WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:08.000 Oh he is boots. It's show tied. 2 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:11.279 People say good money to see this movie. When they 3 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:12.160 go out to a theater. 4 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:16.199 They want clothes, sodas, pop, popcorn, and no monsters in 5 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:17.320 the protection booths. 6 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:19.199 Everyone pretend podcasting isn't boring. 7 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:40.799 Got it off from the guys who brought you the 8 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:44.000 forty year old virgin of Talladega Knights and knocked up. 9 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:45.880 Now get ready. 10 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.799 For its super bad cases. 11 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:49.799 What's up, guys? 12 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:52.039 I was just walking down the hall and Nicola was 13 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:54.439 wearing these tight white pants with this black chee streak. 14 00:00:55.399 --> 00:00:59.520 Uh, it's ten thirty three? What I told her? 15 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:01.119 What time of check check? 16 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:07.640 After a lifetime of missed opportunities, Heycca. 17 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:10.400 They've got one final chance. You You hear girls saying like, 18 00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:12.760 I'm so calm last night. I shouldn't have slept with 19 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:15.760 that guy. We could be that mistake to get it right. 20 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:32.519 Oh no, it's the tall super Bad. 21 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:33.840 Hey don't. 22 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:35.840 I'm not a piece of meat. 23 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:45.680 Hey, folks, Welcome to a special episode of the Projection Booth. 24 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:48.280 I'm your host Mike White. On this episode, I'm talking 25 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:53.000 with Andrew Buss. He is the author of I Am McLevin, 26 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.760 How super Bad became the biggest comedy hit of its generation. 27 00:01:57.400 --> 00:01:59.599 It is a brand new book that is out all 28 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:02.879 about the film super Bad, which I know a lot 29 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:05.200 of people have seen, even I have seen that one 30 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:08.439 wasn't necessarily the audience for it, but I definitely was 31 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:10.919 a good audience for this book. Had a great time 32 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:13.240 reading it, and I think you will too. Thanks so 33 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:15.199 much for listening, and I hope you enjoyed the interview. 34 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:18.039 Before we start talking about I am McLevin, I want 35 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.800 to know a little bit more about you, how you 36 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:23.639 get into writing, and what's your day job or is 37 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:25.719 this your day jobs? 38 00:02:25.879 --> 00:02:28.439 Right now? This is my day job. This is what 39 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:32.039 I'm focusing on. It's definitely tough, but yeah, this is 40 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:35.560 where my primary focus is writing right now. As far 41 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:38.840 as how I got started with writing, I've always been 42 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:44.120 a big fan of just writers in general. I grew 43 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:47.479 up a big fan of comedy and writing. Saturday Night 44 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:50.400 Life was a big influence on me, and I knew 45 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:53.319 I was a super fan when I become obsessed with 46 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.479 people like Robert Smidel or Jim Downey. You're a fan 47 00:02:57.560 --> 00:02:59.800 of the show when you know who wrote What's the 48 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:03.000 Growing up, I was a big fan of comedy, and 49 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:07.280 I went to film school in the screenwriting, but I 50 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:12.479 always had a mind towards journalism. I was always thinking, 51 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:17.080 maybe go down that route. I got disillusioned with going 52 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:20.400 into the world of film. I realized as a screenwriter, 53 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.080 I wasn't setting myself up for success as much as 54 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:27.080 I could have. And I realized that I love talking 55 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.080 about things, and I'm very passionate about what I loved, 56 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.560 and I realized that journalism is a great way to 57 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:35.479 do that. So I was mentored by man by the 58 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:39.599 name of bill's Amy, who is a brilliant, absolute genius 59 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:44.759 journalist for Rolling stilled at Esquire, New York Times bestselling 60 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:48.039 author last my Laborn interviewed Johnny Carson. He took me 61 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:50.879 under his wing for the last seven years of his life, 62 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.280 and I learned so much from him as a mentor. 63 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:57.599 And then I wound up working with a bunch of 64 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:00.360 different publications. I've written for manby Fair, Vocal, Sure, and 65 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:03.039 that's how I got into it. Now. 66 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:05.159 I know, before you wrote this book about super Bad, 67 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:07.199 you wrote one about High Fidelity. Can you tell me 68 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:08.439 how that project came about? 69 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:11.919 Yeah, High Fideli is a movie I've always left, being 70 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:16.959 from the Chicagoland suburbs. It's a movie that's always been 71 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:20.040 very near and dear to my heart. And I did 72 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:23.199 an oral history of the film in twenty twenty for 73 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.959 Consequence of Sound, and I got to talk to everybody, 74 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:32.759 John Cusa, Jeff Black, Tablulaiso, the film's cast, and then 75 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:37.360 also the screenwriters. Deveen Sentchus Steve Paint, as well as 76 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:40.759 director Stephen Fears and the author of the book, Nick Hornby. 77 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:43.439 So I got to talk to everybody. But a year 78 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:48.439 or two later, I was nearly represented by an agent 79 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:50.720 and we were talking about what I could do, and 80 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:52.920 I brought up the High Fideli oral history, and then 81 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:55.920 we talked about pitching that around as a book, and 82 00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:58.480 we did that, and then Applause books who I did 83 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:02.000 I'm mcleven with wound up picking it up. So that's 84 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:03.079 how that one came with me. 85 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:05.680 When was the first time you saw super Bad? And 86 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:06.439 what did you think? 87 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.040 The first time I ever saw I was fourteen years old, 88 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:12.959 just about to enter high school, and it was the 89 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:15.800 day I came out August seventeenth, two thousand and seven, 90 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:19.920 and I went with my dad and my grandfather and 91 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.759 so it's the free generation of matter, I mean, bonding 92 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:27.120 over this really raunchy teen comedy. And it was unlike 93 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.360 a movie experience, a movie going experience. Rather, I've ever 94 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:34.319 seen one of those experiences that really sticks with you, 95 00:05:34.600 --> 00:05:38.079 and to this day I refer to it as the 96 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:42.480 best filmgoing experience I've ever had. There was an electricity 97 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.319 in the air. The movie's very funny, of course, but 98 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:50.000 the crowd, it was just firing out all cylinders with 99 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:53.199 everybody was the night came out, and I just remember 100 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:57.600 that feeling of being in that theater, realizing, oh, I'm 101 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:02.120 part of something. Even at the time, this movie is 102 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:07.040 something different than what we usually see. And I've seen 103 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:10.160 all the Appaton movies up to that point. I loved Anchorman. 104 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:13.759 I loved Four year Old Virgin, which was the first 105 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.480 R rated movie I ever saw in the theater. Actually 106 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.759 not dub but SuperM was just different. It just had 107 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:22.879 a different kind of vibe. And getting to see it 108 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:26.879 with my damn my grandfather who's no longer with us unfortunately, 109 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:30.839 came to see it with them made it even more special. 110 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.079 So I got to dedicate the book to them. 111 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:34.959 How did the book project come about? 112 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:39.160 I've done an oral history for Randy Fair. Just like Hyphidelity, 113 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:43.839 it all starts there, and I'd gotten everybody. It was 114 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:47.120 the first time in my career, and I believe the 115 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:50.160 only time with the oral history. I don't think this 116 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:54.600 has happened before or since, where every single person I've 117 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:57.560 reached out to you said yes, that just doesn't happen 118 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:01.360 when you're working on a big typestt the project like that. 119 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:06.199 I talked to Jonah Haill, Seth Rogen, Michael Sarah, Christopherman's bloss, 120 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:12.040 Bill Hayter, Emma Stone, Evan Goldberg co writer, as well 121 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:17.720 as Judd Apatow, Greg Tola, producer, Seanna Robertson, and Marthon 122 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:21.040 mcguys that who plays back. Then, everybody I spoke to 123 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:24.560 you had nothing but amazing things to say about working 124 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:26.759 on the film, and it was just so much fun 125 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:29.279 to work in. Again, similar story, I was talking to 126 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.639 my agent and he pitched the idea of maybe doing 127 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:34.639 a book on this, and I love that idea, and 128 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:38.079 it was so much fun to get to turn the 129 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:39.759 oral history into a book. 130 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:43.360 What's your process to say? Okay, this was an oral history, 131 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:48.800 and I'm sure it was a very apprehensive and big. 132 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:50.839 I keep thinking about the size of this, and then 133 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:54.279 you've got let's turn it into a book. That sounds 134 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:56.040 like a really big task for you. 135 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:00.319 It is. The oral histories themselves are a lot of work. 136 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:04.800 Having twelve different voices and making them all come together 137 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:09.360 is one cohesive voice. It's not easy. That's an uphill battle. 138 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:12.600 It's a lot of work. It's a lot of late nights. 139 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:15.160 It's me staying up till four in the morning, tearing 140 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:19.439 my hair out. And with the book itself, when I 141 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:22.879 started looking through it, it's like, how I go about 142 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:28.240 writing a book is I don't necessarily go into chronological order. 143 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.240 I don't know many writers that do these types of 144 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:35.080 books that would. I'm sure there are, but it helps 145 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:39.519 me to go section by section. I'll start with a 146 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:42.519 section I feel really confident about. I might have started 147 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:46.120 with the first chapter for this one, actually, because I 148 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:49.200 was really fascinated by the first chapter, which is seth 149 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:52.879 Rogen and Evan Goldberg watching a really bad movie. They 150 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:54.840 can't even remember the title of it, they just know 151 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:59.440 it was bad, and then realizing, holy shit, we could 152 00:08:59.639 --> 00:09:02.399 make a better movie than this, and so they did that. 153 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:06.879 They wrote a movie they were thirteen, and I really 154 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:10.879 liked that idea of just this had drive and ambition 155 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.919 at such a young age. Oh, we can do better 156 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:16.879 than the Hollywood system. I love that kind of just 157 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.600 thinking it looks so easy, and so they saw how 158 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:22.639 to do it. And so that was the first chapter, 159 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:27.120 I believe. And then the process of things coming together 160 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:29.799 is I start with the interviews that I had done 161 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.759 with them for the Oral History, just reading them over 162 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:34.960 thinking Okay, what do we have. I look at the 163 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.399 oral History again, and then I'm like, where do we 164 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:44.279 go from here? And then research hundreds of articles and 165 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:47.759 hundreds and hundreds of articles and interviews. I got lucky 166 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:51.200 with this book more than a High Fidelity because High 167 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:54.039 Fidelity was a little more art house kind of vibe. 168 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.440 Even though it was Touchstone film, meaning it was a 169 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:00.559 Disney film, it was still very artsy, and how it 170 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:03.960 was promoted and everything, it just hit a very intimate 171 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:07.759 vibe where super Bad was a mainstream kind of balsam 172 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:12.279 wall comedy that was marketing. With the Damschebus life. Luckily 173 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:15.759 for me, they were sent on the most exhausting press 174 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:18.519 tour of their lives. If you ask the three leads 175 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:21.320 about doing a press tour for Superbad to this day 176 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:24.559 now might be a lot PTSD involved because of how 177 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:27.200 much they went through. They talked to anybody you know 178 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:32.279 with a microphone, and that helped me. I'm very crateil 179 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:35.840 they got. They did that because I was able to 180 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:39.840 find new things and these forgotten interviews on the wayback machine. 181 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:43.720 I learned so much that when I talked to Joe Mahel, 182 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:46.919 he didn't tell me things like he lived at his 183 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.559 parents' house while making Superbad to get back into the 184 00:10:49.639 --> 00:10:53.320 mindset of being a teenager again. That's fascinating, he said 185 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:55.720 at one time in one interview, and I never saw 186 00:10:55.759 --> 00:11:00.600 it again. That one interview for a publication I can't 187 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:02.559 even remember the name of off the top of my head. 188 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:04.799 It was to look in the book. But that one 189 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:08.120 interview gave me so much into the sight into his 190 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:11.679 creative process. So research is the name of the game. Event. 191 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:14.799 How early I have a draft of the script? Did 192 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:17.480 you manage to find or was it pretty close to 193 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.120 what we ended up seeing at the theater? 194 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:22.679 I wasn't able to final in the earlier draft I scoured. 195 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:25.919 I looked, I asked Greg Matila, I'm like, do you 196 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:28.879 have an early draft and he didn't. But the closest 197 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:31.240 I found was a draft right before shooting. And what 198 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:34.440 was interesting was it was only a couple of months out. 199 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:37.840 And by the way, I picked everybody's brain about the 200 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.639 early drafts and I got as much background as possible 201 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.000 on the early drafts. Seth and Devan told me a 202 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:48.120 lot about those early drafts. The draft I found had 203 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:52.919 some differences even right before shooting, entire character names like Becca, 204 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:56.679 who is Michael Sarah's character's love interest in the film. 205 00:11:56.759 --> 00:11:59.320 Her name was Helen, and they just had a bunch 206 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:04.320 of different lines changes throughout, nothing too drastic. But in 207 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:07.799 the early days, it was about just going to the 208 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:11.240 party and it ended at the party the missions complete. 209 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:15.240 It wasn't until years later that they found the heart 210 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:20.559 of the separation, anxiety and the friendship and the vulnerability 211 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:23.600 of the film that really, I always say, it's not 212 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:27.440 a film about you guys trying to get alcohols so 213 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:31.279 they can impress their dream girls. Really it's a movie 214 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:34.240 about two guys. It's their friendship. They are the movie. 215 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:38.519 It's not about the girls, it's about them, And that 216 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:42.600 didn't come until later on. I can't imagine two thirteen 217 00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:46.360 year old to writing about that something that heavy. And 218 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:49.840 also they were twenty five when the movie came out, 219 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:52.720 so even people in there, I'm thirty one now, I 220 00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:56.399 can't imagine that it's really heavy stuff for these early 221 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:00.240 twenty year olds who are not that far removed from 222 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:03.480 being eighteen years old. So they had a lot of 223 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:08.320 perspective on it, and I think was really fascinating. And 224 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.360 I did wonder while I was working on it how 225 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:14.919 much treat there was to that, because in ninety nine 226 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:18.039 seth Rogen gets cast on Freaks and Geeks and so 227 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:20.639 he comes out to La and him and Evan are 228 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:24.320 They called it a long distance kind of working partnership 229 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:27.240 because Evan was still in Canada where they grew up 230 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:29.240 in Vancouver, and so they were soil writing. But I 231 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:31.159 wonder if a little bit of that was able to 232 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:35.919 see ben Of and seventeen drift. They never drifted apart, 233 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:37.840 they were always working together, but they were in two 234 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:41.799 different physical locations. I imagine a little bit of that 235 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:44.600 sensibility probably made its way into the film. 236 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:48.440 As an outsider reading your book, it felt almost like 237 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:50.600 the script was maturing as they were maturing. 238 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:56.960 Absolutely, the characters were thirteen when I first started, and 239 00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:01.440 then they aged out at eighteen because it's a high 240 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:03.759 school with VI and they couldn't tell any older than that. 241 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:09.200 But yeah, it matured as they were And that's something 242 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:12.159 that I love about this book is that the book 243 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:15.320 is also about these two guys. It's about their friendship 244 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:18.559 and working relationship just as much as the movie itself. 245 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:21.240 You mentioned a lot of people that you talked to 246 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:23.639 for this book. Were there people that you're trying to 247 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:25.759 speak to that you weren't able to get a hold. 248 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:29.720 Of the book itself. Yeah, so it was difficult because 249 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:32.639 it was in the middle of the actors and Writers' strike. 250 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:36.399 Oh well, yeah, I had to rely a lot on 251 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:40.600 archival stuff just due to that. Yeah, there were definitely 252 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.720 people I wasn't able to get to, and but there 253 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:45.600 are a lot of people I did get to talk to, 254 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.279 and there are a lot of department and I had 255 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:51.600 some great conversations with some people from the studio, including 256 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:56.919 the Thumb studio president Ammy Pascal and Matt Tolmack, who 257 00:14:57.080 --> 00:15:02.000 also worked very closely on the Face film. And yeah, 258 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:04.919 a lot of department heads. Talking about the soundtrack, I 259 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.039 love talking about the soundtrack, because the soundtrack for the film. 260 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:11.840 When you have a movie called super Bad, you need 261 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:14.919 to have that funky set, these vibe, and you got 262 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:17.120 to go right to the source, which was the band 263 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:21.279 that worked with James Brown. So Bootsy Collins and all 264 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:25.519 of those guys were having basically a reunion, like some 265 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:28.240 of them haven't seen each other in years at that point, 266 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:31.480 and they were together again working on super Bad. And 267 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:35.600 I think over the course of four days, which I 268 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:40.240 was told is a lot for working on a film 269 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:43.320 school I score, I was told usually as a one 270 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:47.120 day session, but especially when there's only about fifteen to 271 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:49.879 twenty minutes of scoring in the film, that they really 272 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:52.320 wanted to get that vibe. 273 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:55.360 I love the whole idea of them actually making full 274 00:15:55.480 --> 00:16:00.120 length songs for these little musical cues instead of just oh, 275 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:05.120 here's a fifteen second, here's a two minutes, here's four 276 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:07.720 minutes and six seconds for the first title track. 277 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:13.399 Absolutely, and I think it shows because nothing feels interstitial. 278 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:17.159 It feels like every single song in the film is 279 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:20.440 an actual song of that era. Down to the equipment. 280 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.960 All of the equipment used was vintage equipment, so they 281 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.440 were really going all in on the throwback and a vide. 282 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:32.960 Yeah, that whole thing about the drum kit that was 283 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:36.360 really old or like renting old equipment rather than the 284 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:39.840 top of the line gear. I thought that was fantastic and. 285 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:42.120 That was a lot of fun getting to talk about 286 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:47.080 nitty gritty Earth, how the overall sound of that music 287 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:50.519 came to life, and some of them sadly have passed away, 288 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:54.039 So it was really helpful. There's a great kind of 289 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.320 making of the music that really was good insight as 290 00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:59.639 well stocking a couple of people that were there. 291 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:04.079 I was glad to read more about the music because 292 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:08.279 I always wondered how Bootsy Collins was doing that almost 293 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:11.000 like narration in the last song, and I'm just like, 294 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:13.839 where the hell did they get Bootsy to come on here? 295 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.759 And so I'm glad that he was actually part of 296 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:16.799 the soundtrack itself. 297 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:20.720 Yeah, they brought him in. It fits the film so 298 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:23.200 well in a way. I think I wrote about it 299 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:23.680 in the book. 300 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:25.680 The whole movie. 301 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:28.599 These two guys feel like fish. 302 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:28.839 Out of water. 303 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.279 They're outcasts. They're not in any kind of click, They're 304 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:35.519 just on their own island. The two of them with 305 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:39.799 Fogel and the music kind of juxtaposes that as well. 306 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:42.880 It doesn't feel like they're on the same wavelength of 307 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:46.480 the music, but also makes sense if that meant yeah. 308 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:49.279 And then also the clothes helped separate them both the 309 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:52.880 Richard Pryor's shirt and then later on the Dad's shirt 310 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:53.759 and pants. 311 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:55.880 The dad shirt and pants and the cargo pants like 312 00:17:55.960 --> 00:18:01.599 something no teenager would ever wear, right, Nobody was wearing 313 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:04.279 that in two thousand, said even Michael Sarah wearing my 314 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:08.400 order Roy and that green shirt and of course you've 315 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:12.920 got me c Lovin's fluffy it is puppy shirt, yes, 316 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:19.000 and Aladdin dress like Aladdin, yes, yes, the Alabbin. It 317 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:23.200 really set them apart from the rest of the teenagers 318 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:25.440 because then when they get to the party, all the 319 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:29.720 music at the party is of the era music, and 320 00:18:29.960 --> 00:18:32.039 yet when you're watching them on their journey, it's all 321 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:33.480 this funky. 322 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:37.680 It helps give the film another era as well. I 323 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.240 was rewatching it the other night and I was like, Okay, yeah, 324 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.279 the music like you said, at the party, but then 325 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:47.039 seeing a world before smartphones and I'm like, oh, yeah, 326 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.720 I guess they are using cell phones. But it feels 327 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:52.359 almost like it adds a timeless quality. 328 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:55.359 To it absolutely, and that's one of the most important 329 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:57.720 things about the film to me. Somebody pointed this out, 330 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:00.599 so I can't take credit for it. But one of 331 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:04.119 the coolest things is they do use cell phones, but 332 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.640 the cell phones never worked that well, and so what 333 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:11.279 that tells you is that it separates them from technology. 334 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:15.440 In the film, durn I think he uses reception a 335 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:18.559 couple times. And then the other thing is when they're 336 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:22.759 at the only hand to find technology is they're playing 337 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:25.559 video games at point. The video games I feel like 338 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:29.799 doesn't date it, but that's it. And they shot on digital, 339 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:33.680 but it had a real earthy kind of feel to it. 340 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:38.920 It wasn't loud and vibrant and warm. It felt very 341 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:40.359 of that time as well. 342 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:44.119 That was rewatching it to speak with you, And after 343 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.519 I read the book and I had forgotten just how 344 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:50.920 much of the whole fo goal in the Cops part 345 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:53.519 of the movie there is. Yes, it almost feels like 346 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.000 fifty to fifty at times, but I always in my 347 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.279 memory thought that it was just a smaller bit. But man, 348 00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:01.359 they really go all out with that. And I love 349 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.000 the way that the stories intersect and come back together 350 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:04.519 at the end. 351 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:08.960 Absolutely. I think that's really important that they have that, 352 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.880 because as interesting as it is following Seth and even 353 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:16.960 on their journey, we needed a little bit more as well. 354 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:19.920 As they can get heavy with the two of none 355 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:24.400 at times what they're drifting apart put it, that's a 356 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:28.279 comedy after all. You needed some real high stakes just 357 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:31.359 off the wall you weren't, and you really got that 358 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:33.599 with me Gloffin. But then the cops are just as 359 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:37.119 ridiculous as me Gluffin. As the cops ad these two 360 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:43.920 bumbling idiots, it is scary how horrible at their job 361 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:45.960 stay it really is. 362 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:49.640 And to read about a hater and Rogan going out 363 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:52.039 on a real ride a law, Oh my god, that 364 00:20:52.200 --> 00:20:52.759 was gold. 365 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:55.640 I didn't follow up on it because I didn't know 366 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:57.559 if this was ture or not. But I did have 367 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:01.799 someone after the actual came out out. They wrote on 368 00:21:01.880 --> 00:21:05.160 my Twitter that's not how I remembered it. Oh, and 369 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:07.960 I'm like, huh. So I looked into it, but I 370 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:10.319 couldn't verify. So I didn't want to reach out because 371 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:14.519 I didn't want to have some random person commenting on 372 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:17.440 the book when I couldn't verify. I look up their name. 373 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:20.960 I looked up everything trying to get some kind of verification, 374 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:24.359 and I couldn't quite do it, and I just didn't 375 00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:27.079 want to include a random person in the book. But yeah, 376 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:28.799 someone did at one point reach out. 377 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:31.440 I wonder if it was one of the original cops. 378 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.599 I have no idea, but yeah, that all that was 379 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:36.640 really fine, And that was when the article came out. 380 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:40.880 And yeah, that quote with there's something two quotes there 381 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:43.039 about the cops and the oral history and that. And 382 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:45.400 then he also had the people that come up to 383 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:49.799 him and say you inspired me to be a police officer. 384 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:55.240 And I think, sock goes that is fucking terrifying. You 385 00:21:55.400 --> 00:22:00.839 did not understand the movie at all. If there are 386 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:05.960 people but admire these two jobs, it just it blows 387 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:06.519 my mustard. 388 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:10.480 So it sounds like it was great, the collaboration with 389 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:12.440 all the folks that were behind the scenes and in 390 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:15.440 front of the camera. But obviously there were a lot 391 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:18.680 of struggles along the way, just the whole having to 392 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:21.200 sit down and write this whole thing is obviously a 393 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:24.960 big struggle because it just doesn't flow from the fingertips 394 00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:26.880 like they make it out in the movies that you 395 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:29.279 can just whip up a book in a couple of days. 396 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:31.680 But what were some of the other struggles that you faced. 397 00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:35.319 Definitely with the writer's strike and the actors strike, that 398 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:39.440 was a big struggle. It's all little things with this one, 399 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:41.559 and this one I got very lucky. It didn't quite 400 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.279 flow out of my fingertips, but over the course of 401 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:46.160