The Dallas International Film Festival 2016 Part II

The following is a sooner-or-gater production.
Noice, noice, noice
Good morning!
Joe, stop. Are you ready for the jam?
I said are you ready for the jam?
Yo, jeep, kick it.
Drum is please!
It is 1032 on the East Coast, it is 732 on the West Coast, it is the 22nd of April
know the don the right where they need to be, right don, don the right where they need to be.
The 22nd of April in the year of our Lord 2016, season 6, episode 38, 342 times.
We have welcome you to the clubhouse podcast, our second live show of the night is fatigue
settling in, only caffeine knows for sure.
We welcome you no matter how you're listening, whether you're live right here on you stream,
whether you're listening on our archive or you subscribe on iTunes, we don't care how
you listen, we're just glad you do.
My name is Rob, I am the executive producer of the clubhouse podcast, and I would like
to say a set of toast to Diet Mountain Dew right now, as I have been at this since about
5 o'clock this morning, so things start to get a little wheels off, you'll know why.
Joining me to my right as he does every time we do a live show is my co-host and a man
that is keeping social media on fire tonight, he is Chad, welcome sir.
How's that?
There you go.
I gotcha.
I was like wait a minute.
I am doing my best, my son.
Across from Chad is the official fact checker of this show, and a man that has a lot less
real estate to worry about tonight than he did earlier tonight.
You may know him as fond, don, go, but his mama name I'm Don Ford, I'm going to call him
Don Ford, welcome sir.
The dip after show.
It's on, I'll be going to second to the last time I'm going to do this, happy birthday
Bianca.
I'm out of here.
That was four or five, I lost track.
We already have a guest joining us, and it's probably the first guest we've had on this
show in about a week that I'm actually friends on Facebook with.
Oh really?
That is a true story.
Brian Matthews here.
I'm sorry to dance.
Happy birthday Bianca.
Happy birthday Bianca.
This is the, is this the second year or the third year in a row?
We've had you on the second.
I can tell I've been your show.
Last year at this very show and we were across the street, at the media lounge, right
now we are, we're getting, we're getting fired up now because the DFS honor show is probably
going to be wrapping up here momentarily and people will be pouring in here by the dozens
that we want to make sure that we're up and running before then.
You want to introduce the other man on the microphone here?
That's my one of my co-producers of our movie dead fellas, that's John Laurelis.
Yes.
Thank you.
He's a veteran.
So purple heart, right?
Yeah, I got a purple heart.
Yeah, he's modest.
Hey.
You're sitting next to a veteran?
I'm sitting next to a veteran.
Is that a treasure and a treasure?
He's a veteran.
Yes.
It is.
It's good.
Yeah.
It's a treasure.
So today is day nine of the festival.
Two days left?
Two days left for day nine?
This is probably just kind of sloppy when you're.
Yeah, because this is after tonight, we're just kind of coasting into the rest of the weekend.
All of the winners, films will be reshomed throughout the weekend.
You've been here the whole festival, have you not?
I've been here about 40% of it, yes sir.
Anything.
to take your personal bias out of it but anything that you've seen this week that
has stood out for you. I was really happy with I saw Orion. That's a pretty
nice. That was Wednesday night. I missed that one. That's a pretty trippy movie. I
would definitely want to check that out. It's a really good thing. I was very
very very very good. I'm very impressed. See we we were going to take some time
and oh I've heard. A lot of really good films this year. I've wound up
every film I saw but one at the festival this year was a documentary. I don't
know how it wound up that way but some really great films this year. Being
being the 10th annual festival you know you hit double digits you got to bring
it and I think the diff really did bring it this year. A lot of great events.
Mother Nature wasn't as kind to us as we were hoping she would be. But
she's not great today. Yeah she's a beautiful day. I mean yeah I walked
out because I go to work really early in the morning. I went out to go to
lunch and I was like what is this? Is this what warmth feels like? This is kind
of nice. We're hopefully going to hear from some of the winners. Don's out
there working the room. Beautiful lounge this year. He did a great job on
the lounge this year. Also friend of the show Devon Pike going to be running
some karaoke later on. We're not saying that we're not saying we're going to be
on that stage. We're not saying we're not sorry. You have a strange look on
your face there. What's going on? Yeah that'd be that'd be plural. That's what I
said weak. Yeah yeah yeah. That's why I had that look on my face. Yeah yeah
I said karaoke. That's a strong rumor that that could happen. All right. I smell
no scared. I don't know why. I won't either confirm nor deny anything because
you know because this is the night. I mean the lounge is kind of a great place to
go after you've seen a film whether you're waiting for a film but this is the
night where the lounge really does turn into party central because people are
getting out of the DFS honor show they're going to be ready to kind of let
loose. That's right. We've been covering this is our third year covering the
festival and we've always said that this show consistently is the most wheels
off show we do all year because really this this particular episode drives
itself we of course like to intro it since we've got you guys here why don't we
do some movie talk yeah we're gonna come my music movies and music a little
bit sir and I don't know if you saw this the other day a 24 a great film company
brought us a lot of great films in the last couple of years that we've seen
they have bought the rights do you remember the books or the I want my MTV I may
have which look they're they've optioned it for a film it is the story of the
early days of MTV all of the background of the back behind the scene shenanigans
and I'm Adam Carola Adam Carola did love line but that was more than 90s with
Dr. Drew Adam Curie did MTV news you know your original VJ's were Martha
Quinn JJ Jackson Mark Goodman Alan Hunter Alan Hunter Nina Blackwood
Nina Blackwood because you listen to 80s on 8 they're the hosts on 80s on it
which I think it's kind of neat it's going to be directed by Jane pot James
Ponsalt who did the end of the tour and the spectacular now oh oh the end of
the tour the film with the yep Jason Siegel yes but the rolling stone rider
that was following the author okay the next thing I want to talk about a
little bit and I don't know where this guy fits into the equation and I've
been racking my brain about this all week we got an announcement this week that
Willem DeFoe is joining the Justice League film and the only thing they're
saying no it's a good guy role so I don't know I'm looking I've got Willem
DeFoe in my head and I'm trying to figure out where he fits into the
equation shazam is it shazam do you see yeah but I think they're he's getting his
own film with the rock is playing a blackout oh not Aquaman then Aquaman's
getting his own film right but that I don't think that comes so after Justice
League so I don't I don't know what because you've already got commissioner Gordon
cast yeah who would he be he's a hero he's a good guy I don't know it's kind
of a strange announcement the other day new line developing a film version of
three's company because we need that yeah I just I don't know is this a format
that works we need a budget I mean new line I don't know I don't know we talked
earlier about Amelia Clark announcing she will not be doing any of the
terminator sequels she's got game of thrones money she's the mother of a
dragon I think I haven't read the books we'll see I haven't read the books I
haven't you know I haven't got no spoilers in my life I honestly believe at the end of it she wins
because she's the only character who's completely separated from everything else that's
going on so I think she ends up winning so I don't think I mean Lord knows that show will kill
somebody in a heartbeat so Lord only knows there interesting news about the the last Wolverine film
what's going to be based on old man Logan x23 it's the female version of him expected to debut
in this film I thought she already made a debut I'm not counting origins no I thought she was in
x2 I can either confirm or deny that the word debut was used in the article I read today I thought
that's who he was fighting at the end of x2 whenever Jean Gray pretty much sacrificed herself
when he puts her in the yeah oh wait no that's lady death strike yeah that's that's all
okay that's 23 is different okay my bad my bad Robert Downey Jr. will be both in in a spider
man homecoming and he's going to do Sherlock Holmes 3 I still have issues with that title it is
weird but Sherlock Holmes 3 no no spider man homecoming it sounds like it sounds like he's going to
a dance Parker I just I don't know I I liked amazing and amazing too I didn't think we needed
to reboot it again but I think Disney's finally got their claws in it so they're not gonna let it
go I like all the goods I liked amazing but I can't say I like to amazing too we haven't talked
about the flatliners remake in a bit what we do have something they're remaking flatliners
Nina Dobrev from the vampire diaries is going that movie was so terrible and I love Oliver
Platte I am a huge Oliver Platte fans he couldn't save that it's just like I just remember watching
it going so many paint for this yeah just let me know when you're ready done now we're just waiting
on you brother we should see the other movies called fat liners yeah completely different film
is that the one that will there can't get fake produced no comment I think we're getting ready to
to circle out cycle out a little bit guys anything else you guys want to promote before we let you
go enjoy that yeah check out bill the show dot com join I guess he's a Duke coming out you like
cartoons and voiceover that's it China producing dead fellows together zombie gangster movie
started shooting I like it Texas yeah I'm excited yeah John's uh John Bruno Bruno
all right John Bruno Bruno Johnny Johnny Bruno I have to slice you always honored to have
you guys come join us go enjoy the evening thank you like I said first guy the festival I've
actually friends with on Facebook don't friend me oh not at all all right come on sit down kids take care
buddy you know I like it when we have people on the show that we who work in positions that we
don't get very often and you don't get very often exactly and we're going to talk about that
I didn't come across well at all did it dude you have to under do you understand why I'm
I know but as soon as you said I'm like oh let's let's just get this let's just get the wheels moving
go ahead introduce yourselves please I'm Curtis he and I am a composer and I worked on a film called
the liberators with Cassie who's right here next to me and I'm Cassie Hay and I'm the producer director
writer of the liberators because you know documentaries make no money so I did everything except for
the amazing things that Curtis did and we were just talking with our previous guests all but one
film that I saw this year at the festival were documentaries well I mean it's it's a great time
for documentaries I will say yeah and and I find as I'm getting older which I don't know how much
old I have left I'm getting a better appreciation for documentaries and I don't know if it's because
I'm starting to burn out on cinematic formula or if it's just documentaries are getting that much
better there's only so many comic book movies you can make and see we talked about that we had
another show earlier in a different area and we talked about the fact of are we getting to
critical mass with these things absolutely or is it just as it has have superhero films become
the new crutch yeah and that's what I'm worried about fun Zimmer the composer for this what is
this big one that just came out bbs yeah there you go he said he'd never work on another comic book
film again he said I'm done yeah and it's just I mean believe me I love the time that I live in
because I'm actually getting to see the movies I saw in my head as a kid but talk let's talk
about your film it's your film that we're here to talk about tell our audience about the film sure
um so uh this is a documentary feature link about uh a treasure that a fantastic treasure that
disappeared at the end of world war two and was missing for nearly 50 years and it turned up in
whiteright texas which is about an hour from where we sit right now and uh so the film traces uh
how how the this investigator tracked down the treasure and then uh kind of gets into everyone's
head and everybody that was involved so kind of a big part of our film was we we talked to everybody
and tried to get all different kinds of points of view so we went talk to the Germans we talked
to the Texans we talked to the New Yorkers and and that's that's it in a nutshell how did it take
you to film it uh well it took about two years to film and edit but uh I started researching it
in 2004 which is a little sad but it took 10 years until we started filming means did it right
right hey you know what I like to say what was it that caught your attention about this story that made
you start developing the want and the need to research and then film all what you what you did
sure well I'm uh I am from denison texas which is about 70 miles north of here uh home of the
fighting yellow jackets and uh where you can throw a rock and hit Oklahoma you're so far north
yeah I mean are you filming or denying that you've ever actually done that I have only been to
Oklahoma five times yes you can throw a rock from where I where I grew up and um and yes so I was
sitting I was at chiles in Sherman and someone said well gall d'arns you know here about this uh
Nazi treasure turned up and white right you know like you hear every day um and uh and so yeah
you know I was hooked immediately on that you know just that but as I got into it more I was like
god this is fascinating and it turned out I knew a lot of the people involved so um but it took us
10 years to get the research down and then the big thing get the money so then we we went to town
and then Curtis came on and and really just it's like the icing on the top of the cake and I
I'm thrilled he's here because I feel like people don't talk about the uh composition and the
score enough and that's where I was going in the beginning of the interview because we don't get
a lot of composers on the show and of the many things that we are geeks of on this show music is
one of those things composing music for a documentary is such an interesting thing to me because
it's it's it's such a different animal because you don't really have a script to work with you kind
of have to wait till things come in in chunks absolutely and then you kind of have to fit it to that
absolutely can you talk about your process there in a little bit uh normally I like to get involved
as early as possible if it's a narrative feature get the script exactly you kind of just get it
try to get make some sketches that you get in the universe of the film you know try to create a
world and hopefully that will inform what they're shooting or maybe what they're how they're editing
and in this case the film is already pretty much done um and so it was just basically trying to do
the film justice and um make just choose the instruments that would be appropriate and the style of
music and the scales and you know there's a little bit of Texas and a little bit of Germany so you
want to make something and that you know it spans from you know world war two to the present so
different times different periods so you want to have music that reflects all of that and
the right instrumentation and things so was it one of those deals where it kind of came to you
fairly quickly was it was there a full process involved it was a lot of chunks yeah a lot of caffeine
and uh I mean what our deadline we basically had like a month and a half or two months and it happened
right at Thanksgiving whenever we kind of started talking and so we had a kind of a phone interview
and then Thanksgiving happened and we didn't you know we both had our family stuff to do and then
Christmas and then all of a sudden the movie is ready to be put out yeah and then all of a sudden
we said I said uh hey Curtis so you know how I said I tell you if there was a hard deadline uh you know
hey at the beginning I was like yeah let's just think about this it was a little groovy you know
groovy like well well we'll get there and then we got into a festival is like oh yeah yeah that
deadline just just became a hard deadline and poor and poor and it's next Thursday yeah basically
but he's a you know a genius so anyway I am forever grateful that he took my call
because I really think he took the film to another level was this the first time it had been
shown or it's been shown before before the Dallas or National Film Festival we we had our world
premiere at South by Southwest you could do a lot of orders which was great I mean it's listen
it's all it's all gravy because to show this film to Texas audiences is really cool um I mean I'm
a Dallas girl at at the at my roots so it's it's really neat to be able to bring this back home and
share it and you know I mean I'm at uh one of the lawyers that was on the case who I'd never met
before showed up at the screening tonight so that was oh wow yeah that was fantastic was tonight
the first screening of the of the of the film in Dallas yeah okay is it screening tomorrow it's
screening tomorrow so what we're gonna we're screening tomorrow at 5 p.m. I believe Don is very very
excited because he just mentioned that he can remember the name of the film because you'd have
the media guide on and I believe this is the film that he is excited to see tomorrow oh fantastic
because he said because you've got some recording we've got to do tomorrow he's like I'm out of here
gonna be down there like a 5 so I am working under the assumption that this is the film that he's
excited to see was planning to come which is really exciting yeah I know it's really exciting um
especially having grown up and I grew up in Dallas but I've been in New York for the past 14
years and really to come home and get to work with amazing Texas filmmakers and um just amazing
people like Curtis it's really just a thrill and you get to talk to you about it describe the vibe
difference between a South by and a Dallas international film because it's got to be just completely
different sports because South by just takes over Austin it's like you can't you can't like look
anywhere and there's not something because it's become such a big deal describe that vibe difference
yeah no I mean South by was insane because I and I live in Austin now and um and I was whoa this
isn't even the place that I live in this is such uh this is a different beast um and and so it
was it was kind of one of those uh experiences where you're just going on a pure adrenaline
but Dallas is great I mean especially this story has so much to do with Dallas so the conversations
we just came from we're so wonderful because people you know we had people who have been to
no white right and know the story or experienced it in the 90s um and this is just a much more
intimate vibe I mean I feel like the the audience with I mean the Q&A was incredible because I feel
like people like really want to sit there and dig into the story so that was that was cool I don't
know Curtis can you talk about it I agree this is a Fort Worth guy yeah I'm a fourth guy um but I I think
watching the film kind of reminds me of antique roadshow and also if you're a history buff or
if you're in the art you just it just appeals to a lot of different people um you get to see a bunch
of really uh you know really cool old reliquaries and really cool old uh bibles and things you know
like encrusted with gyms and all this stuff was uh missing for a long period of time and just
that story alone it kind of it's really compelling and by the end of the film you are you're inspired to
like you know go look and see what you know as in your your grandparents closet and we have a lot
of that stuff here in Texas you go to the you go to the antique shops and you see stuff that just
looks old and it looks like it's important you know and right this film has to do with that so
it's kind of cool oh anything any other places scheduled for the film after tomorrow um I think
right now we're going to be showing it in denison which is where the bank is located where they found
these treasures that's awesome yeah so we're gonna show it in the real the historic reality theater
across the street from the bank where they found the treasures uh but right now we're you know we're
waiting to hear we're we're entered into 19 film festivals so fingers fingers crossed but you
know it's I mean really at this point Dallas was huge to get into I mean it just I felt like
when we were making this film like we got to show this in Dallas and so it's it's such an honor
and thrill and um yeah you know we're just gonna try to get the story out there because um there are
two items that were never found two of these treasures that were never found they're worth millions
of dollars and uh we think they might be somewhere in Texas still so that's pretty cool so search
your basement if you see a religious reliquary from good luck you know they're tearing up my backyard
right so you know if you don't see me for a while you know where I might be going good luck
having a house with a basement as part of so we want to let you guys go enjoy the eating but
before we do we are all about shameless self promotion on this show so give us all the social
media websites whatever people need to do to get a hold of this film awesome so we're if you go to
www.deliberatorsmovie.com that's where we'll be posting all our upcoming screeners you can see
the trailer or find out more about the the crew and uh Curtis and I are both on IMDB Curtis has
done a much more amazing things than my film that's that's got to be a cool feeling it's like yeah
you can see my IMDB page yeah well hey you know I mean both Curtis and I work in the film and tv
industry besides this film and uh so yeah you can see all the crazy uh sorry I can't cut
on the show the crazy stuff that we've done but yeah and a curtain you know uh yeah check us out
and follow us and and what most importantly come to the angelica tomorrow at 5 p.m. to see our
last screen here in Dallas Cassie hey Curtis Heath the liberators tomorrow at 5 do you know which house
it's going to be in uh it's going to be at the angelica I don't know what theater and the angelica
downtown Dallas mocking bird station because we have two of them in this town so we have to differentiate
thank you guys so much for joining us thank you thank you for joining us go enjoy the evening because
it's just it's just getting started I've got my wine ready Karyoke is coming get ready for it
all right you're listening to the clubhouse podcast we are live Dallas International Film Festival
part G as the kids like to say I I realize listening to last week's episode I say that phrase
way too much I'm gonna I have to cut back on that phrase what's that as the kids like to say
I wasn't gonna say it you come sit out if you want to spend some more time now that you actually
senior movie rejoining us because her husband is engaged in conversation and ignoring her
out there she maca how are you I'm good how are you just got done seeing high rise correct how was
it it was uh talk right into that thing please interesting it was very very interesting
exceeded expectations and my expectations below expectations yes wow yeah it's it's her
decisiveness that I admire so much about her that's commitment yeah see we can talk
about it now because it's part of the festival we're covering now we couldn't talk about it
earlier because we were covering a different festival it was it was very very interesting I know
this wonderful woman hi well friends on Facebook you can sit here if you want to it's okay I love
your I am sure and everything thank you thank you a lot of thought we're gonna have to help
me out here because don't even give me a piece of paper this is the lovely and talented justina wolf
I have seen I have seen you post on his page yes oh okay well there you go I was like why do I
know that name and then he mentioned the Facebook thing and I'm like there I've seen you post
things on that page I'm gonna let you take this part of it because this is your friend
well I mean go ahead I mean tell us why you're here justine I'm here like I just got I got pulled
in I'm here because somebody put me in the chair I'm starting a film festival woman Texas film
festival that launches in August at the Texas theater I believe I am a fan of that page just
went up just a few weeks ago correct yep I am a fan of that page a few weeks ago and we're
taking submissions on film freeway and women created so the woman is a director writer producer
DP or composer it qualifies to be submitted that is very exciting as a woman just wanted to chime in
there I figured this is probably the perfect thing for you to sit in on Monica because I know that
you're a big fan of women of all things that women creates that is very true I want more women
to create more great things how many submissions have you guys had so far a ton and unfortunately
because of dip I have not been at had chance to even look at them in the last week but I keep
in my little email alert so they're just they're involving it what are the dates again because I kind
of the deadline the early bird deadlines bay 15th and then the regular deadline is June 15th and then
we are August 19th to 21 that's a really good time to have a festival too because summer movies
are winding down and that's going to that's a perfect time for you guys to get the exposure that
you need because you're going to be able to just do really what you want yes are you going to be
here at the angelica have you established the status oh the Texas theater yeah the very historic
Texas the I love that place yeah we were there two years ago for the closing night of the Dallas
International Film Festival where they showed space battleship Yamato and I was like what better
way for me to go to the Texas theater than to see a movie based on a cartoon that I loved as a kid
it is it's an amazing place because I actually thought like maybe I'll just make this my office
I'll just drink at the bar and watch whatever movie is playing yes that's great that is an absolute
plan well it's not only movies I mean they have concerts they have different shows that they have
there I mean it's just it's just a great place for it's a great venue in Dallas Kevin Smith did
it did one of his evening with Kevin Smith's there I was actually last year not the one last year
but the one that was live telecast we went to that and that was that was interesting and for those
of you that don't know the Texas theater it has a lot of history but the one thing everybody knows
it for is that is where Lee Harvey Oswald was found and arrested and on the anniversary of
that day was it last year year before they actually probably the year before before they actually
showed on that day during that time the film he was watching at the time that he was captured
they they did I thought it was kind of cool and but it's so much more than that like I am I am a
film geek I worked at the movie theater when I was in high school and they have a full blown
platter laid out projector in that theater that sits in the it doesn't sit on top it sits in the
back of the theater and when we were there for space battle should be a model I just stared at it
for like minutes on end like I remember those days and I'm always a big fan of single film theaters
you know because there's such a dying breed and there's like go to the majestic the majestic
just it's it's that thing for me that reminds me of when I was a kid I saw Star Wars in 1977
in a theater just like that in Iowa and it's such a lost art it's actually a live theater fan like
I actually started off as a playwright and then moved in a screenwriting and I'm that way in theater
and live theater places where like I if I see a great lighting grid or or something I'm just like
completely enraptured I am so the same way like we actually went to wicked last night and
everything's going on and I'm like oh those lights are awesome you know I'm just I'm so into
the technology of everything that just it adds to my enjoyment of it and what it's really
impressed me is how theater technical has become so far so fast well it's interesting it's actually
my brains here because we're going to add a VR aspect to our film festival really there'll be a
gaming aspect so there'll be like a developed games by games developed by women and then there'll be
a VR aspect as well there's VR here at diff and that's a strange thing so the technology is all right
in your face like it's all so insular and it's so very different than the expansiveness of theater
or cinema and you've got great developers that are based around here that you can clean from I mean
you've got it right down the road in Mesquite and you know they've moved again haven't I believe
they have I think they're still based in Mesquite I say that I could be wrong but I don't think
they're in that I don't think they're in that building across from the bar I used to work at it
no and I know the gearbox was in Plano and I think now they're in in Frisco and you're talking about
two of the premier first-person shooter developers that would be a perfect match for somebody that's
doing VR I'm very excited to talk to everybody and and real effects so I am we are such fans of
those guys they did on our show the last two years running and could not be nights for people if
they try and and they did that thing last year in the media lounge where you actually put a VR head
set on and walked around inside the world of the book of the dead I thought you were I was not
five years before okay okay okay so I skipped a year because I was in New York so I say yeah we
are in the process of moving here at that point we are here we are I mean were you in the process
move okay yeah because I followed the move I was happy remember I said I welcome to Texas glad you're
here it's it's really amazing to be here because New York is so different oh absolutely but I can
already and I come from LA so I'm from LA originally and then five years in New York and it's
so easy to see where Dallas is becoming a very similar city to those two cities that I'll drive
around and I'll like turn to John and be like oh that's going to be Burbank oh that's going to be
you know that's going to be the upper east side like you know like I see LA in New York in Dallas
and you're absolutely right I mean it's and it's getting closer and closer every year
is in with Toyota moving into Plano yeah because I work for a company that's out of California and
we're in Plano and you know like watching the Toyota complex be built and all the people from
my company that have moved from California I'm just like yes great all these people my mom was like
well you're moving to Dallas aren't you gonna apply for Toyota in Plano Plano sounds really nice
and I'm like what are you talking about and then I went to Plano and I was like wow Plano's
really nice they built it up a lot yeah and people are moving farther and farther and farther out
and I've always said to my wife I want to live close enough to the city that the city's not too far
away but I don't want to live so close that it's right there you know and so and Dallas let's
you do that because everything is so spread out when I when I grew up in South Florida so when I
first moved here that took a lot for me because anything I needed was in five miles of my house
right and here my husband was raised in South Florida we're at
Inglewood which is way south like and his mom's like the southern tip like by the beach and he's called like
camp okay what's called it's called something beachy I don't know okay I don't know
I don't know but Inglewood was a city that he was raised in so very small and it's you're just
used to everything being right there and it's like here if you don't drive 20 minutes you won't
go anywhere and for me I was like this and and so used to calculating things in miles we're here
you calculate everything in minutes there's no correlation yeah and being in Manhattan was great
because I got to actually like go downstairs and get a bagel and never and just keep my pajamas on
and then here I actually am in in South Dallas so I'm about five minutes south of the new
Alabama oh I love the new Alabama and they're going to be doing some screenings this weekend for
the Dallas or National Film Festival so because people were getting confused so like it just
says Alamo DFW I might know they have to call that one that because they can't call it Lamar
because there's already one in Austin called that that's why they're calling this one Alamo DFW
they're actually hosting some screens as the because the festival goes until Sunday yes
and a lot of what's going to happen this weekend are just going to be re-showings of the winners
that they're announcing and probably just wrapping up across the street at the DFS honors
I just think if you hit refresh on your computer you may actually know the winners
oh okay well you're just I might be told to jump in the gun there but what's up you
I got to have a shot to look on your face yeah I noticed something got added to the film line up
for tomorrow night at the Dallas Alamo draft house is it the story of my life no okay it's the story
of the guy playing in our speakers overhead we got a little purple ring going on tomorrow yes
already has been added to Dallas and Richardson so he kind of knew it was going to well I was hoping
all the ones in Austin did theirs today yeah so we haven't even gotten to that yet I've been
that that that might be a whole different show for a whole different time because it's
hints why I'm wearing the color I'm wearing and I saw your I saw your post that you were listening
to nothing compares to you earlier today yes that's the only song that can make me cry every time I
hear it especially that if it's that that live version with him and Rosie yes dropped a mic it's
over well did y'all hear about the vaults full of music that he does oh we've known about it for
years okay but here's the here's the 50 music videos oh my god music we've never heard here's
what worries me and Chad and I've talked about this for years in knowing prints on the level that we
do I'm worried that he has a clause in his will that says if I go you burn that thing to the ground
I don't know see I was I was talking to the husband about this and as someone who enjoys creating
stuff like when you create something you're never done with it and so I can understand if he has
this vault full of which he does creative energies you know that he didn't want to release because he
wasn't sure if he was done with it well a lot of it was like he just wasn't in that place anymore
so he just was gone and if he if he truly if we get that vault opened our grandkids grandkids
are going to be listening to unreleased material by him my my fears that it actually is
to the Jehovah's Witnesses the only thing that makes me worry about it supporting him was there's
a lot of things that you worry about there's a there's a specific example that Susan Rogers is
a recording engineer gave and a biography that was written about a many years ago some may not
remember this one of his first real serious relationships was with Wendy's twin sister Susanna
they were engaged in the mid 80s right around the you know the post purple rain era and when they
broke up mainly because when he disbanded the revolution it really rubbed her the wrong way
and he just couldn't stay faithful he just played the field too much so their relationship ended
and when it ended it wounded him deeply even though he pretty much did everything he could
to destroy that relationship himself so he goes into the studio and he puts this song down called
Wally oh yeah and it's basically describing how badly he messed this relationship up and
Susan said that it was the most honest beautiful song he had ever recorded that you could hear
all this pain just coming out of his system and he got done with it and then he started to
tamper with it and destroying the song and she's like Prince it was in better shape you know before
you started doing all this he said you know what put all 23 tracks on record and erase it
and she was begging him she was please you can't do this to this song this is too good of a song
for you to do this too he goes if you don't do it I will and that song has never or will never
see the light of day in the form that she heard it isn't isn't the documentary that Kevin Smith
directed isn't that in there too yes logically yeah that he talks about in the very first evening
well not not that songs because you got to know who your father is not that song specifically
because he wasn't talking to Susan because she was already no I'm just talking I'm just talking
with the documentary itself but yeah he you know the football does get mentioned whenever he was
there to film Princess celebration during the rainbow children era and you know just the the
amount of material that we know is in that thing because too many people have talked about it
I mean thousands not hundreds thousands of songs there are there are concert films in there that
have never seen the light of day that both got to be the size of my house well it's it's about
the size of of this room outside here you know it's it's about the size of a good size living room
so I mean Susan Rogers was just on CNN today talking about it it's it's a prolific people I was
just reading some of my favorite novelist is Phil Katie and Phil Katie oh right there with you right
and they say that actually he was prolific because he actually had a mental disorder that actually
one of the symptoms of the mental disorder is prolific art that you just can't stop creating
you cannot stop creating and at first I was like I'm jealous I'd like that and I was
I don't know that they all die yeah yeah they all die yeah it's really difficult to live with
like I remember reading whenever Prince would say he would be brushing his teeth and the rhythm
of brushing his teeth would click something off in his head and he would have to go
dart to his recording studio and get it down before he forgot it it's a blessing and a curse
yeah yeah it drives me nuts and this has been happening quite a bit in the last year
I'll have a dream where I'll have a melody that happens in the dream and I'll wake up and remember
it was an awesome melody and then I can't remember I can't remember it with the ball and I'm like
if I could just if I had a DVR for my head I've often wished that you know I mean there's
been times when I've woken up in the middle of the night and just run into my office and just
started a recording and just hummed a melody into it before I lost it but it I can't even imagine
when it when that happens all the time all the time it never goes away for me it comes and goes
yeah but for somebody that has that 24-7 I mean I eat if you don't have that outlet I mean
that's where the insanity comes from yeah I mean I have like very prolific my dreams are really
vivid and so when I wake up I'm like I'm gonna write down that dream and I'm gonna turn it into
a screenplay right like how why not and then all some idea and then as I'm writing it I actually
realize that it's totally insane and makes no sense and so I throw it away but but sometimes
but I just saw high rise and now I realize I should have kept that yes that was um yes yeah right
that was I mean like I could talk for two hours now there's about cigarettes and high rise I
think I need for it to sink in just a little bit cigarettes yes right like I don't smoke but I was
like I was like oh I'm gonna quit oh anyway spoilers but like watch when people quit and when people
start and when there have been cigarettes and where there's straight cigarettes and who's
inhaling and who's exhaling and it's it's it's just that alone that's not even really a plot
that's just have you been here for most of the festival yes let's let's talk about the festival
because I've actually gotten to see a few films myself anything that stood out that you weren't
expecting to hotel Dallas we actually got about five minutes with Patrick Duffy I wish we'd
gotten more because I did want to see that but it was never playing at a time I could go it's it's like
arrow Morris and Wes Anderson had a love child and made hotel Dallas oh jeez and there's a lot going
on there and it's beautifully shot and really amazing and I really want to say booger red because
we've got two like documentary narrative hybrids that are in the festival and I didn't get to see
booger red I miss both screenings really upsets me because I'm an otter turtle if I have it so
but yeah that was really great um oh my gosh I'm blanking because hybrides has confused me so much
that's understandable right very understandable oh white girl white girl was devastatingly good
uh and it's on net it's gonna be on Netflix and it's sort of like it just got picked up by Netflix
so I guess we'll all be able to see it but it is definitely like mentally emotionally prepare yourself for it
gosh I don't know what else name others I'll remember if I saw them
now you're blanking I saw St. Street loved it it was really really really good
oh you knew it tomorrow is it tomorrow Sunday Embers is playing and I saw Embers at another festival oh
really and it was great um the two sci-fi ones are Orion and Embers two very different movies
very different movies um and uh that just made me think of another one oh it's spaghetti man
which is about a guy who uh comes a superhero because he can make spaghetti come out of his hands
I did I didn't read about that seriously yeah yeah all right well we're gonna let you enjoy
the rest of the evening but before we go because we are all all about shameless self promotion yes
give websites give social media work everybody can get a hold of what you got going on okay women
Texas film festival is uh women txf f dot org on twitter look it up as women txf f dot org and on
facebook women txf film festival uh in august txf theater uh and i'm just you know wallford
i'm on twitter and when things start to get moving we will be more than happy to do some some
shameless promotion for you as the day gets closer coming in mid august awesome thank you so much
thank you and Monica go find your husband before he runs too far away
i'm not sure where he is
all right don's making emotions okay okay it's fine
joining us right now and sitting down for just a few moments is one of our favorite people
no nay apparently i can't say anything bad
that's your name's not bad but i but i i think that's what i said last time and then
no no last last time last time started with uh suplex city bees and it went downhill from there
no i said that and i was like uh hey what can i say and then i said well if that
so i remember that it's got a good to see you sir yeah good to see you too are you ready to
get some sleep because you had to have been going nonstop this last week oh my god nonstop and
and that was for my own like fun uh as i've seen a lot of not so great films um one of the two
hardest working men and Dallas show business you you and Raymond Garcia i don't know if there's
anybody that works harder than the two of you oh lord uh i saw Raymond earlier and then he
disappeared he's over the uh he's over the alama right now oh is he okay alama as i should be at
the moment but but i'm i'm gonna show up in a few minutes no you have to be on our show that's
more important that's what it is i actually did hang out because of that usually i don't talk on
these things but i have to spend a few moments hey uh it's got to be a favor say happy birthday
to bionca happy birthday bionca thank you that's all i needed all right good good i didn't want to
go anymore day nine two days left of the festival days this is how long the festival's been going
and what about the festival has stood out for you anything any films that you've seen that you
just absolutely just melted your brain i i'll list three and and they go in this particular order
number one operation avalanche i was so bummed i missed that but it was like ten o'clock on a
weeknight i'm like i can't go that way yeah no no no it was a rough showtime that the one
previous i think was at eight thirty and then the one the next night was at ten yeah i don't
come so it does have distribution through lion's gate uh i don't know if it gets a wide release i
think it could be lion's gate from here i i don't know so that means a day and day
v o d release okay it's very very fun okay uh it's uh it's a don't kind of movie i would call
it a mockumentary maybe okay i don't know um number two spaghetti man i think straight to it
straight to it because you're going off to the side spaghetti man i think that needs to get released
via draft house films but i don't know if it's ever gonna get picked up because the production
value is so low uh i'm excited that draft house films picked up the uh
the raiders the story the greatest fan film ever made has that been released yet not yet they
just announced that they picked it up like two months ago so i'm thinking maybe a fall release for
that i think they've had that for at least six or seven months it's kind of surprising because
i remember that was at this festival last year and i we were there yeah that was great i loved
that film yeah third third would be white girl not so much because the narrative it's fantastic
or anything but the performance is definitely there um it feels like it's a 30 or 40 minute
short that was dragged out to a 90 minute feature okay it's definitely worth seeing it's a great film
i would check it out but it's been a great festival it was way better than i expected it to be it's
been fantastic all right before we let you go what is the next movie you're looking forward to
i could not tell you i don't know what's going on i i don't know what's gonna win the the
feature awards so maybe something that i missed is gonna be there maybe it's Operation Avalanche
again which i i'm telling everybody what i say that that's my number one when it gets released
go check it out it's very very cool don't have your expectations very high because this random
guy said yeah go watch it um but definitely like you know go go check it out i'm very against trailers
if you've ever seen the film from dust till dawn oh yeah that is a perfect example of why you don't
watch trailers fair enough there you go all right all right you guys have a good show you too
and there's a mackerel no not me but enjoy your evening sir always a pleasure yes as well and
maybe we'll see you a week from sunday for payback you'll see me a week from maybe you'll just
see me 24 hours fair enough fair enough we're next week you know always possible thanks sir all right
we have our next guest joining us introduce yourself sir hi my name is Ben Kaird and i'm the
writer director of halfway which just well premiered at Dallas and that was night before last
no that was a almost a week ago now saturday the first saturday the first of all okay a lot of
buzz around this film coming into the festival i've heard i've had a lot of people say this was
on their list tell our audience about the film so the film is it's about an ex-convert to on release
from prison he's a black man on release from prison his white stepbrother helps him set his parole
away from inner city Milwaukee where he got himself into trouble and to his family's dairy farm so
it's kind of a fish out of wood story about a black man and conservative white farm town it's a
family drama centered around a guy trying to get his life back together well thank you for having
the world premiere here at the Dallas International Film Festival how did it go uh yeah i mean i
think it went really well you know we were you know as you can hear from my accent i'm not actually
from uh i grew up in London the UK and uh yeah i thought you were from south Dallas i had no idea
the breeze right passed me because i don't think it's not like i hear it every day he's he's married
to a bridge so for him it's just real easy she's from up north she's from sunderland oh okay i
i apologize for your marriage to us someone from sunderland oh she's listening no she's not she's
not right now you're okay just skip this part on the podcast i'm an eject and i love i love
jordis but yeah i um so yeah no i mean it's been amazing it was our it's our world premiere it's our
first festival um with this you know feature film and it's my first feature film so coming to a
festival where um you know James files from his team over here just run a lovely festival and
high quality human beings yeah you know i mean making films is all about the little families you
make as you go along and you know we actually shot the film though my accent is from uh Britain
we actually shot the film on my American families dairy farm i do have family from Wisconsin
and so you know we couldn't have made this movie without that family and um i couldn't have got to
where to where i am doing this without my family back home in the UK and i moved to Los Angeles
five years ago and you developed your own little family there i got married at the beginning of the
year so you know i'm just kind of starting out my congratulations thank you very much so yeah
you you come to a film festival like Dallas on the open you the welcome you with open arms and
and invite you into the family and it's just a pleasure to be here also joining us
hello uh talk right into that thing yeah that's a good transition uh my name is Chris Kelly
and i'm the writer and director of a film here called other people tell us about it um yeah it's
um it's my first feature film right into that thing so i miss him it's my first feature film that i
wrote directed and it is a kind of a dark comedy drama about a family um like a struggling comedy
writer who moves home to be with his mother while she's sick um and it's just kind of him readjusting
to being back in his his childhood home again i got some talent this thing too if i'm not mistaken
there's a lot of good actors in it it's a it's a lot of like funny people it's uh
Jesse Plemons who was on breaking bad for it and i liked he's a great actor as a lead role
Molly Shannon Bradley Whitford James Squid Modapitao a lot of there's a lot of good it's i got very
lucky it's a very good fun cast yeah how often did you just walk on the set go is this
is this happening right now well am i being pumped because yeah i mean truly every time that i
had a meeting with an actor to be like maybe they'll don't want to do your movie every time someone
officially signed on i was like really are you sure like i was for this for my movies uh yeah
it was very humbling and confusing to have so many people want to do it but it's very cool
so both of you first time out it was it was your your world premiere was here as well if i'm not
we were at Sundance earlier okay uh yeah yeah yeah talk to talk about just that feeling
you're walking the red carpet you've got people with you you're getting ready to go into the theater
can you make your brain shut up as you go in or is there so many things buzzing that you just
kind of have to just stop and wait uh it's exciting i mean i like it it's a very it's a bizarre
experience because you know i mean anytime you make anything you want people to like it and you're
nervous about what their response is going to be um but for me too it's kind of a per it's a personal
story it's you know loosely autobiographical it's about my family so it's a bizarre experience to
have something so personal displayed on a big screen for a bunch of strangers um it's good
strange but it it takes him getting used to it i don't think i'm still quite used to it yet
question for both of you because i've we've been asking this about a different filmmaker's time
because it's something that always intrigues me what is the one question that you've got during a Q&A
that was the oddest question you've asked where you had to go oh wait a minute i have to think about that
oh my god i don't know
or something maybe somebody saw in your film that you didn't see that made you look at something
from a different perspective i mean you know this being my first film festival i think people have
kind of um people have engaged you know the people asking you questions have engaged with the
movie so um i haven't had anything really left field i mean i think if i was in some of those
bigger uh film festivals where they have a lot of sort of entertainment journalists in there
that are really asking those you know trying to get a little weird sound by or there's some talent
involved in your film that they kind of want um a slightly uh that that that that has a tangential
career to your film itself they probably try and trip you up i haven't had that myself so i mean
i've had a lot of questions the lead the lead of my film is uh Quentin Aaron who's best
for an unpleasant big mic in the blindside so i've had a lot of questions about um and he was
here if i'm not mistaken yeah Quentin was here yeah and um and you know it what was a mate we
actually had Marcus Henderson who was here as well who was um who was in my film he was in Django
on chain he's going to be in the new Pete's Dragon coming out pretty soon um and um i've got a
load of really amazing actors who are in my film who people know from a lot of a lot of different
shows Amy Pete's is the friend in Caroline in the city and Jeffrey DeMarne everyone knows
him all of Frank D'Arabon's work and um Gillian Zins is best known for like nine at her playing
um in the sort of rebranded 90210 but people obviously focus a lot on on big mic you know so you
get a lot of questions on big mic big mic what's it like to and you know Quentin is an actor and so
i get a lot of questions about the idea of that Quentin Aaron is in some way big mic and in some
way they're kind of intertwined i think that kind of doesn't frustrate him because it's great he's
got an audience he loves you know he's got a lot of fans but um as a filmmaker it's made a
family drama set on a Wisconsin dairy farm it's kind of strange fielding questions about this
guy this footballer and you can hear my accent i mean football means something very different to
me absolutely so uh yeah i've had to kind of like up my understanding of uh i obviously know
the movie but uh the blindside but i have to sort of up my understanding of what all of that
fandom is you know do you both feel that from the screen you had here did the did the audience get it
yeah i i don't i texted my producers after the screening last night to be like this felt like
the best or one of the best screenings that i had it was just very fun i feel like the movie is
like a half comedy half drama i felt like the the last really played it's kind of you know i don't
always like watch the the movie again because i've seen it so many times but occasionally i want
to like just sit in and just see how it goes and it's it was it was very fun to watch with this
audience they felt very receptive and so many of them are very nice to kind of stay after the
screening and talk about it and share their own personal stories then how they related to the movie
so it was cool this is a very very cool festival then how about you you felt the audience really
embraced it in the way you wanted them to yeah i think so you know it really is a rewarding thing
you know you got to make a movie that you hope that um you got to make a movie that you like
and you hope that there is an audience for that movie um so when you know when people respond
to it it feels lovely when people laugh at the moments that you wrote and when people
cry at the moment that you thought was impactful yourself that's great that really does you know
it makes you feel like you have um you know reach someone other than just yourself which is you know
ultimately it's an incredibly sort of um uh ego-maniacal thing to go out and try and think that
anyone cares as much as you will about the story that you want to tell and um the fact that
people respond to the stories that you're telling i think is um it's it's very moving actually
it being my well premier last weekend it's uh it's a real honor to be able to um to
that people tell you they like your film it's the first you know it's the first screening of my
film and i'm really honored that people respond nicely to it and and i was in the screening last night
of my friend right here next to me and it really was it's a remarkable film i tell people they really
need to go and see all the people it's a superb piece of art. Oh that's very nice. So where are
your films going from here? Have you got any more scheduled screening schedule?
Yeah i think we have a couple kind of scattered throughout the rest of the spring and the summer
but then um we also were bought by Netflix after Sundance so nice yeah which is great it's very
exciting because you know watch everything on Netflix that's right watch on the movie. And Netflix
has been really aggressive. Yeah yeah they've got a lot of episodes on dance i think they're really
yeah they're stepping up their game and buying a lot of good stuff hopefully might include it but
you're still here. The screening and VOD has really become like it's it's a lot more viable that
i think it's ever been and i and i think it's a beautiful beautiful thing. Ben where's your film going
from here? So um the very next festival we have which we actually paid a couple of dates uh
yesterday and today in Dubuque iowa which is actually one of this uh little towns that we shot in
we popped over the border into iowa to shoot in so we've been inviting to the julien Dubuque International
Film Festival which uh we will be at tomorrow and on sunday um and it's great because we you know
in order to make it the time level movie that we made you know in in size down in southern
Wisconsin you engage a lot of the local town and local people and um you know we shot in this
600 person town in Monford, Wisconsin and we've taken the film to a festival that's sort of 45-50
miles away from there and they're all going to get a chance to come and see the film so we're excited
to go and see our friends and family back uh who helped us make this film almost 18 months ago now
so we'll be out and me and Johnny my produce will be there tomorrow and on sunday to kind of
present the film there. I was actually born in iowa so that's kind of cool for me. We want you guys
to go enjoy the evening but before you do shameless self promotion give us social media give us websites
working people go to get in touch with the films um Chris that start with you. Oh uh to get in touch
with the film. I guess um I guess I'll tweet about when it comes out because on top of Netflix it's
also going to be distributed and there'll be in theaters in September so if you want to know
what it's going to be in theaters I guess we did about it. Yeah give us the Twitter feed, give us the
Facebook page, give us the website. Here we go. Here we go. I'm Chris Kelly is my I M letter I
letter M Chris Kelly is my Twitter. We don't have a official website. Okay. So just go to my
Twitter and I'll keep you updated. Alright. Yeah. Ben? Yeah well I mean hopefully we're going to
have some cool updates on the film other than the festival you know one of the big things we're
working on at the moment is we've got an amazing original song written for the film who by
my oldest friend's in the friend in the world and who's a songwriter called Jimmy Nate who's
a Sam Smith writing partner. Very nice. So he's he's written two songs before one for films one
called writings on the wall which is one of the Academy Award for. Maybe a couple of people
may have heard of the writings on the wall. Exactly. It's a little film called Specter. Indeed and
I'm one called Halfway which is the title song for my film so I'm incredibly privileged to have
that and he's my oldest friend in the world so hopefully we're going to have some developments
on that front from away to sort of promote the film as well but from a social media point of view
halfway the movie is our Facebook page. We've got a website and stuff as well but really
most of our traffic and information on where we're playing and things come through our Facebook page.
Alright gentlemen go enjoy the evening and thank you for spending some time with us.
Thank you for having us. It's always our honor. Ben here at Halfway, Chris Kelly,
other people check them out. You are listening to the Clubhouse podcast. We are live right now at the
the Dallas International Film Festival as you can probably hear in the background.
Kiriochi is underway. Devon's out there getting it done.
I kind of feel like you're going to hear a lot of songs of this ilk tonight.
Well it kind of messes up my playing a little bit.
Never know. You never know.
Is Devon singing Harmony or something? I think he is.
Printed the show Devon Pike over there hosting Kiriochi.
Don's just, Don's working the room brother.
Room's filling up. I've got people out there playing poolers. It's a pool table in the lounge
this year. That's a first. That's kind of crazy. I like the vibe of the lounge just
throwing down this year. I'm a rich fan. It feels like a genuine lounge. It really does.
You can pick either one. Either way you're good.
Go ahead and put your headphones on so you can hear yourself because it's
awful loud in here tonight. Our next guest has joined us. Introduce yourself if you would.
Talk right into that microphone so everybody can hear you.
Hey there I'm Shima Taylor and I'm the producer of a movie called Abba. Tell us about it.
It's based on a true story out of Australia. We're a crazy farmer and an even crazier farm dog.
Say the penguin colony from Fox attacks and save a whole town in the process.
Very nice. You have my attention.
All day Senator's story, a little town in the very south of Australia called Warnimble
had a penguin island with probably like 3,000 penguins and the population dropped down
to less than 10 and they couldn't figure out why and then they realized that low tide and a full moon
Foxes could come across in the sand bar and have a penguin buffet.
The logic of sound. Yeah. What brought you to this?
Two reasons. One I consult for the Australian government and they brought it to me and they said
we think we have a movie that could be a really big global movie and we need somebody that can
help make it more global and then the other reason is my dad actually grew up in a farm in Indiana
and it turns out it's not that much different than a small farm in Australia.
So as I read the script, I knew I knew everything about it. I knew how that may hurt work.
I knew how the small town bureaucracy would work. It just made sense.
I lost my train of thought. I'm hearing karaoke in the other room.
But you know the thing for us that we we have a blast making this movie because first of all we
my family and I moved down to Australia. We had a semester abroad so my four and a half year old
got to meet kangaroos and got to see what it was really like to make a movie on the other side of
the world. Australia is on my bucket list. It's so worth going. This is some of the most beautiful
cinematography we were actually nominated for the Australian Oscar for Best cinematography.
Nice. Beautiful and we had the most fun in the world working with penguins. Believe it or not,
they are hilarious. Super easy to train and the really nice people at the sea world in Australia
let us use six of their penguins. Oh wow. So we had these little amazing animals. They're about
10 inches tall. They're called fairy penguins who hit their mark better than anybody else in the movie.
Very nice. Wow. When did the when did the film screen? We screened last weekend and we screened
tomorrow at 11.45 a.m. and we would love to have you come see it. The biggest thing for us the way
always remind people is it sounds like a family movie but it turns out it's actually a movie for
animal lovers. When we had our movie running in Australia and England and Ireland and Scotland
a huge part of our audience were people that didn't have kids with them. They just wanted to see a
really fun heartwarming movie about the good and people. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Exactly. And that's kind of a lot of films are going that way. Yes, we want to appeal to kids but we
also understand that there are adults that you know if we're no other reason adults are going to
be with these kids so we don't want to bore the adults too. Oh exactly. So we made a pinkie swear when
we made the movie that there'd be a pot that kept the adults tolerating and enjoying the different
version of the movie and you know for us it harkens back to movies like The Blacks Dalian.
Oh wow, okay. Yeah, it's it's a really beautifully shot heartwarming tale about how animals
can do amazing things when you least expect it. Has the had the film screen before last weekend?
Yes, we've been on an amazing run all around the world actually and all around the country.
We've screened in Miami and Chicago and Sonoma and Sedona as well as Palm Springs and also
up to front of European festivals. So we've had a great lot. And where's it going from here?
We from here we go to Wisconsin. We go then we actually open in America soon. We have a deal
and we are opening end of summer early fall. Okay, yeah. I mean we don't keep it too much of your time.
Shameless self-promotion website, social media, give it all to us.
Dogs in penguins go see out of the jealous film festival status. Is there a website for it?
Is there a Facebook? We have a Facebook page and you can also do oddball the movie and it's
in Australia but you'll find it if you just type in oddball the movie it'll pop right up.
Yeah, I've kind of done our Facebook page as well. I've already linked to it.
I love it. Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the evening.
You guys are great. She would tell her oddball. Take care.
See you tomorrow morning here at the Angelica.
Woo! Time to take a breath.
Don's writing stuff on the one on his note pad. I'm not sure what's going on.
Is that happening right now? I don't know. He just handed me the slip.
Okay. I'm very confused right now.
That's first. That's that.
Oh, awesome.
Awesome.
We have one of our regular guests coming up to you right now.
And a guy who I'm a huge fan of.
I am a man to that.
While we're waiting, I do want to give you another movie headline real quick.
Tom Hardy announced today that he is teaming up with new line.
They're going to do a film of 100 bullets.
Good. It's going to happen.
Good. That needed to happen a long time.
For those you don't know, 100 bullets is a graphic novel by Frank Miller.
And it's basically the concept is if somebody gave you 100 untraceable bullets,
what would you do with them?
This guy.
Did he get a haircut on me?
Did I miss it?
Let me make sure I got both of them.
This is this is a big moment for us.
I'm looking at his Facebook profile page.
He's dressed almost exactly like me.
Well, you've got to be consistent.
People have to recognize you.
That is your look, man.
You throw that down.
You own that look.
I'm a cartoon.
Talk right into that microphone if you would, sir.
Talk right into it.
Mickey Mouse has to have the ears a certain way, you know?
It's good to see you again, man.
I'll see you guys.
Tell everybody who you are because we know who you are.
I'm Jorge Gugueras and I wrote and directed The Book of Life.
Third year in a row.
We've done this through three years.
It's the third year in a row.
It's with a real FX.
We wanted to be as cool as you guys were last year
so we had to get our own room here in the lounge.
But there's also somebody sitting across for me.
And I'm probably, I know you've heard this a thousand times
in the last 72 hours.
Allow me to be a thousand and one.
I am geeking out right now.
I just want you to please introduce yourself, sir.
Hi, how are you?
I'm Diego Luna.
I'm an actor, director.
I worked with Jorge.
I had the privilege to give the voice to Manolo in The Book of Life.
And I'm here presenting a film called Mr. Pig
that I just won an award.
So I'm...
What would you win?
The best...
The grand tour award.
The one that won the festival.
The first winner in the evening, sir.
You got directed in Corota.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And it's a story of an American farmer played by Danny Glover.
That drives with an illegal pig through Mexico,
trying to find a home for him.
And Maya Rudolf, that plays the daughter of Danny's character, arrives.
And it's a road trip between a father and daughter and a gigantic pig.
So, Diego Luna, Danny Glover, Maya Rudolf.
You know, it's just another day.
I am so excited.
I'm so excited.
I'm sucked in already.
I was lucky enough to see it a week ago.
And I, you know, obviously I love him and he's a dear friend.
But I was blown away as an audience member.
I was crying.
I mean, I called my dad right after...
Like, it was one of those movies that really,
really affects you in a good way.
So I encourage everybody.
Look for this movie with your pig.
Now, I've heard a lot about Mr. Pig is...
And I've got to tell you something I heard.
And please correct me if I'm wrong.
But I heard a rumor that it just...
It started with the title before there was even a script.
And you kind of worked backwards from there?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
With that, like, let's...
I mean, we were promoting another film with...
And I co-write with a good friend of mine.
And we were traveling through festivals.
And we said, stop talking.
Let's stop talking about Abel and our previous work.
Let's do something to make sure this keeps happening to us.
So, we said, let's do a film.
And I think it was him who said,
let's do a film called Mr. Pig.
And that's how you switch that.
Sure, let's do a short one.
That's the title, and now we have to do a good film.
Talk a little bit about your two stars.
I mean, Danny Glover,
who tends to be a reference on our show quite a bit
from a certain line from the first lethal weapon film.
And Maya Rudolph, who...
She's one of those people.
If she walked in this room right now,
I would lose all sense of anything
because she's so amazing.
I talk about working with them.
It was fantastic.
Danny was so generous with the whole process.
And it's...
Suddenly, I went to try to convince him to do the film.
And when I arrived to his hotel in Atlanta,
he was there for a festival.
He said, come on in, Diego.
And I realized he wanted to convince me
that he could play the role.
And he was like, wow, that's perfect.
You're Danny Glover, right?
Yeah.
And it's a very simple story about a father
that wants to reconnect with his daughter.
And the daughter and the whole relation
and the whole perspective is like,
what happens to us when we have kids?
We want to turn to our parents and go and say,
sorry, we get it.
It's like, I hope you have a kid that's just like you
and that's like, I'll just perpetuate.
Yeah, totally.
And it's a mother.
And she understands that.
She understands the perspective of being a mother
and having the chance to reconnect.
And the whole film is just about that.
It's about the second chance
parents and kids can have, you know,
in live or songs because this is not a kid.
And the whole idea of the pig is just that
this is a farmer that cannot relate with people
like he relates with animals, you know.
And this is his last pig.
He's losing everything.
And he wants to find the perfect home for this pig.
And he believes that place is in Mexico.
So it's a whole way to talk about migration
but the other way around, you know.
This is the father is kind of the coyote
bringing an illegal pig to Mexico
to get him to have a better life, you know.
Because every parent wants that for their kids
just to make sure they get to have what you, you couldn't have, you know.
Now, am I correct in saying that the premiere was here?
We premiered in at Sundance.
Oh, okay.
This is the first competition we go in.
And we won it.
So we're not competing anymore.
Again, one for one, we're done.
That's it over now.
Just dropping the mic and walking out now.
Exactly.
Did the man to your left have anything to do
with you bringing this film here?
I think he had a lot to do with me getting the award.
I started giving money to people.
And I said, like, oh, what is he paying for?
Now I realize.
Two judges disappeared.
That's it.
It was like that scene in a Godfather too
where they'd bring the guy's brother
just into the courtroom and he just kind of sits there.
He's like, completely changes his testimony.
I was like, we forgot everything we were going to say in court.
You know what's great about the movie?
Like, there's a long tradition of like surfers
or outlaws, I read cowboys, sort of going to Mexico
and finding their soul and finding themselves
instead of redeeming themselves.
And I feel like what these guys did with Mr. Pig
with Diego and I was to did, it's that story
but on a very human relatable level.
Like, it's amazing as a Mexican to watch movie like that.
I'm gonna take Jorge, by the way,
to promote their film all around the country.
If you want, we'll just send you this interview
and you can just play that forever you go.
Exactly.
Talk about, I mean, two years ago,
Book of Life was one of those things
where you had to have been racking your brain
as this thing was getting to release.
You get to work with always amazing people.
This man included.
Think of, talk about where you are now
versus where you were then.
You know what's been crazy?
Working on the movie, as I'm sure Diego has done
with all his movies, you kind of lose your sense of reality.
And then when you're done and you can't take it anymore
and you say, screw this, I'm never wanna do this again.
Then you show the movie and you hear an audience react
and you hear people cry, you hear people laugh.
And immediately you go, I wanna do this again.
I remember when I saw the first trailer for it
and it just, I was like, I have to see this film
because it's so different from everything.
And then you get to work with such amazing people.
And then, you know, then your friend makes a movie
and you're like, hey, come on over here.
Where are you taking the film now?
Mr. Piggyman?
Yes.
It's traveling all around.
It's gonna go to Korea next week.
Oh wow, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's got, it's, the good thing about this film
is that we own it.
We did it with all our friends in Mexico.
Everyone came for the right reasons
because we had no money to pay them.
So they came because they love it.
And the film is ours.
There's no commitments, no nothing.
And the film will travel wherever they want it.
We're going to Edinburgh.
We're going to travel through the state.
Stani Glover is going to a few festivals here.
Nice.
It's screening in LA on the 19th of May.
Yeah, it's going to have a long life, I hope.
You talk about ownership of the film,
which is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
And in this day and age, it's really easy to do.
Do you want a distributor?
Are you just going to kind of take this thing where it goes?
No, no, it's, we're almost closing the deal.
So the film will be seen by many people around the world
that I can say.
But we're still, like, the deal is about to be closed.
And the film is going to be released in Mexico
in the 22nd of July in cinemas.
And again, very soon, I'll be hopefully ready to say,
it's all this guy's bought it, and you'll get to see it.
And then you have to prepare for something else.
No, I was going to say, yeah, that is it.
Then his life gets to slow down.
Oh, no, wait a minute.
No, it doesn't.
I don't want to dwell too much on this,
because I'm sure you've answered questions at nauseam.
Are you really prepared for what's
going to happen to your life here in about eight months?
Not really.
I don't think you can be ready for that.
You know, the other day I went to my kids' school,
and I realized, like, the impact of something
that they haven't even seen yet.
But it's just the idea of this coming out.
And suddenly, my son and I were the most popular people
in the school.
Even teachers were like, yo, your son is fantastic,
and I go like, I know my son.
I know my son.
You're not good at this.
What do you mean?
The other reason you're saying it, because this time next year,
all these kids in here are going to have
little action figures of me on their desks.
I'm scared of that, because Buddha's big, you know?
I'm scared of me.
Kids going like, I hate your dad.
I'm going to be honest with you when I say that trailer,
I have watched Gromen cry by the end of that two.
And they call it a teaser, but it's two minutes long.
Like, a teaser is not two minutes.
Well, but if you imagine, like, there's
people that have been waiting for this particular film,
like 30, 40, 30, about 30, 35 years.
Yeah, exactly.
For people that don't know what we're talking about,
and I don't want to dwell on this, because I know you
want to promote Mr. Pig, but I kind of feel like I'm
remiss if we don't talk about it.
Well, regret it later.
Star Wars Road 1 comes out this December.
When I heard about the concept of this film,
I went, I want to go to there right now, you know?
And the fan theories are out there about who's who,
and you know what, can I just enjoy a Star Wars movie?
I don't need all the conspiracy theories.
And I can't even form the words right now.
Like, I am so excited for this movie, as well.
Because everybody's talking about Mr. Pig.
And I don't say that because you're sitting here.
I mean, every, I've been at the Angelica last night
was the first night I was not at the Angelica in a week.
And everybody I've talked to has said, dude, this is the movie.
There's just something about this movie.
And the fact that you got to bring it to the festival,
the fact that it's doing so well,
the fact that you're going to get the distribution.
I mean, how do you balance that with this other thing
that you know is looming over your head?
Where, yeah, okay, now we've got the thing out,
but now I'm re, now the gas pedal really gets hit.
I just did as freedom, you know?
All my life, I've been going from one side to the other,
from directing to acting, or producing to acting,
and acting as being the tool for someone else
to tell their own personal point of view.
Like when I joined the book of life and you said,
he had the chance to work with amazing people.
I would put it the other way around.
We had the chance to join a fantastic project.
And that's what brings great people, a good project.
So I've been the tool many times,
and I've used that to give me freedom as a creator, you know?
Like every time I, something I work on those well,
that means the next time I have an idea,
when I knock the door, it might open, you know?
So what I've seen coming is just more freedom.
I hope, and if my kids like it,
I see myself being the hero at home,
for at least another year.
I mean, they grow so fast that they make you so fast.
They so fast go to, oh, you're so uncooled at, you know?
Why can't you be like this other, or my friends, or like,
so...
And then they're like, I'm sorry, you're doing what?
Okay, you're now cool.
I keep your friends, people are like my dad.
That's what they're saying.
I mean, you've had an extremely blessed life.
I mean, I've been a fan of yours for quite some time.
You know, ever since I saw you in the terminal,
and I know you've done films before that,
but that's whenever I've really noticed you.
And you broke my heart in that film
with your portrayal of that guy.
You're so honest in your portrayal,
and I've been looking forward to everything
that you've done ever since then.
How thank you.
And I mean, thank you for everything that you've done
for your craft, because you're extremely talented
and very gift into what you do.
Thank you very much.
That's a sweet moment.
Thank you.
I can't say anything when he doesn't say it again.
Book of Life is one of my top five favorite anime
pictures of all time, and you got the Oscar.
I'm going to say it again.
I said, I still love that film to the stage.
And I want to segue that, because I want to see great.
Tell us about what real FX has going on right now,
because I know that you guys aren't resting on your lulls.
You've been working like crazy last year.
You had the big lounge room where you're doing the VR stuff.
What's going on with real FX?
So I decided to stay in Texas.
And I feel like Texas gave me the chance
to direct my first movie.
And I'm in love with the food and the people on the stage.
And could you have a cooler place to have an office
than in Deep Elham?
Oh, I love Deep Elham.
How many times have we said, there it is?
We're going to seriously teach it.
We wave at you.
We park right behind your office when
we go to serious pizza for dinner.
I go there.
In fact, behind serious pizza, I painted a mural on that wall.
So that's you giving me more healing.
Have you taken him?
Has he been there?
Maybe we'll take him tomorrow.
You've got to go to serious pizza.
They call it serious pizza because their extra large pizza
is 36 inches in diameter.
And their slices are, I mean, they're huge.
And it really is some of the best pizza in the city.
I was like, it sounds so good.
Because the hugeness of pizza sounds interesting,
but it has to be good to do this.
It is very, very good.
And then the more you drink, the more delicious.
And they just did the big remodel,
or they opened up the other room.
Oh, it's humongous.
I love that place.
And you're kind of getting off the rails here,
but I want to know what else has been going on
with real effects, because I want everybody to know,
because we love having you on the show.
The fact that you supported our show all three years,
we have to support you.
So my new movie is A Kung Fu Space Wester.
I'm in.
I'm in.
I am so intrigued.
And it takes place in Texas in the border
between Mexico and the US.
Live action or anime?
I animated.
And we're going to do, it's pretty crazy.
It's pretty incredible.
Can you give us any names you've attached to it?
It'll be amazing if someone's sitting right across from me.
What was it?
I'm attached.
I'm attached.
No pressure.
I'm attached.
Don't worry.
I just send an email saying,
I don't know, you just send it.
What's going on, I'm attached.
No, I'll tell you one thing.
The way this guy works makes very easy for people
to join him, because he's like, there's
many directors that know what they're capable of.
But this guy doesn't, because he's capable of giving all
his heart to something, you know?
So he doesn't even witness that process.
He's just there giving everything he has.
And when you witness that, and you see that as an actor,
you go like, I'm the most, the luckiest guy in the planet.
I'm working with someone that believes in every word,
in every sentence, in every image of this project, you know?
And that you don't find often, you know?
In this system where there's producers and studios,
and this guy doesn't care what he has behind, you know?
It's like he's giving birth, you know?
That kind of image.
And you know?
Can we just try to return the compliment?
Do you prefer to love here?
Let me just say that Diego was the first actor to agree
to be in the movie.
And I wrote the movie for him.
So it was one of those moments where everybody told me,
that's the dumbest thing you can do, right?
A movie for someone who doesn't know you,
and who might not like it.
And there was a lot of people who warned me,
and they said he's not going to want to do it.
And Diego, I mean, I don't know.
I saw it in your eyes, like maybe 20 minutes into it.
You were like, yeah.
But again, if you don't ask, he can't say yes.
I always say the pyramid of success is all the stairs are known.
Right?
So I was ready, but at the same time,
Diego had never sung before, right?
So this is a movie about a guy who wants to sing.
So there was all these things that could have gone more
really wrong.
And he jumped in.
He jumped into the pool.
He took a giant leap of faith, you know?
And Agapurco, there's these guys who jumped,
these clips, these clips to divers.
Yes.
And he did it like 30 clips, as he was spinning on fire.
And he just jumped in.
And of all the records that I'm a big softie,
I cried the most at his record.
Oh.
And if you ever need a couple of slubs to fill in
for voice actors, just give us a call.
We're available.
No, no, the question I've got to ask,
are you going to pair him up with Zoe again?
Is Zoe, is Zoe your muse or something?
Do you, you reminded me of that in the terminal, of course.
They don't have any dialogue.
They never talk directly in the terminal.
Isn't that crazy?
It's always through.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We don't talk together.
Yeah, that's right, because during the after the,
well, I don't want to spoil it for people
that haven't seen it 10 years later.
But, you know, during the ceremony, yeah,
there is no dialogue.
There's no dialogue.
That's it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But the fact that you were with her and that,
you were with her in the book of life,
it only makes sense.
It's got to happen again.
It's got to happen again.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, really, not because he's here,
and not because we're in Dallas, but I can say that
this place is very lucky to have him as a creator,
because of this guy can make whatever happened, you know?
Like that film would have never happened
if it was in the hands of anyone else,
because it makes so, I mean, a film about death for kids
where the stars happen to be Mexican,
in the country that is building worlds
to keep Mexicans from coming.
And the subject matters to be relatively dark,
but it doesn't get lost in the darkness.
It just sounds like uncomfortable if I haven't said,
oh, do you want to put money into this?
They're going like, what?
Are you crazy?
But that's what makes him special, because he finds a way
to get you in love, you know?
And once you're in love, you know what you can do.
I mean, now he can ask me for anything.
And that film is easy to fall in love with.
It is literally a film I love.
There are films that I like.
There are films that I admire.
I love the book of life.
And it's one of those films where, if you're having a crappy day,
you can put it in, and you can just, you know what?
Maybe things aren't so bad.
Yeah, if you're not smiling by the end of that film,
then you probably need to go to Walmart and buy a new soul,
because yours is obviously broken.
It's a beautiful film.
And I commend you on it.
Every chance I see you, I want to thank you for it.
Well, the heart and soul.
And you respect me, and you too.
I've never had the chance to thank you, Diego,
but thank you very much, man.
Thank you, thank you.
I mean, the heart and the soul and the voice
are all right in front of us.
I also want to thank Diego for being
the first Mexican in Star Wars.
Because every kid is going to say, we make it.
We make it to the future.
We can do it.
We make it.
Well, no, because it was a long time ago.
But I remember as a kid, you know, in the 80s,
I was like, maybe Chewbacca underneath this Mexican movie, right?
It's chewy.
Like, maybe that's us.
Relative to that.
Earlier tonight, we were doing a show up stairs
for another film festival.
And Charlie Pride sat down with us for a couple of minutes.
And he introduced himself as Billy D. Williams.
You both fell out.
We both fell out, aren't you?
Gentlemen, I could sit here and talk
to the both of you all night.
But there is, I guarantee you, an adoring public waiting
on both of you.
Mr. Pig, congratulations.
The big one.
It's got the big one.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Grand jury.
And it's so special, and I want to send, I mean,
I don't know how many are listening to this,
but probably the message can be passed.
I want to send my love to everyone in the team
of Mr. Pig, everyone that joined this adventure,
everyone that allows to shoot in Guadalajara
in Chalisco that will stop their lives for a second.
So we could do a movie.
Thank you so much.
And this is for all of us.
And we have to be very happy and proud.
And I'm really hoping we get to talk to both of you again
very soon.
Absolutely.
Because you guys have been an absolute joy
to have on the show.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Please go enjoy the Diego Luna Jorge Gutierrez.
We can end the show right now.
I'm happy.
You know, right now.
Lots of talking out.
Talk it out.
Thank you, gentlemen, so much.
Thank you guys so much.
Dude, that just happened.
And how is it?
Thank you so much, guys.
Thank you, guys.
So I am a happy man right now.
And you know, Don got pictures.
Oh, we did?
Yeah.
Don, you got pictures, right?
Don.
He's talking.
That dude was thinking done.
I saw him when you got pictures, right?
You did get pictures of that, right?
You did get pictures.
Yes.
OK.
That's what I need to know.
I know it's a festive night.
We made jokes about it.
Monford Frogger.
I mean, Mockingbird and Frogger.
Film Festival Frogger, yes.
What's going on?
Gary Murray got hit.
I just got a call from John's.
Friend of the show, Gary Murray.
Crossing the street.
Oh, gosh.
Our deepest prayers go out to him.
Friend of the, if it's not for Gary,
none of this ever happens.
Much less something on the scale of the Dallas International
Film Festival.
Gary, we hope you're getting better.
When I hear something, I'll let you know.
Doc John's trying to, yeah, he just called me.
Let me know what's going on.
They don't know these on the way.
The hotspots all we know.
When I hear an update, I'll let you guys know.
I mean, next guess I'll be here in just a minute.
OK, you take it.
You take it, either.
We got stuff we can talk about.
No, no, no, we got someone lined up.
OK, very good, very good.
Yeah, our purse go out to Gary Murray right now.
Oh, very nice.
Looking forward to this guest.
How was it the second year in a row?
Our longest interview of the festival
has a Star Wars connection.
Oh my god, I didn't even, I didn't even,
and a guy was trying so hard not to do that.
And I didn't want to dwell on broke one.
Because, you know, he has been beaten over the head with it.
It's only starting.
But I feel like we had it, we had a responsibility
to at least mention it.
And he had no problems talking about it.
How awesome is it that Jorge Gutierrez comes
and sits with us every year?
A man that directed one of the best films
that we've seen in year.
I didn't go back and watch it again just because.
I think I've still got it on my DVR.
I may do that tonight, not tonight, maybe tomorrow.
Go ahead and put your headphones on, sir.
And I'm going to let you introduce yourself.
You might as well be ready to go.
My name's Ossiel Norton.
Directed a little film called O'Rion.
Yeah, I'm a writer, director, sort of guy.
48 hours ago.
Yeah.
Was the big round table.
Yeah.
And it was the premiere here at the Donald Surnational Film
Festival?
No, but it was the US premiere.
OK, talk right into that thing so we can hear you nicely.
The US premiere was.
How did it go?
Way cool.
This is my first time in Dallas before.
Welcome.
And it's been pretty rad.
This is a pretty cool city.
I thought it would be.
And it is.
You know what I mean?
So it met my expectations.
OK, excellent.
I'm sure that house had to be packed because I've talked to so
many people that are like, this is the film I'm here to see.
Yeah, I think that yeah, it was a cool audience.
The people think, you know, I don't want to like whatever,
but they seem to do it, you know, so yeah, it felt good.
It felt good for sure.
I'm sure there was a Q&A afterwards.
I like to ask this question to a lot of filmmakers, especially
this year because there's been a lot of different kinds
of films at the festival.
Was there a question that you've not asked that kind of was
a curveball question that maybe you weren't expecting
and you had to think about?
Oh, it always happens every time.
OK, what was the one you were asked here?
Gosh, it was somebody who was asking me
very, something very specific about a choice
of the style of the film.
And it was like very, I can't give you like the, I don't
want to tell you what I mean.
So it was like very, but it was like a thing that like,
it's really interesting.
I don't want to be boring or whatever,
but the certain time that you get a question,
and it's like in a way very, very, not to also be
pretentious, but it's very, very elementary in a way.
So you have to rethink, OK, why did I make this kind
of elementary decision and communicate it to somebody
who was not in the film or whatever, and like, why didn't
make the, you know what I mean?
So what's cool about that is you, I guess,
and I guess I'm putting myself in your shoes,
but when you get questions like that,
and you're like, wow, like people
paid that close attention to this thing.
Yeah, and it also makes you think it's good for you,
I think, you know, I don't know about running like a talk
or a radio thing or whatever, but somebody
asks you something that's very, very simple in a way.
And like, what, OK, yeah, this is why I did that,
didn't it, does that make sense?
I know, absolutely, because sometimes it's
the little things that other people notice that make you go,
you know what, I didn't even think about that.
Yeah, exactly.
For her audience, give them a quick synopsis
of the film, it's called Orion.
Yeah.
So basically, the film is post-apocalyptic.
And it takes place about 100 years, probably
after the fall of civilization or whatever.
OK.
And David Arquette, and he plays like a hunter
gatherer, sort of figure.
And like, he has to say, like, beautiful, like,
virgin mother, sort of like, has, like,
sort of mythological connotations of the film and stuff.
So he has to face, like, say, a virgin mother,
from, like, this sort of demonic magician,
shamanistic sort of character.
And she tells him about this, like, mythical, maybe city
that may or may not exist, that she can take him
to the last civilization on Earth.
How long did it take you to film it?
I mean, production was probably 30 days,
but all together, because I wrote the script, too.
Oh, wow.
So all together to make the whole film from conception
to finish was probably three years, I would say?
Three years, you know?
I always like to talk, and we talk about this
on our show a lot.
I like to talk to writer directors,
because I'm always interested in that dichotomy.
Was it hard for you to take off one hand
and put on the other, or were they always both just
there together?
They're always there to firm me, specifically.
It's not hard, because I'm a, like, movie geek.
So, like, I always approach things as a filmmaker,
as, like, a director, as a visualist, as a whatever.
So, everything has the same philosophy for me.
So, yeah.
I mean, that's not hard for me.
I mean, obviously, there's a lot of difficulties
in doing this stuff, but I don't think switching hats
is one for me, because I always, when I write a script,
I write it to shoot it.
So, when I'm writing it, I know I want to shoot this,
and I know how I want to shoot it, as I'm writing it.
You know what I mean?
But that, obviously, is a lot, like, it's hard, you know?
But the switching the hats is hard for me.
Because it's always an interesting,
but we talk to some writer-directors that are, like,
I have to wear both hats all the time, or we had it,
we talked to a director earlier that was, like,
every day, when I wake up, I fire the writer.
Yeah.
And I'm always, it's just always because you're the visionary
in your head, and you're the visionary with the camera.
Yeah.
I just, I think that's interesting.
Yeah.
Because there are certain times where you have to go,
I can see it, but I can't get it from here to out here.
I think that, I mean, I would say this, again,
this is very specifically for me.
Absolutely.
Very specifically for me, like, I always approach things,
as, like, what I want, like, what I want the film to be.
So, even I'm writing it, whatever, and even if,
I don't have, for example, I don't have a palm fire
in the writer, and, like, I don't have, like, a thing.
So, like, for an example, like, when I'm making a live film,
like, hey, I do rehearsal, and I'll be right for rehearsal,
see what the actors are doing.
Be, I will run lines with the actors every day morning
before we shoot.
So, the actors will come meet me and we'll run lines together.
And what they're saying, and we'll talk about it,
I will rewrite it before I find, and then they go and do makeup
and all that kind of stuff, we set up lights.
But before we do any of that, I'm running lines with them.
And because I'm the writer, I can run lines
with them and be like, okay, that's not working,
that's not working.
And get their feedback, you know what I mean?
And they can say, like, I don't know about this,
and then we can talk about it.
And I, because I'm the writer, I have the freedom
of it, okay, that lines out, or I'm gonna change that line
or whatever, you know what I mean?
So, I don't, that's actually, like, it's actually,
like, I think I get a certain amount of freedom.
I get a certain amount of freedom from it, you know?
Where's the film going from here?
Basically, we're like, I'm just a director.
So, I go where people tell me to go.
So, like, I'm just, at this point, I'm done.
So, like, when I'm making the film, basically, like,
I, for whatever, that's, like, for whatever thing,
I have a certain amount of control.
Once I'm done with the film, then other people
have the control, and they tell me where to go.
So, at this point, like, I don't know,
I'm going, like, the producers will tell me what to do
and where to go or whatever.
I don't know if we're releasing now,
we're supposed to go to the festival.
I obviously don't know.
So, they, and they tell me what to do.
So, what's next for you then?
So, right now, what I'm doing is I'm basically doing this,
and then, like, right now, I'm doing this,
and then, I'm, like, developing a couple new projects
or whatever, but, yeah, this, I mean, is this a,
is this just for Dallas, or is this all over the world?
I know, we go all over the world.
Okay, cool.
So, yeah, this film will be either through release
in your town, or if I'm festival,
or if I'm festival, and through release,
wherever you are, whatever.
Okay, we want to let you go celebrate a little bit.
Before we do, we're all about shameless self promotion
on this show.
So, give our audience Facebook, Twitter,
social media, websites, everything,
how they can go check out the film.
I think, like, I'm not gonna, I'm not a plugger.
But, but, yeah, I mean, I guess probably the best way.
Just go like Facebook, slash a Ryan film,
and go check that out, you know what I mean?
I don't know. I'm not a plugger, you know, so very lovely people like that, you know, could go check that out or something.
Congratulations on everything that's going on, all the best to you, and go enjoy the evening, sir.
We appreciate you. Really nice to meet you, man. Pleasure to meet you.
All right, and again, this is a film that was talked a lot about going into it,
by a lot of people that we've talked to, and the one sheet was actually at the media open night
last week. There were a lot of people talking about it, then your wife did post in the chat room
when we were talking about Diego Lucio, doesn't it? Must be the force.
Oh, man, I need a breather. Are we going to get you to sit down with us for a little while?
Oh, you know what? I'm totally on board with doing so. Put your headphones on.
There are two people that if it were not for them, there's no way this happens.
They are currently sitting across from us, and you get to tell people who you are.
My name is Wendy, and I'm Jessica.
Two of our favorite people in the world when it comes to Dallas International Film Festival,
and two of the hardest working women when it comes to the Dallas International Film Festival.
How are you feeling? Because home stretch is here. That's right. I have one more day in the
interview studio. Jessica's basically done. She's done her last red carpet.
Which was last night? No tonight. Oh, tonight. There was one tonight. Okay.
Diego Luna was there. He was just here. I know. This was Diego's microphone.
It was the secret. He was our secret dad. That was awesome. I'm going to need a cardiologist
after that. I know. I wish I were there. I take pictures. It's on Facebook.
Does it feel like this is the 10th time you've done this thing?
At 7.30 in the morning, yeah. I know the feeling.
But after each carpet, I mean, every carpet is new every day in the interview studio is new.
So no, not really. You know how this goes. How has 10 years passed if I've only aged five years?
You know what? I'm not going to argue that point. I'm not going to argue that point.
And she can hurt you. It's my wife likes to tell people that I robbed the cradle.
I'm like, you're 11 months younger than me. Oh, yeah. Oh, we call that rocking the cradle.
She called it robbing. If anybody here is guilty of that, I guess it's all that,
but we're not going to talk about that. It's 13 years younger than him.
So, you know, he gets points for that. And she's British, so that's a big double phone.
Jewels are talking about you. She's actually listening live at the house right now.
One thing that I really want to, and I'm glad you guys are sitting here because number one,
I've wanted you guys on the show for the last three years that we've been doing this thing.
But I've actually been coming to some of the earlier shows, the four o'clock shows this week.
And as I'm leaving, you guys are getting ready to fire up the red carpet.
And I just would find myself just standing there, just staring just intently at what's going on
because it's such a well put together production. And even though Mother Nature has not been our best
friend this week, I love it when people that recognize us from past years. And it kind of
is here again. Hunter Parsons in the house. He's so awesome. He's such a great guest to have.
I love the fact that you guys always had a plan. There was always a plan. There was never a,
even if this is not true, I am choosing not to believe it. It never felt like there was a panic
moment at all. Everything was moved. Everything was there. You were organized. Everybody had their
place. It's just, there's nothing about this festival that I just don't find top notch.
And the fact that you let us do this thing, I'm still trying to figure that one out, but I'll take it.
Highlight of the festival for you, dusk, because there's still two more days, but
Highlight of the Festival for you. Wendy, meeting Diego Luna in the interview studio was awesome.
But let me practice that with, I enjoy meeting all the filmmakers,
because I get to, I'm like a fly on the wall in their interviews, so I'm sitting there,
not making a sound. I get to hear about their creative process, about how they made the film,
how long it took them to make the film. All their films are labors of love, and that is what I
really truly enjoy. This celebrity is nice, but the creativity is really... Absolutely agree.
Jessica. Well, for me, of course, it's just the red carpet. Everyone that comes on from a student
to a gaffer, to someone like Patrick Duffy, and Diego Luna, it's great because they have a
passion for film and have a passion for sharing that with every, hearing dollars, and people do not
realize what a great festival we have here, and just start hearing it, and they don't realize how
long it is. You know, 11 days over 179 films. It's just such a wonderful way to
share this culture that we have in Dallas, with all this art and everyone that's here,
and just to bring it home. It's great. So that's my favorite part. And it just gets bigger and
better every year. Now, I know you guys have a lot to do during the festival. In the off season,
I guess we could call it. Do you get the chance to see the films that are submitted?
If they're on Netflix. Because I do wonder, like, have you guys gotten to
take in any of the films this year? If so, where's there anything that stood out for you?
Because I've gotten to take in four or five films this year, which is a little bit above
the curve for me. Everything okay over there? We're a little bit luckier this year,
because last year, we were right next to Devon. This year, we kind of got a little bit of
seclusion, a little bit, but they're open doors. And Devon is one of our favorite people. He and
I've been friends for years and years and years, but we're still on the direct line of fire.
And I'm always impressed too at the just pure diversity of the films. You know, you get a film
like Sing Street, which I absolutely adored, and I'm not afraid to say it.
I've already seen it commercial for it. It's got a wide release.
And I saw it here before we were at an invitation for a press screening for it. So I was like,
that's a cover. And to see things, like, I really, really, really, really, really loved life animated.
Like, that film, for me, did for me this year, what that kid begins did for me last year.
And I'm so happy to see that film doing so well. And it's like, yeah, we saw the Deltar National Film Festival.
And that's what's great, because a lot of people say to me, oh, you know, I just watched this film.
And I'm like, oh, I saw it last year. Where? Well, the film festival. And you know, that's the
amazing thing is you can just see some of these before they, you know, are bought before anything,
they're picked up. And then you get to see it. And you get to see these people that are so creative
with it. And you get to those moments where you have where you're like, these people's voices get
to be heard. And when they get to be heard on a much bigger scale, you're like, I got to have
something to do with helping them get to that point. And that's one of the cool things too.
We were talking earlier about Raiders from last year. And how about a month and a half or two
months ago, Draft House films announced that they're going to distribute it. And my first question was,
what took you so freaking long? Because that's such a wonderful film. And it's so ripe.
It's going to make the millions of dollars because of what it is. And I wouldn't have seen it if it
wasn't for this festival. And it gets bigger every year. It gets more fun every year. But I still
get those butterflies as I'm setting up the board and plugging everything in. I'm like, let this go
well. And it always does. And then we get finished and I go home and I go to bed and I wake up
the next day. And my wife's like, you slept pretty well last night. And I'm like, yeah, because it
actually, everything actually worked. Everything fell into place. And they always say when the butterflies
stop, that's when you bail. So do you guys get an off season or are you already planning for next
year? Yeah, there's an off season. Talk right into it. It's like new. There's an off season.
How long have an off season to get? Probably in January, February, we can hear from the festival.
Are y'all around? Are you available? Head's up. And my Jessica starts working much sooner than I do.
Because she's dealing with press and accreditation. I generally start maybe a month before the festival.
The bulk of my job before the festival is a huge spreadsheet and lots of data and dates and names
and emails. That's my life. Excel. Well, mine is of course lovely press when they apply for their
credentials. And I mean, basically, I start in January. Because I just don't think that far
is to that. And we like, whenever we get the email every year, we're all calling each other.
Do you guys get it? Did you get your email? Okay. We're like nine year olds on Christmas Eve.
It's going to happen. And I usually have like, no name's already there. Because I know I'm
prepared for people that are going to be there. It's already have all the different issues that
we'll have to add at later. And that's also great too, because so many of us know each other. And like,
Marcus Blake from that nurture, we met him at this festival two years ago. And we see each other
out for, you know, for press screenings or other events. And what I love about the press core in
this town is that we all get along. You know, we all have that come. We understand that we're in
this thing together. And we're doing this because we love, we love media, we love film. And the fact,
like we talked about Patrick Duffy, we had him for about five minutes last week. That man is brilliant.
I was like, I could talk to this guy for about three hours. You know, just, yeah, how did he introduce
himself? I'm the taller, better, the first one was the first time he was like, he's like a huge
mega superstar, Patrick Duffy or something. He didn't say he was the tall guy standing next to
Larry Agnes. I thought he said he was the taller, better looking guy that I was always standing next to him.
He likes to wear crocs. Wendy like that because he wore crocs. He wears clogs. That might be a fun
club. There we go. Right that down. Patrick Duffy likes clogs. Man clogs. Okay. Man clogs.
But he is getting the JR eyebrow that Larry had. What I really like is you're getting and you're
getting that celebrity, what's the word I'm looking for, community, that they're getting out there
and they're telling people, look, look, this is the place you want to be. And I cannot tell you how
many people we've had on this show that have said there is such a beautiful sense of camaraderie
and community to this festival in comparison to festivals all over the world. And that just makes me
happy that because we get to be a part of that. Yeah, it's a festival that has a remarkable
sense of itself. Exactly. And the thing with press is that I'm not looking at it like this person
has checkers experience versus personally just started out. I want everyone to have a chance
to be able to promote films. If that's what they love doing and they're doing it. And you can
definitely tell. I mean, it's in their blood that it just it just it just exudes from them their
enthusiasm. And we have students that from colleges and high schools around here that want to
interview and we let them because they love it and they get so much experience. And that's one
thing I love is the new ones. And the fact that people come it's not just Dallas press.
They come from I mean, I remember our first year two years ago where we were on the red carpet next
to the young lady from what did she just say? Yeah. Oh, Vanessa. But yeah, yeah, friends with hers.
She was from LA and there are people coming in from all over the country. And that's just a
testament to the work that you guys are doing. She started off as a volunteer photographer
on the end of our carpet. And so one day she brought her phone and she said, so John, can I just
you know, like ask a few questions? He's like, sure. John Strins, who were huge fans of us as well.
Well, John Wildman. Oh, John Wildman, who also were huge fans of. Talked to his life a few minutes ago.
Oh, look, there's the Irish man. He's so sweet. So anyway, here on here on. So that's how she
started out. She was a volunteer. And then now she's, you know, she's a global brand for
she really is brilliant. She's like a scientist or something. I mean, she's like this major
out here. It worked like some nuclear thing in Mexico City. I don't know, but she's really
smart and beautiful. Okay. Two questions and then we're going to let you guys go have some fun.
Question number one. What is the next film you're really, really looking forward to?
Okay. This is weird. So I'm into Alice. They're looking last because it's Alan Rick
was last voice film. I just saw on the sky, which was like absolutely amazing. Don't really like
that. Yeah, we talked about it. It's really, really, really great. Not just because he's in it.
It's just a great maybe. So I'm looking forward to that just because I want to see or hear his voice.
Okay. Can't see you. I want to see the jungle boat. It's wonderful. It's great. I don't know
how Disney found a bunch of talking animals, but they did it. It's so gorgeous. I'm telling you,
I am X3D. One that sounds just like Bill Murray. I don't know. I don't know how they do, but it's
Disney. They have resources that nobody else has. It is born to play that. I will tell you,
and we've said this in our reviews and for the people listening at home, don't take the little ones.
Minimum, little ones. Yeah, junior high age or more because this one works a little darker
than the animated version. Okay, so second question. The one movie that is your guilty pleasure movie
that you think people would like, that's your go-to that people would go. Oh, really?
Rising Arizona. Such a good movie.
Okay, mine is really silly, but it's to be or not to be 1982 with
Melbourne. That's my favorite movie all the time. I could play the Ancestry, Georgia Brown,
and Polish, and say a bad word in Polish too. Well, thanks to Melbourne. Mine was my showing on
the other side of town right now, which is Flash Gordon. I met him in the 80s. I met Sam.
The best Sam? He's in town? He's in town right now. Yeah, and Brian can't come because he was
in the country of the United States. I just want to hear him talk about biting into that
and looking forward when he helped deliver that baby, Brian Blessing. I love that guy.
I wish he would come back to the States, but I know he's done. All right, ladies,
please go enjoy your evening. We cannot thank you guys for having us here,
and thank you for joining us. Thank you. All right. Can I say sweaty balls?
Good times. Good times. Oh, God. I can't help but notice your balls are misshaping. I left that one on.
I like the way your balls fill my eyes. One of the greatest thing I know I see it just
of all time. You can't deny it. You cannot deny it. All right, sure it was Jessica. Our next guest
has joined us. Sir, please introduce yourself. Talk right into that microphone because it's really loud.
Hey, Thomas. My name is Kirill Gray. I'm from Dublin, Ireland.
From my- That's why this is my brother, Thomas. International Film Festival. Director of
In View. Oh, that's right. Please tell us about the film. It's an interesting film. It's
a bit dark unlike me. I saw it keep telling everybody. It's kind of a tale of a person who's
in a bad place and so far with depression. It's kind of a film of two halves. The first half
is she's kind of- she's going down. She's trying to help herself but never does.
Unless you realize, anyway, she can pay back for the one she's done in life. It's the kind of
big-grown life to make her own. It's kind of dark and deep. We've been- this is our world
premiere here in Dallas. How'd it go? Yeah, fantastic. Everybody really, really positive about it,
as well as positive if you can't be about film. You're not going to be a girl for it to say.
I'm sorry, nice. It's great, I mean, it's great getting invited to- to- to- to- I think
that's why Film Festival like this because for me, to silly in the audience and seeing how
the Dallas- that's paying public and reacting to it, it's very informed,
for me because when you write something in the direct something like you know
you never know how it's going to react because within your mind within your mind
you're kind of happy with and stuff you think you think it's fantastic but
when you actually see it in reality that's when you know whether it's gonna work
well it's not and because the Dallas I feel that actually is working for us so
your world premiere was here at the Dallas International Film Festival last
Wednesday, yeah. Take us through how you were feeling that night. Was it a
crazy kind of a where the butterflies go and nuts in your stomach or was it
just kind of a calm where you're like look I've done everything I can do and
now the film has to do what it does. Well I suppose what didn't help me was
that I don't know if Dublin so I flew from Dublin Heathrow, Heathrow Dallas but
unfortunately my bike went Dublin Heathrow Heathrow somewhere else. Oh no. I had no
clothes so I'll tie through the hosts, host been providing me with a shirt and socks.
So that kind of really kind of added to the whole ambiance of the premiere
because the shirt's slightly bigger than I am so it wasn't a dress. I've been
the first girl on the good legs and I can only have me and like you know I'd be hot
but I'm not so but that kind of you know when when you do something and you
spend like a year and a half two years doing something it is very narrow
back before you when you put it out there but because the people reacted so well
too and met enough lotty because you don't know what way it's gonna go but for
me I was just delighted. The audience and people in Dallas so good to us
so kind it's I mean like you know I'm coming back next year it's not having. Oh
we and we love this to sit here with you. Where is do you have any more
festival scheduled or anything else for the film itself? We have one in
Ireland and after that then we're kind of you know you're probably going to be
fascinating to see what happens but it's a sort of film it needs a champion
I think Dallas is kind of being a bit of champion for us because while
everybody loves to film and they really get into it it is very dark so I mean
like you know you're sitting down on the table let's program our festival so let's
put a film on where somebody's talking to suicide you know it's not really
disheartening to do and because we made the film everybody said don't make it
stop by making this film because it's going to be very hard to find out
to set etcetera but that's not enough for reason not to do it. I agree. I can
know and I mean if in Ireland I'm not sure about it in the States but in Ireland
we have a serious problem with suicide and we pay a lot of lift service to it but
that's as far as they go and the state has kind of been ignoring the whole
issue and I think it's incumbent upon artists to put it out there to try and
get some sort of the way going and I sort of hope this film will do for us.
Well congratulations or so happy the film did so well for you. We're going to
we're looking forward to seeing where it goes next. Seren in view. Thank you so
much for taking the time. Go enjoy your evening sir. Thank you.
Goodbye Dallas. Big.
This has been out and of course of course we got to get him in here. Why wouldn't
we get him in here? I mean I mean I mean I mean I mean what are we talking
about. We're talking about you right now to say hello to everyone. Oh killer. Hey my
name is Hunter Carson. So you guys had a zealon. Yeah. Yeah dude he's rad. His
movie's super crazy. Orion. Yeah. So much about it. Yeah it was so first of all
welcome back to the show third year in a row. Thank you very much. One of only
what two or three people have done the show with us all three years and see
it changed up to look again because last year the beard was fuller right but I
was prepared this year because of all the films I saw they had the little deal
before they they played the film and so they showed all the last years and I
remember seeing you are quite a few of them were you were at the DSN honest I'm
like okay I'm ready for Hunter this year. Yep because no matter what he does I'm
gonna be able to recognize it. Here I am. I'm very thankful to have you guys
back on. So anyway so like last year I got the award
posthumously for my dad LM Kit Carson and this year we're all sitting around
sorry I guess I'm kind of hot we're all sitting around and I was just doing
that because my ear itch I know I caught it I caught it from you I had an
ear itch too. I'm sitting with two of all but together do I have to I've been
wearing these for like four hours but anybody gets clean it.
They moist howl at those are fun. James Faust, Michael Cain, Leapapart and we
come up with this crazy idea that we should do an award and give it to a
Maverick filmmaker you know because LM Kit Carson one of the Mavericks David
Holton's diary one of the original Maverick films induction library
Congress is the first mockumentary film ever and so we bat it around and we go
okay we'll do one. Great then they say well what if we just do a whole section
of Maverick films and dedicated to that. I'm like okay a whole series of films
at the festival this year. Three three of three films you had to see along he did
Orion which was amazing. The Husband of Life, Libya, Unger and Shunli did
Hotel Dallas. We had them on last week. So good. I wish we'd had them on
longer but they were on their way to the premiere so we caught them for like
five minutes. Really really well spoken really into I talk about them.
And then we had a collection of short films from a lot of filmmakers a lot
of upcoming filmmakers called Collective Unconscious and you know when
Libya and when I when I watch these films that was quite amazing it was
tough to keep in mind that because I really enjoy independent film and I
really enjoy watching independent film and so it's it's tough for me as a
filmmaker myself to kind of pull down we only had enough for three enough
spots for three and I call it down it's very heartbreaking and when Libya and
Shunli showed up I was like oh hey guys blah blah blah we go to the premiere I'm
like yeah this is great this great why don't we go to the filmmakers lounge and
and you know have some beverages and if they're in and Libya and and
Shunli if you're listening right now whatever and Libya says well maybe I'll
just have some sparkling water and I was like oh no I've I've offended
somebody that's just it's it's a non a non adult beverage drinker and then I
look down and Libya's probably 85 pounds and five and a half she's a small woman
yes and she has this tiny little bump and I go oh you guys showed up
pregnant to this film festival and they both kind of sheepishly nodded their
head and I was like you guys are pregnant I did ice a hotel Dallas baby I didn't
even realize that when we had them on the shelf she's so tiny they had to tell me
and I finally looked and I was like I mean I mean she's so small she could be
you know five months pregnant I don't know anyways it's tiny little thin they
were just like yeah well you know keep you know we're just we're at the film
festival you just want to be filmmakers we don't be anything I was like wow you
guys are great anyway they were fantastic have you had a chance to see a but
any real any films that were maybe out of like out of that category have
edges to check out a bunch of films this year or have you been so busy with the
festival you just haven't had the opportunity I've been very busy with the
festival um I did manage to watch part of master cleanse with Jonathan
Galecki which is fabulously hilarious Don did you did you get to see that master
master master cleanse which one's had about Jonathan Galecki when they go
under the woods and they drink the juice and I thought you were going you're
trying to go to that as I do I don't think I'll talk to a friend of the show
Matt Mungle that he went on he said he said it was he was it's interesting because
I enjoyed it but I'm not sure it's for everybody right there's been some really
really surprising films what are you doing I'm a lot of interesting films that I
didn't like going in I was like I loved a song for you the Austin City limit
story right that was really really good right I like the the approach they took
to it we're like you you know what the show is we don't have to establish it but
let's tell you how things happen the way they happen yeah you know seeing some
of the performances in that where he just like and it ends with Gary Clark
Jr. who's currently one of my favorite guitarists on the planet this is a guy
that taught himself blues guitar actor he saw somebody on an open mic night
one night he's out of Austin and he's absolutely amazing any films that you
were able to check out that surprised you I wasn't able to check out that many
films you know it's funny I didn't realize how much energy it took to sponsor
a whole section and it was just three films I mean these jurors that are
watching a several dozen films I mean it's just it's all all consuming the
grand jury prize went to the mr. big which from what I understand is a great
story every I that was one thing a lot of people were telling me were like
this is the movie that you have to see in right we had Diego Linus it right
right right right and could have been a nicer guy yeah you know and just to have
people like that at this festival and talk so well about this festival you
guys work really really hard and I don't think like you get enough recognition
because you're more active it seems like every year in the festival yeah they
wrote me in they got no actually I started out as a as a volunteer at this
festival well okay at the deep Ellen film festival in 2000 I started out as a
volunteer from Michael and Melina a funny anecdote this year one of the winners
for a film called tower which was about the shooting in Austin many many years
I think that's showing tomorrow night it is because it's one of the winners so it's
showing tomorrow check your local listings on Dallas Film.org I think it's
Dallas from the North anyway he wants up to me he's like hey man we met in
high school we didn't go to the same high school for this the filmmaker of
tower and I wanted to be a filmmaker in high school and everybody said you
gotta talk to the Carson's you gotta talk to the Carson's and so I did so I
we were you know I came out of was it a party at your house or came up to you
at some event and I said I want to be a filmmaker and you're and the guy
looks me in the eye and he says your dad said to me you take a camera you shoot
some stuff and then you turn it into a movie which was the advice that has
created yet another filmmaker it just is one of these things if you had a
pied piper of filmmaking LM Kitt Carson would be that person and I can't it's
hard for me to believe that that's the first person that's ever said that to
you because oh no not at all and it has to just melt your brain it's true when
it happens because you're just like okay that just happened you know and when
you influence people and then you get to see them the fruits of their labor it
almost kind of restores your faith in humanity a little bit you know and and I'm
not saying this just because you're sitting here but the festival is looking to
have people like you that are willing to to do that and to get involved like
you do well anybody can do it anybody can volunteer even if it's for a couple
hours or all 10 days the volunteers here are the most important component
they're the glue they are just the absolute best and you're treated immensely
well oh yeah you know this festival even though it's growing and it's growing
it still has the heart of a smaller festival because of the same people are
involved true and they they don't forget about that spirit that it had yeah we
can talk about film a little bit anything that you're looking forward to oh
honestly I have been so focused on this festival I'm not even sure what's
going on I think civil wars is the war we get ready ready ready ready in on that
that's that's literally like oh civil war is coming up because it's on TV
and the three minutes I get to myself but I turn on TV because it's on every
three minutes okay that's coming up that it is but yeah no I'm pretty psyched
Jake Jillon home movie that's out right now looks good I like that he's doing
something kind of interesting now he's had this interesting streak like night
crawler absolutely blew me away beautiful but he was good and he just drove
the Oscar for that year I don't care he was of the Oscar I agree but I mean you
know you know how everybody does it you gotta you you gotta make a great movie
then you gotta act harder in another great movie and then you get and that came
after enemy which absolutely bent my brain to that you do the concept of it
no he's a guy who's a he's a college professor all that one and he's kind of
he's kind of a social recluse and one of his one of his compadres gives him a
DVD one day since you have to watch this so he puts it in his laptop and the
star of this movie looks exactly like him oh so he starts to stalk this guy
and figure out who he is and there's just there's just enough symbolism that
it's that it will make you talk about it but not so deep that it gets real
existential right be very end of the film has a moment where the entire
theater went what the hell was that you know I did the same yeah yeah and it's
it's really well done and to see him to play these two characters that are so
vastly different yeah and you know and maybe I've just been taking Jim
Joel and Hall for granted for years I think we all have but those two films
back to Mac I was just like well didn't he follow that up with Southfall like
right after night course also absolutely that was the boxer movie yes yes
that the one the football director yeah with with the young ladies will have to
make it on the healthy crush on that and the range he showed from there to
there it's just he's one of those guys and I'm glad that that I mean I don't
think he still gets the recognition he deserves but I agree he will he will I
think I think that that would really interesting I'm super psyched about his
career but man remember uh Donnie Darko man Donnie Darko he was really good in
that and that was like one of his first and then he moved into like the the
kind of cute guy roles which I mean you can't blame him make your money yeah no
kitty and now he's like but remember Donnie Darko and I was good and I can do
this and I think it's like it's like that whole speech that Aflight gives and
J.M. is a lot more exact then you have to go make the film for your buddy
and then you get to do the art movie is film is in such a great place for me
right now there's so much there's so much out there and I think technology has
a lot to do with that where it's becoming easier to deal with because it's
coming out faster because you know you got these directors are just basically
editing on the fly they don't have to wait for anything anymore oh we have a
dignitarium and also a filmmaker and director also a filmmaker and a guy who I
also have to be friends with on Facebook thank you very much yes yes you are
I just came in the middle you got to intro yourself though okay this is a John
wildman I am the director PR for the Dallas International Film Festival the
man who's gonna sleep for about three days I'll get like maybe one 24 hour
period and he'll be back to working on the next film festival yeah wow
just I think I'm the only volunteer that also is a sponsor I I think I missed
I missed the lecture where they say to the sponsors just be a sponsor and let
the other guys do your stuff you know what yeah what's the fun and that right
seriously yeah good I you know you got to intro all the films in your section
and make phone calls and drive money home and around and you know help
had left been into the car and shake hands and kissing babies and skin and
dude come on that's a great thing you know you're you those are two of the
like most amazing talents ever right and yes and you go yeah you know I'm I'm
helping them you know you know you know in out of a car or or for me like you
know on to a red carpet right you know but like those moments in between where
you're chatting with them and you go and these guys are amazing film minds
they've like they've done they've forgotten they remembered they forgot
again they remembered and maybe forgot again yeah stuff that I will never know
yeah you know I mean it's insane how great these guys and we got to we got
to hang with them yeah yeah yeah you know what I'll tell you what being in a
film festival always reminds me that everybody just wants at certain point in
time to chill out stop signing autographs have a beverage of choice and just talk
about movies because what better thing is there to do than talk about
and what a great atmosphere we're in to do this I love this lounge they did
an amazing job it's the job you don't feel like you're on top of everybody you
feel like you don't have to scream to talk to them right it's very airy everybody's
great to everybody and you're absolutely right let's come let's just talk
about film yeah it has been a wonderful set up you know I I was at the white
film festival last year and I went there to talk about stuff that that film
festivals were concretely doing on behalf of filmmakers and you go well the
natural idea is well give me a check so I can make the next movie right and that's
what I assumed every conversation is going to be like with each filmmaker it was
like well what they can do or what they have done is give me money like your
prizes or introducing me to somebody and and what was interesting is that the
majority of filmmakers that was not the answer that was not their immediate go
to their immediate go to was I'm meeting other filmmakers and I'm connecting
with them and I'm talking about issues that I had shooting or experiences that
I had shooting and that's that was a concrete thing that I took away from it
yeah and that's like eight out of ten filmmakers I talked to had that attitude
and so yes so when you know when you're in a loud situation you go well it's
allowed people are drinking people have fun with it but no it's actually filmmakers
love being able to meet other filmmakers and because we all have that shared
experience so you had guys that were like writer director cinematographer
editor doing everything and then they meet another director that says well I've
got a cinematographer that you might want to talk to and thus taking
the burden off of their own shoulders I was going to go enjoy the evening we
had to say about him we would talk about he's one of like I think three people
that has actually done our show all three years that we've done the show so
we all we love to have him on uh for me Gutierrez does the show every year and
is there we and we talked to you guys a couple years ago before you guys moved
here before you just yeah yeah we we we brought ladies to the house and he
finally got to interview Farah last week my life was made complete that
ladies a saint she was amazing hey question can we come back next to yeah you
got you guys can mark your spot all right you guys thank you we can thank you
guys enough I this this we're high we have so much fun you and Jessica and your
staff and this makes it so easy for us on the red carpet in just a less
coming and do this we cannot thank you enough well here's the thing you know
I mean you know I've been in New York for the past five years you know working
at Lincoln Center doing the New York Film Festival doing a number of other
film festivals there new directors new films and what have you and you know
coming back here one of the things I know in fact I spoke about it tonight during
the the DFS honors evening I came back here because there's a joy here they're
absolutely there there there's a joy in filmmaking there's a joy in watching
movies there is just a joy that many many film festivals literally do not have
and I said that I enjoyed my time there because I enjoyed the satisfaction of
working with a certain caliber of filmmakers and stars and actors and what
have you but I was missing something and what I was missing was that come
Rottering and that absolute joy of being no promote filmmakers and being able to
connect with filmmakers and having them connect with each other and you know
and and having you know a show like this available you know filmmakers just
want they want to talk to people that are going to talk to them seriously
absolutely about making movies you know you know publicists publicists oftentimes
you know they they will go well you know you know they're too tired they're exhausted
they can only do this one interview with you know what whatever journalists
because they think well that journalist has a certain like you know viewer share
or there's a certain number of press impressions what have you but when you're a
filmmaker you don't care about that yes you want is made you want to make people
here you as possible but you really want that person sitting opposite you to
discuss with you seriously what you did because I'm unedited I'm pretty well
straight this is from the heart we're alive absolutely right now we don't and
we share the passion as well well you know and I guarantee you have the people you
talk to spent three or four years making a movie spend a couple years hold up
in an editing bay spent shitload of their own money their uncle's money
their grandma's money max out the credit cards they're inheritance yeah you know
they did crowdfunding you know they they irritated their friends on Facebook
you go that and then they got here or film festival like this and and it's
such a culmination and it's such a big deal for filmmaker to make it to this
point so yes so I want that filmmaker to have a rock star experience at my
film festival and part of that experience is having guys like you that will
look at them and go no we've done some research or we watched your movie and we
know about you or whatever and so we want to talk to you that's a big deal to
talk about them when they come on we here's the thing my top 10 of the year from
in December what was my number one film of the year it was from what the
death yes it was yes I broke the head last year was my number one film of the
year beat out anything because that thing told me up inside and that's something
like this can make my favorite film of the year that hit that salt matters you
know okay so also this is interesting a film we had here many years ago like
2007 2008 title of film was stuck in I'm sorry to Steven Ray and I'm near
I'm near Savari and and this film did not come out theaters until a couple
years later well interviews that we did as a film festival were on YouTube
were on you could find them on Google and people emailed me because in looking
up that film two years later they were sourcing the interviews the filmmakers
did here really after the fact yeah yeah and you go so it counts it matters and
because this stuff lives and and and and that's the thing is that what we say
here how we discuss films you know people are looking at people are googling the
ladies of the house it has no expiration date it's always there yeah exactly you
know that you know the films that you're talking you know Mr. Pig people like
I'm Diego Luna's you know award-winning film that you know they will find
here and you get all the all the cast of people to come in are so willing to do
this out of how many people we interviewed over the last three years doing this
and a part of that too is I've only had only one or two I just can't everybody
else is yes let's do this but you also think about the fact of the networking
aspect of it of how many filmmakers bring their films to the Dallas
International Film Festival because somebody else they knew had a film of
the Dallas International Film Festival and talked about that sense of
community and that sense of welcome that this this particular festival gives
and they're like no I want my film there because my friends that are filmmakers
had such an amazing experience there I want that to and I think that's that's a
really really awesome thing I go to LA in New York and I talk to a publicist
friends of mine and I and and for ten years now I've been telling them bring
your filmmakers to Dallas there's a reason why you want to and that reason is
the film audiences in Dallas are incredibly savvy about filmmaking they're
they're fans but they're not fan fans yes they're fans of filmmaking yes they
yes they're fans of as film goers but they're also very knowledgeable about
filmmaking my first year here we had David Lynch with the film Ellen Empire we had
a Q&A after this film the lasted 45 minutes wow I was trying to cut this thing
out after 30 minutes but he was having such a good time because the level of
questions he was enjoying so much then he gets him no let's get going
he was ready to talk in the lobby but that that is what Dallas that is a
magic of the Dallas audiences that they come to the Dallas International Film
Festival well let's talk about the films this year the film that you saw that
surprised you more than any other film well the liberators we had them on
earlier yeah I plan to see that tomorrow five incredible film the Pearl another
one you know I haven't say documentaries fall for me in a couple categories one
is I had no idea the second one is I thought I had an idea but I really had no
idea mm-hmm and you know and and both these films fall in that second
category where you're the liberators you know you're talking about you know a
young man who goes to war World War II you know from a very small town here in
Texas and you know and and and and during you know the the war you know
literally you know finds treasure in in in a church that they that they
patriated are repatriated and since it back through the mail to Texas and it
ends up in an attic in a little house in in a little literally one stoplight
town in Texas grandma's house yeah and you know and in boxes and taped up and
nobody really knows it's there and and what they know about this guy is that he
is a gay man in this tiny town in Texas and rather than your assumption would
be oh this guy's gonna be run out on a rail right no the town protects him like
a cocoon they protect him and take care of this guy and you know and and and
build this law around so even long after his death people are still
protecting his legacy and his memory so much so that it takes a while for them
to find the fact that they have this treasure that literally is worth four
hundred million dollars in a tiny little attic right so many crazy levels to
the story you know that that you would have no idea about you you go oh it's
just you know just in finding you know you know a few jewel encrusted
bibles and you know no no no no no no no no you know it's time to scrape in
the surface but that one you know the the the pearls another amazing one I saw
Singh Street love that oh so I have made a really entertaining a hooligan
sparrow which won an award tonight you know again this is a young Chinese
American woman's very first film she goes to China for three months to follow
this activist named hooligan sparrow who and and in the process of this actually
kind of becomes part of the story because the Chinese government is trying to
thwart this activism against them and it's the most inspirational story I saw
the film in Sundance you know James Fowl Sarah Harris they also the film in
Sundance and it's such a big deal to get this this you know a young woman
Nanfu Wang here and she ends up winning a big award that's awesome yeah yeah
amazing you know and then you go on to the side daylight's in yeah saw that one
does can save the good family film for yeah it's what you expect the other side
of the spectrum yeah exactly I'm midnight film about you know killer you know
killer vampire zombie days yeah set in Dallas yeah you know not a
Dallas we have to be on cell you know I mean I mean good on deep
battle with the right time of night and you'll see it's the fair point one
beef about that one film was this though DFW love field
Grand Prairie Addison Airport Air Force Base in Fort Worth but not one airplane
in the whole area hey everybody got out everybody got out there's no
not a plane to be out there I mean there wasn't one other plane in a whole
dip in the Air Force base right no there was not there was not one plan yeah
we've we've talked about this a couple of times tonight of a movie that really
hit me where I lived was life animated oh yeah I just I thought nothing could
affect me like that kid begins affected me last year life animated absolutely
destroyed me I agree I agree listen our opening night film the land you know
routinely for a very good reason film festivals will will start the film
festival often opening night gala with a light romantic comedy something that
will please as many people not offend as many people be as family friendly
whatever this was a daring ready first day film you know starting air cup
to do one you know one of our one of our own and it was such a such a daring
choice and such an exciting choice for this festival and it really speaks to
what this festival does so how much downtime do you get before we get ready to do
it all again literally one day literally one day I mean I mean honestly I mean
I will I will have you know kind of a couple days of I will actually see movies
myself this weekend although I'm tomorrow I will be doing a Q&A with Ed
Lockman one of our honorees after screening it far from heaven maybe watch a
movie or two because I want to watch movies because I like movies too you
are director of a film festival why would you want to watch a movie it's crazy
it's crazy talk right I'm thinkable but then after that then I will start right
back to work on the next film festival which will be the Oak Cliff film festival
here in Dallas in June and and then the debut the first the first women Texas
film festival which my wife Justina Walford is starting we have her on earlier
and that will be in August so those will be the next two the next two film
festivals and I'll start working on those immediately yeah I had a lot
I thought I had a lot going on we do more than just you know I now I feel like I'm
not doing enough we do more than just the death you know well that's the thing
you guys you guys don't know so many so many press members here you know don't
know is that yeah I got designs for all you guys okay well I mean I like the
fact and we don't like to chew our own horn but I am gonna break my arm pat
myself on the back the fact that we got to be the first podcast to broadcast
from the Dallas International Festival Festival I mean that's kind of cool you
know and the fact that we've gotten to do it again three years in it's still going
strong it keeps getting bigger it keeps getting better and it's still we were
just talking about with Hunter it still has the heart of a small film festival
yeah the number of filmmakers that stay to do the Q&As and the number of
filmmakers that we talk to that are like I got some of the most challenging
questions I've ever had in a screening at this film festival like you said
it's just that Dallas film fan has that that savvy to them yeah especially when
you're talking about venues like the Angelica like the Alamo which very
excited that they got involved this year that brand new that brand new
theater down there on on Lamar is absolutely I love that theater it's lovely I
mean it is a it is a very pretty place to see a movie absolutely and I can't
say I literally take time off from work and I asked like five months in a
fan I knew the dates because I love it there for every year from the opening
nights to the media night opening all the way to the end to like tonight it's
something special to me and I say my boss I'm taking some time off for this you
know when I very first came here in 2007 I said you know what
if I do my job correctly if we do our job correctly then yes every year people
will mark off those dates on their calendar and they'll go I'm sorry I I can't
do stuff on you know that we can have because that's that's that's you know
that's definitely that's what we do and and you go yes if you're doing it right
that's what happens and and that's the aim here you know whether it be the
programming whether it be you know me hopefully you know helping bring in more
and more bigger and bigger stars you know you know two Dallas for our
audiences here that's that's the aim and we also and something that we don't
talk about enough I think is what this spawns from the Dallas Film Society that
operates year round and people really should go to Dallas Film.org and get
involved there you know there are great year round screenings of it be a
screening series that you know that they do in conjunction with Chris Vodner
whether it be the you know family screening series that they do free
screenings you know they filmed camps the Dallas Film Society really really does
a great year round thing and yes you're absolutely right you know it it it's
wise you know it's smart if you love film to become a member and you know and
get on that mailing list and consistently get those emails because a lot of
times you will see films before they actually hit the theaters and even if
you're a casual film fan it's not it's not all indie films that you'll never
hear from again you've been to press screenings where the Dallas Film Society
has been there with us to screen major Hollywood films that are coming out you
see them sometimes more than just days ahead of time sometimes your weeks or
even months ahead of time and and brought people into talk that I mean that's
to be you know you know more and more you know you find as studios are
eventizing we call it which means that they're bringing their stars it
bringing their directors you know out to you know to to regional you know
locations you know other than New York and LA you know to talk about their
movies and to build up those audiences and the Dallas Film Society is a great
conduit for that they frequently bring people out for that purpose all right
before we let you go we got to ask a couple of questions I've been asking
everybody through here the next film that you're looking forward to give me
just watching just a watch a film that played tonight high rise that we had
high rise and I really I really really want to see that Tom Hiddleston huge
Tom Hiddleston fan so yeah so that so that one's a big deal yeah and the
your guilty pleasure film that's your go-to my guilty pleasure film Roadhouse
ha ha ha yeah family guys ruin that Roadhouse you know you know I because paint
don't hurt paint on her what do you think about the remake
Ronda Rousey involved doesn't need to happen I agree yeah yeah I mean I
know I I've been wanting to do my version of Roadhouse I don't think what
there but they have planned is remotely what I would be doing but you know
whatever sure sure Ronda I think it's worth mentioning as I was sitting here
trying to hold myself together knowing that we have karaoke going on in the
background and when does cry just got performed you realize it was on lead
vocal just then no that's what I was hoping for just this particular show
every year because everybody finally gets to exhale and just have a good time
well I've done I've done my David Bowie and I think I've got the Beatles coming up
that was you expecting me yes that was me well then go do do some karaoke John
thank you so much we have be more appreciative everything yes you all
thank you sir oh it's getting here we gotta have we wonder where Alex has been
all night yeah he's one of the three yep he's he's the third one that's done
the show every year say hello to everybody Alex hello hello got you who are a
little more involved this year than you've been in the past I actually saw a
couple of films that you were actually introducing this year yes well
officially my title and duties kind of grew in the scope instead of just being
Latino I am now in charge of Latino and world programming so if it's not in
English it goes to me now that's that's a deal are you ready for a nap yet
I'll sleep when I'm at he's afraid he goes if he goes to sleep he may not wake up
for a month that's fair point no no I'm a vampire so either isn't my family so
we're after DFS honors now let's just talk about some films films what was your
favorite film of the festival me sir pick I was still happy the one and couldn't
happen to a nicer guy when when Diego Luna sits right across from me and Don
shows me a note that says talk as long as you want I was like those sir are
dangerous words you know and I've got Jorge Gutierrez sitting right next to him
who high quality human beings such a man as a saint and the fact that he wants
to sit down with these two slubs and just talk fun I mean we talked film for
probably twenty twenty five minutes we said these don't assume you talk about
you and don't because I know you don't know you are a slug face it is there a
film because we've been asking this of a lot of people tonight was there a film
in the festival that surprised you that you saw that you went in going I'll
check this out and got came out of it going wow good question I don't think I
have one of those I kind of knew what I was going in for each of them and I mean
I watch most of them so it's for me to talk question to answer to the
honest how much time do you get to breathe before you start planning next year to
what how much time do you get to breathe before you start planning next year we
have until August okay she got a nice little break yeah however I'm right now
working on getting the Latino version of a full festival here so if
everything goes as planned we might be live in August these August or next
August oh wow I'm not planning on taking a break I don't do breaks I don't do
vacations and I don't know the weekend you know the word you asked us to yes we
will yeah yeah because you've been so so supportive of us and the whole film
festival really has been we know we're exhausted by the end of this night but
it is it's an exhaustion that's absolutely totally worth it this is so much
fun and it's like a tactic it's it really is and it's and we still get the
butterflies right before I flip everything on every time because it's just this
is this particular night is my favorite show of the year yes because you get
to see everybody just kind of gets to relax a little bit now or on the home
stretch the awards have been given out Devon Pikes in there doing karaoke so
people get to have a little fun and I we've talked about this tonight I loved
the lounge this year yes this is my this has been my favorite lounge so far of
the three years we've done this this has been my favorite as well because he has
been alive throughout the entire film festival absolutely it has to be
by year on a random night and people were just hanging out having a good time
and and it's the mood light the mood the places lit well for just kind of that
intimate mood and everybody's having a blast yeah and I think that it's the
10 years that people now know what to expect how to approach it how to
interact so just in general it's a it's like I love this festival I've been
waited for nine years and I plan to keep on going as long as they have me so you
and us both yes likewise yeah okay so we've kind of developed two final
questions so we want you to go enjoy the rest of the evening question number one
what's the next film you're looking forward to seeing
you know what I'm looking forward to it I'm a cautiously optimistic is how I'm
going I was cautiously optimistic on the all the critics have started
jissing their pants on about it and see that's what worries me too because I'm
like I can't I can't read for reviews because I don't want to cloud my mind okay
last question what's your deal oh I'm gonna ask me we're gonna ask you later
we're gonna ask him for once it was to the same time but that's all right what's
your guilty pleasure movie the girl next door that's a good movie Alisha
Cutpert are you kidding me I sure she's crazy as a loon but man that's a good
looking girl I had the futures crush on for backing popular mechanics for kids
she was on that yes she was the host of that I got interested in science and all
that shit because of her and what do we know about her Don what's that Alisha
of course with 24 baby and also I really love the film because it's funny and
it's it has a bit about filmmaking and the big that was the first DVD that I
watched with the directors commentary that when DVDs are started with like all
the special features and it's a film school the director goes shot by shot
why he did it how it got us done it's a film school for people who went to
make films Robert Rodriguez is really good with that where he does with
yeah he does like the 15 minute film school or whatever it's a film school and a
cooking class on most of his seriously I literally check them to let's
forget to ask me we're going to in a minute I have a plan you need to calm down
because we want Alex to enjoy the rest of the evening thank you sir we are
huge fans of you and we cannot thank you enough for having me and for being
here and see you next year absolutely you will excellent thank you so much
wait a minute we have dancing going on sir it looks like there's a wobble
currently going on all right Don how you feeling brother I'm I'm worried about a
friend have you heard anything not horrible but not you know still I'm good
that's why if you're just tuning in front of the show Gary Murray in a bit of
an accident earlier this evening he was taken to a local medical facility and
our thoughts are with him I can totally understand that not all the more
reason for us to start wrapping up because we're running out of you
stream time too my my the one I'm looking forward to is the X-Men but in the
next couple years is alien that's my far one I'm okay my guilty pleasures
wagons ease with John candy and a Brady Bunch film that wagons ease is a good
flick yeah let's wrap this up oh my goodness mercy I got to check on the
friend I absolutely do I am exhausted stay with us throughout the weekend can
make sure you're subscribing on iTunes you're going to be getting our wrap up
special coming by the end of the weekend we've got some reviews up on the
website chat anything else you want to add before we do the plugs because I
need to make sure the rest of the current health goes see favorite film
Lawrence of Arabia and I already told you my guilty film play a guilty film film
bad film pleasure film pleasure is five foot all right let's do the plugs right
visit our website www.clubhousepodcast.com find out everything you need to know
and some stuff you don't like our Facebook page look up the Clubhouse
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yes that Rob Irvin that is called ERVIN I'm at chat in DG69 I'm at
pondongo and you can email me at Don at the ClubhousePodcast.com email Don for
information if we can come to you for you what we're doing tonight at a great
time doing so you can email me questions comments concerned so I'm going to go
pound sand I am Rob at the ClubhousePodcast.com I am chat at the ClubhousePodcast.com
rest in peace prince yeah and Devon Pike has checked in I've turned it to a
wedding so what you really did Sharla Parker is on Pinterest because we are
morally obligated to say that pull a Sharla and did you guys get shots
did you guys get shut up did you guys get shots I don't drink sir did you get
shots no we did shots for prince and no no I'll have them make us another round
of it because it was actually really awesome well then let's get on that so
until next time I have to pee bullshit I'm running out of you stream time
for the love of God
I'm for Demon for Don for Chad for the Empire I'm Rob Clubhouse is closed