Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (3:27)

And now a quick break from our sponsor, Miracle Gro. Life is digitally distracted and time starved, but gardening is the perfect way to unplug. It isn't just about plants, it's about trading the digital noise for a quiet way to reconnect with yourself. Whether you're in an apartment or you've never even touched a shovel, don't let self doubt stop you. With 75 years of expertise, Miracle Gro takes the stress out of the process and makes it pure Joy. Head to miraclegro.com to check out all of their easy to use products and start your growth journey today. Hi everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to Work in progress, Friends. We're back with our favorite Austin Nichols talking about his wonderful movie the Long Shot. If you've been living under a rock this week, crawl out, catch up the movies available on Amazon, Apple and Fandango. Now, Austin, I'm really curious and you know you talked about this a little bit, but you've spent so long on set. You know, it's decades of work, training and doing all sorts of crazy shit as an actor. But this is the first feature that you've directed. Obviously you know you've directed on television before, but I'm curious the difference because I know the chasm between directing an episode of TV and directing a whole feature is a wide one. Yeah. So on the other side of it, when you reflect, what's something you thought you knew about directing films that either turned out to be completely wrong or something that surprised you?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (5:23)

That's a great question. I was led to believe that, you know, making TV and. And film was really different. And when you're. When your boots on the ground on the day shooting, it doesn't feel that different to me. No, there might be. If you're making a. A feature film that's a drama that's, you know, really heavy or really big subject. Subject matter, there's probably. It's probably going to be slower. You're probably going to look for more moments of silence. You know, TV is pretty quick. It. Most shows. You know, there's a few shows out there that are more cinematic, but most shows are pretty quick. The dialogue's pretty snappy and. And you have to shoot quickly. But other than the Day After Tomorrow and maybe, you know, Wimbledon and Glory Road, I've. I haven't worked on too many movies that move slow. I mean, every job, Every job I've really ever been on, you know, everyone's fighting the clock and let's go, go, go, go, go. It's always, I don't care if you have a $2 million, $200 million Avengers movie. I mean, time is money.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (6:30)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (6:30)

And, you know, things need to move. So that was one thing that I always, you know, I found to be curious about. People would always talk about the difference between TV and film. And. Well, I'm like, when. When we're shooting it, it's not that different.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (6:46)

That's. Yeah, it's really interesting. You're right. Because at the end of the day, no matter what, every day you've got a shot list, you have a call sheet. Those are the scenes you're gonna shoot. I guess one of the things I'm curious about, having directed some television but not a feature, is do you find it harder to track the arc? Cause essentially the rollercoaster tracks twice as long. It's 42 minutes, or it's like an hour 20 or. Because you spend so much more time prepping a feature, does tracking the arc of it actually feel easier?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (7:20)

Yeah, I would say the. This, the latter, because I just had more time for the feature. I. That. That script was in my head for longer. It was just in me. And I had way, way longer to prep. And. And I mean, soft prep, like, hard prep is when everybody. The whole crew's in and everybody's working. But soft prep, just me alone, you know, at my computer, at my desk, at a piece of paper with a pencil, sketching storyboards or writing down ideas, you know, writing down my shot list. But, you know, I just had more time. So when I got to set for the movie. I just felt so prepared. I just. It was just there. It was there. I didn't really have to look at my notes as much. In tv. God, I need my notes. Like, I need my. I need. Like. You had the best binder. I need my binder.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (8:11)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (8:11)

My notes. And I need to look at it a lot because it just hasn't been in my head for very long.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (8:17)

Yeah, well, because especially in tv, you know, something our friends at home might not know. You typically get your script the week before you're shooting it.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (8:26)

It's crazy.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (8:27)

You get a week to prep a whole episode. Thank God we started directing on a show we knew so well.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (8:33)

It was. That made it so much easier. Like, we knew that show inside and out. The crew knew to ins. Knew it inside and out. Yeah, that definitely makes a difference. But you're right. Like, to give a director a script a week or two weeks in advance seems like lunacy. It just seems crazy.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (8:52)

Yeah, it kind of is.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (8:53)

And they.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (8:53)

We do it all the time, but it works. That's the interesting thing. And I think. I think, you know, you. You touched on something in our last chat about how when you really understand how a whole film set, a whole television set functions, it makes you a better leader. Right. Like, you know, what every department does, you really understand how the whole puzzle comes together. I'm really curious, you know, how all of that experience, as you said, you're glad you didn't direct a feature until this point in your career. How do you think that impacted the kind of set that you had on this adventure for yourself, but also for the whole cast and crew that you put together?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (9:38)

Oh, it's. It's immeasurable. I mean, the one thing that I don't really understand how I do it, but I know how to keep a set moving. I know how to keep everyone energized and headed towards a common goal. And I don't. That's probably just because I've watched a lot of great directors do it, and I just let it, you know, sink in by osmosis. A lot of it is. Most of it is communication. A lot of it is just excitement and energy. A lot of it is compliments. A lot of it is really actually caring that all these people are busting their butt for you.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (10:15)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (10:16)

And if they're feeling that and they're feeling appreciated, they feel like they're also in on the creative and they're not just, like, being told what to do, that they will do anything for you. Totally I want to set where everybody feels like they're making. They're creating something, and their input is valuable.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (10:33)

Yes.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (10:34)

One thing we learned from Greg Prange on One Tree Hill was best idea

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (10:37)

wins, best idea wins.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (10:39)

And, like, no ego, like that guy over there who's, like, running cable has the best idea. We're doing that idea.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (10:46)

Yep.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (10:47)

It doesn't matter where it comes from. And, yeah, the other thing that I actually wanted to mention, it might be a answer to your earlier question, was I was always taught that a director needs to really have this vision and execute it. But I find, especially on the long shot, that we showed up and we started rehearsing and shooting, and it's a living, breathing organism that actually changed. And it wasn't exactly what we thought it was going to be. And we decided to lean into that instead of go, oh, no, no, no. We thought we were going to shoot everything handheld. We actually were on more dollies and on sticks, and we were more stationary than we thought we were going to be. And Peter, the dp, looks at me and he goes, this feels right. And I was like, yeah. And we kind of switched gears on day one, and we were like, okay, it's not all handheld, but like I said, it is. It's a living, breathing organism. And you have to listen to it,

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (11:48)

because I agree with that.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (11:49)

Change. It's gonna change. It's not gonna be. It's not going to be this thing that you, like, muscle into existence. You have to kind of, like, finesse it.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (11:59)

Yeah, I totally agree with that. You know, and I think. I think that takes a wisdom as a creative person to do the work. And then when you get to work, kind of let it go and see what happens. That's where that, I think, is where the magic is. If you hold it too tight, you kind of crush it. And I. I really learned that lesson years ago. I worked with a phenomenal actor on, you know, similarly, like, an indie movie that took forever to put together. And, you know, I think we had 21 days, and I. I'll be very careful to, you know, protect everybody, because people are allowed to have their moments. But the director, like, kind of had a meltdown on the third day.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (12:41)

Sure.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (12:42)

And it was alarming to me and this. That my co star was so incredible, and he pulled the guy aside, and I think part of the reason he'd been alarmed is because the director blew up, like, specifically at a couple of women, and it. It was like none of us knew each other well enough to know what was going on, oh yeah. And. And my co star pulled him aside and was like, man, you have to remember, like, this is your ship, but you filled it with a crew. You chose all these people because they're brilliant. Let them be brilliant. And when you give them room to do what they're good at, all they're going to do is make you look more brilliant.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (13:19)

Absolutely.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (13:20)

And it was this incredibly generous moment where I saw, you know, a guy be the kind of guy that you have always been on set, that Peter Kowalski is on set, that, you know, so many wonderful men I've worked with over the years know how to be, which is like a good champion. And I watched it kind of dawn on this guy because it was his first feature and I was like, whoa. You know, it was such a cool thing to observe. And so I love hearing you say that because I actually think that takes like a kind of self confidence and a willingness to not let your love of something turn into ego.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (14:04)

Absolutely.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (14:05)

You know, does that make sense, what I'm saying?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (14:06)

Yes. Yes. And like, as men, as young boys, we are taught to like, have the answer and to be the shoulders that carry and like, and not buckle. And you know, and it's, look, I understand why we teach boys that, but also let's teach them the other side too. Let's teach them that, like, we need people, we need help, we need community. We like, let's bring in everybody. And we can't do this alone. Not one person can make a movie. It's impossible.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (14:36)

Yes. I mean, could you imagine? No. And now a word from our sponsors who make this show possible.

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Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (15:58)

Friends I've learned that the best gifts aren't the ones you grab at the last minute. They're the ones that become part of someone's everyday life. In my home, the kitchen has always been the center of everything. Family gatherings, traditions and recipes that somehow manage to taste better when they're made together. A new conversation piece in my kitchen. You know it. It's the viral Lenox Spice Village. It is a charming set of 24 hand painted little houses, each one holding a spice that you actually use. It is super cute and very practical. And the colors on all of these little things, oh my goodness, they just are so precious and so beautiful. Lenox has been bringing timeless design into homes for generations and the Spice Village feels like one of those pieces that just stays. It's not tucked away, it's not forgotten. It is used and loved. I think I might order a set for a friend's housewarming or it would be a unique Mother's Day gift. Once you'll see it, you'll want one too. Discover the full Lenox Spice village collection@lenox.com Spice Village oh friends, Spring is springing and I am so excited. Temperatures are starting to warm. The days are getting a little bit longer. I feel like my energy energy is getting a refresh and I can't wait to get out and refresh everything in my life. From a spring cleaning in the closet to replanting in the garden. It's time and one way you can welcome spring is by changing up your routine. A refresh can be as simple as amplifying your look with clean beauty from Thrive Cosmetics. Every one of their products is 100% vegan, cruelty free and made with skin loving ingredients that work with your skin, not against it. And when we use Thrive Cosmetics, we're helping others shine too. With over $150 million in product and cash donations to over 600 giving partners, every purchase fuels real impact and that's what I call beauty with purpose. I love a bold lip so I use their Empower Matte Precision Lipstick Crayon. This one comes in 18 buildable, long lasting matte shades. It's designed to be worn as either a liner or or layered and it leaves your lips looking luscious and fuller. I also love their brilliant eye brightener. It's a waterproof eyeshadow highlighter stick made to brighten and open your eyes. Definitely comes in handy after long days on set. So amplify your everyday Go to Thrive Cosmetics Progress for an exclusive offer of 20% off your first order. That's Thrive Cosmetics. C A U S E M E t I c s.com progress let's take

Podcast Host (18:51)

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Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (19:58)

I think reminding people over and over again, whether it's filmmaking or living on earth or as we talked about in the other one, like, taking care of your community, your. Your neighborhood, your green spaces. Like, yeah, everything really is a community project. Yes. And filmmaking certainly is. And I think indie filmmaking is the biggest kind of community project because nobody has enough time, nobody has enough money. Everybody's showing up because they love it, not because it's easy. Yeah, you know how. How did your community, your relationships make this film possible? Obviously you've worked with Peter now for 20 years, but like, how else did your world help you get this thing over the finish line?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (20:48)

I could not have made this the way we did without directing Walker. I came the Walker was the TV show with Jared Petalecki. That was the reboot of Walker Texas Ranger. And I moved back to Austin and they asked me to play the villain of season one. And I'm playing the villain and I go to the bosses and I kind of go like, hey, can I shadow? Can I shadow One of the directors. And that led to me directing the show. And I did two episodes, and we, you know, it turned out great. And when that show ended and my movie was starting to ramp up, I started. I called Peter. He started calling camera people. From Walker. I got Vince Palmo, who's the first AD for Richard Linkletter.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (21:37)

Wow.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (21:37)

He came to do my movie. I mean, I don't know how many people we had from that TV show, but they'd been working together for four years. So I had this team that was so dialed and so comfortable with each other.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (21:50)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (21:51)

That the second we started, on day one, there were no weird get the rust out moments.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (21:57)

Right.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (21:58)

We were just. We were going.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (22:00)

You started day one where most movies get to at the top of week two if they're lucky.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (22:06)

Absolutely.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (22:06)

That's really cool.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (22:08)

That was. Oh, my God. Just luck. Having done the TV show, having. And lucky. Lucky enough to have these people come work for no money. And, you know, because they love the script or, you know, whatever. And, you know, we've all made indies, you know, in 15 days or 20 days or whatever that were kind of didn't turn out great.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (22:27)

Oh, yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (22:27)

Because it's hard. It's hard to make a movie that fast with no money and with favors. It's really hard. So we were so blessed in that realm to have, you know, just a really, really talented crew.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (22:40)

That's so cool.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (22:41)

Yeah. I. I can't even imagine what it would have been like without them.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (22:45)

Yeah.

Podcast Host (22:46)

Well, and.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (22:46)

And I. I would also imagine the fact that so many people were either local or had worked locally, and people. You can't. You can't hang out in Austin, Texas, and not love it. I mean, the way I cackled when I saw that you guys put chicken bingo in the movie. Because I remember making my first movie there even before you and I knew each other and going with the crew to that bar and being like, this is a little thing. I love it here.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (23:17)

You went to Jenny's Little Longhorn?

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (23:18)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (23:19)

Oh, my God. It's so cool. Was that for. That was for the Hitcher?

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (23:22)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (23:23)

Oh, amazing.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (23:24)

I mean, you think about, like, how weird Austin still was in 2005, man. It was.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (23:31)

It was way weirder.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (23:32)

Oh, it was so dreamy. I loved it.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (23:34)

It was so weird.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (23:36)

It was so weird.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (23:38)

It's less weird now, but it's still weird.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (23:40)

The weird is holding on.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (23:41)

Don't you hang on to it? We're hanging on to it. It's still there.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (23:44)

It's still there. I think Because I've been lucky enough to, like, you know, have so much interaction there, whether I've been shooting there or, you know, my godbrothers restaurants there.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (23:54)

Yeah.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (23:56)

Like, I know a little bit about the local Austin music scene. You got some major artists in this movie to the point that as I was watching it and listening to their music, I was like, remembering from our One Tree Hill days, the music licensing, and I'm going, how did. How did you guys afford all of this music? Or was that also a labor of love for the Austin music scene to. To show up, to help out?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (24:23)

It's one of the hardest things, I think, to figure out when you have very little money and you're a little movie, you know, because big songs have a big price tag and there's no getting around it. Luckily, I know Gary Kark Jr. From when we were super young in Austin, and to have him give us a song was magic. And there's, you know, there's a couple hacks, and people know this. It's not like I'm saying anything new, but I wanted a song that had some. Some universal recognition to open the movie. And I started looking on Spotify, and I found Take On Me by Aha. But it was a mariachi version, and I fell in love with it. And I go, oh, my God, is there a way? Is this going to fit? Like, is this going to go with the cut? And I started playing it against the cut, and I was like, oh, my God, I think this is going to work. And then I remember my editor goes, you're never going to get that. That take on me that's, like, so expensive. You're never going to get it. Like. Yeah, but when you do a cover, it's almost half price.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (25:31)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (25:31)

Because you pay. Aha. The publishing, but then you pay Mariachi Entertainment system much less, because they're not a big, famous, huge band.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (25:39)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (25:40)

And stuff like that. Like, how do you. How do you hack this thing? How do you put the pieces together and find ways to find great songs? I mean, we were so lucky to get a T. Rex song simply because. I don't know why they. Maybe they gave us a deal because we're an indie. But, like, I never thought we could get a T. Rex song.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (25:58)

Wow.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (25:59)

We got a Charlie Crockett song, which is amazing.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (26:02)

So cool.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (26:03)

The coolest story of all is Gary P. Nun. So Gary P. Nun is an old Texas country guy. He wrote a very famous song called London Homesick Blues. And I. I had to have it. So my music supervisor Reached out to Gary and we wanted, like, three of his songs.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (26:20)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (26:20)

And he gave us three songs for such bargain basement price. I am forever grateful to this man. He came to one of our film festivals. The cool thing about Gary is that London Homesick Blues was the opening theme song to the Austin City Limits TV show for 20 seasons.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (26:41)

Oh, my God. Of course.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (26:43)

So every time Austin City Limits came on tv, they played his song to open the show.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (26:47)

Yes.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (26:49)

And it is just. It's one of those songs that not everybody knows it, but when you hear it in the movie, I still get, like, the tingles.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (26:57)

Mm. That's so cool.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (27:00)

We just had. We had. I guess, you know, we had people who really kind of got the movie.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (27:05)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (27:06)

Maybe we're down to, like, you know, give us a good deal, but. But it's so hard. I mean, it's one of those things. You really have to dig in.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (27:13)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (27:13)

You could easily just go, oh, yeah, go get some music to your music supervisor. And they do, and they stay in budget. But if you really dig in, you know, you can. It can change. It can take your movie from here to here.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (27:25)

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's the thing. I. I will never forget doing my first director's cut on One Tree Hill. And you do it before the music goes in.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (27:35)

Yeah.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (27:36)

And I was like, this is horrible.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (27:38)

Yeah. Yeah.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (27:38)

What's happening?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (27:39)

Oh, my God.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (27:40)

And music is. It's the subconscious, emotional language of your whole project. And because as viewers, we're so accustomed to. To watching film and television with a soundtrack when you don't have. Feels like half of the soul is gone. And so I just. I love that you had such a great experience getting the music for this. It's really cool.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (28:04)

Thank you. It's also scary because you hear directors and composers sometimes talk about, well, when we were reading the script or when we were writing the script, we had this idea of these instruments. And I kind of want to call bullshit, because, look, you can have as many ideas of. Of what instruments or what it sounds like before, and it's probably really good to, like, have those conversations with your composer, and that's where you start. But, man, it is such a scary, blind process. And I'm telling you, you don't always know what music, what the music's going to be. And the best accidents happen. And then somebody plays you something or. Or the composer sends you something and you go, oh, my God, I never would have been able to tell you that's what I wanted. But that's what I wanted.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (28:51)

That's it. Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (28:52)

And it's the composer too. Like, they live in such a separate part of movie world, but one of the most important jobs on the movie and that I had more meetings with composers than anyone because that really scared me. And I didn't know, I didn't really know what the music was yet. Everybody was kind of going, look, it's acoustic Texas guitar. And I'm like, that's so obvious.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (29:15)

Like, like, what does that even mean?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (29:17)

Like, I want to have. When Samantha wakes up in the Airstream, I want to have an accordion. I want to feel like she's in Paris. Like, you know, I want it to be weird and have different instruments. And that's why Sam Lipman, my composer, was, was. He got it right away and he just.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (29:32)

So cool.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (29:33)

Nailed it.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (29:33)

Oh, it's so cool that I think of anything on a film. The music, it has to be like falling in love. Like, you can't explain it. And then you just go, that's it.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (29:45)

It clicks. You just hear it and you go, oh, my God.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (29:48)

Yeah, it's really, really special. That's it.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (29:51)

One more thing about Sam, I had said, like, can we put some accordion somewhere or maybe on that scene?

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (29:57)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (29:58)

And he goes, he's a professor at ut. And he goes, yeah, sure. There's an accordion over at the music room. I'll go, like, rent it or borrow it. And I go, you can play the accordion. And he goes, kind of.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (30:10)

What a legend.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (30:11)

He was literally in his office at UT playing all the instruments by himself, recording them in his office for this movie. And he gave me such a diversity of sounds and instruments that, I mean, he's a genius. I don't understand how a human being can do that and be so musically brilliant.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (30:30)

It's really incredible. We'll be back in just a minute, but here's a word from our sponsors.

Xolair Advertisement Voice (30:36)

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Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (31:47)

the best gifts aren't the ones you grab at the last minute. They're the ones that become part of someone's everyday life. In my home, the kitchen has always been the center of everything family gatherings, traditions and recipes that somehow manage to taste better when they're made together. A new conversation piece in my kitchen. You know it. It's the viral Lenox Spice Village. It is a charming set of 24 hand painted little houses, each one holding a spice that you actually use. And it is super cute and very practical. And the colors on all of these little things, oh my goodness, they just are so precious and so beautiful. Lenox has been bringing timeless design into homes for generations and the Spice Village feels like one of those pieces that just stays. It's not tucked away, it's not forgotten, it is used and loved. I think I might order a set for a friend's housewarming or it would be a unique Mother's Day gift. Once you'll see it, you'll want one too. Discover the full Lenox Spice village collection@lenox.com

Metabolism Ignite Advertisement Voice (32:56)

SpiceVillage a doubly certified OB GYN and endocrinologist doctor, a naturopathic doctor and a certified health coach walk into a room. What do they talk about? GLP1, of course, but more specifically the difference between the synthetic version of your body's own hormone hormone that are prescribed by doctors nationwide versus metabolism ignite product, which naturally increases your body's GLP1 by 61% GLP1 side effects can lead to nausea, fatigue and muscle loss, whereas Metabolism Ignite is powered by plants and there are no side effects. Some long term results of GLP1 links to weight gain after stopping the synthetic drug, which has been proven in multiple studies. In comparison to Metabolism Ignite, there is no weight regain and this product supports metabolic health. Join the 50,000 customers by skipping the needles and taking two capsules of metabolism Ignite a day for sustained weight loss with plant based therapy. Visit V E R A C I T Y Health Co promo code iheart for up to 65% off your order today.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (33:59)

And now a break from our sponsor, Miracle Grow. Let's be real. We're all feeling a little digitally distracted and time starved lately. We're craving real connections and ways to unplug. And honestly, gardening is the ultimate way to do this. It isn't just about plants. It's about trading the digital noise for a quiet win. As you pour your energy into helping something grow, you're pouring a sense of calm and connection back into yourself too. If you're in an apartment or you've never even touched a shovel, don't let self doubt stop you. With 75 years of expertise, Miracle Gro takes the stress out of the process and, and makes it pure joy. And let me tell you what, I can confirm this. From the garden I love spending time in outdoors in Los Angeles to my little potted plants where I grow herbs indoors in New York. I love working with plants and I love Miracle Gro because whether I'm doing something in the soil or potting something in the apartment, Miracle Gro takes the best care of my plants. So my plants can help take care of me. And here's the big secret. Most people think water and sunlight are enough. But no, no, your plants actually need more to truly thrive. Whether it's starting with the right soil foundation or giving plants the boost they need to stay vibrant with plant food, our friends at Miracle Gro have all the essentials to make growing simple and stress free. Head to miraclegrow.com to check out all of their easy to use products and start your growth journey today. We touched on this a little bit in our last conversation. You know, talking about how this was inspired by the real life clamoring to keep muni and you know, not to be like a bummer, but when you think about those things, when you think about how as cities grow, some of our green spaces are under threat. You know, not to mention like all the craziness with the fact that we're just boiling the planet and it's like floods and storms and droughts and wildfires. Oh my. Like, everything feels, I think, more precious than ever. You know, these spaces that are the backdrop to our joy and our experiences. Yeah, what's, what's the status of Muni now? Like, is it safe? Are we good? Do the, do the people listening to this need to sign a petition or like share a. Share a GoFundMe? What's the what's the deal here?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (36:38)

I think it's safe for now.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (36:40)

Okay.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (36:41)

And, you know, they had some big wins and they have a lot of support from Austinites and people are behind it, so I don't think it's going to go away anytime soon. But there's always this weird. Feels like there's. It's a threat and it could happen. And. Yeah, you know, I know. I don't know if there's any silver bullet to, you know, fix it forever, but I do. This is one thing I always go back to. There was a costume rental shop on South Congress called Lucy in Disguise.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (37:11)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (37:12)

From the Beatles song Lucy and. Yeah, with Diamonds. And Lucy in Disguise was in Austin for, I don't even know, 30 plus years. And they had to close their doors because they couldn't afford the rent. Because, you know, South Congress is really valuable real estate.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (37:26)

Yeah.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (37:27)

And I always say, if you helped build this community for 30, 40 years,

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (37:35)

you should be grandfathered in, man.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (37:36)

There's gotta be a way that you can survive. And, yeah, you know, it wasn't that they weren't doing business. It was that their rent had quadrupled in the last 10 years. So that's one thing I always talk about with people. I'm like, you know, why don't we take care of the institutions that helped build the community?

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (37:55)

Yeah, I think about that a lot. You know, I mean, you know, this about me. And I would imagine the folks at home probably do like, you know, how much I love architecture and design. And when I look at city planning and I've kind of nerded out on, you know, how cities can plan really well for the people and the planet, like what Copenhagen does with its water. There's podcasts on it, should you be interested? Like, I love to follow those trips. Trails. Right. And one of the things I've realized is you've got city planners, you've got, you know, civil and technical engineers. Where's the engineer a vibe for a city? Because that's a role I think is missing. It's like. It's like a cultural engineer. So, for example, we think about South Congress and the way that it's developed, like some of the new developments on that street that are wildly different, you know, since we were all hoodluming around there in our 20s, like, yeah, I think if they're going to build the great big new hotel with the great big restaurants and, you know, the big box athletic stores, I think those places should have to contribute to pay into a permanent location for a Lucy in disguise or what? Like, because what people don't realize is sometimes the evolution of a neighborhood. Like, oh, the people here are going to make all this money on their property, whatever. Great. But then you're gonna lose the magic. And, like, what do you want everything to be the Pottery Barn for? No shade to the Pottery Barn. You're lovely, but you know what I'm saying?

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (39:31)

No. You lose anything that's unique that made it a special place in the first place.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (39:36)

Yeah. Like, we gotta maintain our places. And that's one of the things I think I find so touching about your movie, is that it's a love letter to a city and its weirdness and. And why parts of it are important, even if they're not profitable, because they're important to people.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (39:54)

Yeah.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (39:54)

And I would love for us to all kind of carry that torch after the credits roll. If the film does, you know, become a. It already is a love letter to Austin. But if it kind of becomes a time capsule to what Austin is right now, what do you. What do you hope people feel when they're watching it 20 years from now talking about Austin 20 years ago? Like, we are.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (40:20)

Oh, my God, it would be such a dream. Honestly, I would hope that people would kind of let that sink in, what you and I just spoke about, you know, if. A friend of mine just sent me a picture yesterday of Walk and Roll, which was a very famous Asian little eatery in Austin, and it was legendary, you know, because it's a. It's a music town. The name Walk and Roll is clever. You know, everybody loved it. The food was great, and it couldn't. It couldn't make it, you know, and it really shows. Like, we get a little bit out of whack with our priorities with money and land and how valuable it is in developing the land and then making sure that, you know, there's an Hermes store that can pay the rent. And it's like, nobody. Nobody's going to Hermes. I'm sorry. Like, Hermes make is, like you said, amazing company that makes amazing things, but no one in Austin on South Congress is going in there, and that's a misstep. I'm sorry. But, like, yeah, all these things that we love, that we grew up with that helped build an interesting community. We could do better to take care of those places, take care of those people, you know? Otherwise, what we do is we simply just whitewash our history. And. And what do we have? We. We. We just worship money. I mean, there's more to life. There's Just more.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (41:54)

Well, obviously. I mean, I think the most shining example of that is like, look at Elon. He's on the verge of becoming the world's first trillionaire, and he's miserable and insatiable for more. And it's like, bro, like at this point, you, you don't even live on earth. Like, yeah, I'd rather go to Barton Springs and like, have a two dollar hot dog and spend the afternoon with my friends.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (42:19)

I'm telling you, I rode my bike there yesterday, I laid in the sun, I jumped in the water and the rest of my day just felt like bliss. Yeah, you know, those, those moments. Yeah, those moments are more valuable. You know, it's just, you know, quality of life and friends and, and that's it.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (42:39)

Well, you made a really, really funny movie. That makes that truth so obvious. And I'm. As your friend, I'm just. I'm so amped and I'm so proud of you. It's so cool.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (42:53)

Oh, thank you. I mean, it's huge. Thank you for having me on to talk about it. It's. It's so, so huge. You know, it's, you know how hard it is to have a little movie to try to get the world to find out about it.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (43:06)

Totally.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (43:07)

You know, you hear these, these numbers. Like, you know, this giant 100 million dollar movie also spent a hundred million dollars to market the movie around the world. And you go, what? Like, that's crazy.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (43:18)

Well, and by the way, how crazy? Because you'll go, they did what? I never even heard of that. And it's like if they spent a hundred million dollars to market this thing that none of us even saw on our fyp, like, are we all screwed? Totally. So this is kind of it. It's like, I mean, we're so lucky to have, you know, 20 years in the trunk already. Of course, like, I'll always show up for you. I know you'll always show up for me. Like, our friend crew is so solid. On that note, Justin Chatwin in those in sunglasses. I can't. He. He crushes so hard. And we will have a side conversation about the people that you referenced for him because I think I have some hints. But like, he's so great, but it's like all. When all your people are just like right there with you, it's meaningful. And I, and I do think it's, you know, in the spirit of Austin and like weirdness and punk rock, like, that's how we. Damn the man. You know, we show up and, and we, and we put our butts and seats for our people. And so, you know, that's my little call for all of our friends listening to this. Like, if you, whether you were a fan of any show or movie either of us has ever done, or you're like, you know, a brilliant is endgame, Stan, like open up Amazon, Apple or Fandango right now, watch the long shot. And let's really put our, our little family behind independent art because that's how, that's how we keep it weird.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (44:53)

That's how we keep it weird. Oh my God. Thank you. You're the greatest. Thank you so much.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (44:57)

I'm so happy for you, pal. I love you. Congratulations.

Austin Nichols (Guest/Director) (45:01)

Thank you.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (45:18)

When I'm choosing a Mother's Day gift, I always ask myself, will this still matter a year from now? And that is why I love the Lennox Spice Village. And it is a charming set of 24 hand painted spice jars, each one shaped like a little house. It is beautiful, it's actually useful and it brings a little joy into the everyday, which honestly is where the best moments live. Buying a meaningful gift can be a challenge sometimes, but the Spice Village feels practical and thoughtful and enduring. Plus unique. Just like Mom. Explore the full Lenox Spice village collection@lenox.com

Podcast Host (45:55)

SpiceVillage let's take a minute to unpack the myths behind GLP1 drugs. Myth number 1 GLP1 is a long term solution for weight loss True GLP1 can potentially be a long term solution for weight loss. If you want to be on a drug that changes your body's natural instincts, GLP1 can fix your metabolism. False. GLP1s fix hunger and this leads to weight loss. But the GLP1s may actually slow down your metabolic rate as your body adjusts to consuming fewer calories. Myth 3 GLP1 leads to a loss of muscle mass True GLP1 can lead to a loss of muscle mass due to losing weight so rapidly that your body is pulling from both fat and muscle to make up for the energy gap from consuming so few calories. If you're looking for a natural GLP1 therapy, you should consider Metabolism Ignite. Metabolism Ignite is powered by plants and can help boost your natural GLP 1. Visit VeracityHealth Co to learn more. That's V E R A C I T Y Health Co and type in promo code iheart for up to 65% off your purchase.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (46:59)

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Podcast Host (47:44)

The Devil Wears Prada 2 now playing

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (47:47)

in theaters 20 years after the generation

Podcast Host (47:51)

defining classic Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci return to the

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (47:57)

heeled streets of New York and the halls of Runway magazine in its next chapter.

Podcast Host (48:02)

The industry has changed, scandal dominates, and power always comes at a price. Don't miss the Devil Wears Prada 2 now playing in theaters.

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Get tickets now.

Podcast Host (48:12)

This is an iHeart podcast.

Sophia (Interviewer/Host) (48:15)

Guaranteed human.