0:15

Pushkin, hang

0:34

on in the soul too long,

0:36

gonna get to no betther

0:41

this Christmas? And

0:44

as we turned the tree, how

0:46

much fun it's gonna be together

0:52

this Christmas fire

0:54

size blazing bride. We're

0:59

caroling through the night,

1:03

and this Christmas will

1:07

be there is I

1:09

shoke chrispad from

1:12

me? That

1:16

was Donnie Hathaway. I'm Sanford Goso

1:19

and this is Talk Easy.

1:21

Welcome to our annual holiday episode.

1:24

I love doing these each and every

1:27

year on the podcast. The

1:29

premise is pretty simple. I invite

1:32

a handful of folks who came

1:34

on the show over the past twelve months to

1:37

talk about something they're grateful for in

1:39

twenty nineteen. I realize gratitude

1:42

is something usually discussed

1:44

around Thanksgiving, but I don't

1:47

know. For me personally, this

1:49

is a time of year where it's

1:51

really easy for me

1:53

to get a little despondent

1:56

and melancholic and disappointed

1:58

about all that I didn't do and all

2:00

that I wanted to do, and just

2:03

the general passing of time.

2:05

I'm not someone who handles birthdays

2:08

very well or New Year's very well.

2:11

This is maybe too much information for you, but it

2:14

is true, and I have found

2:16

that it is healthy and helpful

2:19

to take stock of your

2:21

life and the things that have happened

2:24

and the people in it and be

2:26

thankful for all that is good.

2:29

So that's what you're about to hear. It's a

2:31

mix of phone calls and voicemails

2:34

with twelve people who came

2:36

on this podcast in twenty nineteen and

2:40

that wanted to contribute a little bit to this

2:42

holiday episode. All right, before

2:44

we get into it, a little bit of housekeeping.

2:47

I've put together this kind of holiday

2:49

newsletter, and if you

2:51

would like to receive that newsletter,

2:54

you can drop us a line at talk easypod

2:56

at gmail dot com. You can also

2:59

message us on Instagram and Twitter at

3:01

talk easypod and send

3:03

along your email. In this newsletter,

3:06

I write about the podcast a little bit the

3:09

year that twenty nineteen was for the

3:11

show and for me. I also

3:13

include a list of my favorite movies of the

3:16

year. And above all, I

3:18

have assembled a ridiculously

3:21

comprehensive, meticulously

3:23

constructed playlist of

3:25

the fifty songs that I kept playing

3:28

over and over and over again,

3:31

much to my friend chagrin, in twenty

3:34

nineteen. If you'd like to listen

3:36

to that, you can find it on Spotify. The

3:38

playlist title is Talk Easy, Listen

3:40

Easy twenty nineteen. Addition, as

3:43

you can tell by that title, I am horrible

3:46

at titles. But if you want to hear

3:48

that playlist, I have a feeling

3:50

it may be the only one that includes

3:53

HOGI, Carmichael, Kanye West,

3:56

Warren Zevon, Steve Lacy, Solange.

4:00

There are many more people Minie Ripperton, Dion

4:03

Warwick, Paul Simon. It

4:05

is admittedly a strange batch of

4:07

songs, but in my head

4:09

they all kind of make sense together. So if

4:11

you want to hear that it's on Spotify, you can also

4:13

send us an email and we

4:16

will include you in that newsletter. And

4:19

I think that's it. I will talk

4:22

about what I'm grateful for at

4:24

the end of this episode. Until

4:26

then, let's

4:28

get into the calls. Our first caller

4:31

is you know what, I'll

4:33

let him introduce himself.

4:36

I hope you enjoyed this episode. I'll see you

4:38

at the end. Hey,

4:44

this is Randall Park. I

4:46

am grateful for Fresh off the Boat.

4:49

I'm actually recording this in

4:51

between setups. We are

4:53

shooting our final scene of

4:56

our final episode of

4:59

our final season of the

5:01

entire series. So it's

5:04

bittersweet. I

5:06

love this entire cast and crew, and

5:08

I'm grateful for this cast and crew,

5:11

and it was a great experience, and

5:14

yeah, yeah, that's what I'm grateful for.

5:20

Next up is Mary Holland. She performs

5:22

over at the UCB in

5:24

a wonderfully funny comedic troop

5:26

called The Wild Horses. She's

5:29

also in a new movie called Greener Grass.

5:32

I really love Mary. She is someone

5:34

I think in a couple of years

5:37

everyone is going to know and

5:39

fall in love with. She is so, so

5:42

funny, and we

5:44

had a really interesting talk earlier

5:47

this year on the podcast, and

5:50

if you haven't listened to it, it's one

5:52

of my favorite episodes of twenty

5:54

nineteen. So let's

5:57

give her a call. I always get nervous

5:59

calling people, but you know what, let's just

6:01

go for it. Hello,

6:06

Hello, Mary, how are we doing. I'm

6:09

good. How are you saying? Oh my god,

6:11

I feel like it's been ten years

6:13

since we spoke. Well, I

6:16

know, it does feel like it's been forever.

6:19

I was just thinking about the last time we talked.

6:22

You know, you were witnessed to a little identity

6:25

crisis. How fun was that? You

6:28

know, I one hundred percent knew you

6:31

were going to bring this up right at the

6:33

beginning here. I

6:36

mean, it's the elephant in the room. Everybody's

6:38

thinking about it. Everybody who's listening

6:41

is like, when is she gonna address what

6:43

happened? So can

6:46

I ask you? Because we haven't spoken. I think we exchanged

6:49

some Instagram messages,

6:51

but we haven't really spoken at all. I haven't

6:53

seen you. That's right.

6:57

Two things. One, how did you feel

7:00

about doing the show in the

7:02

aftermath of all that. I

7:04

was surprised at how

7:08

deep it got. I knew

7:10

it would be a stimulating conversation. I

7:14

think I was a bit surprised myself

7:16

at that sort of you

7:19

know, I feel like I just really rip

7:22

my heart right out of my chest and just put it right

7:24

on my sleeve and like showed

7:26

it to you and was like, what do you think?

7:30

I was a bit sure.

7:32

I wrestled with a little bit of shame or

7:35

an embarrassment I will say, of like, oh

7:37

God, I can't believe that just poured

7:39

out of me. But then I was like, but

7:41

hey, maybe this is good

7:44

to listen to for people or you know,

7:46

and anybody can shut it off if they don't

7:48

want to, but I do. I've

7:50

had moments where I've wrestled

7:52

with should I be more private

7:55

about things? And I think, yes, I

7:58

should. But then also sharing

8:01

that sort of vulnerability about

8:03

a creative process

8:06

I think is helpful.

8:08

It's help to me, and it's hopefully helpful

8:10

to someone else who might be struggling

8:14

with something similar. So in

8:16

conclusion, I think it's great. You

8:19

didn't think that I judged

8:22

you though, right, No,

8:25

no, I did not feel judged. No, no,

8:28

not at all. You are

8:30

incredibly comforting. Okay,

8:32

good. I mean, it's just it's a it's a strange

8:35

thing, right because we are, or

8:37

at least we're at that time, complete strangers.

8:39

I mean we're still basically stranger. Yes, And

8:42

I know it's like saying all that

8:44

to someone you do not know. It's

8:47

very scary and vulnerable. It is

8:49

scary. Well, but

8:51

you created such a safe space.

8:54

You know. I'm sure everybody who

8:56

comes on your show fields this way that it's

9:00

very comfortable talking with you,

9:02

and it feels totally

9:04

safe and you feel interested in what

9:07

I'm saying, what we're saying, and so

9:10

that leads need to be more

9:12

vulnerable, and I think that that is

9:14

a good thing. So it

9:16

was a positive experience for me. Well,

9:19

it looked if this is your way of sort

9:21

of inadvertently asking whether I

9:23

would cry in front of you coming

9:26

on Wild Horses, I told I would

9:28

totally do it. I will do it in front of

9:30

the UCB crowd. Okay, just

9:33

just as retribution, just just

9:35

to be fair. Amazing.

9:37

I'm just gonna draw up a quick little contract.

9:39

I'll email it over to you. If I could just

9:41

get you to sign up. I would just love to have that in

9:43

writing, because just you know, just

9:46

that we can really lock it in here, we can lock

9:48

it in. That's a twenty twenty

9:50

a yes, So

9:53

tell me the last six seven

9:55

months. The prompt

9:57

of this whole thing is like what we are

10:00

grateful for? So, what's

10:02

something that's been good in your life? And how

10:05

are you feeling about the

10:07

sort of larger identity questions

10:09

you were talking about back then? Well,

10:14

fun fact, I'm still

10:17

in the midst of figuring all that out. I

10:19

do feel a

10:21

bit stronger, a bit clearer on

10:25

things as far as my

10:29

my creative point of view, which is

10:32

really what I was. I feel like when I came

10:34

on your show, I was smacked up in the middle

10:36

of like this question suddenly

10:38

popping into my head and wrestling

10:41

with it. And now I've sort

10:43

of made peace with that question. I

10:45

feel like I've understood that, yeah,

10:47

that question will always sort of

10:50

be there, and I can

10:52

play with it instead of being paralyzed

10:54

by it. In the last six

10:58

seven months, I mean, this whole past year,

11:00

I feel incredibly

11:04

lucky and grateful for many

11:08

things on a personal and a professional

11:11

level. But one thing I was thinking about

11:13

is that so much of this

11:16

industry, that television and

11:19

improv and comedy, it's the personal

11:21

and professional intermingle so much

11:24

so they really are tied together.

11:27

For me in

11:29

this one thing

11:31

that I'm the sort of blanket statement

11:33

that I can point to as being

11:36

something I'm so grateful for this

11:38

year in general, which is the

11:40

opportunity to collaborate

11:43

with friends. I feel

11:46

like I've encountered that just

11:49

this whole year long, every professional

11:52

opportunity has been afforded

11:55

me by friends, by people

11:57

who know me on

11:59

you know, either super well, or have

12:02

met me once or twice, or saw me in

12:04

a show or something, or but

12:08

saw me a potential and

12:11

believed in that to bring me on board

12:14

the project they were working on and let

12:16

me be a part of that process

12:18

with them. I feel

12:20

like I'm just surrounded by

12:22

people who are constantly

12:26

inspiring me in all

12:28

these different ways, and I think that

12:30

that has eased the stress

12:32

and the pressure of that question I was

12:34

struggling with the last time

12:36

I came on, which was like, what who am I? What is

12:39

my identity? What's my voice? I don't know? And

12:42

I think this whole

12:45

gear has been about being a

12:47

part of other

12:51

people's voices and visions

12:53

and also having a voice within

12:55

that, and understanding that it is

12:58

such a collaborative process. You don't

13:00

have to have all the answers, and

13:03

in fact, it's it's

13:05

maybe better that you don't have

13:07

all the answers. Do

13:09

you think there is something out there right

13:12

now just for people listening that

13:14

they could look at and you feel, oh,

13:17

that represents my

13:19

voice in some way? Oh

13:21

like that thing represents a part

13:24

of me in a way that I really love. Yeah,

13:27

I mean, I don't know that.

13:29

People can't look at it right

13:32

now, but it's something

13:34

that will be needed. Yes,

13:37

it exists, but it's just

13:40

not in this moment. So

13:42

I'm sorry it exists, but you can't

13:45

see it. So sorry, No,

13:48

I think that my

13:51

writing collaboration with Clia

13:53

Duval. We worked on this Christmas

13:56

movie together that is going

13:58

we're shooting it actually in January and

14:00

then it's gonna be coming out in

14:02

next November. And I

14:05

really feel the whole process of writing

14:07

that movie with her, and you know, we wrote

14:10

a part for me in it. Clea

14:12

is directing it, and

14:16

that the role that we wrote

14:18

for me to play. I

14:20

feel so excited

14:23

for it because we drew

14:26

from a lot of specifics

14:28

that are true to me, and

14:30

so I really think that

14:32

that movie and that that particular

14:34

character is going to be super representative

14:37

of my voice in

14:39

that path. I'm very proud of it,

14:41

and I'm pumped for it. It's it's

14:44

so exciting that it's it's happening.

14:46

So yeah, I

14:48

mean, I guess I would say, like out of things

14:50

that are out there right now, I

14:55

just think that I've I've gotten to do

14:58

a lot of fun parts

15:00

on all these different kinds of

15:02

shows, like I was on Curb

15:06

Your Enthusiasm this year, and I'm just a

15:09

show that's gonna I'm sure you've heard about

15:11

Quiby the platform Quimby I

15:14

have. I think that's an all time. Terrible

15:16

name for a platform,

15:19

right, I mean, it's so bad. How

15:21

could you land on that name?

15:24

I don't know, but I will say it's kind of adorable.

15:27

It's sort of like, oh my, it's my

15:29

quidbye, I have to go feed my quibi, you

15:31

know what I mean? Like it's kind of huge.

15:34

Look here, here's what I think. If they

15:37

if they properly compensated you

15:39

for your work, then I'm all behind

15:41

them. But you're not going to be able to name

15:44

Okay, good they

15:46

do. But there's this wonderful

15:49

show that Paula Pelle and John

15:51

Lutz created called The maple Worth Murders

15:53

that's going to be on that platform, and they

15:56

they ask me in this really fun part,

15:58

and I feel like I truly

16:01

am someone who enjoys

16:05

acting so much that I feel like

16:07

everything that I that I get

16:09

to be a part of is

16:12

me, Like it's my it

16:14

is representative of my voice, but

16:17

it's it's sort of it's

16:19

like it's just multi I

16:21

want. I guess what I'm discovering

16:24

is that when you when you talk about my

16:26

voice that's multifaceted, it

16:28

doesn't mean it doesn't have

16:30

to mean one thing or something

16:33

that you make solo or something that

16:35

is purely originated

16:37

in your brain. It's something you bring

16:40

to something that

16:42

originated in someone else's brain.

16:45

There's a lot to be grateful

16:48

for, I guess, and a lot to be um to

16:52

point to as far as projects

16:54

I've been involved with this year that feel

16:57

so close to me and so part

17:00

of who I am. I guess

17:02

it's all intertwined. It totally

17:04

is. I mean. I was really listening

17:07

to parts of the episode earlier

17:10

this week, and the thing there

17:12

is a sense in listening that

17:16

you are particularly

17:19

hard on yourself.

17:21

I think that's that's what

17:23

That's what I gathered, I mean, and I I maybe

17:26

identify that because I

17:28

am particularly hard on myself all the time.

17:31

So I'm acutely sensitive

17:34

to it when I see it in someone else.

17:36

Right, I am interested. You

17:39

know, where do you stand on

17:42

that? Do you feel

17:44

that it's getting better or easier or

17:48

nothing has changed. I

17:51

do feel like it's gotten better. I

17:53

don't think that I'll ever stop

17:56

being self

17:59

critical, but

18:01

I think what it has gotten better is

18:05

I'm sort of I guess it's

18:08

you. I just made peace with

18:10

that part of it, and

18:12

so instead of it becoming this thing

18:14

that has that spirals me out

18:17

for a few days.

18:19

It's the feeling. It's it's

18:21

a blue feeling that comes

18:25

and I greet it and then it and

18:27

then it leaves. I think

18:30

before like the impulse was to even

18:33

though it's counterintuitive, the impulse was to sustain

18:35

it somehow, to like feed this

18:39

instinct in myself that I'm bad, I'm

18:42

everything I do is bad. I should I gotta

18:44

and to nourish that feeling and make

18:46

it, to make it grow in

18:49

spite of it feeling so awful. But

18:53

now I think it, I do sense

18:55

a shift where it's more like, oh yeah,

18:57

here's that feeling. I don't

18:59

need to feed it.

19:01

It'll just go away and then it

19:04

has to pass more quickly. So

19:07

I don't know if that's a permanent state, but I

19:09

definitely can sense something

19:11

getting better there. I look, that's

19:14

this is a time capsule. That's that's honestly,

19:16

you know, the point of doing this

19:18

show. I don't know if I even have

19:21

said this before, but like one

19:23

of my favorite parts of doing the show, and

19:26

even like in the movies, I'm making it

19:28

in some ways, it's

19:31

just a little snippet of time, right,

19:33

It is not representative of

19:36

who we are forever or permanently,

19:39

but right I don't know. It's really

19:41

bizarre to me that it can it can exist

19:44

as a snapshot

19:46

of that moment. Yes, in this

19:48

time. Yeah, I love that idea.

19:51

I like that too. I need to go back and re

19:54

listen to that episode because I think

19:58

I'll just leave it. I think, I know what I said. You can

20:00

bury it. You can bury it, or you

20:02

can keep it. I mean, it's in a really different

20:05

place. It sounds like you're I mean in

20:08

thinking like time capsule. Next

20:11

week is Christmas. I don't

20:13

know if you celebrate, but what do you do

20:15

for the holidays? What

20:18

I will be doing this year is

20:21

going to my parents' house.

20:25

They live in Nashville, and

20:27

so my fiance and I will go there and

20:31

spend a few days at home, and you

20:33

know, with my sister and my brother. And we didn't do this last

20:36

year because we had just gotten

20:38

a puppy. We got

20:41

her on December twenty three,

20:43

so there was no travel

20:46

in sight for us for those first few months.

20:49

But traditionally

20:51

I would say, I try to spend it with

20:53

my parents or my siblings as possible.

20:56

How is going back home to family. Is

20:58

it fun? Is it? I have to do it myself?

21:01

And I often have a mixed

21:04

relationship with going

21:06

back, right, it is really

21:08

fun on I think

21:11

with my parents in particular,

21:14

I've noticed this shift with them

21:16

as I've grown up where I really enjoy

21:19

hanging out with them socially,

21:22

just you know,

21:25

me and them and my sister and my

21:27

brother and kind

21:29

of being adults together.

21:34

I will say something, you know that where

21:37

they live, I'm not attached to I

21:39

like, I don't have old friends. So

21:42

it does sort of after I would

21:44

say a week, it's like I

21:46

start to become aware of like, oh I have things

21:49

I have to go do at home

21:52

or you know, getting back

21:54

to life. I

21:56

do feel that it chapter about a week,

21:58

but while I'm there, it's it's

22:01

fun. It's really good. And I

22:03

am just very aware of how

22:06

different our lives are too.

22:09

Yeah, that's very apparent. It's

22:12

just so fascinating, and even

22:15

like my more extended family, like my

22:18

cousins and aunts and my uncle's, like how

22:21

different our lives are.

22:23

It's just is fascinating

22:25

to me, just the different how

22:28

everything you can look so completely

22:31

different and you just but we all

22:33

sort of have similar roots.

22:36

It's interesting I go there

22:38

and then I'm like, oh, yeah, no, um

22:41

right, I'm a crazy person. Like

22:43

what we're doing in Los Angeles

22:46

is like we have subjected ourselves

22:48

to insanity. I know, but I but

22:50

I sort of it does feel like that,

22:53

but it also feels like there's

22:56

something just I feel

22:58

so happy

23:01

that I'm living this

23:03

insanity, Like I sort of feel

23:07

thrilled that there is much still

23:09

unknown and it

23:12

sounds weird to say it, but unstable about

23:15

my life and my lifestyle

23:18

that it is. I'm constantly

23:21

having to engage with it and

23:23

be present with it. So

23:25

I can't just like go through the motions

23:28

because there are no motions.

23:30

It's ever changing, and

23:33

that is scary

23:36

and frustrating at times, but also

23:38

it's kind of delicious in its own

23:40

way of I

23:42

mean, what a way to live life. It's an insane

23:45

way to live. But also now

23:47

that we're doing it, there's really

23:49

no alternative. We're

23:51

just we kind of have to now.

23:54

I think I have to definitely, and

23:57

I can't imagine any other way of living.

24:00

Frankly, like I sort of I'm

24:03

so in this

24:05

now and so

24:08

joyful with it in it that I

24:10

really cannot fathom

24:14

my life looking in the other way than how

24:16

it looks, and also

24:19

being so excited by

24:24

the fact that it could look completely different

24:27

in two months or a

24:29

year or five years. I just there's

24:32

no way to plan for anything, and that

24:35

for some people that's like a deal breaker. That's like, I don't

24:37

want to live like that. I'm really

24:40

excited to live like that. Yeah.

24:43

Well, I am genuinely excited

24:46

for you, and thanks Sam.

24:49

I'm glad we met

24:51

this year, truly, it was. It

24:53

was great having you all, and I have a feeling

24:56

we'll see each other in twenty twenty in figure

24:58

more stuff. I sure hope, so, yes,

25:01

I hope. So. I love talking

25:03

to you, and I really get a lot out of our

25:05

conversation, So I hope. I hope

25:07

we get to have more of them. Great, next time,

25:09

I will have to bill you. Oh, I'll

25:11

offer a discounted rate, you know, just as

25:14

is friend. Okay, Yeah,

25:16

that's cool, Um, cool,

25:19

that's quite cool. I'm that's wonderful.

25:21

Thank you, m

25:24

Please send over the contract. I'm happy to sign

25:26

it and cry. It's

25:29

not a problem. I'll get that to you immediately,

25:33

all right, I thought. Okay, I'm a great holiday

25:36

and a happy New Year. Happy New Year, so

25:38

long Mary

25:46

yollo. Hey, this is Harrison

25:50

from the episode where I interviewed Sam,

25:53

who's the host. If you don't know good

25:56

things? This year, I loved

25:59

the Sketch Show. I

26:01

think you should leave on Netflix, very

26:03

very funny. The Gift Receeat Sketch

26:05

is my favorite sketch of the last God

26:08

does how long? Um? Oh?

26:12

What else? Um?

26:15

The Teachers Lounge is a podcast. Uh

26:17

And I'm a mailman and it's so funny

26:19

that I truly did almost ship myself

26:22

while delivering mail listening

26:25

to that podcast. Um

26:27

what else? Is this? One of the things that came

26:30

out this year, Little

26:32

Moss came out on Twitter. That

26:34

was good Little Moss x. Um.

26:38

There was a my

26:40

Side card. I saw a greeting

26:42

card at a store that was

26:45

a man in bed with

26:47

like his golf clubs,

26:49

like all in the thing that like golf

26:51

clubs. Go in and there's

26:54

a woman in a in a doorway. The man's

26:56

naked and there's a woman in the doorway and

26:58

she's like, why

27:01

am I not surprised? And

27:05

it tickled me to no end.

27:08

It's very funny. Implying

27:10

the demand, of course, slept with the golf clubs.

27:12

I hope I painted that picture correctly. It's a greeting

27:14

card. The inside was empty. No

27:16

other information needed. Those

27:19

are my favorite things of this year, and

27:22

have a good holiday season, please.

27:28

This next voice memo is from the one and only

27:30

Gary Goldman. If you have not

27:32

seen his new special, it's

27:35

called The Great Depression. It's on

27:37

HBO. It is I

27:39

think my favorite special of the year, and

27:43

his episode of the podcast is

27:46

unquestionably one of my favorite conversations

27:48

of the past twelve months. It is

27:51

as honest of a dialogue

27:53

about depression and

27:55

mental stability

27:57

that I think we've had on this show, and

28:01

I'm very grateful to have met him this

28:03

year. I think he is truly

28:05

a positive force in the world.

28:07

So here's Gary talking

28:09

about another person

28:12

who's come on this podcast. I

28:14

really love this note. Let's get into it. Here's

28:17

Gary Goldman. During

28:24

two nineteen,

28:26

I became close friends

28:29

with my idol, Chris Elliott,

28:32

who I've been obsessed with

28:35

since I was twenty years old.

28:38

And in twenty nineteen

28:41

I became friends and stayed over

28:43

his house and stayed up late laughing

28:46

and telling stories, meet

28:48

your heroes. I say,

28:51

twenty nineteen, what a year. So

28:54

grateful for that. All

28:57

right, it's a time to call up the

29:00

one and only Jeff Garland. Let's

29:02

do it, Jeff

29:07

Garland. How have you been, Sam?

29:12

I've been better. You've been better

29:14

than when we last spoke, or you've been better

29:16

as in you've had better days. And today,

29:19

No, today's a delightful day. I'm

29:21

sitting in my backyard looking at the

29:25

mountains and no,

29:27

everything's good. You know, it's like a big

29:30

bowl of things

29:33

going on. You know,

29:39

it's just life. Okay, give

29:41

me some updates. How are you feeling?

29:44

Physically fantastic,

29:47

mentally fantastic.

29:50

I just have a lot

29:52

on my shoulders. I'm

29:54

holding up the world. Yeah,

29:58

and it's all it's it's all

30:00

other people that I'm

30:03

taking care of. Who are you

30:05

taking care of? Especially around the holidays?

30:07

A family, friends,

30:10

so many people that you

30:12

know. The thing is, I'm always the kind of person

30:14

that if other people are

30:17

struggling, I'm there to help.

30:20

And right now a lot of people are struggling

30:23

and it's a lot of responsibility,

30:26

but I'm doing it. But today

30:28

is actually no exaggeration,

30:31

is my favorite day of the year so far.

30:34

I think it's the most beautiful day of

30:36

twenty nineteen. Really, what has

30:39

happened? Well, I just love how

30:41

clear it is, and I love how crisp

30:43

it is clear and Crisp is delfe

30:46

on Sonny. It's beautiful today.

30:48

I love the way that feels this time of year.

30:51

It's incredible. I have a question, Yeah,

30:54

where do you think that desire

30:56

to help people who are hurting?

30:59

Where does that come from? For you? Without

31:03

sounding to cornball, God

31:06

and for me, God is the universe.

31:09

God is not specific. God

31:11

is not affiliated with any particular religion.

31:14

God is the Universe. I

31:16

equate the two being a higher

31:18

power than me. I was put

31:21

on earth to help other people. That's

31:23

um, That's why I was put

31:25

here. You know, I'm a comedian because I

31:27

help ease other people's pain. That's

31:30

what I do, you know, and

31:32

so I'm good

31:34

with it. I got no complaints. The

31:37

prompt. I think I texted this to you,

31:40

you know, the idea of something

31:42

that we're grateful for, because you know,

31:45

at the end of the year, it's hard to stay

31:48

positive. Are you ready?

31:50

Yeah, Okay,

31:52

go ahead, Jeff. I'm grateful to

31:54

be of service, be of service

31:57

to my family and friends, two

32:00

strangers through my comedy.

32:03

I am grateful that I am able to,

32:05

through my physical and financial

32:08

success and my physical

32:11

strength, to be able to

32:13

help other people. I'm grateful

32:16

to be of service. I have a feeling

32:18

other people are grateful for you.

32:22

Well, that would be lovely to

32:24

know. You know, this

32:27

is certainly a time of year where we tell

32:30

people how grateful we are. I

32:32

don't do things to get

32:35

to people be grateful

32:37

or to receive accolades.

32:40

I do it because that's what I do. I

32:42

thought about it because there are many

32:44

times where I do things

32:46

and I don't get anyone

32:49

being grateful, and I

32:51

realized that I would do it anyhow. I

32:54

have a question, because we didn't actually talk

32:58

when this all happened, but how

33:00

did you feel about the release of your

33:02

new special? It

33:04

was mixed feelings in terms

33:06

of how proud I am of this special

33:09

and how the special represents what

33:12

I do comedically, Completely

33:15

thrilled, nothing but disappointment

33:18

in the release via

33:21

Netflix, because they just

33:23

release shit and there's

33:26

no big marketing, you

33:29

know, It's just another thing that's there.

33:31

And I'm glad it lives

33:34

on Netflix. And I can talk about

33:36

it and people can catch it anytime

33:39

they want, because I think it'll

33:41

live and there's nothing in

33:43

it that will even become dated, you

33:47

know, at least in the near future.

33:49

When I say near future, let's see the next half dozen

33:52

years. I think it will hold up quite

33:54

nicely. But I had great expectations

33:58

of more of a marketing push

34:00

and more marketing on behalf of Netflix.

34:02

But that was naive of me.

34:05

And considering that I've worked with Netflix

34:08

for so many years and have

34:10

such a long relationship with them,

34:12

I should have known better. I could have known

34:15

better. Forget should I don't like? Should

34:17

I like? Could you like? Could? I mean

34:20

you made your film with them?

34:22

Yes? What was the conversation like when

34:24

you were saying, hey, because I saw the

34:26

special, I thought it was funny, you know, I thought

34:28

it was it was good, and oh thanks man. It

34:31

should be you know, properly

34:33

promoted. But what is that conversation

34:35

like, oh,

34:37

pre during posts,

34:39

even in terms of dealing with them with the

34:42

marketing, Yeah, just me

34:44

saying why should I do another special

34:46

with you? Me saying why do

34:48

you say one thing to one artist and

34:51

another thing to another artist? It's

34:54

very frustrating, very

34:56

very frustrating. To give

34:59

them kudos creatively,

35:02

they let me do what I want right,

35:05

But outside of that, I

35:07

didn't make a million dollars

35:09

on it. I didn't and it

35:12

wasn't marketed to where Okay,

35:14

it was worth the sacrifices

35:16

I made. It was worth it creatively,

35:20

and I'm happy it exists. I

35:22

really feel and I feel this

35:24

really withstand up specials in general.

35:26

And I felt this before and now

35:28

I feel it even more. It's kind

35:31

of like if a tree falls in the forest and nobody

35:33

hears it. So there's all these

35:35

specials. What's special about them?

35:38

You know? Outside of the good work? What

35:40

separates them? I now know how a

35:42

band feels when they release

35:44

an album and the label

35:47

does nothing right that

35:49

it is available in their local

35:52

record store or wherever, and

35:54

it is streaming, but what does a

35:56

label do? And this is how

35:59

I feel about doing my special And

36:02

by the way, I love Netflix. I anticipate

36:04

making some more movies for them,

36:07

but because I think that those live

36:10

a more realistic life, you

36:12

know, who's going to see them to begin with? You

36:14

know what I mean? It's not like millions

36:17

of people unless it's a you

36:19

know, major mainstream movie are

36:21

going to see it, and so many more see

36:23

it. A movie, an indie movie I'm

36:25

talking about via Netflix, but

36:27

a stand up special. I mean,

36:29

it's just why put that work

36:31

in? I don't get it right. And

36:34

by the way, I'm a guy who really

36:36

I never a negative thought

36:39

or fret

36:43

anything to do with my career. You

36:45

know, this is one of the first times because

36:47

it's such a personal thing that I put

36:50

so much work in and then

36:53

boom, you know, but I've

36:55

gotten great feedback, So

36:57

there you go. It's totally mixed.

37:00

You know. When when we sat you

37:03

talked about being a kind

37:05

of mentor to people coming up in comedy

37:07

and having a good sense, you

37:10

know, starting with your days with John

37:12

Stewart and helping him and talking about

37:14

Eddie Murphy coming back, you

37:16

know, talking about something we're grateful for, something

37:18

positive. Is there someone

37:20

right now doing stand up that

37:23

you think, oh shit, they have something

37:25

I haven't seen before. That's interesting.

37:28

I haven't seen before. No, because

37:31

as much as I love as much as I love

37:33

John Mulaney, that has occurred

37:36

to degrees in Jerry Seinfeld

37:39

and Robert Klein. So

37:41

there are people with a

37:44

great voice and great artistry, you

37:46

know, such as Dave Chappelle. But I've

37:48

seen that before, you know, with Pryor,

37:51

and to be compared to prior is

37:53

pretty amazing for

37:56

Chappelle. Nobody compares to prior though,

37:58

and it's almost unfair to compare anyone.

38:01

But there are great comedians who

38:03

bring me great joy. But

38:06

is there anybody doing that

38:08

I have been seen. No, But

38:11

I'm grateful that people are going

38:13

to comedy clubs and seeing

38:16

comedic performers, you

38:18

know, in theaters and such. It's

38:20

at a I mean, it hasn't

38:23

it. Actually, in my opinion, it's

38:25

never been Comedy has never been as

38:27

big as it is now. I meet people who

38:29

just say to me, now, oh I love comedy.

38:32

No one said that before. When

38:34

I say, when, I mean it, you know, and these are

38:37

people who when

38:40

I was younger what it meant to

38:42

love comedy means,

38:45

I mean, if you take SCTV or

38:47

Monty Python or whatever. To me,

38:50

the people who truly love comedy

38:52

created venture time, create

38:55

like you know what I mean. It's like there's an edge of Babo

38:57

Kirk for example. You know, there's

39:00

we're a group of people that look

39:02

at life different than anyone. But in

39:05

terms of mainstream people

39:07

with mainstream tastes, saying

39:09

things like I love comedy or

39:12

I can't get to the comedy store enough

39:14

is fascinating to me, and

39:17

I'm grateful for it. I

39:19

have a fear. I mean, this is

39:21

a good thing for you and maybe a bad thing

39:23

for the country that next

39:25

year people are gonna want

39:28

to laugh more than ever.

39:30

I don't know how you're feeling about twenty

39:32

twenty, but I am a

39:34

little bit dreading feel great about twenty

39:36

twenty, you're dreading it. I

39:38

can't wait for twenty twenty

39:41

is going to be a spectacular year. Only politically

39:43

well no, but here's the thing. There's always shit

39:46

going down politically always.

39:48

Yes. I know it's extreme now with Trump,

39:51

but in all sincerity, there

39:53

are plenty of great people, not me,

39:55

I want to be clear, but there are creating

39:58

plenty of great, wonderful, thoughtful

40:00

people who voted for Trump,

40:03

who like what he

40:06

pretends to stand for. Um.

40:11

But so I don't look at our country

40:14

as a mess. I don't think that

40:16

Donald Trump is filled with

40:19

you know that it's all racist people that dig

40:21

him. See I'm wanted, someone asked me yesterday

40:23

if I would ever date anybody who liked

40:25

Trump was pro Trump, and I

40:27

said absolutely, because I

40:29

allow others to

40:32

have a different point of view. Where

40:34

did they grow up? What do their

40:36

parents think? You know, everyone's different.

40:39

And I understand why people voted

40:42

for Trump, and I even understand why

40:44

people are still into him, even

40:46

though I am not, and

40:49

even though he makes me nuts, I

40:51

still believe in

40:53

our country, and I still believe in the people that

40:56

live in our country. Well,

40:58

that's a whole other It's it's tough

41:00

to talk about. You

41:02

opened up a can of worm thing, you

41:04

opened up a can of war. You can blame me. You

41:06

can blame me. The only thing I want

41:09

to say is I have

41:11

no problems with the people who voted

41:14

for him in twenty sixteen. But

41:17

I think he has demonstrated a

41:20

constant inability to be fit for

41:22

office. So just on a oh,

41:24

by the way, I do think less people,

41:27

less people are going to vote for him. But who

41:29

knows what the electoral college, what will

41:31

happen? Who knows? Yeah, who knows.

41:34

But no matter what, I'm going to be happy

41:36

and do my part, which is easing

41:38

people's pain and making him laugh. But I

41:41

don't feel like any year we

41:43

need it more than any other year. I mean

41:45

maybe the last time we really needed it

41:48

was tooth that was nine to eleven,

41:50

you know what I mean, where there was an

41:53

absolute destruction of

41:55

our souls. You know, we need

41:57

it to be healed. But you know, outside

41:59

of something that extreme, which

42:01

I don't think Trump is, by the way,

42:04

I do think everything he does is pretty

42:06

much wrong. But that being said,

42:09

I don't equate it with the

42:11

downs that we've seen. I

42:14

don't know, I keep going back and forth. We can go

42:16

on to that. I think he's just um.

42:18

All right, here's what I here's what I

42:21

want to say to you, Sam. Okay, ease your mind

42:23

and relax. Don't ignore

42:25

shit, but but take it easy, man,

42:28

talk easy.

42:33

Uh. Two things before we go. I

42:35

appreciate you saying that, yeah, you're you're

42:38

and have been very kind to man. I appreciate

42:40

that. Sure you talked about

42:43

you being able to date someone who

42:46

is a Republican, which, of course we

42:48

talked so much on the podcat because

42:51

I know I know Republicans that

42:54

are anti Trump, right, so it's not a

42:56

Republican I would I would date someone

42:58

who liked Trump. Okay, So

43:01

how is falling

43:03

in love going? Because that's something we talked about

43:05

so much when we saw it

43:08

is. It is precarious, it

43:10

is nauseating, it is beating

43:12

the shit out of me. That's part of why

43:15

I'm down. But

43:17

I'm I'm dating plenty, and there's

43:20

lots of wonderful women,

43:22

strong, amazing, interesting women

43:25

that I'm allowed to be here, which

43:27

I dig. But love

43:30

in itself is just wow.

43:34

What if you want to interview me again? Yeah,

43:36

it's opinions. If you want to interview me again,

43:39

Let's say next summer and we do a

43:41

love update, I'd be way into that. Okay,

43:44

Well, well we can totally do that. Um,

43:46

I'm rooting yeah for you.

43:48

You know, you know I'm rooting for that. Well,

43:50

thanks, man. You know I've

43:53

got you know, my heart's been broken quite

43:55

a few times, and I've got some

43:58

possibilities. So we'll see

44:00

who who the fuck knows? But that's

44:02

the whole thing. Who the fuck knows? And I'm

44:05

not anticipating a thing horrible.

44:07

I'm just saying currently very frustrating.

44:10

Well, so it can change. How do

44:12

you spend Christmas? I

44:16

spend Christmas watching

44:18

Uh, you know what? I how I really well.

44:20

First off, Christmas Eve, I'll be at the comedy store,

44:23

and then Christmas Night

44:25

I'll probably be at home watching old

44:27

universal monster movies. I treat it kind

44:30

of like Halloween. Do

44:33

you spend it with family

44:35

at all? Yeah? Some

44:38

with family. Yeah, But I'm Jewish,

44:40

so it's not like it's not a big deal. I

44:42

just love this time of year. Yeah,

44:45

I just love this stuff. But either it's hank now there, um,

44:49

nothing's a big deal. It's all wonderful and

44:51

joyous. Here's something because

44:53

I know we have to go. I'm

44:56

thinking about twenty twenty, not

44:58

politics. Let's just talk about things

45:01

that matter to you. What

45:03

do you want for yourself in the new year

45:07

and the year? Really, in all sincerity,

45:09

I want I want love. That's

45:12

what I want love. I

45:15

want to find a great love. So

45:18

there you go. That's as honest as

45:20

he can get. Yeah,

45:22

that's what I think I need. I

45:24

have, you know, good health for

45:27

for everybody, you know, But holy

45:31

crap, if I could have

45:33

a great love and enjoy myself with

45:35

that, that would be quite joyous.

45:38

Well that's it. That's what I wish for

45:40

you. You know, someone

45:43

smarter than me recently told me that you

45:46

have to take it easy and to put your

45:48

mind at ease. So I'm

45:51

going to say the same to you. You're a good man.

45:53

You're a good man. Sam. All right, we will

45:55

talk soon. Enjoy your good looks. Enjoy

45:59

your monster movies. I thought you soon, Jeff, Oh

46:01

bye, so long, good

46:09

running, Sam. This is Chaz Ebert. Thank

46:12

you for giving me the opportunity to talk

46:14

about someone I'm grateful for. In

46:17

twenty nineteen, there's

46:19

a lady in Chicago name Candice Pain.

46:22

During the polar vortex this year,

46:25

when Chicago temperatures plunged to below

46:28

minus twenty degrees below zero,

46:31

she on an impulse rented

46:35

hotel rooms for twenty

46:37

homeless people because

46:39

she knew that they would die if

46:41

they stayed on the street. And

46:43

indeed, over twenty

46:45

people across the Northeast and Midwest

46:48

did die during the polar vortex, but

46:50

not these people because

46:52

of the goodness of Candice Pain. She

46:56

knew she couldn't do it all alone, so

46:58

she posted on social media

47:01

and people jumped

47:03

in and helped. By

47:05

the end of that week. By the time

47:07

the polar vortex was over, they

47:10

had saved about eighty

47:12

homeless people. This

47:15

is something I just want to seeing her praises

47:17

because every time I think about her

47:19

doing this from the goodness of her heart and saying

47:22

if something needs to be done,

47:24

she was the one to do it, and she didn't wait for other

47:26

people. It's just fills

47:29

my heart with joy. So Candice

47:31

Pain, I salute you and

47:34

Marry Christmas. Next

47:38

up is Pam Greer. She came on the show back

47:40

in May. She is the only

47:43

person I believe who

47:46

came on the podcast in twenty nineteen and

47:48

did it over the phone. We stopped

47:50

doing those a couple of years back, but

47:54

you know it's Pam Greer.

47:56

Are we gonna not have Pam Greer

47:58

on the show? So I don't

48:00

even know if she remembers coming

48:03

on. We've had no contact Pam and

48:05

I haven't been corresponding, although

48:08

I'd be completely open to it

48:11

anyway. Why don't we try giving

48:14

Pam a call? Is

48:18

this Sam? Hello? How

48:22

are you doing? Pam? How are you

48:24

doing? I'm

48:26

well, it was kind of a cold d

48:29

here in Colorado. I have

48:31

no doubt. Do you remember

48:33

our talk five months ago?

48:36

Probably? Not? Okay, Greg,

48:40

what you testing me? I

48:43

can't remember last week? There's too much

48:45

going on. I

48:49

was trying to see if you did remember, not

48:51

that you have to remember me. It's okay if

48:54

you don't, No, I remember

48:56

you. But the conversation, no, I

48:59

had to put that, you know, filed in the

49:01

memory banks through my mind and keep

49:04

keep moving on. This so much gonna with

49:06

my family and work

49:09

and everything, and horses

49:11

and dogs and anyway,

49:14

so many horses and dogs. So tell

49:16

me, how have the past

49:19

few months been for you? Extraordinarily

49:24

wonderful? What's happened? Well?

49:27

My health is good. If I wake up breathing, I'm going to have a

49:29

good day. Our show, Blissleousness

49:32

was given another

49:34

order of a first six and then another

49:37

one seven episodes starting in January.

49:40

But regarding your

49:44

request for something that

49:46

that, I okay.

49:50

We have so many natural disasters

49:53

and natural crises

49:55

in our country, in the world

49:58

today, and I

50:01

volunteer. I have empathy.

50:03

I know friends that you

50:06

know when there's hurricanes and we have

50:08

issue friends donate their

50:10

trailers to residents

50:13

of the fires. I was

50:15

in California of filming

50:17

blessed this miss When we were evacuated.

50:19

We had to leave the set because of fires

50:22

that were approaching dangerously

50:24

close to the set, and I

50:26

had already months

50:30

prior envision. I

50:33

know people and friends that live in tornado

50:36

prone areas five

50:38

to six states and what

50:40

they go through every year, and

50:44

it's heartbreaking and

50:47

it's going to happen. It's

50:49

a way of life. I am

50:51

an equestrian and I

50:54

write with helmets, and

50:57

my friends are climbers. They climb

50:59

with helmets. Skateboarders skate

51:02

with helmets, snowboarders board

51:04

with helmets, kayaking, whitewater

51:07

rafting, football players, the NFL,

51:10

the NHL, and helmets

51:14

provide the protection to

51:17

the head, the brain when

51:20

there's concussion, there's injury,

51:23

and it's protect us, granted

51:26

to a point. So

51:29

for some reason, it just came to me that

51:32

families that live in those areas should

51:35

have a type of an

51:37

emergency bag

51:40

or gear in their homes.

51:43

And I thought of possibly the helmet,

51:46

and I just said, absolutely,

51:48

there's something that is necessary in today's

51:51

world, in today's environment. So

51:54

I hit the brains

51:56

of some of the people that I know, the

51:59

head of marketing, who

52:01

is my corporate sponsor at

52:04

Subaru upon a Jacobs and I

52:07

answer, I said, I know that you support at the

52:09

national parks and they've

52:11

got to know some climbers and people who are

52:13

connected with climbing

52:15

organizations. And so she did

52:18

introduce me to Tan Yeger

52:20

of the Yellowstone Climbing Association,

52:23

and I pitched him

52:25

my idea and what

52:28

would it take for him to introduce

52:30

me to corporations

52:32

and sports entities that

52:35

would be receptive to

52:37

my idea of either donating or

52:39

participating. And I

52:41

would sponsor the first

52:44

donation of helmets

52:46

to families in

52:49

Kansas and a couple of other cities

52:51

and the Red Cross and churches

52:53

and emergencies organizations

52:56

and schools, and all

52:58

of a sudden it is now snowballing

53:02

into a very serious

53:04

movement. And I'm talking

53:06

to companies in corporations

53:09

and people and I

53:11

will be in I think

53:13

our first break before

53:15

we finish our sixth seventh episode.

53:19

I will be in either Kansas,

53:22

Oklahoma. We're going

53:24

over a meeting. I'm going to be calling

53:26

a meeting with people regarding you

53:28

know who will be available so we can do a

53:31

morning show to talk

53:33

about the emergency bag

53:36

protective gear for families

53:38

who are in these areas and that

53:40

that you know, granted bay some seek

53:43

shelter in their homes, but they can

53:45

also seek shelter with the

53:47

possibility of wearing helmets for adults

53:50

and children and as they wait

53:52

out and if they if a tornado

53:54

bypasses them, great. You know, we have

53:56

fire extinguishers in case the fire.

53:59

And I said, I think, you know, today's

54:01

family, today, society and communities

54:04

should have some type of preparedness.

54:07

So I have started this movement

54:09

and I will be buying the first

54:12

collection of helmets, and I will

54:14

be asking and as

54:16

if people want to donate helmets that aren't being

54:18

used. So that's

54:21

the most important thing for

54:24

me. I feel very good about

54:26

in that the people that are now calling

54:28

a meeting list is extraordinary

54:31

and that's

54:34

what happened in the last five months,

54:37

and that is definitely something

54:39

to be grateful for. Well,

54:42

you know, something you were talking about is

54:45

what we're prepared and not prepared

54:47

for. And it

54:49

dawned on me since we spoke back in May.

54:52

Something I imagine both of us were

54:55

not prepared for was the

54:57

passing of Robert Forrester and

55:02

I had the chance to meet him and we

55:04

did this show together right when it started, and

55:07

I knew him a little bit after that and I

55:09

just wanted to. I wanted to ask you how you

55:13

know, not only how you feel about what's

55:15

happened, but also if

55:18

you have some kind of lingering

55:20

memory you come back to with him well,

55:24

his graciousness and love of his family,

55:27

and he would always say, Pam, if

55:29

you're coming into town, you know,

55:31

I want to show you around, you know,

55:34

and we'll meet up with the family

55:36

and the kids. You know, hopefully

55:38

we can all get together. But you don't come

55:40

here without calling me. And

55:43

that was always his famous words. And

55:46

I called before when I knew the series

55:48

was going to go, and I

55:51

called him to let him know I was coming. I

55:53

said, I'm going to be there in August,

55:55

July, and August, and I think I called him an April

55:58

March. And its unusual that

56:00

I didn't get through. They all

56:02

always return phone call. When are

56:04

you coming, What are

56:06

you day? You know? And I didn't get

56:09

at so I thought, well, he's

56:11

you know, he's so busy, he's you know, he's

56:14

uh, movies, television,

56:16

you know's he'll get back to me or and what

56:18

I do by access sometimes a

56:21

matter of fact, I was dialing

56:24

Sherry Um at the

56:26

Fox office and a

56:29

call came in and I had just written

56:31

out a text and for

56:33

some reason, I don't know tech

56:35

technologically or what happened, but it just deleted

56:38

my half of my text and

56:40

I had to start over. So

56:43

I said, well, you know, we have glitches,

56:46

things are raised delete and I'll look, I

56:48

got that. I didn't see it. I didn't know I had

56:50

that, you know, communication that missed. So

56:53

um, I thought, Okay, he didn't call

56:55

back. This is unusual. He's working, he's busy,

56:58

or he inadvertently you know, you

57:00

know, hit the wrong button then deleted my

57:03

call. So I didn't hear from him.

57:06

And while I

57:08

was out you know, California, of a sudden,

57:10

you know, he he passed, and

57:13

maybe that was a part of

57:15

it. You

57:17

know, he seemed like someone from

57:20

like a different era to me,

57:23

Like they don't make that kind of person anymore.

57:27

He was unique. He was

57:29

definitely a wonderful,

57:31

uniquely warm

57:34

and profound, caring

57:37

person. And that's for sure. I

57:40

have a question, you know, we all

57:43

think about as we enter the new year,

57:46

what we did in the past twelve months,

57:48

what we want in the next twelve

57:50

months. Are you someone who who makes

57:53

resolutions? Do you think about that stuff.

57:56

Oh no, no, because

58:01

I could be fulfilling

58:03

a promise, a gift,

58:06

a resolution, a plan to you

58:08

know, my to do list right now

58:10

from last year. So I

58:13

don't. I don't make them know because

58:15

things happen and your life

58:18

changes and things change, and you

58:20

know, they disconnect. But

58:23

there's one thing that I can say is

58:25

I don't take acquaintances

58:28

and friendships and situations

58:30

for granted. And when I say I'm going to do

58:32

something, I do it.

58:35

Is there something you want to do next year? Not

58:38

a resolution, but something you want for yourself?

58:41

Let us not a resolution but promises. And when

58:43

I say something, you know, Diane

58:45

Keaton when we worked, I said I'll call you when I come to

58:47

this place. And I called her and said, how I'm going

58:50

to be here working, and I know you might

58:52

hear that I'm here, and I didn't call her say hi.

58:54

You know, I'm very grateful for her putting

58:56

together the film

58:59

that she did Palms and with

59:02

a group of incredible women filmmakers.

59:04

And I'll always be grateful. And when I say I'm

59:06

going to call hey, girl, how you we can get to

59:08

gus at we don't have to you're busy, But

59:10

I just won't let you know. Then I called to say

59:13

hi and thank you so much. How

59:16

do you spend the holidays? Usually?

59:20

Oh, I play it by year. I don't spend

59:22

it. I just do it. It depends

59:24

on how I feel. Anything that

59:26

anyone needs, Like I purchase a

59:29

family some tires because

59:33

they do care giving for my

59:35

horses when I'm gone and extra

59:37

carrying and grooming. So and I

59:40

bought them tires. I noticed they didn't have front

59:42

tires that were good, and I said, just buy a new set.

59:45

And I bought another feel me so set of

59:47

tires. So and

59:49

then I'll probably buy someone that

59:51

I know a water heater. But

59:54

you know, it's not a Christmas gift. It's just something

59:57

that if I see, you know, people need something.

59:59

Pilots and Pause received a lot of donations

1:00:02

from Amazon Smile because

1:00:04

of you know, I reach out and and

1:00:06

it's a wonderful organization that flies

1:00:08

down on you know, to Forever

1:00:11

Forever homes and

1:00:13

and a foster care.

1:00:16

So you know, No, I

1:00:18

don't really plan. I might stay

1:00:20

in my pajamas for two days and watch movies and

1:00:22

eat poplars with

1:00:24

the dogs. I'm not kidding. Some days I just

1:00:26

go Okay, I'm exhausted.

1:00:29

I've done enough. Thank everybody, leave

1:00:31

a message. I love that. Well,

1:00:34

Um, I appreciate you calling

1:00:37

in and doing this with me. Well,

1:00:39

thank you for your interests. I

1:00:41

hope it appeals

1:00:43

to many of your listeners

1:00:46

and people who you know, give

1:00:49

us so much of their lives

1:00:52

and share so much. Now that

1:00:54

we're more informed and

1:00:57

we have a real opportunity to have

1:01:00

a sense of family

1:01:02

and camaraderie and community

1:01:04

and not necessarily

1:01:07

a kumbaya, but the fact

1:01:09

that we're culturally so unique

1:01:12

and different that we just

1:01:14

have so many great flavors, you know. And

1:01:17

yes, I will wear an ugly Christmas

1:01:19

sweater tomorrow when

1:01:21

I take my mom you know some

1:01:23

things. You know, she wanted a

1:01:26

few little trinkets to give

1:01:28

to people because she's really can't do

1:01:30

a lot of shopping herself anymore. But I'll

1:01:33

have my ugly sweater on, an ugly quick Christmas

1:01:35

sweater. Well, I'm sure it's not that ugly.

1:01:38

I'm sure you're doing a good job wearing it. Well,

1:01:41

I know it lights up, of

1:01:43

course it does. It lights up. That

1:01:46

makes sense. Well, enjoy the movies,

1:01:48

Enjoy the popcorn, Enjoy all the animals.

1:01:50

Thank you, Kimer, Thank you again for coming

1:01:53

on and for doing it, and I'll

1:01:55

do in twenty twenty, all right, you shall,

1:01:58

all right, thank you so much. By

1:02:00

now. Hello,

1:02:08

this is Tyree Shape coming

1:02:11

to you live from my bed, because

1:02:13

that's where I'm recording this voice memo. Twenty

1:02:18

nineteen has been a wild year, one

1:02:20

in which I'm incredibly grateful for

1:02:23

many, many things. But

1:02:26

this past weekend, I, my

1:02:28

husband and I had a wedding and

1:02:32

all sorts of friends and family members

1:02:35

from various parts of our lives

1:02:37

came together in this slightly

1:02:41

run down mansion in Center City, Philadelphia

1:02:43

that we rented out, and they all came

1:02:46

together just to celebrate each other, to celebrate

1:02:48

love, to celebrate joy, to celebrate

1:02:51

togetherness, to celebrate our community. And

1:02:53

so I find that as twenty nineteen

1:02:56

comes to a close, that's what

1:02:58

I'm most grateful for this year. These

1:03:00

people who just who

1:03:03

constantly show up for each other,

1:03:05

These people who I call my friends and my family,

1:03:07

my loved ones, my collapse operators, who

1:03:10

put up with who put up with

1:03:12

things that don't make sense because they know that at

1:03:14

the end of this path things

1:03:16

will make sense. And I'm just so grateful for that trust

1:03:18

that we are able to give each other. So as twenty

1:03:21

nineteen comes to a close, Yes, I am most grateful

1:03:23

for my community inside, outside

1:03:26

of film whatever, Just like these people

1:03:28

who are

1:03:30

so willing to share their lives

1:03:33

and ideas with each other, and who are

1:03:35

so willing to build each other up,

1:03:37

and who are so willing to just be

1:03:39

present for one another. Twenty

1:03:41

twenty is going to just be more of that,

1:03:44

more and more community, and

1:03:47

I hope that others

1:03:51

can feel that too. Happy

1:03:53

New Year. Next

1:03:57

up is Justin Simeon. He's the creator

1:03:59

of Dear White People, which I

1:04:01

believe is entering its fourth

1:04:03

and final season on Netflix in twenty

1:04:05

twenty. If you have not seen the

1:04:08

first three seasons, I would

1:04:10

urge you to seek them out. He also

1:04:12

has a new film that he directed playing

1:04:14

sun Dance in January. It's

1:04:17

called Bad Hair. I

1:04:19

have not seen it, but I've

1:04:21

heard it's fantastic. Hey

1:04:25

Sam, Hey, Justin. I

1:04:28

don't know if they sent it along, but I

1:04:31

like doing these end of the year podcasts

1:04:34

because having

1:04:36

people talk about something they're grateful

1:04:39

for, happy about at the

1:04:41

end always feels like a good idea. To me to

1:04:44

try to end the year on a vaguely positive

1:04:47

note. Did you think about what

1:04:49

you wanted to talk about. I'm

1:04:52

grateful for just

1:04:55

more insight into who

1:04:57

I am. I mean, I think I've

1:05:00

been till looking for a little saying that I'm hearing to a

1:05:02

lot of people. But twenty nineteen is a very tough year

1:05:05

for me personally.

1:05:08

But at the same time, there's

1:05:10

some of the struggles that I was going through really

1:05:14

open me up to all kinds of new possibilities.

1:05:18

My father died when I was six years old,

1:05:21

and with him also

1:05:23

when the possibility of a relationship

1:05:26

with some of his kids from

1:05:28

a marriage that, you know, what's

1:05:30

sort of separate from the

1:05:32

certain sense of which I was brought in and

1:05:36

being able to reconnect with some of them has been

1:05:38

something I'm really grateful for. I'm

1:05:41

also really grateful for, you

1:05:43

know, I'm about to enter through the six

1:05:45

years of my relationship with

1:05:48

my partner, and you

1:05:51

know, when you're with somebody, especially in gay

1:05:53

years, I feel like, I

1:05:56

mean with somebody for for

1:05:58

that period of time, and you sort of

1:06:01

you get through the honeymoon stage and you

1:06:03

find yourself into some harder

1:06:06

places. But then you find the back into

1:06:08

honeymoon stages and you realize others

1:06:11

are the person that I can kind of go through life cycle.

1:06:15

That's something I'm really grateful to realize.

1:06:19

And I'm also really grateful that my television

1:06:21

show is entering its

1:06:24

fourth and final season, because it

1:06:27

feels good to know when you're ending. And

1:06:30

it also feels good, especially

1:06:33

because I'm super hands

1:06:35

on with everything that I do. It

1:06:37

feels good to complete a chapter and

1:06:40

to send that, you know,

1:06:42

in my life at least there's a new chapter

1:06:45

on the horizon. That feels

1:06:48

That's something I'm very grateful for. I remember we talked

1:06:50

about your sort

1:06:53

of ambition early on and the

1:06:55

plans you had to get to the places

1:06:58

that you wanted to get to. And

1:07:00

now I'm thinking about, you know,

1:07:03

the decade ending, some

1:07:05

new chapter beginning and

1:07:08

another one closing. Did you

1:07:10

think you were going to get to this

1:07:12

place in your life? I

1:07:15

did. I thought I would be much further along

1:07:17

than I am actually at

1:07:19

this stage year. And

1:07:23

I'm also just grateful to realize how

1:07:26

little that would actually matter. You

1:07:28

know, it's in my inner life. I don't

1:07:30

know that I would be happier if I

1:07:32

was more successful. I

1:07:35

don't think my life would be better if I had

1:07:37

one been any or even been nominated for

1:07:39

one, or if I had already

1:07:41

made my second film. I

1:07:44

didn't a factually make my second film this

1:07:46

year, which is really exciting and it premieres

1:07:48

next year. But yeah,

1:07:50

I think I assumed naively,

1:07:53

you know, that I would be of

1:07:55

this father along. But I

1:07:58

am acutely aware that

1:08:01

that the success that I thought

1:08:03

I would have at this point when I was younger,

1:08:05

I peculiar aware of how little joy

1:08:08

that that have actually brought me, and so

1:08:11

being able to, at thirty six years old,

1:08:15

have that realization that, you

1:08:17

know, my work is something that I do,

1:08:20

but what I am and who I am list

1:08:23

is something much more complex and

1:08:26

has a different set of requirements

1:08:29

and sort of success

1:08:31

in capitalist terms. I'm

1:08:33

really grateful to have that revelation, because I think

1:08:35

folks my age in this industry, outside

1:08:37

of this industry, that's not of revelation

1:08:40

that they have yet that

1:08:43

life has sort of brought to them just yet. And

1:08:47

I think it's really vital to my happiness

1:08:49

and to my sense

1:08:52

as well being to know that it actually

1:08:54

has nothing really to do with with

1:08:56

my quote unquote success, which is another

1:08:58

way of saying how I

1:09:00

am valued. You know what my market value

1:09:03

is, which is yet another way of saying

1:09:05

how other people see me. So

1:09:07

I'm really thereful to be very

1:09:09

visibly aware of that. How

1:09:12

did you become aware of that? What

1:09:15

led you to that revelation? I

1:09:18

think being disappointed throughout

1:09:20

my time then they've been this industry

1:09:23

being disappointed

1:09:25

by the fact that, you know, I

1:09:28

don't know that people. I don't

1:09:30

think people totally give me

1:09:33

and the I

1:09:36

show the flowers that I

1:09:39

think sometimes we desire. Frankly, but

1:09:43

that's okay because I

1:09:45

really like making the show and

1:09:48

I know that it's it's been making of it that makes

1:09:50

me happy. If the sort of response

1:09:53

that it gets or doesn't get or whatever, it's

1:09:55

kind of a fleeting line for the actual experience

1:09:58

of getting to turn these really complicated

1:10:00

ideas into a pop culture show.

1:10:03

That experience is really really

1:10:05

deeply, ffoundly awarding. And

1:10:08

you know, I think if we had been lauded

1:10:11

more loudly, unless

1:10:13

we had had a really robust for your

1:10:15

consideration campaigns, or if we

1:10:17

had you know, TOPPS, a bunch of lists

1:10:20

or all that kind of thing, if

1:10:22

we had had those things, I think

1:10:24

I would probably maybe have

1:10:27

experienced a high of that, but it

1:10:29

really is just that it's a high, it is

1:10:31

bleeding, and

1:10:34

you know, for some people it can be fatal. You

1:10:36

know, you can get stuck in that chase or the high

1:10:38

and really forget that. Our job

1:10:40

as artist is to like, you know, makes the dart like

1:10:43

it isn't the making that we find our joy.

1:10:45

And yeah,

1:10:48

that's what I would say. Two

1:10:50

things before we go. If

1:10:52

we're going to go with the chapter

1:10:55

ending chapter opening analogy

1:10:59

in twenty twenty, in the decade

1:11:02

had what do you want

1:11:04

for yourself? Honestly? I want

1:11:07

to know myself even more and I

1:11:09

want to bring all

1:11:12

of the things that are resting in my unconscious

1:11:15

waiting to be discovered, waiting to be seen,

1:11:17

waiting to be materialized. I

1:11:19

just want to be able to continue that process of bringing

1:11:22

them out and making little

1:11:24

cultural monument, whether it's

1:11:26

a TV show or movie, or book or

1:11:28

a podcast. I just

1:11:30

want to be able to do that and enjoy

1:11:33

that process more and

1:11:36

find a flow and that process that

1:11:38

doesn't feel so rat racy

1:11:41

that I think it

1:11:44

makes me happiness. It's

1:11:46

to sort of find a balance and a peaceful

1:11:50

just sort of understanding what that process

1:11:52

is and what it feels like. The more you get to do

1:11:54

it, I think, the more you can be

1:11:56

in touch with it and in touch

1:11:59

with the joy in it,

1:12:01

because it can it's so easily turns

1:12:03

into something other than joy, you

1:12:05

know, And I think what we do is so ridiculous,

1:12:08

and we literally, I literally make believes

1:12:12

that process should be It

1:12:14

can't be all joyful, but it should mostly

1:12:16

be joyful. And I

1:12:19

want to be able to do that. Find Julian

1:12:21

to do it. I'm bigger and bigger scale. I

1:12:23

think that's all I really want. Do

1:12:26

you ever have those mornings where you're in the shower

1:12:29

and you're just dreading the

1:12:32

day ahead, and

1:12:34

then some time passes

1:12:37

and you're like, wait a minute, why am

1:12:39

I in such a bad mood? I'm

1:12:41

like getting to make movies or a podcast

1:12:44

or write and spend time with people

1:12:46

I think are smart and interesting. Why

1:12:49

have I worked myself into a bad mood?

1:12:51

And every once in a while I can catch myself

1:12:54

and reorient and redirect. I

1:12:57

have that feeling all the time, I

1:13:02

have that thought all I

1:13:04

think it's partly you know, you don't really get

1:13:07

quote unquote successful a person

1:13:09

who is also gay and black and some the South and

1:13:12

and all this tuft. You don't get to sort of be an artist

1:13:14

in this world without

1:13:17

a degree of pessimism. You know. It's

1:13:19

sort of the survivyl instinct. You know, it's

1:13:21

almost evolutionary, Like I don't think

1:13:23

the happy cavement, you know, escapes

1:13:26

the saber tooth tiger at the same right,

1:13:28

at the same rate as the pessimistic

1:13:30

cavement that thought danger at every time. So

1:13:33

those deans are in US, so sort

1:13:35

of cultural warnings are in US.

1:13:37

I don't think I would have achieved as much, if

1:13:40

you know, I sort of always saw the silver

1:13:43

ligning. But it is good

1:13:45

too. It is not

1:13:47

only good to remind myself how

1:13:49

lucky I am, but it is actually

1:13:52

essential for me. A

1:13:54

gratitude practice is absolutely essential

1:13:57

that I can know when to stop running, so

1:13:59

that I can know and my wars are already

1:14:02

won and my battle's already

1:14:04

fought. It is. It is absolutely

1:14:06

critical for me to do

1:14:08

that very often. Actually, well,

1:14:11

what does the holidays

1:14:14

look like for you and your family?

1:14:19

My holidays have actually been kind

1:14:21

of varied since I met

1:14:23

my partner and he sort of spend our

1:14:26

Christmass in different spaces with

1:14:28

different parts of our families. And this year we're

1:14:31

going to Las Vegas because both of our

1:14:33

mothers really like Gambless.

1:14:35

So I'm having a

1:14:37

Christmas that I've never had before. Right, that's

1:14:40

kind of been the norm, probably

1:14:42

enough for the past for four or five years.

1:14:46

I don't know. Let's try this. Let's

1:14:48

try hosting Christmas here where we went. Let's try

1:14:51

going to Atlanta to visit your family's try

1:14:53

going to Houston to visit mine. This year Vegas.

1:14:57

So I'll have to report back, please

1:14:59

report back. And my advice is,

1:15:02

do not play black Jack. I'm

1:15:06

a craft you can believe it, really,

1:15:08

I've I've definitely I can't figure

1:15:10

that game out. You know, That's

1:15:12

exactly how they like it because it's

1:15:15

it's a game with the test odds.

1:15:17

But if you can get over your intimidation, the

1:15:20

odds of that craps giving are much better for you

1:15:22

than say, the plot machine would the odds

1:15:24

are terrible. You actually

1:15:26

like can play in a way to keep your money or

1:15:28

make more money and

1:15:30

keep your loss. So I don't know, I enjoy

1:15:33

I always have to like Google like a quick

1:15:36

reminder of how to start fighting. Once I

1:15:38

get into it, I sort of, you know, you started,

1:15:40

your instincts start to come back in. But yeah,

1:15:43

I highly recommend craps. Okay, well,

1:15:45

look, I'm glad we got that on the record, and

1:15:50

congratulations on the movie at sundowns. I

1:15:52

look forward to seeing it. Yes, me too,

1:15:54

I looked very forward to you and

1:15:56

everybody's saying it. It's a labor

1:15:58

of love and

1:16:01

everything that I do is. But it's um, it's

1:16:04

really a different side of me than I've known. It's

1:16:06

been here, but I don't think I've been able to

1:16:08

really show and so I'm

1:16:11

super grateful for a chance

1:16:13

to show a very different thought of myself

1:16:15

with the storyteller, to tell a different

1:16:17

story. I'm sure people are excited to watch,

1:16:19

and thank you for doing it, and thank you for coming

1:16:22

on this show this year. It was it was

1:16:24

good that we met and I was happy to

1:16:26

have you on same very

1:16:28

much the same. I feel the same way. It was a great conversation

1:16:32

and yeah, one of my favorite

1:16:34

interviews. So thank you for having me. Of course,

1:16:36

I'll see in park City. All right, sounds good.

1:16:38

So this

1:16:41

next voicemail is from menhou

1:16:43

Bag. She is a director

1:16:46

of the new film Halla. She's

1:16:48

a good Palamine and when

1:16:51

I received her voice

1:16:53

memo, I realized she

1:16:56

did not say her name on

1:16:59

the voice memo, and when I asked, you

1:17:01

know, could you record your own name, she

1:17:04

declined, mainly because she

1:17:06

just got her wisdom teeth removed. So

1:17:10

this is a long way of introducing my

1:17:12

friend and how big. Also

1:17:16

go see Halla. Okay, here she

1:17:18

is. There's

1:17:23

a lot of things I'm grateful

1:17:26

for this year, and it's

1:17:29

interesting because some of the learning

1:17:31

experiences that you need in your life

1:17:33

are not the ones that you want to experience.

1:17:38

I think it's been a lovely year of

1:17:42

sharing a film with other people,

1:17:45

taking it to festivals, and really enjoying

1:17:49

taking a story that started out

1:17:51

in my bedroom with people

1:17:54

all over the world, and that's a really

1:17:56

special thing. I

1:17:59

think the thing that I

1:18:02

feel most grateful for are the

1:18:04

difficult experiences too, because

1:18:07

I think if it was all, you

1:18:10

know, just all beautiful and rainbows and

1:18:12

sunshine, I think that I wouldn't be able

1:18:14

to appreciate and really cherish

1:18:16

these moments, Which is

1:18:19

not to say that suffering should be

1:18:21

glamorized or anything. I just think, you

1:18:25

know, the challenges that come along with

1:18:28

sharing a story that's so personal with

1:18:30

other people. That's

1:18:32

part of the process. And

1:18:35

I also think this year has taught me to

1:18:37

keep the people who

1:18:40

I love really close and

1:18:42

that I don't need a lot of people, but I need

1:18:44

people who I trust and

1:18:48

who are invested in me and

1:18:50

who I am invested in, and keep

1:18:54

them with me as difficult things

1:18:56

happen. Because I've

1:18:58

also realized that I can't do everything on my own,

1:19:02

and I'm grateful for therapy

1:19:05

and my friends,

1:19:09

the chosen family that I've created

1:19:11

around around me, and I'm

1:19:14

grateful for all of the professional experiences

1:19:17

I've had this year too. I'm I'm

1:19:20

excited for twenty

1:19:22

twenty because I feel

1:19:26

in a way that I've leveled up, like

1:19:28

I've really grown to

1:19:31

take on the difficult experiences

1:19:34

and be ready for

1:19:36

them. There. It's the kind of

1:19:38

thing where a couple of years ago, I thought

1:19:40

I was ready to do everything, and then I realized

1:19:42

I wasn't. And now I

1:19:45

feel like I'm getting closer to having, you

1:19:49

know, the kinds of experiences that I need to

1:19:51

have in order to get

1:19:53

closer to the person that I want to be. Yeah,

1:19:57

I think that that sounds really abstract,

1:19:59

But I'm grateful to

1:20:03

the difficult experiences as

1:20:05

much as I am for the

1:20:08

beautiful and wonderful ones, because

1:20:11

sometimes that's what you need to grow. Yeah,

1:20:15

and I think it's been a wonderful year

1:20:17

with other artists and you know, forming

1:20:20

my own community and feeling supported

1:20:23

through my own artistic

1:20:25

journey. And

1:20:28

I'm grateful to everybody who's who's

1:20:30

been helpful and supportive along the way.

1:20:42

This is a rock Peter's private dick. I'm

1:20:44

not working on a case right now, but

1:20:47

if you leave me your clue or two, I

1:20:50

promise I'll find

1:20:53

it. Yeah. Well,

1:20:57

in case you're ever curious about

1:21:00

what Ron Perlman's voicemail sounded

1:21:03

like, there you go. That's

1:21:05

my Christmas gift to you, and

1:21:07

that's Ron's Christmas gift to you. I'm gonna

1:21:09

try calling him back again

1:21:11

because we're texting, we're coordinating.

1:21:14

The calls not going through, but that is that

1:21:18

is a kind of gem. I'm gonna save her. Wow.

1:21:23

Is that a film reference? Did I miss the Is

1:21:26

it an inside joke thing? Am I missing

1:21:28

something? Is he just pretending

1:21:30

to be a detective,

1:21:32

a private eye. I'm if someone

1:21:35

could please write in and explain what

1:21:37

the hell is happening in that voicemail? I

1:21:39

would love to know. Okay,

1:21:42

let's try going wrong again. Hello,

1:21:49

Hi, you know what, I think this is gonna work,

1:21:52

fancast. Thank

1:21:55

you for bearing with me on that. I'm quite

1:21:57

a bear. I

1:21:59

know you are, so why don't

1:22:01

we just get right into it? What is

1:22:04

something you are grateful

1:22:06

for in twenty nineteen? I

1:22:09

mean, I, for one, am uniquely

1:22:12

grateful for being

1:22:18

amidst a

1:22:20

lifetime that has gone

1:22:23

beyond all of my dreams

1:22:25

on every level. And I'm a pretty

1:22:27

big dreamer. So for me to make a statement

1:22:29

like that, I couldn't even have

1:22:32

articulated if I read a lot of that God,

1:22:35

And that includes my beautiful

1:22:37

family who are relatively

1:22:40

healthy and intermittently

1:22:44

happy in the big scheme of things,

1:22:47

A lot to be grateful for. My

1:22:51

network of support in terms

1:22:53

of friends and family are

1:22:55

as top draw as it gets,

1:22:58

and the amount of support that one needs

1:23:00

when one lives rather a

1:23:02

life that you know is littled with

1:23:04

uncertainty like an actor's

1:23:07

life is. That's a pretty big And

1:23:11

then my career, which

1:23:13

I'm you know, admittedly

1:23:15

more caught

1:23:17

up in than maybe it's sometimes

1:23:19

healthy? Is that as

1:23:21

zenus right now and is showing

1:23:24

no signs of backing off

1:23:27

Ending in twenty nineteen with

1:23:30

an assortment of projects that are really,

1:23:33

really cool and titilating,

1:23:37

and beginning twenty twenty with two

1:23:39

more collaborations with my oldest

1:23:41

and dearest friend in the business, Gamma del

1:23:43

Toro, one

1:23:45

of which is a mind blowingly provocative

1:23:48

take on Pinocchio, and

1:23:52

the other is reobservance

1:23:54

of one of my favorite old time noir films,

1:23:57

Nightmare Alley. I'm participating

1:23:59

in both of them and getting to watch my friends,

1:24:02

in our third decade together, continue

1:24:05

to astound,

1:24:09

evolve, and reflect

1:24:12

another life very well lived, so

1:24:16

foundly grateful. Did

1:24:19

you see The Irishman? By chance?

1:24:21

I did? What did you think of that?

1:24:25

I thought it was for

1:24:28

a movie that was close to being three hours. I

1:24:30

was never bored, I never lost

1:24:32

interest, I never looked away.

1:24:34

I bring it up because you were

1:24:36

talking about entering your

1:24:38

third decade of making stuff

1:24:40

with your friends, and the thing

1:24:42

that struck me about The Irishman is

1:24:45

you're watching it and you're like, holy shit, they

1:24:48

have been making stuff together for

1:24:51

forty plus years,

1:24:54

and to watch them do it. It's I don't

1:24:56

know, it's like it almost feels like a family reunion.

1:25:00

And I love the idea of you

1:25:03

doing that in your own work, and

1:25:05

I'm certainly trying to do that and build the

1:25:08

relationship to make stuff with people down

1:25:10

the line thirty forty years from now. There's

1:25:13

something I don't know. There's something very poetic

1:25:15

about that well. My favorite

1:25:17

instances in cinematic history

1:25:21

and my favorite people who participated in

1:25:23

it and led the way all

1:25:25

believed in kind of a forming

1:25:28

of a repertory company. John

1:25:30

Ford used the same people over and over again,

1:25:32

Preston Sturches, Frank Capra,

1:25:36

modern day Scarsese, Coppola.

1:25:39

The people who are real groundbreakers

1:25:42

believe that once they found

1:25:44

their gold, that the richness

1:25:47

from that well was infinite and

1:25:50

would continue to shine brightly

1:25:52

if it was just shined upon it all.

1:25:55

And I'm a sucker

1:25:57

for that. I'm a sucker for john Ford's

1:26:00

troop of actors, leading

1:26:02

actress, character actress, camera people,

1:26:05

prove people, and to participate

1:26:07

it as I have with a number of filmmakers.

1:26:10

I've done now five six, six

1:26:12

projects with John Jacanau. I'm

1:26:15

on my sixth or seventh with a gammo.

1:26:18

And it's the way it's supposed

1:26:20

to be. You know, we're supposed

1:26:22

to be having fun, to have each other's backs,

1:26:26

We're supposed to be an extended

1:26:28

family that loves and

1:26:31

stand by each other's sides in the way families

1:26:33

do. And so when you have people

1:26:35

who create an environment that supports

1:26:38

those presets, the

1:26:40

idea of these surrogate

1:26:43

families is I think that's

1:26:45

why people want to make

1:26:47

movies. I mean, it's why I want to make movies.

1:26:49

I have two things before we got to go, how

1:26:52

do you spend the holidays?

1:26:56

Well, when when I had little kids, and

1:26:59

I don't have little kids anymore. I have adults,

1:27:02

so everybody's off doing their own thing. But when

1:27:04

I had little kids, I really

1:27:06

got to charge out of the whole

1:27:09

process of buying

1:27:11

the tree, decorating the tree, putting

1:27:14

stuff under the tree, watching their

1:27:16

faces as they ripped apart,

1:27:19

you know, the things that were

1:27:21

standing between them and their toys, and

1:27:24

putting a smile on everybody's face. In that regard,

1:27:26

I love the cooking of

1:27:28

these holidays, the you know, the big

1:27:30

dinners, the excuse

1:27:33

for everybody having to be together. That's

1:27:36

dissipated over the years as my kids have

1:27:38

grown older and things have evolved,

1:27:41

so holidays no longer have the

1:27:43

same impact on my personal

1:27:45

life as they used to. And

1:27:49

I don't know what I'm doing this year. I'm just in

1:27:52

transition and waiting

1:27:54

to see what the Good Lord put

1:27:56

on my table. Are you religious? No?

1:28:01

I am. I am not religious,

1:28:03

but I believe in something. I

1:28:05

believe in it wholeheartedly. I'm

1:28:08

from a Jewish family, but my dad

1:28:10

always celebrated Christmas

1:28:12

Morning as if we were Christians, and

1:28:15

I've kind of picked that up. I was

1:28:17

the ones you in my family, my

1:28:20

own family and my wife and kids. But

1:28:22

I went out and got the trade, and I went out and got

1:28:24

the lights, and I went out and got the decorations.

1:28:26

And I loved

1:28:29

doing that because it was an extension

1:28:31

of me providing some sort of joy

1:28:34

and tradition of passing down

1:28:36

of tradition from generation

1:28:38

to generation. So even

1:28:40

though it's not a kind of

1:28:42

a spirit that reflects

1:28:46

what it was initially intended for, it's

1:28:49

something that I have borrowed and made

1:28:51

my own. What do you

1:28:53

believe twenty twenty will

1:28:55

look like? Talking about

1:28:57

belief? What do you think it will look like

1:29:00

for you and for the

1:29:02

country. Well, we're running

1:29:04

on two separate tracks me in the country,

1:29:07

so for me, it's it's already starting out mind

1:29:09

blowingly because I'm about to go through

1:29:12

Nightmare Alley with Giammo

1:29:14

and Bradley Cooper and Kate Blanchet,

1:29:17

William Dafoe, David ter Thaern

1:29:19

and Richard Jenkins and Rudy Mara, And

1:29:23

that's how my year is starting. I mean,

1:29:25

I'm on nondalin. I worry

1:29:27

for the country because there

1:29:31

are really dark forces that are colliding

1:29:34

with each other in a way that could

1:29:37

end up being even more ugly than

1:29:39

they are now, which if that's even conceivable,

1:29:42

and there's an inevitability

1:29:45

to it, because what

1:29:47

this guy has succeeded in doing in

1:29:49

terms of exploiting

1:29:52

polarity and exploiting

1:29:55

negativity, and exploiting fear

1:29:58

of the other, and

1:30:00

having neighbor hate neighbor,

1:30:03

even within families over Thanksgiving

1:30:05

dinner, violent discussions.

1:30:09

If you were going to go to Hell, that

1:30:11

would be the number one way to get there, as

1:30:13

far as unconcerned as to knowingly exploit

1:30:17

the darkest angels that

1:30:20

can reside in the human condition. And

1:30:24

he's done it, and he's caught

1:30:26

at an entire party that's happy to be

1:30:30

sent as little helpers in that. So

1:30:32

the degrading of our quality

1:30:35

of life is palpable,

1:30:38

and people have already

1:30:40

been maimed physically. There

1:30:42

as signs of genocidal

1:30:45

tendencies by caging children

1:30:47

at the border that America

1:30:49

has traditionally spit up too

1:30:51

and gone to war four And

1:30:54

here we are engendering it here. And

1:30:57

if that sounds dark, it's because it is. But

1:31:00

something's got to give, and it scares me what

1:31:03

might happen in twenty twenty

1:31:05

if we spoke this time next

1:31:08

year, who

1:31:10

do you think is our president?

1:31:13

Well, that to me would be Pete,

1:31:18

but it's not up to me. And it

1:31:20

also scares me how tenuous

1:31:24

all of the forces that you

1:31:27

know go into the electing of the

1:31:29

most important figure in

1:31:31

the country have

1:31:34

been successfully compromised and probably

1:31:36

will be again, and none of us have any

1:31:38

fucking control over it. And

1:31:43

the cabal of people that are enabling

1:31:46

it, and not only enabling it, but encouraging

1:31:48

it is what sickens

1:31:51

me and what saddens me the

1:31:53

most, and the reason why I say

1:31:55

Pete, he's the only one up

1:31:57

there. It kind of has

1:31:59

a spark of aspirationalism

1:32:02

to him. He's very

1:32:04

good at articulating the beautiful

1:32:06

things that make life worth living, that

1:32:09

we fold into our

1:32:11

everyday lives, that make us better Americans.

1:32:15

And so I wish there were more

1:32:17

people in the field like him that

1:32:19

weren't just talking about healthcare

1:32:22

and nuts and bolts and boilerplate

1:32:24

issues, but talking about

1:32:26

a vision of the way

1:32:29

we treat each other and ourselves that

1:32:31

make America a more perfect

1:32:34

union. And he's the only one

1:32:36

left standing that does that. I

1:32:38

like. I like Corey Booker a lot, but the

1:32:41

world doesn't seem to be supporting

1:32:44

that vision. I liked Caamela,

1:32:47

but she's got out way earlier than I thought

1:32:49

she would. I don't have a great

1:32:51

deal of confidence and

1:32:53

the fact that we will

1:32:56

have a president budhaj Edge, but at

1:32:58

this point he's my guy. This

1:33:01

next year is going to be exhausting. I'm

1:33:04

already exhausted just thinking about it. Yeah,

1:33:07

but I want to be hopeful. I

1:33:09

want to try to be hopeful. You

1:33:11

know. The other thing I'm grateful for, Sam is

1:33:13

having met you and knowing that

1:33:15

there are people here who are still discussing

1:33:18

beautiful things

1:33:20

that enhance the quality

1:33:22

of our lives and that enrich

1:33:25

us because they're cultural and nature

1:33:28

and God

1:33:30

bless you, Sam, and I hope you continue

1:33:33

to do the beautiful things you do.

1:33:36

You've attracted some of my favorite

1:33:38

favorite people in the business, and

1:33:41

that's because you do it well. So

1:33:44

I'm grateful for that too. That is

1:33:46

very very kind to you, and

1:33:50

I look forward to talking to you soon. It was so

1:33:52

good meeting in this year round truly. Yeah,

1:33:55

it was a highlight from as well, and hopefully

1:33:58

they'll be a second act. Yeah,

1:34:00

I'll see you in the new year. Okay,

1:34:02

beautiful, all right, best of luck to happy

1:34:06

holidays. But

1:34:15

hey, guys, Michael Kelly here. So

1:34:18

it's funny. I got this email and I

1:34:20

was thinking back, you know, of all

1:34:22

the things twenty nineteen

1:34:24

that made me grateful or

1:34:26

what I'm grateful for, And oddly

1:34:30

enough, the first thing that came to my mind was a

1:34:33

loss. I lost

1:34:35

one of my dear friends this year, Gary

1:34:37

j who was the a camera operator

1:34:40

on House of Cards and the forever

1:34:42

constant on that show. And

1:34:45

the reason I thought of that was because I guess

1:34:48

I'm just truly grateful for

1:34:50

everything that I had in

1:34:52

my friendship with Gary and the time

1:34:54

that I did get to spend with him

1:34:57

for those six months of every year

1:34:59

for the last seven years. So gratitude,

1:35:02

I guess, works in a funny way. Sometimes I'm

1:35:04

grateful for the time I had, and I'm super sad

1:35:06

for his loss, but I can look back

1:35:08

on great times we had. All right.

1:35:11

I hope that answered your question doesn't get anybody too

1:35:13

down. All Right, that's b and

1:35:24

that's our show. I want to give

1:35:26

it thanks to all those who helped make today's

1:35:28

episode possible. Randall

1:35:30

Park, Mary Holland, Harrison

1:35:32

Cameron, Gary Goldman, Jeff

1:35:35

Carlin, Chaz Ebert, Pam

1:35:37

Greer, Tyresha Poe, Justin

1:35:39

Simeon, Menhou bag Ron

1:35:42

Pearlman, and Michael Kelly.

1:35:45

On the subject of gratitude, I

1:35:48

looked the people Harrison, Cameron,

1:35:50

Larry Cedar, Noel Wells, Jenny

1:35:52

so Bravo, Justin Moore, Tate

1:35:54

McCurdy, Jody Stillwater, Jack

1:35:56

Anderson, Trevor Cameron, Sean Baker,

1:35:59

Mikey Browser, Moguel Arteta,

1:36:02

Heidi Shaman, Melissa Greenberg,

1:36:04

Josh Nathan Neil Fox, Joe Talbot,

1:36:07

Marichahlitz, Chad say Chow,

1:36:09

David Cameron, Clea Benson, and

1:36:11

Annie Monroe. There are many people

1:36:14

missing from that list. It is not comprehensive,

1:36:17

but when it comes to the podcast,

1:36:19

when it comes to making movies

1:36:22

and music videos, it takes

1:36:24

a village each and every time. So

1:36:27

I just want to thank those people. I also want

1:36:30

to thank the people that make this podcast

1:36:32

possible each and every

1:36:34

week. Christian Chanoy, gnizor

1:36:38

Ian Chang, Ian Jones, Dylan

1:36:40

Peck, Neil Inez, Andre

1:36:43

Lynn, there are many more. Nikki

1:36:46

Spina, who does our social media.

1:36:48

She is the smartest nineteen year old I

1:36:51

know. She's also basically

1:36:53

the only nineteen year old I know. Nevertheless,

1:36:56

we can not do this show without her. There's

1:36:59

our engineer, Tim Moore, who very

1:37:01

graciously opened his doors at

1:37:04

York Recording to us this

1:37:06

year, and it's

1:37:08

because of his contribution that

1:37:10

I think this show has improved over the past

1:37:12

twelve months. And then, of

1:37:15

course I have to thank Caroline Reebok. She

1:37:17

is the producer of the show, and without

1:37:20

her, I don't know where Talk

1:37:22

Easy would be. But I

1:37:25

am so glad I don't want to

1:37:27

find out. She is truly the lifeline

1:37:29

of this show and makes

1:37:32

it the thing that it is each and every

1:37:34

week. Finally, I want

1:37:36

to thank you at home on the

1:37:38

road, at your parents place, in

1:37:41

a foreign country, wherever the hell you are.

1:37:43

Thank you for listening to Talk Easy. This

1:37:46

is an independently operated podcast,

1:37:49

and it is a listener supported podcast,

1:37:52

and without you, there really is

1:37:55

no show. So to everyone

1:37:57

that wrote in, to everyone that shared it with

1:37:59

the friend, to everyone that shared it online

1:38:01

or left a review on iTunes, and

1:38:04

everyone who keeps coming back to the show

1:38:07

because they believe in

1:38:09

the kind of conversation that we

1:38:11

are having, and they believe

1:38:13

that what we do matters. Thank

1:38:16

you. Really, twenty

1:38:18

twenty is going to be a painful,

1:38:21

difficult year, and

1:38:24

I think now more than ever it's

1:38:26

important to have emotionally

1:38:28

honest dialogues with each other. And

1:38:32

I hope I have the distinct honor

1:38:34

of doing this show in twenty twenty, and

1:38:37

I hope that you come back because it's

1:38:39

only going to get better. So happy

1:38:42

holidays to you and your family. Please

1:38:44

be safe, travel safely, get

1:38:47

home safely wherever

1:38:49

you are. It means the world that

1:38:51

you are here in this moment listening

1:38:54

to this show I

1:38:57

love you all very much. I'll

1:39:00

see you next year. I

1:39:17

be seeing

1:39:20

you

1:39:22

you all the old

1:39:25

familiar places

1:39:30

that this

1:39:33

heart of mine embraces

1:39:38

all day. Through that

1:39:49

smile, cafe,

1:39:53

the part across

1:39:57

the way that

1:40:01

you caresy,

1:40:08

that just that treat, the

1:40:12

wishing where I

1:40:19

be seeing you

1:40:24

in never lovely

1:40:28

summer's stay,

1:40:32

in neververything

1:40:35

that's lighting game. I

1:40:40

loveways think

1:40:43

of you that way.

1:40:47

I'll find you in

1:40:51

the burning sun.

1:40:56

And when the night

1:40:59

is new, I've

1:41:03

been looking at the moon,

1:41:08

but I I'll be seeing

1:41:12

you. I

1:41:23

be seen you

1:41:29

in nevery lonely

1:41:32

summer's day, in

1:41:37

nearverything that's

1:41:40

lightning game. I

1:41:45

lovelways think

1:41:48

of you that way. I'll

1:41:53

find you in

1:41:56

the moring sun.

1:42:01

And when the nighties

1:42:05

new, I'll

1:42:09

I've been looking at them,

1:42:14

but I'll be seeing

1:42:21

you