WEBVTT - Setting the Record Straight with Paul Feig 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.760 Welcome everyone to this episode of being the in TJ. 0:00:06.000 --> 0:00:11.800 We have a legend in the studio. Well have you 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.200 heard of a little movie called Bridesmaids? Or how about 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:20.239 the Heat? There's Ghostbusters from twenty sixteen, a simple favor 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:25.040 and this soon to be new mega hit another simple favor. 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:27.840 And I'm just talking about the big screen small screen. 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:32.640 I mean Freaks and Geeks, Arrested, Development, Nurse Jackie, Madmen, 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:36.519 the Office, Parks and Recreation, thirty Rock. I mean, it 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:38.760 just goes on and on and on. 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:40.960 I'm exhausted hearing about my career. 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:46.919 But TJ. Obviously we're talking about producer, director, and the 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:50.160 amazing man behind all of this, the comedic genius Paul 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:53.000 fig But he's more than that to us, is he not? 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:55.960 He is, And we haven't talked about this with him yet. 0:00:56.040 --> 0:00:58.200 He's in the studio right here. We're going to talk 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:02.480 to him. But Paul, you you were one of the 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:07.440 very last interviews we did before leaving ABC. Yes, you 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:11.040 were one of the very last ones. And we walked 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:14.080 out of that interview. I said, yes, we're familiar with 0:01:14.120 --> 0:01:17.640 you movies that that is my favorite director. Because we 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:21.360 met you, we were so excited Rose that day, like 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.240 he is the coolest freakin' dude, and we had the 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:27.520 greatest time with you, and that is one of our 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:29.080 final memories of ABC. 0:01:29.319 --> 0:01:29.960 I'm not kidding. 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:34.119 I remember it very fondly, very fondly. We were making martiniz. 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:37.319 Right, yes exactly, we were making mocktails, remember that, because 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:40.400 it's Disney and we weren't allowed to actually use alcohol. 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:42.480 But I do believe you left behind a gift for TJ. 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:43.440 Yes, yeah, a. 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:46.400 Bottle of your gins, which I will I'll do. I'll 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:49.760 tell it at the end, But you when we left ABC, Paul. 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:52.800 This sounds crazy, but one of the first disappointments and 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:54.600 things that came to my mind had to do with 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:56.240 a memory of you. 0:01:56.440 --> 0:02:00.720 And I'll explain at the end. I cyppointing people. 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:03.680 But yeah, but welcome everybody, who's the Paul Veiga two. 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:07.840 I'm with you. 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:10.760 Oh, we are so excited, and today is a big 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:14.440 day because last night we're recording this the day after 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.840 your big movie premiere here in New York with the 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:21.320 red carpet. What did how? How did it go? How 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:22.040 did you feel? 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:24.200 It was fantastic? It was so much fun. 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.239 We did it an Jazz at Lincoln Center, which is 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.400 an amazing theater to show movies in. Dear Hollywood. Do 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:33.880 all your premieres in New York at that jazz Jazz. 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.760 It's it's fantastic because we always used to do premieres 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:39.560 at the Zigfeld and then that closed. And the Zigfeld 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:41.600 was nice because it was big, but it was always 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:44.320 kind of a barn and it was really long and narrow, 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:46.280 and the kind of sound wasn't great and stuff. So 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:49.440 this it was just spectacular, you know, eleven hundred people 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:50.800 and the place was rocking. 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:51.080 You know. 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.919 The movie's very fun. It gets a lot of response 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:57.080 from an audience. Yeah, laughs and screams and gasps and 0:02:57.120 --> 0:02:58.640 all that kind of thing, and it was we just 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:00.880 had the best time. How's the New your premiere compared 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:03.560 to a LA premiere? I like a New York premiere 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.559 a little bit better, just because people are very responsive. 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.080 You know, LA is such a dustry town. 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:12.840 I mean, you know, they hoot and holler and share, you. 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:15.840 Know, so they're like, okay, well, you know, because there's 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:17.640 a my people in the business who are too cool 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:20.919 to laugh. But we still get good audiences in LA. 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:24.000 But New York, you know God, yeah, I mean in 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.480 the movie is just like you said, it's a fun 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:29.200 wild ride and it's just beautiful to look at all. 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:29.600 Thanks. 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.840 I mean, Capri, does it get? Does it get more 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:33.600 beautiful than that? 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:35.400 Wherever you point a camera in Capri, you got a 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:38.120 beautiful shot. So yeah, it was I'm I'm you know, 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:40.320 I really wanted to make this eye candy make it. 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:40.560 You know. 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.160 The keyword for these simple favorite movies is they have 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.280 to be delicious, and I think this one's extra delicious. 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:47.440 We have to be honest. 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:49.240 We missed about a third of the movie because we 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:52.240 were planning our next vacation because we were so inspired 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:53.240 by what we were seeing. 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.600 You were, well, that's my favorite place of vacation, and 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:58.320 I just can really, I completely screwed myself because now 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.080 whoever's going to book and I'm gonna be get it's 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:01.440 so true. 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.600 You're gonna white Lotus Caprio. Everyone's gonna watch the movie 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:06.480 and then book their plane tickets and no one's going 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:07.160 to get into. 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:07.600 Gabrie this year. 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:10.840 That's hilarious. So I was looking today because it's been 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.600 wildly just people love this movie for the exact reason 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:17.840 you said. It's fun it's amazing, the cast incredible. You've 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:19.880 got Blake and Anna. And then I was looking at 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:21.520 some of these stupid headlines and I know you've been 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:23.640 dealing with a lot with them, but there's this like 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:28.240 fake beef that and I cannot stand this when people 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:30.600 pit and I say people, but certain and I don't 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.560 even want to call them journalists, certain outlets try to 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:35.680 pit women against each other. And they were even doing 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:38.640 like body language experts as to how Anna and Blake 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:40.120 were on the red carpet last. 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:43.479 Night, flat out misogyny heads. I mean, I'm telling you, 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:46.400 it drives me crazy. And I spend all the I 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:49.279 spend half my time putting these rumors out. We were just 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.719 in Austin in the you know, the south By Southwest 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.680 Film Festival. I'm in the back with with Anna and 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:56.120 Blake and then the rest of the cast, and we're 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:58.080 doing these videos together and they're having the best time 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:00.159 and they're talking and laughing and all this stuff. And 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:02.680 then like people are putting on the internet, Oh, you know, 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:05.640 Blake's very mad at all this all, Like you guys, 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:08.400 it doesn't it's not true, but they just I don't know, 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.359 they somehow they love the pit women against each other. 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.159 And then I was just putting myself in their place 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:17.400 because they were saying that Anna Side hugged Blake, and 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:19.599 I'm just thinking that gets in your head. You think 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:22.440 everything I do, every move I make. Anytime you've been 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.840 followed by paparazzi, you know every facial expression you make 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:28.640 is going to be misinterpreted to fit the narrative that 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:31.080 they wanted to I was angry for it. 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:33.560 We've been fighting before, and I say, look, we got 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:36.960 a whole hands yeah, crushing each other. 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:41.719 Smile, don't look like you're not at me, because there'll 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:43.000 be a whole story about it. 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:48.440 But you know what, there's so much useless outrage these days. 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:50.799 There's plenty of stuff to be outraged about, my god, 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:55.960 right now, there's but the outrage over pop culture and 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:57.919 that kind of stuff is like, you, guys, you gotta 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:02.200 get channel that energy into some meaningful Please stop with 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:02.560 it all. 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:05.520 But you said just a second ago, how you put it, 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.320 But you feel like you're trying to put out fires. 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:10.440 You still, as much as that stuff is out there, 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.560 you still feel like it's necessary to find a way. 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.719 From a business standpoint and maybe from a personal standpoint 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:18.080 to still try. 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:20.000 To combat some of those headlines. You know what I mean. 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.880 I mean, business wise, it's not bad and any controversy 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:24.799 is good. I'm always like, no press is bad press. 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:27.120 But I just I know these people, and I like 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:29.120 these people so much that I work with that I 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:32.400 want to defend them when somebody just telling blatant lies. 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:34.440 It makes me crazy. 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.599 Because you know, and it's why, you know, I have 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:38.480 so many rules that I break all the time. But 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.440 you know, I really screwed up on social media when 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:45.279 Ghostbusters came out because I started fighting publicly with trolls 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:48.320 and it's losing them every time, every time, and I 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:50.520 was like, okay, so I never again. Just don't respond those. 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:52.440 But sometimes some of you will just say something is 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:55.200 so infuriating and they've got enough of a reach where 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.120 you're like, I just I gotta stamp this. 0:06:57.440 --> 0:06:59.880 Yeah, do you went on Twitter when obviously we know 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:04.039 all of the the Blake and Ryan have been going 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.600 through it with all of the Justin Valdini thing. You 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:08.920 actually did though, You broke your rule and you went 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:10.240 onto Twitter to defend her. 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:11.360 Yeah. I love Blake. 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.120 I love Blake, and you know, I just I don't 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.560 like to see people who I really like, who I 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.960 know are good people to get, you know, get bad 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:24.600 mouth are just to be taken down for false reasons. 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:27.640 What you just said, I haven't heard anybody say it 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:30.800 in a while. There's no press is bad prece but 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:33.920 that still kind of sticks in a situation like this. 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:35.680 There's a curiosity people are talking about it. 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:38.560 They're going to possibly about awareness. You want to be 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:40.600 aware of your project, whatever it is. 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:42.400 And if they're talking about they're talking about it, if 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.880 they're gonna hate watch it? Sure, Hey, you know, click's 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:47.360 the same as a click or taking the box office 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:48.600 is the same whether you liked it or hate or. 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:53.920 So another simple favor. It drops on Amazon Prime Video 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:57.080 on May first. So what is when you when you 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:02.920 measure success with versus the theaters? How do you how 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:04.920 do you measure success as a director of Prouser when 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:06.560 you're when your projects live in streaming? 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.480 Well, I mean they the metrics change a lot. It 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.239 used to be completion rates, you know, like who watches 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.240 at the end. Then it was like minutes watch. Then 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:15.920 it's kind of like how far into it they go? 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.840 So they keep kind of moving the bar for me, 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:20.720 It's just like whether we're getting talked about, whether I'm 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:24.160 getting good feedback people like it, and then whatever number 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:27.520 metric they have, if it's high for however they're judging it, 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:28.080 I'm happy. 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:30.280 So but it's a little hard, you know. I'm so 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:30.880 I'm such an. 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:33.600 Old school, you know, theatrical guy that I used to 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:36.400 box office an opening weekend. So you know, my last 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.280 it's I think my fourth movie now that's been a streamer, 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:42.240 and uh, you know, it's different. I love being in theaters. 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:45.360 You know, thank you Amazon for for letting us make 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:47.160 this movie. But you know, I'm excited that my next 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:49.040 movie is going to be in theaters on Christmas. 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:52.079 So you said four movies of yours have gone, You've 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:53.440 done the streaming thing. Does it? 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:56.120 How do the Does the process feel any different if 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:58.520 you're shooting a movie that's going to Yeah, you're. 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:02.040 Already shaking hand. Yeah, the same. What about promotion and 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:03.760 how you go about getting word out? 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:09.480 I mean, the slippery thing is that, like almost all 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.959 theatrical movies kind of go into the culture and become 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.560 a thing unless they're really really small, but they get 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:17.720 talked about. People want to talk about movies for some 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:20.079 reason streamers. I think there's so many movies that come 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.520 out on streaming and some of the TV shows, and 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:25.160 there's certain movies that they call kind of programmers, which 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:28.560 are just kind of like filler. You know, those generally 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:32.440 become the giant hits, you know, that the unexpected thing, 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.560 like some weird little Western romance or something suddenly goes 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:37.160 through the roof and takes out the movie that costs 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:41.040 two hundred million dollars. But yeah, it's I find it 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:45.640 slightly harder to get people excited about streaming movies. This 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:48.000 one's different because it's you know, it's got the pedigree 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.160 of being a sequel that people really liked. But in generally, yeah, 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:52.719 you kind of got to fight a little harder to 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:54.880 get people to watch. 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.960 A simple favor. I mean, I love that the original 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:00.240 of the first movie in that it really became him 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:04.160 a cult classic and it took was it. I mean 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:07.320 I watched it streaming, I didn't watch it in the theater. Yeah, 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.199 and so you see how these movies get life. And 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.280 at what point were you then thinking I can do 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:13.600 a sequel for this movie. 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.439 Yeah, because you're right, I mean, it did really well 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:18.240 in the theaters. We made like one hundred million dollars 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:20.960 worldwide off of a twenty million dollar budget, so that 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:24.280 was considered success, but still that only has limited reach. Yeah, 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:26.760 it was really during the pandemic. I think when it 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:27.400 really started. 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:29.360 That's when I saw it. That is when I saw it. 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:31.120 Yeah, and then it's just and then when it hit 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:32.920 net because that was I think it was on Amazon 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:34.320 I think, and then when I went to Netflix it 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:36.360 they had this whole resurgence. We were number one all 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:38.320 over the world, and it was that was when we 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:39.959 were kind of like, well, maybe we should. There was 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.240 interest in doing it. It's always been a I love 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:44.600 these characters, and it's always when I was like, maybe 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:56.040 there is a sequel in those I think yeah, And 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:57.560 so that just kind of was like, let's do it. 0:10:57.600 --> 0:10:59.240 And Amazon stepped up. We had a little bit of 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:01.880 a bidding war with other places, but they did it. 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:04.840 That's what you mentioned because I was telling TJ. Obviously 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:07.520 we love you for your brilliant mind and also just 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:10.720 your amazing personality, but I love as a woman how 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:16.720 much you have put strong female leads in big movies 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:20.200 box office successes. Just reiterating the fact that women can 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:22.680 sell tickets and women will go out to watch other women? 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:27.120 What have you all? Like, Melissa McCarthy like, obviously you 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:29.960 just think about all your movies. What is it about 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:32.320 that you weren't afraid to do that? I think you 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:34.560 know it's it wasn't about romance and this is about 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:39.120 the girl getting the guy. They're interesting, creative, unique stories 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.560 about powerful, interesting, diverse women. Yeah. 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:45.360 I mean, I just I love I love women. I 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:48.040 all my friends have been women. You know, since I 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:49.679 was a kid, and I was an only child, I 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:52.280 was really close with my mom, and I've always hated 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.559 the way that women are portrayed in movies in the 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.720 last number of decades versus the movies of the thirties 0:11:57.720 --> 0:11:59.640 and forties, when all the women were kind of equals 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.240 with the men, and they were strong characters and stuff 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:05.120 and three dimensional. And then suddenly, you know, especially in 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:08.600 the comedy world, it became very male dominated and all 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:10.560 the women were just kind of props and you know, 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.720 just foils and stuff like this. And I knew so 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:17.680 many talented women in the business who were playing these 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.240 terrible roles on screen and not getting to showcase what 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:22.400 they do. And I was just like I want to 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:24.880 correct that. And also I just I'm just I'm just 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:26.920 more interested in stories about women. I don't know it 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:29.319 just for some reason. I grew up watching all these 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:31.839 male dominated stories, and it's fine, and I enjoy those, 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:33.480 but I don't have a lot to say about those 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:35.000 about the male condition. 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.360 You said, naturally, you gravitate me, you talk about your 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:42.120 friends and the people you're around. But did you also 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.080 identify an opportunity and avoid. 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.800 Well, I mean, it wasn't It wasn't that calculated, you know. 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:49.720 I was just I kind of just relate to these 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:52.360 female characters more. And after I did Freaks and Geeks. 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:54.480 You know, my favorite character right for it was Lindsay, 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:57.600 you know, the part that Linda Carter Leading played, And 0:12:57.640 --> 0:12:58.959 so coming out of that, I was like, I want 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:02.920 to tell more female centric stories and started pitching them. 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:06.439 But then that would always be told by whatever studio person. 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:09.320 Oh no, you can't, because internationally women don't sell blah 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:11.760 blah blah, and you kind of you. I was green 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:13.559 enough then to go like, oh, oh, I didn't realize 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:16.199 it was a rule. Sorry, sorry, And then after a 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:17.720 number of years you started going like, well, why is 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:20.000 that a rule? That's crazy. Like women are more than 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.560 half the population of the planet. Clearly they want to 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:26.720 see stuff, you know, that they can relate to. And 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:30.880 then fortunately, you know, Bridesmaids came along, you know, and 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:33.360 then jud had it had just worked with Kristin and 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:35.719 I'd worked with Kristin on a movie, a Christmas movie 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:39.120 that I'd made, and you know, he was like, hey, 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.120 I know you like to do female centric stuff. You 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.319 want to, you know, work on this. And it took 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:45.320 a few years, kind of fell apart for three years, 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:47.240 and then it came back out of out of nowhere 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:48.240 and thank God. 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:48.560 For the movie. 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:51.240 Is that pushback you talk about steel there or is 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.160 it has there been enough success with female leaves that 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:54.559 that's not. 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:57.160 I can only speak for myself. I now that I'm 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:58.880 known that I do that. It just I don't get 0:13:58.920 --> 0:13:59.920 a lot of pushback on that. 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:04.240 I'm the man now when I was green. 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:07.880 But what I think though, is I don't know if 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:10.000 that happens for a lot of other people. And so 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:14.000 there's still there's not enough women, you know, there's still 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:17.040 the disparity is still too wide. 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:19.480 It's just I just love how creative you are with 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:21.960 with the roles too, and the types of stories you're 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:24.800 telling about women and they're funny, and I just I love, love, 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.440 love love watching all of your movies. You mentioned we 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.120 well you're very busy. But I've seen you your inking 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.720 deals here, your inking deals there. You've got multi year 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:36.560 contracts movies with Lionsgate. You just did is it Warner 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:40.240 Brothers for television? So what, like, what are you? What's next? 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:41.240 I'm so excited. 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:43.160 Oh, we had a lot of stuff in the pipeline. 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:45.440 It's very exciting. Yeah, we're I mean, we're just developing 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:46.200 a lot of things. 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:46.400 You know. 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:49.680 I love television. That's you know, that's where I came from. Uh, 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:52.000 movies are my passion. But yeah, there's a lot of 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.400 TV projects. There's the original that I wrote that we're 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:56.000 trying to they were setting up right now. 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:58.080 That will be a lot of fun. 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:00.480 And we just have a lot of all the people 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.760 we work with. You know, I get tired of my 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:06.960 own voice in my work, and so that's why it's 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:11.080 I don't write a lot of original movies anymore, as 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.400 much as I'll rewrite ideas that are brought to us, 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.000 because I want other people's take on the world. You know, 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:21.680 it's really exciting to get something that you would never 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:24.280 have thought of yourself, you know, or what. Like, I 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:25.880 love watching things that I just like, you know, I 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:29.360 just saw Sinners, which is the most amazing movie. It's amazing, 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:31.880 and I just thought, I just Ryan, like, how did 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:34.080 you write that? But like that comes from his experience 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:36.360 and things that he wanted to say. And I love 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:38.280 that when I go like wow, that's when I see 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:39.360 something I would never. 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:41.520 Have thought to do. Is really exciting. 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:43.520 And so that's what's fun working with new writers and 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:45.720 they bring you ideas and you're like, cool, let me 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:46.880 hear your voice, you write. 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:47.840 It, and then we'll help you. 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.400 You know, make it commercial, help us make sense of Sinners. 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.360 And the phenomenon that has become back to back weekends 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:55.200 almost making the same amount of money. 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:56.840 That's just huge. That's huge. 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:59.600 But that's an original story that got made. Yeah, And 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:01.560 it seems like so many things that folks wanted. There 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:03.520 was a Minecraft movie, there was a Super Mario, there's 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:05.400 a bar, but there's they want to do some stuff 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:09.480 that's already out there that people know. Where are we headed? 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:11.840 I just want you to give me your take as 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:14.920 being in Hollywood of where we're going in terms of 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.200 seeing the types of movies like Centers and having more 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:21.200 of the types of creators like Ryan. Yeah, to have 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:23.160 that kind of power to get something made. 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:25.200 Well, I mean you got to credit kind of everybody 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:28.320 in that one, because I credit Warner Brothers for taking 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:31.040 a swing and putting that kind of budget into an 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:33.240 original idea like that. But they got Ryan who is 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:38.920 a known successful filmmaker who's brilliant, and it was a 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:42.400 clearly a passion project for him, and that passion comes 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.320 off the screen and that means a lot to an audience, 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:47.520 you know, And that's I think, you know so much stuff. 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:49.960 It's all about ip you know, you know, llstual property, and 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.640 so everybody wants something based on something so that they 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:55.640 can make sure that there is a built an audience somehow, 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:59.000 you know, And so that's always. 0:16:58.640 --> 0:16:59.720 Going to dominate people. 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:01.760 Are He's still going to be afraid of original ideas 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:04.439 because what will happen is, you know, something is original 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:06.080 does great and people like okay, then they green light 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:08.359 a bunch of original stuff that might not be as good, 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:10.480 and then they don't work and they're like, well, see, 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:12.520 you can't do that it's like, well, no, it's case 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:15.200 by case. Everything has to be good, you know. That's 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:18.879 why you know, I think, oh, come on, blinking on 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:21.240 his name, who did get out? And you know, Jordan 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:24.919 Pepine is brilliant because he comes up with undeniable ideas 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.160 and that's in my company. It's like, what is an 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:29.679 undeniable idea? If you go into a theater and you 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:31.720 see a trailer and go like, I have to see 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:34.679 that opening weekend. But that's the hardest thing in the 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.680 world to come up with. So but that's what always 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:38.000 looking for. 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:42.320 You know. Obviously your your comedic genius is apparent. But 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:46.240