Speaker 1: Lou I have experienced this movie, and I mean experience it.
This is unbelievable.
Speaker 2: I I think I need to recommend a good therapist.
Then maybe, wow, that's saying a lot, thank you. Yeah no,
I mean there's so much of it that ring true
to me as well, having come from the theater and
you know, having a degree in theater from UTA Ut
Arlington and Texas that it just tickled me. Man. I
just thought it was such an entertaining script and really
a fun role.
Speaker 1: Everybody came together on this. I mean it is so
evenly paced out and the suspense. I mean there's nothing
that's rushed upon us. It's all paced out.
Speaker 2: Perfectly, thank you. And that's you know, but I mean
that's that's Max man Maxtent is the writer director. Uh.
And what's interesting is you can see he took a
real sort of cubic Soderbergh approach to it, you know,
the wider shots, two shots, long takes. I mean, my goodness,
he wrote me all those monologues that day and I
would get like one take to do them with very
little coverage. So what you're seeing is a real, uh
example of homework and preparation.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: And and that that goes for the entire cast. I
was I was so proud of everybody because every single
day they came to play.
Speaker 1: The lighting of the scenes, I mean it's so dynamic.
I mean they're you know, you sit there, you can
see that it's dark, but man, the whole entire storyline
keeps it well lit up.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you. It's Max and and the cinematographer, the composers.
They're all friends. They're young artists, they're they're hungry, you know,
they're they're itching to get into the business and make
them ark. And I really do think they knocked that
out of the park with this. Uh. For those for
those who haven't seen the trailer, I play a theater
director named Brent who has mounted a regional production of
Julius Caesar.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: And he and he's very he's pretentious, he's an elitist,
he's a purist. And with all of that, plus the
headaches of you know, doing a live production, he thinks
that the hunky young guy playing Brutus is sleeping with
his wife. So, you know, in true Shakespearean fashion, the
jealousy and the paranoia and all of that start. Well.
Speaker 1: I love the idea that it's the story behind the story,
because I mean, sure they're getting ready for that stage performance,
but it's the story behind that performance that just really
enlightens everything.
Speaker 2: Backstage intrigue and you know, yo, I mean with Shakespeare
is a backdrop. I mean, it's a you know, it's
it's obviously very heightened and very theatrical, and it's I
think that's one of the reasons why it's it's really entertaining.
And like you, I'm assuming you've done some theater and
that that that means you really you know, you can
feel it, you know, you can taste it. Well.
Speaker 1: It reminds me of a of an on stage performance
that I saw back in the nineteen eighties, Faces Off.
Did you ever experience that one?
Speaker 2: No? I did not.
Speaker 1: It's it's about a production and it and all of
these things are taking place behind the scenes, the love affairs,
in the action and the and the conflict, and I'm
going and so when I was watching this, I'm going,
oh my god, it's like I've been here before, but
this one has got it's got to it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's got some it's got some real blood and
some really some real edginess. So uh yeah, thank you man.
I'm so thrilled. It's uh, you know, when I read it,
I thought it's such a bizarre, quirky little film. I mean,
I don't know, I don't know where it's gonna fit. Uh,
but the festivals were very, very kind to it. We
won a number of awards. I took Best Actor at
the Los Angeles Film Festival. And uh, the fact that
it got picked up for distribution and now is available
on a video on demand, uh to render to own
right now? You know, it's uh. Uh, I'm glad. I'm
glad it's getting out there and finding its audience.
Speaker 1: But will it will it make its way to a
theater because I think this is one of those movies
that needs to be experienced, especially when you when you
see the hanging scenes and and and really that that
dagger scene and stuff like that. I want to be
able to see it larger than life.
Speaker 2: I really, I really wish, uh it would. I don't know,
I don't know. I mean, you know, I know that
it's you know, uh, the release patterns these days are
all over the place. So just because it's on VOD
doesn't mean it couldn't you know, get into you know,
some art houses. But I do think that's why it
had such great response at the film festivals, because you know,
a lot of people were able to see it on
the big screen.
Speaker 1: Your character standing above everything, watching the rehearsals that you know,
just that scene, that that look that you put into
that scene. I mean, you don't have to use words
there at all. It's just you and you're going, oh,
there's some stuff going down now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's always nice when there's something going on
behind an actor's eyes. But also you know, I mean
I've played test to turned characters throughout throughout my career,
and so especially in film and television, you know, you
learn to tell the story without words.
Speaker 1: Please do not move. There's more with Lou Diamond Phillips
coming up next. The name of the movie is at
two oh. It is a thriller. Let's get back into
that conversation with Lou Diamond Phillips. What listeners have to
understand is that the very opening of the movie boom
boom pow. You're hooked because it's so emotional. You wasted
no time getting this movie started.
Speaker 2: Well, once again, that's a credit to the script, but
uh uh, it's Brent presented such a strong character that
that you know, you couldn't you can come halfway? Uh
you you really had to commit to the bit, as
I like to say, and just and just bring it
and just trust that you know that that it's all
going to make sense in the end.
Speaker 1: Don't you think that this also educates viewers and that
that the understudy is a very important position when it
comes to a live performance, that if that understudy is
not ready and and they're called into action, I mean,
you really did put a lot of attention on that.
Speaker 2: It's huge. It's huge, I mean, especially when you get
to the level of Broadway or whatever. I mean that
understudy has to be able to you know, especially in
the lead roles, has to be able to carry the play.
Uh and and do it in a way that is
seamless where you don't know you're looking at an understudy.
I'm telling you something. I've seen some plays recently. I
live in New York where the understudy had the chance
to go on and it was their moment to shine.
Uh and and uh you know, and they deliver. So
so the casting of an understudy is just as important,
you know as the casting of your uh uh, your
main cast.
Speaker 1: My wife and I both agreed that this wasn't just
a role for you. It's almost like you became this character.
And especially when it came to that dagger and how
you use that dagger, because I could see your facial expressions,
I could see your entire body, and it's it's like,
my god, this is authentic.
Speaker 2: I appreciate that. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, once again, it's just it's a matter of
really embracing the role. I mean a lot of times
people say, you know, this is weird playing bad guys.
I mean, I played Richard Ramirez in The night Stalker,
and it's like, no. I often tell young young students,
you have the ability within you as a human being
to sit on a mountaintop and be a monk or
to kill somebody. You just have to figure out in
your mind how how you put yourself in that situation.
And once you adopt that worldview, once you start looking
through the eyes of the character, you can't judge them.
You can't hold them at our arms distance. For the
amount of time that you're on screen, it is your
job to convince the audience that's who you are.
Speaker 1: How do you shake off that character? Then because I
mean I'm a d fragger. I have to sit down
and ask myself the questions and question the answer so
I can get myself refocused.
Speaker 2: You know, it's just winding down, winding down after a
long day of work. I mean, fortunately, you know, we
works some really long hours, so you're pretty tired. On location,
I've taken to play in like an hour of video
poker or something, just as a palette cleanser, you know,
but also then studying the lines for the next day. Fortunately.
I mean, like you know, in my late twenties early thirties,
I was still pretty intense about roles, and even though
my research is still exhaustive, I learned to relax and
to let go of things and to you know, to
reset the clock to zero. You know, a lot of
times it it proved to be a bit healthier.
Speaker 1: Did you have to study someone in order to become
this character?
Speaker 2: No, I knew this guy. I knew this guy from
Chump Street. He reminded me of so many directors that
I've worked with, who you know, fortunately, are not that psychotic.
But I mean Luis Eldez from Lalamba is very very intense. Christopherenshaw,
who directed me on Broadway is very English and very
proper and very demanding, you know, I mean doctor Peter Weller,
who's a friend and a wonderful actor, but I've also
been directed by him. You know, he's flamboyant, he's got
you know, he's got a big, big presence. So I
was able to take pieces from those guys, plus a
lot of other people that I know, in trying to
develop this role.
Speaker 1: Please tell me that you're just like me when it
comes to this movie in the way that it would
really work on a live stage. And would you play
that role on a live stage? Oh, one hundred pc.
I think it could be fantastic. Yes, Wow, that's a
that's a great thought. Actually, maybe turn it into a musical.
Who knows? Oh my god? See that? That to me
is where entertainment is these days. You can go in
so many different directions and still have a winning performance.
Speaker 2: This is true. And the different I mean you we're
seeing it all the time. You know, there's so many
movies into musicals these days and vice versa. You know,
so yeah, no, it's way I mean like Wicked, I
mean the Wicked film. I love the stage place so much.
I didn't know if I would love you know, the
movie as much. But I got to say the movie
bought things to the production that you can't do on stage. Yep,
you know. I mean the close ups where you just
you just see Elphaba's pain. I mean, you know, you
understand it on stage, but you really see it in
the film.
Speaker 1: Where can people go to find out more about you
and everything you're up to? Sir?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh. Well, I'm on X believe it or not.
There are people who are posing as me on Instagram
and Facebook and stuff like that. I am only on X.
I you know, I do my dad jokes and my
you know, my cat daddy pictures and all that other stuff.
I got a bunch of stuff going on. My wife
and I have books, two books that are out there,
The Box Soldier of Indira and The Tinderbox Underground Movement.
I wrote them, she came up with the stories, and
she also did the illustrations. So it was a really wonderful,
uh you know, pet project of ours. And then I
just finished a comedy series called The Chair Company for
HBO with Tim Robinson, who's just amazing, just freaking hilarious. Uh.
That'll be on in October.
Speaker 1: Wow. Please come back to the show anytime in the future,
especially this October so we can talk about it.
Speaker 2: There you go, I look forward to it.
Speaker 1: Will you'd be brilliant today?
Speaker 2: Okay, thank you so much. I'll try. Thank you so much.
Erro