(upbeat music) - Actors on actors. - Yeah, I feel like we should be talking about colonoscopies, or... I think that's kind of
our wheelhouse these days. - That was, yeah. - By the way, I also wondered
because when they put you out you're on your back. - I was on my backish side. - It wasn't 'til your film, "Uncut Gems," that's a plug, when I realized they just must
push us over while we're out. - Oh, man, I'm terrified knowing that, because I was awake during that shot. (laughing) Having to pretend to be asleep. That wasn't a real doctor in there, and he was talking and he was touching, and I wish I was out. - And poking, prodding.
- Poking! (laughing) - Hey, the things we do for art. We gotta suffer. - They say it's in the script, I do it. - No, it was convincing. 'Cause you looked out
you had this kind of-- - (laughing) I did, I did! - This very feeble. No, that's hard to pull off. - I was in a weird
position, yeah, yeah, yeah. - It was compromising. (laughs) - (laughing) It was compromising. I know, man. It's funny, I got shoulder surgery. I played basketball with the guy who did my shoulder surgery. He looks at me now likes
he knows something. I'm like, what did you do to me, man? What did you do to me? (laughing) But the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," Tarantino-- - He's good, that Tarantino. - He is.
- He's pretty good. - He should keep going. He should make at least one more, I think. - He should, I think so. I think he should make one more. - (laughing) Exactly. But then he's gotta pull the plug. - Yes, exactly.
- To me, he's got one more in 'em and then that's it. - Yeah, he's done. - Now you get that script. I know, I've seen Quentin, he goes hardcore at
perfection in the script. So the script itself, you get that, you get your character, you... What's the first thing you do, when you know you're gonna do it? - Well this one he,
because the previous one the script got burned, so this one, there was just one copy, his first copy, and you had to go to his house and read it. I think Rick, the Rick Dalton character, had to get cast first, before... He was trying to find the pair before the clip booth would happen. So the first time I went, it was a nice, clean, crisp script. Then I got a call back, I don't know how many weeks later, and it was all dog-eared and snot-stained and coffee cups... - You got to read it pretty much first. You and-- - I don't know, I was somewhere. The script was pretty
clean when I first got it. - Yeah, you started out. - When I got the job,
it was pretty well used. It was pretty dirty, - The dialog itself... - Tarantino's different. Tarantino... (laughs) Me, who's never done Shakespeare. There is a specific rhythm, you know? They talk about the... I found that with the Cohen brothers and I find that with Tarantino, that there is a very
particular music to it. Where some jobs we do, we get to riff, and that's great, we make it natural and we put our little
interesting bits in it, and we make it our own. But here, I find it only
let's the air out of the tire and the stuff goes (puffs air). - Yeah, you feel it, yeah, yeah. That's so fun, man-- - He's one of the few
writers that I've read where you get it, you
can hear it immediately. It's so specific. - For sure, yes. - He's also like, you know
when you're out somewhere and you'll be like... I describe his writing this way. When you're, and you
having an embarrassing, or you get ripped, you
don't (snaps fingers) you're not sharp on the comeback. You're driving home,
you think of the perfect comeback and you're like (groans). - Yes, he has that played out for you. Man, even that bagel thing at the end, when you said (muttering)
(laughing) - It's so absurd. - That was so funny, man. Was that your last line
in the movie or something? I don't know, I try.
- Close to it. It was close to it. - Man, you were funny.
- But that's him. That's Tarantino. - I think that might have been
a little bit of the valley, of knowing a lot about L.A., and also the fact that he
married an Israeli girl. The bagel was on his
mind when he was putting it together. Maybe there was a connection there. - Didn't question it. I just liked it, because it didn't-- - It just was so strong, that he's like, let me be alone. You're just gonna waste your time with me. - Without making sense. - It's official, old buddy. I'm a has-been. - What are you talking about? What did that guy tell ya? - He told me the god damn
truth is what he told me. - Whoa, whoa, hey. - I'm sorry about that. - Man, scene after scene
was making me laugh. It was, to me, it's not a full-on comedy, but my goodness. I saw Conan O'Brien, and I was at a hotel. I was just was talking to him and he just got done seeing it, and
we talked about the movie. We were both going,
man, that was so funny. This was so funny. It's got the rhythm of a comedy kinda. - What, Quentin's? - [Adam] Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I mean, well thank you
coming from you, 'cause-- - Well thank you! - You know that stuff. But it's a different
kind of humor, isn't it? - [Adam] Oh yes. - It's a subtle, it's a ride--
- It's subtle. It also makes you wanna be-- - It's behavioral. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, the Bruce Lee scene, man, you just laughing on the side, and just getting excited about a guy boasting and just being, of all people. I've seen those guys hang out before, the stuntmen, sitting on the side talking, and you do always go, "Well, those guys "are the coolest guys on the set." - They are.
- They are. We all know. - We all know that, yeah. They're so much cooler than-- - And by the way, I'm
so happy they're there. I rely on 'em for every scene. I'm the opposite of, I don't know about you, but I have no pride in doing my own stunts, I'm like, I'll be taking
a rest over there, you do your thing. I'll be rooting for you, buddy. - I run right over to 'em after. "Way to go, baby, that was amazing! "You really made me look good there." I even look at those guys
if I'm trying to be funny. If the stunt guys are laughing, I'm like all right the stunt
guys thought it was good everything's good.
- It looks good. - Exactly. - But when you do comedies, what I've noticed about... Usually you have a group and you guys are used to riffing. You guys will try another
line (snaps fingers) and another line, and then another take you'll throw out another, you know, look for that capper or something. - You're always looking
for a big (mutters) sure. - Do you bring that same thing when you get to a drama,
or a serious thing? - Not really. I let those guys, the Safdie brothers, I let them have total... I throw thoughts out there, and I talk to 'em during the
pre-production and stuff. And then on the day they'll
say, "Try this, try that. "Maybe don't be so upset there, "and see what happens there." Well, you know, we did... And not like with the Quentin, we did go off the script a little bit. Mostly script, but then on occasion, before action, I would be back in a different room about to enter a set, and the Safdie guys would
say, "Hey, maybe say this "when you go out there, see what happens." We went off like that a few times. I got in there. - I just figured that
would be amazing training, because it takes a while to be able to get that loose where you can... In truth, I find the scenes end up best, if you're operating that same way. The lines don't have to be different, but your approach is different, your tone's different. I was really impressed with you guys the way you do that, and I thought that's really, that's the
way to approach a scene. - I see you out there when
the stadium's all booing ya. You're 30-up, you're
still goin' full tilt. Let's see with Vegas. What does Vegas got you guys acting like? Take a look, let's see. Cool.
- Are you serious? You're gonna put us up right here? - Look at this. The Sixers are supposed
to win the game tonight. It's so funny, because
when you do a scene, and you've gotta cover a scene and do the master and blah blah blah and shoot and shoot and shoot, there's nothing better than somebody coming up with a new line all of a sudden. It's like the freshest thing to you. You say that new line, you're like can you give me five more new lines, 'cause I think I'm getting stiff here with this other stuff, you know? That was nice. - Yeah, I worked with Adam McKay once, he would do that. He would just be throwing out, "Say this now! "Now say this!" - Exactly, that's how
a lot of the comedians and the comedy directors do it. It's like you gotta list of a coupla comedy writers in the background going bu bu bu bu bu, handing it to the director, director screams out,
"Maybe try saying this!" This, this, and you either say that line or something close to it
and it does create a-- - But the point, what I took note is, I once saw Tony Hopkins. We were doing the scene... This was mid-'90s or '97 or something. The scene wasn't working for him. I mean, for me, I thought he was great. (laughs) For me, it wasn't working. He turned around, he
turns his back to us all, for about 30 seconds,
and turned back around. He just came in, it was just
a completely different tone. - Right. - Words were the same but
the tone was different. And it was glorious, and I've always made a point since then, to keep trying to mess up
the intention of the scene or--
- Yes, yes, yes, right. - That's what I drew from, whenever I see the comedy guys like
riffing (snaps fingers) like that though. It's always fresh, it's fresh, it's fresh. - Yes, and if you know you're gonna get a few shots at it, in your head, it frees up so much, where you go, I can play with this stuff, and come at it with different
directions and stuff. When you're on the
move, and it's pressing, all right, we gotta get this
shot and get outta there, then you do sort of make a decision, like, lemme give my A take or we're gonna end up with something that's not enough energy, or whatever. But it is cool--- - Well, maybe it's different. 'Cause when I get into a drama, don't know necessarily
know the answer again. It's such a subtle, it's about feeling, what you feel, what you
feel from the scene-- - Oh yes, and what the
other person brings you. - It's so gratifying to
kind of search and destroy. - Yeah, it's funny. We did a few scenes in "Gems" where, when I'm at home working on it, and I'm along working
on it, it's one thing. Then all of a sudden you're
with the other actor, you meet in the eyes, you're like, oh man, this is bringing like a whole other feeling up. It's either work it or
not, but it is different. That's usually when I
feel I did something right where I was there in the moment. When you're locking in with somebody. - When you surprise yourself. - Yes, and you let yourself say, okay well, that was real at least. I don't if it made 100%
sense for this scene, but I was there and I felt what I was supposed to feel. - Well, that's always my argument, that if it's real for you, it's gonna read real. 'Cause the cameraman,
the camera reads that. I just wonder how you
approach that with comedy. Is it the same? - Right, right. I think so, I think so. I think you try to make it make sense to the story and your character and whatever you pick. The realer the better. Then there are guys who come at it, where they step back from it being real, and they do something bananas, and it's funnier than
anything you could do, so. - I would say, you know, I see that in some movie or other stuff, like the really irreverent
ones, like "Zohan" and stuff, but I equate
that, too, to Will Ferrell. - Oh yeah, he's incredible at that. - But still there's truth in-- - He's always looks-- - What he's making fun of, you know? There's truth in what
you're making fun of. - He always looks in
the scene as that guy, as whatever person he's playing, you believe Will Ferrell
is in that situation. And being put upon or taken
over or whatever he does, he is incredible at that. - But you are too. You guys are making fun
of truthful situations. It can get absurd, it can get bananas, but there's truth-- - Yes, yes, you try to. - But all right, back to "Uncut Gems." I'm a little obsessed
with comedy right now, that's why I'm banging
on your door that way. - I love that, I love
that you're like this. - But this movie, first
of all, (puffs air) hat's off, man.
- Thank you, buddy. - That was phenomenal. - I'm so happy you liked it. - I had such anxiety watching it. It looked like a ball to make-- - It was, it was. - Except for the panic
scenes look really difficult. - There was some heavy
moments, yes, yeah sure. But there were so many
people in every scene, there were so rat-tat-tat,
everybody going nuts. It was alive most of the time. - It was alive. It was noisy, it was chaotic. - Yeah, it was. - A lot of energy going. It's like very kinetic. But watching it (laughing)
I was so anxious. You know the way they
describe an airline disaster? Is like a series of bad mistakes, it's never like one mistake. And when you watch you're like... Just a man keep making bad choices. - That's right.
- Oh! - It's so funny, too, because you know when you're shooting, it's scene to scene. In the morning you shoot
one scene, and you go, oh that's where he makes
that wrong decision. Okay, let's concentrate on that. But as a whole, when you
watch the movie back, you're like, oh yeah that does (mumbles) you feel terrible the guy
can't get it together. - But, doing it though,
isn't there a certain perverse freedom? - Yeah, oh my god yes.
- Like playing it? Isn't there a sense of fun? - [Adam] This was probably the most free I could ever be in a movie. Just he made so many mistakes, and was so unlikeable at times. - He was never unlikeable, never. - Well, in my head he was, but I'm glad-- - He was never unlikeable. - Yeah, that's good to know. - In fact, you worried
for him and that's why it was so
- (laughing) That's great. - Anxiety-producing. (laughs) - That was shockingly cool
to get to be that guy. - I think you are the most annoying person I have ever met. I hate being with you,
I hate looking at you. And if I had my way, I
would never see you again. - That's 'cause you're mad. You're mad and it makes sense. - You know, this is something... One of my favorite
things you've ever done, is "Punch-Drunk Love"? With P.T.A. - Sure, he's the man. - But there's something
in everything you do. I mean, we go way back. It's what I love most in people, but what I'm trying to say is, there is always a kindness that you bring to all your characters. There's a kindness of
heart in the back of it. That's why you care for
your man in "Uncut Gems" so much and you worry for him so much. - That's amazing, 'cause there are times I think I'm being strong, I
think I'm being in my head-- - You are, you are being strong. And you're being (laughing) - There's something, no matter what I do, that it's a little like something about me slightly goofy at all times, so it kinda makes you go, I don't know, he's off a little bit. (laughing) Something weird. - No, you're definitely off, no question. - Yeah, I try not to be, but it turns out that it goes that way. - But there's this thing underneath. Sorry, you were gonna say? - I wanna talk about you, that's what-- - Wait, okay, we're not getting off you just yet.
- Okay, yes, yes. - But there is this, I don't know, it's something that's unexplainable. It's probably something
you're not aware of. I mean, you have a reputation for being very kind, very honorable,
and honorable with friends. I don't think that's so known out in the old universe. - Well, me and you have a lot-- - I got great respect for that, but it reads in the characters, and that's why I like
"Punch-Drunk Love" so much, because it's so embodied
in that character. He's so (laughing) he is such - Oh yeah, that guy is-- - Warmth, and-- - He's wanting something too. I know, that's-- - Yeah, he's trying. He's trying so hard. - He's trying, and well, I have that. Okay but lemme just, of course, say, watching you, I'm gonna talk about Hollywood now, "Once Upon
a Time in Hollywood." But your character, to me, again, like you're saying about me, I thought your guy was so warm, so kind, loved Leo's character, was his brother. Made Leo feel proud of his performance as his character. That was so funny when he said, "You wanna watch me, the show?" (laughing) And you're like, "Well, I couldn't think "of nothing else I'd rather do." Something, whatever the line was. It just was so genuinely loving, like, that's my buddy, he loves when I watch and tell him
he's doing a good job. That was the best. That was a real friendship. It reminded me of a lot of friendships, me and you have mutual friends, it reminded me of my feelings for the guys we hang out with. It's like, he needs
something, he needs a friend, he needs something dependable in his life. You were so dependable for Leo. Even when he had to say goodbye to you, and when he got married, and he was having a hard
time saying goodbye. Just the fact that you
guys get back together so quick, you're with him. You're just with him all the time. He's like, I can't not be with this guy. He's my rock. - I know, but don't you
have those people who... - [Adam] Oh, yeah. - I know you do. Friends of 30 years. It's in between, it's
the down time, isn't it? That can be torturous or joyful. It's those people
- Oh god, yeah. - We rely on so much,
those friendships out here. - Even when, in one of the best scenes, when the guy punctures your tire, you're like, besides the fact that fact that we're so excited to watch you possibly pummel this guy, 'cause we saw what you're capable with a fight earlier in the movie. Just like, the fact that
he damaged your buddy's car and you're like, - Not cool.
- "You can't do that, man." That's like it hurts you. Besides it being a job for you, you're like, it means
a lot to him, that car. Yeah, that was great. - It was nice playing a guy who had evolved past drama, so there was never those... Some of the scenes, you had
panic scenes in "Uncut Gems." Where you're in full
panic, breakdown mode. You're scared for your life, like the walls could come tumbling down. And you know those
mornings when you go in, you've gotta put yourself
in that position, and it's an exhausting kinda day. You know what you're up for. You're up for a 15-round fight. When they're only 12 rounds now. It was almost a bit of a joy not to... You know, this was a guy
who had found his peace. - Yes, you were at peace, man! Your character was very-- - He was like, you know,
listen I'll look for the best in people, I expect the worst. Surprise me, and if
not, we'll deal with it as it comes along. That was like no hassle in the castle. - That was made you love this guy so much. He's so confident and cool. Your days alone, when
you would drop Leo off at the set, and be like, I
got some errands to make. Just those drives when you would see one of the young hippie girls hitchhiking and having a little eye contact session. You were so happy for that guy. Right, he's getting to
enjoy his day a little bit. He's flirting, having fun. - Well, look Red. I'm coming in there. With my own two eyes, I'm gonna
get a good look at George. And this ain't stopping me. - I was thinking, too, when I watched "Ad Astra", and I was so... You had so many days where... First of all, the way it
was shot was incredible. - Hoyte van Hoytema, one of our best. - Good Lord!
- Yeah, beautiful. - Good Lord, when-- - And James Gray, he's one of our best. - My god, man. And just the timing of like
the shield of the helmet coming into where we
actually see your face for a minute, and your
emotions were so powerful. I was thinking the same thing with you. You had so many days where
you had to be in the trailer before going out, and being like, oh no, here we go again. This one's a rough moment too. You didn't have any calm
moments in that movie. That was a very, very, that
was a tough shoot, huh? - Yeah, there was not... It's interesting because,
what you're exploring, but it does, it takes a toll. I'm not complaining, but you just know what you're in for, you know? You know what you're in for when you sign up for it, and what it's gonna be. Really grateful when you
come out the other end. Yeah, those were those kinda days, where you've got to put yourself in that, whatever is personal for you, whatever the upset is in the scene, tonally you gotta be there. I don't know how you get there. What do ya do? - I hope to get there.
- Booze! - Booze, that has happened, that has worked every time. (laughing) - Jack Daniels.
- But when I don't do it... In "Uncut Gems," I've had movies where I had to break down before. And I get really nervous about those days. If it's a couple days or so, I mean, I'm not kidding you-- - Leading up to it? - Leading up to it. I'll say when is that, when are they shooting that scene? Is that-- - Counting down on the call sheet. - Exactly, it screws me up. - On the third week, I
know I'm approaching that, and I gotta be up for it. - And then once you do
it, and if you get there, you're like, (puffs
air) oh, the rest is... Then you're like no-- - No next week there's--
- You gotta be... I don't know, I don't
know how I get there. - I do the same negotiation. Check. Check.
- Yeah. I actually didn't do as
much as I usually do, where I put this pressure on myself. I just said, I'm feeling like this guy. I really did my backstory. I worked hard at this character, and knowing the way he
thinks and where he goes. In my head, I felt confident
that I knew the guy. So I was a little more
confident than usual. The days he had a really awful day, where I had to break down or whatever, I was like, lemme just
go, lemme just do it. Instead of doing that whole thing of worrying and worrying. I just did my own way of getting there. I actually called my wife and I said, "All right, today I'm there. "I gotta do this." And she gave me some
thoughts and blah blah blah. So I went good, it was
great, I got it done. But it's funny-- - No, it plays, it plays.
- Thanks, man. Thanks, buddy. I saw you, I saw those closeups, I saw you always had so
much baggage going on in your head and every facial expression. Even when you weren't moving. Even when it was such a still shot, it was very effective. I could just tell you
were deep in something the whole movie. - You know, I talked to
James before going in, because it was such an insular and lonely kind of existence, in the abyss of space, and where we were gonna end up. I asked him, you know I see
this as very, very, very still. I'm gonna see how still we can be. And when it gets flat, just pull me out. - Yeah, 'cause that loneliness was there. You were lonely and you were in pain, and there was something
constantly going on. It's like, I can't remember
the particular scene, but when you... Oh, when you look at
that video of your dad the first time and se what he said-- - And then masturbate? Yeah, it was a weird move, but I thought it said something about the specific, that was universal. - I loved that, the
masturbation was wonderful. - (laughing) Cut that! - What can you tell us
about the Lima Project? - First manned expedition to
the outer solar system, sir? Some 29 years ago. - [Officer] And the commander was? - It was my father, sir. - It reminded me a lot when you found out something about your
dad and it crushed you, 'cause you had a belief about one thing your whole life growing up. Then all of sudden you're
hit with something else. At my father's funeral,
when my father passed away. And after the funeral, you
know I love my dad a lot. - You guys were very close. - We were tight. And you have people coming up to you, and telling you their own stories about your dad and them, and you're just like, "What happened?" It is a shocking feeling to get hit with stuff you didn't know about your father. - Like... - Just stuff that you didn't wanna know. (laughing) Just something that he did that was totally out of character. It is a shocking, weird change. But anyways... Oh, Tommy Lee was great
in the movie too, huh? Goodness.
- Yeah, he's another one. I didn't think some of the dialog actually worked on paper. I was talking to James, "James we gotta "work this for him." He comes in, "Nope." And just like does it.
- Oh he made it. Yes, he's great.
- Which just tells me I have more to learn. - You're right. - I don't know how he did it. - Tommy Lee, whenever
we work with these guys who are older than us, and better than us, you do walk away going... You start panicking. Okay, this great actor's coming in. Let's make sure his stuff
is as good as it can be. And then, you're like, wait a minute. They get there like, I took
the gig 'cause I like it. I like what I'm gonna get
to do with this stuff. - I know what I'm doing. Don't worry about me.
- Yeah, just relax. Exactly, it's cool, man. - I mean, let's talk about the cast in "Uncut Gems" is sublime. Everyone was so specific. We'll get credit for a performance, but what's rarely talked about is what we do is a collaborative sport. We rely so much on not just the set, and how it's shot, and the music, and the sound design, and the score. But our partners we're playing with. It does, it really, when everyone's firing,
the scene is so rich. And it give you so much more and I felt you had a lot bouncing off on because everyone was (snaps finger) all pistons were firing.
- Those guys, the Safdie brothers,
they take it so serious. Every person in the movie
meant so much to them. So they had legitimate people there. People who aren't actors, people who were really jewelers, people who... The Fed Ex guy in the movie, who just drops off the rock to me? That's the 47th Street Fed Ex guy. They just like, "We love his look. "We want him, he'll play it more real." They made that very easy for me to be more alive in every scene, 'cause it all felt legitimate. Then the other parts, LaKeith-- - Well, you blended right in. LaKeith Stanfield is amazing. - That kid is incredible. - He's incredible. - He is deep, and he goes all day long. He goes all day long. When we were not shooting,
it's an hour setup, I swear to god, I never
saw him not working hard. He was just on the side, either going over his stuff,
or just staying in character, being on his own, kinda back. We would talk, we'd
have real conversations, and then I would feel like, all right, I'd better step back and get him back to his world. He goes, he goes. He's a guy that I felt, When we had toe to toe scenes a lot. I felt like, oh yeah, this
is a whole other thing than I expected. - Yeah, he's giving it back. - He gives it out, yeah, yeah, yeah. So me and you know each
other from many years ago when we first started. We kinda like started getting to do more and more of what we wanted to do at the same time. We're both kinda, I think
you were ahead of me, but in the same era of getting to do stuff that was important to us. We're still getting to do that. I don't know how the hell that happened. - Yeah, we snuck through. - Sneaky, sneaky. - [Brad] Sneaky bastards. - This could be it, though. (speech drowned out by laughter) - Let's not get cocky. - Exactly. Right, I feel like-- - Well, when we started, it was... I got out here at the end of the '80s. When did you get here, early '90s, or did you-- - I finished college '88, got here '89, end of '88. - And then it was still big blockbusters, with Stallone, and Schwarzenegger. And then we went through the '90s where independent cinema... Which certainly Tarantino was a part of its birthing. We went through that, and then we... I don't know what we call the aughts. I don't know how I would define that. But then streaming services came on and it's been a... In early 2000s, you could see films it was getting harder and harder to make interesting material. Like you could see you're heading towards the blockbuster, and this was mainly because, as you know, prints and advertising
are so god damn expensive. You couldn't take those gambles on gutsy material, so... I say that, I don't
mean that there weren't gutsy films made. But there was usually-- - There more opportunity for it. - More gambles, yeah. You had to do it under
$10 million or something. And then streaming service came along and it's blown it wide open again in a very interesting way. I mean, I see more and more interesting stuff getting made. You were one of the very first to go to Netflix film.
- I lucked out doing that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can't
believe what they made. - You crossed the picket
line at that time. - (laughing) I sure did. I didn't even know I was doing that. We were interested in working together, and it just turned out... They are so passionate. So many of these companies are. I mean, I'm just tight with Netflix. I know those guys very well. They just wanna make great material. I mean, that's all they talk about. They love providing opportunities for so many different types of comedies and-- - Well, in all fairness,
they were certainly the first to bust open the door, and then it's become an arms race as far as material. But you were one of the first to go that route, film-wise. - You too! - And I wasn't far behind, looking at you, but I think you were the very first, film-wise.
- I remember I said let me get this going for Brad, and then I did it, and look at you now. - (laughing) Thank you, thank you. - You're welcome.
- Thank you, thank you, sir. Thank you.
- My pleasure. - No, but it's interesting to see... Listen, I guess my point
is, I'm all far change. I'm not gonna fight it. Let's go with it and see what it is. I see the positive more and more. I see really interesting
material getting made. - So many great filmmakers now. - So much amazing talents.
- So many people out there... - That were there along
and not getting the shot. - Yes right, exactly. - On the other hand, people talk about lamenting the death of
the cinematic experience. Is that gone, because the home experience has gotten so good? - I don't see it being gone. I saw your movie in a theater. - Yeah, I don't see it being gone-- - It's different now--
- It'll be fewer. - Yes, yes. But it's exciting when you're there. It's very exciting when
you're at a movie theater. It's funny, I saw your movie a week ago, or five days ago.
- Which? - "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." I was in New England, and I looked up, where is it playing, and I had to drive an hour and 20 minutes (laughter) 'cause you know it's out at some theaters. It was so much fun, going to the theater, watching it on the big screen. Of course, Tarantino wants you to see it on a big screen. It looked incredible-- - Shot on film still. - Man was his shot nice. Man, oh man. It just looked cool as hell. - But that's exactly the question. Does it have to be an event film for them to play now? Which it seems to be heading that way. There needs to be some
kind of event propulsion behind it.
- Yeah, that's where it's at right now, and I bet it goes back and I bet it makes a comeback into movies you see on streaming a lot being on big screen. I just think it's a moment. I think it's a moment. I don't think stuff goes away forever. I just think this is
where it's at right now. Like I said, sitting back and watching how great that movie
looked, Tarantino's movie, and just seeing you guys on a big screen, it was just a great experience. But, I saw "Ad Astra"
at home on my screen, and it felt more private. I loved being alone with it. Because the sound design, I was digging the sound design, I was digging the shots. And the quiet, the stuff on the moon, that quiet feeling up there. It was just me alone and the screen and it kinda rocked me hard. I thought it got me better
than it would in a theater. - It got you-- - Not hard, not hard.
- Rock hard? - Rocked me, not hard. - Okay. - That's a long time ago.
- Just wanna be clear. (laughing) - That doesn't happen anymore. But...
(laughing) - I'm not gonna take a stab at the comedy. I'm sorry man. I apologize.
- You set me up, I had to do something. - I was at home, I was alone. (laughing) It was dark. - There was a pause button. - You can't do that in a theater. - It had nothing to do
with you, I hit pause and did my own thing.
- Not anymore anyways. You could in the '70s,
but you can't do that. (laughing)
The times have changed. - [Adam] No, you can't do that. - I guess the only fear, not the fear, the down side of... The upside of films through streaming is a lot of 'em get more eyes on it. More people have an opportunity, more people actually see 'em. The downside is there's so much material that they can become disposable. Where we just see it (expels air) gone, like a meal. - Seems like stuff that is
exciting to see, though, does get talked about a lot, where you say, okay I
gotta check that out. But I hear what you're saying. - Yeah, I don't really care, do you? - About other people making a-- - No, where it, I mean, I just don't really, I mean, things are getting made, - I like that.
- that's what I care about. - I do like that. - And quality.
- Oh yeah. - With quality.
- With a lot of care from the people who are
helping get it made. Again, Ted Sarandos, man, does that guy care about movies more than everyone I've ever... He really gets excited about films, and gets excited about filmmakers and it's cool. - What I love is, we don't
have to do much press. - Oh yeah, that does
make life a lot easier. - No, it's kind of nice, isn't it? We don't have to get out there. We're not fighting for eyes. - For that opening weekend, yeah. - We're not trying to put butts in seats as they tell us we need to do. - You're right. You did put a few butts
in the "Hollywood" seats though, I gotta say. - Well, that was, again, Tarantino, the cast.
- Yeah, you guys-- - My friend Leo.
- You guys did okay-- It became an event thing. Hollywood, '69, Manson, you know. What about, we didn't
talk about "100% Fresh" 'cause that came out
(Adam groans loudly) this year too. Come on, it's a movie. Doesn't it count? Don't we call this a film?
- I don't think it's a movie. No, I don't know.
- We don't call this a film? - A special, a special. - We call it a special? - A variety show, or something
like that, I don't know. - Really? - I love that Brad comes
sees me do standup. That was a fun night. - But it's wholly original. - Thanks, buddy. - I hope you keep doing that, as well. - Yeah, yeah, me too. It is, it's funny! I was saying to you back before-- - [Brad] It's good-hearted. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Sorry man, sorry. but you're good-hearted.
- Exactly, I have that. Most of the time I am. Not every day, though. (laughing)
- No, listen. You're irreverent, and
you get down and dirty, but it's good-hearted. - You're a good-hearted
man too, I know that. I was just gonna ask you, and this again of an actor question, now sometimes you sit, you've done a movie, it's coming out, and then you have to think about, okay, life has to go on, I have to do another movie, or I have to sit for awhile. What do you do? You have stuff that you've been working on a long time, like "Ad Astra." How long were you working on that before you actually shot it and (mutters)? - Well, I mean, James Gray much longer. I think he developed it, working
on it, for like five years. We worked on it for I
think a good 10 months, up to really honing the script until we got to shooting, and then afterwards the post-production was pretty long for us. It was almost-- - That seemed--
- A year and a half, almost two years by
the time we got it out. Almost.
- The look of that movie, the cut of that movie, it's incredible. And the sound and everything, that was, and the music, I loved the music also. That got me good too. - But I feel like we, you know it's easy, when you're on a film you can put everything else aside. You say, hey man, I'm on a film. - That's a good feeling.
- I know I can get myopic about it. I feel like we're busier when
we're not shooting something. Like we're called upon. - I don't talk about anything else except when I'm doing that movie. I don't know what else is going on-- - How long was the shoot,
the Safdie brothers? - It wasn't bad. It was probably 37 days
or something like that. - That's amazing, man. - That's fast.
- It was kinda quick. All over New York, must of it live. Most of it in the city and most of it in apartments and stuff. And then there was the
jewelry store itself. That was a set. That was a cool set. - It was great.
- That was nice. - Dude, I put on a dinosaur mask and I got recognized in New York City. (laughing) It's like, I don't know what it is. Especially when people grow up with you. But I mean you were deep in character. - I had a character going,
I still got recognized. Yes, yes, yes. No, it may be a little more of a delay. But like you were just saying, Pitt, I was skiing one time, had the helmet on, the dicky up, the goggles, I was saying, this is gonna be a fun day. No one's gonna... Literally just like 6:30,
7:00 in the morning, "Hey, Adam Sandler." I go, "How'd you know?" He goes, "That big nose." (laughing)
Yeah, yeah, all right, man. - I think it's something in growing up. We can discuss it later. I won't waste it here. But just our body types. People just know, Like when you see the
Big Foot in the forest. (laughing) - Yeah, the body types are Brad's body, and then my scoliosis pops out. People go, "There's Adam." - Huh. You started out originating
your own comedies. - I kinda got to that. - You're still the favorite. The films I go to when
I'm done with the day, that's where I wanna be. You can watch those over and over. - That's funny, I just
watched Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart movie the other night. I was so calm watching it. So happy (sighs)
- (sucking) You keister it. - Makes me laugh and I don't have to... I don't know why I'm so
happy watching comedies, but I was like that my entire life. - No, we all are. I think there's something, they're playable where a heavy drama, you need distance from. You can't invest that always. - Yeah, you jump in. You gotta adjust when you sit
down and watch a heavy movie. You gotta go okay, do I wanna get myself into that right now? But it is a good feeling. It is a good feeling
to get lost in a movie. Like I said, your... The Lima Project, baby,
that really hurt me. It hurt me. I was heartbroken watching it. And that's a good lengthy movie, and I was just moved by it. By the way, I did "Uncut
Gems," Darius Khondji. - Yeah, shot "Seven." - Shot "Seven." Khondji? Khondja? - Khondji. - Khondji's a good guy. He was shooting me and he really, he couldn't help himself. He kept saying, "Your face,
something about your face "is better than Brad's." (laughing) He just said I shoot better than you. I have better eyes or something. No, no, no. But yeah, he's a superstar, that guy. - He's a sweetheart. - He's a sweetheart, yeah. - Really sweet guy. - Those Safdie boys were really funny because they were pushing
their stuff on him too. And Darius was very
much like, "No, no, no. "That will never work. "You can't use that lens." And they're two young guys. They love so many movies
and they know so much. They go, "Please, Darius, just look at it. "Look at it, I'm telling
you, I'm telling you. "It's gonna be good,
you're gonna like it." He'd be like, "It's
impossible, I'll never..." Then he put on this 200 lens or whatever, and he'd be like, "I do like it. "I do, let's go and let's try this." - Yeah, you feel them breaking rules. - They were breaking
rules, yeah, yeah, yeah. I never knew what they were shooting. The whole shoot. Because they were using such long lenses that I didn't know what
the hell was being done half the time.
- So where the crew would be way off? - They'd be way off
- Way off in the distance? - And they'd be in tight on
you and you didn't know it. I thought, oh, maybe I...
- [Brad] That's great. - Then I started going, I
can't walk through anything. I gotta really give every take my all, 'cause I don't what
the hell they're doing, and there was no playback. You know where that comes from. Tarantino has no playback, right? - No, no, no, he's there. What I love is, when we started, cables everywhere, massive lights, you'd be sweating all the time. You know, and big ass
cameras that were super loud. Now it's getting down to... We're almost, we'll just
be sitting in our room. You can shoot in the dark now, and it's a whole nother
thing, it's amazing. - Yeah, it is cool, it allows you-- - But starting out in comedy... Dude, you can do dramas
all day long if you want. You've proven that with several films. Especially this last one. Coming from comedy,
were you ever reluctant to make that switch? Or what would it take for you to find your confidence in that? - I think, ultimately, it was just Paul Thomas Anderson writing me something. I didn't know how to write
that stuff for myself. I went to NYU, I studied
acting at Strasberg, and all that stuff. I was never doing comedy
monologues in school. I always was doing
"Indian Wants the Bronx" and stuff like that. - Seriously, really, really? That's hilarious.
- Oh yeah, I mean I didn't know any comedy stuff that's existed. I was doing standup on my own, but when I was in school I
was just doing serious stuff. So I always knew I was kinda like I felt comfortable doing that stuff. - How amazing was standup
training for this thing? 'Cause here's the, okay
lemme, here's my take on it. One, it scares the shit out of me. I'm too old to jump off that bridge. Scares the shit out of me. - Yeah, you'd be cool, though. - But you guys, you don't figure out, what I understand, like before
you put a show together, before it makes it. You gotta go in front of live audience and you gotta try stuff out. I mean, you gotta fail, you gotta fail, you gotta fall flat, until you find those gems that work, and then start culling those gems. - Sure, yeah, you put them together in an order that makes some sense. - You gotta have a pretty tough-- - Dude, you don't even
think about it anymore. You don't even... I got to the place where... I mean, sometimes all of a sudden you get punched in the face so
hard, where you're going, ah, what just happened there and you're rocked in front of an audience and you're like, oh you feel naked or whatever the hell happens. But now, I even had this when I was 19. I would say something, and it didn't work, I was just going, these
guys didn't get it. They didn't understand
what was good about that. But I'll forgive them. - Oh, it was their fault? (laughing) - Yeah, I never blame me. - It was the audience, wow. - The times you blamed yourself
though, you are shook up. When you finally just
go, what am I doin' man? That was a very stupid thing to do in front of decent human beings. (laughing) Anyways, but you use Brad,
you know your comedy, man. You certainly can be
funny as hell (mumbles) Like how funny was it in the acid trip, when you had the gun up to the guy? What a funny ass side shot of you when you said, I know, it's Rex, and it's something stupider than that... So that was the funniest, man. - Quentin said, right
before we started shooting, "By the way, the end's
gonna be you're on acid." - (laughing) That was crazy. - Great! - That was so funny that
you bought that thing. It was such a throwaway
earlier in the movie, and then you go, tonight's the night, and you hit it, and-- - No, that's Tarantino. But when you get to those with him, he's all for playing. Like he'll be throwing out stuff. - Oh, really? - Yeah, he'll be calling audibles. - And audibles were lines, too? - He'll be Peyton Manning.
- Oh that's good. - Like looking at the... Calling something else. - That was really the funniest scene. I mean that last 20 minutes or so was just full on. - It's outrageous. - Hilarious, the dog. - It's outrageous. - There was not one
corny move Tarantino made with just the action of it all. It was just like boom, boom, boom, boom, everything was fun. - You're right, he should do one more. - Yeah, do one more,
but then I'm telling ya, that's it.
- One more. It's probably done. - I don't want him to do anymore. He's just gotta start hanging out more. And enjoying his life. - You were talking about NYU, your time at NYU? This is my favorite Adam Sandler story, that I heard from Bennett Miller. - Oh really? - Yeah, and it was that you were at NYU. And it was an acting coach, I believe. Your acting professor.
- Acting professor, yeah. - Okay, and he said to you, he said, "I want to take
you out for a beer"? Is this how he? He took you out for a beer. - Yeah, something like that. - This is what I'm told. He took you out for a beer. You guys went to a bar, and he kindly said to you, "Think about something else, buddy. "Listen, you got heart,
but you don't have it. "You don't have it. "Choose another path." Truth? - It was like that. And he actually, he sent a letter, this is just one--
- There's a second part to this story. - Yeah. - You okay? - Yeah, yeah, what? - That you--
- Oh right, this is Bennett reminded me of this. - This is why this is my
favorite Adam Sandler story. I think it says a lot about you. That you ran into him at the heights, you know, when you were
getting the ultimate payday. And you're with a bunch of friends and you run into him out at a bar. And anyone would think
that's the opportunity where you go, you know? You rub it in his face. And reportedly, what you
did was you said, "Hi." You introduced him to your friends and you said, "This is the only teacher "to ever buy me a beer." - Ah, it's something
like that, that's right. That's right, yeah. - True? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. - I love that. I love that. I think that's the guy I know and I think that's why you're here after all these years. - I love you. You too, Brad, there's nobody. Even when I would talk to you about, I just got done seeing your movies, and I was just trying to tell you how much I loved them, which they both crushed me, you didn't wanna talk
about that for one second. You just, thanks. Let's move on, man, you
don't wanna sit in here-- - Doesn't it feel like
you get on to the next? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. We like to-- - Like, live our lives. - But I gotta tell you, when you tell me I did good in "Uncut
Gems" that feels good. I can sit in that a little bit because what you've been
doing over so many years and crushing for so long, when you tell me I'm
doing something good... Because it's not my, I'm so much more
comfortable with the comedy. And if you're saying I'm
doing well on this stuff, that does feel nice. - Crushed it. - Right on, baby. (upbeat music)
That was so wholesome
Man I want Adam sandler to just focus on serious roles from now on. Such an incredible actor when he wants to be. Tarantino should cast him for his last film
Great series
Adam seems so much more reserved out of the two.
Now that I think of it, they'll make a terrific Holmes-Watson duo.
a pairing i didnt expect
Bradam Sandler
Good combination!
Interesting that Sandler says Uncut Gems was 'the most free' he felt on a film when all the shit he's in the rest of the time he's a producer for...