00:00That's why Benny Safdie is a very singular, rare air.
00:03Sorry, there's a fly that is, I'm so sorry to interrupt your waxing poet.
00:08That's it, you got it.
00:09Got it.
00:09Keep going.
00:15Ready.
00:16Who is most likely to want to go watch a UFC match?
00:21Okay.
00:30I did say Benny.
00:34I said myself.
00:35I said all of us.
00:37Well, it depends who's fighting, you know?
00:40So I can't speak to the fight until they get at me.
00:45But whoever is the underdog is usually who I go for, even though I might like the other guy.
00:50What was Emily's character's name in The Devil Wears Prada?
00:54Oh.
00:56Do you want the full name?
00:58It's true.
01:00Is it?
01:01Yeah.
01:08She was very much based on me, worryingly.
01:12Yes.
01:13Not really.
01:14She was called Emily when I auditioned, I will just say that.
01:16It's a shame she's making a movie that no one cares about.
01:20Exactly.
01:21No one's going to see that movie.
01:21No one in culture is going to come.
01:24How many wrestling championships has Dwayne won?
01:29Christ.
01:30Oh, my God.
01:33I don't know.
01:35I'm taking a guess.
01:37Oh, wow.
01:38You just cheated.
01:40I did cheat.
01:40Of course I did.
01:41Oh, God.
01:41I've really undersold you toots.
01:43I'm sorry.
01:43I don't even know if this is it.
01:44I was going to say like six.
01:46I said nine.
01:48Wow.
01:48I think it's 17 total.
01:51Wow.
01:52That's amazing.
01:53But by the way, let's be clear.
01:56I became champion because I was picked to become champion.
02:01Does everybody be clear?
02:02We are in a real boxing gym, right?
02:05Yeah.
02:05What's one note that Benny likes to give on set?
02:09Oh, that's good.
02:10Ooh.
02:14Oh.
02:14Well.
02:19Yeah.
02:20Yeah.
02:21I was going to do that, but.
02:22Well, I said it's more of a mantra.
02:27Amazing.
02:28Amazing.
02:28You do say amazing a lot.
02:30It's true.
02:31Amazing.
02:32Amazing.
02:34So Benny gave me a note that changed my life as an actor.
02:40And it was the scene at the beginning where Mark loses his first fight.
02:45And after his loss, he had a hard time reconciling with that in that moment.
02:50And Benny came to me and he said, in this moment, act like no one is relying on you.
02:56And for me, there's so many layers to that because I feel like he also spoke to just this
03:03infrastructure that's been ever present in my life as just a human being and an actor
03:08and a father and a husband.
03:10So very much as a man.
03:12And as a man.
03:12That idea of like the invitation to let go and be vulnerable and not have to hold on to
03:17anything.
03:18And that's right.
03:18Like no one's relying on you.
03:20And then that was it.
03:21It was beautiful.
03:21How long was the standing ovation for the Smashing Machines premiere in Venice?
03:27Oh, I'm going to be real about this.
03:29Yeah, I'm going to be real.
03:30Yeah.
03:36Just making sure it's the right one.
03:39Yeah.
03:40Yeah, yeah.
03:41I got the same.
03:41We were all emotional and in that moment, it was a very visceral validation that we made
04:00something that was pretty impactful, especially to that audience who is so ceremonial with the
04:08films that come in from all around the world and the directors who deliver them.
04:12And so for us, we went into that moment in Venice really unattached to an outcome or anybody's
04:19response.
04:20But hoping they'd like it.
04:21Oh, God.
04:22Really hoping.
04:23I wasn't that unattached.
04:24No.
04:24Well, it's interesting because it's like you make it for yourself, but we did make it for
04:30people to see it and connect to it.
04:33And the fact that they connected on that level.
04:35And it was weird because you think like, what's it like when people are clapping for that
04:39long?
04:40And the way that I was like, I really realized it was like, you're having these like five
04:45second micro conversations with everybody that you make eye contact with.
04:50You look at them and then they look at you and you have this moment of like, yes.
04:55And then you get that from them and it's like, this is, it was a wild experience.
04:59You don't expect it.
05:00But when somebody says like, that was nice, you know, it does feel good.
05:06It's a relief.
05:07Yeah.
05:07So that's why we're all pretty emotional.
05:10And plus also, that was the first time that we all saw the film with Mark Kerr.
05:14We sat next to each other.
05:15Mark's a big guy and I feel him shaking throughout.
05:18And especially at the end where a lot goes down in that final 15 minutes of the Smashing
05:23Machine.
05:24And he was really shaking.
05:25And I look over and I see Benny holding Mark's hand through the whole thing.
05:30I just held his hand.
05:31We held it through the rest of the movie.
05:33Grip tight.
05:34You could feel people recognizing themselves in the path he had to peace.
05:39Yeah.
05:39It was really.
05:40They recognized him.
05:41And I think it was clear that was going to be the new imprint of his life.
05:45And I think that must have felt so peaceful.
05:48I think I said to him, I said, now everybody's going to know your name.
05:52Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:54You know, it was really special in that way.
05:56So cool.
05:56Please welcome in his Octagon debut, Mark Kerr!
06:04What was the most difficult scene to film?
06:07Okay.
06:14We might all have different answers, though.
06:18Should I turn mine first?
06:20Sure.
06:20We're waiting for old Slowpoke over here.
06:28All right.
06:32Bathroom scene.
06:33Bathroom scene, yeah.
06:34Yeah, the final huge argument.
06:36Yeah.
06:36End scene.
06:37Yeah.
06:37We all got together in a room and I was like, all right.
06:40I know that there's been times in our own respective relationships where we've probably said things that we feel bad about.
06:46You know, and you really like look back and say, I shouldn't have said that.
06:50And we were all open with each other.
06:52And my feeling was hopefully when we get to the moments where that's going to be in the movie, we would feel comfortable with one another to allow ourselves to show that.
07:01And also that's sort of just the pattern which arguments break out and such an emotional tightrope between them.
07:09And at what point the doors blow off and at what point do they pull back and try to rein it in?
07:17And there was just, you know, that awful push-pull of a massive argument brewing.
07:21And you don't know when you're in the middle of it or at the end of it.
07:25You have no idea where it began.
07:27That's right.
07:27Like it goes on this journey where it's completely separate from where it started.
07:31I know what that feels like to hold on to somebody, you know, for their dear life.
07:36And you're trying to protect them from themselves.
07:40And then to watch them do it with such realness.
07:45I was like, that's it.
07:46We did that.
07:47You guys don't need to do that again.
07:49I certainly don't need to watch that again.
07:51You could see on your face how hard it is to do something that you didn't want to have happen.
07:59It's just really, the whole thing is really complicated there.
08:01Unlike Benny, I've never experienced that where you have to, where you're holding on to someone with all of your strength and all of your might.
08:09And the last place that person wants to be is in your arms.
08:12I felt Emily's force as an actor because I'm holding on to her on the floor with all I got.
08:19And I'm a decently strong human being sometimes.
08:25But in that moment, I will never forget that sensory feeling and the things that she was screaming and the energy that she was putting out.
08:34It was.
08:35And that's the thing is you are holding on to her with all of your might.
08:40But you also don't want to hurt her.
08:43Don't want to hurt her.
08:43Yeah, that's the balance that you see.
08:46And it's you're very careful about where you placed your hands and to like not.
08:51It's yeah, there's a lot.
08:52I think the thing that really served us was seven years of friendship between those movies.
08:57Like we really know each other.
08:58We trust each other.
08:59We respect each other.
09:00So I think we had a kind of secret language and we're very excited to do something like this together.
09:07But it is the great unknown.
09:08It's like to put your feet to the fire on a project that will really tighten the screws on you is intimidating and thrilling simultaneously.
09:19But I felt very safe with DJ, very safe with Benny and I knew it would be immersive.
09:26And I was so excited to see him do this disappearing act, you know, and excited to see him leap into kind of unknown waters.
09:38And it was honestly one of the more moving experiences to get to do this with my friend.
09:47You're welcome.
09:48Who spoke with the real Mark Kerr the most?
09:57I'm not sure between the two of you, I would imagine.
10:00I said Benny.
10:01I said me and DJ.
10:02I said you and DJ, but I thought.
10:06But I think Benny.
10:07I spoke to him a lot.
10:08I think because you spoke to him so much when you were writing it.
10:11So I would say, you know what, DJ?
10:14Well, what I was going to say was.
10:17You're gone.
10:17Back in 2019 is when he and I had our first conversation.
10:21And I was letting him know then, hey, I think, you know, this is going to move forward.
10:25We're going to tell this story about your life.
10:27And at that time, I just met with Benny.
10:29I watched Uncut Gems.
10:31We hit it off.
10:32We love this idea.
10:33COVID happened.
10:34One, three months later, and then everything kind of just went away.
10:38The first thing I said to him was, like, hi, my name is Benny Safdine.
10:43I'm going to be making this movie.
10:44And then I just kind of said, you know what?
10:46I'm going to tell you everything about me and my life and everything I've been through.
10:51Good, bad, horrible.
10:53And I'm going to trust you with that because I hope you'll trust me with your story.
10:59And we would just have conversations about life and how he dealt with things and what it was like to be in recovery.
11:05And that's where I got this kind of beautiful feeling of him looking back on his life and speaking so openly about the things he regretted.
11:13And I thought, wow, this is really beautiful, his new point of view on life.
11:18And it informed, you know, how I wanted people to feel at the end of the movie.
11:22You know, that despite everything that happens, you know, things could be okay, you know.
11:27This is why he's, speak about him as if he's not sitting next to us, but it's why Benny Safdine is a very singular, rare air.
11:36Sorry, there's a fly that is, I'm so sorry to interrupt your waxing poet.
11:41That's it, you got it.
11:42Got it.
11:42Keep going.
11:43He is rarefied air kind of director.
11:46He is.
11:47Yes.
11:48Thank you, guys.
11:50It's true.
11:51How long did Dwayne have to sit in the makeup chair each day?
11:57Sorry.
12:05Here comes a joke now.
12:06No, it's not.
12:07No?
12:08Don't worry, I'm not.
12:09Oh, that's true.
12:10Actually, yes.
12:12Yes, yes, yes, yes.
12:14Well, when he, after he'd had a fight, he would have to have bruising, swelling, so then it would stretch to like five hours.
12:21Oh, there was a day, because we had different prosthetics for different moments.
12:25Over 22 prosthetics.
12:27So there was the normal resting kind of face, and then after a fight, there would be bruising.
12:33And other things to add swelling, yeah.
12:36And other swelling and other scars.
12:37So there was one day, I remember this, where based on how you shoot, things are out of order.
12:43We had to shoot the fight, because we shot the fight earlier.
12:46So we were doing the before fight and then after the fight.
12:48So then he did the three and a half hours, he went away, and we started shooting other stuff, and he had another three and a half hours on that day to get different prosthetics on.
12:57Do you know that Glenn said he's the most patient actor he's worked with ever?
13:01Seven hours that day.
13:02That was ludicrous.
13:03It was insane.
13:04That was a lot.
13:04And there was also the real injuries when, like, for example, I got kicked and my elbow got really fucked up, and it's just all black and blue here.
13:12We had to cover that up.
13:13That scene's in the movie, by the way.
13:14It is.
13:15In the very beginning.
13:16Was it from the door or from the fight?
13:18Someone kicked you?
13:18From the fight.
13:19He got kicked down in Brazil.
13:20He blocks the kick with his elbow, which is what you would do.
13:24It was a real kick.
13:25Just like, clack.
13:26And then I was like, oh, there it was.
13:28Right.
13:29Really?
13:29Yeah.
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