00:00It just happened really naturally.
00:01I said, please be in my indie film, and she said, get in line, honey.
00:05I said, call my team, mom.
00:13We both went to NYU together.
00:16We studied acting at Stella Adler's studio within Tisch.
00:21We met freshman year.
00:23Freshman year, 2014.
00:252014.
00:27And then we were roommates junior year, and we've been like best friends ever since.
00:32So you, when you were putting this movie together, what were you, what did you envision for the
00:40characters that we're not seeing here?
00:42Like what were you, who were you looking, what kind of person were you looking for?
00:45Oh, gosh.
00:46If you remember from that.
00:50I feel like I wasn't envisioning exactly anyone.
00:55It was more of like a feel it, like I was like sort of like the essence.
00:58I was thinking about like the feeling that I would want to get from these people.
01:05And I feel like they all, this is my dream cast.
01:08Like I'm so grateful to my casting directors because they really put together like the cast
01:13of my dreams.
01:14I feel like everybody is so perfect in their roles and no, I mean, seriously, and, um, so
01:22talented.
01:23And yeah.
01:24And like, I think it's amazing mix of people too.
01:27Was there a role or a project that you'd seen any of these folks in that was the thing
01:33that made you say, Oh, this is why they'd be good.
01:36That's a true question.
01:37I saw Austin in a short, um, a short film.
01:42I forget who the director was, but you were playing like, um, an ex convict or like you
01:47were, I probably just looked like, no, I was playing like a guy.
01:52And it was, uh, he was like in purgatory, right?
01:57Like a laundry.
01:58No, no, no, it wasn't that one.
01:59Oh no, it was the other one.
02:00It was, you were, you're talking to like a role officer.
02:02You're right.
02:03What was that one?
02:04Yeah.
02:05I was playing a comp.
02:06Yeah.
02:07Yeah.
02:08Um, and I thought you were so, I thought he was so brilliant in that.
02:11I feel like there were so many different shades of, um, so many different shit.
02:15Like you, there was such a range within that one short.
02:18Um, and that was the thing where, that I saw Austin in where I was like, okay, I would,
02:22like, he has to be in this film and I think he would, um, serve the character so well.
02:27Um, Perry, I watched, what was the, um, uh, the Eddie Huang film?
02:33Oh, the Boogie.
02:34Boogie.
02:35Boogie.
02:36Yes.
02:37I saw you in Boogie and I was like, okay, done.
02:38Well, I saw, honestly, like I saw a headshot of you and I was immediately like, okay, okay.
02:43Immediately.
02:44Um, Rachel, I saw in, um.
02:47Her apartment.
02:48Yeah.
02:49Yeah.
02:50Yeah.
02:51Yeah.
02:52In, um, uh, the Triangle Shirtways Factory fire.
02:54Oh my God.
02:55Oh my God.
02:56We were in the worst play ever.
02:59The worst play ever in college was called the Triangle Shirtways Factory fire play.
03:03Play was in the title.
03:04I can't remember what it's about.
03:05Yes.
03:06Yeah.
03:07And it's, we die in the first like 30 seconds of the play, but then we have to stand on stage
03:13during the play as ghosts.
03:15So you can't pee, you can't drink water and you have to be present because then you come
03:21forward and you go like, I was, my name is Sarah or whatever.
03:26It was.
03:27Yeah.
03:28So she saw my work in that.
03:29Yeah.
03:30I feel so lucky that she said yes.
03:32Of course.
03:33I feel lucky.
03:34I feel lucky to be like a part of this.
03:36And like, I just think, well, Katarina and I like have good friends for so long and we've
03:42always like sent each other our scripts.
03:44Like Katarina was one of the first people to read bottoms.
03:47Like she's read everything.
03:49She's read things that no one will ever read because they're terrible shorts.
03:54We read, we, it's like so many things.
03:56And then when she sent me bunny lover, I was like, oh my God, this is so good.
04:01Like, I just feel like it's so, it's such a specific point of view.
04:06It's so her voice.
04:07It's so her.
04:08And like, that was already there in all the shorts she was making.
04:12But like, I, I just like felt like, whoa, this is like really cool.
04:17And then just like during the process of like, I guess the, what is making an indie film,
04:26which is just like, sort of like everyone's saying no to you a million times.
04:31And then I was like, I would love to like be a part of it if I can.
04:35And it just happened really naturally.
04:37I said, please be my indie, in my indie film.
04:40And she said, get in line, honey.
04:43I said, call my team.
04:45No, it was, it was perfect.
04:48No, I mean, like Rachel said, I feel like we've been, like nothing has changed about
04:52the way that we collaborate and like share work with each other.
04:55And like, I feel so lucky to have, yeah, such a supportive and like creatively collaborative
05:03relationship with one of my best friends.
05:05I read in your, I think it was in your director's statement.
05:08Yeah.
05:09Talking about like your time on like LiveJournal.
05:13Were you, were you a LiveJournal girl?
05:14Oh my God.
05:15Okay.
05:16And the truth comes out, I was obsessed with Twilight and specifically like Twilight fanfiction.
05:25And then I also, that like got wrapped up in an obsession with Robert Pattinson.
05:29Okay.
05:30And there was a LiveJournal that was dedicated to Robert Pattinson called like Our Pat's Daily.
05:35And so I was on this LiveJournal every single day, like checking for updates.
05:39It was, it's.
05:40Were you posting or just.
05:41I was not.
05:42You were a viewer.
05:43I did try to write fanfiction at one point.
05:45And that, I think that's like where my love of creative.
05:48And that's where writing came in.
05:51Exactly.
05:52But yes.
05:53Okay.
05:54So I was on LiveJournal in that capacity.
05:55Okay.
05:56But I wasn't, I was never like posting anything.
05:58Well, I was, I was curious whether anyone else here has like an internet history, PG-13
06:04rated of course.
06:05But like, what was your, what did you guys ever find yourselves in any corners of that?
06:08Like chat rooms, AIM, LiveJournal, Tumblr?
06:12No, no.
06:13I mean, I think that's kind of what drew me into the script.
06:17Um, was that I was just like sort of fascinated by the relationship that me and her have in
06:25the film.
06:26And it was like something I'm not familiar with and then don't know anything about,
06:31like a sort of an old man in that regard.
06:34Very offline.
06:35Yeah.
06:36And, um, so yeah, no, no real experience with that stuff.
06:40Like sort of missed the boat.
06:41Maybe it's a good thing.
06:43Yeah.
06:44Yeah.
06:45I, I, I'm like, I missed the boat on that one too.
06:47I mean, some, I'm actually the older character in the film.
06:50Right.
06:51So it's just like, what's, what's the internet?
06:52You know, uh, how do I update my contacts?
06:54Right.
06:55I'm one of those fathers in the film.
06:56So, but it was a fascinating story.
06:59And like Rachel said, when I first saw the script, I went, Oh my God, there's something
07:03about the script that is not like other scripts that just want to be made.
07:06There's something about the script that's screaming to be made in a smoldering way.
07:11Yeah.
07:12You know, and I went, I, this is on my desk and I get to actually say, have a say and
07:17want to be in this.
07:18I'm like, hell yeah.
07:19So it was amazing.
07:21Are you a dad in real life?
07:22I am a dad in real life.
07:23I assume you're nothing like, you know, you know, there's a little yin and yang to everyone.
07:31Right.
07:32It's like, you know, like, and so I get to play the dad that I'm not in real life in this
07:36film, which is an amazing thing.
07:37Yeah.
07:38You know, and I see the opportunity in this film, cause I, cause I, cause you know, this
07:43film is about love.
07:44Right.
07:45And there's a lot of love in the world.
07:47There's different kinds of love.
07:48And this film covers romantic love, family love, friendship love.
07:51And this character navigates all the different facets of love in very different ways.
07:57And it's complex in all those different ways.
08:00And especially with our, our, our storyline of father and child love is very complicated
08:06in a traumatic way when there's a kind of addiction in the, in the parent.
08:10And so this character finds a way to go, you know what?
08:13That's trauma.
08:14How do I turn the poison of trauma into medicine?
08:17And that was the beauty that I saw in her story.
08:21God, I'm asking this, everybody, the same couple of questions.
08:24And I'm going to ask you guys, if you remember the first time you were starstruck.
08:28Uh, I was walking down the street.
08:30Oh, should I?
08:31No, you go.
08:32Lafayette and Houston street and Broadway.
08:34I was walking down the street and Parker Posey just walks this way.
08:37The 1994.
08:39Whoa.
08:40That's incredible.
08:42Yeah.
08:43Yeah.
08:44Yeah.
08:45Um, I remember outside of our dorm or my dorm freshman year, seeing Alex Traposky from girls.
08:52And I was like, I love girls.
08:54And he was like, word.
08:55And that was it.
08:56But it was, I remember I watched, I was like touring colleges, like seeing if I was going
09:02to go to NYU and I watched some of girls with my dad and he was sort of like, I think this
09:07is a show for you to watch without me.
09:10Um, but I was like, that's going to be me next year at NYU.
09:15And it was.
09:16And then it was.
09:17Wow.
09:18So yeah.
09:19Okay.
09:20For me, we were just talking about this.
09:21So I briefly lived in LA in 2021 for like six months.
09:24Um, the first day I'm there, Rachel's like showing, she's like showing me the town.
09:28She, showing me the town, takes me to Erewhon.
09:31Um, and, um, Miley Cyrus walks up to me and is like, I love your tattoo.
09:39I have like a little tattoo on my arm.
09:41And I mean, I grew up watching him all day.
09:44I love Miley Cyrus.
09:45She's the best.
09:46Um, also I was like, of course, Miley comes up to you.
09:49Miley's like, Hey babe, how are you?
09:51Yeah.
09:52Um, but no, but that was really cool.
09:53I wasn't even like starstruck.
09:54I guess it was starstruck.
09:55I was like, Oh my God.
09:56Like, yeah.
09:57It's thank you.
09:58You know?
09:59Um, that was my, we love Miley.
10:00Oh yeah.
10:01I don't think I've ever, ever been starstruck.
10:02Yeah.
10:03No one.
10:04Oh, like I haven't seen like all the people that I like are passed away or something.
10:07So.
10:08Wow.
10:09Everyone who you've worked with is like, um, hello.
10:10No, no, no.
10:11I mean, there's, there's people that I admire and things like that.
10:14Yeah.
10:15Yeah.
10:16Yeah.
10:17Yeah.
10:18Yeah.
10:19Yeah.
10:20Yeah.
10:21Yeah.
10:22Yeah.
10:23Like that, but I've never been like who.
10:24Okay.
10:25So who of the people who are no longer with us, like would it be?
10:28Yeah.
10:29Who would be your person that like, if you saw them, you would, I don't even know if I'd
10:32want to see them.
10:33Never be your heroes.
10:34Yeah.
10:35I don't think so.
10:36And I think so.
10:37I like to see you tomorrow, right?
10:38Yeah.
10:41Look.
10:42Again.
10:43Yeah.
10:46You're right.
10:47Well, yeah.
10:48Yeah.
10:49Yeah.
10:50Yeah.
10:51Yeah.
10:53Yeah.
10:55Yeah.
10:56Yeah.
10:57Yeah.
10:58Yeah.
10:59Yeah.
11:00fields and Yangon Right?
11:01Yeah.
11:02Yeah.
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