Speaker 1: There's a lot of NBA stuff to get into, make
Speaker 1: no mistake about that, particularly with the fight for the
Speaker 1: Western Conference playoff seatings, because that's exactly where I want
Speaker 1: to go. Here's a look at the current seating out West,
Speaker 1: where the Douvin Nuggets are currently the third seed, the
Speaker 1: Lakers are the fourth seed, and the Golden State Warriors
Speaker 1: are currently at sixth. So we could be looking at
Speaker 1: a scenario where Lebron and Steph face each other in
Speaker 1: the first round, and that could be a dilemma for
Speaker 1: the fans and the league. And here's where I'm going
Speaker 1: with this. At some point in time, we gotta make
Speaker 1: a decision. Ladies and gentlemen. Think about the scenario here.
Speaker 1: Let's say, for example, that the Golden State Warriors hold
Speaker 1: on to the sixth seed in the Western Conference. They
Speaker 1: would possibly face Denver, who's a three seed. Right, But
Speaker 1: if they moved up to the fifth seed because Memphis
Speaker 1: is sliding after letting go of their coach Taylor Jenkins,
Speaker 1: they don't look great. They've lost the last two games
Speaker 1: or so. If Golden State finds a way to inch
Speaker 1: up to the the seed and the Lakers stay at
Speaker 1: the fourth seed, that's Lebron James and the Lakers versus
Speaker 1: Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the first round.
Speaker 1: It guarantees one of them gets to the second round,
Speaker 1: but it also guarantees that one of them is bounced
Speaker 1: out in the first round. So what do you prefer.
Speaker 1: Do you prefer Lebron going up against, say the Clippers
Speaker 1: going up against say the Minnesota Timberwolves with ant Man
Speaker 1: in the first round? Do you prefer that with the
Speaker 1: possibility of advancing to the second round while Golden State
Speaker 1: goes up against somebody like Denver, they'd be undersized. But nevertheless,
Speaker 1: with Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler and what they could
Speaker 1: do together if they were fortunate enough to knock off Denver,
Speaker 1: did you get to the second round as well? Or
Speaker 1: do you want Lebron and Steph to face one another
Speaker 1: and one of them go home in the first round.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie to you. I like that scenario
Speaker 1: better because I don't know if I could bet on
Speaker 1: the Golden State Warriors to beat the Denver Nuggets when
Speaker 1: Jokic or Jamal Murray or out of the lineup or
Speaker 1: both of them, Denver ain't the same, but when in
Speaker 1: the lineup, they're league leaders in field goal percentage shooting.
Speaker 1: They're one of the better three point shooting teams. Oh,
Speaker 1: by the way, they're top notch in fast break points.
Speaker 1: For crying out loud, this is what they bring to
Speaker 1: the table, and they got a championship pedigree. I don't
Speaker 1: know if I want to bet my money on Steph
Speaker 1: Curry and Jimmy Butler the Golden State Warriors knocking off
Speaker 1: those brothers and Denvor, particularly with never having a home
Speaker 1: court advantage in a first round playoff series of Game
Speaker 1: seven would be back in the Mile High City. I
Speaker 1: don't know about that. So we might have to settle
Speaker 1: on Steph Curry and Lebron James going up against one
Speaker 1: another and advancing, with one of them definitively advancing out
Speaker 1: of the first round. And oh, by the way, in
Speaker 1: that series, I would still go with the Lakers, even
Speaker 1: though Golden State could beat them. I would say the
Speaker 1: Lakers have to be the favorites. Here's my personal preference though,
Speaker 1: no matter what happens, I want ant Man to go
Speaker 1: as deep as he could go. I want to see
Speaker 1: ant Man. I want to see Anthony Evers that's who
Speaker 1: the hell I want to see. Okay, I just want
Speaker 1: to make sure that I'm clear about that before we
Speaker 1: move on to my next subject. Y'all can sit up there.
Speaker 1: We'll take a poll. Y'all can sit up there, expressed
Speaker 1: us what y'all think. Who would y'all rather see? Would
Speaker 1: you rather see Lebron and Steph in the first round
Speaker 1: against one another? Or do you want to see them
Speaker 1: going against different opponents so they could possibly both advance
Speaker 1: beyond the first round? Is that your preference? Or is
Speaker 1: the preference them going up against one another? Just let
Speaker 1: a brother know, Just let a brother know. I'm about
Speaker 1: to ask this next brother to this question because he
Speaker 1: is my next guest. Talented actor best known for his
Speaker 1: role as Lawrence on HBO's hit series Insecure. Since then,
Speaker 1: he started a string of hit TV shows and films,
Speaker 1: including his latest called Freaky Tales, which hits theaters on
Speaker 1: April fourth. My brother, the one and only Jay ellis
Speaker 1: in the house. What's that big time? How you doing man?
Speaker 1: How's everything?
Speaker 2: My guys?
Speaker 1: Good bro, It's good to see you. By the way,
Speaker 1: Tell everybody the first of all, how tall are y'all
Speaker 1: was with you about two weeks ago. You're about to
Speaker 1: lookit six three six y four, right, you're about six
Speaker 1: to four inches?
Speaker 2: Yeah, how about six y four that's what they call it?
Speaker 1: Yes, right, you intern with the Portland Trailblazers before you
Speaker 1: became this you know this, this star on television and film.
Speaker 1: You are damn intern with the Portland tra Trailblazers, were
Speaker 1: you not.
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Man, I was there for the three S two o
Speaker 3: three season, the jail Blazer season. Man Mo Cheeks was
Speaker 3: the coach. Obviously know that roster, but yeah, I was
Speaker 3: there for all the trouble.
Speaker 1: Man, there we go. And so that means you know
Speaker 1: your basketball. So you heard what I said, you heard
Speaker 1: what I broke down. If you had your brothers knowing
Speaker 1: that you out in southern California, but you're very familiar
Speaker 1: with the Bay, et cetera. What scenario would you want most?
Speaker 1: Would you want Lebron and Steph going up against one
Speaker 1: another in the first round? Will one of them definitively
Speaker 1: advanced beyond the first round? Or do you want to
Speaker 1: take the risk of them going against somebody else and
Speaker 1: both of them getting bounced out.
Speaker 3: I like to see them both get deeper versus that's
Speaker 3: a great team, man, So I'm not sure that's who
Speaker 3: they want to see in the first round for sure.
Speaker 3: So you know, I think you're right. I think it's
Speaker 3: a lot of fun. I think it's great for the
Speaker 3: game to go see, you know, the Warriors and the
Speaker 3: Lakers slugging out in the first round.
Speaker 1: So you're you're good with them and at least knowing
Speaker 1: that one of them will advance past the first round,
Speaker 1: right yeah?
Speaker 3: Man, listen, this is playoff basketball as we know it.
Speaker 3: These are two great teams, and so you know, I
Speaker 3: think we're gonna have a lot of fun. You know,
Speaker 3: I think the series will go longer than what some
Speaker 3: people might expect it to go. But you know, I
Speaker 3: think that's the basketball that we want to see, and
Speaker 3: that's why we sign up, and that's why we watch,
Speaker 3: and that's why we show up to these stadiums and
Speaker 3: these arenas to see games like this.
Speaker 1: Are you sure it's fair to classify both of them
Speaker 1: as great when you talk about them as teams, I
Speaker 1: know they're good, but great. We know great teams when
Speaker 1: we see them. Do you really feel both of them
Speaker 1: are great?
Speaker 2: Here's what I think.
Speaker 3: Boston is great Oklahoma City is great, right, we know
Speaker 3: what the top of the pack looks like. We know
Speaker 3: that for sure, Like there's no questions about that. Here's
Speaker 3: what you can't do though. You can't count either of
Speaker 3: these teams out. You can't count the experience out. You
Speaker 3: can't count the pedigree out, you know. And so I
Speaker 3: think these teams can have had a flashes of greatness
Speaker 3: and can be great, you know. Sustaining that over the
Speaker 3: playoffs obviously is tough, and that's what basketball is about.
Speaker 1: Would you be excited about a Boston OKC finals, Yeah,
Speaker 1: give it to me.
Speaker 3: I mean, listen, I'd love to see OKAC maker run.
Speaker 3: I think Boston, you know, will get there. I'm excited
Speaker 3: to see them back and see them defending their championship.
Speaker 3: It would be fun to see Okay see you know
Speaker 3: what I mean, especially as an Oklahoma boy. You know,
Speaker 3: I grew up in Tolsa, so you know, it'd be
Speaker 3: fun to see Okay See you.
Speaker 2: Know, going there and and have a real shot.
Speaker 3: That team is special, man, Like you look at that team,
Speaker 3: like those guys are really special.
Speaker 2: They really show up every I was listening this morning.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 2: They they might mess around and when seventy games.
Speaker 3: Yeah, like, this is a really great team, and I
Speaker 3: do think it would be fun to go watch a
Speaker 3: team where everybody is locked arms, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 3: going to play basketball.
Speaker 2: It'd be fun to see them get there.
Speaker 3: There's some other teams that I might like to get there,
Speaker 3: but you know, it'd be fun to watch.
Speaker 1: Let me tell you what I shared before we get
Speaker 1: in the U a little bit more. Let me tell
Speaker 1: you what I shared about this season. First of all,
Speaker 1: I don't want as much as as popular and as
Speaker 1: much of a bonanza in the ratings it would be
Speaker 1: for the Lakers to go up against Boston. The reason
Speaker 1: I don't want to see that series is because I
Speaker 1: believe the Los Angeles Lakers would get slaughtered by the
Speaker 1: Boston Celtics. I don't think that's a match they're made for.
Speaker 1: They're built for that, I don't think so. I just
Speaker 1: don't like that for the Lakers. I want a competitive
Speaker 1: NBA Finals. I don't want some lopside of the fair
Speaker 1: where we go, we're lucky to see you win a game.
Speaker 1: I think Boston would destroy them. Here's what I would
Speaker 1: tell you is my most attractive proposition in terms of
Speaker 1: interest as great as the Oklahoma City Thunder, all those
Speaker 1: young Thoroughbreds led by SGA. Who's my MVP this year
Speaker 1: by the way, the Brother Spectacular. Let me tell you
Speaker 1: what my matchup is. Could you imagine if it was Lebron,
Speaker 1: James and Luca and the Lakers going to Cleveland to
Speaker 1: try to stop Cleveland from capturing the championship. Lebron having
Speaker 1: to stop Cleveland from winning the championship, to me, that
Speaker 1: would be that could be an epic matchup. What do
Speaker 1: you say to that.
Speaker 2: No, that's a lot of fun, man.
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously to see him have to go back
Speaker 3: home and win a championship would be you know, it
Speaker 3: would be amazing. That Cleveland team also, Bro, I mean, wow, wow,
Speaker 3: what a phenomenal team from from one through twelve. Bro,
Speaker 3: everybody shows up and plays their part. That would be
Speaker 3: a lot of fun. I mean, obviously, the storylines would
Speaker 3: be great, you know what I mean in terms of
Speaker 3: all the other things that come with it. But the basketball,
Speaker 3: the style of play for those two teams, it would
Speaker 3: be a.
Speaker 2: Lot of fun to watch them go up against each other.
Speaker 2: But you can't count out a Boston Lakes. No, no, no,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, Like, that's that's basketball.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's that's that's basketball. And I'm not
Speaker 1: I think Boston is the best team in the NBA
Speaker 1: and they should repeat. You gotta bet your money on them.
Speaker 1: I'm just talking about I think that the Lakers are
Speaker 1: no match for them. Where is there a better match
Speaker 1: for Cleveland? And so because of it, it would make
Speaker 1: that it would make for an epic matchup, whereas I
Speaker 1: think Boston against LA that series ends in five. That's
Speaker 1: my problem. I won a seven game series for the finals.
Speaker 1: I won a game seven of an NBA finals, a
Speaker 1: championship on the line, it's forty eight minutes away? Is
Speaker 1: everybody got to show up? That's what I want to see.
Speaker 3: Yeah, listen, listen, I think again, you know, listen, really
Speaker 3: get to seven. I don't know, but I think Lebron
Speaker 3: and Luca could pull something out. You know what I'm
Speaker 3: saying that maybe we wouldn't have expected, But you're right.
Speaker 3: I think Cleveland Lakers matchup is a lot more fun
Speaker 3: to watch. It's a lot more even again, the style
Speaker 3: of play of those two teams, it would be fun,
Speaker 3: the storylines, it would be fun. That'd be fun to watch, man.
Speaker 3: I also would love to watch Donovan get there.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 3: I think Donovan is a guy, he's a stud, bro,
Speaker 3: and I think, you know, he's kind of was overlooked
Speaker 3: in Utah even though he was doing the thing in
Speaker 3: Utah as well.
Speaker 2: And obviously he's flourished in Cleveland. So would love to
Speaker 2: see him get there.
Speaker 1: Let me transition to you, man, because I got to
Speaker 1: get to some of the things that you're doing. That's
Speaker 1: why you're here, not to talk basketball. I just I
Speaker 1: just got your basketball analysis while I had you on camera.
Speaker 1: But let me ask you this an NBA star, a
Speaker 1: corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teenage punks, neo Nazis,
Speaker 1: and a debt collector and balk on a collision course
Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty seven Oakland, California. Does this sum up
Speaker 1: the present the premise of Freaky Tales? Yeah?
Speaker 3: Man, this is a wild movie, bro. It brings together
Speaker 3: four different groups of people in four different stories that
Speaker 3: all obviously converge at one point in my story. You know,
Speaker 3: I got to play Sleepy Floyd in this film, who, obviously,
Speaker 3: as we know, as a warrior great still holds the
Speaker 3: record for twenty nine points in the fourth quarter in
Speaker 3: the playoffs, and you know, it was amazing to be
Speaker 3: able to go in there and play a fictionalized version
Speaker 3: of him where I got to honor that that greatness,
Speaker 3: but still got to go have fun and do this
Speaker 3: amazing martial arts and weapons work that I get to
Speaker 3: do in this film to kind of avenge all.
Speaker 2: These characters and all these stories.
Speaker 1: Why was Sleepy Ford the character you picked? What was
Speaker 1: that about?
Speaker 2: Yet? Yeah?
Speaker 3: Man, I mean listen, the first time I read the script,
Speaker 3: it was the most original thing I feel like I
Speaker 3: had read in a really long time, you know, and
Speaker 3: it really jumped off the page of me, and it
Speaker 3: really set me in nineteen eighty seven, Oakland. I grew up,
Speaker 3: you know this, But like I spent time in Sacramento
Speaker 3: as a kid. I had an uncle in Hayward, I
Speaker 3: got family in Stockton. I spent a lot of time
Speaker 3: around the Bay and got in and out of there
Speaker 3: a lot. So, you know, obviously thinking of that eighties
Speaker 3: Warriors team and this moment that he had, you know,
Speaker 3: it was just an honor to be able to do it.
Speaker 3: But you know, to be able to flex and show
Speaker 3: my action skills and my martial arts skills.
Speaker 2: My practice like that was you know a lot of
Speaker 2: fun and a challenge.
Speaker 3: I love a challenge. I love a physical challenge. And
Speaker 3: you know, getting to do that in this film was amazing, man.
Speaker 3: And you know, getting getting to be the hero there
Speaker 3: we go.
Speaker 1: So this wasn't something where you know, you had some
Speaker 1: stunt double or somebody. This was you doing martial arts
Speaker 1: and all of that stuff. That's what you would do, Jay.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we don't do stunt double Steven and we don't
Speaker 3: do stun double Steven and we don't do that.
Speaker 1: Bro.
Speaker 3: Now I'm listen, man, I will tell you something. I
Speaker 3: hadn't done martial arts since I was about seven eight
Speaker 3: years old, and I might have got a yellow belt,
Speaker 3: I'm not even sure. And I met my stunt double
Speaker 3: living this film and I told him. I was like, Bro,
Speaker 3: you're not gonna work in this movie. And he was like, cool,
Speaker 3: that just means you got a lot more to do.
Speaker 3: And I learned five or six different styles of martial arts.
Speaker 2: I learned how to use five or six different weapons. Bro.
Speaker 3: I was doing three days. I would do two hours
Speaker 3: every morning. I would do an hour of lifting in
Speaker 3: the middle of the day. Then I'd go two hours
Speaker 3: of weapons at night, two and a half hours of
Speaker 3: weapons at night, six days a week, and did that
Speaker 3: all the way up until you know, we started rolling
Speaker 3: cameras on Sleepy Story.
Speaker 1: I heard you called Tom Cruise for some help, some advice,
Speaker 1: mister Maverick top gun himself. Is that truer submission impossible?
Speaker 1: Is that true? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 3: I mean, listen, who better to call than than the
Speaker 3: guy who's really he's really the definitive you know, action star.
Speaker 3: You know what I mean, Like when you think about
Speaker 3: that genre and you think about all that he's done, Like,
Speaker 3: who better to call and say, hey, man, how do
Speaker 3: I do this?
Speaker 2: You know what I mean? How do I train?
Speaker 3: How do I how do I recover? How do I
Speaker 3: prepare myself for this? How do I make sure I
Speaker 3: don't get injured? How do I make sure I'm hitting
Speaker 3: my mark and through all this physicality?
Speaker 2: How do I make sure that I.
Speaker 3: Am absorbing every single one of these martial arts styles
Speaker 3: and weapons practices that that.
Speaker 2: You're you know, you're learning at a time.
Speaker 3: And he was gracious, man, you know, he sent me
Speaker 3: this crazy long text with all these different things to
Speaker 3: do and think.
Speaker 2: About and to watch watch film. You know.
Speaker 3: One of the things I keep telling people is like
Speaker 3: he told me, watch film everything, and every single night
Speaker 3: before you go to bed, watch it so you can see.
Speaker 2: What you did right, what you did wrong, what you
Speaker 2: need to improve on.
Speaker 3: And literally every single night, I would lay in bed
Speaker 3: and watch whatever I did that day.
Speaker 1: How hard is it for you to watch this? I know,
Speaker 1: doing TV every day. I don't like to do that
Speaker 1: too much. I really really don't. To me, tomorrow's the
Speaker 1: next day. I got to show up, right, How hard
Speaker 1: is it for you to look at it and just
Speaker 1: watch yourself and critique yourself?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Nah, that's not for me, man, that's not really you know,
Speaker 3: in a TV show, I think it's interesting because I'm
Speaker 3: watching to understand the tone of the show. I'm watching
Speaker 3: to make sure I understand that I'm locked into the
Speaker 3: right the right show, and then after a while I
Speaker 3: stop watching. But you know, it's not my favorite thing
Speaker 3: to do, you know what I mean. I feel like
Speaker 3: I get to go make it, and that's what I
Speaker 3: want to do.
Speaker 2: I don't.
Speaker 3: I'm not the one I want to necessarily watch it.
Speaker 3: I want other people to watch it and experience it.
Speaker 3: And you know, I hear how people feel about it,
Speaker 3: you know, and that's how I know I'm doing my job.
Speaker 3: You know, whether you love my characters, whether you hate
Speaker 3: my characters, As long as you feel one way or another,
Speaker 3: I'm doing my job right.
Speaker 1: The key the enemy is indifference. That's the death difference.
Speaker 1: As long as they'll love you I hate you. You good
Speaker 1: to go that much? We do go that much, we don't.
Speaker 1: You know the Netflix series Running Point, which you staring
Speaker 1: as well, you know you played ahead of the fictitious
Speaker 1: La Waves. I mean, that's a hit on Netflix right now.
Speaker 1: You look at what you're doing with all of these projects.
Speaker 1: Where do you feel you are in your career at
Speaker 1: this particular moment in tom And how are you feeling
Speaker 1: about the industry as a whole with this quote unquote
Speaker 1: sensitive times that we live in and so much to
Speaker 1: be watching out for in terms of characters you portray
Speaker 1: and how information is absorbed.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I'll say for the industry, man, I'm
Speaker 3: feeling optimistic. I'm feeling like, you know, we obviously hit
Speaker 3: some bumps and bruises, you know, from obviously the pandemic
Speaker 3: like everyone else in the world, through you know, the
Speaker 3: strikes that we went through, and obviously there's been a
Speaker 3: ton of reshuffling and restructuring, but I think some of those,
Speaker 3: you know, those things are starting to settle. Obviously LA
Speaker 3: had its own, you know, heartbreaking troubles with the fires
Speaker 3: this year, but I feel like a lot of that's
Speaker 3: starting to settle a little bit.
Speaker 2: In the industry, you.
Speaker 3: Know, people want to get back to work, man, and
Speaker 3: writers are getting busy again, and writers' rooms are opening up,
Speaker 3: and films are being you know, kind of fast track
Speaker 3: to be made. And so I feel like we're going
Speaker 3: to make a roaring comeback and start making a lot
Speaker 3: of stuff again.
Speaker 2: And I think, you know, for me and my career
Speaker 2: and where I'm at, you know, I.
Speaker 3: Only dreamed of a lot of this, man, and then
Speaker 3: I started putting it up on a vision board at
Speaker 3: a certain point, and you know, I feel like I've been.
Speaker 2: Building these pieces and putting this.
Speaker 3: Career together of work that I'm proud of, and work
Speaker 3: that you know, I want to look back and say
Speaker 3: I did that, you know what I mean, and be
Speaker 3: proud of it.
Speaker 2: And you know, I've been fortunate to do that.
Speaker 3: I've been fortunate to work with a lot of amazing people, filmmakers, writers,
Speaker 3: you know, actors obviously, and you know it's it's beautiful.
Speaker 3: I think of it like winning a championship. I never
Speaker 3: won a championship, you know what I'm saying. But I
Speaker 3: think of it like, you know, next year, you start
Speaker 3: all over again and none of whatever happened in the
Speaker 3: past doesn't matter. So you know, I pick up every
Speaker 3: single day and just keep doing the work, and you know,
Speaker 3: hopefully the career keep going.
Speaker 1: I'm wondering about the challenge of an artist, particularly one
Speaker 1: in Hollywood, like yourself and others, considering how the industry,
Speaker 1: according to the reports anywhere, his skill back to some
Speaker 1: degree sense to strike, you know, how much production is
Speaker 1: actually being put out there? Seems like content is king,
Speaker 1: but it also seems like studios, networks, et cetera spending
Speaker 1: less money, making less of an investment. I guess I'm asking,
Speaker 1: are these times harder or is it more of the same.
Speaker 1: Coming from a perspective such as yourself based on what we.
Speaker 2: Know, Yeah, that's a great question, Steven.
Speaker 3: You know, I think it is challenging, right, There's not
Speaker 3: as many opportunities out there for people. There's not as
Speaker 3: many you know, if you're an actor, there's not as
Speaker 3: many productions going, which means you don't get as many
Speaker 3: opportunities to go get a job. If you're a writer,
Speaker 3: there's not as many writers rooms open, which means you
Speaker 3: don't get an opportunity to get a job. Or when
Speaker 3: the few rooms do open, they staff so quickly you
Speaker 3: don't get an opportunity to get a job. And so,
Speaker 3: you know, I think it has been a challenge man.
Speaker 3: You know, I think about a lot of friends of
Speaker 3: mine who are below the line workers. You know, you
Speaker 3: think your craftsmen, you think your hair and makeup folks,
Speaker 3: you know, your gaffers, your teamsters, you know, and a
Speaker 3: lot of folks have been out of work.
Speaker 2: So it's definitely been a hard time and it's been
Speaker 2: a trying time. I think.
Speaker 3: On the creative side, though, you try to look at
Speaker 3: it as an opportunity to create, and you try to
Speaker 3: look at it as an opportunity to say, if I
Speaker 3: could tell a story that I want.
Speaker 2: To tell, how could I do that right? How do
Speaker 2: I do that via a scripted podcast? Do I do
Speaker 2: that via a TV show? Do I do that via
Speaker 2: a film that I'm writing?
Speaker 3: Or I want to direct or a short film, and
Speaker 3: so I think it's it's really forcing people or giving
Speaker 3: people the opportunity rather to like go be creative and
Speaker 3: think about how you want to give back to this
Speaker 3: creative community and put something into it. And that is,
Speaker 3: you know, That's how I try to look at it, man.
Speaker 3: And I think a lot of my friends who aren't
Speaker 3: as busy as they want to be, like, that's how
Speaker 3: they're trying to look at it as well. It's like,
Speaker 3: how can they go create something for themselves and start
Speaker 3: a whole new lane for themselves?
Speaker 1: Is it challenging when you consider fact like like for me,
Speaker 1: this is my show, I've created this show, etc. You know,
Speaker 1: but you got to go out there and get support
Speaker 1: unless you want to finance it yourself. That's not the
Speaker 1: role of an actor, producer, whatever. That's not a role
Speaker 1: that folks customarily want to play. Do you find that
Speaker 1: to be more challenging, more fulfilling, or too challenging to
Speaker 1: the point where you're like, damnit, I got to do
Speaker 1: something new that's got some guaranteed funds in the mix.
Speaker 1: What's your mentality about that?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 3: I love a challenge, So I'm probably the person you
Speaker 3: know what I'm saying, who's gonna go, Who's going to go?
Speaker 3: Try to figure it out, right, I'm the person who's
Speaker 3: going to go, you know, be like, oh, well, how
Speaker 3: do you raise money? Or how do you you know,
Speaker 3: get this thing made?
Speaker 2: How do you do a podcast? Excuse me?
Speaker 3: How do you license a piece of Ip's? That's me
Speaker 3: and kind of how my brain works.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: It is a very daunting thing though, you know, like
Speaker 3: that is not why many of us got into this.
Speaker 2: Many of us became actors because we just want to
Speaker 2: tell stories, right. We love the power of storytelling and
Speaker 2: how we can reach the world.
Speaker 3: And it is self indulgent at times, like it's no lie,
Speaker 3: but like at the end of the day, like you know,
Speaker 3: you do love the work and you love the study
Speaker 3: of people and you get to perf and so now
Speaker 3: knowing that you have to add all these different layers,
Speaker 3: you know, I think of it as you know, putting
Speaker 3: little things in your toolbox, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: And you slowly you start to become a Swiss army
Speaker 3: knife and you start to realize like, oh, I can
Speaker 3: write a thing, act in a thing, get my homeboy
Speaker 3: to direct it, get another friend to produce it and
Speaker 3: now we can put it out on YouTube, or now
Speaker 3: we can license it to a streamer. And you know
Speaker 3: it it's a tough thing for sure.
Speaker 2: You know, it's a lot to learn.
Speaker 3: But I think there's a lot of people out there
Speaker 3: who who want to do it, and you know, are
Speaker 3: now given the opportunity to do it because there's no
Speaker 3: other choice, right, And I think people would rather do
Speaker 3: that before walk away from it because you love it
Speaker 3: too much, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Like, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. Stephen Ey, Wow,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: Like, I just this is my this is what I
Speaker 3: was put on this earth to do, is tell stories
Speaker 3: and entertain people.
Speaker 2: So I'm going to find a way to do that
Speaker 2: by any means necessary.
Speaker 1: So I'll let you get on out of here.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 1: Speaking of telling stories, tell us the story of the
Speaker 1: upcoming the NBA Finals. Who are you seeing? Who do
Speaker 1: you see winning?
Speaker 2: Cool man? Why you do this?
Speaker 1: Come on, man, Come on man. You want to tell stories, right?
Speaker 1: You want to tell stories? Well, listen, Chyson, come with what
Speaker 1: a variety of forms stories could come with. There could
Speaker 1: be reality stories, or they could be fantasy. They could
Speaker 1: be fantasy you know what I'm saying, you could give
Speaker 1: a fantasy version. I mean, Draymond Green out there talking
Speaker 1: about the Golden State Warriors gonna win the championship. Some
Speaker 1: people think that's fantasy. A few think that's reality. Others
Speaker 1: think that Lebron and Luca got a shot they want
Speaker 1: to ignore. Ok't see in Boston. I mean those a
Speaker 1: fantasy's that could become reality? What about you?
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, okay, okay. I think Boston gets there. I
Speaker 3: think Boston gets there. I think we know that, we
Speaker 3: see that.
Speaker 2: The West is tough. Man. Listen, I mean you know this.
Speaker 3: You do this every single day, man, six, seven and eight,
Speaker 3: five or five through eight, or like one game apart.
Speaker 3: Like this is crazy, man, like it is. It is
Speaker 3: insane to see this. You know again, you know going
Speaker 3: back to that, you know, you out who your MVP is.
Speaker 3: You know, Joker is my MVP. I would love to
Speaker 3: see Denver get there again. I think that would be
Speaker 3: a lot of fun. Don't wish them and then obviously
Speaker 3: don't wish that.
Speaker 1: You just feel like I don't feel like being in
Speaker 1: the Maha City, man, I don't feel like being in
Speaker 1: that altitude. Man. I just don't feel like going through
Speaker 1: it again, Jay, I just don't. I just don't know, Bro, No,
Speaker 1: my body doll losing his breath and shit all the time.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know what's up.
Speaker 2: When that dude is on the court, you know it.
Speaker 2: Everybody knows it. Bro. It's the craziest thing to watch. Man.
Speaker 3: You look up and you like, this dude has a
Speaker 3: triple double in the third quarter and you don't even
Speaker 3: know how it happened because it happens.
Speaker 2: It's so smooth you don't even know, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean.
Speaker 3: And then when Jamal Murray is clicking and you know
Speaker 3: it's Aaron Gordon can catch the ball anywhere and his
Speaker 3: bag has gotten better, especially on the dribble.
Speaker 2: Man. Like, you know, they're a really fun team to watch,
Speaker 2: and you know, I believe.
Speaker 3: In Okay see, but I think they got to go
Speaker 3: against some dogs to get there. They got to go
Speaker 3: get some vets to get there. They got to go
Speaker 3: and get some dogs to get there. And that's not
Speaker 3: to say that they're not dogs. But I'd like to
Speaker 3: see Denver get there. And if it's not Denver, than
Speaker 3: you know, I like to see the Lakers get there.
Speaker 2: Man. I'm a hometown boy. I'm a hometown boy.
Speaker 1: So you're a hometown boy that ultimately doesn't want to
Speaker 1: admit that you're picking the Boss and Celtics to win
Speaker 1: the championship. Whoa, whoa, that's what you're saying. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's what that was my interpretation. I mean, I could
Speaker 1: be wrong, but that's my interpretation.
Speaker 2: WHOA. Listen, I don't know what happens when the finals
Speaker 2: come around.
Speaker 1: You deserve the right to hold on to that thought, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know what happens when the finals come around.
Speaker 3: Freaky you know what I'm saying. But you know, I
Speaker 3: would love to see Boston play the Nuggets. And if
Speaker 3: it's not the Nuggets, I love to see him play
Speaker 3: the Lakers.
Speaker 1: All right, my man? All the best to you, my brother.
Speaker 1: Freaky Tales in theaters Friday, April fourth, The Running Point,
Speaker 1: by the Way, streaming now on Netflix and pick up.
Speaker 1: Did Everyone have an Imagine, every friend or just me
Speaker 1: wherever you buy your books. The brother is a publisher,
Speaker 1: He's an actor, the storyteller, extraordinary. The one and only
Speaker 1: Jay Ellis appreciate you, my man, priud, do you make.
Speaker 2: You We'll catch him soon, all right, bro, thank you.
Speaker 1: Man and only jay ellis in the house, right here
Speaker 1: with Stephen Am