- 16 hours ago
World's Most Evil Killers - Season 10 Episode 4 -
Kenneth Jackson
Kenneth Jackson
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00:00Jason, oh Jason, tendons seems a little off, Jason, great to see you. You too, Dave. Few things
00:20are better or as good as being in a major league baseball park. Yeah, this is, this is pretty cool.
00:26I'm a sicko. I come to a lot of Dodger games each year. Did you play? I played not well. I think I held
00:33the record for striking out most times laughing. Let's see what we can do here. I'm gonna try to hit
00:39balls. I can put on a pretty good show. I'll let you see what you're doing. All right, first couple
00:45will be rough. No. Ryan, you've got to bring it down, man. There's a reason I'm a groundskeeper.
00:53Dave, you know what you're doing. Every American should get to do this. I agree with you. One more
01:01and then I'm done. Oh, you're standing too close. That almost hit me. Get him, Dave. I figured I'd get
01:13it out of the way. Did that hurt a little bit? Yeah, I want to say something. You sounded very solid. I
01:18will tell you that. For some reason, I really enjoyed that. What does that say?
01:22Thank you. All right. God bless you. Thank you. Okay.
01:51How embarrassing is it that a dozen people over there stood up and the rest of you, unless
01:59you're incapacitated, felt no need or urge to do the same. God bless you. We're done with
02:07you folks. You can go home. Oh, come on now. It's a joke. I'm teasing. Thank you very much,
02:24ladies and gentlemen. This is so good and you're so lucky to be here because the person that's coming
02:30out, by the way, do you know who the person is who's coming out? I thought it was supposed to be a
02:40secret. I've known about this guy for a long, long time. I used to have a television show and
02:47periodically he would be on my show as a guest. And since then, but when he used to come on the
02:51show, to me, he was just another guy on the show. And for a long time, I thought he was the kid on
02:56leave it to Beaver. That turned out not to be the case. And subsequently to those days, I've grown
03:03to know of him, to respect him for what he does. He's both things, a very talented actor, director,
03:12writer, rock on tour. And in addition, more importantly, geez, he's just a lovely human
03:18being. Ladies and gentlemen, uh, Jason Bateman. Thank you. Hi, Jason. How are you? Nice to see you.
03:30Thank you very much. Where am I? You're right over there. Hi. Thank you. Hi. How you doing? I'm doing good.
03:43Yeah, I didn't know. I was back there watching you do your... We can sit. How do you think this
03:49makes me feel? Why? Did I... No. You well deserve... You see those four motley looking people back
03:59there? That was my standing ovation. I think this is a fascinating place to have a show like this.
04:05The audience, very nice, right-sized, a bit comfortable, has a colorful history. Have you been
04:10in this place before? No, I've lived in Los Angeles since 1976. I had no idea this part of the city
04:14existed, let alone this. Did you get a deal on the spot, Dave? Are you kidding? You've been a director.
04:22You know how this works. No, this is a really, really cool location. Yeah, it's very cool. Very cool.
04:26And we're in Highland Park, I guess. Yeah. Very cool.
04:31I of course know about Highland Park because it's near my beloved Dodger Stadium.
04:35Dodger Stadium. You know?
04:36The audience applauding the location of the venue. I love that.
04:42That's my wife and daughter right there. Where? Right there. Maple, 13, Amanda. Nice to meet you.
04:50Listen, Jason, I can't thank you enough for being here. I've been fascinated by this most of my adult
04:56life. Being a childhood star, I don't know how that happens. I have a son. It never was part of... Oh,
05:04how does it happen? It happened for you and it happened for your sister who is two years older.
05:10Is that correct? Three, Justine. Three years old, Justine. And how does a child star work?
05:15The short version was basically we had a neighbor who was an actor, a friend with my dad. I was out
05:20front washing a car, washing my dad's car with him. And the neighbor was on his way to an audition
05:25and he said, well, you look miserable washing your dad's car. You want to come with me to this
05:28audition? I was like, yeah. How old were you again? I was 10.
05:3210. Already, child labor, you know?
05:36And he said, learn these lines and go in there and make it look like you know what you're doing.
05:41You know, just say, what? I'm not on the call sheet. I'm sorry. It must be some mistake. I'm here to
05:45read for it. So I go in there, read for it. I get the part. So I come home. My dad is now,
05:49you know, running the chamois across the car. And I say, I got it. And he says, unbelievable.
05:57That's great. I said, will you take some pictures of me and we can send him into an agency,
06:01maybe get an agent and I can do this. Because my dad was a writer, director, producer, still is.
06:07And he, instead of taking me to the park and throw the ball, he would take me to movies.
06:13Now, was your mother also part of show business?
06:15My mom was a flight attendant for Pan Am. So she was flying all over the world two weeks on,
06:20two weeks off all the time. And so my dad and I had a lot of kind of one-on-one time while mom's
06:24out. Your family originally from, was it Rye, New York? Yeah, born in Rye. Lived there till,
06:29I was two, Boston till four, Salt Lake till seven, and then LA since 76.
06:34And what was the reason for Boston and then Salt Lake? You said you?
06:37Mostly law. You're just trying to run away from the law.
06:40Dad was pursuing post-production jobs around the country, running a lab or a editing facility
06:50while he was looking for directing and writing jobs. So I got very lucky with commercials early
06:56on and did a bunch of those.
06:58Oh, those golden grahams taste like honey grahams.
07:02It's a delicious honey grahams taste.
07:04And Justine saw that those were bringing in some money and so she got an agent too.
07:08What kind of money are we talking about? Like I had a paper out at this age.
07:11I know what kind of money that was.
07:13Yeah.
07:13What kind of money was yours?
07:14This, this, this, this was better.
07:17This, this was, back in those days, if you got a national commercial, one of these commercials
07:23like, you know, Pepsi or, you know, Honey Nut Cheerios or something, you could expect
07:28to make $30,000 on this commercial by the time it's done playing over the course of maybe
07:34three, four months.
07:35Wow.
07:35And so if you do a handful of commercials, your agent goes, oh, you might not suck.
07:40Let's send you out to maybe get a guest spot in a sitcom or something.
07:44Self-fulfilling success.
07:46Yeah.
07:46So I was doing all these sitcoms, like the one with Ricky and a bunch of other folks.
07:50I mean, I just, I loved working in, in television, doing multi-camera stuff in front of a studio
07:55audience.
07:57Rick, you are without a doubt the most upfront, upright, uptight, disgustingly straight arrow
08:05best friend a guy ever had.
08:08Ricky Schroeder and I used to go up into the permanents, you know, sound stages, they've
08:11got these, these wooden planks up there, walking planks where they hang lights and chains
08:16and all sound equipment and stuff and, you know, 60 feet above the stage floor.
08:20We'd go up there and they'd load in the, the studio audience before the show.
08:24We'd go up there, we bought these bass, these, these, these brass pea shooters.
08:29Brass?
08:29Yeah.
08:30For the professional.
08:31We got, we got very professional with it.
08:32We'd go up there with a stack of rewrites and, uh, it was loose script pages and we'd chew
08:37off little, we'd spit, spit wads down at the, the studio audience while they're just, you
08:41know, taking their seat, getting ready for the, at the audience.
08:44We were monsters.
08:45At the audience.
08:46Yeah.
08:46That's lovely.
08:47We should, we shot, we shot at Universal Studios.
08:50So, you know, we had our bikes on, on, on the lot, you know, cause we've got to get our,
08:54our, our PE in and we'd ride our bikes up behind those, you know, the trams and we'd
08:59hold onto the back of the tram so we wouldn't have to pedal and we'd let it drag us all the
09:03way up to like Jaws Lake.
09:05And then we'd get out Jaws Lake, we'd roll up our pant legs and we'd go in there and we'd
09:09scoop up goldfish.
09:10There's tons of goldfish in that Jaws Lake.
09:11So the guys who were driving the tram, they'd see these two 13 year olds out there wading
09:17around, you know, the Jaws Lake's only about this deep.
09:20And so they contacted our parents.
09:22They said, for reasons we don't want to bore you with, we're trying to scare these people.
09:26And when you see two youngsters out there in knee deep water scooping up goldfish, it
09:31wrecks it a bit.
09:31We got a great white out there, you know, so we had to stop doing that.
09:36Now, as the success propels, you're enjoying your life?
09:40I'm enjoying my life a lot.
09:41Yes, I thought I was fantastic.
09:44Yeah.
09:44I mean, I thought I was just the coolest kid.
09:47And I was, I was talking to you about it yesterday, about doing Johnny Carson.
09:50And like, you were 15 when you were on The Tonight Show.
09:53Jason, first of all, I owe you an apology.
09:55I've called you Joseph twice tonight for some reason.
09:58It's all right, Jack.
10:01It's lovely.
10:02And he's such a sweet, you would think a 15 year old show business star veteran at that
10:08age age would be snarky and white, but very sweet and satisfying.
10:13I should not have been as comfortable.
10:15Oh, you're 15 for heaven's sakes.
10:17Anyway, I thought that was admirable, but I understand looking at old images, it makes
10:22me wince as well.
10:23And not just of you, but when I look at other old images.
10:27People who are child actors, often we hear some unpleasantness of that experience.
10:33Was, was that ever part of your life?
10:35Well, yes, I mean, I think, I know that I, again, I thought I was pretty fantastic and
10:44I was probably a little bratty at times.
10:47However, I wasn't as bratty as some of my peers, I think.
10:52Like who?
10:58If there was something different in this.
11:00Um, I, um, I, I will not mention names, but I did do a show with a fella that taught
11:10me a lot of, of kind of what not to do.
11:12And it informed the way that I hope that I act now on sets when I'm in a lucky position
11:19to be in a leadership position or directing or something like that.
11:21What was the guy's name?
11:22Rick, Ricky, Rick, what was his name?
11:24I'm losing you, Dave.
11:28You're going over a canyon?
11:32Hello?
11:33Are you going over a canyon?
11:34I got to call you back.
11:35You're breaking up.
11:36Okay, we'll check in.
11:38Uh, do you feel like you missed out anything in your childhood?
11:42And I'll just answer for you.
11:43You were doing something you loved.
11:45So I'm guessing, no, you didn't feel like you missed anything.
11:47I, I, I missed a, I missed a lot of playing because I was working from 10 to now.
11:54Um, and so there was a lot of, a lot of playing that I missed, but I went ahead and caught
11:59up on that, Dave, during a, a shallow period in the 20s.
12:03All right, so in your age of 20s.
12:05Now, I know what you're alluding to.
12:07What precipitated that?
12:08It was, it was, you started experimenting with, uh, the controlled substances.
12:13There's nothing funny about that.
12:15No, well, there can be.
12:16Um.
12:17I can hook you up with some stuff.
12:18No, no, we're fine.
12:19Um, uh, well, what precipitated that was really a thirst for normalcy.
12:27So, um, I would go to, back to my school at the end of every television season.
12:32And so I hung out with all of my schoolmates, um, in high school.
12:36And what do, what do people do in high school?
12:38You know, go out and you get after it on the weekends.
12:40And so I really kind of leaned into that because I figured I work hard, let's play hard.
12:45And then I caught up by the time I was 30.
12:48Oh, so, so, so, so this is like a multi-year hiatus.
12:52It was a decade of, of, of fun.
12:54Now, did, did your work suffer through this period?
12:56It sure did did.
12:57Yeah.
12:57Um, uh, but yeah, I mean, I was still working a bit, just enough to keep my head above water.
13:05Now, were you in deep trouble?
13:07Uh, like, uh, Robert Downey Jr.
13:09He was a guy who was teetering on the brink many times and grabbed himself and righted
13:16it and now is a happy, wonderful, successful guy.
13:18Uh, I, no, I, I, my bottom, my bottom was not a bottom that is worthy of a, a, a fun story.
13:26Um, it was just sort of like, as I said earlier, I had kind of caught up and Amanda was incredibly
13:32helpful with saying, Hey buddy, I, I know you're dialing it down right now and you'll
13:36probably be completely done in a few years, but how about right now?
13:41You know, let's get on with this.
13:42What was your impression in the business of Hollywood and show business?
13:46Did people think, Oh, don't bother us with Jason anymore?
13:49Or were they, Oh, we haven't seen him in a while.
13:51No, it was that.
13:52It was a really tough time.
13:54Yeah.
13:54So this was your life.
13:56And it was my life.
13:57I didn't go to college.
13:58I had nothing else I could do.
14:00Now do you regret not going to college?
14:01Sorry?
14:01Do you regret not going to college?
14:02Only because I'm, you know, I'm intellectually curious now.
14:06I was not then.
14:06The whole concept of additional voluntary school did not make any sense to me at all.
14:10Was it because of your career or they just don't line up chronologically?
14:16You were too busy to go to college or you didn't?
14:19Oh, yeah.
14:19Well, I was, I was doing the Academy Award winning film Teen Wolf 2 at the.
14:29I'd like to change some classes.
14:33I was doing that during my senior year, right at the end of my senior year.
14:42And we were shooting that while I was, while finals were happening at school.
14:47And I did not have the time to do two of my four finals.
14:51So I never got my high school diploma.
14:53So on the record now, you have not graduated from high school?
14:56That's correct.
14:57Yeah.
14:57Whoa.
14:58Yeah.
14:59We had previously perhaps limited this to high school grads.
15:03Yeah.
15:05That is, that is true.
15:13You used to live here, right?
15:15Yeah, I used to come out to the game a lot.
15:17When were you living here?
15:18Why?
15:18Moved out here in 75 because I, I thought I wanted to be a TV writer.
15:22But secretly, I knew I just wanted to get on the Tonight Show.
15:25Uh-huh.
15:26And I can remember after I had achieved some success in the world of television,
15:32my friend Tom Dreesen and I sat right over there behind the dugout.
15:36And Kirk Gibson at this point played for the Dodgers.
15:40And he had hit a home run with a broken leg.
15:43I was here that night.
15:44Is that right?
15:44Yep.
15:45I was sitting right behind home plate.
15:47That was nuts.
15:47Yeah.
15:48Incredible.
15:48It was up there with Freddie Freeman's home run this year.
15:51I can remember watching that and I just laughed myself out of bed.
15:55I just thought, of course this is baseball.
15:58That's, this was.
15:59I was jumping around like a little beauty contest winner.
16:02It was just incredible.
16:03Let me see what that looks like.
16:05Hey.
16:05Okay, stop it.
16:06Watching out for the sash.
16:07I don't want to get choked on the sash.
16:09That's plenty.
16:09Okay.
16:10So we're there and Kirk Gibson is up first inning.
16:13And I think he was hitting like third then.
16:15I don't think he was batting four, but he was hitting third.
16:17And it was already two outs.
16:20And he comes up and he pops a fly ball.
16:23One of those things that you think is leaving the atmosphere.
16:25Yeah.
16:26And that it takes on a glow.
16:27And you think, well, how do they light those?
16:29It's the reentry.
16:30Yeah.
16:30It's just crazy.
16:32And it's a big out.
16:34Mm-hmm.
16:34And Kirk, walking back to the dugout, slams the bat down in great anger.
16:40And a youthful kid, a boy, a guy, a fan watching says, get him next time, Kirk.
16:45And Kirk says, eat shit, motherfucker.
16:49Nice job.
16:54Okay, so let's talk about Arrested Development.
16:56There are so many facets to your life.
16:59I mean, Arrested Development, for me, was a huge thing.
17:01I don't know what I expected.
17:09I started to watch it and could not stop watching it.
17:12It was just such a good show.
17:14There were so many good people involved with that.
17:16Mitch Hurwitz, first and foremost.
17:21Yeah, Mitch Hurwitz, the man who created it and wrote it all and oversaw the entire thing,
17:29is just one of the most remarkably intelligent and comedically sophisticated guys I've ever worked with.
17:35How many seasons was it on Fox?
17:37A couple, multiple, right?
17:38I think it was on two and a half years on Fox.
17:40Two and a half years.
17:41Was it a rating success on Fox?
17:43It was not, Dave.
17:43It was not?
17:44No.
17:45Because all people talked about then was Arrested Development.
17:48Well, but I think the people on the coasts were watching it,
17:53and people in middle America were not.
17:55The people in middle America do not matter.
18:00We've got our clip.
18:02There's our clip.
18:05Spoken from a man, the favorite son of Indiana.
18:09Indiana, yeah.
18:11I thought it was grand, and I couldn't wait.
18:15And I thought a star of that show was Ron Howard, with the narration.
18:19Michael was out of options, and knowing that his father had a penchant for hiding valuable
18:26things in walls, considered one last desperate gambit.
18:30This is crazy.
18:31What am I doing?
18:32Using a hammer to try this.
18:35Ah!
18:35Are you crazy?
18:41He was incredible.
18:42But here's the cool thing.
18:44So many cool things about that show.
18:45A, it was the paddles on the chest of my career, and resuscitation.
18:51But I was a huge Charlie Rose fan.
18:55I used to watch Charlie Rose left and right.
18:57One show, Ron Howard was on.
18:58And this was during the shallow period of my career, in my 20s.
19:03I was really depressed.
19:04I was really, um, things were not going well for my career.
19:08I couldn't get a job.
19:09So I'm watching Ron Howard be interviewed, and he's so famously gregarious and friendly
19:16and sort of, you know, he would admit it, kind of a geek that he's so nice.
19:21And I'm watching, and he's the most successful guy in the world.
19:25And he's having this, and I'm thinking, my God.
19:28If I could ever get any ounce of success or relevance or access again, the best part of
19:35that capital would be that I could be as nice as I want to be, and it's never going to be
19:39misinterpreted for being overly eager or desperate or thirsty for the job.
19:45Cut to, I get this job on Arrested Development where it's Ron Howard's show.
19:50And I had just one-on-one with him at dinner.
19:52And I let him know not only what that interview planted in me, but then what his show gave
20:00gave to me and now is giving me the opportunity to be exactly what he was.
20:05So it was just such a beautiful full circle for me with him.
20:10I love this story because many of us, myself, top of that list, looking for great moments
20:16that changed my life.
20:17I don't know.
20:18I have to go here and there looking.
20:20But it's so nice that you have this life-changing moment.
20:23Yeah.
20:24It helps me be and behave who I am today because, like with any of us, you hit the bottom.
20:33If you can, hit it a few times, you know, and it makes you even more appreciative of
20:39the moments of opportunity that come your way.
20:44That's why I work so hard now.
20:45Ron Howard is a well-known asshole.
20:47Oh, yeah.
20:48Oh, let's not forget, he's been an actor his whole life.
20:52That's what he said to me.
20:53Sorry, I didn't finish.
20:54At the dinner, he says it was all bullshit.
21:00What's the next game you'll attend?
21:02Saturday night.
21:04Against?
21:05Giants.
21:06Oh!
21:10God, that feels good.
21:12Dave, you know, the last time I swung a bat, I hit a gapper in the celebrity
21:18Hollywood Stars' Night for an inside the park home run past the sprinting Lou Ferrigno.
21:23Full blast.
21:23And he's got to get the thighs around one another, so I made it around.
21:27Let's see your Lou Ferrigno again.
21:30Very nice.
21:32And I thought the day couldn't get better.
21:34No, I feel like a semi-man right now.
21:38Wow.
21:40That looks professional.
21:42Hey, what do you got, chewing tobacco in there?
21:45None of your business.
21:46Oh, here comes my spit, right?
21:48You want the ball first or not?
21:50No, I got a...
21:51Okay.
21:53Now, that's not...
21:53Oh, that's good.
21:54I tried between the teeth.
21:56You don't do any mucus, right?
21:57For a baseball spit, you just...
21:59Depends on the time of year.
22:00But I need chewing tobacco, I think, for that.
22:02Or sunflower seeds.
22:05All right, that's a foul tip.
22:06I'm alive.
22:12Oh, my God.
22:15That's a base hit.
22:16I'm leaving on that one.
22:19I've seen you at various stages of your career.
22:22I saw a movie called Carry On,
22:24where somebody ends up exploding
22:27with a toxic manure poisoning gas on an airplane.
22:32Nice job.
22:34A lot of your work is dialogue-heavy.
22:36You do such a smooth, believable job of it
22:41that it seemed like very difficult work.
22:44Are you a better actor now
22:45than when you and Ricky were pea-shooting the audience?
22:48I sure hope so, Dave.
22:52I think, you know, I'm very lucky
22:54that I've chosen a profession
22:57that will age along with me,
23:00where there's always going to be a role for a grandfather,
23:04so when I get to be that age, I can play those roles.
23:06But I keep referring to you as a leading man
23:08and a movie star, a great actor, a director,
23:12but what do you see...
23:13What is your type?
23:14What do you say?
23:15I see myself, hopefully, as...
23:19I like playing us.
23:20I like playing the protagonist,
23:23the person who you cut away to
23:26to have that character's face process
23:29all the crazy crap you just saw,
23:31whether it be comedic or dramatic.
23:33So I like being the proxy for the audience,
23:36and it's probably why I've gravitated to directing,
23:38because that's the person who is shaping your experience.
23:40Does acting make a director better?
23:43Does being a director make an actor better?
23:45I think so, for sure.
23:46Which way? Either way? Both ways?
23:47I think either way.
23:49I think if you spoke to most directors,
23:50they would probably want to take some acting lessons
23:54just to understand kind of what we nutjob actors think about
23:58and how to kind of speak to them,
24:00and actors don't really understand
24:04what a director does fully
24:06until they get thrown in the deep end,
24:08because most actors...
24:10I'll just talk about myself.
24:11I thought job started on the first day of shooting.
24:15Directors and the rest of the crew,
24:17they've been to that location six times.
24:19Your crew, this crew,
24:20they were here probably three weeks ago
24:22setting up the lights and figuring out...
24:23I came in yesterday afternoon.
24:24But you were...
24:27How old were you?
24:28The youngest Directors Guild of America
24:30registered director.
24:31How old were you, and what was the project?
24:33I was 18.
24:34That was the Hogan family, and that was...
24:36So you're directing half-hour situation comedies.
24:38Correct.
24:38And then you direct yourself.
24:40Now, talk about a three-armed juggler,
24:43if such a thing exists.
24:44I don't know.
24:45What is that?
24:46Is that anything?
24:46I have found that I'm so comfortable with the acting
24:50just because I've been doing it for so long
24:52that it allows me to observe the other parts of the process.
24:56So I can't...
24:58It's just more efficient for me
24:59to act in what I'm directing
25:01because, A, I don't have to direct this guy.
25:04Like, that's one actor out of the way.
25:06But is there somebody on that set
25:07that would be near the star,
25:09and the director says to the star or the director...
25:12Yeah, hey, buddy, you're terrible in the scene.
25:14Well, maybe we want to try that again.
25:16Yeah, no, I have them removed.
25:19No, they're...
25:20Yes, of course.
25:21Well, let's talk a little bit about your...
25:23You mentioned this early, early on,
25:25and I experienced it a little bit,
25:27your love for the Dodgers, lifelong Dodgers fan.
25:30Yeah.
25:30Tell me everything...
25:32Defending World Series champion,
25:36where do you sit when you go to the game?
25:38I'm down there.
25:39I'm down front, Dave.
25:41How many rows from the umpire?
25:46Well, there are none.
25:47Oh, Mr. Front Row.
25:49Well, but...
25:50Mr. Front Row.
25:51But, David, I...
25:53You can see so much more from the front.
25:56Oh.
25:57So you're right there...
25:58I'm right there.
25:59I'm right there on the wall of the visitor dugout.
26:01Now, would you heckle opposing batters?
26:04Well, you can't...
26:05You just...
26:06You can't curse.
26:06If you curse, they're going to kick you out.
26:08But if you can come up with something, you know,
26:11that's going to get in their head,
26:13like, you know,
26:14hey, do you inhale or exhale when you swing?
26:18You know, like...
26:19The guy...
26:23Well, that's genius.
26:24Right?
26:24Or I don't want you to think about...
26:27There's not 40 million people watching Bud.
26:30There's only about 5 or 6 million,
26:31so don't be nervous.
26:33You know, stuff like that, you know,
26:35can just eat at you a bit.
26:36Do you recognize that they have received the message
26:38or they're just stone-cold concentrated
26:41and you don't exist?
26:42Based on the reaction of the teammates
26:44standing next to them,
26:46who did hear it,
26:47and the one guy's pretending he didn't hear it,
26:49they turn to me and they look at me like,
26:50what are you doing?
26:51You know, like...
26:52Yeah.
26:53What are you doing?
26:54And I say, you're the opposing team.
27:01To me, you seem like a guy who's a guy
27:03and could be a guy without also being a superstar.
27:06So is this part of just you being a guy,
27:08bringing the kids to the ballpark?
27:10Yes.
27:10Yeah.
27:10There's great normalcy, in my mind, to baseball.
27:15I like the serenity of a baseball game.
27:17Some people say the boredom of it.
27:19But I got a radio in this year.
27:21I've got this year open to the person I'm sitting with.
27:23I'm not doing score,
27:25but I'm listening to the comedy.
27:27It's a game, not a sport.
27:28I used to follow every sport a little bit,
27:31and then I saw Ken Burns' baseball documentary
27:33about 30-some years ago,
27:35and now I follow baseball a lot.
27:38And I'm like the commissioner of my fantasy baseball league.
27:42I'm just a full dork with it,
27:43and I just love it.
27:44Now, the fantasy baseball league,
27:45honest to God,
27:46you're too busy for that.
27:48I know, but it keeps me off the streets, Dave.
27:52I'm up early in the morning to check my scores.
27:55You've got to be doing something.
27:55I've got to be doing something, you know?
27:58What's the name of your team?
28:01This will be good.
28:06You know the Elton John song,
28:09The Tiny Dancer or whatever?
28:10The Tiny Dancer?
28:11No, mine are the O-Tiny Dancers.
28:14You know, Shohei O-Tiny.
28:16I'm in third place right now,
28:17and we're halfway through the season.
28:18Yeah, and do you win something at the end of the season?
28:20A hundred bucks.
28:22It's just a little taste.
28:23Yeah.
28:23You know?
28:24We've got a spot next year if you want in.
28:26It's National League only.
28:27I don't get it.
28:28I don't want to get it.
28:30I don't know.
28:32Yeah, that's me.
28:33Next time you come out here,
28:34I'm going to drag you to a game.
28:35There'll be no next time.
28:36Come on.
28:36No, I'm not going to let you go.
28:37Come on.
28:40I want to talk about Ozark.
28:42Okay.
28:49Whose idea was this?
28:51Were you in on the creation of this?
28:52No, they were looking for a director,
28:57and my agent, Michael Cooper, said,
29:00you know, there's these two scripts that I read
29:02that are two of the best things I've ever read in my life.
29:05So I read these, and I thought,
29:06oh, my God, this is so good,
29:09and I would love to direct this.
29:13Again, interrupting you there,
29:15what has been, other than Hogan's Heroes
29:17or Hogan's Families or whatever they were,
29:18other than that,
29:20what had you directed to date on that?
29:22I had directed some other sitcoms.
29:24I had directed two festival films,
29:27small independent films,
29:29but I really wanted to sort of take on more responsibility.
29:33Okay, I understand that,
29:34but what was the reaction on the other side of the desk?
29:37Oh, that guy.
29:39Yeah, they said,
29:39they're looking at,
29:40I won't tell you the names,
29:41but the top three directors in the world,
29:44imagine, that's who they were talking to.
29:46I said, I'm not going to pitch myself.
29:47They're going to laugh me out of the room.
29:48He said, just do it.
29:49Just see if I can get you in the room
29:51with the guy who runs MRC,
29:53Mody Wichick, thank God,
29:54he listened and bought my bullshit
29:57and said, we'll let you do it.
29:59Who are the three top directors in the world they mentioned?
30:01What are we talking about?
30:03We're talking about,
30:04well, no, I can't mention the name
30:05because they obviously said no to it.
30:07Oh, no, okay.
30:08Well, can I shoot some names here?
30:10Like, can I try?
30:13Go.
30:14Ricky Schroeder.
30:15No.
30:19Martin Scorsese.
30:21Unavailable.
30:21Unavailable.
30:23You're in the right league, though,
30:25so see Ron Howard.
30:27Not available.
30:29Of course, that's the level they were in.
30:31Exactly.
30:32In my 20s,
30:33I never would have ever had the courage
30:36to do something like that.
30:37And it's one of the biggest streaming events.
30:41It's right up there with Squid Game, maybe.
30:43I don't know.
30:43I don't know, but it was...
30:45It was wildly successful.
30:46Still is wildly successful.
30:47Some people liked it.
30:48Jesus, I loved the first show.
30:50I thought, holy crap, this is fantastic.
30:53And then I started to think about...
30:58This is such a huge amount of...
30:59It's starting to fall apart.
31:00No, no, no, no, no.
31:03But then I, over the next experience,
31:06I began to wonder,
31:07what is the body count of that show?
31:09I know.
31:10How many people did we,
31:11in fun, new, interesting ways, eliminate?
31:15There was some violence on the show, yes.
31:16But it was...
31:17But I just want a number.
31:18I don't care about the violence.
31:21The incredible writer, Chris Mundy,
31:23would know the correct answer to that.
31:25But I think it was usually one a show, you know.
31:29I mean, you'd have a death come in,
31:31you know, on the script,
31:33and we'd be there, like, ready to shoot it.
31:35And I would just say,
31:36God, you know, a bullet in the forehead,
31:37like, we've seen...
31:39Sure.
31:39We're all sick and tired of that.
31:41You know, I'd call Chris,
31:43you know, from the set,
31:44and I'd go,
31:45you know, Chris,
31:45we're shooting on a set right now.
31:47We're right in front of a beautiful fireplace,
31:49and there's a fire poker here
31:51that is, you know,
31:52it's got such a nice point on it.
31:54How about we just drive this
31:56through this guy's throat, you know?
31:57You know, and he's like,
31:59great, go for it.
32:00At some point,
32:01did a representative
32:02of the Lake of the Ozarks
32:04call somebody and say,
32:06Hey, man.
32:07We're not killing people
32:09left and right up here.
32:10You know,
32:11surprisingly,
32:13they were really on board.
32:14They were like...
32:15They said...
32:16Started selling property
32:17left and right.
32:18They literally said,
32:18Well, you're making this place look great.
32:21I think they were speaking
32:22about the beautiful cinematography.
32:24Yes.
32:24What was the time period
32:25beginning to that's a wrap?
32:28From start to finish,
32:29five years?
32:31Five years, wow.
32:32That's a huge commitment.
32:34Away from home,
32:35quite a lot, eh?
32:35Yeah, a lot.
32:36But flew home every weekend
32:38to see these dudes.
32:40See these dudes, he says.
32:42There's one missing.
32:43Franny, 18.
32:44Yeah, why is she not here?
32:45Well, she's seeing her boyfriend
32:47out there in Rhode Island, you know?
32:48These kids, they grow up, you know?
32:50They want to...
32:51In Rhode Island.
32:52I hope to God this stays in
32:54because I want the small,
32:55poor kid to be embarrassed to tears
32:57that you and I are talking about her
33:01on this show.
33:01Uh-huh.
33:02Because if I did that for my son,
33:04oh, man, we'd never see him again.
33:06Oh, really?
33:07Well, you know,
33:08Franny and Maple are not...
33:10They're not shy, right?
33:12Maple, she gets out there.
33:14She's like, she's a basketball star.
33:16Oh, good.
33:17She's, uh, she's a volleyball whiz
33:20and a skateboard, you tell them.
33:23She was the first kid to play
33:25on the boys' basketball team
33:26at her school.
33:27Well, that's my...
33:28Really?
33:32She's got skills.
33:33She can probably play you a little bit.
33:35Dave's got mad game.
33:37Have you seen him?
33:38He's a guy out of Indiana.
33:39He's got a sweet J.
33:40How many games do you come to a season?
33:4920 or 30.
33:51Wow.
33:51Yeah.
33:51Now, on a nice summer evening,
33:53you'd play the trivia and stuff
33:54and you'd get to be on KISS Cam.
33:56Does that happen?
33:56I tell them to not put me on that screen.
33:58It gets me embarrassed.
34:00Uh, we have some trivia for you
34:01here on the Big Dodger Tron.
34:03Oh, really?
34:03Yeah.
34:04It seemed like you would do pretty well.
34:05Oh, God.
34:06All right, so, can we just roll
34:07the first trivia question?
34:08We'll see who this is.
34:09Jason.
34:11Mookie.
34:12I can't believe Mookie said my name.
34:13Who's the only player to win an MVP award
34:15in the American League
34:16and the National League
34:17in consecutive seasons?
34:22What was it?
34:22MVP?
34:23Shohei.
34:24I'm going to go with Shohei.
34:25We think it's Shohei.
34:27The answer, Shohei Ohtani.
34:28Boom!
34:29Yeah.
34:29Take your shirt off.
34:30Huh?
34:31Wait, this is strip poker, too?
34:33All right, let's do another one of this.
34:36Jason.
34:37Who is the only pitcher
34:38in MLB history
34:39to win the NLCS MVP,
34:42World Series MVP,
34:44and Cy Young
34:45in the same season?
34:48I think it's Sandy Koufax.
34:50Try Sandy Koufax.
34:52Dave says Sandy Koufax.
34:53Sandy Koufax.
34:55The answer is
34:56Oral Herschwein.
34:58Shit.
34:59God damn it.
35:01I should have known that.
35:02That was 1988.
35:02But how about Freddie Freeman?
35:04Freddie, he said Jason, too.
35:05Jason, in the 80s,
35:08before a game at Dodger Stadium,
35:10what legendary sportscaster
35:11declined David Letterman's invitation
35:13to appear with him
35:15as a guest on The Tonight Show?
35:17Clay Kershaw?
35:18To appear as a guest on The Tonight Show?
35:20Yes.
35:21Were you guest hosting?
35:22I was guest hosting The Tonight Show
35:24in whatever year this took place.
35:26ABC had Monday Night Football
35:27in those days,
35:28and this person,
35:30I walked right up to him
35:31and I said,
35:32this would be great.
35:33I would love for you
35:34to be a guest with me
35:35on The Tonight Show.
35:36It'll be a lot of fun.
35:37And that person said,
35:39no, it wouldn't.
35:41You gave me a hint there
35:42with the ABC,
35:43was it Howard Cosell?
35:44It was.
35:45It was.
35:45Now, why did he think
35:46it was not going to be fun?
35:47Because I was just a dope
35:48and he was Howard Cosell.
35:49Had he never seen your show?
35:51No, he probably had seen it.
35:52What an idiot.
35:53Let's see.
35:54Let's confirm this.
35:56Howard Cosell.
35:57Yep.
35:58Thanks.
35:59We got one more.
35:59We only missed one.
36:00I think I monkeyed
36:02the whole thing up.
36:02Yeah, it was your fault.
36:03You picked it.
36:04No, but I'm just here
36:04to make trouble.
36:05We got one more.
36:07In the late 80s,
36:09at Dodger Stadium,
36:11who was told
36:12by legendary authoritarian umpire,
36:16Cowboy Joe West,
36:18after being introduced
36:19by Tommy Lasorda,
36:21you should have shaved?
36:23Um, Kirk Gibson?
36:29Let's see what the answer is.
36:31The answer is David Leclerc.
36:34Yes, sir.
36:36It happened down there.
36:37We came through those gates
36:39down there in left field.
36:40And it was me,
36:41Tom Dreesen,
36:42Tommy Lasorda.
36:43Here comes Joe West.
36:44Now, I know who he is.
36:46I've never met him.
36:47And I was on a break from the show
36:48and I had not shaved
36:49in a day or two.
36:50It wasn't this.
36:52Tommy says,
36:53Joe, I want you to meet Dave Leclerc.
36:54Oh, hi.
36:55Nice to meet you.
36:56And he said,
36:57yeah, you need to shave.
37:00And I said,
37:01is that a rule?
37:02Uh-huh.
37:03And he said,
37:03uh-oh, look into it.
37:05If you're playing
37:05for the Yankees, it is.
37:06Let's talk about Smartless.
37:17Okay.
37:17Oh, yeah, yeah.
37:18It took me a couple of years
37:19to understand what a podcast was.
37:21And I think the first one
37:22that I paid attention to
37:23was a guy named Mark Merritt.
37:24And then I heard about
37:25you and your pals,
37:26Sean and Will.
37:28And then I heard
37:29a dollar number attached to it.
37:31That's when I started
37:32paying attention.
37:34How,
37:35you must be tired
37:36of explaining
37:37the genesis of this project.
37:39Well, not really
37:40because I'm very appreciative
37:41that anyone here
37:43who listens to it,
37:44thank you.
37:44You know,
37:45it's, it's, uh,
37:45it's, um,
37:47it's an opportunity
37:48for two of my best friends,
37:51Will and Sean,
37:52for us to be able
37:52to talk once a week.
37:53So we started Zooming
37:55and then Will was going
37:56to do some podcast
37:58about sobriety
37:59called The Journey.
38:01I'm like, buddy,
38:02no one wants to hear
38:02your hiking podcast,
38:04you know?
38:05I said, you know,
38:07we'll just have me on it
38:09and we'll just bullshit
38:09and it'll be kind of fun.
38:11He's very funny.
38:12I've long admired that guy.
38:13That Will Arnett,
38:14he gets me.
38:15Yeah, good.
38:15I mean, goddammit,
38:16he's funny.
38:17Let me ask you
38:18another question.
38:18Yep.
38:19You go over to his house
38:20and just say,
38:21get him to open up
38:22the garage door.
38:23Is it jammed full
38:24with Reese's peanut butter cups?
38:26Well, there's some
38:29of that there,
38:29but there's any kind
38:31of junk food
38:31you want to find,
38:33you go over
38:33to Will Arnett's house.
38:34Oh, good.
38:34I mean, it's outrageous.
38:36I mean, he does have
38:37two teenage boys,
38:38so he's got to keep
38:39his stock there,
38:40but it's not for them.
38:43How did it grow
38:44in popularity?
38:44I'm not sure.
38:45I mean, it was during COVID,
38:46so folks were trying
38:49anything to connect
38:51with people, you know,
38:52and I think,
38:53and it was a bleak time.
38:55And, you know,
38:56we were getting some
38:56of our fancy friends
38:57to come on, you know.
38:59Folks, Dax was our
39:00first guest,
39:01and Will Ferrell
39:01came through there
39:02early on,
39:03Jimmy Kimmel
39:03came through early on.
39:05We could not make
39:06your deal,
39:07but, no,
39:08I'm kidding.
39:09Dave was very nice.
39:11He did it in person
39:12when we did our
39:13little documentary
39:14on HBO.
39:15Yeah, that's right.
39:15That was enormous to me.
39:20The show had been running
39:21for four years
39:22when I was invited.
39:25No, no,
39:25we knew who we were
39:26dealing with.
39:26We had to get our shit
39:27together before we called you.
39:29Let me ask you about that.
39:30So it starts out
39:31as a hobby that becomes,
39:33and is there a better
39:34work hobby story
39:36than we're doing
39:37what we were doing
39:37for free and loving it,
39:39having a great time,
39:39and it was useful,
39:41not only to us.
39:41And then somebody
39:42comes along and says,
39:44you know what,
39:44this thing's worth
39:45$100 million.
39:46Well, I mean,
39:47that's...
39:47Well, no,
39:47what do you mean?
39:49What do you mean?
39:51The economics
39:53of podcasting,
39:54David,
39:55are a mystery to me.
39:56Yeah, me too.
39:57But here's my point.
39:58Does it not become
40:00a friendly kind of hobby,
40:02sort of like Sunday dinner?
40:03Does it then,
40:04holy crap,
40:05$100 million?
40:07Right,
40:07and basically what happened
40:09was Paul McCartney
40:11did the show.
40:12Ah, wow.
40:13And how had he heard
40:15of the show?
40:16Well, that was just it.
40:17As soon as we were done
40:17with the interview,
40:19he was Sean's guest,
40:20and then we do this silly
40:22little two-minute wrap-up
40:22afterwards,
40:23like, boy,
40:23that guest was great.
40:25I say to Sean,
40:26I say,
40:27Sean,
40:27how do you know
40:28Paul McCartney?
40:29He goes,
40:29that was an incoming call.
40:31So we realized,
40:33that was the first time
40:33I realized
40:34that the show
40:35had become a hit
40:35because his people,
40:37they had picked this
40:39that I guess
40:39our numbers were such
40:40that it was worthy
40:41of Paul McCartney,
40:42and so that was
40:44very lucky.
40:45And what else
40:46can we discuss
40:47about you
40:47and your wild success?
40:49There's a new
40:51Netflix thing
40:52that I just finished
40:53I'm super-duper proud of
40:54is called Black Rabbit.
40:55Oh, Black Rabbit.
40:56I was very close,
40:57very close to being
40:59on the Black Rabbit.
41:00Very close.
41:01Oh, that's right.
41:01So Dave lives
41:02somewhere near
41:03where we were
41:04shooting one day.
41:05I, unfortunately,
41:06was not working that day,
41:07but apparently
41:07you walked by the set,
41:09said,
41:09hey, what are you guys shooting?
41:10And he sits down
41:11right there in Video Village
41:12in front of the monitors
41:13and stuff
41:13where the director
41:14usually sits.
41:15And did they give you
41:16some headphones?
41:17Did you have some notes?
41:18I wanted a part
41:20in that show
41:20so badly.
41:22Did you ask that?
41:23Of course I did.
41:26I had been
41:27at New York
41:28Federal Court
41:29District 3
41:30or whatever they called it.
41:31I was on jury duty
41:32that week.
41:32Come on.
41:33Yes.
41:34And through,
41:34I demand justice.
41:36And through
41:36one mishap
41:38after another,
41:39I end up walking home.
41:41I come home
41:41to my house
41:42and there's this
41:43huge, enormous
41:44movie production.
41:46I sit down
41:47and borrow,
41:47there's a PA there.
41:48I said,
41:49can I use your phone
41:49because I don't have my phone
41:50and I have my keys.
41:51I got to get into my house.
41:52And she says,
41:53sure.
41:53And so I'm calling people
41:54trying to get into my house.
41:55In the meantime,
41:56I said,
41:56what's this?
41:57What's going on?
41:58She tells me
41:58what the whole thing is
41:59and I said,
42:00I want to be an extra
42:01in this.
42:02And she says,
42:03fine with me.
42:04She don't care.
42:05But you didn't end up
42:07in front of the camera.
42:08No,
42:09because these were all
42:10very nice people
42:11who thought it would be
42:11a hoot to screw up
42:12the whole production
42:13by putting me in a scene.
42:15This was the final shot
42:16of the series.
42:17Oh,
42:18I know what shot that is.
42:19So anyway,
42:19that's what you're doing
42:20currently.
42:21It's being edited.
42:22You directed it.
42:23You produced it.
42:24Yeah.
42:25Jude Law and I play
42:26brothers that run
42:27this sort of nightclub
42:28in Lower East Side
42:29and something goes wrong,
42:31a couple people die
42:32and then you try
42:33to figure out
42:33who did it
42:34over the course
42:35of the eight episodes.
42:36Okay.
42:37Anyway,
42:37congratulations on that.
42:40So I want to know
42:42what I have omitted,
42:44what I have done,
42:45what I have been
42:45negligent about.
42:47Is there anything
42:47you want to invite here?
42:50Thank you to the nice people
42:52here for showing up.
42:55Can we do it?
42:56I think we're okay.
42:57Can we do it?
42:58It was so nice to see you.
43:00So nice to see you.
43:01I'm sorry we haven't met
43:02heretofore
43:03and good luck
43:04to your other daughter,
43:06sister in Rhode Island
43:07with her boyfriend,
43:09Jim.
43:10Thank you guys
43:12for coming out, Charlie.
43:13Thank you, everybody.
43:14On the next,
43:15my next guest
43:16needs no introduction.
43:18You want one more back?
43:19I'll try one.
43:21Dave and Jason
43:22continue to build up
43:23their confidence
43:24at the plate.
43:26Yeah, I always had
43:27second base power.
43:28He hadn't.
43:30There it is.
43:32That's going to drop.
43:33Yeah, that would have been tough.
43:34I could get to second on that.
43:35That would have been tough.
43:35He couldn't.
43:36I'm leaving on that one.
43:38He didn't.
43:38Give me three more.
43:39No, no, let's finish the bucket.
43:41Finish the bucket.
43:42It's your war cry.
43:43And for the record,
43:45Ron Howard is not
43:46a well-known asshole.
43:47No!
43:48No!
43:49No!
43:52No!
43:53Here comes again,
43:53it's a bird.
43:54Oh!
43:56No!
43:56There!
44:01There!
44:01Those!
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