WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:06.440 Oh jee is boots. 2 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:08.000 It should die. 3 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:10.560 People say good money to see this movie. 4 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:13.560 When they go out to a theater, they want clod sodas, 5 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.199 hot popcorn, and no monsters in the protection booth. 6 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:19.199 Everyone pretend podcasting isn't boring. 7 00:00:50.439 --> 00:01:23.200 Ah by day dah, Yeah, I know. 8 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:24.680 I've never told a joke in my life. 9 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.120 What is he doing? Why is he doing it? 10 00:01:27.239 --> 00:01:28.680 I'd like to do for you right now. 11 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:33.640 It's called eating ice cream. 12 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:36.319 It's just as much torture if you're putnam with a 13 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:37.079 razor blade. 14 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.959 Wait, can what kind of parental damage was done to 15 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:41.760 this voice? 16 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.640 That's what I want to call passionate man. 17 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:47.120 Always been attracted to bad boys. 18 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:51.640 Got lost baby, I'd bet you holy, this is not 19 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:52.840 even weird. 20 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:55.359 Women's lamboys exploding? 21 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:00.040 Oh Andy? Please no, don't giving women an equal chattleng. 22 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:02.719 Stooped a little way from your performing for an audience 23 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:04.920 that doesn't know what's watching a show. 24 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:08.159 I just thought he was misguided, he was just having fun. 25 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:14.120 What then that's a shot off to care. 26 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:16.800 I'm really relished taking us prisoner. 27 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:19.319 Why I didn't ask you if I supposed to laugh 28 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:19.520 at that? 29 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:19.879 Bill? 30 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:21.240 And probably? 31 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:26.479 I think that was genius. Actually I don't have any money, 32 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:30.479 ladies and gentlemen. So far, everything I have done for 33 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:36.199 you tonight, really I am only pulling. This is really mean, 34 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:40.439 and everything else was just a character. 35 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:45.240 Here's the mirror, and people didn't like this, So a 36 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:46.479 lot of the time I. 37 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:48.400 Would still like to know who the real land is. 38 00:02:53.960 --> 00:03:05.719 Oh hey, folks, welcome to a special episode of the 39 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:08.120 Projection Booth. I'm your host Mike White. On this episode, 40 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:11.840 I am talking with Alex Braverman. He is the director 41 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:15.719 of the new documentary Thank You very Much. It is 42 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.240 all about Andy Kaufman, the comedic genius of the nineteen 43 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.319 seventies and eighties. I used to complain that when it 44 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:25.360 came to the Man in the Moon movie, I really 45 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:28.639 would have rather been watching a documentary about Kaufman. Well, 46 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:31.159 here it is. Here's one of them. At least I know. 47 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:35.719 We just spoke with Andrew Buss about his book Super Bad, 48 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:39.479 but he is also producing a documentary about Kaufman, so 49 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:45.599 we might have competing Kaufman documentaries, which for me, that's great. 50 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:48.000 I am going to be a pig and slop when 51 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:51.400 it comes to Andy Kaufman stuff. If you want more 52 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.639 Andy Kaufman why don't you go on over to sub 53 00:03:54.840 --> 00:04:00.719 sin That is sub cin dot WordPress dot com. There 54 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:03.599 is a documentary over there called The Passion of Andy 55 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:06.599 Kaufman from two thousand and four that was a lot 56 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:09.719 of fun. I know Don Alex who runs that site, 57 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:15.280 very big fan of Andy Kaufman, and I really recommend 58 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:18.319 that one as well. So I don't think there's such 59 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:21.519 a thing as too many Andy Kaufman documentaries, is what 60 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:24.839 I'm trying to say. Thank you so much for listening. 61 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:27.560 I hope you enjoyed this interview and definitely check out 62 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.920 Thank you very much. It is playing at theaters and 63 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:35.600 available through streaming on March twenty eighth, twenty twenty five. 64 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:37.879 How did you get involved in filmmaking. 65 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:42.120 I don't know that I ever really considered doing anything else. 66 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:50.000 I initially thought of myself as heading into cinematographer direction 67 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:52.720 because that was the part of films as a viewer 68 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:54.600 that I was most excited about. And as soon as 69 00:04:54.639 --> 00:05:00.800 I realized how much precision and just light it completely 70 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:04.079 confused me. It almost felt like a magic trick, and 71 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:09.319 I just gravitated more towards the storytelling side, and then 72 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:13.879 as a filmmaker, wanted to have these real life experiences, 73 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:17.720 which kind of pushed me into the documentary side, and 74 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:24.959 I started out as a documentary cameraman shooting nonfiction TV series. 75 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.120 I worked on the First forty eight, which is about 76 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:32.639 homicide investigations. For many years found my niche as someone 77 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:37.160 willing to be around traumatic or dark or challenging subjects. 78 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:43.680 After First forty Eight, worked on some hospital documentary dramas. 79 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.879 There was one called Hopkins on ABC Mass another one 80 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:51.639 called Boston Med which took place in Mass General, and 81 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:55.680 basically just over time realized again there are other people 82 00:05:55.720 --> 00:05:58.920 that are better at holding the camera. I want to 83 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.199 be behind that person figuring out where the story goes. 84 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:05.160 That's how I got into documentary filmmaking. But always have 85 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:09.120 the idea that I want to make my own project, 86 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:12.480 things that that interests me my whole life, and that 87 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:16.480 I wouldn't get bored of in the very I'm consuming 88 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:20.160 process of making a film. Andy Kaufman is the subject 89 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:23.120 that really stood out to me that I could dive 90 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:24.360 into and never be bored. 91 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:27.759 What was your history with Andy Kaufman. When did you 92 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:29.040 first remember seeing him. 93 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:33.240 The first thing I ever saw was the Carnegie Hall 94 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:37.120 special Andy Coffin plays Carnegie Hall, and I have a 95 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:41.480 bit of a unique history with that, a unique way 96 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:46.040 in which is that my parents are both filmmakers, and 97 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:49.519 in the seventies before I was born, they were on 98 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:55.319 the road together quite a bit, producing and directing number 99 00:06:55.360 --> 00:07:01.079 of specials. They did Willie Nelson Live Tahoe, and they 100 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:04.720 put together a special with Tom Waits I want to 101 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:08.160 say it was in Chicago and Jolly parton a lot, 102 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:11.120 oh Richard Lewis I'm in Pain was one of their 103 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:15.079 projects together. But in the process of going through a 104 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:18.519 lot of comedy clubs and filming a lot of comedians 105 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.560 and being really immersed in that world, they came across 106 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:24.000 Candy Kaufman in the late seventies and when they heard 107 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:26.879 that he was going to be doing a special at 108 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:31.720 Carnegie Hall, they pitched that to Showtime, and Showtime went 109 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:35.399 for it, and so the year before I was born, they, 110 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:41.360 amongst many other filmmakers and producers and writers, including Bob Simuda, 111 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:46.000 they produced Candy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall. So, growing up, 112 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.480 this was one of a number of large beta tapes 113 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:53.800 on the shelf, some of which were appropriate for a 114 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:55.959 kid to watch, and some of which weren't, and this 115 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.879 one I asked about it and they were like, Oh, 116 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:00.920 you're not going to believe. Not only are you going 117 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:02.879 to love the show, but you're not going to believe 118 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:05.000 what happened afterwards. And they told me the story of 119 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.040 Milk and Cookies, which as a kid, really blew my 120 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:13.720 mind because this notion that a performance doesn't necessarily end 121 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:16.600 when the show is over, it could keep going. That's 122 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:20.480 something that really opened me up and just got me 123 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:23.879 thinking about taking things at face value or looking a 124 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:27.560 little deeper into them. That's how I became exposed to 125 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:29.920 him and his work, and ever since then, I've just 126 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.879 been more or less enchanted by everything he does. 127 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:39.360 How do you even begin to approach documentary about such 128 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.480 a great subject but also one that presents so many 129 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:44.559 different facets to so many different people. 130 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:49.039 I'm not a worrier, but I think if I were, 131 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.879 I would be worried. You know, where to begin and 132 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:55.639 how do I capture it properly? 133 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:56.200 But I do. 134 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:59.840 I think I started thinking about what other films have 135 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:05.159 been about him or included him, and what did they 136 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:08.919 do well? And what do I still feel like I 137 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:12.480 want to see that I haven't seen, and so one 138 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:15.200 of the first things that I thought about in posing 139 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:18.200 that question to myself was like, I don't know that 140 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.840 I had ever seen a film. First of all, I 141 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:24.799 didn't think that there was really a definitive just start 142 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:29.600 to finish top the bottom, like Offfman documentary. There's Man 143 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:35.480 on the Moon, which is an incredible biopic, great writers, 144 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:39.559 great directors, amazing legendary performances, like the legend of how 145 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:43.320 that team together is just as interesting as the film itself, 146 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.519 which of course segues to Jim and Andy, which is 147 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:51.120 like an incredible film about acting and Jim Carey's process 148 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:53.879 and everything. But again, I'm starting from the place of 149 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:58.159 I haven't seen a definitive Affman documentary, and what would 150 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:00.960 I want to see if I went down that path? 151 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:03.360 And the first thing I thought of was like, I 152 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:07.399 just feel that his performances to fully get them, they 153 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:10.519 need a little bit of time on screen for you 154 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:14.279 to feel the pain or the awkwardness or the question 155 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:16.600 that he's asking. And so the starting point for me 156 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:20.720 was like, if I were showing someone that didn't know 157 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:23.399 him at all, or didn't know his work at all, 158 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:26.639 what would the very first clip I would show them be. 159 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.600 You get to feel that time, and you get to 160 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:32.440 feel the space, and you get to feel the sort 161 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:35.799 of tension with the audience. But it's exciting and interesting 162 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:38.320 and funny and moving. And for me, that clip is 163 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:42.759 in the film. It's that nineteen seventy seven HBO Young 164 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:46.639 Comic special where basically he starts out bombing and then 165 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:50.000 he starts crying, and then the crying becomes rhythmical, and 166 00:10:50.039 --> 00:10:54.000 then the rhythmical crying leads to the drumming, which leads 167 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:56.919 to the singing. So that piece, that was the first 168 00:10:56.960 --> 00:10:58.639 clip that I thought of where I was like, that 169 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:01.559 has to be in the movie to be upfront. And 170 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:03.399 then one of the other things that I thought about 171 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:06.639 was what's the best way to present all this information 172 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:08.919 to an audience, whether they're familiar with or not. I 173 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:13.320 think in a lot of traditional documentaries about historical figures, 174 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:17.240 you start at the beginning, whether that's their childhood or 175 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:19.120 how they grew up, and then it leads to their 176 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:23.519 influences and eventually you get to them developing their act 177 00:11:23.559 --> 00:11:25.799 and whatever. In this one, it was very clear to 178 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:28.759 me from the beginning and very important to say, let's 179 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:32.399 start with his act because I think that's the way 180 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:36.759 into understanding this guy and knowing what we're even talking about. 181 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:39.480 It's not all of the interesting things that happened to 182 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:42.039 him as a child, or as a teenager or as 183 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:45.799 a twenty something. They don't have the same level of 184 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:49.240 meaning if you're just starting there. But if you know 185 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:50.799 who he is and you know how he wound up, 186 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:53.159 and you know where all this is going, and then 187 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.320 you get to look back and say, like, how did 188 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:59.519 this guy come to be? That was another key early 189 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:01.879 decision that we made as far as like how to 190 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:04.639 approach the film and how to approach talking to these 191 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:05.879 people that we wanted to talk to. 192 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:10.840 Yeah, your timeline is fascinating. Also, the use, of course 193 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:16.080 our archival footage is wonderful, especially to see Danny DeVito 194 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.639 years ago versus Danny DeVito now and to get a 195 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:22.639 little bit of a different perspective that he has now 196 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.039 versus however many years ago that original interview with he 197 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:26.960 was giving up. 198 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:31.440 Was like the Charlie Rose I think it is. Yeah, 199 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:35.159 with the archive, we made a decision at some point 200 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:38.679 this isn't necessarily archive specific, but I'll get to that. 201 00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:42.080 We did make a decision. Let's only talk to people 202 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:47.279 that new Andy as a friend, as a collaborator, as 203 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:51.480 a romantic partner, as a nemesis. But really, let's just 204 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:54.960 only talk to people that were there between the years 205 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:59.080 of nineteen forty nine and nineteen maybe four. But then 206 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:04.600 within that framework, following those rules, no piece of footage 207 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:06.960 that we find is off the table as far as 208 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.519 what we can use and how we can use it. So, yeah, 209 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:13.840 we have interviews that were shot, some as recently as 210 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.039 twenty twenty three, some as far back that I shot 211 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:21.720 at least twenty seventeen. But then when we started going 212 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:26.000 through box after box, we found interviews with people that 213 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.480 we knew we wanted to interview for the film, Danny 214 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:33.399 being a good example. And then other boxes were filled 215 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:36.519 with interviews of people who had died, whether it's recently 216 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:38.399 or a while back, people who we didn get talked to. 217 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:42.440 Those were treasures to find, but it was also really 218 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:47.480 fun because we're dealing with the subject. The media was 219 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:51.679 part of his canvas, but he's not just to go 220 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:55.000 on the Tonight Show or go on Letterman. He's using 221 00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:59.200 those shows and programs in the news and game shows 222 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.480 and all these things. They're part of his act. So 223 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:03.799 we just figured, like any piece of media that we 224 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:08.559 find can help stitch together a sort of texture that 225 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:15.000 allows the audience to experience both what he's doing specifically, 226 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:17.360 but also the waters he's playing. And yeah, to be 227 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:21.639 able to juxtapose a clip of Danny DeVito on Charlie 228 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:24.679 Rose probably, if I had to guess, that appearance is 229 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:28.080 probably late nineties, as Man in the Moon is coming 230 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.919 in there and he's promoting it, but then getting to 231 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:33.279 see him on taxi in the late seventies and then 232 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:35.960 talking to him now present day. It felt fun to 233 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:38.840 have the freedom to be able to jump around like that. 234 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:44.320 There's that section when he's wrestling and there's a news 235 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:48.200 broadcast talking about all the women he's wrestling around the world, 236 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:52.320 and then when the broadcast concludes, the anchor continues on 237 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:57.440 and tells another crazy story about a rabbi panel in Israel. 238 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:00.159 And if you know the clip I'm talking about, it 239 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:02.720 has nothing to do with Kaufman. But it's just when 240 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:06.879 you're making any sort of documentary, whether it's a TV 241 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:09.679 series or a film or whatever, you're constantly coming across 242 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:12.759 all these little bits and pieces that you wish you 243 00:15:12.759 --> 00:15:14.679 could share with the world, but they really have no 244 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:17.159 place in the film, and this was just one of 245 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:20.200 those where I'm like, you know what, it has nothing 246 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:21.600 to do with the film, but it does tell you 247 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:24.399 a little bit about the world that we were living 248 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:26.240 in at this period of time and what could have 249 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:29.639 been on the news and how someone like Kaufman wound 250 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:33.120 up on the news anyway, And so my little revenge 251 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:36.159 on all the straight jobs I've had over the years. 252 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.679 They wouldn't have allowed us to include that. 253 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:42.759 You're talking about the archives like a certain place, somebody's garage, 254 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:44.919 Like where are you finding all these tapes? 255 00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:50.559 When I first interviewed Bob's Dumouda, which was in twenty 256 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:53.279 seventeen May twenty seventeen, that's when that interview in the 257 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:58.480 film is from. He went to his house and in 258 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:01.639 the sort of ground lash basement level of his house 259 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:06.720 there was a locked door, and at the conclusion of 260 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:12.039 our interview with him, which lasted hours, he just made 261 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:14.559 a comment about the door, the vault whatever it was, 262 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:17.360 and I was like, what's in there, and he was like, 263 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:21.039 it's like everything that the Kaufman ever did. And I 264 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:23.000 was like, let's let's check it out. He's like, no, no, no, 265 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:26.000 not yet, Like he kind of he held that over 266 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:30.039 me for a while until the film was finally set 267 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:32.519 up and financed and ready to go. But he took 268 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:38.559 great pleasure in teasing the many spoils that hide behind 269 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.080 that door. And so when we finally went into our 270 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:47.159 post production, my user and I drove a van from 271 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.759 la back up to Lake Tahoe and just emptied that 272 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.960 room out. And then it took months and months to 273 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.360 go through all the boxes, and I think a lot 274 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:57.919 of the stuff that's in there was just better quality 275 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:01.080 versions of things that we had already seen. But then 276 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:05.640 every third or fourth tape was like a mind blowing 277 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:13.240 discovery because Bob, in his stewardship of comic relief, he's 278 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.799 interfacing with all these different legendary comics and talking to 279 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:22.039 them backstage about their experiences and memories of Kaufman, and 280 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.759 we just found things that we didn't know existed before 281 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.720 starting to edit. So that Gary Shanling clip of I 282 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:30.720 would still like to know who the real Land is. 283 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:34.599 That's something that we found in Bob's basement, along with 284 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:37.920 old eight millimeter reels of the two of them kind 285 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.119 of horsing around, and there's so much great stuff that 286 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:43.119 didn't even get to make it into the film. But 287 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:47.000 a large portion of what we included in the film 288 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:49.920 came from those discoveries and then some things, you know, 289 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:53.119 we found her own along the way as well. 290 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:55.799 Was everybody pretty willing to talk to you? Did you 291 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:58.160 have anybody who was as the tant or just said no, 292 00:17:58.240 --> 00:17:59.680 I'm not going to go on the record. 293 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:04.200 Everyone that you see in the film was pretty willing 294 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:07.119 to talk. And then there are some people that you 295 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:08.960 might expect to see in the film that aren't in 296 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.680 the film, and those are the people that didn't want 297 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:14.319 to There are plenty of people that I would have 298 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:16.799 liked to have spoken to that aren't in the movie. 299 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:18.480 And then there are plenty of people that wanted to 300 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:21.319 talk to us that we didn't feel the need too. 301 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:24.359 But yeah, I would say, I don't think that there's 302 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.119 a different story we would have told one way or 303 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:30.480 the other. But I do think some people were super 304 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:33.680 eager and other people wanted to remain out of it. 305 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:36.359 Does anyone stand out to you as missing? 306 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:40.279 Not really, No, you don't necessarily have to pay lip 307 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:42.720 service to the movie. You didn't have to talk with 308 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:47.240 the writers. Obviously Milosh has gone, but even having archival 309 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:49.319 stuff of him, I think the movie's the movie, but 310 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:52.319 your movie's a totally different thing. You're fulfilling what I 311 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:55.519 was hoping for with that man in the Moon movie. 312 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:58.519 That's a cast dispersions. But after I got out of it, 313 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:00.400 I was like, I'd really like to see really good 314 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:05.039 documentary about Andy rather than the biopeck the bio. 315 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:09.160 It's a great film on its own, and it introduced 316 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:14.079 a whole new generation of people that were my age 317 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:17.880 at the time to handy and it's super fun and 318 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.440 great and holds up. But it's the same thing with 319 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:24.160 After I went and watched a complete unknown, what I 320 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:26.079 really wanted to do was go and listen to Bob 321 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:32.319 Dylan albums. And this is a symbiotic relationship where one 322 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:37.160 informs the other and fuels the desire. Like you want both, 323 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:38.200 you always want both. 324 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:41.119 What was the reaction to the documentary when it first 325 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:41.480 came out. 326 00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:48.559 The festival screenings that we participated in the have been incredible, 327 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:53.319 And I think the surprising thing is obviously anyone of 328 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:57.519 a certain age who's familiar with Kaufman and already knows 329 00:19:57.559 --> 00:19:59.079 that they love him, like, I think they're going to 330 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:02.839 enjoy the movie, but the people who are really most 331 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:06.759 taken with it, are most surprised or blown away or enthusiastic, 332 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:10.480 are just like younger people. So the first screening that 333 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:15.160 we had publicly was at the Venice International Film Festival, 334 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:18.599 and for whatever reason, I don't know how word got out, 335 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:22.680 but the crowd was just really young and their minds 336 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:25.720 were blown. And I think it's just to a certain extent, 337 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:30.640 like Kaufin's spirit is. It's a youthful spirit, and I 338 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:35.799 think he helps us understand that not only are certain 339 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.359 rules meant to be broken, they're just completely made up 340 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:40.720 and shouldn't really exist to begin with. And that's the 341 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:45.400 very freeing idea to embrace. So that's the most surprising 342 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.279 and most interesting and most pleasing reaction that we've got, 343 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.079 is just like young people are really into this, and 344 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:53.799 so it's exciting for me to think that maybe they'll 345 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:56.039 have another generation to inspire. 346 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:00.759 I almost wonder if the Tim and Air lyrics or 347 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:03.559 some of these other comedians that are I hate the 348 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:07.359 term anti comedy, but just like that discomfort. It feels 349 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:11.400 like people who are into them would find Kaufman to 350 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:13.200 be very much a similar thing. 351 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:18.799 Tim and Eric or Nathan Fielder or Stasha Baron Cohen 352 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:21.000 and Kaufman. Of course, they're all interesting in the sense 353 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:25.200 that they challenge you to just slightly take a closer 354 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:29.160 look at how information is presented to you, you know 355 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:31.680 what I mean, That's what they all do to me. 356 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:35.160 So for Kaufman, he's asking you to take a closer 357 00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:39.599 look at like the audience performer relationship. And I think 358 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:43.559 those people that I mentioned they're in the same legacy 359 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:47.039 and that they're like demanding that we are a little 360 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:50.480 bit more critical of yeah, information and how it's presented 361 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:53.680 to us. So I whether you want to call it 362 00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:56.960 a certain name or whatever, it's I think it's people 363 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.240 use the word cringe because it's an awkward feeling to 364 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.920 be confronted with how we're being manipulated a lot of 365 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.599 the time. That's what makes all those people that you 366 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:10.960 mentioned so brilliant and so fresh and so interesting for me, 367 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:13.720 Like those are people whose work I never get sick 368 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:16.000 of as well. 369 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:18.359 So what's next for you or what have you already done? 370 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:22.519 Because I think that you did festivals in twenty twenty three, 371 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:23.039 is that right? 372 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:26.559 Did festivals in twenty twenty three and a little bit 373 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:31.599 in twenty twenty four, and my tim is just being 374 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:35.440 spent making sure that as many people see this as 375 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:39.440 possible when it comes out. First of all, being asked 376 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:41.960 not to talk about the next thing I'm working on, 377 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:44.240 not by anyone involved in this, but just people I'm 378 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.559 working with. But I'm truly setting aside a good amount 379 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:50.960 of time right now to just promote, and a real 380 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:53.680 joy to be able to do that, because even after 381 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:57.400 having lived in this Kaufman world for so long, it's 382 00:22:57.559 --> 00:23:00.000 something I could never be sick of, and I'm excited 383 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:03.440 to get as many people out there and exposed to 384 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:04.200 it as possible. 385 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.680 Is there a good place for people keep up with 386 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:07.799 you in the film online? 387 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:13.799 There is a website draft housefilms dot com slash thank 388 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:17.039 you very much, and that has We're playing in around 389 00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:21.559 twenty different cities. I think theatrically run thirty five screens 390 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:25.000 right now. That could pick up depending on how the 391 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:29.039 first week of showings goes. But yeah, we're super excited. 392 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:31.960 We're opening in New York and Los Angeles. I think 393 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:34.599 we're going to have some additional theaters in the New 394 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:41.720 York area, Bronxville, Pelham, It's going to be playing in Austin, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, 395 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:45.839 and so I think just as things pick up, hopefully 396 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:49.000 it'll go wider and wider. But it's also available for 397 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:52.640 rents and for purchase VOD same day, So for anyone 398 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:55.839 that is not in one of those markets or wants 399 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:58.440 to watch it at home, it's going to be available 400 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:01.039 on Amazon and Apple in all those places where we 401 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:02.119