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'Don't Wait for Permission to Start' with Riker Lynch
53 Plays2 months ago
Talking out loud about the stuff that won’t leave us alone.
Riker talks about making his first feature and what it took to actually start before everything was in place. We get into collaborating with friends, not waiting for creative permission, and how the process of making the film showed up at a moment when he really needed it.
This week’s Intos:
Riker brings:
• Directing his first feature Stakeout, skydiving, Old Dominion’s Barbara
Riker talks about being drawn to things that require full engagement, directing a feature, skydiving, putting yourself in situations where you have to be all in. We get into what it means to commit before you feel ready and how that mindset carried into making Stakeout with his friends.
He also talks about how Old Dominion’s Barbara found him at the exact right time after a difficult season, and how certain pieces of art seem to show up when you need them. Not in an abstract way, but in a way that actually helps you process what you’re going through and keep moving forward.
James brings:
• Jungle’s visual album
James talks about the choreography and visual storytelling across Jungle’s music videos, how it’s directly inspiring two projects he’s working on, and why storytelling through dance in music videos feels like a bit of a lost art.
Curt brings:
• Project Hail Mary
Curt talks about why the book stuck with him and how it frames scientific and emotional curiosity as something that can actually move us forward, and the idea that a better future is possible if we’re willing to stay curious enough to build it.
Along the way the conversation keeps circling back to a bigger idea: what it means to just start, to make something with the people around you, and to trust the process even before you feel ready.
We talk about:
• Starting before you feel ready
• Making things with your friends
• Not waiting for creative permission
• Storytelling through choreography
• Curiosity as a creative engine
So… what are you into right now?
Email us:
sowhatareyouintopod@gmail.com
Follow along:
Instagram + TikTok: @sowhatareyouintopod
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Transcript
Introduction to Riker Lynch
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey, welcome to the podcast. It's happening. We have a guest. It's our first guest. our first guest. ah Welcome to the podcast. Riker Lynch. Thank for having me. Insert applause here. Honored to be the first guest. Also, thank you for doing it in person because I didn't want to handle cameras and my own. appreciate the challenge because we want to do more in person. And now, I mean, i don't know. You could be the judge. It might look like crap, but but hopefully
Early Podcast Challenges
00:00:24
Speaker
it doesn't. And then and then it's then now we can know what we're doing. Yeah. but yout really know I just don't want to be don't don't like flame us for not having a setup yet. Like we're just starting. So if you if you want like neon lights and things, you got to give us money. So yeah there's a trend where like so many influencers start a podcast and they're just immediately in the nicest studio. Yeah, right. The nicest I've ever seen. And I'm like,
00:00:47
Speaker
As an old school podcaster, I'm like, no, no, no, no. You got to start in your basement with audio that barely works. Yes.
Riker's Journey: Acting and Music
00:00:55
Speaker
With one of those like clicker recorder things. You know what I'm talking about? Yes. Well, Riker, welcome with the podcast. This is So What are You Into? We talk about the stuff. What's our tagline? Talking about the stuff that won't leave us alone. Right. Yeah. You came up with that. I don't remember. um We're excited to have a guest in the format. So, Riker, before we get started, can you just like...
00:01:16
Speaker
Tell us a little bit about who you are. I've known you for literally the longest I've known anybody in Los Angeles, except for my own significant other. Yeah. Who I only knew Well, I guess I knew her for long day, but we just moved here a month before.
00:01:29
Speaker
I'd only been married a month when I met you, but like tell me, tell us about you. Your, what's your origin story? um So, ah yeah, we met on Glee. um i moved out to California in like 2009. Yeah.
00:01:43
Speaker
And just you know started auditioning and doing all that stuff. um um And I got on Glee. And then kind of around the same time, my band was starting to play shows around um Los Angeles, where the band r five I played bass and I got on Glee. This is also like the beginning of Twitter. Yeah. So I got on Twitter and people started being like, You're the blonde warbler.
00:02:06
Speaker
do you Do you remember like when you signed up for Twitter? I think it was December 2008, and it was because i i was ah I'm a huge Fall Out Boy fan, and I was like diving deep into like Pete Wentz's stuff. We talked about him the last two weeks. It's come up a lot yeah. So he was on ah Pete was on Twitter, and Pete was like my idol um like as far as bass playing goes. I just thought he was the coolest person ever.
00:02:28
Speaker
and um So i i yeah I signed up just because he was on it, and I was i didn't even know what it was. And I was just like, oh, this is fun. This is interesting.
Transition to Directing
00:02:36
Speaker
I have a vivid memory of signing up for Twitter in the New Directions choir room. Oh yeah. At Paramount.
00:02:42
Speaker
Literally sitting there and like the main cast chairs, the lights were all off and it was dark. And remember Dominic, our friend Dominic Barnes was like, you should b should be on Twitter. And I was like, okay. And I like signed up for Twitter and it's either the greatest...
00:02:55
Speaker
Thing I ever did or the worst. Well, no, because here's the thing early Twitter. i don't know if people remember, but early Twitter was just like a couple like you couldn't, it wasn't 140 characters max. Like I might have been 120. It was not a lot. And it was just, yeah, it was like, what are you doing? And people would just be like, I'm in rehearsals. Yeah. You couldn't do all these diatribes and you couldn't put videos. no There was no media. It was literally just yeah yeah text. I miss old Twitter. Old Twitter was sick. Yeah.
00:03:23
Speaker
Yeah, it was really, really cool. So yeah, I did that. um And we became really good friends. We went on the one on went on the tour, on the Glee tour. And my band kind of took off simultaneously. My brother, Ross, who's the lead singer of the band, he got on a show called Austin and Allie. So we both had our like TV show appearances. And then with the power of just you know playing around Los Angeles and social media, the band started kind of growing. We got signed to Hollywood Records, which was like the perfect fit because Ross was on the Disney Channel show.
00:03:50
Speaker
And from there we started touring and I was constantly kind of doing little small acting gigs in between tours as much as I could. and um Now i'm I've turned into more of a director because yeah nobody would hire me. So I was like, I want to make my own stuff. And there's so much DNA in, like, I think a lot of what James and I have do creatively. And was like, why would you? were the i was like, we to have Riker on as the first guest. Because I think you kind of embody the idea of taking the stuff that you love
00:04:21
Speaker
that you're watching, that you're engaging that you're listening to, whatever. And then like like channeling that into... And there's nothing wrong with being a fan. Like I'm so many... I'm a fan of so many things that I don't actually make or do.
00:04:33
Speaker
But I'm so interested in people who are like, I love this thing. don't want to... And I'm going to do
Skydiving and Film Passion
00:04:38
Speaker
that. Yeah, yeah, And I think that's a big part of like what this... Or hopefully this format is about is going, what kind of stuff...
00:04:44
Speaker
are you watching and listening and reading and seeing and hearing that is then channeling how you go and make fri and put things out there. So I'm excited to get into all that. Yes, you're a, yes, you're an actor, but you're also a director now. And I think that's kind of,
00:04:58
Speaker
Would you say it's your main thing? I mean, that's kind of, yeah that's the thrust of your focus. I would just say, i would just say filmmaker. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because I love every aspect of it. too I'm happy to help out and, you know, and hold lights or, or set
Discussion on 'Project Hail Mary'
00:05:12
Speaker
up the camera, you know, on other people's projects or whatever I need to do.
00:05:15
Speaker
um ah the The directing part, I think because I was sort of the musical director and I would put the show together for for the band, which I still do today with the Driver era, ah that was basically directing. yeah And so i that part just comes very natural to me. And and when I was younger, I was like,
00:05:32
Speaker
recreating you know ah scenes from the Grinch or scenes from James Bond movies and like setting up the camera and and filming action scenes and then and filming just dialogue scenes. I remember I was like doing a scene with my mom and of course my mom doesn't have time to you know learn her lines. So I just had the script taped to my chest. And I remember watching it back back and going like the eyeline just didn't might work play.
00:05:57
Speaker
She's like looking down and it was just, you know, so it's just something that it's always been in me. And now I'm just, uh, actively pursuing it. Um, I just made my first feature called stakeout, which you were a awesome part of a minute. And, um,
00:06:12
Speaker
Yeah, we're we're editing right now. as We're getting really, really close and we're we're hoping to hit some film festivals this summer. That's amazing. We're going to 100% dive into that like in depth, but before we do that, we'll we'll kind of go through our ah usual speed rounds of what are we into. so um I don't know. Who wants to start? i'm going to Well, no, i'm I'm going to ask the question, but I want Riker to start. so Hey, Riker, what are you into?
00:06:36
Speaker
What are you into right now? What am I into? um What have you been vibing with? i'm So skydiving has been a very big passion of mine as of late. um i'm I'm a huge fan of active hobbies, like hobbies that you have to actually...
00:06:51
Speaker
do actively to be good at and you're you're not good immediately but you kind of got to put the time in and you got to figure it out. So this year my dad and I are on a four-way competition team that we're going go to nationals with and so we're actually like putting in a lot of time in the wind tunnel, a lot of time jumping, training and and like preparing for this. So
Ryan Gosling's Acting Style
00:07:11
Speaker
that's something i'm I'm super super into and I'm also just a huge movie fan and and cinema in general.
00:07:17
Speaker
So like the last movie I saw in theaters was, uh, good luck, have fun, don't die. That was so good. was unbelievable. I loved every single second of that movie.
00:07:28
Speaker
Uh, I just thought it was absolutely fantastic. And, um, I'm, uh, later today, I'm going to go see project hail Mary, which I know is like right up my alley. Yep. Actually, so Kurt called me the other day and he's like, I just saw this movie and and's it's a movie you you could have made and also you you remind me Ryan Gosling reminds me of you. yeah And it's so funny because that's like the fourth time that that has happened in like the last two weeks. yeah So I went on a cruise in January and I met this girl from Australia and that was like one of the first, well she didn't tell me immediately, but she told me later that her and her friend were like, he's kind of like Ryan Gosling. And I was like, that's the greatest compliment ever. The quality of it is, is it's a very specific thing that I think he's really, he really does well.
00:08:11
Speaker
and This is no shade to Ryan Reynolds, but Ryan Reynolds kind of has this I'm attractive, but I'm kind of cynical. You know what mean? Like, which is like, it's a shtick. Like that's- And I love writing. Yeah, it works. I'm not, it's not even like a, I'm not even trying to shade It's just a very like, hey, you know, it's everything is, everything is undercut with like a- level cynicism. Cynicism.
00:08:34
Speaker
And what's weird with Gosling is, he could so easily, I think, feel like incredibly cringeworthy in that there's an earnestness to him, but I don't think it's ah an act. I don't think it's a I don't think he's like, I'm the pretty boy trying to be earnest. There's a genuine curiosity and like joy. I i feel yeah watching interviews with him and hearing about how he works and the, and the kinds of projects that he does and the fact that like he doesn't just, he's not just a comedy guy. He he has done that a lot recently.
00:09:05
Speaker
if you go back to like, His work, like 2008 through, i don't know, the mid-2015 to 16s, he was doing like Place Beyond the Pines, yeah Drive, Blue Valentine, which is one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen. That's like the only one I haven't seen. He's incredible. So i think he's a real, he genuinely is like a, if I don't want to say no one's a real actor, but you know what mean? he He's not just like, hey, I'm the funny guy.
00:09:33
Speaker
But when he chooses to do comedy, it feels like it comes from such a refresh refreshing and joyful place. And I read it. was going to say, have you seen him obviously in his SNL appearances? And yeah, does he break every single sketch? Yes. But I think there's something so genuine about that though. And I think that's why people love seeing it because. papyrus sketch. The Avatar papyrus sketch. I actually haven't seen it. Oh, you have to go see. It's a brilliantly written. He's just like the vibe for Gosling is just something that's genuinely.
00:10:03
Speaker
You could tell it somebody who is like infusing joy and passion who can go to an emotional place and go deep, but does not take themselves too seriously. And that's the magic formula, in my opinion. Because you have actors who are so, they're wonderful, but they're like, you're like, oh this is a serious movie because they're here. Or have actors you're like, ah, don't even take anything serious. It's all goofy.
00:10:23
Speaker
And he just walks that line in a really beautiful way.
Balancing Blockbusters and Storytelling
00:10:27
Speaker
And I feel like he's one of the few actors who has the ability where he knows he can like be a movie star.
00:10:34
Speaker
And is it seems to me he's in a phase of his career where he's kind of Tom Cruise-ing it going, I'm going to make the biggest things that I can make. Mm-hmm. To like keep movies going and keep him alive, which not a lot of actors can do. A lot of actors are like, I can't help the box office numbers. He can. and i think that's cool.
00:10:51
Speaker
So I like what he's doing. I love that. That's a good combo. I think that's kind of what I aspire to be is yes like a Ryan Gosling, Tom Cruise combo. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Those are two people I really look up to. Are you going to do your own stunts?
00:11:03
Speaker
Absolutely. There we go. Yes. Yes. Baked into it. um All right.
Music Video Evolution
00:11:08
Speaker
Well, I guess ah you should go into your. That leads right into my what am I into um this week? My obsession has been Project Hail Mary. I saw it on Friday and I. OK, I'll set the stage. I went into the movie kind of feeling a little cynical about the movie, which I don't like to feel cynical, but the trailer and the vibe of it felt very.
00:11:29
Speaker
what if we could change the world? What if, and I don't know, I guess I was like, you're gonna have to earn that kind of earnestness. And i was I was feeling this sort of, I'm expecting great craft. I like Lord and Miller. I like the Spider-Verse movies.
00:11:42
Speaker
ah But I was like, I don't know, we'll see. We'll see like let's see what they can, you know, I'll be impressed by the filmmaking and I'll be like, that's that's nice. And this movie cut through my cold, dead heart so, so much. It,
00:11:57
Speaker
It made me laugh and cry more than I have in a movie in I cannot tell you how long. And the ideas of the film, and I'm not spoiling anything here, so don't worry if you're watching this, haven't seen it.
00:12:09
Speaker
The movie is not, it's not really based in reality. it's not It's not like this is really good, this is how we do it. However, it does it it does a lot of work to kind of sell the the science of it. It's it's based in an if if these things were possible, here's how it could go kind of situation. um But i wrote ah I wrote a whole article about it. loved it so much that I wrote an article about it on my sub stack because to me, the film really resonates what we we talk about so much on this podcast, especially it is like a film about curiosity and about that a hope for a future is only possible when you are curious about the world, about how things work, about understanding people or
00:12:53
Speaker
entities, creatures who literally boiler free don't speak your language. And it does that in such a fun, like goofy, hilarious way. The way i would pitch it is like, it's it's like if Interstellar was a sitcom where it looks like you're like, I'm watching Interstellar, but there's like physical comedy in space. It's just so funny. um But yeah, the idea of curiosity and this like concept of...
00:13:21
Speaker
like you can um imagine there's only It's only possible for the future to be better if you were willing to be curious enough to make it to make it so. And I think right now like we are in a stage of...
00:13:33
Speaker
I don't want to say nihilism, but it feels like when I go online, when I look at a lot of people that I that i know and follow, there's an understandable just feeling of heaviness or anxiety or whatever. And I think those things are real and and those feelings are real.
00:13:46
Speaker
and And the movie doesn't shy away from that. The movie is like set in there's something really bad that's going to happen. The future is kind of Blake effed. And so you go, you could go, well,
00:13:57
Speaker
Screw it. I guess we're all effed. Or you can choose curiosity and see where that leads you. And it's like, I know the movie's fiction, but I don't know. I came out of it just filled with a lot of hope
Directing and Collaboration
00:14:10
Speaker
in a way that I just was, I was not expecting to feel that way. I was not expecting to be as moved emotionally. Also too, and I'll, this is kind of like my last thought on it, but there's a character in the movie that is a fully rendered puppet.
00:14:24
Speaker
And um my my wife, Kim, she went to college with the puppeteer. His name is James Ortiz. Oh, okay. He's the one who he he puppeteers the puppet, and he's the voice of the puppet.
00:14:36
Speaker
And um she did a production. she did several productions in college where he he made puppets for it. She did a production of ah Rocky Horror, but it was called the Rocky Horror Puppet Show. So cool. Rocky was like a giant, a giant puppet that like would like but six people would and would hold it.
00:14:53
Speaker
and And like it was anyway. So it was cool because Kim was like, my friend James is in that movie. and And he's not just in the movie. it's It is a two-hander. It is the coolest, most innovative, most immersive, moving performance of a puppet I've ever seen in a movie. sweet Where I'm like, why I'm weeping and crying and I'm like, this is an in ah inanimate object. It has no face. yes Really cool. Small world. just feels like the pinnacle of...
00:15:25
Speaker
hopefulness in a meaningful, actionable way combined with homemade, handmade craft with the biggest budget done at the highest level you could imagine. And I go, that's that's what I want to see in a movie. It's like I want to see, especially as is there's this crisis around, you know, is AI going to replace everybody?
00:15:42
Speaker
it A, it doesn't have to. B, you can still do incredible, innovative, mind-blowing things using tactile. right there' There's CG in the movie, but but it starts with like a really human performance. I loved it.
00:15:57
Speaker
I'm obsessed with it i just you know maybe you might If you're super cynical, maybe you'll feel allergic. I've seen some people be like, ugh. Oh, it's like millennial Reddit coded or whatever. and I'm like, I don't know. What does it what does that mean? like What does that mean? Yeah. That's a great question. Very like, like Mr. Shoe vibes from Glee.
00:16:17
Speaker
We're like, it's like trying too hard to be funny and earnest. And like this, like this pushback to, ah it's like trying to make me happy. And I'm like, yeah, that's what I'm, if, if you, if you can watch a movie like this and still like not find joy, that's a, you problem. Yeah. There's a difference between earnestness and overcompensation, yeah I think. And I don't think, because I also saw this movie, I don't think Hail Mary teeters anywhere near overcompensation. It's very heartfelt. It's very genuine. um And just as a movie, it's visually stunning. I saw it in IMAX. yes Totally worth it to do it that way. And I'm not even one of those people like, you have to see it in this format. But I think this lends itself so well, yeah especially when you get to the space scenes. Yeah.
00:17:02
Speaker
um I think probably going to see it twice then that'll be I'll probably see it. I'll see it today. Not an IMAX. It's also like it's just cool to see a movie that like prioritizes competence and science. And yes, I know the science is far fetched, but it's like science is a mechanism of hope.
00:17:18
Speaker
And going like this doesn't have to be about just bearing bad news. It's like science can lead to incredible breakthrough and lead us closer to each other. i It's like, i don't know. It's all the themes that I love. I was a sucker for it. I think it's great.
00:17:31
Speaker
um And it's about curiosity. And that's kind of what we've talked about. That's our what what our whole thing is. Yeah. Stay curious. That's what I've been into. Yeah. What about you, James? excited. Me. What are you into? I'm going to switch it up. So I'm right now in the middle of choreographing two different projects, um both totally different. But um' whenever I need to go into choreography mode, I always like to pull from things in my past that I just really enjoyed watching and inspire me. And one that I keep coming back to, and I know I've talked to you about this before in the past, but it's Jungle's Volcano visual album. Have you seen this before? Oh, fantastic. So first of all, Jungle, really dig you would love this. ah Jungle is a fantastic band. a they yeah um Oh, yeah, I know Jungle. I know the band. right We've played shows with them. Oh, yeah. Okay. So, you know, their sound is just so cool and eclectic. and and And so what they did is they made a visual album out of Volcano, their album. Oh. And um they had this choreographer named Shay and Shay just created this quality of movement with some of the most brilliant dancers I've ever seen. And they made 14 one shots.
00:18:31
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah, i do know what you're talking about. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. No, no, no. it's It's good. And so like so anyone that doesn't know this, if you you've probably heard the song back on 74, which was probably their biggest song off of that album. and especially the music video because of all the all the really cool dancing. And so, but if you watch that thing back to front and also just the album is really great, but I am so inspired every time I watch that thing and just watch, because like there's a loose ah thematic line throughout it But for the most part, you're watching just very cool takes on like, how does movement work in this? You know, we're going to try voguing. We're goingnna try popping or try, um, a little bit of like a, how do we, interpret ah a couple's pot of duh. Um, but, and make a little, a little sexier. And it's just, I, you yeah Did you use, this was kind of a source of inspiration for our show. For Space Baby.
00:19:18
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So we did a, we did a project for Starkeed called Space Baby and James was the creator and director of one of the shorts. And it was an entirely movement based short. And it was a series of anthology vignettes that are set around a puppet.
00:19:30
Speaker
Okay. More puppets. um But yeah, we so you I remember you sending me, and I i shot it, and I remember you sending me some of their stuff saying, hey, I want to kind of use this as a, as a jumping off point. Absolutely. And so I've i' just been really diving back into that and seeing i I'm not going to say that choreography is dead in music videos, but because we don't ah value music videos the way that we used to. you know, we're kids in the 90s, so we're used to yeah TRL and in the heyday of like this man, this man's making short films as music videos. That's true. There we go. Yes, there we go. um But yeah, so i i i I hearken back to those really cool days where we cared so much about yeah the precision and choreography and and watching groups and ensemble of dancers that are just in the pocket. yeah and And I really love that stuff. um So it's it's big.
00:20:15
Speaker
It's nice to reignite that passion again, watching something like Volcano. um I highly recommend anyone that And also, even if you don't like dancing, you don't consider yourself a dancer. It's a really wonderful piece of art yeah to to watch. So I highly recommend it. Can I ask just off the cuff? Do you have like top, top music videos that come to mind? It just didn't like of all time.
00:20:34
Speaker
We were like iconic, like, I mean, the jungle one's pretty, pretty amazing. It's pretty amazing. That's what comes to mind for sure. I'll write off at top the top. Rhythm Nation, Janet Jackson. Yeah, good. And Thriller, Michael Jackson. Yeah. Yeah. yep Mine is so basic. It's, it's, uh, what's the, what's the Backstreet Boys one in space?
00:20:55
Speaker
Oh, largely larger than life. yeah I remember singing as a kid being like, it's the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's going to be me. Also puppets in sync. yep Yeah. That's a great one. Yep. Yeah. Boy band music videos went hard. Yeah. What happened? All the dancing. Yeah. honestly I was, as soon as you started talking about that in music videos, I was like, I think I want to do one of those. Yeah. Yeah. And just go full dance choreography. Yeah. Yeah. I miss me. Yeah. Yeah. I remember watching the TRL and I mean, even like, even but back when they would play like pop and punk, you know, The new Green Day videos here, you know. yeah wow Now it's like music videos come out, but it's pretty much on YouTube. and But I think also like, because ah do you guys know Ray, the the singer?
00:21:34
Speaker
Okay, so she just came out. Well, she has a new album coming out this week. And um Dave Myers directed her most recent video, ah Click Clack Symphony. And Dave Myers was like one of the pioneers of those types of music videos back in the Okay. And so I, that was like that when those directors treated music videos like short films. yeah And as we got into the two thousands and little later on, they stopped caring as much. And also, you know, MTV is not the vehicle it was to display those, uh, MTV two, ok I believe, or one of the, uh, other ones, the network is still there, but they're, they have no intention of yeah playing music videos on music television.
00:22:14
Speaker
But, ah but yeah, I think we just, they, they push those directors out. Yeah. And so I'm not going to say that people don't have choreography and videos. That is not what I'm saying. It's just not as important or vital to the music video process as it was. is that a It's not as culturally in the forefront. Riker directed a music video I was in, which was epic. It was Driver Era's heart of mine. yeah And the vibe was kind of a Bond, yeah nightclub yeah vibe. And i you did what I love,
Impact of Practical Effects
00:22:43
Speaker
which is the like, we're playing the song, we're stopping, we're having a scene. Having scene, yeah, yeah, yeah. There's diegetic music, and then we go back into this. I love that stuff. yeah i was really excited that they let me do that that was uh super super fun yeah it was sort of my my take on um uh spectre i was very yeah like uh we were looking at i was putting together look books with my dp and it was basically all roger deacon's yeah yeah lighting setups and so we were like all right let's try to do this and then and then storyline i was really inspired by casablanca yeah which hadn't seen before and i think you you told me about that movie yeah we did uh tinder loving we we did a short film
00:23:18
Speaker
And that's how the movie ended was with Casablanca. And I was like, i've I've never actually seen this. Good one. And watched it and I was like, this is like, as far as like the classics go, yeah that's yeah like the best. yeah Like that is is so good. There's like a few old movies where
Art as Therapy
00:23:31
Speaker
a lot of movies, you know, you go and you go, I...
00:23:34
Speaker
I can't do this. Yeah. But then there are some Casablanca, Citizen Kane. We were like, all right, let me, we watched one of the best movies ever. And then you put it on, you go, oh yeah. You're like, that's pretty good. That makes sense. Um, how long was that video?
00:23:48
Speaker
It's like what? Seven, seven, eight minutes. It's like eight minutes maybe. Um, yes. Music videos long again. Yeah. Scenes. And it's very, it's very like intentionally, vague with like the history between the characters and like what happens at the end. I guess it's very much like a kind of audience. The info is there in the audience. You can decide yeah what you want to believe happened. Yeah. I play Mega.
00:24:10
Speaker
Yeah. The bartender. Wait, wait, wait. So you've now played agent Kurt Mega. Yeah. Well, this is what's funny. is that We were doing the scene and Ross was like, what do I we we were like like call you? Yeah. and Maybe you were just like, I have called Mega. And then I immediately was like, yes, this is agent Kermega making another appearance. Everyone had like their name, like their girl, Sophia. we used her name. So, and then I didn't, in the script, at least I didn't use like Ross or Rocky. I just wrote,
00:24:37
Speaker
the guitar player yeah yeah and the singer. Okay. And so, and then when, because Sophia, I was just like, oh, well, it' he'll be mega. Yeah, yeah. Perfect. um This is tendngent tangential as well, but when you go see Project Hail Mary, the two main characters are named Ryland and Rocky. I know, yeah. And thought of you guys the whole time. I kept being like, Ryland and Rocky. yeah Interesting. Those are the names of his, two of his brother my brothers. Two of brothers, yeah. wow. Wait, so you're all our names? We are, yeah. That's wild. Biker, Rydell's my sister, and then Rocky, Ross, and Ryland.
00:25:07
Speaker
yeah oh And then it continues. Then all my cousins are G's and B's. My sister's kids are all S's. And then it gets even better. My mom's dogs are all V's.
00:25:18
Speaker
and This is wild. And all of your kids' names are going to be numbers. Yes. One, two, three. One, two, three. three yeah So at family reunions, do you think it would be easy to, yeah are all the Vs, and like all they just show up. you know like You'll never get confused. That's kind of how the the name r five started. It was like, my mom, R5, she just kind of called us that, and people would call us that like in in groups of dance settings and whatnot. Oh, R5's here.
00:25:44
Speaker
I'm thinking about the fact that my dad who only has three kids calls each of us, each other's name and they're not even the same letters. So if he, if we were all the same letter, he would never, we would just never respond. i definitely my mom write The whole list before she's gotten to my name. It's only happened like once or twice. I'm the oldest, so it's pretty quick. yeah Yeah. Especially when like things are going and people are breaking things and running around you know, can't find my shoes. or Yeah. or no Yeah. i look rocky right riger Yeah. You know who I'm talking about.
00:26:14
Speaker
um All right, so we should get into ah to to your work here. So, ah Stakeout. Yes. Tell us the inspiration behind that. how How did this come to be? This is your first feature. This is my first feature, yeah. I've been working on it script-wise for a while. It kind of started as a short film um right before we made Aliens on Halloween, actually. It was like my first short film because I started Stakeout and I was kind of like fleshing through the idea.
00:26:41
Speaker
um And basically it's it's these two guys and i just thought it it would be so fun to have this guy kind of fall in love and then he discovers all these strange suspicious things about his girlfriend and his buddy who is like a self-described private investigator and a kind of a conspiracy theorist is like, well, you know what we need to do to find out the truth. We need to do a stakeout.
00:27:03
Speaker
And so he they go on the stakeout and everything just goes horribly wrong. We we read a version of this during like COVID times 2020, right? Yeah, so i was because i had done i had written Aliens on Halloween right ah right at the beginning of COVID, and that that idea came to me.
00:27:21
Speaker
It was a short film that we did where we played two purple aliens. I've seen the
Interest in Country Music
00:27:25
Speaker
photos of this. yes yeah yeah so well I'll send you a link for Halloween. It's it it's a really it's really, really fun. It's very goofy. It's like an episode of television. It's like 45 minutes long.
00:27:34
Speaker
Um, but yeah, we read it. We had like a, that was like the long form. Again, it was kind of the same thing. It's a longer short film. And we read it. Yeah. We did a little zoom reading, um, that during COVID. and And then I would give it to other writer friends or other people in the industry and just get like little bits of feedback and,
00:27:54
Speaker
um When I made aliens I was showing it to a producer friend and we were doing like the film festival work and he was like you should have just added a half an hour and then it would have been a full film because we had problems like submitting it to short films. Everyone's like it's it's too long. We want our short films to be 15 minutes. Yeah, it is that weird thing. We're like yet. I did we happen with ah nameless, which is the feature that i made where it's like I had a producer go, you really should just add like 15, 20 minutes because yeah the moment you go over an hour, five, hour, 10, it opens up a whole ballpark of yeah potential options in terms of distribution or whatever.
00:28:27
Speaker
And then as a short, the moment you go over like 15, everyone's like, ah Yeah, especially for, like, programming at festivals. Like, they want to be able to do four shorts an hour. An hour, yeah. so it's a weird no man's land. Yeah. Long, long. So that kind of led you to saying, let's actually make a feature. Yeah, exactly. And it was like, once I had done ah Aliens on Halloween and then the couple other music videos, and then we did the TV show Clout, I was like, okay, I've kind of got my...
00:28:51
Speaker
ah my bearings on what I could do for a feature. And so I just sort of started adding to the the short film script of Stakeout that I had. And I was like, well, let's just make it longer. Let's develop these characters. Let's really set it up.
00:29:03
Speaker
and then
Closing Thoughts
00:29:04
Speaker
um And then I just took this the actual Stakeout. I was like, let's just make everything that bad can happen. It's going to happen. And so it just started expanding and expanding. And then finally...
00:29:13
Speaker
um Last year, um I went through ah went through a bad breakup, um and I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do. like i I was literally like i was so sad and so depressed, and I was like, I got to do something.
00:29:30
Speaker
And I was like, well, stakeout. I was like, I have the script. I think it's, I think the script is hilarious. And I was just like, all right. I just started telling people we start shooting November 10th. It's true. And I literally just started saying He called me said, we're starting in November. And I was like, really? And this was like August. And I'm just like, I don't know how it's going to happen. I don't have any money for it, but I just started saying it and saying and saying it. And eventually November 10th, we were, cameras were rolling.
00:29:56
Speaker
This is something I've always admired about you specifically. And obviously, you know you you you set out to make that at a... you You're going through a lot and it like meant a lot to just do a thing. yeah But I think it's always been true for you where... This is maybe the most ambitious one far. Oh, yeah, for sure. But you've always just been somebody who goes...
00:30:16
Speaker
Let's just do it. And i think sometimes creatively, it's so easy to only see how many ridiculous obstacles there are going to be that you just get so it's easy. Just go. And the more I make things, the more aware I am of the potential obstacles. yeah What I didn't know when I started was like, let's just, let's make a movie not knowing anything.
00:30:37
Speaker
But I've always really admired that about you is it's not a, it's not a naive. What if we just did it? It's like, somebody's got to say, let's do it. Yeah. And then, but then you always follow it up with incredible amounts of work and action. Like you're never just like, let's make a movie. Oh yeah. That's my biggest fear you in life. You put your money where your mouth. If I say something and I don't do it,
00:31:00
Speaker
That's my biggest fear. Like I'm just terrified of not following through with, with what I say is going to happen. So once I, I kind of tricked myself and also I set myself up for success, I think, because, you know, I read Robert Rodriguez book and he was like talking about how just write in the things that you have access to. i was like, okay, so the,
00:31:19
Speaker
The girl's going to drive an Audi Q5 because that's the car I have. You know what mean? So, and then you know, these, the, these friends, um, the, the band between friends, they have this gorgeous mansion and we've been family friends forever. They'll most likely they'll let me use the property. And so I just, I wrote, i set myself up for success in that world. But then again, I was like, all right, I'm going to start saying November 10th because I know I'm not going to let myself not do that because I'll be, it'll just be embarrassing for me. And that's literally my biggest fear is saying something and then not doing it
00:31:50
Speaker
What was the... Can you walk me through from like when you first started telling people to the cameras rolling? Yeah. ah How... how did that snowball? Uh, yes. So basically, um, you know, uh, my cousin Gordy, who's also ah an amazing director, we, and he's done ah some DP stuff, uh, with me.
00:32:11
Speaker
Um, he's also, uh, he's sort of become, uh, one of my producers and my, my AD. And he just, he understands my tastes and my, uh, my like my genres of and what I want to do, and he helped me write the story.
00:32:26
Speaker
So I went to him and I was like, let's just, we should just do this. And he was just like, absolutely. And then ah bill my friend Billy Gold, who I'd met in Cannes, another producer, um he worked on Avatar actually, two and three.
00:32:37
Speaker
And so I was like, I called him and I was like, hey, I think I'm going to do this. So I kind of just got people you know, able to help. And they were basically in for like, we just want to be a part of it. And, you know, um and Gordy helped me crew up.
00:32:51
Speaker
um We had a really successful year with the driver era as a, as a, as a ah business. And so i was just talking to my dad and talking to my brothers about what I wanted to do and and and make the movie. And, you know, it started out with like, OK, you know, maybe we can. I made aliens for like ten thousand dollars. OK, so maybe we can.
00:33:10
Speaker
Maybe this can be like just a little bit extra. Maybe it's like 50,000. And that exploded really quickly, which I didn't mean it. They always do. But ah you still like made it.
00:33:21
Speaker
For, I want to be clear, an incredible low budget for what you pulled off. Yeah, yeah. For what it looks like. And, like, I'm so, so proud of it. Like, the just the crew and everybody that that stepped up to be a part of this. Like, really, you know, working for pennies. and But everybody brought, you know, their A-game and everything. Like, ah my my DP, who I i had hadn't worked with, I hadn't met before the project, but Sebastian Plaza...
00:33:46
Speaker
um just looking at each frame in in the editing room right now, and I'm just like, it's just beautiful. Everybody looks fantastic. And that's really, i and working with Gordy, like I know that they, because I'm ah directing and acting, So i I'm always watching playback, but I just i had so much trust in them. And then I started bringing in you know people like you and Titus and um and Bella. like i had a I had a meeting. It was just funny because i had I was emailing agents and calling other actors that are, they've got some credits, um but I know them and you know they would, ah you know,
00:34:23
Speaker
You would think that they would return calls or or or respond to text messages. But literally nobody did. Not a single agent. And so I had Bella Martinez, who I had worked with a ton um at the time.
00:34:37
Speaker
ah i had had a meeting with her and I was like, I'm doing this movie. I don't know what role I'm going to have you in, but i i I'll give you the script and i would just love for you to read it and let me know what you think. And she read it and she was like, i'm I'm in. Whatever you need me to do, i I'll be a part of.
00:34:53
Speaker
And um same thing with with Titus, with Kurt. And so people the people that were really close to me, that were really like ah trusting me as a director, as a filmmaker, they all said yes. And all these people that were like, that had, you know, credits or whatever, there was zero response. And so...
00:35:11
Speaker
i think that was a blessing in disguise because i had the whole crew were people that i had worked with and had known for a long time and that they just really trusted me like a shorthand yeah in a really difficult situation like inherently making a movie is really hard yeah it would say yeah you know and so it's like having that shorthand is so valuable you're like you know you know or like even even if you don't know exactly what it is but if you you the director have a clarity of like, I just need you to look this way and be scared. You're like, okay, cool. I don't know. I trust that you know what that means.
00:35:44
Speaker
Great. Yeah. I, I find it interesting, because I was watching, Noah Wiley actually testify, um, you know about how getting work back in LA, um, and the outside perspective, ah no, I started the pit. Yeah. Started talking about bringing work back here. Yeah. And, um, that there's an outside perspective right now that there's just nothing going on in LA, everything. And,
00:36:03
Speaker
To be fair, there there is some truth to that. But um but what I've been noticing and in hearing you speak about this is that it really is a testament to that it takes a village mentality. Yeah. Where you are you have to go through your friends or your professional contacts that you have.
00:36:17
Speaker
But yet there's a wealth of people here that just want to do something for the passion of the art. And and to hear these, mean, yeah, like a lot of people said no. and And there are rejections. We're going to get all kinds of angles in this industry. But the fact that you had some people that are just like, hey, i I love you. oh You're my brother. let let's Let's do this. Let's make this work. I was very, very fortunate for sure. Like, I think I called Kurt like two days before. I told him about it, but I wasn't sure what role. And then we had to shoot this one location that was ah going to have construction. So I had to shoot actually slightly earlier than November 10th. Like it was ended up being like October 28th or something. So just one pickup day.
00:36:53
Speaker
And I called Kurt before that because I i needed to cast this role. was And ah Kurt could have played any role in this entire movie. Yeah. That's how good you are. Oh, thank you. But I was like, okay, I need this this guy. This guy's going to be, this is an important role and i and I'm going to need him available later. So I was like, all right, you're you're playing Frank. yeah And it's just to his credit. He was just like, yeah, whatever you need, I'll be there.
00:37:16
Speaker
And I think what's, to to both your points, like it makes me really optimistic because I think there is this cynicism of, yeah, the industry used to be good here, but it's all dead now. It's all in Toronto. It's all in in Vancouver. It's all in London. And I'm like, no, there are so many passionate artists and craftspeople here.
00:37:34
Speaker
right now who are chomping to be like, let's go, like let's do it. And so it just, it's exciting to go to be like, it's the, it's the Kevin Costner field of dreams. Like you build it yeah and people will, you're making a movie.
00:37:46
Speaker
Really? Like i I just, that is a magic part of it. I talked to a lot of people about different places. One could go to be a creative person and not to debate New York or Chicago or LA, but there's something I always tell people the magic to me of Los Angeles is that at least in the communities that I'm in,
00:38:02
Speaker
there's a real willingness to just show up and go, let's just see what happens. shoot happens And I, and that's re it's like, I moved here thinking, Oh, I'm going to be a movie TV star or whatever, whatever we all think we're going to be.
00:38:15
Speaker
i think the real magic and the real gift and the real reason I've stayed is because of that. Yeah. Not, not even booking jobs because the casting director is like, you're the one kid, but it's, it's the having a friend who will call you and say, you got to gotta get to come do this thing with me. That to me is the reason that,
00:38:32
Speaker
to like keep going. yeah Otherwise it's like the the rest of the stuff that doesn't make it worth it. That stuff does, you know, yeah that's how we know each other. It's like all the projects we've done is just, you want to did you do this crazy thing. by this thing Yeah. Let's go. Um, and I mean, that's why Stark it even exists, right? Like the whole ethos of that, of that company is just like, we'll gather whatever money we can and we make the best possible product. yeah And we're just very fortunate that we have a fan base that trusts us. And I think that it comes always comes down to trust. yeah You know ah that people say like hey, we know the work you're gonna produce Here's what we can give you right now and then we just take that and use your imagination and run with that It kind of requires a willingness to and I'm not saying you shouldn't be judicious and thoughtful in what you say yes or no to but it does kind of require Com friends to just kind of go.
00:39:19
Speaker
i don't know what this is yet, but I'm it's doing it with you. That's the fun part. It's not like well Where is going to be seen? yeah What's the distribution? I think some people have that, and that is ah that's sort of like a block. And I think that's what yeah a lot of agents actually, like like talking agents, i'm um I'm trying to cast this other film I'm directing.
00:39:37
Speaker
And like we got we got some producers that have worked with some big things on this. And the the amount of agents that just don't reply is kind of hilarious. I'm like, isn't it your job to like...
00:39:51
Speaker
Look at that. And I can understand you look at the pitch deck for your client. You're like, I don't think this is right, but you should be the like, Hey, thank you so much. This isn't right for us. That's totally fine. Right. But just not replying. It's so weird to me. I've had this happen where I've made asks of people in the past. And i don't think that people were lying to me when I contacted them eventually directly and went, Hey, and they were like, Oh, I, I never heard anything. I never got an email.
00:40:18
Speaker
Can you send it to me? oh yeah, sure. And they, oh, I love, this is so cool. And I so i tell them, I'm not an A-list star by any means, but I've told my agent, and i'm like, please forward me. every everything If anybody reaches out, I'm interested in at least seeing what it is. yeah um But again, it comes back to a sense of, I think, curiosity and being willing to say, um will i want to go on this journey with you because the the process is the joy.
00:40:44
Speaker
You know, I don't know. Well, I think there's also about the agency relationship, though, because on the flip side, I prefer to have the opportunity to say no. Yeah. If if for nothing else, then at least my agent gets the understanding like, hey, this is where I'd like to go. This is where I don't want to go.
00:40:59
Speaker
There are some people that are just are agents that are of the mentality that, well, you need to submit for everything. You need to be up for anything. And it's like, but I don't want to do just anything. yeah Right. Because I know if I show up for something I'm not passionate about, the work's not going to be there. So yeah, let me have the chance to tell you no, but let's look this way or maybe even the same project, a different character. yeah you know i think that we should be afforded that opportunity at least. I've also struggled sometimes. Now the people that I'm with are awesome, but I struggled sometimes in the past with people who rep me on that side, not seeing the value of why I'm doing these kinds of things. They're like, well, what do you mean? You're, you mean you're doing a thing with your friends? Like, I it it's almost a diminishing, like, what do you mean? That's like, that does go. You're just like doing a little thing. It's like, no, this is actually something deeply meaningful and valuable. And yes, I am booking out for a month because I need to go. I have to go do this. And, uh,
00:41:53
Speaker
And I appreciate now I'm at a place where the the people that rep me are like, they know if I say that, that it must be something I care about. But yeah, that's such it's such a strange overlap how I don't want to say the industry is anti art, but it does kind of feel something. Do you even like movies and stuff? It's a bizarre thing. um I want to ask you about just your style, your technique as a director. yeah um How did that, because you're a man of many talents. So how did you fall into directing or writing and where do you want to take that going forward?
00:42:28
Speaker
um I kind of fell into it. It just was something I was doing as a kid, ah naturally. I think because I'm the oldest, ah like one of the first things I remember was you know getting into NSYNC and Backstreet Boys and and learning the choreography and then getting my brothers to do, so I would like teach them the choreography to like put on shows for our family.
00:42:48
Speaker
um So that was like sort of directing them and then you know I would make like reenact ah James Bond or the Grinch scenes and and and do that and and you know set the camera up and and do all that stuff. But then i just love the acting part of it. I love pretending and and being other characters. And ah with R5 going, I would get auditions and whatnot every once in a while, but I didn't really i wasn't really booking stuff.
00:43:13
Speaker
And um i I reached a point where I was just like, if if no one's going to hire me just for some random thing, I'm just going to write my own thing. And so I did a little short film and just to kind of test the waters, just to see if I could direct it and see if it was any good. And I made a short called Lift Me Up.
00:43:33
Speaker
And just like a... it was just so fun. I loved every single second of it. The filming, putting everything together, acting in it, editing.
00:43:44
Speaker
um So then ah now and that was really, really tiny. Like, just let's let's just see if we can do this. And then it was like, okay, let's see if we can do it on like a slightly bigger scale. Let's have some lighting. Let's have a nice camera. It was a Blackmagic, but so it wasn't wasn't the perfect camera, but it was really great. ah And just writing and just seeing if I could write something that I thought was funny and and I really, really enjoyed That turned into, ah okay, i can let's let's try ah directing ah a music video and put some dialogue within that and make it like a short film. And then ah a comedian friend of mine, Bobby Yu, he he was plays a small part in Aliens and he watches me just do this thing. And he was just like, dude, you just you just did this? You just wrote this and put this together yourself? i'm like, yeah. And he's like,
00:44:29
Speaker
I think I'm going to do the same thing. So he writes this TV show called Clout, and he asked me to direct it. Same kind of thing. We get Kurt, we get Titus, we get we could just get the same group of people that are just like, yeah, I want to do that.
00:44:40
Speaker
And um that just sort of snowballed into, okay, and now let me let me try a feature. Let me just see. And it's it's sort of always just like... each project is almost like, a let me just see if I know what I'm doing. Let me just see, and you know but and and pushing it a little bit and seeing if like, um like this, like, so Stakeout, I wrote, originally I wrote the the two leads. I was going to play the best friend because I was like, okay, I can probably get a bigger actor with some more credits.
00:45:07
Speaker
um And the the one guy I reached out to loved the script, by the way, loved it, thought it was so funny. He was all excited, sends it to his agents and they didn't like it as much. But it's like there's something about the universe where that was all supposed to happen.
00:45:24
Speaker
yeah Because now looking at how it how I made Stakeout where I ended up playing the lead and Titus Macon ends up playing the best friend. Watching the scenes, it's like, oh, yeah, this is this is how it was supposed to be. yeah And so there's something about the doors closing. It's because the universe is like, hang on. just I got your back.
00:45:43
Speaker
And this isn't quite right yet, but that that's what it is. And as far as, like, ah my my directing ah style or whatever, I just want to i want to make movies where where people are engaged and they can just go on this journey.
00:46:01
Speaker
and Forget about the rest of the world for like two hours and and hopefully hopefully just ah just be entertained. and and just and and And really it's all about enjoying the journey for me. like The destination, as soon as im soon as i we wrap Steakout, it's like, okay, now i gotta now we got to edit it. And now what's next? like you You enjoy the actual destination.
00:46:22
Speaker
destination for like a minute. Yeah. So you have to practice enjoying the journey. And I remind myself part of the journey is trying to get the movie made. Yeah. You've got enjoy that part.
00:46:34
Speaker
And I think you really do great job, Steven, in the projects that we've done of keeping that at the forefront of like, make sure you're having fun doing this. Like, can you really, ah i feel like you really encourage it's why. And I think it's why people, you're the people, you know, always say yes to you is because it's like you go,
00:46:52
Speaker
yeah I'm to have a blast. Like, there's not this preciousness. There's care. There's craft. There's intention. there I know that you've done so much work before anybody even shows up.
00:47:03
Speaker
But as an actor, you go, i just feel like I can be I can kind of try whatever I want. Exactly. And that's a I'm a huge believer in that. That's probably the number one thing that I think I will carry on from each movie.
00:47:16
Speaker
as I do you know down the road in my career is like I always am encouraging like, yeah, this is the line, but like, What do you think you should say? Like, let's just let's just play and and see what happens.
00:47:28
Speaker
um I'm very, very open. And the whole point of making movies, to me, is collaboration. Like, that's the best part of it. You have 100 people, and like, let's let's all collaborate and come together. Yes, I'm the director, and I have a vision, and I'm gonna help everybody guide so that we're making the same movie. And and I want you to bring whatever you bring naturally. That's why you're here. I want that.
00:47:49
Speaker
Is there any connective tissue from like the stuff that you grew up just genuinely like watching and being drawn to it, whether it's escapism or stuff that just brought you joy in a moment of paint you know like yeah is the is there stuff that you can like tie a direct line to I can see this in my own work or do you think your own work is kind of an amalgamation of a lot of things or that's something we've been interested in as we bring guests on is is like examining how the stuff that we've we engage with
00:48:20
Speaker
manifests in how we create. Right. And I think that's really interesting, but I'm curious if, are you aware of any of that or does it, is it a subconscious thing? I definitely am am pulling constantly from, from things that I love and things that have made me laugh. Um, you know, I, like I said, in the beginning of the podcast, I really do look up to Tom Cruise. Like I, I think he wants to make the, like, I heard him say something, um,
00:48:43
Speaker
he was like, somebody was like, well, yeah, you're a you're an actor or something, or I forget what the lead up was, but he's basically like, i make mass entertainment. And I'm just like, yes, like I wanna make the biggest movie possible for the largest amount of audience. Like that that's that to me is so, I admire that so much. And and the fact that he's also like,
00:49:06
Speaker
like They're like, you know oh the city I went to the safety guy and the safety guy says, we can't do it. So I got a new safety guy. he's just you know I love that. It's like, okay, this person says no. Well, I'm going to still figure out because I know what I want to do. And he he does everything himself. There's no such thing as digital Tom. like All of that. he's it's just so He's so passionate and he's so real in in making those things. also I've heard people sort of roll their eyes at that sometimes and go, call that ego.
00:49:36
Speaker
However, I actually really disagree with with that take because I've heard him talk about this where he's like, it's not about me being the guy because I have to be the guy. It's that the audience is not going to care if they think for a second I'm not the guy. Yeah. like like it's for his He's 100% for the audience. Yeah, there's an amount's there's a real emotional choice of like,
00:49:56
Speaker
You need to believe that when I'm leaping from a building that you're really watching the character that you've been on a journey with for X amount of hours is really risking something. And if you and if you go, oh that's the digital version, it's not that you aren't impressed at Tom Cruise. It's that you you emotionally detach and then you don't get as much. and yeah And a lot of that is even like on a subconscious level. So yeah, I don't think you're like, people are like, oh, it's the, this is a CGI. You don't, you don't even, are you're not aware. It goes back to when you see project Hail Mary, I think you might get this. There's something about with the puppet. There is a physical 3d creature in the space. And you were just like,
00:50:36
Speaker
That's my guy. yeah you just yeah and And it's subconscious. It's weird because you because youre they probably could do it fully digitally, but there's something about a thing. Yeah, it's it's just real. It's there. and human yeah There's human energy behind it. And I skydive. And when Tom Cruise goes off the the mountain and does a base jump, I am in the audience going, oh! my god And like, i do that all the time. yeah I mean, not base jumping, but I, you know, I'm skydiving. And even in Fallout, and he comes out of the C-130, you're just like, holy crap, that he's actually doing it. and And so it just adds this extra layer. And I think...
00:51:15
Speaker
i've ah ah when i'm I'm trying to put together this ah this skydiving movie right now, and you know that's ah that always comes up, well, we we probably want to have do it in the wind tunnel or do it on a green screen, and I'm like, no, no, no. I come from the Tom Cruise school of filmmaking. I'm doing it. I don't care what, you know what i mean? So it's just like, ah that I'm super inspired by that. yeah um And i just i'm I'm constantly just pulling, even if it's on a subconscious level, i know I know there are jokes in my movie that are...
00:51:44
Speaker
pulled and like twisted from other comedies. i yeah that's just how i just I know I'm doing that, and I think i think ah most people are doing that. Absolutely. it To me, it's hilarious.
00:51:56
Speaker
And if people think it's half as funny as I do, I'm may i'm in good shape. I'm i'm glad you're you're doing it for the sake of entertainment. for it It is about the audience ah because so much is commercial and it is about the profit share at the end of the year. But ah but for to do approach art from a personal place and wanting to share it with people, I think makes for the best art. So ah thank you for doing that. Thank you. yeah it's ah i'm I'm super excited. um i I'm really, really, really excited about it. Speaking of things of ah what what are you into, I'm really into, I wanted to just bring this back to other things. This is the whole point of the podcast. I'm really into country music right now. Oh. And ah Old Dominion, I kind of mentioned I went through a rough breakup.
00:52:43
Speaker
And they came out with, Old Dominion was one of my favorite bands right now. And they came out with this album in the summer. And it was literally like they wrote the album for me. Were you? I couldn't believe it. It was just like the perfect timing and every song, every lyric, I was just like, oh my God, I needed this. yeah And it was like, I think that's so fascinating how the universe works like that. Literally, I've been a fan of this band for years. I love every single song. And then their new album, it was just like, it just hit home.
00:53:15
Speaker
And their album, Barbara, is fantastic. I think art tends to find you right when you need it Yeah. That was, I mean, honestly for me, like project Hail Mary in a weird way was such a genuine like shot of real hope and optimism that I have been looking for. And I was like,
00:53:37
Speaker
Did you read my brain? Yeah. yeah i Have fun, don't die. ah Good luck, have fun, don't die. i fun don't yeah Kind of the same thing. It was like this whole social media thing and and the algorithm and and AI. And then it was just like, here it is. and I was just like, oh my God, this is exactly what I needed. Yes, yes.
00:53:53
Speaker
um I haven't I'm still seeking that one album that's gonna speak to because ah you're not the first person who said this before but there are so many people that like have like an album or an artist that like this is for me this is like this speaks to me yeah I've yet to have that happen I'm one day it's gonna happen it's gonna happen and I'm gonna text you guys and be like sobbing because I finally did it it really is like And it like, it it had helped me get through it. And it and it was like so such an um a soothing and and like, ah Kurt knows me really, really well. I'm i'm not ah a downer kind of a person, but I was down in the dumps. okay And this album, and then being like, I'm gonna make Steak Out. Like when we when we finished Steak Out, I was just like, it turned my whole year around.
00:54:37
Speaker
And I was finally like feeling back to my normal self. And it's so, I just think art is in house so, so fascinating how that works in conjunction with the universe.
00:54:49
Speaker
Just like when the door opens, you just walk through. Yeah. And I love that there's there's something healing about, like you said, just going through the journey of it. Like, yes, I hope the movie is incredibly successful and... no exactly. But it's out of your hands. You just you have to and just enjoy that process. the Focus is entirely on execution, not on results. And probably the greatest gift that making the movie gave you thus far was making the movie. It's like doing the thing with the people It's that that is like what I will take away from. It's like my my favorite moments of anything I've ever done is never watching it on TV three three months after I filmed it or
00:55:28
Speaker
Watching it back on YouTube. It's like it's doing It's being on the process. It's like I remember those moments. not you know It's like, hey, it's on YouTube. And you look at the comments and they somebody likes it. It's like you can't you can never absorb the fullness of what you experience. You have to just genuinely enjoy the moment. and really hard to do that when, when everything feels like you said, so what's the bottom line, what's the objective, what's the end result. And that's kind of out of your hands to some extent. Yeah. That's the, the big thing I've sort of like in, in this new year, um, I've like, I've said it, but I'm really, really trying to like actually practice it is that, uh, number one, enjoy the journey, like we said, but if you can't control it
00:56:16
Speaker
Don't let it stress you out. Don't worry about it. There's nothing you can do. Control what you can control. And I'm i'm i'm really trying to like live that practice.
00:56:27
Speaker
That's great. I think we've got to wrap up. It's a great place to end. Yeah. So do you have anything you want to plug or anything coming up? How can we keep tabs on the movie? Or you? Yeah, I'm just Riker Lynch on everything. The movie is stakeout underscore underscore movie.
00:56:46
Speaker
um But it's all it's all on my Instagram, and and ah you everyone knows how to find me eventually. You'll figure it out. Just Google it. yes um But thank you guys so much for having me. Dude, thank you, man. I think the the whole concept of this podcast is just genius because there's nothing more fun than talking about an exciting new thing that you're into. Yeah. love that. I love that. it Do you think to plug names? Yeah. I was just recently on having a day podcast with Patrick McDonald and Paul. We were, we, yeah, we need to connect. Yeah. I go way back to children. And he was talking about you on his podcast. So we've got to, we got to connect those dots. So yeah, check that out over there. Kurt, anything for you? Do you the dropout thing coming up? Is that coming up? It is coming up, but like, I don't know the release order. So that'll, that's later. Great.
00:57:33
Speaker
I still don't have any in the plug. Kurt's doing nothing. He's just sitting around. I'm doing a lot, but it's I'm tinkering off camera. like It is. I'm for making things. I'm filming things. I'm shooting things. You can't even see what's going on behind. Kurt plays Frank in stakeout. That's very- Yes, he's in stakeout. I play Frank the- like Incredible. Villain a bad guy. Henchman. Henchman. Whatever. um I don't know. And and honestly, ever I just got to say this just so everybody knows. You are so fantastic. Thank you. with And it's not like a giant role. it's it's It's just there's a handful of things. But the the way that you your energy that you execute is just amazing.
00:58:13
Speaker
ah I'm such a fan, dude. im I don't need to plug anything. I'm just going to get you to pre-roll yeah some plugs for me. i got you Roll that promo, Ryker. I got you. Anytime. um and as always oh well i'll say Here's my plug.
00:58:27
Speaker
If you enjoy this, genuinely, we're new. We're doing this thing. yes go go Go share it with some friends. where you know This is the idea. that Have conversations. and Please send us emails. please comment like All that stuff. I know And everybody says it in every video and it's annoying, but it genuinely is kind of part of the process. So you like it,
00:58:46
Speaker
Let us know. yeah Don't just sit there passing. Share it with your friends. share with your friends. Yeah. So our socials at SoWhatAreYouIntoPod. And then we do have a lot of emails to get to. So next episode, we're going to address those. But you can email at us at SoWhatAreYouIntoPod at gmail.com. And we will we we're going to talk about it, I promise.
00:59:03
Speaker
um All right. Anything else? I think we'll just say, as always, stay curious. Stay curious. Peace. Stay curious.