00:00 All right, great long the old long arm. Yeah, you're a pro
00:04 Great
00:09 I mean raunchy dogs. It just it it felt time
00:15 I mean, it's just like it's a genre that was sort of ready to be subverted
00:19 I feel like and and you know, I read this script and it was it had me laughing out loud
00:24 It was crazy, but it also had a lot of heart which I love
00:26 So it's a it's just kind of a amazing combination of both but it is not for children to be clear. Definitely not for children
00:32 Yeah, we started the film by shooting the dogs first we went to Atlanta we filmed the entire film
00:46 Without our dialogue and then afterwards I went into a you know
00:51 And a voiceover booth with Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx and Isla Fisher and rent Randall Park and just an unbelievable cast and you know
00:58 It did something kind of unique in the space, which is I got them all in the room together
01:01 Which and encouraged them to improvise and riff and when you have, you know
01:05 Heavy hitting comedy players like Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx
01:07 You want to let them run?
01:09 And you want them to be able to kind of interact and act opposite each other and it's for whatever reason that's not the norm
01:15 In those types of voiceover sessions and they were all game
01:18 I mean Jamie and Will have never been in a movie together. So this is their first movie and they have incredible chemistry as dogs
01:24 But yeah, it was it was so fun. I mean both of course shooting on set with the dogs was challenging
01:30 Is probably the nice way to say it but really fun
01:34 I mean as you can see like just having the energy of having dogs on set is really unique and then of course getting in
01:39 The voiceover booth with talent like that was like just a dream come true. I couldn't believe I had the cast I had
01:44 And then on set you had a very good boy, who was Will Forte, playing a very bad person. Why was he the right person for that role?
01:50 Well Will Forte secretly is a really terrible guy. That's why I cast him. No, Will it's so funny
01:56 Will Forte couldn't be playing more opposite
01:58 Who he really is in this character in Doug who is a terrible terrible human being who mistreats his incredibly sweet dog
02:06 But you know, that's acting, you know, that's the magic of acting
02:10 He's he's just he knew exactly how to play it in fine levels
02:14 Where he was the villain that we love to hate and that we want him to get his comeuppance because that's very important in this
02:21 Film if you played him too sweet, you might like no Reggie. Don't do it
02:26 Don't go on this journey to go bite off your mean owners dick
02:28 Which is the plot of our movie by the way, if I didn't say that earlier
02:32 yeah, it was he was Will Forte is just incredible and just like the sweetest man ever and
02:37 Playing playing very opposite his type
02:40 Yeah, I think the process of making this film has just forever made me look at every dog and give them a voice and think
02:53 About what they're saying now as a dog owner my entire life
02:57 And I think most dog owners could agree like we all do that
03:00 I think I've been adding a voice for my dogs in my life forever. And of course they were never PG
03:05 I mean, I don't know. Why why would your dog have like a
03:08 Censored himself, you know, they I think they talk like we do in private. We sometimes use bad words
03:14 We're very honest with each other. And so I think dogs in private do that as well. But yeah, it's forever
03:18 It's forever changed my my ability to look at a dog and not think what's it thinking right now?
03:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah
03:28 Yeah
03:33 I mean, they're very far afield from those wonderful characters of Beethoven and Lassie
03:40 But yeah
03:42 I don't know that would be a fun crossover like our four strays meeting those dogs and then trying to be very sweet and being
03:48 Like my god
03:50 Did you hear what that dog just said to me?
03:52 Yeah, but by the way, I love those films
03:54 I know Dan our writer like love homeward bound love mile notice as a kid cats and dogs like it is a fun genre
04:02 And you know, it did feel sort of ripe for subverting but to be honest that our films not really just a spoof
04:07 It's it's not a spoof at all was sort of my thing
04:09 We of course send up the genre of dog movies
04:11 But it really functions in the way I saw it was just an R-rated comedy where the lead actor just happened to be dogs
04:17 That's how I kind of saw it when I was making it
04:19 Yeah, I mean the film in a lot of ways it's actually about
04:28 Toxic relationships because Reggie is in a relationship that he's giving giving giving to Doug his owner and is getting nothing in return
04:35 And it takes some friends to come along and say hey
04:38 You're in a really bad situation right now get yourself out of it
04:42 And I think that was like really honestly when Dan the writer and I would have meetings we would talk about that was quite emotional
04:48 And it is an emotional story and the friendship is at the center. I thought about films like stand by me
04:53 You know the Goonies and like sort of friendship stories super bad and these stories were like your friends become your surrogate family
05:00 And in our case, you know, it's a surrogate family of very mismatched dogs of all different sizes and breeds
05:07 But they fit they work together and they support each other and they ultimately help Reggie kind of find his sense of self-worth in the end
05:14 It's very sweet, you know, which is I think what friends do when you're going through like a breakup, which is what Reggie's doing
05:19 Yeah
05:22 I
05:23 Mean I have a PFF. I have I have a few PFFs
05:26 They're gonna be here tonight at the premiere one of my PFFs is my brother who's right there
05:31 One of my PFFs is actually now I adopted one of the dogs from the film. Yes. I adopted the young puppy Reggie
05:39 Yep, it needed I found out this dog needed a home at the end of the film
05:43 I called my wife up. We already had a dog and I said hey
05:46 What do you think about bringing another dog home?
05:48 And she said absolutely if it doesn't have a home bring him home. So I my kids were thrilled. I have twin daughters
05:54 They named him Reggie
05:56 And now I have Will Ferrell running around my house at all times in my living room
06:00 Get out of here. You're amazing. Have the best night. Thank you so much. Oh good. Yay
06:06 Yeah, please
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