Director/Writer/Producer Aziz Ansari joined THR at our TIFF suite at the 1 Hotel in Toronto and talks about watching his film 'Good Fortune' for the first time in full with the TIFF crowd. Plus, he dishes on discovering how funny Keke Palmer was, why he knew only Keanu Reeves could play his role in the film and more.
00:00There's a thing in London where there's always a commercial for Lloyd's Bank and it's like this big, do you know this thing?
00:08It's like this inspirational commercial and then at the end it's like Lloyd's Bank and someone always just yells, as soon as it says Lloyd's Bank they just go, rubbish!
00:19When I thought of the idea of doing a film I'd always talked about that idea of being in a theater and having a communal experience and a group of people laughing together and wow that was that times a million last night.
00:40So this was the first time I'd seen the finished movie with the crowd, it was so special and I didn't watch the whole thing, I dipped in and out but it was great.
00:49You know what's fun is, so in those videos of the audience, you pick certain people that you watch and there's some people that like, you know, they're big laughers and they're like going crazy and it's just fun to kind of just see someone watching a whole movie, it's such a weird thing.
01:05One thing from the story you did with us that I wanted to ask a follow up question about is you discovering how funny Kiki Palmer was and I believe it was like just one little parenthetical that you had seen a clip of her interviewing Megan Thee Stallion.
01:20Yeah, it was a famous clip that went around where she interviewed Megan Thee Stallion at the Met Gala and I had never seen her before and it was so funny to me and I saw that and then there was another clip where she was at a Black Lives Matter protest and she was speaking with a police officer who had sided with the protesters and she was trying to get him to join them and there was just so much passion in her and you know I was just fascinated by this person that had
01:50both those sides to them that contained both those things I thought I was a very special person and then and I was right she's very special Kiki.
01:58Was it scary at all to or different from like putting together the cast let's say on the TV show to go out to people and ask like send them this and ask them to do it?
02:09With this movie it was pretty smooth because I sent it to Seth and he called me in two hours and was like yeah I'm in.
02:17I gave it to Keanu and he liked the script right away and Kiki as well like everyone kind of came on board very quickly.
02:26Sometimes that process can be tricky because people if they say yes it changes the whole trajectory of your film and if they say no it also changes the trajectory you know you got to call the next next person.
02:38After I met Keanu I was like it's got to be him and I told him this one day after we finished rehearsing I said thank you so much for doing this movie and if you weren't doing it I don't even think I'd do it anymore.
02:49It's kind of true and I think if you see the movie you kind of get why I say that like you can't really imagine anyone else doing that part.
02:57Were there any of those like bits you came up with or things that kind of make fun of the guy in the big house that felt that you hesitated around like is this too can I take it can I take the joke on myself you know what I mean?
03:07Oh anytime I felt that I went towards that I wanted people that are in my friend group to feel uncomfortable you know because you can watch succession you're like I'm not I'm not that guy but this a lot more people are like okay you know.
03:22If you can share one that felt like ooh I have to write into this because this is getting this is making me feel prickly like which of the things that Jeff does or has like cold plunge?
03:30Oh eating burrata the sauna and cold plunge stuff.
03:35Is eating burrata cringy?
03:37No but just like being so into burrata like I'm a burrata boy it's like come on man.
03:43True.
03:44True.
03:44A lot of this movie takes place well not a lot but a few key scenes at taco stands right?
03:49Do you have a favorite in L.A.?
03:52There was a there's a taco place called Ricky's Fish Tacos that was in L.A. do you know Ricky's?
03:57I do yeah on Riverside.
03:58Yeah but he's gone.
04:00This is how I'm finding out Ricky's is gone.
04:02Yeah he's been gone for a couple years and last time I saw Ricky I was.
04:07What'd he say?
04:08What'd Ricky say?
04:10Well Ricky and I became friendly and whenever I'd see him we'd say hi and he was his truck was parked in Riverside.
04:16The last time I saw Ricky and I don't know if I saw Ricky it was his truck.
04:23I was going to Ojai which is outside of Los Angeles and I saw the truck on the highway and that was the last time I saw the truck.
04:34Was it driving on the highway towards Ojai?
04:36Yeah I don't know I don't know if he went to Ojai or what I don't know where he was going.
04:40And I had Ricky's number and I texted him and I said Ricky where are you?
04:43And he never responded I don't know what happened.
04:45I mean I'd known the guy for a while and he like I would do stand-up shows when I had like a big stand-up show in L.A.
04:51I'd have like an after party and Ricky would bring out a fryer and he would do fish and shrimp tacos for everybody and now he's gone.
04:57Okay well hopefully if Ricky sees this he can comment on this.
05:00Yeah wait we're not cutting off the favorite tacos thing because you know this is fun because I've been getting a lot of like how'd you come up with the movie?
05:07Now we're talking about tacos.
05:08This is what I've been waiting for.
05:11No another taco place I like there so this is like another sentimental when I first moved to L.A. there's a famous taco truck in Echo Park called Taco Zone and it was open late and that was a place you'd go like after you've had a you know a long night you end up at Taco Zone and you get a Suedero Melita and we called the company.
05:34Well this all comes back to the movie.
05:36You know when you're making a movie you come up with a little LLC for the movie and it was Suedero Melita and it was based off Taco Zone and one time I remember when I was at Taco Zone I was there it was late at night and there were some people that maybe had a little bit too much to drink and they were a little too excited to see someone they knew from TV and it was a little awkward.
05:57I was sitting there waiting for the tacos and they were like yelling at me and these lovely ladies from Taco Zone let me they let me hide in the truck and yeah and on our last day of filming I had the we had the Taco Zone truck come out as a treat and I got a Suedero Melita and it all came around full circle.
06:20Incredible.
06:21Taco Zone is the closest taco truck to me.
06:23Oh yeah so you know that one too.
06:24I'm vegetarian so I don't get the Suedero but I get the I get the vegetarian Melitas.
06:30Ah okay so what do they put in there like mushrooms?
06:32Rice, beans, avocado, cheese.
06:35Oh that sounds nice.
06:36Fajita veggies sometimes.
06:38Wow.
06:39Yeah still pretty good.
06:40I feel bad that I had to break the news to you about Ricky.
06:43I know me too.
06:44Well obviously if it's been several years it's not like I've been knocking on the door.
06:47Yeah yeah it's not your haunt.
06:48You know when I was writing this I had specific places in my head and that was one.
06:52That taco stand that's on Hollywood.
06:55I just thought that felt so LA and I love the idea that they have this date like sitting
06:59on these little plastic chairs and it's kind of cute and yeah I'd always pictured it there.
07:04What are your creature comforts that you need to bring with you on a trip that like ground you?
07:12What are your what do you need?
07:14Sleep is so important so I my wife found these nice eye masks that's like silk eye masks and
07:21those those really helped me sleep so a good eye mask I need that.
07:27My wife gave me this like face mist I like that I like a face mist.
07:32Working for the plane.
07:33Yeah it wakes you up a little bit but not really I don't know if it really works it's kind of just
07:36like putting water on your face but I'll buy into it maybe in a placebo way it helps.
07:43I like having an alarm clock I like having I have a little portable like a little brawn alarm clock
07:49I like that and a notepad that I keep beside my bed.
07:52But anyway Aziz Ansari that's good fortune October 17th.
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