WEBVTT - For Love and Life: No Ordinary Campaign 0:00:01.480 --> 0:00:04.040 What if there were a way to reduce cancer deaths 0:00:04.160 --> 0:00:07.720 by half in the next twenty five years. This is 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:12.280 the future Exact Sciences works toward every single day because 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:17.079 they believe it's possible. Exact Sciences is a dedicated team 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:21.320 of cancer fighters united by a purpose to help eradicate 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:26.920 cancer by preventing it, detecting it earlier, and guiding personalized treatment. 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:37.720 Visit exact sciences dot com to learn more. Hi everyone, 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:47.040 I'm Kitty Kuric and this is next question. It all 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:51.160 began one Sunday afternoon in January of twenty twenty two. 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:55.160 I was scrolling on my phone per usual and saw 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:59.360 a Politico article about a couple named Brian Wallach and 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:03.120 Sondra Opera Vah. They had met when they both worked 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:07.319 on the Obama campaign. The piece was long but fascinating. 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:09.760 I read the whole thing and in the body of 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:14.000 it it said a documentary was being developed about Brian 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:18.040 and his life with als. So I called the reporter, 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:21.160 Sam Stein, and I said, Hey, Sam, can you introduce 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:25.600 me to these amazing people? He did so we subsequently 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:28.399 got on a zoom and what can I say? They 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:31.440 had me at Can you hear me? Now. A couple 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.600 of years later, a documentary called for Love and Life 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:39.600 No Ordinary Campaign is on Amazon Prime People, and I'm 0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:43.800 one of the executive producers. How cool is that? Now? 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:46.240 I'm not being hyperbolic when I tell you that Brian 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:49.600 and Sondra are two of the most remarkable people I've 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:53.080 ever met, and I've met a lot of people. In fact, 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:55.760 we are so in love we often joke that we've 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:59.520 become a throuple. Don't worry, Mulner, I'm just kidding. I 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:02.800 recently hosted a screening of the film in LA and 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:07.880 afterwards moderated a panel that's the conversation we're bringing you today. 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.720 Joining me were Brian and Sondra, of course, along with 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:16.000 other members of the documentary team, including director Chris Burke. 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:20.079 He and Brian have been friends since college. This screening 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:22.400 must have been the hundredth time I saw the movie, 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:26.800 but it still gives me goosebumps every time. What these 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:30.800 people have done to galvanize the ALS community and change 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:34.400 the face of this disease, whether it's increasing federal funding 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:39.079 to a billion dollars or making experimental drugs available to patients, 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:44.120 to making sure social security benefits are distributed immediately, not 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:48.800 six months after a diagnosis, is nothing short of miraculous. 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:52.679 When I think of Brian and Sondra, I always think 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:56.639 of this Margaret Mead quote, never doubt that a small 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:01.919 group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:05.880 is the only thing that ever has. By the way, 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:09.520 Brian has lost his ability to project when he speaks, 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:13.320 but he and Sondra communicate so well she's able to 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:17.480 understand what he's saying and translate for him. It's actually 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:21.520 a really beautiful thing to witness. Here's my conversation with 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:25.480 the team behind for Love and Life no ordinary campaign. 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:36.120 Good evening, Hi, thank you all so much for coming tonight. 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:38.920 This really means the world to all of us. And 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:44.080 thank you to Amazon. It's been remarkable for hosting this screening. 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:47.800 You might wonder what the hell is Katie Kuric doing here, 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:51.320 And I'll tell you how I got involved in this project. 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:53.080 A couple of years ago. 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:56.960 I was and remember distinctly, it was a Sunday afternoon. 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.960 I was scrolling through my iPhone what else is new? 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:05.040 And I saw an article on Politico with a photograph 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:07.960 of I'm not going to lie this really hot looking guy. 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:10.680 So I thought, I'm going to read this piece. This 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:15.920 looks really interesting, and I soon got to know Sondra 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:21.480 and Brian, who you obviously just watched during this remarkable film. 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:25.200 And I noticed it was written by a fellow named 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.440 Sam Stein, and Sam I had met him when he 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.280 worked at Huffington Post. I was like, Oh, I know 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:34.880 Sam Stein. I'm going to DM him on Twitter and 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.440 tell him what a great article he had written. And 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:41.760 deep in the body of the article it was mentioned 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:45.080 that they were developing a documentary working on a documentary, 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.440 and I said, I really want to be involved and 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:50.560 help in any way I could. So that's how I 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:55.400 got to know Brian and Sondra and it's been We've 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.920 been a throuple ever since. Sondra sometimes has a hard 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:01.760 time dealing with it, but other than that it's worked 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.920 out pretty well. But anyway, I have to say, becoming 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:09.880 an executive producer of this film has been one of 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:13.039 the highlights of my career. I'm so proud and honored 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:16.480 to be part of it. And we wanted to introduce 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.680 you and have a conversation with the other people who 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:22.719 were involved. As you know, it takes a village so 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:27.520 I'm excited to introduce the following people. Phil Rosenthal and 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:33.000 Jeff McGregor are also executive producers on this film. Producer 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:39.440 Tim Rummel, director and producer Chris Burke, and of course 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.080 Sondra Opraaviyah and Brian Wallack. 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:51.200 Gosh, I get chills. 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:51.440 You know. 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:54.760 We were in the back listening to the final moments 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.760 of the film, which we've all seen countless times, as 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:01.279 you can imagine, and I still got so moved. I 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:04.599 got goosebumps just listening to the final part. And Chris, 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.160 as the director, let's start with you. I'd love you 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:12.760 to tell everyone how you got to know Brian and 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:15.400 how this film the genesis of this film. 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.599 Yeah, Brian and I were friends in college. We just 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.760 had our twentieth reunion and we showed the film and 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:24.560 it was definitely not what I think either one of 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:26.680 us would have expected twenty years ago that we'd be 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:29.479 doing this together. Back then, I thought I was going 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:32.200 to be voting for this guy for president someday. He's amazing, 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:34.880 and he's always been this guy just like super likable, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.000 at engaging and hardworking and all of these things bringing 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:38.680 people together. 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:39.960 That was the joke. 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:41.960 At school like, oh yeah, wal it's going to be 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:45.359 president someday. So it turned out a little differently. But 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:47.839 this has been just the absolute honor of a lifetime 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:50.000 to work on this project with all these people and 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:54.000 to get to put my skills to use to tell 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:54.599 this story. 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:55.720 And it started with. 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:58.680 Just a simple ask from Brian when he was letting 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:01.560 people know about his diagnosis, that I had raised my 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:04.520 hand and said, hey, I you know, I'm not a neurologist, 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:08.720 but I can make films, so let me know. And 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:12.040 it started as a short launch spot for IMLS that 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:14.920 came out on the website when they launched in early 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:17.800 twenty nineteen. But when I went to Chicago to film 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:19.560 with him and met Sonder for the first time, I 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:23.760 was like, there's more here than a sixty second launch spot. 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:24.720 So we filmed for a. 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:27.640 Long time with the interviews, and then when I tagged 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:30.040 along with him to DC and the first testimony that 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:33.520 you saw where he ultimately breaks down in the hallway 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:36.480 after Rosa Deloro's beautiful words, that was when I knew 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:38.760 I was in it for much longer haul. 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:43.880 And you suggested to Brian and Sondra, hey, what about 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:45.720 doing a documentary on your story. 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:48.960 Yeah, I mean that was that was the plan, and 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:51.720 I think it took Brian was, if I recall, was 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:52.720 pretty into it right away. 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:54.960 Sondra took a little bit more convincing. 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.520 Not well, there weren't obscenities involved like with starting the 0:07:57.520 --> 0:07:58.560 ALS nonprofit. 0:07:59.040 --> 0:08:00.840 But you know it, it took a little bit. 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.320 But honestly, I mean kudos to them for having the 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.560 willingness not only does spend the time and effort with 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.320 me doing this, but the vulnerability, right, I mean, what 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:12.559 you see them going through, this is not fake. 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:14.400 This is not a movie. This is their lives. 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:17.040 And these are the lives of all the other families 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:20.200 that you saw in there too. Everybody is fighting so 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:24.360 hard for you know, to reference the title, for the 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:27.360 people that they love and to have more life with them, right. 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:34.200 Sondra and Brian, when Chris suggested this initially, I guess 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:38.640 what three years ago or so, what was your initial reaction? 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:42.520 Of course, Brian you were like, yeeha, let's go, but 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:45.960 talk about kind of what you really did have to 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:53.360 discuss before you gave this the green light. 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:10.960 We had a long conversation, what's that about? 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:17.600 How open we would have to be with the film, and. 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:27.400 We decided if that, if we were going to do a. 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:36.120 Film mm hmmmm, we would open up all of our lives. 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:38.520 And Sondra, what about you? 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.160 I mean, as as Chris said, you were a little 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:45.480 less excited about the prospect. Well, remember what were you 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:50.040 worried about them in front of me at the time 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:52.640 you worried about Sondra. 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:59.800 I think it's just very hard to show people how 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:05.080 painfulness is. But I knew how important ultimately it would 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:09.880 be for everyone to see both the joy and the 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:13.120 laughter that you can find in the darkest times, and 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.720 also what it feels like to cry on the kitchen 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:21.760 floor in total agony, because it is so hard to 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:24.920 be a caregiver, and I think there's so many caregivers 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:29.440 that need to see someone else living truthfully with that 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:31.200 pain and feel seen. 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:37.840 Well, it did that, you know beautifully obviously. And Phil, 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:41.480 you like me, are an executive producer, And I'm curious 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:45.199 how what drew you to the story. I know you 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:49.080 had a personal experience that made you that really made 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:51.000 you gravitate to the subject matter. 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:56.600 My mom passed from als and it was horrible, and 0:10:57.480 --> 0:10:59.959 right around that same time, I think did you reach 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:03.080 out to me, Sondra, Yeah, I stalk to you. I think, yes, 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:07.320 I instantly fell in love with both of you and 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.360 your story. And I saw a rough cut and I 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:14.199 was in And I'm just so proud to be associated 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:16.560 with you guys in any way. I'm just proud to 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:19.720 be friends, let alone this wonderful piece of work that 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:24.920 you all did. Yeah, I just think it's a beautiful story. 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:29.439 It's an uplifting story. It's not a downer you know, 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:34.040 you might think it would be, but this is a 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:40.200 love story. It's a very human story. It's a somewhat 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:43.120 of a political story, but it's a David and Goliath 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:47.240 story ultimately, with Goliath being the United States government. 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:51.120 But it's so uplifting, don't you think. 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:57.280 It's It's got such a hopeful, happy ending. 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:03.400 And in today's world, that's don't you need We need this. 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:07.440 We need to see that the government can actually work 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:08.760 and do something good. 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:13.080 I think we need to see heroes. Honest, Sesson, they 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:16.439 are here, I think. I think, yeah, you are heroes 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:21.959 to so many people. When we come back, we hear 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:24.680 about the first time Brian spoke to a group of 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:29.520 als scientists who had never met a patient with the disease. 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:37.040 What if there were a way to reduce cancer deaths 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:40.320 by half in the next twenty five years. What if 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:44.120 it were the future our children, our loved ones, our world. 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:45.400 Could actually wake up to. 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:50.040 This is the future Exact Sciences works toward every day 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:55.120 because they believe it's possible. Exact Sciences is a dedicated 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:59.320 team of cancer fighters united by a purpose to help 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:03.960 eradicate cancer by preventing it, detecting it earlier, and guiding 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:08.600 personalized treatment. They bring together the best in visionary thinking 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:13.120 and scientific rigor to create tests including COLI guard and 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:19.199 Onchotype DX that inspired life changing action. Visit exact sciences 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:27.840 dot com to learn more. We're back with the team 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:33.280 behind for Love and Life no Ordinary campaign. Jeff, I 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:36.800 know at the time you were working at the Chansuckerberg Initiative. 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:41.000 You came on as executive producer. By the way, CZI 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:44.120 was so important to this film. It would not have 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:48.920 been made without czi's support. So tell me about the 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:53.439 partnership between this film and the Chansuckerberg Initiative. 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.800 First time I met Brian was at a meeting that 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:01.160 the Chanzuckerberg Initiative was putting on where we were bringing 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.520 together a whole bunch of grantees in the field of 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:08.840 nerd degeneration. And so these are researchers who are studying 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:11.800 a whole bunch of different disease across nerded generation and 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.360 believe it or not, when Brian spoke to them, it 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.360 was the first time many of these people had spent 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:21.520 years studying their disease areas had ever actually seen or 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:25.280 heard from somebody with the disease of which they were studying, 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:28.640 somebody with the lived experience. And I, you know, I 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.480 wish that I can say that that was an isolated incident, 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:33.880 but it's not. It happens again and again and again. 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:40.400 And the insights that patients bring into their disease area, 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:44.160 as we saw in this film, is absolutely critical to 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:50.680 accelerate progress across diseases. Whether that disease is als, you know, 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:54.560 the progress that you can make in understanding the underlying 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:58.480 mechanisms of that disease is going to reverberate across a 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.239 whole bunch of different degenerative diseases. 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:02.840 And so I met. 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:06.120 Brian and Sondra early on I think it was twenty eighteen, 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:11.240 shortly after that meeting, and I saw what they were doing. 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:13.920 I saw what Chris was doing, and I said, you know, 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:17.960 if we can capture this story, if we can, if 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:19.880 anybody is going to do it, if anybody is going 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:24.720 to change the broken systems that underlie our healthcare system, 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:28.120 it's these two and we need to capture it because 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:30.600 not only are we following a beautiful love story, but 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:36.200 we're also archiving history and we're showing everybody else moving forward. 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:38.520 We're giving them the playbook to be able to do 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:41.560 this again, to be able to mobilize communities and build 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:45.680 movements and put pressure in the right way on our 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:51.680 government and on our legislators to accelerate progress against rare 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:53.200 and neurodegenerative diseases. 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:53.640 Yeah. 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.920 Can you just talk briefly of Jeff about rare as one, 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:01.280 because you had an interest both in neurode degenerative diseases 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:05.720 but also in rare diseases, which CCI was really focused on. 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:06.880 That's right. 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:12.440 Chanzuckerberg Initiative has a program called rare as one, and 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.880 it's built on the premise that rare diseases in aggregate 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:21.240 are not rare at all. No, collectively, I've heard some 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:25.440 numbers that now were up to almost ten thousand rare diseases, 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:30.520 different diseases they affect in aggregate, I think over three 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:33.480 hundred million people. That's almost the entire population of the 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:38.920 United States. Yet for many of these patients, when you 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:41.640 are diagnosed with your disease and you expect to find 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.240 a system in place that's not there, and so often 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:49.560 the burden is put on the patients, their families, their caregivers, 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:53.600 and so rare as one was designed to make sure 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:57.560 that patients have an equal part at the table in 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:01.680 the research community, with the funds, with the government, with 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:05.000 the researchers, with academia, so that we can move forward progress. 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:08.600 And Brian and Sondra were one of the earliest architects, 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:13.080 working with leadership across the chance like a Berg initiative 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:16.280 to make sure that we were building this program in 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:19.240 a way that would serve the communities. 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:20.160 And their advocacy. 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:24.360 Has really become a blueprint for so many rare diseases 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:29.480 and different organizations that are trying to you know, get 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:34.360 these diseases off the back burner, get awareness, funding and attention. 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:34.880 Right. 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:37.520 That's that's absolutely right, and I think you know you'll 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:40.040 see them you'll see that throughout the movie. These the 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:44.040 visualization of the playbook. Brian and Sondra wrote and open 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:47.600 source the playbook so that others, if they have the 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:51.720 unfortunate situation of being in a situation like this, there's 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:54.880 a there's a roadmap, there's a path, and that wasn't 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:57.840 there before. And Brian and Sondra were so so integral 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:02.160 in in forging that origine one and and the cz 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:04.879 I wanted to make sure that we could scale that 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:05.919 for others. 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:09.320 Jim, why don't you talk about your involvement in the 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:13.240 in this project, why you believed in it so much, 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:17.160 and some of the challenges every step of the way 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:19.320 in terms of getting it done. 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:23.000 I think, you know, on a night like tonight, we're 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:25.440 sitting up here on the stage with you know, really 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:30.480 esteemed supporters and producers, and it's it's it feels like, 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:33.080 oh wow, this was a really like this movie was 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:35.800 a big deal, but it was really Uh, it was 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:40.280 really Chris shooting, you know, shooting his friend and and 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:42.520 Chris and I had worked together for a long time, 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:45.640 and he started to show me some of the footage 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:47.199 that he'd shot and talked to me about what he 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:49.960 was capturing, and so I was the second person on 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:52.480 board and and very much in the spirit of Brian. 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:55.600 And Sandra, like this was the little film that could. 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:59.200 And we met Jeff and Chan Zuckerberg came on board 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:02.000 to support us so we could keep shooting and keep going, 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.240 and then we met Katie and Phil they came on board. 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:10.200 It's really been this incredible like movement of its own. 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:13.920 And then Amazon came on board to bring the film 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:15.000 to millions of people. 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:16.480 So it's amazing. 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:22.760 Chris. 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:28.080 You know, obviously this is such an intimate film, and 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:31.720 someone mentioned that earlier to us today and I forgot. 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:34.760 You know, Brian is in the shower, as Sondra mentioned 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:41.560 that really heartbreaking scene where she's on the floor, kitchen floor. 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:46.840 I think every person could relate to what Sondra was 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:50.720 feeling seeing someone she's loved so much going through this, 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:55.639 and diseases so often affect the entire family. But during 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.920 the course of the filming, were you worried at any 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:01.960 point that, oh, oh, nobody's going to want to watch this, 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:05.600 it's just too depressing. I mean, I never felt that way, 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:07.080 But were you worried about that? 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:09.639 I never felt that way either. 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:12.439 Because I had come into this by way of Brian Wallack, 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:15.239 who I knew from twenty years ago as this like 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:19.600 almost mind bogglingly optimistic person just with a you know, 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:20.880 just this was the guy. 0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:23.159 You know, I said, he looks really good in the shower. 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:26.320 Yeah, And by the way, Sundra filmed that, I didn't, although, 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:28.520 you know, in a pinch, I'm sure it would have been. 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:30.879 Fine glad to hear that, because I was thinking it 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:32.720 was sort of creepy, Chris, if you were in. 0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:35.000 There with they, you know, anything for the art and 0:20:35.040 --> 0:20:36.840 the storytelling, you've got to do what we got to do. 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:42.080 But I wasn't worried because I knew that we were 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:46.040 going to find this thread of universal humanity here, starting 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:48.639 with them and then with all the other families. And 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:50.359 I feel like, you know, so many of the people 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:52.320 that I got to know through the making of this 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:55.240 are now friends, like Dan Tate, you know, I text 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:57.679 with that guy. He's great, you know, like, and all 0:20:57.800 --> 0:20:59.760 all of these people that I've gotten to know, and 0:20:59.800 --> 0:21:02.760 I see so much of that love and so much humor. 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:05.400 I mean, the part where Dan is busting Brian's balls 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:06.720 because Brian promised. 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:08.439 Steve they'd get the bill passed by the end of 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:08.720 the year. 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:12.200 I mean, there's so many moments of humor and levity 0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:15.480 in the face of these insane odds, and you know, 0:21:15.520 --> 0:21:18.120 we all worked really hard to focus on those aspects 0:21:18.119 --> 0:21:21.040 because we all know the statistics, We all know lu 0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:24.320 gerrig and what happened. That's not what we're talking about here. 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:27.600 We're talking about flipping the narrative. We're talking about making 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:30.920 it something that goes from impossible to possible. As Brian 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:33.720 has said to me many times through this process, everything's 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:36.640 impossible until it's not. And it takes all of us 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:40.000 in our way, you know, the team up here and beyond. 0:21:40.440 --> 0:21:41.959 What it took to get this film out is a 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:44.800 microcosm of what Brian talks about in the film, where 0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:47.360 if we're going to defeat Als, it's going to take everyone. 0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:49.239 Everyone's got to do their part. You got to look 0:21:49.240 --> 0:21:50.719 in the mirror and see, hey, what can I do. 0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:52.600 You know, I couldn't have done this alone, but with 0:21:52.680 --> 0:21:55.600 Tim and you and Phil and Jeff and everyone, we 0:21:55.680 --> 0:21:58.320 made it happen because it was important and we knew 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:00.239 that we could change lives with this thing. 0:22:04.520 --> 0:22:07.719 After this quick break, how Brian and Sondra's careers in 0:22:07.800 --> 0:22:14.560 politics helped them navigate Congress and usher in true change. 0:22:16.400 --> 0:22:18.520 If you want to get smarter every morning with a 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:21.840 breakdown of the news and fascinating takes on health and 0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:25.200 wellness and pop culture, sign up for our daily newsletter, 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:33.560 Wake Up Call by going to Katiecuric dot com. We're 0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:36.159 back with the team behind for Love and Life No 0:22:36.440 --> 0:22:37.440 Ordinary campaign. 0:22:39.000 --> 0:22:42.800 I'd just say that, you know, Brian's spirit, his positivity, 0:22:43.240 --> 0:22:46.240 his optimism was a touchstone for us in the editing 0:22:46.280 --> 0:22:48.359 of the movie, and so it was something that we 0:22:48.440 --> 0:22:50.720 kept coming back to and saying, Okay, it needs to 0:22:50.760 --> 0:22:51.200 be funny. 0:22:51.200 --> 0:22:52.600 Brian's really funny. 0:22:52.359 --> 0:22:57.920 Like, wait a second, do you like bad dad jokes? 0:22:58.320 --> 0:22:58.639 Now? 0:22:58.760 --> 0:23:01.400 Phil is really well. 0:23:01.840 --> 0:23:04.119 The dynamic between you two is funny. You know. 0:23:05.840 --> 0:23:09.080 Well, you know, I think one thing that's that's so 0:23:09.359 --> 0:23:13.199 clear among many things, I mean obviously your sense of 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:17.959 humor Brian Andensandra and and the love story, but also 0:23:18.640 --> 0:23:23.359 your political acumen, because I think not everyone would have 0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:29.040 been able to understand Capitol Hill, how to navigate it, where, 0:23:29.280 --> 0:23:34.960 how to even appear and testify before Congress. And I'm curious, Brian, 0:23:35.160 --> 0:23:41.000 how your work within politics and specifically or not not specifically, 0:23:41.080 --> 0:23:45.879 but your work with the Obama campaign, how that informed 0:23:45.880 --> 0:23:50.520 your approach to tackling this problem and to get real, 0:23:51.400 --> 0:23:52.280 real results. 0:23:57.119 --> 0:24:16.240 The campaign made me aware of my power, and it 0:24:16.320 --> 0:24:31.879 also made me never take no for an answer. And 0:24:31.920 --> 0:24:39.480 so I was lucky enough to be married to Sandra, 0:24:47.200 --> 0:24:49.080 who had worked on Capital Hill. 0:24:54.920 --> 0:24:58.480 And who helped me. 0:25:02.160 --> 0:25:19.040 Open those first doors, which is so important because because 0:25:19.080 --> 0:25:30.440 once people see you do. 0:25:30.480 --> 0:25:41.480 It, they believe that they can do it as well. 0:25:48.840 --> 0:25:51.480 And Sondra, I just would love to pick up what 0:25:51.840 --> 0:25:55.800