MVP Week: Actor Turned Filmmakers (with Ken Bates)

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[00:00:56] Return to the show. Hey everybody. Cambo here. And we just decided, you know what, out of all the topics we're going to do, you know, let's not even do it on a date we haven't scheduled for. Let's talk about the actors who later became directors.

[00:01:17] There's quite a huge list of them. We'll just kind of casually talk about some of the big ones. There's going to be something for everybody. A lot of them will be former sitcom or TV actors who, you know, are still continually working. Some of them are, you know, very famous A-listers who, you know, became very prominent filmmakers, you know, winning awards, but we connect to them because of how it just, you know,

[00:01:46] good they are at staging and, you know, not taking even the credit for everything. They're really working very well with storyboards and the visual effects and cameramen.

[00:02:01] Yeah.

[00:02:04] So, uh, Ken, uh, just as kind of an intro, uh, you know, we're, we're all movie guys, but it kind of takes us a while before we realize, oh, I want substance. I want, you know, I want style. I want, uh, when did you start kind of really like paying attention to actors and you're just like, I have to see most everything they're in or.

[00:02:24] Oh man. Well, it kind of starts for me.

[00:02:28] We just put a while to connect the dots.

[00:02:30] Oh, no, not for me, man. I, um, I remember when my father took me to see Star Wars when I was really little, I thought the actors were up there in the booth with a microphone.

[00:02:41] Oh, nice.

[00:02:42] Yeah.

[00:02:43] Cause that was really live radio show.

[00:02:45] Yeah. And then when my father told me about movies and how they worked and whatnot, I became all about movies and, you know, like I, when I found out who Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were, I, I was as obsessed with them as I was Mark, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

[00:03:02] Sweet.

[00:03:03] So I, um.

[00:03:04] Anyone who's in a big visual effects realm or who collaborated with one or the other.

[00:03:09] So I was like, Hey, they're best friends with De Palma.

[00:03:12] Yeah.

[00:03:12] I better check out their movies.

[00:03:14] Pretty much.

[00:03:15] Even at a very young age.

[00:03:16] And then when my, uh, when my folks opened a video store, I would, I kind of, you know,

[00:03:23] Yeah.

[00:03:25] Yeah.

[00:03:25] I grew up in a video store in Massachusetts.

[00:03:27] Um, I think my folks owned it from 1984 until 1994.

[00:03:31] Oh, so they started when big brother was watching them.

[00:03:34] Pretty much.

[00:03:36] Don't rewind that tape.

[00:03:39] So, um, I don't know, just putting it together and then just, uh, you know, put it in the middle of the movie.

[00:03:44] Like this guy, Oh, what's this name?

[00:03:45] Oh, right here.

[00:03:46] And then I can't remember who I got, who I got into right.

[00:03:50] Uh, it started with Lucas and, uh, Spielberg.

[00:03:52] And just went from there until, you know, so flash forward 20 years later, I'm in college and I'm looking at Godard and Truffaut and all those, uh, potential.

[00:04:01] I'm in the front.

[00:04:03] Yeah.

[00:04:04] Yeah.

[00:04:05] It is an interesting one.

[00:04:06] It's like some of the French new wave you see.

[00:04:08] Yeah.

[00:04:08] I see what Luc Besson and the other European guys took from it.

[00:04:12] And then the others are like, put me to sleep.

[00:04:14] Take a half, be a minute, 40 minutes.

[00:04:17] Damn your turn of classic movies.

[00:04:20] But what, you know, one of my favorite filmmakers is an actor turned director.

[00:04:24] That's Ron Howard.

[00:04:25] Yeah.

[00:04:26] Ron Howard, you know, is he, does he, is he crazy like Tarantino or Spike Lee or even like, does he do amazing montages like, like, like, like Scorsese?

[00:04:37] No.

[00:04:38] But when you go into a Ron Howard picture, there's usually at least a 60, 70% chance it's going to be good.

[00:04:46] Yeah.

[00:04:47] Even if there's one I'm disappointed by, I can't ever say that he didn't give it his all and make sure everyone was really in tune.

[00:04:55] And I think, I don't think he suffers fools either.

[00:04:59] I think if anyone's ever in the zone, he's apparently pretty good at understanding what they're going for and communicating to them and then telling the other crew what, you know, what's going on without wasting time.

[00:05:10] I, I, I remember a hysterical, like ESPN spoof that he was in just making fun of like dramatic movies.

[00:05:22] And he's just like at a baseball field saying, you're dying.

[00:05:26] You got to give this emotion.

[00:05:27] And it was just like, that's great.

[00:05:29] And I mean, I, what would I, what can I say?

[00:05:33] I watched a bunch of Happy Days growing up as a team, but it was interesting also just seeing how, uh, just, uh, well, how he collaborates with producer Brian Grazer at Imagine.

[00:05:44] And I did take his, uh, masterclass, you know, where he has all those prerecorded lessons and he does a very cool lesson.

[00:05:53] I recommend it.

[00:05:55] And the Sam Jackson, Natalie Portman ones, but also the Aaron Sorkin class.

[00:05:58] But, uh, it's, cause Sorkin's really good at, uh, talking about how just, again, just reminding everyone, you've got to say this out loud instead of getting angry at how people are saying it.

[00:06:09] It just might not work as dialogue, but Howard's really good at like, he, he reenacts a scene from Frost Nixon and he brings in all these like working, but beginning actors who haven't made it yet.

[00:06:19] I'm like, that's awesome.

[00:06:21] And he showed how many different ways he could orchestrate it and communicate to them.

[00:06:24] This is where the camera's coming at and sees you.

[00:06:27] I'm like, ah, thank you.

[00:06:29] Cause they never taught us staging in film school.

[00:06:31] It's just like, that's like a key ingredient.

[00:06:34] And then they're all getting mad at, Oh, how did you shoot it?

[00:06:37] And what did you use?

[00:06:38] I'm like, well, we got to figure out where it's pointing first.

[00:06:45] Where it's being lit.

[00:06:46] You can have the coolest thing in the world, but if the camera's not looking at it properly, it's not going to look good.

[00:06:51] Yeah.

[00:06:52] Yeah.

[00:06:52] And sometimes you just can't recapture it.

[00:06:54] Sometimes you got to record the rehearsals as well.

[00:06:59] It's good to tell you, you know, he, he, he'd been doing, he's been, he's been in the entertainment industry since he was like born.

[00:07:05] I think I can't, I don't know.

[00:07:07] I don't have his, but he was his father.

[00:07:10] Yeah.

[00:07:10] He's been doing it since he was a young child.

[00:07:12] And then he was on Mayberry.

[00:07:14] Oh goodness.

[00:07:15] I think he was probably like five or six when the show started.

[00:07:18] So that, and you know, it does help that along with Jonathan, uh, dim, he, you know, he, he collaborated, you know, he did some sheet pictures for Roger Corman, but he was still, you know, always just being back and forth.

[00:07:33] And I wasn't surprised that he was helping out Lucas on occasion, you know, with Willow and, you know, being in graffiti is just like that all kind of ran together.

[00:07:41] And, you know, obviously we're going to talk Robert Redford and I think those two kind of just, oh yeah, I kind of definitely associated them the most with directing movies and shows.

[00:07:53] Cause you know, Redford forms, you know, Sundance and then gives up after a while because it's becomes too corporate and not what he envisioned.

[00:08:02] And it's interesting to how Ron still kind of also has the whole, you know, got to find a great actor, but also got to find some indie sensibilities and then some, uh, you know, big, large skill stuff that, you know, make the money count.

[00:08:19] Don't, don't put it to waste.

[00:08:20] I think some people started giving him some shit cause you know, they were disappointed with the Robert Langdon, not Langdon, uh, what's the Da Vinci Code guys?

[00:08:30] Oh, Dan Brown.

[00:08:31] Dan Brown.

[00:08:32] Yeah.

[00:08:32] Yeah.

[00:08:32] And I think, I can't blame him.

[00:08:35] I think at that point he's just like, I want to do something more awesome with everyone's, you know, dad, America's dad.

[00:08:41] I, I, I don't know.

[00:08:42] People became obsessed with that book.

[00:08:44] I can't explain it.

[00:08:45] It was a.

[00:08:46] Yeah.

[00:08:47] Well, it's funny.

[00:08:47] I even had, I know family members read it, but never even saw any of the movies and they had no interest at that point.

[00:08:52] I was like, well, I can't recommend it or say it's bad necessarily.

[00:08:56] It's just, it is what it is.

[00:08:58] Someone was going to adapt it one way to another.

[00:09:01] You know, I have a good friend of mine loves adventure movies.

[00:09:04] He says those are solid to him.

[00:09:06] Those are solid adventure movies.

[00:09:08] So.

[00:09:09] Nice.

[00:09:10] It basically was Indiana Jones, especially about the third one.

[00:09:14] Obviously I can't not mention Tom Hanks.

[00:09:16] He did some heavy words, kind of just what he wanted to do.

[00:09:20] Some select episodes of Band of Brothers.

[00:09:22] Yeah.

[00:09:23] That thing you do was great.

[00:09:26] I like that movie.

[00:09:27] And basically at that point, he just wanted to bring in an idea of what the 60s were like.

[00:09:35] Period pieces.

[00:09:36] Yep.

[00:09:37] And then probably other than, than, than Ron Howard, probably the biggest actor turned director has got to be Clint Eastwood.

[00:09:45] Oh yeah.

[00:09:46] Yeah.

[00:09:47] At that point.

[00:09:48] Yeah.

[00:09:48] Clint.

[00:09:49] You know, it's just so funny how every actor who works with him is gets so comfortable.

[00:09:56] Loves his attention to detail, especially Laura Lenny, Morgan Freeman and Matt Taman all talking about it.

[00:10:02] And then at the same time, sometimes they'll be unsure.

[00:10:04] He's like, do you want it this way?

[00:10:05] And he's like, if you want to watch his wife.

[00:10:10] Like, okay.

[00:10:10] Okay.

[00:10:11] So he doesn't want another take.

[00:10:13] He just wants you to move on after that point.

[00:10:17] Oh man.

[00:10:21] There's some serious Canadian actors and like Kristen Lehman, who's one, you might know her from Altered Carbon and Midnight Mass.

[00:10:30] And it's interesting too, how just about every other person on Star Trek, ER, 24, 30 something.

[00:10:38] Has basically directed hours of TV.

[00:10:40] Laura Hines, Paul McCrane, Carlos Bernard, Leslie Hope.

[00:10:44] That's something I've noticed is that as TV shows go on, the stars always start directing.

[00:10:51] Always.

[00:10:52] It's probably part of their, it's probably part of their contract to keep them, you know, you figure it's got to be boring doing that.

[00:10:57] It gets boring doing the same job, so.

[00:10:59] They like it because they have a little more control, definitely a better payday.

[00:11:03] And how they get it is often it's like an assistant director knows them or one of their former like fiancés or longtime friends.

[00:11:11] Finally, it's just like, I need a guest director.

[00:11:13] Who will I get this to?

[00:11:15] Hey, I've known you for 30 years.

[00:11:17] Come on over to Oklahoma or South Carolina.

[00:11:19] We're shooting, you know, an episode of Better Call Saul or Walking Dead and stranger things.

[00:11:26] My pal, Jeannie, you know, she does stunts and she got to work on an episode of Fear the Walking Dead that was guest directed by Lou Diamond Phillips.

[00:11:34] Nice.

[00:11:35] She was just like, oh, La Bamba.

[00:11:39] I think everyone owes it to it.

[00:11:41] It's like some of those guys really can be just quite kind.

[00:11:44] And sometimes even my pal, Nathan Hartley, was on a few episodes of Salem and he kept running into Peter Weller.

[00:11:52] And Peter at this point was basically, you know, any show he was directing, whether it was like Last Ship or Sons of Anarchy or Longmire, he would eventually like have like a recurring, you know, acting role on it.

[00:12:04] And on Salem, he was just like chain smoking and then just reminding everyone, even the extras, hey, remember, you're doing a good job.

[00:12:11] I'm like, that's fucking awesome.

[00:12:14] Nice.

[00:12:15] It's like, I hate it when I see other people just kind of being too blind to where it's like, really, there isn't any need for that.

[00:12:23] I would hear other people getting pissed off as being extras on the set of a major picture, like one of the X-Men movies or Jason Bourne and then not getting paid.

[00:12:32] And you're just like, fuck that.

[00:12:34] That's garbage.

[00:12:37] Some of that was individually just third party companies and then not doing the right paperwork or what have you.

[00:12:43] But whatever.

[00:12:44] Fuck that.

[00:12:46] It's not cool.

[00:12:47] It's, you know, actors who turn directors, they remember what it's like to be an actor, I would think.

[00:12:53] So that's.

[00:12:54] Yeah.

[00:12:55] In all fairness, they're not handling payroll, but it is annoying, too, at the same time where you're like, let's talk.

[00:13:02] Let's come around for this.

[00:13:04] But yeah, James Whitmore Jr. is another one.

[00:13:07] He's like the son of a senior who was also like a actor and director.

[00:13:12] Same thing with like Kevin Hooks is like they were doing like, you know, his father was Robert Hooks and same kind of deal.

[00:13:18] Just long term, like guest star actor and then directing a bunch of like crime and action shows for like NBC and Fox.

[00:13:26] And a lot of St.

[00:13:28] Elsewhere guys like Eric Lanaville, you know, same kind of deal.

[00:13:31] And Michael Pressman basically has worked for the whole David E. Kelly farm.

[00:13:36] I'm never surprised when there's a puppeteer like Frank Oz.

[00:13:41] That's right.

[00:13:42] Yeah.

[00:13:42] Frank Oz.

[00:13:43] He's he did.

[00:13:44] He did direct movies.

[00:13:45] Even some of them basically were like responsible for like their hit show, like Terry Kenny of Oz directs a lot of his shows.

[00:13:52] Nice.

[00:13:53] Jack Webb, you know, Mr.

[00:13:55] Freaking Dragnet guy was literally coming up with all the scripts.

[00:13:59] Wow.

[00:14:00] Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon would direct a lot of each other's shows.

[00:14:03] I'm like, that's pretty cool.

[00:14:05] Yeah, definitely.

[00:14:07] I think Jonathan Franks has been pretty cool because, you know, there's a lot of good, you know, Star Trek actor turned directors, but, you know, especially the Voyager and DS9 cast.

[00:14:17] But I really applaud them because they they just kind of you just saw it on their face.

[00:14:21] And in interviews is like they knew their worth.

[00:14:23] It's like, hey, you know, I've done all these guest roles before I was famous and other stuff is like now I want to, you know, actually, you know, storyboard bring a lot to it.

[00:14:34] And Franks is just cool because, you know, he he literally was studying.

[00:14:37] He was going into the editing room after hours when he should have been, you know, memorizing lines.

[00:14:41] And actually, you know, he went to like the two most common guys to study Ridley Scott and James Cameron.

[00:14:48] He's like, I love the movies.

[00:14:49] So I'm going to study them frame by frame, go to the video store and rent out their movies again.

[00:14:55] I'm like, well, even better.

[00:14:58] Yeah.

[00:15:00] Matt Shankman, even Dom DeLuise had a bunch of kids who he's acted.

[00:15:05] Thomas Carter is another big one.

[00:15:07] Carl Franklin came from Roger Corman school.

[00:15:10] And obviously, I can't not talk about Ben Affleck or John Tutoro.

[00:15:13] Oh, yeah.

[00:15:14] Oh, yeah.

[00:15:15] Affleck, especially.

[00:15:17] John Casabetti.

[00:15:19] Oh, yeah.

[00:15:20] But as someone who grew up in Massachusetts.

[00:15:25] Massachusetts, man.

[00:15:26] Affleck's one of the people who gets it correctly, as you can imagine.

[00:15:30] Yeah.

[00:15:31] I had Jay Skipworth from Filmstrip on here and he was talking.

[00:15:36] I was like, I understand the tendency for Southern stuff.

[00:15:40] But sometimes those accents are just really lame, you know, Beverly Hillbillies stuff.

[00:15:45] And yeah, I can imagine many people are like, eh, I'm Boston.

[00:15:48] I'm like, nope.

[00:15:50] Nope.

[00:15:51] Nope.

[00:15:51] If you want to see it done really badly, see Juliet.

[00:15:59] Oh, man.

[00:16:00] I'm spacing out right now.

[00:16:01] Not Juliet Lewis.

[00:16:02] Julianne Moore.

[00:16:03] Sorry.

[00:16:04] Julianne Moore on 30 Rock.

[00:16:07] That's how you do it, man.

[00:16:08] I love her.

[00:16:09] Don't get me wrong.

[00:16:10] Oh, no.

[00:16:10] She's great.

[00:16:11] But yeah.

[00:16:12] I mean, even for a comedy.

[00:16:13] Maybe that's the point.

[00:16:13] Maybe that's the point.

[00:16:14] Because it's a comedy show.

[00:16:16] But I mean, I don't know.

[00:16:18] But one, you know, this may surprise me.

[00:16:21] New Jersey.

[00:16:22] One actor who directed something that I really enjoyed is I really loved Bradley Cooper's A Star is Born.

[00:16:31] Yeah, fair enough.

[00:16:32] I don't know where he's going to go.

[00:16:34] If he's going to keep doing musicals or what have you.

[00:16:36] But he's interesting in that I don't think anyone really knew where he was going to go.

[00:16:43] He was like, oh, he's a big part guy.

[00:16:45] And then next thing you know, he's like in two major comedies and then like a bunch of butter ensembles.

[00:16:51] And now he's doing voices.

[00:16:52] And you're just like, I don't know where he's going at this point.

[00:16:55] You know, I'm from a punk rock background.

[00:16:58] So I kind of I read the headline Bradley Cooper to make Star is Born.

[00:17:02] I'd roll my eyes.

[00:17:03] But I like Lady Gaga.

[00:17:06] So I said, you know what?

[00:17:07] I'll check this out.

[00:17:07] And I was really blown away.

[00:17:09] There you go.

[00:17:12] They're everywhere, man.

[00:17:15] Betty Thomas is interesting.

[00:17:17] She's done a lot of bunch of comedies.

[00:17:19] Bonnie Hunt.

[00:17:20] Oh, yeah.

[00:17:21] Mario Vance.

[00:17:22] Sorry, go ahead.

[00:17:23] She made Private Parts.

[00:17:26] That's right.

[00:17:27] Yes, she did.

[00:17:28] I Spy and what's the other one?

[00:17:31] 28 Days with Chandra Bullock and Viggo Mortensen.

[00:17:35] Yep.

[00:17:38] Mario Van Peebles is another one.

[00:17:40] Oh, yeah.

[00:17:40] I learned from his dad.

[00:17:41] And when his dad actually passed away like a few years ago, I saw him on CNN actually,

[00:17:45] surprisingly.

[00:17:46] My mother's like, I think I know him.

[00:17:48] I'm like, oh, you've seen him.

[00:17:49] I know you haven't seen New Jack City, but you've seen him on Alien.

[00:17:52] Yeah, I love the movie he made about his dad.

[00:17:55] Badass.

[00:17:56] It's such a funny movie.

[00:17:57] And it's such a personal movie, too.

[00:17:59] It's just like, and it's also just kind of cool because a lot of these guys, like, especially Frank Wally,

[00:18:06] he's like, he'll go and do like a movie with his friends, Vincent D'Onofrio and Ethan Hawke.

[00:18:11] And just like, literally, they're all pitching in like money or what have you.

[00:18:15] And I mean, it's the same way.

[00:18:17] He's like, yeah, Charlie gave me like two million bucks to make a movie about my dad.

[00:18:21] And I'm like, perfect.

[00:18:22] Sure.

[00:18:23] And it's just funny because it's like, it really does all make sense.

[00:18:26] It's like, that's all they want to do.

[00:18:27] Dick Van Patten's another one.

[00:18:29] He was teased like as a kid actor, you know, despite the white shadow being popular.

[00:18:33] And then next thing you know, like he's directing like all these popular HBO shows.

[00:18:39] Another one.

[00:18:41] Keith Gordon.

[00:18:42] Another big, huge in TV.

[00:18:45] Keith Gordon.

[00:18:46] Keith Gordon.

[00:18:46] He was a young kid from De Palma's Dressed to Kill.

[00:18:49] And he was Arnie and Christine.

[00:18:51] Yeah, he directs.

[00:18:52] He's directed an episode of just about every TV series that's come out in the last 20 years.

[00:18:57] There's some of them.

[00:18:58] I'm still surprised they're still like around like Mark Tinker.

[00:19:01] I'm like, let's freaking say elsewhere era.

[00:19:03] We're still around.

[00:19:05] Jon Favreau, of course, is another big one.

[00:19:09] Yeah, he did direct something pretty big, didn't he?

[00:19:12] Peter Hoed.

[00:19:13] Freaking Paul McCrane from ER.

[00:19:15] Richard Attenborough.

[00:19:16] I had to even remind my family.

[00:19:18] You're like, oh, is he the guy from Jurassic Park?

[00:19:20] I'm like, yeah.

[00:19:21] And he freaking narrates PBS.

[00:19:25] Yeah.

[00:19:26] Aisha Tyler surprisingly did a bunch of short films and stuff with her Criminal Minds fans.

[00:19:32] And she was able to, the Kickstarter was so well done for like this one indie film that not many saw.

[00:19:38] But like all of them have like voice cameos in.

[00:19:40] And she was able to fund it in like two weeks.

[00:19:42] I'm like that.

[00:19:43] I applaud you guys.

[00:19:44] Ben Stiller was recently on the Smart List podcast.

[00:19:46] And he talked about, he literally just accepted it.

[00:19:49] You know, you're being raised by two comedians.

[00:19:51] And he actually instantly like just kind of just learned to just kind of take small breaks.

[00:19:57] Just breathe and just realize, okay, I'm going to leave my takes for very last.

[00:20:01] When I know I have all the shots and then I'm going to just, you know, take 10 minutes to, you know, remember my lines.

[00:20:08] Because I actually got to be on camera and I don't want to make everyone else suffer.

[00:20:12] Because I'm not 100%.

[00:20:14] We'll return after these messages.

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[00:21:38] John Krasinski was on Conan's podcast and he was really good at just saying, he's like,

[00:21:44] I'm going to take on any movie, regardless of whether I'm a fan of it, because I know there's something in there and they didn't just ask me.

[00:21:52] He admitted.

[00:21:53] He took over this movie that had Anna Kendrick and Shirley Tocopley.

[00:21:57] And he was like, hey, someone's got to be in charge of this, but you guys are really all comfortable with this.

[00:22:02] I feel comfortable if I was just helping arrange this and telling the camera guys what to film.

[00:22:08] And he admitted, he's like, I'm really not all that big a horror guy, but A Quiet Place just spoke to me for whatever reason.

[00:22:13] I was like, that's awesome.

[00:22:17] John Huston, I forget.

[00:22:19] It was like half the time.

[00:22:19] It was like he's acting in half of his movies.

[00:22:21] Yeah.

[00:22:22] Orson Welles.

[00:22:24] Yeah.

[00:22:26] You know, growing up, people would make fun of how ego-headed he sounded.

[00:22:30] But it's like, you know, I can't blame the dude.

[00:22:32] He, out of all the guys to be at war with a studio, I think he was kind of justified compared to others who were just kind of pre-Madonna's and just going to always kill the messenger when they're told they can't do this.

[00:22:44] And he was kind of more like, I'm just breathing this.

[00:22:47] I'm thinking this.

[00:22:48] And if I got to basically pay for 20 more film reels, I guess I'm going to do it.

[00:22:53] Yeah.

[00:22:55] One actor who only got to make one movie, but it was brilliant, was did you ever see Charles Lawton's Night of the Hunter?

[00:23:04] Oh, yes.

[00:23:05] Yeah.

[00:23:05] Robert Mitchum.

[00:23:06] And don't you love how that one 1958, like, Fugitive on the Run ex-con movie he did was allegedly, supposedly directed reshoots by him, too?

[00:23:15] Oh, nice.

[00:23:15] I did not know that.

[00:23:17] I'll have to check that out.

[00:23:17] And how about, and it's just so funny because I talked about it with, like, a bunch of other pals.

[00:23:22] My pal David Bates, who's a Canadian filmmaker, and we were just joking about, oh, man, if the Screen Actors Guild or Directors Guild knew about it back in the day, there would be some angry letters.

[00:23:31] But I really guffawed even more how it became very apparent in a blunt, like, Cowboys and Indians magazine interview with Kurt Russell how basically everybody on the set of Tombstone, like, directed a shot.

[00:23:43] Well, that's Cosmatos.

[00:23:46] Cosmatos.

[00:23:47] And it actually made sense to me because I have Mike Armstrong.

[00:23:50] Thor's favorite director.

[00:23:52] Were they right?

[00:23:53] And that's so funny.

[00:23:54] Yeah, Stallone was the one who suggested it.

[00:23:56] And it's like, oh, so he technically directed Rambo 2 and 4, not just 4.

[00:24:01] And Cobra.

[00:24:01] And Cobra.

[00:24:02] And probably, he basically directed Judge Dredd.

[00:24:06] That's not why.

[00:24:07] He basically told the director, you're going to do this, whether you like it or not.

[00:24:10] But I found it funny how, because it made sense to me, because Vic Armstrong, the famous Indiana Jones stuntman and second unit director, noted how he basically rescued this one obscure World War II movie with Lee Marvin and Roger Moore that Cosmatos held back in, like, Italy.

[00:24:25] And basically, everyone wanted to quit.

[00:24:28] And he was the only one, like, doing his job.

[00:24:30] And then he got to where he's like, hey, Cosmatos, how do you go to the side, buddy?

[00:24:35] Everyone hates you anyway.

[00:24:36] And Cosmatos was like, yeah, yeah.

[00:24:38] And then after a while, we kept not getting shit done.

[00:24:40] And behind schedule, he's like, I guess I'll let you take us over.

[00:24:43] I'm like, sure.

[00:24:45] And I just thought it was funny.

[00:24:47] It's like, yeah.

[00:24:47] So it made all sense to me.

[00:24:49] That's funny.

[00:24:50] He made an entire career.

[00:24:51] He had a whole career of just being hated in Italy and in America.

[00:24:55] And basically, I just found it even funnier how his sons become a director.

[00:25:01] But the difference is everyone seems to kind of like his horror movies and his process.

[00:25:06] I'm like, that's so funny.

[00:25:08] You're the son of a hack.

[00:25:10] And basically, everyone has to take over your movie just to make it better.

[00:25:16] So it does get annoying how everyone thinks, oh, you know, the credit don't lie.

[00:25:20] I'm like, the credits do lie.

[00:25:22] Look at Bryan Singer.

[00:25:23] The credits lie all the time.

[00:25:24] Bryan Singer directed like 20% of freaking Bohemian Rhapsody and then literally not showing up most of the day.

[00:25:33] It wins Best Picture, but he's not invited to his own fucking movie.

[00:25:38] Yeah.

[00:25:38] It does get annoying having to tell people.

[00:25:42] Even the writers, if there's like 20 producers, I guarantee you, maybe half of those at least did some rewrites or brought it to studio consideration and funding.

[00:25:52] The bigger the movie, the more people are involved with getting it made.

[00:25:56] A thousand percent.

[00:25:57] Bill Duke, I really especially also love.

[00:26:00] Nice.

[00:26:00] It's like, you know, deep, all those Lawrence Fishburne crime films and then just select episodes of TV.

[00:26:05] It really all made sense to me.

[00:26:06] And he was great because I had to do like a research project for class and, you know, just go to like the film and television archive and you're going to see endless interviews, just great ones.

[00:26:18] And I kid you not, for like hours on end, I was watching interviews with Bill Duke and Carol O'Connor and just talking about how they literally just took over just half their shows and rewriting.

[00:26:30] And Duke especially was interesting because, you know, he worked with Samuel Fuller of all people and Fuller was already blacklisted because he's talking about very psychologically PTSD, you know, stuff that can't be even approved by the AIDS codes or whatever.

[00:26:44] And he's like, you, you think with your gut and you just go forth regardless of what funding, everything matters.

[00:26:52] And I was like, that's awesome.

[00:26:54] That totally makes sense of what I see with you Duke because you're very atmospheric yourself.

[00:27:00] For a while, it just seemed like it was just, again, stunt people and cinematographers and even makeup artists and wardrobe guys getting directing gigs.

[00:27:07] But these actors are cool in that they don't downplay it.

[00:27:11] I always love seeing an interview with the Duplass brothers and I don't know if you're familiar with any of their work, Mark Duplass.

[00:27:18] Yep.

[00:27:19] And also Tom McCarthy, you might know from Station Agents, Spotless.

[00:27:27] He's very emotional and got a lot of natural comedy.

[00:27:31] And whenever I see one of his movies, I'm always like, you know what?

[00:27:34] That just felt good.

[00:27:37] Yeah.

[00:27:37] Because there's so many other movies where you'll watch, like I've seen movies by James Franklin and Nick Cage and other people.

[00:27:45] No.

[00:27:45] No thanks.

[00:27:47] Well, I don't know what it meant, but that was weird.

[00:27:50] Well, let's get into it, Cam.

[00:27:51] Let's get into probably the worst actor directing a movie.

[00:27:57] You know what I'm talking about.

[00:27:59] Antonio Banderas.

[00:28:00] Great actor, but he did a really bad movie with his wife, Melanie Griffin.

[00:28:03] Oh, I was going to say Star Trek V.

[00:28:08] Yeah.

[00:28:09] True.

[00:28:11] Well, that's actually a good segue.

[00:28:13] I've actually been very impressed by LeVar Burton.

[00:28:15] I actually saw a recent interview on how he returned to the NCIS franchise, and he was actually honored to be asked to do that.

[00:28:20] Because I think after Roots and the success of that, that really did a rake in his creative side.

[00:28:26] But he's still pissed to this day because he was promised a direct nemesis.

[00:28:32] And it's just so funny because then they're like, oh, let's hire this guy who's an editor, you know, really talented editor, but has zero interest and isn't getting along with any of us.

[00:28:40] And Frank's even admitted is like, he took zero of our advice.

[00:28:43] Like, he just didn't want to be bothered.

[00:28:45] He's like, then why are you here?

[00:28:46] But yeah, LeVar was just like, I guess I'm going to just shut up and take the paycheck because he offered me a directing option.

[00:28:53] And they kind of made it up to him by having him direct the other spinoffs.

[00:28:56] But it's like, still, I'm going to direct the goddamn feature with our crew.

[00:29:00] But yeah, Shatner, it is just so funny how he does not fess up to it, even in the commentary if you're listening to it.

[00:29:08] It's a funny commentary, but it's like, you can do a lot more with the visual effects.

[00:29:13] Come on, fess it up.

[00:29:14] I know you know who's responsible here.

[00:29:19] He was more interested in climbing that mountain because he was in love.

[00:29:23] Have you seen that one full moon entertainment movie he did where it's like Groom Lake or whatever shit?

[00:29:29] It's so funny because it's got barely a budget.

[00:29:32] Amy Acker from Angels is gorgeous in it, but it's just so funny because you're watching it and you're like, I can barely hear any of the sound.

[00:29:38] And some of this is like blurring the line between amateur and low budget, even by Charles Bandt standards.

[00:29:44] Oh, God.

[00:29:45] And that's a low bar.

[00:29:46] That's a low bar.

[00:29:47] But what do you expect, Mr. Bill?

[00:29:50] But before I go, because unfortunately I got to head out.

[00:29:56] But based on her work on the Star Wars shows, I'd be happy to see Bryce Dallas Howard get her chance at making a feature sometime.

[00:30:05] I'm sure she will.

[00:30:07] I know Green Books and Nick Villamanga has made a living doing lots of beat pictures.

[00:30:11] Angela Shelton, George and Peel.

[00:30:14] I'm really impressed by Adam Arkin.

[00:30:16] Nat Faxon and Jim Rash from Community.

[00:30:19] Sean Lobby is another big one.

[00:30:20] Rocky Carroll has literally been directing all of NCIS.

[00:30:25] Jason Weiner, Hasifia, Herzai, Gavin Hood.

[00:30:30] Kiefer Sutherland and Forrest Whitaker.

[00:30:32] Timothy J.

[00:30:33] Woodward Jr.

[00:30:35] Edward James Almos has directed some huge episodes.

[00:30:37] Oh, yeah.

[00:30:38] Yeah.

[00:30:38] Definitely.

[00:30:39] Yeah.

[00:30:40] The BSG.

[00:30:41] The BSG.

[00:30:42] Guillaume Canat.

[00:30:44] Sian Hader.

[00:30:45] Playwright Tracy Letts.

[00:30:49] Also, Tony Bill.

[00:30:54] And there's a bunch more.

[00:30:56] But I'm really, I'm seriously getting into it.

[00:30:58] Masu Kosovitz, I'm really impressed by.

[00:30:59] You know, you go from Emily and then you get to work on a bunch of other obscure French films.

[00:31:03] And it's just such bullshit that half his movies were being rewritten or taken away from by the studios.

[00:31:09] And then you see him in Munich and you're like, you're a good actor.

[00:31:11] But goddammit, you're a brilliant director.

[00:31:13] You need more work.

[00:31:16] And I would be amiss if I did not talk about Scott Cooper.

[00:31:21] It's brilliant, brilliant crime dramas from him.

[00:31:24] You know, Hostels, Out of the Furnace.

[00:31:27] You know, just really utilizing his invaluable cast.

[00:31:31] And the Kings, in my opinion, have got to be Carl and Rob Reiner.

[00:31:35] Those.

[00:31:35] Yes.

[00:31:36] Oh, god, yes.

[00:31:37] Seriously.

[00:31:37] Because, you know, much like how Nimoy was just really good with settings.

[00:31:41] And Howard is just really good at just, you know, everything has been done, as he said before.

[00:31:47] But if I can create some kind of interest in character want and need, then that goes even beyond that.

[00:31:54] John Stockwell and Don Michael Paul were 80s kids.

[00:31:57] And they've done all the kinds of campy action movies for Sci-Fi Channel and Sony.

[00:32:03] And less but not least, Casey Lemons and Vonnie Curtis Hall.

[00:32:07] Those are a great married couple.

[00:32:08] And they do all kinds of comedies and crime dramas.

[00:32:12] And I got to mention Clark Johnson of The Wire and Homicide fame.

[00:32:18] He's done all kinds of movies still as well with Homeland and what have you.

[00:32:22] And good on him.

[00:32:24] Because whenever you see him, even he had a great terminology when he shot the pilot for The Shield.

[00:32:30] That they couldn't show some of the cast members because they were literally being paid as extras.

[00:32:36] And FX almost did not greenlight it.

[00:32:38] I know, impossible to think.

[00:32:39] But they wanted some of that Sopranos money at the time.

[00:32:41] And everyone's like, you have a dirty cop as the lead?

[00:32:44] Oh, we don't want to sponsor that.

[00:32:46] And he's like, well, I need you to because we're moving away from risque comedy.

[00:32:50] And just simple reruns like Buffy and what have you.

[00:32:55] And we got to actually come up with an edgy show.

[00:32:57] And he's shooting in the middle of LA.

[00:32:59] They have clearance to shoot in this block of the town.

[00:33:01] And they're going through an actual stop traffic.

[00:33:03] And everyone's like, whoa, whoa, what's going on?

[00:33:05] And he sees a stray dog.

[00:33:07] And that's where it came back to him from his experience working on The Wire a month ago, as well as Homicide.

[00:33:13] You know, being an actor on that show and the directing episodes later on.

[00:33:17] And he's like, I want you to shoot the dog.

[00:33:19] Not literally, but just like follow him.

[00:33:21] And that's the style we're going to use.

[00:33:23] That's the tracking.

[00:33:24] That's the steady cam.

[00:33:25] And that's where we're going from here.

[00:33:27] But thank you ever so much.

[00:33:29] And anything you want to promote before we...

[00:33:32] I thought of one more.

[00:33:34] Oh, Gene Rodriguez, Sam Shepard?

[00:33:36] Oh.

[00:33:37] Leslie Ho.

[00:33:37] Probably one of the toughest celebrity deaths that I still am not over.

[00:33:41] I was going to say he only directed one picture.

[00:33:44] But Bill Paxton actually directed two pictures.

[00:33:47] Oh, yes.

[00:33:48] He made the brilliant, the frailty.

[00:33:50] And I totally forgot he made a sports movie called The Greatest Game Ever Played.

[00:33:55] Which is actually about my best friend's great uncle, Francis Wee Met.

[00:34:01] Oh, and that's close to home?

[00:34:02] Yeah.

[00:34:03] Well, I forget, you know, because my buddy, they put out a stamp of this guy.

[00:34:08] He was an amateur who won, I believe, the U.S. Open Golf Tournament.

[00:34:12] And kind of, it was one of the steps to popularizing the sport to grandpas all across America.

[00:34:18] Yeah.

[00:34:19] He and even Amanda Tapping from Stargate are pretty cool in that they've done so much directing

[00:34:26] and even producing scripts behind the scenes.

[00:34:29] And yet you kind of want them to talk about it more.

[00:34:31] They don't really talk about it enough.

[00:34:32] And you're like, but you guys are really pretty good.

[00:34:35] Because there's a big difference when you guys did it versus other people who, you know,

[00:34:40] just casted their, you know, fiancé.

[00:34:44] Their babysitter.

[00:34:46] Yeah.

[00:34:46] Oh, yeah.

[00:34:47] Or the nanny.

[00:34:48] Yeah.

[00:34:48] One of the two.

[00:34:50] But, yeah.

[00:34:51] R.I.P. Bill Paxton.

[00:34:53] He's one of the celebrities that's still kind of not over.

[00:34:55] I miss him.

[00:34:56] I really do.

[00:34:57] I'm glad you brought him up.

[00:34:58] I knew I was missing somebody.

[00:35:01] There's a ton more and we could probably spend a lot of time.

[00:35:04] We could probably spend hours doing this.

[00:35:05] But thanks again for having me.

[00:35:07] If anyone wants to check me on Instagram, Yoda3278.

[00:35:11] And I hope to be back soon, Kim.

[00:35:13] Beam him and his saber up.

[00:35:16] Thank you.

[00:35:23] Follow us on the web on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

[00:35:27] The podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Anchor, Apple, and anywhere else podcasts are available.

[00:35:34] Feel free to review our show and leave comments on any of those sites.

[00:35:39] Thanks a million for listening.

[00:35:41] It's a jacked up.