-Darren, a Brooklyn boy. -Yeah, I'm a beginner at this. I've never done a talk show. -This is the first talk show?
Oh, I'm so happy. [ Cheers and applause ] Welcome! Welcome, welcome! I'm so happy to have you here.
-Thank you. -I have a thousand questions for
you, but we'll get right to it. A director always
in your vision, growing up? -I didn't know what a director
was growing up in Brooklyn. It was, like, no clue.
It was a different time. -When did you get the bug
or go like, "Hey, this might be something
that I'm good at"? -I actually went to King's Plaza
in Brooklyn, for any Brooklyn people, and the film I wanted to see
was sold out. And there was, like, another
film with a kind of goofy guy with a Brooklyn hat,
and I walked into Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It." And it was just like, I had
never seen anything like that. So it's sort of like,
"Oh, someone from Brooklyn can do something in this world." And it kind of opened my eyes.
-Yeah. And then you go, "Okay,
so I'm going to do that." And then you go --
What happens next? -Well, I sort of followed a path
back then. There weren't, like,
film schools everywhere. So I kind of had to
figure it out. And eventually I was like, "What is the cheapest thing
I can make?" I raised money going out to
everyone I knew, asking for 100 bucks each
with the promise if the film made money,
they'd get 150 bucks back. That was the deal. -That's what a Brooklyn kid
does. "Give me 100 bucks,
I'll give you 150." -Early crowdfunding.
I should have done Kickstarter. -Pre-Kickstarter, yeah.
And that movie was -- -"Pi."
-Yeah, not too shabby. -Which it's actually the
25th anniversary this year, and we're actually scanning it
for IMAX, and we're going to release it
on Pi Day, March 14th, for the world to see it again.
-Oh, my God. [ Cheers and applause ]
Not too shabby. -Yeah, not too shabby.
-Not too shabby. -I also just saw you're on
the short list -- You have a documentary film
called "The Territory." You're on the short list to be
nominated for an Oscar. So that's good news.
Congratulations. Good luck on that.
What is "The Territory" about? -"Territory" is
an amazing documentary. Probably one of the most
important things I've ever been lucky to be near. And it documents kind of
the front lines of the war happening in the Amazon between
the indigenous people and people that are invading
and taking their lands. It's on Disney+.
It's really badass. -Alright, congratulations.
That's fantastic. [ Cheers and applause ]
So, that's happening. You do that.
And then you have "The Whale." -Yeah.
-Which you directed. Brendan Fraser.
He's unbelievable in this. Sadie Sink.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. -Sadie Sink is unbelievable
as well. When did you hear about
this idea? When did you go,
"I want to make this"? And how long did it take you? -Well, it was originally a play
that I saw 10 years ago, off-Broadway theater, Playwrights Horizons here
in New York. And I was just so deeply
moved by it. It was characters that I had
never met before. I shouldn't be able to relate
to them, but by the end, I was like -- I felt so deeply, and I was crying with all these
strangers in the audience. And I was like, "It would be
really interesting to bring that to the theater"
'cause people don't cry anymore in movies, you know. That used to be a thing back
in the day, the tear-jerker. -That was my first movie, I
think, was "The Champ." -"The Champ"
with Ricky Schroder. There you go, exactly.
-Cried my eyes out. -People used to brag about
crying in theaters. -So you're bringing the cry
back? -#CryTogether.
-#CryTogether. You're bringing it back.
Why not? Family get-together. Have a good cry.
[ Cheers and applause ] -But it is inspirational
and hopeful. I mean, it leaves you with -- The character has so much life
and so much hope for humanity. -Also, Brendan is a perfect
choice because he's funny. He knows how to deliver a joke
and land a joke. Did you know that Brendan was
going to be the main character? -Well, the reason it took
10 years was I couldn't figure out
how to cast it. And then I stumbled on a trailer
of a low-budget Brazilian movie, and Brendan had a small role
in it and he's amazing. To be honest though, I had never
really seen any of his films. I hadn't seen "George of
the Jungle" or "Encino Man." I had seen "The Mummy"
but not that much. But there was something that,
like, a light bulb went off. And I was like,
"Let's roll the dice on it." -And did you see a scene
in your head? Did you go, "I think he's going
to do this scene pretty --" -It wasn't that.
It was just really, um... You know, I think once a movie
star, always a movie star, and there was a time
when people just loved him. -Yeah.
-But I had no idea about this Brenaissance and that people
would be going crazy over him. -Yeah, Brenaissance, exactly. He got a 10-minute
standing ovation. -Yeah, yeah.
-After the premiere. I mean, just that clip went
viral because he stood up and he was losing it. This is not even in the movie. He's crying after the movie.
He's crying. I'm crying watching him. I think you got
a little emotional. -Yeah, yeah, it was very --
I've had a few films at the Venice Film Festival and
this one was very different. It was really unique because
the love for him was great. And it's just been so nice
to see people loving what he's doing
in this movie and so excited that he's back.
-And rooting for him and rooting for the movie,
and it pays off. How do we set up "The Whale"
for anyone? -It's a hard one for me.
I hate doing this thing. But it's like, um...
-I can try to help you. -Please. [ Laughter ] -It is a, uh...
I'd say it's kind of like a broken family almost.
-Yeah. -And he is a teacher,
and he's trying to reconnect with his daughter, who he hasn't
seen in a while, and teenage girls, and the whole
thing is tough, and it's a lot of emotion
that comes out and he's trying to say, "Hey, I
made mistakes but I love you." And they're trying to
communicate with each other. -That's wonderful.
-Is that okay? -Yeah, yeah, yeah. -My God, that was
a lot of pressure. [ Cheers and applause ] It's great and it pays off
and it's funny as well. You'll get some cries in there but you'll get some laughs
as well. I want to show everyone a clip.
Here's Brendan Fraser in a scene from Darren Aronofsky's
"The Whale." Take a look. -I need to know that she's going
to have a decent life where she cares about people
and other people care about her and she's going to be okay. -I need to go.
-Mary, she doesn't... -I have to go.
-...have anyone else. I need to know that I have done
one thing right with my life! -Oof. [ Cheers and applause ] Darren Aronofsky, everyone. "The Whale" is in theaters now. Emma Myers joins us after the
break. Stick around, everybody.
