. And I think it was a unique environment to grow up in because we were each other. You know, there were six kids, we were very close, and we played together a lot, and we laughed together a lot. And I think other families are sort of competitive in terms of, you know, academics or sports or things like that. And for us, it really was just making each other laugh. Like, that was so humor.
Unknown
Humor was a very big, sort of important piece of.
Sean Gunn
Incredibly that. That was absolutely. All we did was make each other humor.
James Gunn
And sharing pop culture, sharing movies, sharing music, sharing TV shows. And yes, to repeat what James said, it's like, I think if there was anything really unique about our family, it's that we, for whatever reason, we were not competitive with one another and still aren't to this day. We. We always rooted for one another completely.
Unknown
What do you. What would you attribute that to? Or is it just genetics in the way it is? Or was there something else?
Sean Gunn
I don't know for Sean, but for me, my. My. My dad and his siblings were a little bit competitive. And I saw that as a. As a really kid, a young kid, and it made me incredibly sad because they were this close family and everybody loved each other, but there was some competition among them in terms of they were all lawyers and my dad was very successful and they were all different levels of success. But it made me feel sad. And I think that affected me from an early age and that I just never felt like that with, with my, with my siblings, you know, and also to like.
James Gunn
I agree with that and I'm not even, even though my dad was part of it, I'm not sure he liked it so much being competitive with his siblings. And so I think that he, he actively would have, would have liked to foster that change in his own kids. You know, that, you know, our parents are really, really cool. They, they had a, they had a lot to deal with and they made a lot of mistakes, but I think they learned from their mistakes frequently, which is pretty amazing.
Kate Hudson
And I would assume that they were as funny as you guys were and they wanted to make you laugh as much as you guys wanted to make each other laugh.
James Gunn
Yeah, they're funny.
Sean Gunn
My mom is very funny. Yeah, my mother's very funny. She's. She's really funny. You know, my father was always funny, but my, my father had this big heart. He was just this emotional guy and he had a lot of issues growing up and he changed and got better as he got older, which is how I think he impressed me the most, was somebody who was open to change and he got interesting and changed a lot.
Unknown
Like later on in his life. Meaning.
Sean Gunn
Later on in his life. Yeah, I mean he, he got, he quit drinking at a certain age and then he quit doing other chemicals and stuff at a later age. And, and he just any, you know, he started out very close minded about things and then, you know, years later he's, he's, he's incredibly open minded and very supportive.
Unknown
And it's interesting, like as a child of someone who is dealing with some substance stuff, you know, as you get older, how to relate to your, that, that parent, you know, because you want to be a nurturer, you want to help. At the same time there might be some disdain or some anger.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Unknown
You know.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Unknown
I don't know how. I don't know how old you guys were.
Sean Gunn
I got, I got sober when I was very young and I went through rehab. And at that time my dad then had to be a part of like these family groups and he would come in and Sean would come in and he was a kid at the time and, and that's. My dad got, then went through rehab himself. And then my brother went through. And then my other brother. And so it was, you know, and we've all. Nobody's ever relapsed and all those years. So you.
Unknown
You sort of kicked that off. Yeah, essentially. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sean Gunn
Definitely. Yeah. Yes.
Unknown
That's. That's pretty cool.
Kate Hudson
Oh, I love. But that's, like, said. But that, again, that just shows, like, how close all of you are. That. That you going through that process was. Became your dad kind of looking at himself. I mean, that must have been.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, I think it was. I think it was also because my dad had quit drinking and went to AA for a short while, but he was still using. A ton of. This is. He's. He's passed away, so I'm not like, you know, and he would. He would actually. He would love the fact that I'm sharing this story that he was on tons of prescription drugs. Tons. And he. He was. You know, he was a lawyer, but he represented doctors, and so he had access to anything he wanted. And I think when he went. When I went through treatment, he saw that all of those things were connected. And his prime addiction was not alcohol. His prime addiction was drugs and pills. And so that, you know, led him to make a change. And I think he didn't really see it like that before. He thought he was an alcoholic who quit drinking.
Unknown
Yeah, that's. That's. That's really interesting.
James Gunn
You know, and it was. And from my perspective, like, I was. I'm right at the age where, for James, he had gone. You know, he. James got sober when he was young, but he was still at least a young adult, you know, who had, like, who had, you know, was in his. You're 18, 19. When you.
Sean Gunn
19. Yeah, yeah, 19. Yeah.
James Gunn
But I mean, and so I was. I was 11 or whatever, or 12. And so I saw it for, like, the other. The other side of it, and I had a. You know, even though we're very close in age, I had a different father at the ages of 15 and 16 than James had, you know.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. There's a very big difference in the. The first half and the second half of the family. Yeah.
Kate Hudson
Talk about this a lot. This happened in our podcast. It's been so interesting because we've interviewed so many people that have. Especially when there's a big an age difference, like how different the parenting was and that their experience was just completely different.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Unknown
Raised by almost two different people.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. And so my family was more dysfunctional than Sean's family, in a way. And My family was definitely less well off than Sean's family was. So my dad started to make more money as, I mean, because he was 25 when I was born. So he was a young lawyer. He was, you know, making, he was surviving. He bought a house and. But I was, you know, first lived in an apartment and then a very small house and then we moved out to the suburbs in the house where my parents still live and that or my mom still lives. But it, they got, you know, they just had a lot more. Patrick and I had to work, I paid for my college. It was just a much different situation for me than for, for Matt and Sean.
Kate Hudson
So Sean, you didn't have to pay for college, right?
James Gunn
Yeah, no, I'm nodding by the way. You can't see me nodding. That's true. And I'll tell you the truth, I wouldn't have paid for college. I would have just. I don't know where I would have landed.
Unknown
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Kate Hudson
Ollie. Hey Ollie.
Unknown
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
Are you packed yet?
Unknown
Yes.
Kate Hudson
You're packed.
Unknown
I'm not. I'm gonna throw everything in a bag the night before. That's what I do.
Kate Hudson
Classic Ollie. Well, I've been dreaming about this trip for months and there's something magical about traveling internationally in the summer like we did last year, which we're doing again this year.
Unknown
Family vacay. Totally. In the past, you know, we stayed in some amazing Airbnbs.
Kate Hudson
By the way, there's incredible Airbnbs, including one in Greece that we absolutely loved.
Unknown
Yeah, I'll say like, and if you're heading out this summer, it's a perfect time to host your home on Airbnb.
Kate Hudson
Please, please host it. And with the co host feature, you can team up with someone local who handles all of it, your listing, guest messages, even making the place look amazing.
Unknown
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Ryan Seacrest
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Unknown
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Unknown
This is just interesting. Like if you could have self analysis to sort of how you guys are different based on how you were raised and how different that might be, you know, what did like, James, what did you might gain that Sean didn't? Sean, what did you gain? Maybe James didn't know. Is there a grit that you have, James, that Sean didn't you know? Is there a security that Sean has that James didn't?
Sean Gunn
I think, I think I'm, my desperation is more than Sean's. Yeah. And which is a, you know, desperation and ambition go hand in hand for, for me. And so those things are very connected. But I, but I also, I also think that, you know, and they talk about this a lot in psychology, that the biggest determining factor of any person's psychology is their birth order and how they are among their peers. And Sean and I are oldest and youngest of a large family. And I also know, you know, Sean and I are very close to this day and We've worked together more than any of the other siblings, and we really rarely ever have any sort of conflict. And it's like those two. Those. Most of my friends in my life are like the youngest of large families. There's something about those two. We make up completely different parts of the personality spectrum.
James Gunn
Yeah. And I would say that, you know, it's definitely true. Like, if you reverse engineer this, it's definitely true that James has always kind of worked harder than I have as a. As a professional and out in the world, like, he's more. Well, first of all, working less than James is a. Is a low bar to clear.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Yeah.
James Gunn
He's a crazy. He works like a maniac all the time. But I also. I have less. I have less drive and less focus in some ways, which. Which is. Is maybe partially informed by our birth order. But there's also the baby. You know, there's tons of factors and.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Personality. There's personality, too. I mean, it's just. Yeah.
James Gunn
And there's genetics.
Sean Gunn
Where do you land?
James Gunn
You know?
Unknown
Yeah, well, I mean, look, if we just. If we just go off of your backgrounds right now, it's easy to tell, you know what I mean? Like, you've got the bar, you're in Mexico. We've got. We've got some amazing paintings. Cat and, you know, Churchill.
Sean Gunn
I don't know.
Kate Hudson
Ta. Ta.
Sean Gunn
That's Ta. Sorry.
Unknown
That's ta.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
When you. So, so who introduced you to. To the arts?
Sean Gunn
I think it was going well. My parents. I mean, my parents. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Yeah, that's probably.
James Gunn
For me, it's my. My. My older brothers.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, I'm sorry. My. My parents brought me to movies when I was very little. And like, I just. I mean, I. I loved the magic of the movies. We always, like, we were raised by the television, like a lot of kids in the 80s, you know, it's just. And we also were. And we all. They also took us to plays in theater, and they love. We. We grew up with a love of theater and musicals and things like that. So my parents, my grandparents, met on sort of a vaudeville. They were. You know, my grandfather was a lawyer and his, you know, his. His wife was a homemaker, but they met acting on the vaudeville on, like this sort of off vaudeville circuit when they were young. And. And so it's in our blood. It was always. My dad acted in plays, you know, in high school. It was always in our blood. Show business. It was like. It was like the recessive gene. And then somehow it Became dominant in our family because, you know, all of our. My. My sister is a lawyer, but the five brothers are all in the entertainment industry. You know, my brother Brian is a screenwriter who's written a bunch of movies. My brother Matt has been one of the main writers on the Bill Maher show for the past 20 years.
Unknown
Favorite show on TV.
Sean Gunn
And. And. And then my. My other brother Patrick, sort of on the business side of film. He's, you know, no one knows what Patrick does. Yeah, Nobody. We don't. You know, I try to explain.
Unknown
He's like, yeah.
James Gunn
My earliest memories, in some ways are of going to, like, going to see theater in this, like, small repertory company down in Lake Ozark, Missouri, and being a little kid and watching. Watching plays and. And feeling like I want to be up there. I want to be up there on the stage performing.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, yeah. That was like, the weird thing. That's.
Kate Hudson
Yeah, I talk about that because I was always like, you know, when did you know? It's like, I'm not so sure. It's not even like, did you know? It's like, no, that you. It's like a. You're, like, drawn to a stage. It's literally like, oh. You're like, no, that's where I need. I need to go there.
James Gunn
I feel exactly the same way. It's when people say, when did you know? It's like, no, it's. It's. You're getting in the wrong order. When did I. Yeah, like. Like, I knew before I. I knew, like, my consciousness, like, fully developed.
Unknown
Do you guys have any recollection of the moment where it was like, holy shit, like this. Whatever I've just watched has inspired me to say, bang. This is what I want to do with my life.
Sean Gunn
I think I can say that in different ways, but for me, a way in which Sean and I are incredibly different is that Sean dec. At the age of seven or whatever, that he was going to be an actor. And he never wavered from that. He never thought and. Whereas I was always just more of an artist. And I was like, kind of like, however it's going to happen, it's going to happen. And, you know, I played in rock bands. That was like, the main thing I did when I was younger. But I drew comic strips that were published all over the place. I did.
Kate Hudson
What did you play? What do you play? Do you play guitar?
Sean Gunn
I sang. I sang in a band. I sang in a couple bands. Yeah, the Icons and the pods. People can go listen to the icons and hear, you know, thousands of Views. But I've also written a bunch of songs. You know, I have a song and coming up in Superman, but I also have written songs for a bunch of different places. Cool. And. And so, yeah, so I was more of just like. I just liked entertaining and telling stories in show business. And however it worked out, I was going to be happy because I'm just happy spending my day being creative and I don't really care how. And I happen to be good at directing. Like, I kind of fell into it, you know, in a weird way. Like, this is my backup job. This is my directing is plan B. Plan A was playing in bands, and then I sort of fell into the film industry. But at the same time, it's hard to say that because I started making movies when I was a little.
Kate Hudson
Wait, James, we have a similar thing. My plan A just never even happened because I just started getting where I was. Like, my plan A was always to sing.
Sean Gunn
Oh, yeah.
Kate Hudson
I always wanted to sing and write and write music. But of course, I was like, you. Like, I just wanted, you know, anything creative. Anything. Perform, performance. But I wanted to be on a stage. And.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
Then I just started getting movies and I was like, well, I guess I'm.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Because you're. You were so young when you started acting.
Kate Hudson
I was so young.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
20 or 19.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. That's crazy. That's crazy. Wow. But you're like the female Eddie Murphy.
Kate Hudson
And this is what.
Sean Gunn
This is what I. This is what I mean by that.
James Gunn
I'm sure you've heard that many, many times.
Unknown
Of course.
Sean Gunn
Because I'm always. It's a little less so now, but Eddie Murphy seems to have been around since I was a little child. Yeah. And he's. No, he's not that old. Yeah, he was around since he was 19. Still so young. And yet you've been around for so long. You know, it's like. It's these people that you're so surprised.
Kate Hudson
I had this. I did this, like, retrospective the other day, and it, like, I, like, shocked myself. I was like, yeah. Oh, my God. Like, I was. I started so young that I think people think I'm like, 65 years.
Sean Gunn
Exactly. There are people. There are many actors. There are actors your age getting their first stab at something.
Ryan Seacrest
I know, I know.
Kate Hudson
I. I'm like. It makes me really happy. And, like, I was just thinking about it today. Like, I. That I actually had, like, my show did really well, and I was like, thank God I'm still working. Like, I. Thanks. I. I'm just grateful that it's still going, you know. Okay, so what was, so what was like, did you have a definitive movie that was like your, all the kids were like, like you went home and like you, like your imagination went wild.
James Gunn
I love this question. It's so good.
Sean Gunn
What is it? Because there's a few of them. There's a couple of them. Yeah. Yeah, there's a couple.
James Gunn
I mean, do you want to name a, a couple that come to mind for me?
Sean Gunn
Star Wars.
Kate Hudson
Yeah.
James Gunn
Well, yeah.
Sean Gunn
Okay.
James Gunn
That's.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. I mean, come on. We. Star Wars. Of course I was, I was jumping.
James Gunn
Ahead a few years from that, but because I was two, I was three when Star Wars.
Sean Gunn
Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
Unknown
But like.
James Gunn
Yeah.
Sean Gunn
Grief.
James Gunn
Grace.
Kate Hudson
Grace.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Because we used to perform summer nights and for our families. Yeah. Yeah. With me and my sister. It's kind of creepy, but. Yeah.
James Gunn
If you skip ahead a few years.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
James Gunn
Like to win to. When you. James was more of like early teens, but I was also getting a little older. There's movies like the Flamingo Kid and like Birdie and the Wanderers. The Wanderers, yeah. Like these movies, I'm, I'm going more like artists. Like, what makes you want to be like, like the. Oh, that's art. You know, when you're like 8, 9 years old and you're like, I'm looking at art.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
Stand By Me was like. I remember watching Standby. Well, first of all, I was in love with every single one of those boys, but. Yeah, yeah, but I just remember watching River Phoenix and I remember this scene where he was crying about his life and I was like, I need to be in like a female standby.
Unknown
When were you old enough to appreciate the older classic, incredible movies as a director and as an actor?
Sean Gunn
For me, as a, as a kid, I remember watching on PBS when I was probably 13, the Humphrey Bogart Film Festival and it played non stop over a weekend and I watched it, cut the whole thing and fell in love with those older, you know, Humphrey Bogart movies. And then that led into like Preston Sturges, who I still would say is like my biggest influence. And you know, all these, you know, but also all the Altman Films, you know, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, long goodbye, all of that stuff. We just, we always had a love for that stuff from a pretty young age.
James Gunn
I, I saw Chinatown and the Godfather and when I was like 8 years old, I saw those movies because my, because I had the older siblings and I got to, got to see movies like that. And then by the time I was just a little bit older I had siblings in college when I was still in. In middle school, and I was getting introduced to, like, Chaplin and Keaton and Preston Sturges and. And just always took on as much as I could.
Sean Gunn
I think for me, it was seeing Bonnie and Clyde for the first time, and it was on TV when I was very young. And when they get, you know, rattled with bullets at the end of the movie. Spoiler. Sorry, I should have said that first. I was like, holy cow. A movie can do anything. It can end in any way. It can take any twist or turn. Because until then, I really only seen Disney movies. I don't know what my dad was even letting me watch this movie for. And it was just. It was so incredible. And so Bonnie and Clyde was a huge one for me, you know, so interesting, isn't it?
Kate Hudson
Because, like, movies can completely change your life. I mean, I know that sounds really dramatic, but I feel like it. It's like the movies that really. If you're a creative person and you. You won't enter a world of storytelling. Right. Like, there are certain. Like, Bonnie and Clyde would have never been that movie for me. Right, Right. But it was free. But, like, for me, like, when I saw, you know, Postcards from the Edge or Terms of Endearment, it was like. It was like, oh, my God, this movie, like, Terms of Endearment was like, you can make stuff like. Like, it's so hard to make people feel that way and to have that emotional experience in a. In a film.
Unknown
You know, for me, it was like some, like, Summer School with Mark Harmon.
James Gunn
Oh, my God. I saw that movie so many times.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
James Gunn
Can I make a detour? Oh, gosh. I don't know if I should say this, but I won't. I don't want to name names, but when I first moved to Hollywood, one, I like, one of the actors from that movie I. I bumped into in the middle of the day in a bar, and he was really, like, not in great shape. And he was just talking about how Hollywood would spit me up and swallow me.
Sean Gunn
Swallow me up and spit me out.
James Gunn
And then I should quit now and move back to Chicago, where I just moved from one of the summer school. I know.
Unknown
That is so funny.
Kate Hudson
So funny.
Sean Gunn
Kirk.
James Gunn
By the way, the. The Thing was a huge movie.
Sean Gunn
That's a big gun family movie.
James Gunn
It's one of my favorite movies ever.
Unknown
Truly an incredible movie.
James Gunn
It's astonishing, and it's one that I saw when I was, like, I was just young enough that it made a massive impression on me, but Old enough that it didn't scare the daylights out of me too much.
Kate Hudson
Also John Carpenter, that was one of his greatest.
Unknown
One of, one of his.
James Gunn
That movie's amazing.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got to work with him. When I first came to town, my brother Brian and I pitched a TV idea to John Carpenter that he wanted to do and I don't know, I remember what happened. I got distracted and do something else.
Kate Hudson
He was my first big audition.
James Gunn
Thing is one of those rare movies that, that holds up better is as well. Not only does it hold up, it's like almost better now than it was when it came out.
Unknown
Oh yeah, yeah.
Kate Hudson
What the thing?
James Gunn
Yeah, yeah.
Unknown
Oh well the themes in it are evergreen, you know, it's, it's. You'll never. The themes of the thing, those can.
Kate Hudson
Just play throughout time and just the increasing paranoia.
Unknown
Also, also you can't trust anyone, you know.
Kate Hudson
Also a sense of humor. That great like moment when the head is, you know, crawling across the floor and the guy just looks and goes. You gotta be.
Sean Gunn
You gotta be fucking kidding me. Yeah, that's the best. That's so good.
Unknown
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I've been lucky to travel a lot for work lately. Most recently filming in Toronto. And now I'm looking forward to to some family time overseas this summer. Toronto was amazing. My oldest son worked with me. We got the greatest Airbnb and it honestly made the experience extremely memorable. Bucket list experience. Six weeks together, me and my boy. So when we travel I love finding places that feel like home. And in the past we've stayed in some really really cool Airbnbs in Europe. Actually in Greece we did and it gives us like this local vibe. So if you're planning to be away this summer, it's a great time to think about hosting your home on Airbnb. And the best part? You don't have to do it all yourself. Thanks to Airbnb's co host network, you can hire a local co host to help manage everything while you're gone. You're listening guest messages. They can even help make your place look amazing. Find a co host@airbnb.com host travel smarter.
Ryan Seacrest
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Unknown
Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty. Well, I don't know about you, but like, I never liked being told, oh wow, you look so good for your age. Like, why even bott bother saying that? Why don't you just say you look great at any age, every age. That's what Meaningful Beauty is all about. We create products that make you feel confident in your skin at the age you are now.
Sean Gunn
Meaningful Beauty.
Ryan Seacrest
Beautiful skin at every age.
Sean Gunn
Learn more@meaningful beauty.com hey, it's Ryan Seacrest.
Oliver Hudson
For Albertsons and Safeway. Now through July 15th. Stock up on all your favorite personal care brands and earn four times points to use on later purchases. For discounts on groceries or gas, shop in store or online for items like Pantene Shampoo, Old Spice, Total Body Deodorant, Tampax Pearl, Venus Razors, Head and Shoulder Shampoo, Olay Body Wash, and Pantene conditioner. And earn 4 times points. Hurry before these deals are gone. Offer ends July 15th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
Kate Hudson
Were you guys like us in the since like you'd get inspired and then you'd make movies. Like, did you ever.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. No. I started making movies when I was 11. Yeah, Sean was often the star of these movies.
Unknown
We did the same thing.
Sean Gunn
One of the first things I did was have my brother Matt, you know, I liked. I saw Night of the Living Dead, which was like blew my mind because it seems like you can make a movie for $2 and that in Friday the 13th in those movies. I started seeing those in my, you know, when I was 11, 12, 13. And so I started trying to make these like slasher movies and they didn't go very far. And I made animated movies with Playmobil figures and Sean was in that. He killed my brother Patrick. There was always death. Always death.
Kate Hudson
Oh, yeah.
Unknown
My best friend and my now producing partner as well. You know, what's always a director as well. But that's all we did was make movies. And it was slasher based. We were obsessed with horror. We were obsessed with Friday 13th, Nightmare on Elm street and I spit on your grave and all those blockbuster titles that we used to go in and being like, oh my God, you know.
Sean Gunn
Were you shooting on Super 8 or what were you. What were you. We had.
Unknown
We had. Well, yeah, we had V. We had those big. The big VHS cameras that were like this big. We got filters. We had this. We all was all in camera editing. You know, it was like, like erase it right there and then tape over it. I mean, that's how we sort of did it. And then we would blood and knives and latex.
Sean Gunn
All the things. Yeah, yeah.
Unknown
And we would do these things where we would put in a Ziploc bag, we'd mix like a blood mixture and water and then we'd put it under a shirt and then we'd cut little holes in it and take fireworks.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Unknown
Put it in the thing and light it. And the guy, the actors with the gun going, like, you can see the thing.
Sean Gunn
What could go wrong? That's realistic. Yeah, yeah.
Unknown
Every weekend we're doing something.
Kate Hudson
It makes me sad that our kids don't get to have the experience of like, having to make their imagination, like to actually get their imagination to work with their hands to create these things versus, like it in their phone.
Sean Gunn
I mean, I, my, my, my friends of, in high school were called the splicers because we made Super 8 films. And we each had our own little, you know, editing bay, the little tiny scenes, and we. I would cut and splice my own movies. So I would edit on actual 8 millimeter film. And on. When it was, when it was Super 8 and it was video, it was hard because the film strip goes further than the, the picture. So it was always really, you know, it was fun. And I had just fell in with this group of kids that all did the same thing.
Kate Hudson
You should do a passion project, Cold splicers. It's gonna be a horror movie on Super 8 and you're gonna splice.
Unknown
No. The murder weapon. Is an actual little splicer where they just like slit people's little jugular.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, in my first movie ever, we actually cut on film. That's the only movie I've ever cut on film. And it was because it was in a low budget studio. I mean, avid was already the way people were cutting things. And you know, what was that movie? It was a movie called Tromio and Juliet.
Kate Hudson
How many films have you done now?
Sean Gunn
It's a classic. Directed. Oh, directed. I think this is eight. Okay, this is eight. But I've written like I don't know how many movies.
James Gunn
I was just talking about Tromeo Juliet last night because I was in that movie and I was telling the story of how my character gets punched in the nose.
Sean Gunn
Oh, yeah.
James Gunn
And how I actually got punched in the nose. And the sound, the popping sound you hear in the movie when I get punched is the actual sound of my nose breaking.
Kate Hudson
It actually broke.
James Gunn
It was a blast.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was, it was good times. It was. Our friend Val, yes. Troma, if you don't know, is the oldest independent film company in the world and they've been around for, I don't know, 50, 60 years now. And they, they, they create all sex and violence, very low budget movies. And that's where how I got my start in filmmaking was writing the screenplay for Tromeo and Juliet for $150. And then, and then just became involved in the movie and sort of just inserted myself until I was, you know, directing actors and, you know, choreographing sex scenes and, and, and all of that stuff and brought all my friends in, like Sean and my friend Val, our friend Val, to act in it. And, and yeah, and it's still.
Unknown
It played for a year in theaters, isn't it?
James Gunn
Isn't it?
Unknown
Isn't that so great? I know we're talking about Superman in a second, but obviously you're doing these big ass action movies and there's the artists and you will always be there. But there's also this sort of not sadness, but how free it all was where you could just go do whatever the hell you wanted to do.
Sean Gunn
But I'll be honest, I feel more free now. I definitely, definitely. Because I can do anything I want.
Unknown
No, I know, but you've, you've reached that point right, where that studio is not going to fuck with you, really, and you can kind of do whatever you want.
Sean Gunn
I know, but I'm an idiot. I've always treated myself like that. Like I've Never. I've always. Every movie I've made is a movie that. That I've directed. Now writing is a different story. Writing was pretty hellish for me because I'd have to write and turn it over. And then sometimes I got a good director and sometimes I didn't. And it was.
Kate Hudson
That must be so difficult.
Sean Gunn
It's so frustrating.
Unknown
No, I know, I know. Yeah, yeah, go ahead.
Sean Gunn
But as a director, like, I could imagine, like when I made super, my, you know, my second film I directed, I had all these action sequences in my head that I wanted to do that I couldn't afford to do, you know, and so I can do all of that with Superman, I could do all that with Guardians of the Galaxy, you know, and then I go and I do tv. So I do like, the Peacemaker series, which, you know, comes the second season in August, and I can do that's like, as, you know, R rated as we want it to be, and has action and drama and comedy and everything. And there's no rules to that whatsoever.
Unknown
That's pretty great.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, I get that.
Unknown
I know what you're saying.
Kate Hudson
I guess also, I think you get when you have, like, a really clear vision, too, I would assume that you end up working with the people and the executives and people in the studio system that like, you know, that you trust that. Trust you back. So you have sort of a nice.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, I think I always survived in the Hollywood system by being the non squeaky wheel. So even from my. The first movie I directed, Slither, very influenced by the thing.
Unknown
Now even from that movie, from that.
Sean Gunn
Movie forward, I just was always responsible, under budget, made my days, made sure the dailies look good. And there was always another in a Marvel, same thing. There was always another project that was causing more problems that the studio was involved in. And so I never had. I never have ever had any interference whatsoever from any studio I've ever worked with. So I hear all the time people talking about studio interference and getting upset with that, and I know it exists. I have friends it's happened to, but it just never has happened to me. I've always been able to do my thing, and I'm incredibly fortunate in that respect. But I also choose good. I'm really good at choosing people, whether it's people that work for me or whether it's partners that I'm going to, you know, like, you know, dealing with, you know, Kevin Feige at my Marvel or, you know, Dylan Clark on my first movie, Slither or whoever it is, the studio who I'M dealing with. I. I'm good at that as well.
Kate Hudson
I think that's such a good lesson for people who really have strong, like, drive and vision to want to be. To work with people. Like, I think so many people are like, well, how did you succeed? Or how do you get, like, to actually be someone who shows up, says what they're going to do, gets like, gets it done on. On time, on budget, creates like, not. Doesn't. Doesn't. Isn't the problem. Isn't the. Isn't the problem maker, but always the problem solver.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Yeah.
Kate Hudson
It's a lot easier said than done. Like, I think it is.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, it's easier. But I think the. The other thing that I think is necessary for a filmmaker is. Is listening to people. You know, So a studio exec comes in and they tell you their ideas. Now there's those people out there that take it all as the word of God and do whatever they want. And that leads to issues, you know, and then there's other people that are like, nope, off. And then it's. Then they are a problem. But if you can sincerely listen to someone, consider the idea. People sense that in you. They know that you're listening and considering what they're saying. And then you have the ability to say, if you're honest, say, listen, I thought about it, but I don't think it works as well as what I'm thinking. Because of this and this and this. They usually are very amendable. You know, they're. They listen to that.
Kate Hudson
Yeah.
Sean Gunn
And having that relationship is important.
Kate Hudson
And I think when you're the listener, like, you know that people will be incredibly respectful when you. They know you're taking in everything and that you're honoring everything they're bringing to the table.
Sean Gunn
Yes.
Kate Hudson
That when it comes time for you to say, this is what you need.
Sean Gunn
Yes.
Kate Hudson
Yes. That. Then they.
Sean Gunn
Yes. And. And also, you know what? It's just good for you as a filmmaker. I mean, we, you know, we look at these great filmmakers of the 70s, and a few of them kept making good movies, but most of them made a couple good movies. Yeah. And then made shit. Yeah. And I don't know what the reason for that is. Some people just don't like. They. You're a man that is a part of society, and you listen to other people and you go to work and you buy milk, and then all of a sudden you're in this place where you're not connected to other people. And then people bring you ideas and you're like, no, I'm the greatest. I'm going to do whatever I want. And you get eaten up by that. And it's so. It would be so easy for me to make a movie without listening to anyone, and it would be to the detriment of the film itself.
James Gunn
And I think that some of this is how you. Is how people identify as artists that, like the, you know, we're all artists, but. But for some people, to them, being an artist means it's all my vision. And that's all my vision all the time. As though they're a painter or something like that. And they forget the idea that film and television and, you know, storytelling is a collaborative art.
Sean Gunn
Yes.
James Gunn
So it has to be. You can't be the person who's, you know, has a singular vision all the time, that it's collaborative.
Unknown
It's a great point because you actually, you actually leading into what I was actually going to say, which is working with actors and egos and, you know, situations where, you know, there are collaborative sort of disagreements potentially. How do you navigate that world?
Sean Gunn
I can't deal with it. You know. Yeah. I can deal with actors who are difficult. Yeah. But if they are disrespectful to people or they're trying to assert authority over the directorial vision, it's just not. It won't happen. I, you know, some actors have a lot of questions. I just dealt with Superman. Both David and Rachel have a lot of questions. Your dad has a ton of questions.
Kate Hudson
So many questions.
Sean Gunn
Question the actor I've ever watched.
Kate Hudson
Oh, my God, totally.
Sean Gunn
But they're, but they're good to the, they're good to the crew. They're good to people. You know, your, your dad was so nice and so good to people. Constantly putting that son of a bitch Chris Pratt in his place. Yeah. And there's a great story about your dad where, where Chris is like, Chris is. By the way, Chris Pratt's one of my best friends.
Unknown
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sean Gunn
Chris was in the trailer and he's, you know, we just finished shooting for the day and he's sitting there and he's. He's going through his post. Post shooting routine with, like, the cucumber, literally cucumbers in his eyes and getting all his face, the makeup taken off his face and all the little, you know, pieces of the costume. And he's getting, you know, getting taken apart. After all, by the way he took it, Chris Pratt took more time than Dave Batista. Get ready every morning, all day. And so he's about to. And so they. Oh, that's right. You worked with him on glass, Chris. Yeah.
Unknown
Oh, yeah.
Sean Gunn
He's getting taken apart. Your dad comes into the trailer, he's getting his, you know, he's getting his makeup off or his beard or whatever he had on. And. And he's like, you know, Chris goes to your dad, he says, you know, what time is call time tomorrow to Kurt? And. And he goes. And Kurt says, you know, Kurt says, oh, I think it's at whatever, 7am and that was like 11 and a half hours from the time. And he goes, what, What. What are we. You know, he says, you know, he says, yeah, we're off the clock a half hour ago. And Chris says, what? I'm not working now? And your dad goes, oh, this is working. Oh, look at how hard you're working, working.
Unknown
I want to talk about Superman, but what's it like directing your brother and Sean? What's it like being directed by your brother? Has there ever been pushback where Sean's like, yo. Like James N. They can't do that.
Sean Gunn
Only on Humanzy.
James Gunn
Oh, yeah, that's right. Let's not talk about that. Well, I always. First of all, the fact that he's the oldest of six and I'm the youngest of six helps, you know, it helps the dynamic on set. There's an idea of like. Of like, you're not really the boss of me, but you're kind of the boss of me. That is that. That I think, is that I think is useful for our jobs on set. And it's like, it's just comfortable. It's like, he's a director and I'm an actor, and we. It's always been that way. So us working together, we slip right into our roles quite easily. And I. You know, part of my whole philosophy as an actor is that once I do my work with my character, once I'm on set, I'm a soldier. So I'm like, I'm doing whatever this. Whatever the story takes once I'm there. And I think James actually really respects, you know, not just me, but actors who are. Who are like that. And so I've always felt like collaborating with James is actually easier than with anyone else I've ever really worked with.
Kate Hudson
I love that. I don't think I've ever heard anybody say it like that. Like, I'm like a soul. I'm like a soul drawn set. I feel similar. Like, I. I always feel like I'm there. You do the prep, you do the work, but I'm there to Facilitate the vision.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
James Gunn
I always feel like there's two parts to my job. The first part is being true is that my first boss is the character I'm playing. So there I have to tell their story truthfully or I'm not doing my job. That's number one. But once I feel capable of doing that, then I'm at the mercy of the storyteller and of the people on set, the director and co workers.
Sean Gunn
Sean is, is literally my favorite actor to work with. And I just, you know, I just never half. I mean, I really don't have to direct you very much. You know, sometimes I guide him because I have a better sense of what the overall story is or what's happening in the scene or how this scene relates to the next scene. But it's always just kind of tonally moving things around. It isn't, it's about dialing, it's not about changing anything, doing or. There's very rarely a moment where I go the way you said that didn't work.
James Gunn
And I have a pretty good sense for like I can finish a take and look at his face right as he's sitting at the monitor and know and know like, oh, that and, and, and just cut to the chase and like, what's not working? This isn't right. What do we need to do?
Unknown
Yeah, just tell me what is this?
James Gunn
And just.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
James Gunn
Shortcut.
Unknown
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Kate Hudson
Ollie. Hey Ollie.
Unknown
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
Are you packed yet?
Unknown
Yes.
Kate Hudson
You're packed.
Unknown
I'm not. I'm gonna throw everything in a bag the night before. That's what I do.
Kate Hudson
Classic Ollie. Well, I've been dreaming about this trip for months and there's something magical about traveling internationally in the summer like we did last year, which we're doing again this year. This year.
Unknown
Family vacay. Totally. In the past, you know, we stayed in some amazing Airbnbs.
Kate Hudson
By the way, there's incredible Airbnbs, including one in Greece that we absolutely loved.
Unknown
Yeah, I'll say. Like, and if you're heading out this summer, it's the perfect time to host your home on Airbnb.
Kate Hudson
Please, please host it. And with the co host feature, you can team up with someone local who handles all of it. Your listing, guest messages, even making the place look amazing.
Unknown
Find a co host@airbnb.com find home wherever.
Ryan Seacrest
You roam at Sinesta Es and Simply Suites. Stretch out and enjoy homelike amenities for however long you need. And when you're a Sinesta Travel Pass member, staying at Sinesta Es and Simply Suites means earning points toward free nights, upgrades, and more. Go to sinesta.com and book your stay and unlock their best rates with Sinesta Travel Pass here. Take today, Rome tomorrow. Join now@sinesta.com Terms and conditions apply.
Unknown
Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty. Well, I don't know about you, but, like, I never liked being told, oh, wow, you look so good for your age. Like, why even bother saying that? Why don't you just say you look great at any age? Every age. That's what Meaningful Beauty is all about. We create products that make you feel confident in your skin at the age you are now.
Sean Gunn
Meaningful Beauty, beautiful skin at every age.
Ryan Seacrest
Learn more@meaningfulbeauty.com.
Oliver Hudson
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and safeway. Now through July 15th. Stock up on all your favorite personal care brands and earn four times points to use on later purchases. For discounts on groceries or gas, shop in store or online for items like Pantene Shampoo, Old Spice, Total Body Deodorant, Tampax Pearl, Venus Razors, Head and Shoulder Shampoo, Olay Body Wash, and Pantene conditioner. And earn 4 times points. Hurry before these deals are gone. Offer ends July 15th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
Kate Hudson
Is it super professional on set when you guys are working together? Because I know that if it was like me, me and Ollie was directing, I'd be like, if Oliver tried to direct me, I'd be like, no, no. I just feel like I just cracking jokes the whole time.
Unknown
If you want to be great, listen to me. If you Want to be good, do your own thing.
Sean Gunn
No, they're really. I mean, really. It's just never like that. I mean, I think, you know, you know, I. Everybody trusts me. I mean, so it's like I work with. With the same actors again and again, and I'm really comfortable with that because, you know, you get to know them inside and out. You know, I'm going on the, you know, press tour stuff for Superman, and I'm writing Chris every day because I miss. I miss him so much because he was my partner for so many years in this stuff, and it was so fun being around him. But, you know, whether it's him or John Cena or, you know, Linda Cardellini or, you know, you know, my wife Jen, who's on Peacemaker, or, you know, Sean Stevie Black, who's been in almost every single one of my films, you know, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker. Like, I like working with the same people because, you know, directors are difficult, and it takes me, you know, and I make long movies, so I make movies that usually are shooting for, like, four or five months. Right. And it takes me about half of a movie to figure an actor out, you know, to see what works and what doesn't. You know, you know, should I do this person's cover coverage first or should I do this person's coverage second? Yeah, you know, and it's all, you know, like, when I first worked with Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, Zoe was the bigger star at the time, and so I shot her coverage first and then Chris's, but I found out that Zoe gets better and better with every take. Yeah. And Chris is a crate. You know, he was. Especially early on, he was more, you know, crazy and, like, kind of started off hot and then went down and then came back. And so, you know, as time went on, then I started with Chris's, and then when he started to falter, I'd turn around to Zoe, and then he'd come back, and I'd turn around and get him again. Yeah. And, you know, you don't know that for. It takes a couple months.
Unknown
That's such a beautiful thing about directing, especially directing actors. Is this the nuance that goes into all of that stuff that people don't have, don't get to really see a director, do they? See what's on the screen? But those little things we can. Which. Which can change performance, which can elevate performance because, you know, how to unconsciously sort of manipulate it is, you know, that. That's the. That that's that's the sauce that people don't get to see as much.
Kate Hudson
It's also like the magic of just being in the circus, like all together.
Unknown
It's just so fun. It's the greatest.
Kate Hudson
You have good people that are smart and, and you're, you know, I, I, you just have this like, I don't know, it's, it's, it's, it's like the most beautiful, weird roller coaster and everyone starts to get to know each other and if it's good people and there's good energy, there's just nothing better.
Unknown
It's just like, you think, oh, it's the most fun. It's the best place to be.
Sean Gunn
I hated it until a couple movies ago. Did you? Oh, really? Yeah, Yeah. I loved pre production and then I loved post production and I hated shooting because it was, I was a madman and it was so intense all the time and so. But over the past few movies, I think since the Suicide Squad, Guardians two was like the, the height of like, I have to change the way I'm living, otherwise I can't do this for the rest of my life, you know, because it takes too much out of me and I'm too insane. I'm. Don't sleep. And so something changed and I've had more and more fun on every project since that time.
Kate Hudson
Did you, did you have to, like, do like, did you have to create a different routine?
Sean Gunn
I did. I did. I can't, you know, I can't work. I work a lot. I work seven days a week. Nor in my normal life, but I, I can't. I have to come home and actually have a little bit of a life after shooting. If you're going to shoot as, as much as I, I shoot, I mean, mean, I'll shoot sometimes, you know, you know, for, you know, 200, you know, days out of the year. So it's like, I, I can't, I have to have a life. You know, when you, when I started out and I'm making a movie every three years or whatever, because that's when you get the opportunity to do it and you're always trying and then you get to do it. Then, you know, you can live like a mad person and not sleep and then just do nothing else but that for the time you're doing it. When I was also only shooting for, you know, 30 days, 40 days, 45 days, as opposed to 90 days, 100 days, 110 days.
Unknown
Is it fair to say that you had a great time shooting Superman?
Sean Gunn
I did. I had I had the best time shooting Superman. I think that was the greatest time I've ever had shooting anything because it.
Unknown
Looks fucking great, by the way. And I'm not just blowing smoke right now, but I saw, I was actually watching Wyatt's movie Thunderbolts.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Unknown
And, and the first trailer was Superman and the audience was just taken aback. It's this cool sort of throwback feel for me. Like I was just like, wow. It just had a different quality to it that looked really, really exciting and really, really fun.
Kate Hudson
Who, who shot it? Who do you, who do you work with?
Sean Gunn
Henry Bram is his name. So Henry shot. Starting with Guardian 2, he shot all of, of all of my movies.
Kate Hudson
Cool.
Unknown
And he, who's, who's the Superman? What's his name?
Sean Gunn
His name is David Coren Sweat. And he is a great. He is.
Unknown
He looks amazing.
Kate Hudson
Okay.
James Gunn
He's amazing.
Kate Hudson
I have something to say about this. He's a twister. I'm watching Twister. I was at the, I went to the London in London to the premiere. I turned to my agent who is with me and I go, that guy's a movie star.
Sean Gunn
Oh, wow, that's so funny. Yeah.
Kate Hudson
And she goes, oh, my God, he's the new Superman.
Sean Gunn
Oh my God.
Kate Hudson
Oh my God. And I just immediately was like, like, who is he? He.
Sean Gunn
I just like, I, I had the similar. I saw him in Pearl. My, My friend Ty West's film, a magnificent little horror horish movie has a small role in that. And not, it's not that small, it's medium sized role in that. And I'm like, oh, this guy. Shoot, could this guy be Superman? And so I wrote our casting director because I was just starting at that time to put things together. I'm like, make sure this guy David Corin Swift auditions for the movie. And it was actually like the second audition I saw. Really? Yeah. I mean we went through hundreds after that screen tested, you know, but I was really lucky, lucky that he was like the second person I saw auditions and Rachel was like the 10th Lois Lane I saw.
Unknown
Wow.
Sean Gunn
So I, I kind of knew that I had these, you know, really good audience options early on. You know, I, I think both of.
James Gunn
Them, they're, they're both, both David and Rachel. Like their performances are just astonishing. And I think that I, I always try to point out that to, to a lot of just regular viewers, it's hard to understand the degree of difficulty of playing and I, because it just seems like, oh, movie star, superhero role. Like all you got to do is look good and And. But it's. It seems it looks easier than it is. And they're both. They both give it such incredible layers of depth. They're really both. They're really, really great performances.
Unknown
And the aesthetic looks great of the whole movie, at least in the trailer. And then he looks amazing. He's almost like this cross between Reeves and Tom Welling in a weird way.
Sean Gunn
Oh, yeah, Yeah. I totally see that. Completely. They are his parents. Those are his parents, actually, so.
Unknown
Yeah.
Sean Gunn
Okay, good.
Unknown
I knew I was. On its own.
Sean Gunn
It's a little. He's a little sensitive about it. Not many people know.
Unknown
Do you get stressed out about the performance of the movie and all that, or do you kind of let it go?
Sean Gunn
I work at letting it go, and I get stressed out about it, you know? Yeah, definitely. I mean, stressed out about it.
Kate Hudson
I. Oh, God.
Sean Gunn
Stressed out about it.
Kate Hudson
It's like you. I mean, I think anybody who has high stakes, I mean, there's. This. Is, like, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
James Gunn
It's part of the job, you know.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
James Gunn
You're, like, at that level, right?
Sean Gunn
I mean. Yeah. Yeah, I know it is. I mean, you know, it's. It's. It's part of it. And it's. It's stressful. And we've, you know, Peter and I took over dc, so it's just this whole thing, you know. But also, one of. One of this. I'll tell you one of the most stressful things about it is that people have these expectations that are so much higher than what my expectations are.
Unknown
Yes.
Sean Gunn
We're an expensive movie. We certainly aren't as expensive as, like, Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3. Yes. And so we don't have the same requirements in terms of, you know, we're creating a, you know, a superman in a world that, you know, it needs to make a certain amount of money. But when people come up with these outlandish ideas about what that's supposed to be, I'm like, God, guys, it's just like, don't put that on me. You know? And it's also like, you know. You know, articles come out and they're like, you know, talking about some aspect of Warner Brothers and, like, everything rides on Superman. I'm like, no, it doesn't. It doesn't. You know, we are. We are taking care of us. DC Studios is 14 people, you know.
Kate Hudson
Yeah.
Sean Gunn
And we have, you know, we're taking care of dc. We're not not, you know, taking care of all of Warner Brothers, which, by the way, has had a Magnificent year. So.
Unknown
Oh, dude, with Minecraft, you know, Jesse Ehrman's my best and oldest friend.
Sean Gunn
The greatest guy.
Unknown
Yeah. I mean, and he basically, Minecraft is his. I don't care what anyone else says, I'll say it straight up. Like he, he shepherded that movie from the beginning for a long time. And when people didn't want. It's been 12, 13 years in the making.
Kate Hudson
So great.
Unknown
You know, a lot of people were saying, no, no, no, we don't want anymore. He's like, no, this is going to be, this is going to happen.
Sean Gunn
And bang. That's my point. Well, Minecraft, I mean, first of all, Jesse is one of those great guys that is, you know, the head of a, you know, is a very powerful executive. Yeah. But everyone loves, he's the best and he's such a good guy. But, but beyond that, Minecraft, Final Destination, Sinners have all done so extraordinarily well. It's a really, it's good and it's a good time for the movie.
Unknown
Well, for the record, I did do the voice of plastic man in an animated show.
Sean Gunn
You.
Unknown
I am throwing my hat in the ring for a 48 year old plastic Man.
Sean Gunn
Perfect.
Unknown
If there's any live action, I've got a decent wingspan. I know you use cg, but I can help you out with some of my lankiness.
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Ryan Seacrest
Is there a gun?
Kate Hudson
A gun? Family trait. Like, is there something that when you see it, it's just like creatively that your family's like, oh, that's so our family.
Sean Gunn
What is it? Sean.
Unknown
Feels like it's got to be humor based some way.
James Gunn
Oh my gosh.
Sean Gunn
We disagree on so many movies and so many things. Do you? My brother Brian is an artist. Like, he does not, you know, he finds flaws and things, you know you know, I. I love, you know, for instance, Wicked. Like, he hated Wicked. You know, it's like. Yeah, it's very much like that. That type of thing.
James Gunn
You know, I think it's fighting to. Like I said, like we said earlier, we're not competitive, and we're not competitive, but we will fight to the death on what we. On what we like and what are what movies we think are good. And, like, probably the angriest I ever get at my siblings are in movies that they like that I think are terrible.
Kate Hudson
Yeah, you guys would be a fun, like, screening party. Just like Academy. Academy time. Like, fall. Just all watch at the gun. At the gun family.
James Gunn
We definitely all, like, stick it. I mean, James is all James movies are like this, but we all, like, like sticking up for the little guy, having the. The like the sort of band of misfits, things outsiders.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, yeah.
James Gunn
You know, like, we all grew up and, you know, outside of the suburbs, outside of St. Louis, Missouri, and we all. I think all of us to some degree, felt like outsiders a little bit. So. So things that champion outsiders is probably a through line for all of us.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, we definitely were outsiders in terms of Los Angeles, like, in terms of Hollywood. You know, we. You know, I remember one time as a little kid seeing Danny Kaye walking by in the airport with glasses, surrounded by bodyguards, and I was like, holy, that's like a magic man. You know? And if to me, it was always. It was. This was a pipe dream. It seemed like a pipe dream. This was not. I never knew anybody in the entertainment industry. Like, it would have been amazing to be a morning dj. Like, that was the. The biggest I thought was possible. So the fact that we're doing what we're doing now is just. It's crazy.
Unknown
Pretty awesome.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Unknown
A couple more questions because I. I love talking to you guys so much like this.
Sean Gunn
Same, same. But.
Unknown
But okay, really quickly going back to Superman. It's such an iconic brand, and we've seen all these different sort of iterations of Superman. Like, how does James Gunn. What did you do to sort of put your own spin on it, to put your twist on it? What did your own nuances to Superman? Did you have an idea of, like, here's how I want to just be a little bit different?
Sean Gunn
Well, I think it wasn't. You know, it doesn't so much come from a matter of how can it be different? Because if it was the same and good, I'm fine, you know, but for me, how, like, looking at it afterwards and what is different about It. And what do. What really interested me was bringing. I grew up with comic books. I loved comic books. As a kid, I started reading with comic books. And so back in the. Even when I came to comic books and I'm reading super comic books, he always came with a world of superheroes and metahumans and, you know, all these different people. It was a universe. It was a DC Universe that was a different reality, an alternate reality to the one we lived in. So I wanted to create Superman in a different universe where there were these other heroes. Just like when I came to comics and started reading those. I didn't have to learn where he came from and all that. Everybody knows where he came from. So I wanted to come into the story at a different place with Superman as a young man at the beginning of his relationship with Lois Lane at a part of his life that we hadn't necessarily seen yet, and then also surround him with these big science fiction things that we don't normally see in Superman movies. There's a flying dogs and robots and giant monsters, and all these things are a part of this world. But then at the same time, I always ask myself, and this is like when I first started doing Guardians of the Galaxy the Galaxy. And they first pitched it to me, and I went, oh, my God, how am I gonna do this? This is like Bugs Bunny in the middle of the Avengers. I don't know. You know, you know, it's talking raccoon. And then I said, okay, well, stop. Wait a minute. What if the raccoon was real? Right? And I thought, oh, my God. That means he's totally. He was created by this person. He was completely alone. He's the only one of his type in the world. And he's the saddest being in the universe. That, to me, became the engine for the entire Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. And why, to me, Rocket was always a secret protagonist and why the ending of that movie was where it was leading from the very beginning. It was about a character finding his. Finding his humanity, finding, you know, God in one respect, you know? And so for me, it was like, okay, well, what if Superman is real? So that. That leads to a whole bunch of different things that are completely true to the character. I mean, he's got glasses that hide his identity. How does that work? He's got this relationship with Lois Lane. Well, what does that exactly mean? If you're in a relationship with somebody who can squash buildings? What are the problems with that? He's completely a hero. He believes in saving lives. No, Matter what. And what is that ideological? How does that play when you're a journalist? And she sees things in a little bit more balanced way, a more utilitarian way. And so what is that relationship like? And so it's about taking these broad, big concepts and bringing them to the screen in the most comic book y movie of all time, but simultaneously having the humans be as real as possible and having the characters be as real as possible. So we have an interview scene with Clark and Lois that lasts for 10 minutes. Minutes. Wow. And it's about the. It is both about her interviewing him as Superman, and we find out what he did, where he came from, what's going on, but also it's about their relationship and the. Their different ethics and different moralities.
Unknown
Did you ever take the piss out of the glass thing? Meaning, like, how no one knows it's him? Is that.
Sean Gunn
Is that. We explain it in the movie. If you see the movie, we explain why. Oh, you do? Great. I can't wait. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Explain it. We explain it.
Kate Hudson
I feel like there's this. It's, like, taking over D.C. and then there's the whole Marvel kind of. Of, you know, people calling it, like, Marvel fatigue and. And, you know, box office declines and all that kind of stuff. It's like, how. What you're saying, you know, is, like, there's this thing that you sort of. I wonder. Well, I guess my question would be, like, how do you approach D.C. as a. As. As the world, so that you're not, you know, going down kind of that path of, like, oversaturation?
Sean Gunn
Well, I think it. For me, it isn't so much, you know, superhero fatigue as it is. People get bored with seeing the same things again and again, you know.
Kate Hudson
Right.
Sean Gunn
And so it's about, you know, focusing on script first and foremost. And the thing I miss the most in Hollywood from when I started out is that even back when I was, like, writing Scooby Doo do, right, that screenplay didn't. It didn't. That movie did not get greenlit until the studio was happy with the screenplay. This is, like 1999. Today, it doesn't work like that. Today, people greenlight ideas and ips without having finished screenplays. And I'll never allow a movie in DC Studios or make a movie that doesn't have a finished, really good screenplay. You know, and I think that that is the. You know, obviously, IP drives a lot of the business, but at the same time, I think we can be. We can be more. Being a former writer, I try to Be as I like to prop up the writers as much as possible.
Unknown
Well, actually leading into my sort of last question, I wanted to ask was, will you ever go back and make smaller movies or something that is not sort of these IP the DCs? I know now you're so ingrained in that, but is there any desire to sort of move into or at least do a movie that's not so massive? And where are the. Do you think those movies will ever come back? Those 30 to $50 million movies? Like, where are the comedies now? Where is this all. Is it going to come back?
Sean Gunn
I think the comedies will come back. I think that there's a place for watch. You know, right now it does seem as if people want to see spectacle films in studios, whether it's superheroes or Lilo and Stitch or whatever, and they want to see horror movies in theaters always, you know, and, and then other theatrical experiences. People have great television sets, so they're like, I can see a Nora at home and get a lot out of it. Which is one of the, you know, it's an amazing film. Well, we're seeing in the theater, by the way. But, but I think that it. That is changing a little bit. I think comedies are kind of the biggest, big question mark because why have. What has happened to the hangovers? Why are there no big comedies right now? Why are people staying at home?
Kate Hudson
I think it's the same thing you said about. About script.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
I know in my experience when it comes to comedy or rom com, it's just talent. It's. It's writing talent and investing in it. And you know, you find it's like it's the place where people find like new talent or someone who wants to do it instead of like investing.
Sean Gunn
Yeah.
Kate Hudson
Great writing.
Sean Gunn
Well, I think the other thing is, is that when I came to town, you know, the, the people that were made the most money as writers were screenwriters and then a handful of big television writers of people who created friends or, you know, you know, whatever. Law and Order, you know, today it's like it's very hard as a writer to come to, you know, into the industry and be like, okay, I can write dribble for films and not get paid that well, or I can go create, do anything I want and create the craziest. I can create, you know, you know, the craziest show of all time and, and have it on TV and have complete freedom and be the boss because I'm the writer and have a writer. The bosses. Right. Have helped help. Yeah. And that is a hard. You know, with the rise of premier television, that is a really hard thing for a writer not to say, you know, yes to. And so I think the screenwriting pool of. Of talented writers writing for film has gotten smaller. Movies. There's not as many movies, but there are also the writers. It's gotten smaller because a lot of the best and the brightest have been, you know, are moths to the flame of television. Yeah.
Kate Hudson
Yeah. Okay. Proudest achievement of each other. There's the two part. This question, and we'll do our last question. But the proudest achievement in each other.
James Gunn
Like, so. So my proudest achievement of.
Kate Hudson
Yeah.
James Gunn
Of James.
Kate Hudson
Yeah. It doesn't have to be related, but it can be.
James Gunn
But, like, for me, I think it.
Sean Gunn
The.
James Gunn
I think the thing that comes to mind is really delivering the goods on the first Guardians movie. Making that jump from being a smaller sort of niche artist to making an actual great movie that has mass appeal is just so insanely difficult. And I think the degree to which he delivered the goods on all of that is. Is astonishing. And there's a lot of elements of James's job in his career that I think are really impressive and. And where he. He really is the best at what he does in a lot of ways. But. But that first one is the. Is. Is the one that's kind of like, wow, holy. Holy smokes. That really. That really threaded the needle.
Unknown
Cool.
Kate Hudson
James.
Sean Gunn
You know, it's interesting because I feel unspeakably proud of Sean when we're working together. And, you know, I even said at the end of Guardians 3, and I got emotional when I was giving my speech to the cat, the casting crew that, you know, the best part of making the movies was, was being with. With my brother Sean, and was. Was having somebody that you trust and love around you all the time is incredibly important to me. Without that heart, I. I just. I. I don't know if I could do it, you know, but, I mean, Sean, I. I don't. I don't really know. I mean, it's. It's. Selena is the proudest I've ever was of you.
James Gunn
But that's another podcast.
Sean Gunn
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's a simple thing, but that's another. Sean helped a family member when they were very, very much in need and did the right thing to a degree that very few people would, and showed what a truly good and caring and loving human he is. And. And in a way that none of my other siblings nor me stepped up, in a way. And. And that's that it's, it's that, that heart that he has and that true concern and love for other people that makes me the proudest.
Kate Hudson
The first part of the question is, you know, what is it about your sibling that you would love if you had more of something you could emulate, that you wish you could emulate? And then the other part of it is, what's one thing you would alleviate from your sibling that you, you think would make their life easier and smoother?
James Gunn
I mean, that's like, the one thing that I wish. I wish I had his energy and focus. Like, if I had. I feel like I would love to have one quarter of James's energy and focus.
Unknown
Can I interrupt really quickly? Because I'm like, yeah, if I had even like a quarter of Kate, sort of drive, ambition, her energy, her focus, I would be George Clooney and Steven Spielberg. I would be both of them. There is so much bubbling up inside of this, but I, I wish I had just even, like, just an ounce of her, too.
James Gunn
I'm gonna throw it over to him. While I think about the second part of that question.
Sean Gunn
I, I, I, I wish I wasn't allergic to cats.
James Gunn
We both love cats, and I have.
Sean Gunn
A cat that's all over, and I love my cat more than anything. But, yeah, I think Sean is way more chill than I am, and so I, I can be very reactionary. I react to things immediately way too much. And if I could have a little bit more of the sobriety in reacting to situations that Sean has and take a beat before becoming, have making an intense. It's part of me that's good as a director because I make intense, quick decisions. But when it comes to real life and just doing that constantly, it's, it really is a wear and tear on me. So I wish that I could have what he had.
James Gunn
Well, that, that feeds right into what I would, what I would, you know, alleviate is I would, I would give you the ability to, to fully chill, at least for, like, you know, two weeks at a time when you needed it or something like that. Like, I don't, I don't, I, I, you know, you, he, your, your, your stress level starts to raise with, when, when you get dormant, and I think, like, a little bit more. Yeah, a little bit more chill.
Sean Gunn
I would, I'm gonna work on that after, after, after, you know, Superman and Peacemaker comes out. I really am, I'm committed to it. I've told my wife I'm gonna do it, so that's great.
Kate Hudson
Yay.
Sean Gunn
I think if I could alleviate one thing from Sean. It's that he's really hard on himself. So I think that if I could relieve him of, of just being so hard on himself, I would, I would love to see that. Yeah. Great.
Kate Hudson
Oh, this is so fun.
Unknown
So fun. I thank you guys for taking the time. It went long, but I, I, it's just so great talking to you guys.
Sean Gunn
I loved it. I loved it. I hope I see you guys in person.
Unknown
Yeah, we will. Good luck with the movie, man. I cannot wait.
Sean Gunn
Yeah, good luck.
Kate Hudson
We'll see you around. Yeah, for sure.
James Gunn
Thanks, guys.
Unknown
Later, guys.
Sean Gunn
Great.
Kate Hudson
Awesome. That was so great. I love. I learned so much from both of them. Sean is so cool and he's like.
Unknown
Reminds me of me. He's like super chill.
Kate Hudson
Like great head of hair. I wish you were more like Sean.
James Gunn
What do you mean?
Sean Gunn
We're cool.
Unknown
We're like two peas in a pod.
Kate Hudson
I loved it. That was so much fun.
Unknown
Have a good table read.
Kate Hudson
Okay. Bye you guys.
Sean Gunn
Love you.
Ryan Seacrest
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Unknown
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Oliver Hudson
Minute cycle based on 27 inch combos based on using a super speed cycle only with a 10 pound doe load. Cotton 50% plus polyester 50%.
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Individual results may vary based on actual load content.
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Sean Gunn
We finally switched to T Mobile because.
Oliver Hudson
With them we can be connected here and there.
Unknown
Dad, the cousins in Mexico have a surprise for you.
Oliver Hudson
And enjoy the gift of staying connected.
Sean Gunn
Switch and start saving today. Get four Samsung Galaxy S 2025 phones.
Unknown
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Sean Gunn
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Unknown
Plus non stop talk, text and data.
Sean Gunn
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Ryan Seacrest
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Kate Hudson
This is an iHeart podcast.
Summary of "Blockbuster Brothers: James & Sean Gunn" – Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson
Release Date: July 7, 2025 | Hosted by iHeartPodcasts
Introduction
In the episode titled "Blockbuster Brothers: James & Sean Gunn," hosts Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson engage in a heartfelt and insightful conversation with the talented sibling duo, James and Sean Gunn. This episode delves deep into the Gunn brothers' family dynamics, upbringing, and their collaborative journey in the entertainment industry, providing listeners with an intimate look at the bond that fuels their creative endeavors.
Family Background and Upbringing [02:40 – 11:03]
James and Sean Gunn begin by discussing their large family, highlighting the significant age gap of seven years between them among seven siblings. Kate Hudson remarks, “Everyone knows everyone” [05:20], emphasizing the close-knit nature of their family.
Sean shares insights about their parents, with their father being a lawyer and their mother a homemaker who kept their household impeccably clean. “My dad was a lawyer and my mother was a homemaker. My mother took clean the house obsessively with six kids...” [09:28]. James adds, “We were not competitive... we always rooted for one another completely.” [08:26], illustrating the nurturing and supportive environment in which they were raised.
Impact of Parental Influence and Overcoming Challenges [12:17 – 15:01]
The conversation takes a poignant turn as Sean discusses their father's battle with substance abuse. “My father quit drinking at a certain age and then he quit doing other chemicals and stuff at a later age.” [12:17]. This journey towards sobriety profoundly impacted the family, fostering resilience and unity among the siblings. James echoes this sentiment, highlighting their father's emotional openness and willingness to change: “He was someone who was open to change and he got better as he got older.” [12:17].
Early Interests in the Arts and Creative Beginnings [23:07 – 34:00]
James and Sean delve into their early passion for the arts, nurtured by their parents. Sean credits their parents for introducing them to movies and theater from a young age. “My parents brought me to movies when I was very little... we always had a love for that stuff from a pretty young age.” [23:07].
James shares memories of attending repertory theater in Lake Ozark, Missouri, which ignited his desire to perform: “My earliest memories are of going to see theater... I felt like I want to be up there on the stage performing.” [23:14].
Their teenage years saw them experimenting with filmmaking, creating low-budget horror films using Super 8 cameras. Sean recounts their hands-on approach: “We made Super 8 films... we were obsessed with horror movies like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street.” [39:20].
Collaborative Filmmaking and Directing [44:33 – 62:17]
Sean discusses his evolution into directing, balancing creative freedom with studio demands. “I've always been able to do my thing... I'm incredibly fortunate in that respect.” [46:16]. He emphasizes the importance of selecting trustworthy collaborators and maintaining a clear vision.
James highlights the collaborative nature of filmmaking: “Film and television and storytelling is a collaborative art.” [50:13]. They discuss how working together as siblings enhances their creative synergy, with Sean praising James’s ability to deliver mass appeal: “Delivering the goods on the first Guardians movie... is just so insanely difficult.” [85:38].
Personal Reflections and Future Projects [62:17 – 91:20]
Reflecting on their careers, James and Sean express pride in each other’s achievements. James shares his admiration for Sean’s dedication to projects like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Superman," while Sean praises James’s knack for threading mass appeal with creative storytelling: “Delivering the goods on all of that is astonishing.” [85:38].
They discuss the challenges of managing large franchises such as DC, with Sean noting the stress of high expectations: “We're an expensive movie. We don't have the same requirements as Guardians of the Galaxy.” [68:03]. James and Sean talk about the importance of maintaining a balanced life amidst the pressures of blockbuster filmmaking, with Sean sharing his commitment to personal well-being: “I have to come home and actually have a little bit of a life after shooting.” [63:31].
Key Takeaways and Conclusion
Throughout the episode, James and Sean Gunn provide valuable insights into the importance of family support, collaborative creativity, and maintaining personal relationships amidst high-pressure careers in filmmaking. Their shared experiences and mutual respect highlight how sibling bonds can enhance both personal and professional growth.
Notable Quotes
Conclusion
"Blockbuster Brothers: James & Sean Gunn" is a compelling episode that offers listeners a deep dive into the lives of two influential filmmakers. Kate and Oliver Hudson facilitate a conversation that not only explores the Gunn brothers' professional triumphs but also underscores the enduring strength of their sibling relationship. This episode is a must-listen for fans of the Gunn family and anyone interested in the dynamics of collaborative creativity within the entertainment industry.