- 14 hours ago
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently interviewed director Tim Hautekiet and producer Ryan Blewett from Echobend Pictures about their film "Me, Myself, and the Void." The duo talks about the creative process on their first feature film and bringing together a cast that includes Jack De Sena and Kelly Marie Tran.
Official Synopsis:
Trapped in a mysterious void outside the bounds of time and space, a struggling stand-up comedian must investigate how his body wound up motionless on his bathroom floor and wake himself up before it's too late.
World premiere on July 1st, 2023 during Dances With Films Festival.
www.voidmovie.com/
www.echobend.com/narrative/me-myself-and-the-void
Official Synopsis:
Trapped in a mysterious void outside the bounds of time and space, a struggling stand-up comedian must investigate how his body wound up motionless on his bathroom floor and wake himself up before it's too late.
World premiere on July 1st, 2023 during Dances With Films Festival.
www.voidmovie.com/
www.echobend.com/narrative/me-myself-and-the-void
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Hi and welcome into EOM Presents. My name is Thomas Manning, Senior Interviewer for Elements of Madness, and recently had a chance to sit down with a couple members of the creative team Echo Bend Pictures, a really interesting studio that works in a lot of different areas of filmmaking.
00:15Today we're speaking with director Tim Hokiet and producer Ryan Blewett about their work on the film Me, Myself, and The Void. This is a feature film starring Kelly Marie Tran and Jack DeSena, and I really appreciated Tim and Ryan as they share with me about their creative process and just their honesty and their creative expression, and they also get a chance to talk a little bit about the moment we're in with the strikes with the WGA and the screen actor.
00:45And just the importance of this moment, and I really enjoyed the conversation, so thanks again to Tim Hokiet and Ryan Blewett. I hope you enjoy the conversation talking about Me, Myself, and The Void.
00:56Awesome. Well, generally I wanted to give you both the opportunity to share what your creative mission is with Echo Bend Pictures for our audience out there who may not be familiar, and the types of projects that Echo Bend is attached to.
01:10Mm-hmm. Yeah, so Echo Bend was a company that was started by two good friends of ours, Ryan Turner and Zubin Asaria.
01:22Ryan, other Ryan, was actually like my first roommate in college, or in college, in LA, like found him on Craigslist.
01:31And so like when Tim and I started putting this movie together, it was like not, it was like a very like natural thing to do, is to just like, they had just started the company, and we're focused a little bit more on like commercials and music videos and stuff to keep the company afloat.
01:49And we're just kind of telling them that, hey, this is a project that we're going to get together, kind of hell or high water, we're going to make it this year.
01:57That was about two years ago.
01:59And, you know, a day or two later after they read the script, I think that it had affected them.
02:07You know, it affected them in a way that it affected me the first time I read it, which was that like, you felt very like kind of seen by it and very a little bit maybe like uncomfortable with how like a certain honesty that it had.
02:19And they felt really committed to making it.
02:22And so even though the company was really new, and they hadn't had any other narrative projects under their belt, like this was the tip of the spear.
02:31And sort of coming out from that, a lot of the projects are, you know, definitely very like artist forward, like letting writers and directors have, you know, be able to say what they want to say with projects.
02:45And also, you know, things that feel meaningful and like what we're putting out into the world, what we're putting into the water supply is like drinkable, if that makes sense.
02:56Yeah.
02:59And Tim, anything you want to add?
03:02Yeah, I mean, I'm certainly, you know, I'm very happy to be part of the sort of broader Echo Bend family.
03:06And I think as Ryan was alluding to, I think sort of since, not just since Me, Myself and the Void, but like Echo Bend have been nothing but expanding and working with other writer, directors and championing lots of like cool artist driven projects.
03:19And I, and I certainly think, you know, our experience on Me, Myself and the Void certainly was a testament to that, you know, like, like, of course, you know, as with any project, you know, like we were, like, we discussed notes and we were challenged and all those things.
03:32But it was a very, like, supportive and you felt very cared for in your vision.
03:38And like, you know, and it felt very, yeah, like, like, honestly, I couldn't ask for a better experience on a first feature creatively, you know, like I have zero, zero complaints in that department, which is, which is, you know, not everybody's experience on a first project.
03:52So I think, you know, Echo Bend certainly put their money where their mouth is.
03:55Yeah.
03:56And how long have the two of you known each other?
04:00And, you know, how do your creative ambitions kind of complement one another?
04:04Um, like eight or nine years now, something like that.
04:10Yeah, yeah, we had some mutual friends.
04:13Both of us come, Tim, much more successfully than I come from like the sort of YouTube, sort of digital media world.
04:20And because of that, we had some mutual friends.
04:24And so we found ourselves both in L.A. and started to just become buddies with that.
04:29I think that, you know, I don't know if you want to add anything up front.
04:34I need to think of exactly.
04:36Yeah, yeah.
04:37I mean, certainly what was certainly what happened, I think, would be that, you know, you found yourself working together in lots of different ways.
04:46You know, sort of I think I think a lot of people who kind of came from that sort of new media boat understood like, OK, I have to kind of be an editor and I have to be a cinematographer.
04:55And sometimes I get to direct my own things and sometimes I'm acting and other people's stuff.
04:58And so what that gave is that, you know, as for me, it was coming from London and then kind of finding like, OK, who can sort of be an L.A. community who can help me out or I can help out.
05:10And so I think what's been fun for Ryan and I over the years is like we've definitely we've worked together in a multitude of different capacities.
05:16And sometimes, by the way, that could even come down to, hey, I need people to be in the background of this scene.
05:21But you're just, you know, because you're because it's also sort of a community being friends thing.
05:25So I think there was sort of a very if something I think I've been very grateful for in working with Ryan is that we've got a very like there's a very like egoless dynamic there where we're sort of we're very happy to kind of switch roles
05:39and shape to whatever needs to happen. And we do put the project first, you know, it's kind of, you know, I remember coming to Ryan with with the with the script.
05:48And a lot of that was also just from, you know, knowing Ryan had actually made sort of a completely independent feature before and kind of had this like, you know,
05:56I know he has his own writing and directing ambitions, but also has like a producer's mindset of being able to like, you know, pull something like that together.
06:04And I knew that he would be able to support me in both lanes, like I'd have someone who gets what I'm trying to do,
06:10but also will sort of come hell or high water figure out how to get a movie made.
06:15So like, yeah, yeah, I think that like, I mean, I would say that like, Tim and I's relationship on this project.
06:22Like we really became brothers. And it was like, it, even though we were friends before this,
06:27like we really became a partnership on it as we, as we went. And for me, it was just like a partnership built entirely,
06:36like Tim was saying, like on trust, like at no point did we ever have like a SPAC or a fight or anything,
06:42because it was always like, we knew that what we were doing was always for the betterment of the project
06:47and what we thought was best for the project. And it's hard to find that, you know,
06:53like, like, like a lot of people's work ethic doesn't necessarily line up with yours.
06:58And I think that we found like everything to sort of click on this and where we,
07:03it was just like a totally like joyful art making experience all the way through.
07:06And we're like excited to keep that up.
07:11And looking more specifically to me, myself and the void, I think,
07:15but you've kind of touched on this a little bit already, but how this is something the, you know,
07:21the story and the themes, something that you can both closely relate to in one sense or another.
07:27And just, I guess this idea of as a creative person,
07:31almost feeling trapped in your own mind sometimes and figuring out where to express that creativity
07:37and how that creativity is, you know, simultaneously driving you forward and energizing you,
07:43but also some ways kind of draining you and wearing you out at the same time.
07:47So I just wanted to give you both the chance to dive a little bit more into that and, you know,
07:53what, what that meant to you to have this film to really explore that and to kind of, you know,
07:59just work out all those feelings internally and externally.
08:04Yeah.
08:06I mean, I definitely think, you know, that there was something,
08:10there was definitely something that sort of profoundly spoke to, you know,
08:13I had a co-writer on this project, Nick Aldershaw, we, he and I first sort of got very excited
08:18about this notion of like somebody, you know, being in somebody's mind, having that sort of mystery
08:24hook. And then, you know, more and more, I've tried to sort of articulate it as like, it's,
08:28it's kind of an embodiment of what I found therapy to be, which is that like a therapist,
08:33like at their finest, you know, like, like, you know, I don't mean to make any sweeping judgments,
08:37but I think what therapy can do very well is sometimes like present your own story.
08:41You know, we all tell ourselves stories. It's how we cope with the world, you know,
08:45it's like, and, and sometimes therapy can be helpful because it can like project your own
08:50narrative back at you and maybe make you question, hang on, is, is that true? Like,
08:55is the, is the way I've been seeing this correct? Or have I been so caught up in my own,
09:00in my own world that I'm actually not able to see the bigger picture? And so something that sort
09:06of resonated for us was like, I think we're all capable of that. And obviously then championing,
09:11kind of exploring that through the lens of sort of what, what eventually reveals itself to be
09:15sort of a breakup story, um, felt interesting because I think, you know, like people, people
09:21are very guilty of that. Uh, I feel like coming out of a breakup, right. Where in the beginning,
09:25you're either, you go through all the phases, right? Like, no, we're fine. We're on good terms.
09:29And actually they were, they did all of this stuff. And then it takes us usually a while to get
09:34back around to, and wait, maybe I was like, and so we liked the idea of, can you, can you chronicle
09:39that in a mystery format? Can you kind of show what that story is like, um, uh, through a mystery?
09:45So that was like that over time kind of became like the thing that, that really sort of spoke
09:50to, to, to us in, in working. Yeah. Yeah. I think that there was like a lot of, um, like just from
09:59the first time I read it, there was a lot of moments in the, in the script that, uh, I felt very
10:03like seen by, and even as we shot it, like certain ways, the actors said some of the lines, like,
10:09like it, even though it came from, it were Tim's words that would felt like it was something that
10:13I really wanted to express and put out there. Um, but as far as like the sort of the themes
10:18along the lines of creativity, I think that's something that I had found myself focusing on
10:23that this project really lined up with was like, how many things you're putting in front
10:28of yourself to sort of prevent yourself from being the best you possible that could, you
10:33know, like some people really applaud, like work ethic or how, you know, how, how much
10:39you do. And, uh, but if you, you can cross the line on that very, very easily. And, and
10:48like, are you working too much to avoid spending time with your family or, um, thinking more about
10:53your own self-worth or, you know, whatever it might be. And so I think that like,
10:57those themes and sort of this movie amounting to something where the ultimate message is like,
11:03Hey, yeah, like the reward is that now you've learned that you need to work on yourself.
11:08Um, it doesn't just need to be creativity. I think that like, that's kind of a universal thing.
11:14And, uh, as far as the shoot for the film, I imagine it was pretty fast paced, which is something,
11:20something that y'all are both used to, but still for a feature film, a bit over a longer period of time
11:26than you take for production on like a short film or music video. Um, so can you share a little bit
11:31about that energy on set and how it compared to the other projects you've worked on?
11:38Yeah. Um, I mean, I think that I'm, uh, I try to be very proud of the energy that I maintain on
11:45sets that I produce and, and, and, uh, that is definitely true of this one. Like, uh,
11:52even though it was a 15 day shoot, um, we ended up taking a day out in the middle to,
11:57to work on some of the sets, but, uh, so it was about three weeks and, you know,
12:02the most important thing for me is to just like curate the right vibe. Like, I think that that's
12:08such like a, almost like a corny way of putting it, but like a, as a producer, you need to be sort
12:11of a vibe curator and like, if something's off, you need to sort of diagnose it. Uh, and like the
12:17story that I always tell is that like going into the second week, it was 2021. And so even though
12:22people were vaccinated and we had vaccine requirements, um, there was still some hesitation
12:27with COVID and all that, and we were testing and all that. And we came in after that first weekend
12:32and there was a little sniffly, it was like a little off and, you know, you could feel that there
12:36was just that day. It wasn't quite right. And so literally we went to, I had someone go to a target
12:42for me by a waffle maker. I showed up 30 minutes early the next day. And I just, as people were
12:47walking in, I was just making waffles and giving them to them. And, and, and I was just like, all
12:53right, guys, we're gonna have a great day. Like, we're so happy for you to be here. And then from
12:56that day on, like, we didn't have another off day, uh, just cause there's, you know, filmmaking can be
13:04tough and there can be long days and there can be a lot of logistical challenges, but like,
13:09ultimately we get to like play pretend and we get to have fun. And like, it's, we're so,
13:14it's such a joyful thing to do. And if you're not like living in that for me, I don't necessarily
13:21see the point. Like it, you should be good to people. And I think that that's something that
13:25like, like that's at the top, like be good to people. And then everything, if that's out of line,
13:30then what else matters, you know? So, um, that's it. Yeah.
13:36I would certainly just echo all of that. Like, I think, I think Ryan did a really good job
13:40top down kind of making sure. And, and, and a lot of people also who'd, who'd worked on lots of
13:44independent projects kind of echoed that to, to, to us, like in various moments, like they would
13:49sort of say that like, Hey, you know, I've worked on a lot of indie things. And I think sort of,
13:53unfortunately, and it's indie stuff is where so much of the passion is, right? Like it's so beautiful
13:57in a multitude of ways, but there's also the flip side of that is sometimes it can be a race to the
14:01bottom in terms of like, we have no resources and no time. And we're going to, we're going to kill
14:05ourselves to make this happen. And like, for us, the, it was important to not become that basically
14:10like, yes, we're passionate. We really care about the story. We really want to make sure that we're
14:15putting something good out there and we really believe in what we're trying to say. But as Ryan's
14:20alluding to, we're not going to, we're not going to unnecessarily push into overtime every time.
14:23And we're not going to, we're not going to, you know, which we honestly almost didn't. So I feel like
14:27we at most had like one day where we even, you know, like, so, so it was basically just a case
14:31of, yeah, curate, as Ryan's saying, a good vibe, a good environment, be good to people. And then
14:36in the meantime, you know, and then trust that they, they will do their best work if they feel
14:42valued that way, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think we literally had like a second AC or
14:47someone like that who had been working on like a reality show and had been making much more money,
14:53money, but he had quit that because he just needed a break mentally. And he'd come up and
14:57like thanked us. Cause he was like, yeah, I might be making less money, but this is so much better for,
15:01for just my mindset. So. And, uh, Tim, to your point about, you know, working with limited resources
15:09and not having as much time and resources as you would have on obviously a larger feature film with
15:15this being your first feature, um, how do y'all kind of turn that around and, you know, explore the
15:21more positive routes of being somewhat limited in what you have, but finding ways to use that to open
15:29up your creativity and, uh, finding ways to channel that into something positive.
15:34Yeah. I mean, it's interesting because I think, um, a, I think it was kind of built into the DNA of
15:40this a little bit, you know, I think I sort of pitched it as like, I think it's almost, I consider it
15:44almost a rite of passage for most directors is you make your, you make your set primarily in one
15:50location movie, you know? And then, and then obviously we tried to be clever by being like,
15:54Ooh, it's both, it's a void and an apartment and like, you know, but, but ultimately in the same
15:59space and hopefully made it feel, feel bigger than it is. But, you know, ultimately it is that movie.
16:04It is that sort of contained first movie, but, you know, I think you, you just kind of have to,
16:09to, to hone in on what you're trying to say, you know? And I think we tried to wear it on our
16:14sleeve. Like, okay. Our aesthetic is that we, uh, you know, it's taking partially space,
16:19you know, partially taking place in a black void and an apartment. So we're like aware that it's
16:24all going to come down to, you know, God, the actors have to bring it, which thank God they did.
16:28You know, we have, we have an amazing cast because I did, I was constantly thinking that
16:32when writing it, where I was thinking to myself, like, if the actors aren't good, I have nothing to
16:36fall back on. But, um, but yeah, you, you work around those limitations and, and, and, and you
16:43try and, uh, you know, make sure that they, that they don't prevent you from getting at the core
16:47of what you're trying to get at. And I do think like deep down audiences respond to, did it entertain
16:53me? Did it move me? Did it keep, you know, and, and, and trusting that, like, if you commit to the
16:58story, um, that people won't, people won't be spending time going, they needed a bigger budget.
17:04You know, if they, if they're engaged by what's going on, like, you know, I think generally,
17:08uh, so it was kind of just trying to have trust in that, trying to have trust in, like, we believed
17:12in what we were trying to say. And we felt like it was original enough that, uh, audiences would,
17:17would, would give us a shot. Um, I don't know if you want to add anything to that, Ryan, but
17:21yeah, no, I mean, I think, I think that covers it on there. Yeah.
17:26And talking about the cast and, you know, not being sure if you're able to, going to be able
17:30to find actors to really bring these characters to life. Um, how, you know, how did you find ways
17:37to bring on people like, you know, Jack DeSina and Kelly Marie Tran and, you know, what was that
17:42general process like of bringing together this team of, uh, you know, fantastic talent?
17:49Yeah. Um, well, Chris and Jack, uh, the two leads, they have a comedy, they're a comedy duo and
17:56they make videos and we, uh, met them a few years ago and we're kind of like simultaneously
18:02like huge fans of theirs, but also we had met them and we're friends with them. And so Nick
18:08and Tim wrote the script for them in mind. So, you know, I think that like, yeah, just a few
18:15weeks after I came on board, like Tim was at a party, uh, a July 6th park party, which is
18:22an annual party they have to celebrate Jurassic Park, uh, and like gave them the script and
18:26was like, Hey, I hope you want to do this because of, you know, if they didn't want to
18:29do it, there was basically no movie. Um, as far as Kelly goes, uh, it was sort of like
18:34a very non-political thing. We had very, we had like an amazing casting team, uh, Anna Mayworm
18:41and Ashley Dunsing, and they helped us sort of find the right channels to just get, uh, a
18:47letter to Kelly's agent at CAA and that Tim wrote. And it was like a very impassioned,
18:53just like, Hey, this is the deal. We don't have any money, but we think you're the right
18:57person to do it. And Tim had seen her on a, uh, Facebook watch show, um, a few years previous
19:02that she had one scene or one, one scene, two scenes, like one scene basically where
19:07she was opposite Jack, which at the time to me had been such a small, like, Oh, that's
19:12cool. I know Jack. And he's in a scene with Kelly who was just in star Wars. Like, and then
19:16obviously he's later going like, Oh, hang on. Uh, and then, yeah. And then, and then
19:23just a few days after that, like we got on a zoom with Kelly and she had read the script
19:28and felt like she needed to do it. And, uh, and that was that, like, it was, it was, it
19:33was genuinely like, um, we just sort of appealed to her and, and, and it resonated
19:39and that there was no, there was like no mystery, no politicking, no anything. It was, it was
19:44as simple as that. That's awesome. Yeah. And, uh, Tim, you kind of briefly mentioned
19:51earlier how a lot of, a lot of directors early in their career, they take on these
19:56films that take place in a single location or single room. Um, so were there any in
20:01particular that, you know, have inspired you throughout your life or that you, you know,
20:06took some influence from specifically in making this, or was it kind of a combination
20:10of a lot of different ones, just pulling all those pieces together.
20:14That's interesting. Yeah. I mean, you know, when I'm, I can certainly think of lots of
20:20contained films that have riveted me over the years, uh, ranging from, you know, directors
20:26first times to sort of, you know, one of my all time favorite movies is movies is, is a
20:3012 angry men, which was obviously not directed by an amateur that was directed by one of the
20:34great filmmakers of all time, but, but, uh, you know, Sidney Lumet, but his, you know,
20:39but that film, I remember that, that hit me at a very profound moment in film school.
20:43Cause it was like, I also felt that for a film, you know, made in, uh, like, I'm going
20:48to hopefully get my film history, right, but made in fifties, I believe, uh, it, it, it
20:53being at an hour and a half and it is just as riveting today as, as, as, as it has ever
20:59been. Like, I remember that, that, that film broke the spell in my head of like, Oh, old
21:03black and white movies aren't as fast paced. I was like, this one is like, it just moves
21:08at such a great pace and it takes place all in one room and it's, and it's engaging.
21:12So, so I remember that always stuck with me as like an all time favorite, but I think
21:19as far as my references and my influences on me, myself in the void, it was actually funnily
21:23enough, not a lot of single location movies. Like if anything, I found myself borrowing
21:27more from sort of, uh, you know, I, I obviously, uh, movies about people who, who, who, who are
21:35in some kind of afterlife state and have to kind of investigate what happened. So it was
21:38a lot of, it's a wonderful life. Soul is in there. Eternal sunshine is in there. And those
21:43movies obviously aren't, um, aren't necessarily, uh, single location movies, but, but I, but
21:49I think, but it was probably more of an ethos thing when I mentioned that, like kind of a
21:53reminder of like, if the script is good and the characters are engaging and the performances
21:58are there, uh, you're, you, you as the audience won't be wondering like, Oh, this is getting
22:04stale. And why, why, why, why aren't I seeing big vistas and that kind of thing? You know,
22:09like I, I kind of had to, I had to remind myself like, well, if, if 12 Angry Men is one
22:14of my favorite movies of all time, I can't, I can't argue like I need five locations at
22:20least to make this work, you know?
22:22Yeah. I think, uh, it was my freshman year of college that I watched 12 Angry Men for the
22:26first time. And, and that's just one of those movies that honestly changes your life forever
22:31once you see it.
22:32Yeah, absolutely.
22:35Yeah. And, uh, before we wrap up, I definitely want to give the two of you a chance to speak
22:40a little bit on, um, you know, the Screen Actors Guild strikes and the WGA strikes. And as people
22:47who are, you know, rooted in the industry, um, and, you know, still, still navigating and
22:52figuring out, you know, your futures moving forward. Um, I would love to give the
22:56two of you a chance to just speak on the importance of this moment and, um, you know,
23:01what, what this all means for people like you moving forward.
23:07Yeah. Um, uh, I mean, uh, it goes without saying that like the, both of us are like in
23:13total solidarity with like both guilds and, and their, their current struggles. Um, and,
23:19you know, I think I, you'd hope that like, it's a very complicated issue. And I think
23:26that like, uh, like there's been so much overstepping on the part of some of the studios
23:33and the streamers is like the landscape has really continued to develop at such a break
23:38at pace over the last 10 years. I mean, if you think about like, like the state of streaming
23:4210 years ago compared to now, like it doesn't, you know, it was, it's completely different.
23:46And, and I think that entertainment is so like vital to society. And like you, I think that
23:56one of the biggest pieces of proof of that is like how dug in the studios are on some
24:00of their profits and some of their, their things. And, you know, you'd hope that like
24:05at the end of this, uh, you come out with an industry that is like a lot more focused,
24:11uh, on both like the executive side, uh, or especially on the executive side for creating
24:16an environment that is like supportive of the artists and, uh, supportive of the creatives
24:22as well as like for IOTC and any of the other guilds as they continue to like develop deals
24:27that are benefiting them. Like, like it's not just about money. It's about, I think, creating
24:32like an environment, a culture that is, um, uh, supportive and kind and friendly to everyone.
24:40And of course, like the money is a huge part of that. So, um, yeah, I would, I would similarly,
24:46like, obviously we are, we are in total solidarity and support. I don't currently, you know, I'm,
24:50I'm, I'm not currently a member, uh, of, of neither the WGA or, or, or, um, or SAG for that
24:56matter. But, uh, but you know, it's, it's obviously been something for us as, as, as independent
25:01filmmakers and knowing how tough it is out there that, you know, we, we, we obviously,
25:05you know, we want people to, to, to, to, to feel like they at least have a shot of, of,
25:10of creating a sustainable career doing this stuff, you know? And I think, I think what's
25:14always going to be difficult in an industry where you have so many people who desperately
25:18want to do this, uh, it's always going to be challenging. That said, as Ryan was alluding
25:23to, you know, the, the, the, it's changed so profoundly, you know, like, I mean, the stories
25:29that have been coming out, I feel like are, are testament to that, right? Where, where,
25:32you know, if, if God forbid you move to Hollywood and you actually make a hit show for Netflix
25:37and all this stuff, but you're not going to be able to retire off of that. Like, like you
25:41would have in the past, if you actually made a hit movie for a studio and stuff. So like,
25:45you know, it just, it's just clear that things need to change and just that this particular
25:48moment, everything has come to a head. So yeah, we're, we're obviously in, we're obviously
25:52in total support and, uh, and, um, yeah, hope, hope, hope a resolution kind of presents
25:58itself soon, but you know, it'll, it'll, it'll, this is the process.
26:04Well, thank you both for sharing that. And thank you both for your time today. It was
26:08really a pleasure to meet, meet you, Ryan and Tim. And, uh, yeah, I'd love to share more
26:14conversations with y'all in the future about other projects down the line and congrats on
26:18me, myself in the void. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Thomas. Yeah. It's a real
26:23pleasure. Absolutely. And, uh, hopefully, uh, we'll be talking again soon. Definitely.
26:28Yep. Y'all have a good one.
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