1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:04,440 Speaker 1: You're listening to Math and Magic, a production of My 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Dustin Hoffman himself once said to me, he said, Alec, 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,319 Speaker 1: we're all in line when it comes to getting our 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: hands on a good script. He said, we're all in line, Alec, 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:25,600 Speaker 1: he said, some of us are just in a shorter line. Hi. 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: I'm Bob Pittman, and welcome to this episode of Math 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: and Magic Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. Today, we 8 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: have a guest who embodies the magic creativity. He's covered 9 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: the spectrum of acting, theater, TV movies in both the 10 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 1: commercial and critically acclaimed, and he's had huge successes in 11 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: comedy and drama. He's an active participant in the world, 12 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: and he was very early with his own podcast. He 13 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: did podcasts before podcasting was cool. He's Alec Baldwin. Ali 14 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: grew up on the south shore of Long Island, under 15 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: the shadow of Manhattan. He had early aspirations to be 16 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: a law here, but as he switched to acting, he 17 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,119 Speaker 1: paid the dues with all kinds of jobs, from waiting 18 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: tables to being a lifeguard, and he was even a 19 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 1: bus boy at the legendary Studio fifty four. He's hosted 20 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: Saturday Night live more than anyone else and swept every 21 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: word possible with his role on thirty Rock. There is 22 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,479 Speaker 1: so much to explore today. Welcome Ali, Thank you, Bob. 23 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: Good to talk to you. It's great to talk to you. 24 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: And here we are on the magic of audio. Before 25 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: we dig in today, I want to get you in 26 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: sixty seconds. You ready to go? Yes, sir? Do you 27 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: prefer early morning or late night? Late night, New York 28 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: City or Long Island, Long Island, New Yorker, California, New York? 29 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: Instagram or Twitter, Instagram, film or TV film? George Washington 30 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: University or New York University, n y You Jack Ryan 31 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: or Jack Donneghie, Jack Donneghee, uh Tennessee Williams or Eugene 32 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: O'Neill and the c Williams. Class sickle or classic rock, classical, 33 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: sweet or salty, salty cats or dogs Dogs Coffee is 34 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: for closers or ABC Always be closing, Always be closing, ABC, 35 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: Always be closing. It's about to get harder. Smartest person 36 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: you know, Bob Pittman, the head of My Heart Radio, 37 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: childhood hero Joe Namath, favorite play you've acted in, speet 38 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: car named Desire, Political hero John F. Kennedy. First job 39 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: I cut grass I was I was a lawn jockey 40 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:41,359 Speaker 1: with a landscape company. Favorite director, Oh that's a good question, Uh, Scorsese, 41 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: favorite composer, Maller, Gustav Mahler, favorite sport, football, favorite movie theater, 42 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: snack the popcorn with the raisin NEETs in the popcorn. 43 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: Guilty pleasure, sleeping in. I got remarried and I have 44 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: five of the kids, so sleeping in. That's a healthy 45 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: pleasure around what's something you can't live without? It my wife? 46 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: And what would you be doing if you weren't an actor. 47 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: I'd probably be a lawyer. I think that's where I 48 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: was headed before I went to acting school. Okay, let's 49 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 1: get going. Let's jump in creative range. I want to 50 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: start with that. You know what sort of set you 51 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 1: apart from people is is that incredible range you have? 52 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: How did you get that range and the opportunity to 53 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: use it? Well, I think a lot of people have 54 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 1: this in common, which is it's not like it's a 55 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: plan you set out to execute. You know you you 56 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: you have a plan, and it doesn't always go according 57 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: to the plan. So you wind up being faced with 58 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: the choices you have and for me, those choices were 59 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: often very disparate choices. And then when thirty Rock came around, 60 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: that was the chance to jump in with some people 61 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: who I was very intimidated by them. You know, it's 62 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: one thing to save funny lines, it's another thing to 63 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: write it. And Tina and Robert, Carla and those people 64 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: they were you know, I got into that show and 65 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: just trying to fit in and watch them and try 66 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: to you know, serve the material as best I could. 67 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: But I found that everywhere I go, the rule is 68 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: always if the choices a B or C, and I 69 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: walk around going a B or CE, what's it gonna 70 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: be a B or C? And the answer, more often 71 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: than not is D. It's something completely not on the map. 72 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: And I've wound up going off and doing you know, 73 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: plays and TV shows and movies and things that I 74 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: never imagined I would do. I've talked to a lot 75 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: of people, and there's sort of this idea that that 76 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: great ideas and opportunities sort of hit you on the 77 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: head like a meteor. The best ideas are the best 78 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: opportunities were totally unforeseen, unexpected, And it sounds like that's 79 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: that's worked for you as well, well, you know, Lauren 80 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: Michaels came to me to do thirty Rock and this 81 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: is the best example. And I thought, oh god, I 82 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: don't want to do a sitcom. I don't want to 83 00:04:57,960 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: be I don't want to be a regular on a sitcom. 84 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: But when Lawrence said, did you want to sign a contract? 85 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,720 Speaker 1: And I did the pilot and by the time we 86 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: were done touring the pilot, I said to myself, this 87 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: is fun. I mean it was. It was a lot 88 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:12,359 Speaker 1: of fun to do the show. Like when you do 89 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: a drama, when you do a film, you're they're focused 90 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: and it's very intense and you're thinking, how can we 91 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 1: get the most out of this day? How can we 92 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: get the most out of shooting these scenes today because 93 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: we're not going to come back, you know, presumably where 94 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: we rarely come back. And shooting a comedy was I mean, 95 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: I cried laughing every day. They were the funniest people 96 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: I've ever met in my life. When you started out, 97 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: did you think you were going to one place? And 98 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: if so, what was that place? Was a comedy drama? 99 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: I think most people who started out as actors, you 100 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,479 Speaker 1: look at a career, I think the most gleaming example 101 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: is Nicholson, where you do all these disparate roles, and 102 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: you play these very different roles, and you do all 103 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: these films where you have a great part. I mean, 104 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: who other than maybe Spencer, Tracy or Bogart has had 105 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: as many great films and his acting is what made 106 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: them great. And Nicholson kind of stands alone, you know, 107 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: in the modern world, Pacino, de Niro, Warren Beatty, Newman, Redford, 108 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: all that crowd, Dustin Hoffman. But Nicholson has played so 109 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: many disparate roles. Hoffman too, I mean very ranging, you know, 110 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: Ratso Rizzo and Kramer versus Kramer and Lenny Bruce and everything. 111 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 1: And that's I think what people want is to play 112 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: a lot of different roles and different types of people 113 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: and create different characters. And uh, that's difficult to access 114 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: that material. You know. The search, the hunt for good 115 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: scripts is something that plagues everybody. Dustin Hoffman himself once 116 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: said to me. It was very funny, he said. He 117 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: once said to me years ago, he said, Alec, we're 118 00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: all in line when it comes to getting our hands 119 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: on a good script. He said, We're all in line. Alec, 120 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: he said of us are just in a shorter line. 121 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: So you you've done theater too, and which one theater, 122 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: movies TV, what do you find the most rewarding, most challenging, 123 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: and the most fulfilling for you? Well, with the film, 124 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: there's an opportunity that if the film succeeds, and that 125 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: I don't mean necessarily commercially or critically, it can be 126 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: either one or both. You know, when I go do 127 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,640 Speaker 1: a blatantly commercial project like Mission Impossible, I've gone and 128 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: done a couple of those, and you realize, you know, 129 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: this is the apex, this is the pinnacle of big 130 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: ticket studio movie making. And these guys just you know, 131 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: they just tear it up, you know, and no one 132 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: works harder than Tom. He's just the most hard working guy, 133 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: and you're thrilled to be in their company and make 134 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: that kind of movie. Then you turn around and you 135 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: go make another movie, and the the entire budget for 136 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: that movie is the budget for Ice on Tom's movie, 137 00:07:57,360 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: You know what I mean. It's like you do the 138 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: giant film with a big budget and then you go 139 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: to a film like really really tiny, but you're still 140 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 1: in there really trying to hone it and get and 141 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: if the film works. You know, if you do a 142 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: little film and it gets some traction and people think 143 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: it's worthy the content, that's thrilling it. The theater is 144 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: a place you go where there's risk, but just less risk. 145 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: You know, if you go to a revival of Tennessee Williams, 146 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: you sit there and say, well, we know the material works. 147 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 1: You know, it's not like a movie where if the 148 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: movie flops, that's painful and there's a lot of money 149 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 1: at stake. But in the theater it's much more like music. 150 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: You know, all of us are like a band, were 151 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: there together to serve this piece, and we're there to 152 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: support this piece, the writing, and you want to meet 153 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,679 Speaker 1: the challenge. Like when I did street Car, we were like, 154 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:56,959 Speaker 1: oh my god, this is like we're never going to 155 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: have an opportunity like this in our lives again. This 156 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: is it. We're going to be doing this play and 157 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: no one's going to do it again for seven or 158 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: eight or ten years or more. And that's thrilling. It's 159 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: such an honor whenever I do a play. I'm not 160 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: gonna say I like plays better, but the play experience 161 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: can be sometimes be a more pure experience in terms 162 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: of acting by the way I saw you at that 163 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: and it was a powerful performance and one of those 164 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: things that has stayed with me all these years. So 165 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 1: if you were enjoying it half as much as I was, 166 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: it was it was pretty powerful. Let's go back in 167 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: time some for some context on you. You were born 168 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: in the late fifties, grew up in the sixties and 169 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: seventies in sort of middle class Long Island. Tell me 170 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 1: about those times in that place. Can you paint the 171 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: picture for everybody. My childhood was very modest. You know. 172 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 1: My dad was a teacher, He had six kids, He 173 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: had no money. Everything in his life was about not 174 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: having enough money, and he was just all him and 175 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,320 Speaker 1: my mother did was complaining about you know. So when 176 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,080 Speaker 1: I walked out the door and I was a kid, 177 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: I remember kind of sitting there and say, whatever you do, 178 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 1: don't end up like your dad. I have to make 179 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,680 Speaker 1: a living. And it almost didn't matter. There was a 180 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: part of me I thought, I'll sell insurance. I mean, 181 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: I just don't want to be stressed out like my 182 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: poor dad. Because my dad was a great guy and 183 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: he was just stressed. He died young. He was only 184 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,960 Speaker 1: fifty five when he died. But at the same time, 185 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: I'm not going to deny the fact that in many 186 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: ways I was as happy or happier than than I 187 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: am now, you know, because it was so simple. You know, 188 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 1: we go out the door and throw snowballs at each 189 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: other and make a snowman and go sledding, and we 190 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: go play baseball in the summer, we play football in 191 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: the fall, we go to the pool at the local park. 192 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: We and of course, as you can appreciate, it wasn't 193 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: the days of the helicopter parents. You know, I get 194 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,719 Speaker 1: on a bicycle, I get on a Schwinn Stingray bicycle 195 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: and ride into the bowels of my neighborhood and south Shore, 196 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: massive people along. My parents wouldn't see me for four 197 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: or five hours. They had no idea where I was, 198 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: nor were they looking for They were my parents, They 199 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:02,840 Speaker 1: had no idea. They took my word for it. You know, 200 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 1: I was gone all day. I mean not that I 201 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: was running, uh still somewhere making moonshine. I wasn't counterfeiting money. 202 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,839 Speaker 1: I wasn't doing anything illegal. But when we would take off, 203 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: there were no cell phones and FaceTime, and you know, 204 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: you came home and you came home at the requested hour, 205 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: or my father would be very grim. But in a 206 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 1: lot of ways, I mean, life, Listen, you are a 207 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: media mogul. You know, you're a guy who has been 208 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: on top of this business for so long now, which 209 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: doesn't even seem real. You know, going back to MTV 210 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:37,960 Speaker 1: and I'm through a O L and your whole thing, 211 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: and you've seen the changes in all of its technology. 212 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: I mean, I'd love to hear your opinion of that 213 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: it's technology. Well, you know, we also had TV back 214 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: then was sort of a forced common experience that we 215 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:51,679 Speaker 1: could go to school the next day and everybody was 216 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: talking about the same show they had seen the same thing. 217 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:56,599 Speaker 1: And by the way, we only had one TV in 218 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: the house. We had the family TV, so my different 219 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 1: tacks brook have in Mississippi even smaller, and we would, uh, 220 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: we don't watch TV together, and it became a sort 221 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 1: of a force to bring things together. And uh, I 222 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: think you know your exactly the fireplace. Yeah, I'm not 223 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,439 Speaker 1: sure whether it's good or bad, but it's certainly different today. 224 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: And we don't have any unifying experience. We don't have 225 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: anything driving homogeneity, which you know, we saw the awful 226 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: side of often, but we also there was a good 227 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: side to it, which was it did sort of bring 228 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: people together as one civilization, and I do think we 229 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 1: missed some of that. I think an interesting thing is 230 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 1: in terms of the news. You know, the news, it 231 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: was something that you had an appointment with the TV set. 232 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 1: My dad would come home from work and he would 233 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: lie on a couch and he would read the New 234 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:48,560 Speaker 1: York Times. My father taught economics in American government in 235 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:52,439 Speaker 1: a public high school, and he was very politically engaged, 236 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 1: and he would come home and it would be John 237 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: Chancellor or Huntley Brinkley or croc Kite. Then rather you 238 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: sat down in front of the TV. Nancy Dickerson and 239 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: I remember all these names, Robert Trout. You watched all 240 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: these old time veterans of the news, and the news 241 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: came and you devoured it because it was no twenty 242 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: four hour news cycle. Nobody had a phone in their 243 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: hand where there were alerts on your phone. There was 244 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 1: a morning newspaper and an evening newspaper, and there was 245 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 1: radio and the TV at the specified times. And then 246 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: the news went away and your relationship with the world 247 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: went away. Yeah, which you're exactly right. So let's go 248 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: on to that period. What values do you think you 249 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: have today that came out of that experience and those times? 250 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: You know, I got remarried. My wife and I are 251 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: together now. Yesterday was the ten year anniversary of when 252 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,559 Speaker 1: I met my wife. I met my wife February two 253 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: thousand eleven, congratulating together for ten years, thank you. And 254 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: we had five kids in seven years. I got a 255 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: seven year old, of five year old, of four year old, 256 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: a two year old, and a five bold. We have 257 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,960 Speaker 1: a lot of kids here, and uh, the joke is 258 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: people will come over and they'll sit down and we'll see, 259 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: be careful, there might be a baby under that cushion. 260 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: And you never know. In this house. There's babies everywhere. 261 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 1: And what it's done for me at my age, because 262 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: I'm about to turn sixty three years old, is it's 263 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 1: made me go back into my own childhood and realize 264 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: that this is a gift I've been given and that 265 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: my family and my kids are really all that matters 266 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: to me. And the COVID. Even though the COVID has 267 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: been so debilitating, it has inhibited the way we normally 268 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: interact in terms of acting, but other than that, uh, 269 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: the effects of the COVID. I look at this time 270 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: and I think I'll never have this time again. I'll 271 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: never have this time again where I'm home with my 272 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: kids every day. They don't go to school. They rely 273 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,360 Speaker 1: on their mother and I to help them negotiate the 274 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: kind of peculiarity of this time in our lives. And 275 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: all they want is to be together. That's all they 276 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 1: want is your attention and you to listen to whatever 277 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: they say about school. And my daughter will turn to 278 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: me and say, did you realize that Saturday is not 279 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: the only planet that has rings on it? And I'll go, no, 280 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: I didn't know that. And she's lecturing me about the 281 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: solar system and she's seven years old. And that's it. 282 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: I mean, this time, this it's almost like a little 283 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 1: house on the prairie. I mean, something very simple and 284 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: pure with them is really the only thing I care 285 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 1: about anymore in my life, truly. That's It's a beautiful story. 286 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: We'll be right back with more math and Magic after 287 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 1: this quick break. Welcome back to Math and Magic. That's 288 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: you more from my conversation with Alec Baldwin. Let me 289 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: jump a little bit. Let's go to your conversion. It's 290 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: you had something sort of like Paul's conversion on the 291 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 1: Road to Damascus. When you went from this George Washington 292 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: University guy studying political science, expecting to be a lawyer. 293 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: You had had I think interned in your congressman's office, 294 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: you had in turned in a law firm, to suddenly 295 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: you decide you're going to be an actor, and you 296 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: go to n y U and you have these jobs 297 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: that you would think beginning actors have. You're a waiter, 298 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: you were a chaperone or a tour bus company. You 299 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: were a lifeguard. You're a bus boy at Studio fifty four. 300 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: I was, where did that conversion come from? Well, that's funny. 301 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 1: I'm at g W, and I loved it there in 302 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:39,240 Speaker 1: g W, back in nine was beginning to mold itself 303 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: into what it is now, and it was a different 304 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: Washington and more sleepy Washington. We're always reminded of Kennedy's 305 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: admonition that Washington was the city of northern hospitality and 306 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: southern efficiency, and that was surely true when I was there. 307 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:58,480 Speaker 1: I worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and a 308 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: guy there, he was an a turn and I said, now, 309 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: you're on the staff of this congressman. And I'm sure 310 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:05,879 Speaker 1: it's not paying you a lot of money. He said, no, 311 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,440 Speaker 1: it's not. I said, what gives with that? He said, well, 312 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: everyone's getting a law degree now just to have it 313 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 1: as another arrow in their quivered. And me said, it's 314 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:16,719 Speaker 1: really tough for the competition is tough to get in. 315 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:19,400 Speaker 1: The competition is really tough to get a job when 316 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 1: you get out. He said, I'm on the staff as 317 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:23,920 Speaker 1: a legislator. They with a law degree making sixty five 318 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,919 Speaker 1: dollars a year back then, which was decent money in 319 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 1: the seventies. And I thought to myself, I'm not going 320 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: to go to law school, which was my plan. I said, 321 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,160 Speaker 1: I'm gonna take a year off. I'm gonna try this 322 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: other thing and see how I like it, because it 323 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: seems stupid and silly and far fetched and very kind 324 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:43,119 Speaker 1: of dream like. And I went to n y U audition, 325 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,399 Speaker 1: got in. They gave me a scholarship, you know, a 326 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:47,679 Speaker 1: need based scholarship, but they paid for everything to go 327 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: because it was it was expensive for my family. And 328 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: I went there and as soon as I finished my 329 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: first year, I got a job, and I got another 330 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 1: job and I just I just kept working. I kept 331 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,359 Speaker 1: go go go, went out to l A, got jobs 332 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: at nighttime TV, and it just kept going. Even though 333 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: I wasn't necessarily that sure of my feelings about acting 334 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: in the life of an actor. But over the course 335 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 1: of the first couple of years I did it, I 336 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: fell in love with acting. When you started in your career, 337 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:19,880 Speaker 1: did you know the kind of work you wanted to do? 338 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: You and I wanted to fly airplanes as a kid, 339 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: and when I got old enough to get my license 340 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,200 Speaker 1: at sixteen, I was fifteen, told my parents I want 341 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:31,520 Speaker 1: to take flying lessons get my license. They said, well, 342 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,080 Speaker 1: you better get a job. And the only job I 343 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: could get in the small town of Mississippi was as 344 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 1: a radio announcer. And I had really no interest in radio. 345 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 1: It was just a job. But like you, I completely 346 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 1: fell in love with it and uh and that took 347 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,199 Speaker 1: me on this wonderful career. And by the time I 348 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: was twenty years old, I was at the NBC station 349 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:53,840 Speaker 1: in Chicago. They let me actually program the station in 350 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 1: addition to being on the air. When then they sent 351 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: me to New York to w NBC when I was 352 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: twenty three, so it was this great career, but it was, 353 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: as you say, completely driven by sort of the unexpected, 354 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,920 Speaker 1: and I completely fell in love with it, completely out 355 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:10,399 Speaker 1: of pattern. I didn't want to be a lawyer. I 356 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: always wanted to be a doctor. Uh And somehow that 357 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: just fell by the wayside and uh and this took over. 358 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:19,719 Speaker 1: The world has changed. So they asked you about and 359 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: you know, sort of soaps is sort of an interesting 360 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:23,880 Speaker 1: place to get started. If you'd said where Alec Baldwin began, 361 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,439 Speaker 1: I wouldn't say in the soaps. But what did you 362 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 1: What did that teach you about acting? Um, that's a 363 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,360 Speaker 1: good question. It teaches you two things that I remember vividly, 364 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:38,359 Speaker 1: which is about professionalism. That you come to work and 365 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:40,680 Speaker 1: it was like a Swiss watch. You know. They were 366 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:42,160 Speaker 1: you were in there at seven o'clock in the morning 367 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:44,399 Speaker 1: and we rehearse and you go to make up, and 368 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 1: they were like, we gotta shoot this episode, you know, 369 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: twenty two pages of daytime drama today. We've got to 370 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 1: get this done today. And they would bring actors in there, 371 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 1: some of them young people who would stay up all 372 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 1: night and party. They had money in their pocket and 373 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,200 Speaker 1: they were gone within like a couple of months, like you, 374 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,360 Speaker 1: you had to show up and be reliable. We all 375 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,439 Speaker 1: have a job here to do. Your part of a 376 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: collaboration of people. All of them have a job, and 377 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,000 Speaker 1: you have your job to do, and if you don't 378 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:11,679 Speaker 1: do it, if you screw up, you're going to affect 379 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: everybody else. And it made me realize you gotta show up, 380 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: you gotta know your lines. And then the second stage 381 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:21,919 Speaker 1: of that was the tendency to want to down grade 382 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: or to look askance at the material. Daytime writers had 383 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: very stressful lives because coming up with something worthwhile every 384 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: day was tough. And someone took me aside and they said, 385 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: you can't let that affect you. You've got to go 386 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:39,160 Speaker 1: to the opposite way. You have to find a way 387 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:42,199 Speaker 1: to make it work, because you're gonna find when you 388 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:45,000 Speaker 1: leave this job that if you only show up for work, 389 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: if you only go to work and make films and 390 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: television shows and do theater, whatever you do, and you 391 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: only do you know the greatest you know, Steve Zalien 392 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: script and Spielberg as you're you know, all this fan 393 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,359 Speaker 1: to see of like the Kreme de la Kreme. You know, 394 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:07,480 Speaker 1: Tony Kushner is writing and Soderberg is directing or whatever. 395 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,879 Speaker 1: That doesn't happen very often. You know, you you have 396 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 1: a piece of material in front of you, and it's 397 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 1: your job to try to mind it for as much 398 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,840 Speaker 1: value as you can. And one of the proving grounds 399 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 1: for me was a soap because the material sometimes was dreadful. 400 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,399 Speaker 1: I mean, it was really horrible, and you had to 401 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,840 Speaker 1: find a way to try to make it work. And 402 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: sometimes you succeeded and sometimes you didn't, but you had 403 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: to make that effort. And I thought that that was very, 404 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,000 Speaker 1: very helpful for me in terms of my work ethic. 405 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: You know, early in your career you were New York. 406 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:42,159 Speaker 1: You just sent in l A. And I know you 407 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 1: go back and forth. Let's go back to sort of 408 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:49,359 Speaker 1: the eighties and in too today. How do those two 409 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: cities differ in the creative process and what creativity means 410 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: in l A and what it means in New York? 411 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 1: And have you seen to change over time? Well, I'm 412 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,160 Speaker 1: sad to see that l A has been somewhat decimated, 413 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 1: not because of the COVID but because of this tax 414 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:10,360 Speaker 1: breaks and different entities poaching if you will, with their 415 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 1: tax structure. But I remember, even though I wasn't a 416 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:15,959 Speaker 1: fan of living in l A. I'd love to go 417 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: out there and shoot for a month or two and 418 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: then come home because I wanted to live in New York. 419 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 1: And the reason I wanted to live in New York 420 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,680 Speaker 1: because New York is like a mountain range. And when 421 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: you're at a dinner party or you're in an event 422 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: in New York, it's people who are at the top 423 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 1: of many different businesses. You're there with people in banking 424 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:38,640 Speaker 1: and real estate and art collecting and literature and journalism 425 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,320 Speaker 1: and music. I mean, you name the theater, political figures, academics, 426 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,400 Speaker 1: you name it. I mean show business has a place 427 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 1: of equivalence in a range of mountains in New York. 428 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 1: And when you go to Los Angeles, one mountain dwarfs 429 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 1: all the other mountains. And when you go there, it's 430 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,120 Speaker 1: all about show business. It's like a city for the winners. 431 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:00,880 Speaker 1: And if you're a winner, if you go out there 432 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 1: and you win an Emmy, and you and you, and 433 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: you walk into the restaurant and you'd walk in there 434 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: and they're like, oh, right this way, Mr Bold, don't 435 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: be here please, and can we what can we bring 436 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 1: a bottle of champagne to your table to celebrate your 437 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,520 Speaker 1: your winnings, and blah blah blah, you thought to yourself. 438 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: I used to turn to my friends and go, let's 439 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,880 Speaker 1: enjoy the fellows because it ends tomorrow morning. It's over. 440 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,479 Speaker 1: But it's funny how I don't want to live in 441 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 1: l A. But I love shooting in l A. And 442 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,160 Speaker 1: I was always disappointed when we wouldn't work out there 443 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: because the best people are in l A. I always 444 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 1: tell the same story. I say, when you go to 445 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,960 Speaker 1: the set of a movie somewhere and they'll say, the 446 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: prop guy wants to come into your trailer and show 447 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,159 Speaker 1: you some wrist watches for your character. He wants you 448 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,119 Speaker 1: to choose a wrist watch for your character. And the 449 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:51,119 Speaker 1: guy comes into your trailer. It's you know, you're in 450 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,679 Speaker 1: rehearsals for fittings for the movie and the guy shows 451 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,919 Speaker 1: you like fifty watches and you go, okay, what about 452 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:02,199 Speaker 1: that that little brightling there or whatever. And then you 453 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:03,640 Speaker 1: go to l A and they go, the prop guy 454 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 1: would like you to look at some watches for the show, 455 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: and he bring you in six cases with four hundred watches. 456 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,399 Speaker 1: You know, everybody in Hollywood, it's Hollywood, you know, and 457 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 1: everybody there is at the top of the game. When 458 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,160 Speaker 1: you're on a set in a studio, you know, when 459 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,120 Speaker 1: you're shooting. I think the last studio film my shot 460 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:23,879 Speaker 1: was a long time ago. But I never forget when 461 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,359 Speaker 1: I did Cat in the Hat with Mike Myers, which 462 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: was a silly movie, but we were on the lot 463 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,520 Speaker 1: at Universal for five months and they shot this thing forever, 464 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,919 Speaker 1: and I'll never forget. The crew was the greatest crew, 465 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,240 Speaker 1: and I thought to myself, I'm never going to have 466 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:40,960 Speaker 1: it this good again, because we're on the lot the 467 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:42,920 Speaker 1: whole time. He almost shot the whole movie on the lot, 468 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:45,680 Speaker 1: And they're just something about being on a sound stage 469 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: in l A and those crews out there. There's just 470 00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:50,720 Speaker 1: nothing like it in the world. Nothing. And I'm sad 471 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 1: that I don't really work out there as much as 472 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:54,679 Speaker 1: I used to. A lot of great old ghosts on 473 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,720 Speaker 1: the sound stages too. Oh yeah, oh god. You so, 474 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,399 Speaker 1: you know. In the early nineties, I think it was 475 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: you made your first appearance as the guest host on 476 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,400 Speaker 1: Saturday Night Live, and all these years later, I think 477 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,240 Speaker 1: you hold the record for hosting the most Saturday Night Live. 478 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,680 Speaker 1: You were talking about Lauren Michael's earlier on Dirty Rock. 479 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: What is it about Lauren Michaels, what's the magic? Lauren 480 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:22,200 Speaker 1: is smart in a way. He knows when to say yes, 481 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:25,159 Speaker 1: when to say no, how to say yes, how to 482 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 1: say no, how to keep people engaged with him. And 483 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: you you find yourself in a place where you trust 484 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: that this is a guy who you know he has 485 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,479 Speaker 1: your interest at heart. Now granted it's in his interests 486 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:44,920 Speaker 1: as well, but he's doing things that if he believes 487 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:49,119 Speaker 1: in you, will benefit you career wise. Lauren is someone 488 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: who he's wise, He's very wise, and he keeps you 489 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:57,399 Speaker 1: focused on having the preferred attitude. Like I always tell 490 00:25:57,440 --> 00:25:59,720 Speaker 1: the same story. The first year we went to the 491 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:03,119 Speaker 1: m we didn't win. Actually I think we want ensemble cast, 492 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:07,800 Speaker 1: and then we lost to Modern Family or whatever. But 493 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,719 Speaker 1: but we we go to the Emmy's the second year 494 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,439 Speaker 1: and we win everything and we're we're heading to the 495 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: Valet parking and we went to the Governor's Ball for 496 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:18,639 Speaker 1: the TV Academy. This is for the Emmy, is not 497 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:20,879 Speaker 1: the Oscars. And we go to the Governor's Ball and 498 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,080 Speaker 1: as we go to the valley, I go God, I said, 499 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,040 Speaker 1: you know last year when we lost, we were like 500 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:27,879 Speaker 1: in and atty here really quickly, you know. We well, 501 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:29,679 Speaker 1: we went to the restaurant, had dinner and had a 502 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: lot of fun. I said, this year, we won, so 503 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: we had to go to the Governor's ball and take 504 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:36,640 Speaker 1: pictures with all these people. I mean like we were 505 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: taking pictures for like an hour and a half and 506 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,480 Speaker 1: we had to go table to table and get introduced 507 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:45,080 Speaker 1: to this guy and this guy and this person take pictures. 508 00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:47,159 Speaker 1: I said, this is really like exhausting and what a 509 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: pain in the ass. And we're standing at the Valley 510 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,960 Speaker 1: parking and Lauren takes his Emmy and he holds it 511 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: up to me and he goes. But winning is better, right, 512 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,439 Speaker 1: Lauren is the one who helps you maintained perspective in 513 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: a business that it's very easy to lose perspective. So 514 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: so Saturday Night Live, I love it. Saturday Night Live 515 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: got started about the same time my career at NBC started. 516 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 1: A guy named Herb Schlausser was the president of NBC 517 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,199 Speaker 1: then and was really the champion of of Lauren. He 518 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 1: was my mentor there and uh, and I remember I 519 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 1: was programming in Chicago and he came out and talked 520 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,880 Speaker 1: to me about Saturday Night Live, among other things. How 521 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: on earth do they keep that creativity going for this 522 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,160 Speaker 1: many years? Well, I think that the biggest and this 523 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,680 Speaker 1: is my opinion. I mean I've never heard anybody say this, 524 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,720 Speaker 1: but the biggest I think challenge for them, The biggest 525 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 1: frontier was the digital frontier to take what was a 526 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:49,639 Speaker 1: diminishing network broadcast audience and to get that content and 527 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:51,919 Speaker 1: to get some form of that content in clips and 528 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,720 Speaker 1: snippets and scenes and sketches, I mean any way you 529 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,880 Speaker 1: can on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, you name it, to get 530 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: it out there and to get the NBC content and 531 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,440 Speaker 1: the SNL content. I mean, you know, there were numbers 532 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 1: for the show that we're very, very you know, good 533 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,160 Speaker 1: numbers for them over the years, and now the show 534 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,080 Speaker 1: does numbers that are just ridiculous. They're live on both 535 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 1: coasts now, so they do the eleven thirty feet at 536 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: night live at eight thirty on the West coast and 537 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 1: they're live across the country. They don't have it to 538 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: You're not watching a taped feet in l A anymore. 539 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,760 Speaker 1: And then they're all over the internet in the ensuing 540 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:35,639 Speaker 1: you know, Plus seven schedule and their numbers are equal 541 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: to network prime time numbers. They're competing with prime time 542 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,920 Speaker 1: shows in terms of their numbers, which is just if 543 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 1: you told me that fifteen years ago, I would have 544 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 1: met everything I had against that. And this is again 545 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: Lauren adapting. Lauren is always adapted in terms of the comedians, 546 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: where they come from, who they are, the talent, music. 547 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: You know, the joke was with Lauren his daughter. So 548 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 1: the the joke was who's the musical act? How do 549 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,200 Speaker 1: they determine who the musical act is on Saturday Night Live? 550 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: And when his daughter was young, they said, who's ever 551 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: in Sophie's iPod? Lauren would take the information wherever he 552 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,160 Speaker 1: could get it. Who knows what's new, fresh happening, who's 553 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:21,480 Speaker 1: a young actor? But in the end, when this is 554 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: the thing I among the things I love about Lauren 555 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: the most, Lauren decides Lauren garners all this information about 556 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: potential hosts, music sketches, material, who we make fun of, 557 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:37,280 Speaker 1: who we don't make fun of, how much we make 558 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: fun of them. That the actual molding of a show 559 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 1: that goes from eleven thirty at night till one o'clock 560 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,080 Speaker 1: in the morning and gets progressively I don't want to 561 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 1: say adult, but a little bit more sophisticated, shall we say? 562 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,000 Speaker 1: As the night goes on. I've done sketches for Lauren 563 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,160 Speaker 1: where he'd sit there and say, that's a twelve thirty sketch. 564 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,520 Speaker 1: We put that towards the end of the show because 565 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:58,400 Speaker 1: it's a little more riskay, or it's a little more 566 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 1: kind of crispy in that way. And Lauren's mastery of 567 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: all the things that are in that world, I mean 568 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 1: every element of it. You'll say to Lauren. You watch 569 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 1: Lauren give notes. I meant of the notes he gives 570 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 1: during the notes between shows. We do the dress in 571 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: the air, you do a full dress at eight o'clock, 572 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 1: you do the air show at and in between an 573 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: abundance of his notes or camera notes go tighter here, 574 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 1: Why is that light? Put another light on him? Why 575 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,680 Speaker 1: is that daktrob that color blue? He's producing a TV 576 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: show where his eye it's like he's making a movie. 577 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:34,960 Speaker 1: Lauren is just he's probably one of the smartest people 578 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:37,360 Speaker 1: I've ever met in my life period, and he's certainly 579 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:39,120 Speaker 1: one of the three or four smartest people I've ever 580 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:43,000 Speaker 1: met in the business because of his his adaptability he's 581 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,360 Speaker 1: so adaptable. Well, he stands alone in the industry. I 582 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 1: don't think there's anybody quite like Lauren. No, there wasn't. 583 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: You talked about scripts, and it's so everybody's in that 584 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 1: line to get a script. Some have the shorter lines. 585 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:01,560 Speaker 1: How do you pick what you're gonna do? What's your process? 586 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:04,160 Speaker 1: When I was young, I worked all the time. When 587 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:06,200 Speaker 1: I was young, it was like chain smoking. I just 588 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: lit one off the other. And then as I got older, 589 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,000 Speaker 1: I got more discerning in that way. And now as 590 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,120 Speaker 1: I'm at the age of that now, you know, I 591 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:14,920 Speaker 1: think it's the same muscle. You sit there and go, 592 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,080 Speaker 1: I want to go to work, But when you get older, 593 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,560 Speaker 1: you think, what is not duplicative of stuff I've already done. 594 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: Because a lot of people want me to come in 595 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,960 Speaker 1: and play some glengary type of guy that straightens everybody out, 596 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,320 Speaker 1: and there's a kind of a ferocity to that character, 597 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,680 Speaker 1: and that gets to be kind of boring for me. 598 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 1: But I think when I work now, it's about the people. 599 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 1: So you'll say to me, here's a guy that wants 600 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:40,280 Speaker 1: to work with you with the project, and you think, 601 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 1: in most cases you know who it is and you'll 602 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 1: sit there and go, oh my god, I'm dying to 603 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: work with him. Like I never work in the summer. 604 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: Here's a good example. I never work in the summer. 605 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:52,640 Speaker 1: I take all of July and August off, except except 606 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 1: if it's Marty Scorsese, and so Marty calls me and says, 607 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 1: would you come and do The Departed? Were up in 608 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:00,600 Speaker 1: Massachusetts and we're gonna shoot in August them like you 609 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: got it. You know, there's people who when they when 610 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: they there's people who when they call you, you just say, 611 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,120 Speaker 1: when's my fitting, let's go. You know, you're just dying 612 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:11,160 Speaker 1: to be around them. You're just dying to be around them, 613 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: even if the part you're playing is not that significant, 614 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: even if the film by no means pivots on anything 615 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:22,280 Speaker 1: you're doing. It's just such a joy to be around them. 616 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: Bob de Niro asked me to do The Good Shepherd, 617 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 1: and just to be on the set with Bob. It 618 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,479 Speaker 1: was just mind blowing. It was just mind blowing. You know. 619 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: I've had a few experiences like that when we did 620 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 1: Glen Garry and them. Around these actors that are these 621 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:41,080 Speaker 1: actors I worshiped. It's who you work with so let's 622 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 1: let's jump the podcast. You're considered a podcast pioneer. Here's 623 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,960 Speaker 1: the thing with Alec Baldwin. What caught your attention with podcasting? 624 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,320 Speaker 1: How did you get there so early? What grabbed you? 625 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:56,080 Speaker 1: I had wanted to stay home. I didn't want to 626 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 1: travel anymore. I wanted to work from New York, and 627 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:02,960 Speaker 1: I had pitched the TV show Talk Show. That was 628 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,520 Speaker 1: a disaster. I think we aired four or five shows, 629 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 1: and of the five shows we aired, four of them 630 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,280 Speaker 1: were against Sunday night football, against the hottest games of 631 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 1: the season. I mean, I think I think the entire 632 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: audience from my show could fit in one elevator at 633 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 1: sax S Fithaven, you know what I mean. It was 634 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: like forget it. So when I started thinking of the 635 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 1: idea of radio and podcast, I had different ideas, you know, 636 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,920 Speaker 1: like a Howard Stern type of bullpen with a cast 637 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:35,560 Speaker 1: of characters. And then the people I was working with 638 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 1: finally said to me, listen, let's just try this at first, 639 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:41,760 Speaker 1: just you talking to people, and we did that for 640 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:44,200 Speaker 1: w N my C. It's not really an interview because 641 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,480 Speaker 1: it's a conversation. You know. Terry Gross keeps it all 642 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 1: about her guest, and that's her show, and I love 643 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,960 Speaker 1: that show and I'm very admiring of her, but that's 644 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:57,200 Speaker 1: an interview show, and I thought to myself, that wasn't 645 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:00,120 Speaker 1: interesting to me. So if I bring on people, you 646 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:02,440 Speaker 1: know that our actors and performers, and talk to them 647 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,520 Speaker 1: about either something we have in common, you know, their 648 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 1: peers of mine, or there's somebody like Debbie Reynolds did 649 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,239 Speaker 1: my show and my god, I mean just I mean, 650 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:14,520 Speaker 1: I could have talked to her for six hours about 651 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:18,600 Speaker 1: her career and uh, I mean, they're just so admiring 652 00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:22,919 Speaker 1: of them and engaged by them. We've done pretty well 653 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,120 Speaker 1: and now we're on iHeart. As you know, we moved 654 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:27,480 Speaker 1: from public radio to My Heart and I'm very glad 655 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:30,279 Speaker 1: for that. The podcast to me, are always divided into 656 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,839 Speaker 1: two groups. Ones I like and once I love. I mean, 657 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:36,000 Speaker 1: I I like them all. I mean, there isn't one 658 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:38,239 Speaker 1: show we did that I regret it ever. But then 659 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:42,680 Speaker 1: we have people come on and it's just Billy Joel's handlers. 660 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:45,080 Speaker 1: If you will said, now, whatever you do, don't ask 661 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:49,520 Speaker 1: Billy to play. Don't ask him to play. Whatever you do, 662 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:53,240 Speaker 1: don't ask him to play. Now, I know Billy personally 663 00:34:53,239 --> 00:34:54,600 Speaker 1: and I called him on the phone and I said, 664 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:56,400 Speaker 1: thanks so much for coming to do this with us. 665 00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:58,879 Speaker 1: We're very excited. I can't thank you, and if I'm 666 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:00,880 Speaker 1: really looking forward to to doing this with you. And 667 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:04,440 Speaker 1: he said, you're gonna have a piano m And I 668 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: said what he said, You're gonna have a piano. I said, 669 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,319 Speaker 1: we were told that it was forbidden for us to 670 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 1: ask you to play. He goes, oh, that's ridiculous, come on, 671 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,040 Speaker 1: come on, and we go into a studio in my 672 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:18,239 Speaker 1: scene at the sound stage where they record music, and 673 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:20,200 Speaker 1: there was a piano, and oh my god. I think 674 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,080 Speaker 1: he's the one show we did where we didn't edit 675 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:25,279 Speaker 1: the show. It was one hour and five minutes or 676 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:28,040 Speaker 1: whatever it is uncut. We just played it from start 677 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:33,120 Speaker 1: to finish. Because he's so seamless about his knowledge of 678 00:35:33,239 --> 00:35:36,399 Speaker 1: music and what influenced him musically. It was just absolutely 679 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:40,560 Speaker 1: What are the most thrilling ones we ever did creatively? 680 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:44,400 Speaker 1: What is podcast offer you that you can't get in 681 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:48,360 Speaker 1: any other form? Well? I think that like music. I 682 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:50,640 Speaker 1: mean I always say that music has a significance in 683 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:54,719 Speaker 1: people's lives that theater and film and TV don't have. 684 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:57,640 Speaker 1: Because you can consume it anywhere. You can be in 685 00:35:57,640 --> 00:35:59,520 Speaker 1: the shower, you can be in the gym, you can 686 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:03,279 Speaker 1: be in the are And podcasts offer that podcast is 687 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:05,320 Speaker 1: the I mean, this is why I love radio. Audio 688 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:08,439 Speaker 1: is something that you can indulge just about any time, 689 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:12,759 Speaker 1: the same as music almost is that idea of its 690 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,319 Speaker 1: um availability, you can you can consume it anywhere. And 691 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:18,000 Speaker 1: I love that. And I listened to a lot of 692 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,960 Speaker 1: Part'm addicted to this American life and for years, and 693 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 1: I listened to a bunch of podcasts. So as we 694 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 1: wind down, you've had a front row seat in the 695 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:30,480 Speaker 1: entertainment business for decades. So I want you to think 696 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:33,439 Speaker 1: just a second and give a shout out to two 697 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:35,399 Speaker 1: people we always in the show this way because it's 698 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:39,120 Speaker 1: called math and magic. Who's the let's talk about the mathematician. 699 00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:43,640 Speaker 1: Who's the best business person you've met you can think 700 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 1: of an entertainment or media And who's the most creative 701 00:36:46,719 --> 00:36:50,760 Speaker 1: the magic? Well, I would say that I love this question. 702 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,640 Speaker 1: By the way, Well, one person who I don't know, well, 703 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:55,560 Speaker 1: i've met him many times and I don't know well, 704 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:58,759 Speaker 1: but someone who and I'm sure you can appreciate this 705 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:01,719 Speaker 1: in your career. The person who I've always heard consistently 706 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:05,640 Speaker 1: is the guy with the Midas touch. Everything he touches 707 00:37:05,719 --> 00:37:11,319 Speaker 1: turns to profit or is successful is Geffen. Geffen is 708 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:13,920 Speaker 1: someone who I always hear these really really like he 709 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,640 Speaker 1: just has some mystical ability in terms of his investment 710 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:22,800 Speaker 1: strategies and his businesses, and he's been this preposterously successful 711 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:27,040 Speaker 1: guy for a very very long time. Then I guess, 712 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 1: in terms of the magic and the creativity, the person 713 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:34,360 Speaker 1: who always amazes me the most in terms of the 714 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,319 Speaker 1: range of his work. Now, of course he has every 715 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:42,200 Speaker 1: advantage that other people don't have because he's so successful commercially, 716 00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:45,520 Speaker 1: and he's so on top of his game. He knows 717 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:47,920 Speaker 1: what he's doing. As Spielberg, I would say Spielberg is 718 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,240 Speaker 1: the person who And that's a tough question to answer 719 00:37:50,239 --> 00:37:55,440 Speaker 1: because I've got many people, you know, Fincher and Soderberg 720 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:59,400 Speaker 1: and Marty and Di Palma and Coppola and you know, 721 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:02,520 Speaker 1: I mean, it's an endless there's so many hundreds of 722 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:05,479 Speaker 1: directors and you know, and and foreign directors and so forth, 723 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:09,719 Speaker 1: European directors. It's tough to pick one. So I'm really 724 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:12,000 Speaker 1: only picking one among many because I admire many of 725 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,839 Speaker 1: them to the same level. But there's something about Spielberg 726 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,200 Speaker 1: to me that is just uncanny. I mean that just 727 00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:20,160 Speaker 1: the range. I mean things from AI and Jurassic Park 728 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:24,879 Speaker 1: to Jaws and munich Et and Lincoln and Amistad, and 729 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:28,319 Speaker 1: I mean just the range of his I mean even 730 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:30,680 Speaker 1: the things that Spielberg has done that have not been 731 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:37,000 Speaker 1: as successful creatively and commercially as his more towering achievements 732 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:39,960 Speaker 1: like Jurassic and Jaws, and even the ones that didn't 733 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:43,920 Speaker 1: do as well overall, there's still better than most other 734 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:46,319 Speaker 1: people's movies. I mean, Spielberg to me just is on 735 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:48,560 Speaker 1: an island of his own. He's on a planet of 736 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:53,120 Speaker 1: his own in terms of talent. A congratulations on everything. 737 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:55,759 Speaker 1: Thanks for taking the time today, and by the way, 738 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:59,000 Speaker 1: thanks for joining the Heart family with with your podcast. 739 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:01,680 Speaker 1: Always from Bob and I, my friends and I who 740 00:39:01,719 --> 00:39:04,080 Speaker 1: were in this club. We all salute each other and 741 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:06,239 Speaker 1: we all left about this. I still have an a 742 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:11,799 Speaker 1: O L mail account Bob me too. Here are a 743 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,600 Speaker 1: few things I learned from my conversation with Alec. One 744 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:17,440 Speaker 1: understand what your job is and how to have value 745 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:20,120 Speaker 1: to it. But I only got his big break and soaps. 746 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:23,520 Speaker 1: He learned you have to know your lines, but you 747 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:27,719 Speaker 1: also have to work to sell them. To embrace the 748 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:31,640 Speaker 1: opportunities that surprise you, and Alex's experience. When you think 749 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:35,000 Speaker 1: you're choosing between A, B and C, the actual will 750 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:39,600 Speaker 1: probably be D. Three. Whether it's a costar or a 751 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:43,960 Speaker 1: co worker. Never underestimate how your collaborators can help you grow. 752 00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:47,440 Speaker 1: These days, Alex chooses his projects based on who he'll 753 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:49,840 Speaker 1: be working with. The Next time you're searching for a 754 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:54,080 Speaker 1: new partner or collaborator, ask yourself, will this person challenge me? 755 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:59,000 Speaker 1: Will they help me grow? Four? And in these difficult times, 756 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:02,920 Speaker 1: take some comfort and the simple things. During COVID, Alec 757 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:06,240 Speaker 1: has found balanced by spending time outdoors, going on hikes 758 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:10,400 Speaker 1: and playing in the snow with his family. Thanks for listening. 759 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:14,680 Speaker 1: I'm Bob Pittman. That's it for today's episode. Thanks so 760 00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:17,040 Speaker 1: much for listening to Math and Magic, a production of 761 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,040 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. This show is hosted by Bob Pittman. 762 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:22,920 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Sue Schillinger for booking and wrangling our 763 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,160 Speaker 1: wonderful talent, which is no small feat. Nikki Eatore for 764 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:29,919 Speaker 1: pulling research bill plaques, and Michael Asar for their recording help, 765 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:34,040 Speaker 1: our editor Ryan Murdoch and of course Gayle Raoul, Eric Angel, 766 00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:37,080 Speaker 1: Noel Mango, and everyone who helped bring this show to 767 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:38,839 Speaker 1: your ears. Until next time,