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CTP (20260902 S3ESepSpecial1) Leif Bristow Rare Good Movies From CommiePedoWood; Human Nature; More; BTS/SP Video
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00:00:00Hello, welcome to another episode of Perstitutionalist Podcast.
00:00:06I am your host, Joseph M. Leonard.
00:00:09That's L-E-N-A-R-D.
00:00:12It looks French.
00:00:13It's not.
00:00:14It's Leonard without an O.
00:00:17Thank you for tuning in, as Graham Norton used to say, on his show.
00:00:24Let's get on with the show!
00:00:25So, joining me today will be Leif Ristow.
00:00:32Like Leif Erickson, he was saying, we'll get into that.
00:00:35But it's spelled like a leaf on a tree, as I joked with him before I hit record.
00:00:42But it is spelled for the benefit of audio only and the transcript.
00:00:48L-E-I-F-B-R-I-S-T-O-W.
00:00:53Okay, now that that's out of the way, and I also want to apologize for those viewing the video.
00:01:00My behind-the-mask theater captain shirt, the only shirt that's appropriate to wear with a film-related guest,
00:01:09is in yellow, and it's freaking out the Zoom green screen filter thingy.
00:01:15So, I'm actually looking a little flaky, and also, I don't have a song yet that would relate to this
00:01:24episode.
00:01:25So, by way of pushing myself, I'm going to, after we're done here, hopefully before my one o'clock interview,
00:01:34or after that, I plan on writing a Suno track silver screen, because I've been tacking on my Suno track
00:01:43music at the end of each episode.
00:01:46So, I'll have a film-related one, and we'd even be able to use it in a film.
00:01:52I'll have commercial license.
00:01:54Hint, hint, hint.
00:01:56Right?
00:01:56But anyway, who is Alif Bristow, and why is he here?
00:02:01Here, I've said to him on Podmatch, no surprise to my audience, that's where I interact with potential guests,
00:02:11I've had health weeks, author weeks, music weeks, and a few here and there movie reviews,
00:02:18but never spoke with a movie's producer yet.
00:02:23So, ah, here you are.
00:02:26But before we get into any of that, where were you born and raised, significant places you've been between,
00:02:35where are you now, how much time have you served in prison for what?
00:02:40That's a joke, people, that's a joke, that's a joke.
00:02:44But I'm serious, you know, born, raised, where you are now, that sort of thing.
00:02:49Well, I was born in Toronto, and then when I was three...
00:02:54Hey, beauty, eh?
00:02:56Hey, it sure is, eh?
00:02:57Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
00:02:59The great wife...
00:03:00No, I was...
00:03:01Oh, yes.
00:03:02What was it, Bill and...
00:03:04Well, uh...
00:03:05McKenzie Brothers.
00:03:07Yeah, McKenzie Brothers.
00:03:08Yeah, Doug.
00:03:10Yeah.
00:03:10Doug, yeah, that was it.
00:03:12Yeah.
00:03:12Anyway, my OCD brain, again, automatically has to just butt right in there.
00:03:19And go ahead.
00:03:20I got lots of Canadian friends, so...
00:03:22Oh, that's great.
00:03:23Well, Dave Thomas, who was one of the two McKenzie brothers, he and I have written projects together
00:03:29and things like that.
00:03:30So, yeah, no, I know the group well.
00:03:35I was born in Toronto, and then when I was...
00:03:38Just before I turned three, my family moved to Alaska, and we lived in Alaska before it became
00:03:42a state.
00:03:43Oh, well, don't worry.
00:03:45I'll ask more questions later.
00:03:48Ba-dum-bum!
00:03:49Ba-dum-bum!
00:03:50So, yeah, I had one sister that was born there before it became a state, and one that was
00:03:54born after it became a state.
00:03:56Then we moved to Denver.
00:03:58Wow!
00:04:00Yeah, so what...
00:04:00Yeah, because she had Canadian, Alaskan, and American citizenship, which is different.
00:04:07And then we moved to Denver, then to Dallas, then to Chicago.
00:04:12Oh, I'm going to have Rocky Mountain High in my head the rest of the day.
00:04:18There you go.
00:04:19I'm sorry, Chicago.
00:04:20Good old Bob Denver.
00:04:21Yeah.
00:04:22Then we moved back to Denver, and then I ended up at the University of Denver.
00:04:28That's where I went, part of my university.
00:04:30Then I ended up at a university in Canada, and then went to Europe to perform for a year,
00:04:36and then ended up living in Los Angeles, where I got my degree in theater.
00:04:41You said abroad, so I'm going to do my...
00:04:44For the benefit of the transcript and the audio, I'm doing my Marcel Marceau idiocy interpretation.
00:04:51Anyway, go on.
00:04:52My OCD brain just won't let me not do stupid stuff like that.
00:04:57That's good.
00:04:58And then I ended up moving back to Canada at a certain point, just because I...
00:05:04In knowing what I wanted to accomplish in film and television,
00:05:08I knew that, well, I guess coming out of film school or theater school more so,
00:05:17I didn't understand and hadn't been raised in kind of the California studio system.
00:05:22So I knew, but I also knew what I wanted to focus on,
00:05:27and my family was getting involved in supporting film and television in Canada.
00:05:33So I thought, okay, I'm going to come back because there were lots of places I could work in theater,
00:05:38and film and television was taking off.
00:05:41And over the last 30 years in particular, I've just executive produced and directed film and television
00:05:47from Toronto as a home base.
00:05:50I have a U.S. company.
00:05:52I've got a...
00:05:53Her oldest daughter lives in Tucson.
00:05:57So I'm back and forth a lot.
00:05:59But, yeah, so it's...
00:06:02You know, and I'm one of the few people around that can still claim I saved my draft card from
00:06:08Vietnam as a souvenir
00:06:09just to remind me what it was like.
00:06:12So...
00:06:12Burned it.
00:06:13Yeah, you saved it.
00:06:14Put it in the frame.
00:06:15Yes.
00:06:16Yeah.
00:06:16Well, you know, it's really appropriate to look at it now when we see what's going on.
00:06:20Oh, and thank you.
00:06:24So, anyway, so I feel like, you know, I've been fortunate, you know, as well because of the films that
00:06:29we make
00:06:30and a lot of our specialty is filming in exotic locations because I've always believed that,
00:06:36especially in the world of romance, which we do a lot of, the 90%, apparently more,
00:06:45but at least 90% of North Americans will never leave continental North America in their lifetime.
00:06:52So, the opportunity to go see what...
00:06:55Live vicariously through others, yes.
00:06:58Right, you know, so my wife and I always work on the basis that our job when we make holiday
00:07:03and romance movies
00:07:04is that our job is to make the Audrey Hepburn movies for this generation
00:07:08and make them as beautiful as we can every time we do it and go around the world doing it.
00:07:13So, we've filmed in so many countries and been very fortunate to do so.
00:07:19Yeah.
00:07:19Although, I love having comedy in.
00:07:23I love Kevin James' Solo Mio that came out recently.
00:07:29I love that movie filmed in Italy.
00:07:33Yeah, you know, when you can bring those together in a nice fashion,
00:07:41it's a really wonderful opportunity for the audience just to let go and relax, which is what...
00:07:47Some escapism rather than preachiness.
00:07:50We've got too many preachy movies, yes.
00:07:53That's right.
00:07:54Stop trying to preach to us.
00:07:56And I say that to the Christian studios as well.
00:07:59I keep trying, although I'm glad Angel Studios is going to less beat people over the head
00:08:07with the Bible-thumping type movies, Christian.
00:08:11They even did the sci-fi The Shift, and I love...
00:08:16My favorite Christian movie is Risen, because...
00:08:20Oh, yeah.
00:08:20Now, actually, that's my second.
00:08:22My first favorite is The Resurrection of Gavin Stone,
00:08:26because, again, if you get a chance, it's funny.
00:08:32It's a comedy about an actor who gets caught, you know, drunk driving,
00:08:38community service at a church, kind of wants to hook up with the preacher's daughter,
00:08:44so he's pretending to be all Christian, right?
00:08:48Yeah, so...
00:08:49But there's Christian values without beating people over the head with the Bible.
00:08:54I try to do the same with my books.
00:08:57I make no bones.
00:08:58I'm a Christian author.
00:08:59But I don't want to beat people over the head with the Bible.
00:09:04No, I don't think it's necessary.
00:09:06You know, I think if you look at...
00:09:08Historically, I mean, I've made a lot of buddy pictures.
00:09:11I mean, we did it in a company I was part of.
00:09:13We did 18 films for HBO all over the world
00:09:18and won a lot of Emmys with them.
00:09:20And, you know, in the movies that I make for the Hallmark Network or...
00:09:24I mean, I've done three biblical movies myself.
00:09:27I directed Peter the Redemption with John Rhys-Davies playing Peter
00:09:32and Stephen Baldwin playing Nero.
00:09:34So it was Peter at the end of his life.
00:09:39The greatest power you have is when, for me, and philosophy in all of our films,
00:09:46is we just follow solid moral principles that would be consistent with Christian-Judaic value.
00:09:52And in doing that, we can reach most of the...
00:09:56That's rare in Hollywood today, I gotta say.
00:10:00Yeah, it is.
00:10:01But, you know, it's just not that hard to do.
00:10:04But I think that also comes from the philosophy of what we do.
00:10:07I mean, I had daughters and I determined years ago
00:10:13that I didn't think there were a lot of positive role models
00:10:15for young women in film and television.
00:10:17So my wife and I have always looked for and have been champions of films
00:10:25that show women rising above adversity
00:10:30and showing that in their own inner strength
00:10:34to be positive role models for other young women.
00:10:36So that's always been a theme to what we look for in our films,
00:10:40even in the Hallmark movies we do.
00:10:43You know, I remember one of the times when I was directing Lacey Chabert
00:10:47in a movie that we did called Love on Safari in South Africa.
00:10:50You know, one of the lines that...
00:10:52Because I was directing the movie and I rewrote one of the lines
00:10:56in one of the scenes to say that, you know,
00:11:00when she was breaking up with a guy,
00:11:03it wasn't about just being the way she was.
00:11:07What she rediscovered was her own inner joy
00:11:11when she came back to this reserve.
00:11:13She rediscovered that joy of who she is as a human being
00:11:17and fell in love with herself.
00:11:18Yeah.
00:11:19Two becoming one doesn't mean you lose yourself.
00:11:23And you said a couple of things, right?
00:11:26Female empowerment without the fifth wave,
00:11:31men are optional on this planet kind of nonsense.
00:11:35Yes?
00:11:37Well, yeah, I just think, I think it's, yeah,
00:11:40I think, you know, young women really,
00:11:42they need those positive role models to look up to.
00:11:46You know, and they just come in all forms.
00:11:50And, you know, there's just a positive way.
00:11:56And, you know, and this is why, like, when we did the, you know,
00:11:58the movie based on Aggie's book, Dancing Through the Shadow,
00:12:02doing the movie of Tia Zhang, and, you know,
00:12:08first seeing how Aggie was able to bring the book together,
00:12:11which was quite a feat, you know, it's based on Tia's life
00:12:15and Tia's Chinese, Aggie's not.
00:12:19And they kind of decided.
00:12:20Yeah, cultural.
00:12:21Cultural, it was kind of, they decided, yeah,
00:12:23it was kind of like two hearts coming together.
00:12:25Because, you know, Aggie really spent the time to understand Tia's life
00:12:32from Tia's perspective, and then was able to let the audience
00:12:43understand Tia's life from that first person,
00:12:46which is why the book, the book is,
00:12:48it's such an emotional, compelling story.
00:12:51Yes, it's set against the Cultural Revolution,
00:12:55because that's when Tia came of age during the Cultural Revolution.
00:12:59It's not a common.
00:13:00A bit of historical fact.
00:13:02Yeah, perspective.
00:13:03It's historical fiction in a way, yes?
00:13:06Yeah, I mean, well, it's actually a lot of historical truth,
00:13:09but it's, you know, the...
00:13:12I call it faction.
00:13:14Yeah, part fact, part fiction.
00:13:16For the dramatization of the current story morals telling,
00:13:22but historically rooted in base,
00:13:25like my first Terror Strikes book is historical fiction,
00:13:29technically faction.
00:13:31Yeah, real world things help sell the fictional drama portions.
00:13:39Yes?
00:13:40Yeah, I mean, in this particular case, you know,
00:13:44when Tia was growing up,
00:13:46and what I love about this book as well,
00:13:4911% of North America's population is of Asian descent.
00:13:53That's 55 million people in North America are of Asian descent.
00:13:57How much do each of us know about our neighbors that are Chinese?
00:14:01Have we ever asked them,
00:14:02what's your journey?
00:14:04What's your ancestry that came here?
00:14:06Many of their ancestors came and worked on America's railroads.
00:14:14The origin of snake oil,
00:14:17but we don't need to get it.
00:14:18I got a show on that.
00:14:19See my show on that.
00:14:21But, you know, they were treated with just total indignation,
00:14:27the same as any other visible minority.
00:14:31Irish indentured servants.
00:14:34So, you know,
00:14:36and then there are many that post or,
00:14:39you know,
00:14:40post the cultural revolution made their way to North America.
00:14:44And so,
00:14:45while this is Tia's story,
00:14:47her father was one of the most senior military men in Beijing and was one of
00:14:51the people that surrendered Beijing to Mao.
00:14:54And then they lived in a massive home in Beijing.
00:14:58And on,
00:15:00on the day that they were,
00:15:01that all the former Kuomintang were offered the opportunity to leave China and
00:15:06go to Taiwan and form what is still the current government of Taiwan,
00:15:10Tia's family got to the shoreline to get onto the ship.
00:15:13And when they went out to get in the water,
00:15:14to get in a small boat,
00:15:16a soldier started shooting bullets into the air.
00:15:18And one of the bullets hit her little brother's leg.
00:15:20So they were all back to shore.
00:15:22So they were never able to escape China.
00:15:25And because her father was such a senior military person,
00:15:30they were,
00:15:32when they got back to where their home was,
00:15:34they had this massive home where they had servants and everything else.
00:15:37When they got back,
00:15:38they were afforded one room in their own home to live in.
00:15:43Prisoners in their own country.
00:15:44Yep.
00:15:45Yep.
00:15:45And her father was,
00:15:47was then interrogated for a few months.
00:15:50Um,
00:15:51he was then sent to be,
00:15:52to work in a hospital over five hours away from Beijing,
00:15:56only permitted to return twice a year.
00:15:59So,
00:15:59you know,
00:16:00um,
00:16:01and Tia,
00:16:02Tia's mother was then sent to work in a dress factory.
00:16:05Um,
00:16:06and Tia,
00:16:07they had,
00:16:08they would hold dances at the dress factory and Tia loved to dance,
00:16:11um,
00:16:12as a child.
00:16:13And when Madame Mao decided that they,
00:16:15they would start a school of ballet,
00:16:18Tia happened to be one of the people selected for the very first school of ballet,
00:16:22Western ballet in China.
00:16:25And,
00:16:26uh,
00:16:27she was in the first graduating class,
00:16:29um,
00:16:30of that school and had always expected to be,
00:16:33be a,
00:16:33uh,
00:16:34prima ballerina.
00:16:36Tia was technically the most proficient and is considered even today,
00:16:41the greatest,
00:16:42um,
00:16:44resource of traditional Chinese ballet in the world.
00:16:47Um,
00:16:48and so what happened was,
00:16:51uh,
00:16:51at a certain point,
00:16:52um,
00:16:53like Tia was,
00:16:54uh,
00:16:54Tia,
00:16:55uh,
00:16:57she was graduating the Chinese government.
00:16:59You know,
00:17:00after 10 years of Mao's rule,
00:17:02they wanted to put up statues of all of the beautiful faces of the new China and create statues all
00:17:07over China.
00:17:08The propaganda side.
00:17:10Yeah.
00:17:11Tia and,
00:17:12um,
00:17:13a gentleman by the name of Jason were asked to stand and mock the world.
00:17:17A model for the,
00:17:18one of the statues.
00:17:19They stood next to each other for days so that the sculpture could do the sculpture,
00:17:22but they weren't supposed to talk to each other.
00:17:25Well,
00:17:25Tia fell madly in love with it,
00:17:27with Jason.
00:17:28Um,
00:17:28she told her mother that she'd met this man.
00:17:31Her mother was insisting on a traditional Chinese matchmaking ceremony,
00:17:36which Tia wanted nothing to do with.
00:17:39Um,
00:17:39and then,
00:17:40but she said,
00:17:41I want you to meet Jason.
00:17:42Finally,
00:17:43mother met Jason and said,
00:17:44well,
00:17:44you can't see him because he's too tall.
00:17:45He was,
00:17:46he was a member of the Chinese athletic team and he was a hurdler.
00:17:49So his mother,
00:17:50her mother said he's too tall and he doesn't have sufficient education.
00:17:55So they,
00:17:57you read in the book and you see in the movie,
00:17:59they,
00:17:59they became estranged over it for,
00:18:01for months because Tia was just as stubborn as her mother.
00:18:05Eventually mother said,
00:18:06okay,
00:18:06you and Jason come here to the house.
00:18:09So they went to the house and mother said,
00:18:12as long as Jason gets an education,
00:18:14I'll permit you to see him.
00:18:16Cause she knew she was going to lose the battle.
00:18:18And it just so happened.
00:18:20And then Jason is something out of the deal.
00:18:22Yes.
00:18:24Jason,
00:18:25fortunately,
00:18:26Jason had just enrolled at the Beijing university to study traditional Chinese medicine.
00:18:33So the family was ecstatic because now there was going to be a doctor in the family.
00:18:37Um,
00:18:38that helps.
00:18:40Yeah.
00:18:40Oh,
00:18:40it really helped.
00:18:41But,
00:18:42but the tragedy of it is that,
00:18:44um,
00:18:46Jason obviously went to the university and,
00:18:48and with the,
00:18:49with the red guard and the change in the cultural revolution,
00:18:52and it became more and more violent,
00:18:54um,
00:18:55as starvation was becoming rampant in the Western provinces,
00:18:58because China was trying to produce steel with all the,
00:19:01with all the stuff they could never find to create steel.
00:19:05And,
00:19:06and so then the Russian government wasn't going to give them food.
00:19:09All the tractors were stuck in the mud in the Western provinces.
00:19:12Food stolen from,
00:19:14food stolen from Ukraine,
00:19:17then fed the Chinese.
00:19:18Yeah.
00:19:19Well,
00:19:20starvation became rampant.
00:19:21And,
00:19:22you know,
00:19:22during that whole period,
00:19:24somewhere between 35 and 70 million people died during what was supposedly peaceful,
00:19:29um,
00:19:30times in China.
00:19:32Uh,
00:19:32you know,
00:19:33China wants to pretend,
00:19:35that the cultural revolution never existed,
00:19:37or just to say that this was a time when a great leader brought an entire nation together.
00:19:43Yeah.
00:19:44And if 35 to 70 million people died out of a billion and a half,
00:19:47that's just the cost of building.
00:19:48That's just the cost of building a country.
00:19:50Yeah.
00:19:51Yeah.
00:19:52That's mind boggling,
00:19:53but yeah,
00:19:54I'm going to make myself a note.
00:19:56Yes.
00:19:56So I could put that image up.
00:19:58Yeah.
00:19:59All the deaths associated with communism of both the Soviets and the Chinese,
00:20:07far exceeding Hitler,
00:20:09not to excuse Hitler in any way,
00:20:12shape or form here,
00:20:13please don't quote me out of context or anything like that.
00:20:16But the realization of all those communism,
00:20:20socialism,
00:20:21fascism brings death and destruction always,
00:20:27always.
00:20:27So I'll put that in there.
00:20:29And a couple things.
00:20:30Once I interviewed,
00:20:32I,
00:20:32I remember her real name,
00:20:34but I can't give it because she's still a Chinese exile and trying to be careful.
00:20:39But in my back catalog,
00:20:41I have a,
00:20:42an interview with a Chinese exile and she wrote indeed about growing up in China and that,
00:20:49and that's why I wanted to have her on.
00:20:52But you were talking about cultural shifts and,
00:20:56and,
00:20:57and the cultural revolution over in Asia and vicariously through sex elsewhere.
00:21:06I'm reminded of the recent,
00:21:08not the current Brandon Frazier,
00:21:12uh,
00:21:13uh,
00:21:14Eisenhower movie,
00:21:15but rental family.
00:21:17Yeah.
00:21:18That was fantastic.
00:21:21Well,
00:21:21you know,
00:21:22he's,
00:21:22it's,
00:21:23it's marvelous to see stories like that.
00:21:25And,
00:21:25and Brandon's obviously a wonderful actor,
00:21:28but,
00:21:29you know,
00:21:29I think one of the things that is important,
00:21:31and this is what I love about being able to do the movie about Tia's life,
00:21:35which we actually filmed mostly during COVID.
00:21:38We were shut down and came back and we're talking a lot about,
00:21:42is it out?
00:21:43Is it coming?
00:21:45What,
00:21:45what is the official title if it's out or do you,
00:21:49are you still holding that as a working title?
00:21:51No,
00:21:52no,
00:21:52no.
00:21:52The,
00:21:52the,
00:21:53the,
00:21:53the movie is the same as the book dancing through the shadow.
00:21:56Um,
00:21:57you know,
00:21:57the,
00:21:57the book's getting wonderful reception on Amazon.
00:21:59It's been on the bestseller list a long time.
00:22:02Um,
00:22:03and MGM has just picked up the movie for worldwide,
00:22:07uh,
00:22:08distribution.
00:22:09Um,
00:22:10and it's all,
00:22:11it's also called dancing through the shadow.
00:22:13Um,
00:22:13and what I,
00:22:14I think a couple of things that are,
00:22:15are important,
00:22:16you know,
00:22:17relative to the cultural revolution is again,
00:22:19that was simply the backdrop for this,
00:22:21for the book and for the movie.
00:22:23It's not,
00:22:24it's not,
00:22:24it's not our position.
00:22:28Within either the book or the movie to pass judgment.
00:22:31It's a time in history,
00:22:32but it's a more contemporary time in history that an audience can relate.
00:22:37Judgment is for me to shed,
00:22:39shed,
00:22:41shed,
00:22:41oh,
00:22:42shade on.
00:22:44Yeah,
00:22:44yeah,
00:22:44exactly.
00:22:45So,
00:22:45you know,
00:22:46this is,
00:22:47um,
00:22:47but cause most of what we see coming out of Asian cinema,
00:22:51that's in English is sitcoms or comedy.
00:22:55So we're not getting to see,
00:22:57um,
00:22:58this kind of movie very often.
00:23:00based on Chinese,
00:23:02Chinese characters and Chinese subject matter.
00:23:05And it is the story of many,
00:23:07many,
00:23:07uh,
00:23:09people of Asian ancestry in North America today.
00:23:11You know,
00:23:12many people have family that,
00:23:13that left and came to North America either from,
00:23:16because of the cultural revolution or getting out after Mao or coming from,
00:23:20uh,
00:23:21Korea after the Korean war,
00:23:23which was also violent.
00:23:26You know,
00:23:26the book,
00:23:27the book is a story of love more than anything else.
00:23:30It's,
00:23:30it is,
00:23:31it's Tia's love for her family,
00:23:33for her husband,
00:23:34for her son,
00:23:34and trying to create a better life.
00:23:36You know,
00:23:37at the,
00:23:38when,
00:23:38when after Tia and,
00:23:40um,
00:23:40at a certain point,
00:23:41Tia and Jason got married,
00:23:44even without permission from the government.
00:23:46And then as soon,
00:23:48uh,
00:23:48Jason asked a question when he was in university,
00:23:51that question was put in his folder.
00:23:53And the day after he graduated from university,
00:23:55he was told he was being sent to a labor camp near the Russian border for
00:23:59asking that question and to help him,
00:24:01uh,
00:24:01re rethink some of his positions.
00:24:04Yeah.
00:24:04Well,
00:24:05hopefully you can sneak a Taiwanese movie in somewhere along the way here,
00:24:11because the only thing a lot of people know about Taiwan or even know of
00:24:17Taiwan is because of the jacket scene in the top gun movies.
00:24:22Yeah,
00:24:22no,
00:24:23that's right.
00:24:23And well,
00:24:24we were supposed to film this movie,
00:24:26most of this movie in Taiwan.
00:24:27Um,
00:24:28cause we can't film it in China because of,
00:24:30uh,
00:24:31Tia.
00:24:34So the,
00:24:34um,
00:24:36as I say,
00:24:37Jason was sent to a labor camp because he was a barefoot doctor,
00:24:41in essence,
00:24:41working up in this labor camp.
00:24:43Tia was given permission to come and see him.
00:24:46So she took a train for 18 hours to get there.
00:24:49She saw him and she stayed for a few weeks.
00:24:51And when she came home,
00:24:52discovered that she was pregnant.
00:24:54Madam Mao decided that ballerinas didn't know what hard labor was like.
00:24:58So she closed down all the ballet schools and sent all the ballerinas to labor camps.
00:25:04And so for Tia,
00:25:07that meant 56 days after her son was born,
00:25:10she had to leave her son with her mother and she was sent to a labor camp.
00:25:14She saw her son twice in three years.
00:25:17So by the time she came back,
00:25:19Tia was in communism,
00:25:19and communism,
00:25:20and communism,
00:25:21According to some morons here.
00:25:23I'm sorry.
00:25:23I guess I can't help but interject the shade that needs to be thrown.
00:25:29I'm sorry.
00:25:30it's very sad.
00:25:31So at a certain point,
00:25:33um,
00:25:34after Leah had been at the labor camp,
00:25:37Madam Mao decided to reinstitute this,
00:25:40the,
00:25:40the dance schools.
00:25:42Tia was brought back to be the administrator and the head,
00:25:45head of that,
00:25:45head of the ballet school,
00:25:47but she also was still dancing.
00:25:49And there was a woman from England,
00:25:52um,
00:25:53from the,
00:25:54um,
00:25:55embassy,
00:25:55uh,
00:25:56together with a man by the name of John Fraser.
00:25:58And John was a reporter from Toronto stationed in Beijing,
00:26:02who also was the man who helped Baryshnikov defect from Russia.
00:26:06John is actually a godfather to two of Baryshnikov's son,
00:26:09but he knew Tia and introduced her to Louise from England.
00:26:15And Tia was invited to come and dance in England with some of the,
00:26:19people from the,
00:26:20the Beijing dance Academy.
00:26:23So that was right when China was permitting people to begin to travel.
00:26:27So Tia went to London and when she got there,
00:26:30as she said,
00:26:31being raised in China,
00:26:33what she was taught was that the rest of the world hates China because we're
00:26:37so prosperous and it's such a great nation.
00:26:39And if you leave our borders,
00:26:41propaganda,
00:26:42yeah.
00:26:43If you leave the borders,
00:26:44they'll kill you.
00:26:45So she said,
00:26:46here I am.
00:26:46I'm petrified going,
00:26:48I'm leaving the country.
00:26:49I get,
00:26:51I get to London,
00:26:52England,
00:26:53and they drive me through Chinatown and there's women wearing beautiful
00:26:57dresses,
00:26:58not Mao suits and,
00:26:59uh,
00:27:01eating lunch outside and laughing and,
00:27:03and doing things and going to parties.
00:27:05And so when she returned home,
00:27:07she said to Jason,
00:27:08the world outside is what,
00:27:10what my father always told me.
00:27:12It was not what we've been taught to believe.
00:27:14That reminds me of the story of Gorbachev coming to America and Gorbachev going
00:27:21through perestroika.
00:27:22and we kind of blew our chance there,
00:27:27and him going to American supermarkets and having himself bought into the CCCP propaganda that,
00:27:35you know,
00:27:36they're so prosperous and they've got all this.
00:27:39And no,
00:27:40they,
00:27:40you got,
00:27:41as the joke goes,
00:27:42we have bread waiting on people.
00:27:46Our bread waits in lines.
00:27:48They wait in lines for bread.
00:27:51Yeah.
00:27:52Yeah.
00:27:53Yeah.
00:27:53No,
00:27:53it's,
00:27:54so,
00:27:54I mean,
00:27:55it was,
00:27:55um,
00:27:56it was an eye opener to her.
00:27:57So then eventually Tia and Jason defected and were,
00:28:02and then it took a number of years for them to be able to get their son out.
00:28:06Um,
00:28:07so it,
00:28:08it was,
00:28:08it's the power of that desire to improve life for her family that drove Tia.
00:28:15Uh,
00:28:15and her husband.
00:28:16A family story.
00:28:17Yes.
00:28:17Yes.
00:28:18It's,
00:28:18this is a story with a lot of emotion,
00:28:20a lot of love.
00:28:21Mother's love.
00:28:22Love and family.
00:28:24You know,
00:28:25so,
00:28:25so for readers,
00:28:27it is not,
00:28:28it's not a book you're going to go and get just because you want to read about
00:28:31history.
00:28:32It's,
00:28:33it's,
00:28:33it's,
00:28:33it's,
00:28:34it's an incredible story of a woman rising and a family rising above the
00:28:39adversity that they were dealing with.
00:28:41And this is universal because if you look at what we are in North America,
00:28:46North Americans,
00:28:47I don't care how you want to say it,
00:28:49but all of us,
00:28:51you know,
00:28:56all of us are,
00:28:58are basically the descendants of people who left another country because of
00:29:03some level of oppression and the desire to create a better life.
00:29:07Human nature.
00:29:09We may have technologically advanced,
00:29:12but we're still the same human animals.
00:29:16We were thousands of years ago.
00:29:19Yeah.
00:29:20But,
00:29:20and all,
00:29:20but,
00:29:20but look,
00:29:21look at,
00:29:21look at how young America and Canada are and,
00:29:25and,
00:29:26and where are,
00:29:27where our ancestors come from.
00:29:28You know,
00:29:29the cinematographer on the movie,
00:29:31dancing through the shadow,
00:29:32Rudy Blachek,
00:29:33who's a phenomenal cinematographer.
00:29:37His family's from Prague.
00:29:39Well,
00:29:39Rudy remembers what it was like when he was three years old with the tanks
00:29:41coming through Prague.
00:29:44How?
00:29:44And,
00:29:44and so for people who have,
00:29:47who have a Czech ancestry,
00:29:50they understand that.
00:29:51Look at the,
00:29:52the Armenians in,
00:29:53but nobody here remembers any of it.
00:29:56We don't teach any of it here.
00:29:58We don't teach any of it.
00:29:59Cause communism is great.
00:30:01You gotta sell the communism.
00:30:03What's wrong with you?
00:30:04You aren't Tommy enough for Hollywood,
00:30:07which makes me want to go back to why you are Quentin Tarantino.
00:30:12I'm not a huge fan,
00:30:14but it comes to mind too.
00:30:15Comes into Hollywood as you now are part of Hollywood,
00:30:20but you don't reside there and you don't want to be in that bubble.
00:30:23I take it,
00:30:24but his seventies,
00:30:26nor if he'd have grown up in that actor producer green adapter bubble,
00:30:33he wouldn't be who he is,
00:30:35nor would you be who you are if you were from that bubble.
00:30:40No,
00:30:40it's no,
00:30:41you,
00:30:41we,
00:30:42all of us in life end up where we are through,
00:30:45through life experience.
00:30:46I'm,
00:30:47I'm fortunate.
00:30:48I,
00:30:48you know,
00:30:49moving around isn't,
00:30:50isn't great for everybody.
00:30:51I had a sister that was not good for,
00:30:53for me,
00:30:54it has its own challenges,
00:30:57but I've,
00:30:59I've,
00:30:59I've always been able to embrace the opportunity that it gave me to meet
00:31:05people who,
00:31:07you know,
00:31:07when I moved into Denver,
00:31:09I lived in an area where I had a lot of Spanish friends,
00:31:13you know,
00:31:14Spanish and Mexican friends.
00:31:15So I was able to learn about their culture.
00:31:17When I lived in Dallas,
00:31:18I lived on a street where there were 74 homes.
00:31:21I know.
00:31:21Cause I delivered the Dallas morning news when I was a,
00:31:23when I was a young teenager and 70 of the homes of the 74,
00:31:28the families in those homes were Jewish.
00:31:30So all my friends were Jewish and I learned a lot about Jewish culture.
00:31:36I got,
00:31:37I got to attend Sabbath dinners.
00:31:40Sometimes I got,
00:31:41I got to go to a Hebrew school on a Saturday with someone so that I could
00:31:46learn and understand.
00:31:47And,
00:31:47and because I've traveled in Europe a lot and around the world,
00:31:50I've filmed in South Africa.
00:31:51I've filmed in so many places.
00:31:54And what you learn.
00:31:55You have achieved real diversity through experience,
00:32:01not forced D E I nonsense.
00:32:05And you,
00:32:05you,
00:32:06and it isn't appropriation.
00:32:08Like when I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with my Mexican or heritage friends in
00:32:14Mexican town in Detroit.
00:32:16In fact,
00:32:16now I'm going to add Cinco de Tuno,
00:32:19my Mexican dance song,
00:32:22you know,
00:32:22tongue in cheek at the end of this episode,
00:32:25as well as E Pluribus Unum.
00:32:27We are the most diverse and inclusive nation the planet has ever seen.
00:32:33Naturally,
00:32:34you don't have to force it just as you just have people experience the various
00:32:41cultures.
00:32:41E Pluribus Unum from many one.
00:32:44We are blended.
00:32:46It is an appropriation.
00:32:48It,
00:32:49you know,
00:32:50is it appropriation when JLo dyed her hair blonde?
00:32:54Oh my God.
00:32:55White appropriation.
00:32:57No,
00:32:57it's homage.
00:32:59It's like Tom McDonald,
00:33:00your Canadian,
00:33:01you know,
00:33:02Tom McDonald,
00:33:03the rapper out of Canada has,
00:33:05he,
00:33:05he does his hair and braids.
00:33:08White guy,
00:33:09blue eyes,
00:33:09but his hair is all in braids.
00:33:11He does a song on that politically incorrect.
00:33:14It's not appropriation.
00:33:15It's homage to his friends.
00:33:17And as he says in the song,
00:33:19he does it that way.
00:33:20Cause it makes his hair look hella cool.
00:33:24That's pretty funny.
00:33:25Well,
00:33:26you know,
00:33:26one of the things that,
00:33:27um,
00:33:29one of the blessings and the fortunate things of having,
00:33:33uh,
00:33:34filmed in so many countries and having the opportunity to,
00:33:37to go to so many places that I've,
00:33:40that I've enjoyed is that what you learn around the world is we're vastly more
00:33:46similar than we ever realized or think that we're different.
00:33:49Um,
00:33:51you know,
00:33:51I don't care,
00:33:52you know,
00:33:52when I'm filming in Malta or,
00:33:54you know,
00:33:54if I go to Egypt,
00:33:56um,
00:33:57you know,
00:33:58if I go to Taiwan,
00:34:00everybody,
00:34:01wherever you go in the world,
00:34:02people want to sit and have lunch or have a meal together and laugh and tell
00:34:09stories and learn from each other,
00:34:11laugh and cry.
00:34:12And they all want to try to,
00:34:15uh,
00:34:15make a better life for their children than perhaps they had and improve that
00:34:19aspect one bit.
00:34:21We all,
00:34:21we all feel pain the same way you get cut.
00:34:24You feel it.
00:34:25Um,
00:34:25you know,
00:34:26there's things blue.
00:34:28Technically it turns red one oxidized,
00:34:30but whole other story.
00:34:32Like what color is the sky?
00:34:34It's not blue.
00:34:35That's the reflection off the water.
00:34:37But anyway,
00:34:38I can't,
00:34:38my,
00:34:38again,
00:34:39my OCD brain just will not let me not go to the places like that.
00:34:44Great.
00:34:45But you know,
00:34:45when you think of that as a,
00:34:48the planet for the most part,
00:34:50most of us instinctively want very similar things.
00:34:55And whether,
00:34:56whether nature basis,
00:34:58you know,
00:34:58if you,
00:34:59if you,
00:34:59if you look at the basis of Islam,
00:35:02Christianity,
00:35:03and Judaism,
00:35:04they all derive from the same amount and all three basically profess the same
00:35:11thing at the core.
00:35:12Or at least try to.
00:35:14Right.
00:35:15But depending on who you're talking to.
00:35:18Yeah.
00:35:18Right.
00:35:18But there's the,
00:35:19there's the difference in the core of the religion versus the zealot.
00:35:25Yeah.
00:35:26So I don't care.
00:35:27I don't care what religion is.
00:35:29If you're,
00:35:29if you're,
00:35:30if you're a zealot,
00:35:31then you're probably more the problem.
00:35:32Like in my terror strikes book,
00:35:34Om Shrin Yoko out of Tokyo,
00:35:37the Christian doomsday cult is just like the 12 or cultists today.
00:35:43That's why I'm so happy to back Dr.
00:35:46Zutty Jaster,
00:35:48the author of reform,
00:35:50the battle for the soul of Islam for Congress out of Arizona,
00:35:54because those things matter.
00:35:57And I'm so happy to have grown in the Detroit area.
00:36:01We get that cultural.
00:36:03And I want to say this too.
00:36:06I got a show by the time this airs,
00:36:09it will have aired hyphenated Americans eat back to eat plural.
00:36:13It's great.
00:36:14I'm German,
00:36:15Italian,
00:36:16and Polish heritage.
00:36:17And I don't want to give away those things,
00:36:20but I'm an American.
00:36:21I'm not Polish American.
00:36:23German American,
00:36:24Italian American.
00:36:26I'm an American who happens to have German,
00:36:29Italian,
00:36:30and,
00:36:30and,
00:36:31and Polish roots.
00:36:32There's a difference in those.
00:36:34And Detroit area.
00:36:35I'm so happy that we have Mexican town and Greek town and Chinatown where you can
00:36:43experience all those heritage.
00:36:48It's a wonderful thing to be able to do.
00:36:50And we have that,
00:36:51you know,
00:36:52that's the,
00:36:52in,
00:36:53in,
00:36:53in a,
00:36:53I think it was in 2001,
00:36:55Toronto became,
00:36:57uh,
00:36:58the,
00:36:58the considered the most multicultural city in the world,
00:37:02surpassing London.
00:37:03Many times.
00:37:04Yes.
00:37:04You know,
00:37:05we have,
00:37:05we have 174 last count cultural groups that have their own cultural clubs.
00:37:11So you can go and experience so many cultures within Toronto and you're seeing,
00:37:15you know,
00:37:15it's like,
00:37:16like I'm sure Detroit today,
00:37:18you can be standing on the street corner in downtown Toronto and hear eight,
00:37:22nine,
00:37:2210 languages being spoken because we are,
00:37:25I mean,
00:37:25we are truly a country of immigrants.
00:37:28Um,
00:37:30whereas,
00:37:30you know,
00:37:31because,
00:37:32you know,
00:37:32we're,
00:37:32we're,
00:37:33we got a lot of land,
00:37:35not,
00:37:36not the volume of people.
00:37:37So,
00:37:38but it's,
00:37:38you know,
00:37:39again,
00:37:39it's,
00:37:40um,
00:37:41if you,
00:37:42if,
00:37:43if you can,
00:37:44and this is what I think is wonderful about the book too,
00:37:47and the movie is it gives,
00:37:50it gives everyone.
00:37:52And it's,
00:37:52it's like,
00:37:53it's no different than the Hallmark movies that we make when we make a movie
00:37:56and take the audience using a global theme to a foreign country.
00:38:01And like,
00:38:02if we,
00:38:02if we watch two people fall in love while they're on safari in South Africa,
00:38:06that story is as universal,
00:38:09whether it happened in Montana,
00:38:11London,
00:38:12England,
00:38:12or South Africa,
00:38:14a story like Tia's story,
00:38:16which is a family coming through adversity.
00:38:19And how many,
00:38:20how many people have moved to North America in the last hundred years,
00:38:25or even 75 years that came from parts of the world in Africa,
00:38:30Europe,
00:38:32you know,
00:38:32Eastern Europe.
00:38:33And if you're seeking to become free,
00:38:36we want to,
00:38:37if you're seeking to come here to undermine the country,
00:38:40that's a whole other thing.
00:38:41Stay where you're at.
00:38:43Exactly.
00:38:44And well,
00:38:45precisely,
00:38:45but,
00:38:45but that's,
00:38:46that's,
00:38:48that's,
00:38:48that's what we are as a people.
00:38:50So if we can tell stories that are of universal themes,
00:38:54so it's,
00:38:55you know,
00:38:55it's like,
00:38:55I remember,
00:38:57and you would too,
00:38:58when slumdog millionaire came out,
00:39:00it was,
00:39:01it's not,
00:39:02that's,
00:39:03that's not a story about an Indian kid.
00:39:06Sure.
00:39:06It's,
00:39:07it's about that,
00:39:08that nobody would understand.
00:39:09It's a story of a young man rising above the adversities of,
00:39:15of his situation in life,
00:39:16but in a way that audiences can understand.
00:39:20Yeah.
00:39:21And meanwhile,
00:39:21we learned a little bit about India and Indian culture,
00:39:26not Native American,
00:39:27actual Indian culture.
00:39:30And this is,
00:39:31and this is the beauty of the way Aggie wrote the book.
00:39:34It is,
00:39:35it's a powerful,
00:39:36powerful story that will give the reader a glimpse into Chinese culture,
00:39:42Chinese behavior,
00:39:44but from universal themes.
00:39:45Like I talked to so many people that said,
00:39:49okay,
00:39:49well,
00:39:49you know,
00:39:50there's a scene in the movie and in the book where,
00:39:52um,
00:39:53when,
00:39:53when Tia,
00:39:54at some point mother says,
00:39:56okay,
00:39:56you have to stop seeing Jason.
00:39:58And she said,
00:39:58I won't.
00:39:59And they're at the dinner table.
00:40:01And,
00:40:02uh,
00:40:03Tia's mother said,
00:40:04well,
00:40:04if,
00:40:05if you continue to see him,
00:40:06you'll be dead to me and to this family.
00:40:10She said,
00:40:11and so Tia got up and left the table.
00:40:14And that started the war.
00:40:16Well,
00:40:16I've heard many people of Italian,
00:40:19Polish,
00:40:20Greek.
00:40:21I've heard lots of people say,
00:40:22well,
00:40:23I was dating somebody.
00:40:24My parents told him if I kept seeing them,
00:40:26you know,
00:40:27then I wasn't welcome back.
00:40:29There's so many cultures have experienced that.
00:40:32Um,
00:40:33so it's not,
00:40:34it's not just isolated to Tia's story.
00:40:38Um,
00:40:39and when we did the movie,
00:40:40um,
00:40:41and I was directing it,
00:40:43all my actors,
00:40:44cause they were all Chinese and Chinese,
00:40:47Korean,
00:40:48um,
00:40:49Japanese in the movie,
00:40:51they were sitting there doing the scene.
00:40:53And even when we rehearsed it,
00:40:54they were,
00:40:55they all burst into tears because they said,
00:40:58we've all experienced this in our own life.
00:41:03And so it,
00:41:05it,
00:41:05it is powerful in that way.
00:41:07Um,
00:41:08and I think that's,
00:41:09that's great books.
00:41:12Um,
00:41:13there,
00:41:13there's many reasons for a book to be great.
00:41:16What I,
00:41:16what I,
00:41:17what I really believe the greatness of this book is,
00:41:20is you see the world precisely through Tia's eyes.
00:41:24You live through Tia.
00:41:26You feel her heartbreak.
00:41:27You understand,
00:41:29and you learn about a world that wasn't that far away.
00:41:32It's only 50 years ago.
00:41:33Like we just,
00:41:35my wife and I just finished making over the last two years,
00:41:37five movies in Hungary.
00:41:38Well,
00:41:39you walk through Hungary and it was only 1959 when the tanks were in the
00:41:43streets.
00:41:43Yeah.
00:41:44I know Helen Zabo.
00:41:47I think she just recently passed.
00:41:49So RIP Helen escaped from behind the iron curtain from there.
00:41:54So we always heard those stories.
00:41:58We,
00:41:58we knew,
00:41:59you know,
00:42:00people fleeing communism,
00:42:02then the destruction.
00:42:03And back to the cultural thing,
00:42:05it's why I'm so happy to support a local Monc Carmel Catholic church,
00:42:11Polish festival.
00:42:12It's not the Italian American or the Polish American festival.
00:42:17It's the Polish festival.
00:42:19It's not exclusive,
00:42:22not solely like Polish Americans where you're excluded.
00:42:26No,
00:42:26it's all people who can appreciate Polish food.
00:42:31And my dad,
00:42:32Ted Leonard Jr.
00:42:33and the Polka Kings used to play at that festival all the time.
00:42:38Right.
00:42:38It's okay to celebrate our diversity without trying to force it.
00:42:45It's so wonderful for you to say that.
00:42:47I mean,
00:42:47I think that in,
00:42:49if,
00:42:49if you look at,
00:42:51you know,
00:42:51over the last 30 years in all our movies,
00:42:55one of the things that we,
00:42:56I don't do in any of my movies,
00:42:58we don't do anything with gratuitous sex or violence.
00:43:04It is a Christian show.
00:43:06So they'll be happy to hear you have no NC 17 films.
00:43:12That's not the,
00:43:13that's not,
00:43:14and oddly enough,
00:43:15that's not the,
00:43:16that's not specifically the reason I do it.
00:43:19I believe,
00:43:20I don't believe that it was necessary to further a story.
00:43:24And again,
00:43:25I wanted positive role models for young women in film and television.
00:43:28And I believe that Hollywood for the most part exploits young women in film
00:43:32and television have no,
00:43:34has no fear about whether it's,
00:43:37whether it's good for their career or not.
00:43:39And,
00:43:39and to me,
00:43:40that's just exploitive and isn't teaching the real value of a moment.
00:43:43Yeah.
00:43:44Look at Alexandria Diadro,
00:43:46right.
00:43:46Once she did,
00:43:47once her sex tape,
00:43:49they almost destroyed her career and Baywatch and whatnot,
00:43:54but you don't hear anything from her anymore.
00:43:57Or it's like they're onto the new latest person they can exploit.
00:44:03Right.
00:44:03And this is why,
00:44:04you know,
00:44:04when you think back to the days of,
00:44:06um,
00:44:07an Alfred Hitchcock,
00:44:09what you don't see is 10 times more powerful than what you do see.
00:44:13So power of suggestion is so mega.
00:44:15Yes.
00:44:16The power of suggestion.
00:44:17So I don't know where,
00:44:18again,
00:44:19we're,
00:44:19we're very focused on,
00:44:20on that.
00:44:21and,
00:44:21and I just think,
00:44:22again,
00:44:22as you pointed out,
00:44:24it,
00:44:24it's how we embrace our differences,
00:44:27not,
00:44:29not,
00:44:30not try to fight them.
00:44:31Um,
00:44:32and not have them forced upon people.
00:44:35Yeah.
00:44:36Well,
00:44:36yeah.
00:44:36I mean,
00:44:37yeah.
00:44:37You said,
00:44:38this is why I've never,
00:44:39I'm,
00:44:39I'm a person.
00:44:40I don't really like the word tolerance.
00:44:42Um,
00:44:43tolerance to me is you,
00:44:45if you're tolerating somebody,
00:44:47in a true Christian sense,
00:44:48I can,
00:44:49but yeah,
00:44:50acceptance.
00:44:51Right.
00:44:51Right.
00:44:52Tolerance and acceptance is different than I must celebrate you.
00:44:57No,
00:44:58I do not.
00:44:59I can tolerate.
00:45:01I do not have to accept and,
00:45:03uh,
00:45:06indeed embrace and help celebrate what you're trying to peddle.
00:45:10That's right.
00:45:11So like to me,
00:45:12I even say like the museum of tolerance should be relabeled the museum of
00:45:16celebration.
00:45:17Because if we don't celebrate our,
00:45:20those things that are unique to our cultural differences,
00:45:23but really,
00:45:25um,
00:45:26learn to,
00:45:26to find that common ground in who we are,
00:45:30then,
00:45:31then,
00:45:32then I think we're,
00:45:34we're,
00:45:35we're,
00:45:35we're not,
00:45:37we're not building the bridges the way we really could.
00:45:40You know,
00:45:41my job isn't,
00:45:42my job isn't to say,
00:45:43well,
00:45:43I tolerate you because you're,
00:45:45you're Italian and you live in three,
00:45:47three houses next door to me.
00:45:49My job is you're Italian.
00:45:51That's cool.
00:45:52Let's,
00:45:52let's have dinner.
00:45:54Let's have some great red wine.
00:45:56Some yucky.
00:45:58Do you love yucky?
00:45:59Like I do.
00:46:04I just,
00:46:05I don't know.
00:46:05I just,
00:46:06the more I travel the world,
00:46:07I just,
00:46:07you know,
00:46:07and I,
00:46:07and I get here people standing up and say,
00:46:09tolerate as my father always used to say,
00:46:12tolerating is what you have to do with your in-laws.
00:46:15If you don't like them.
00:46:17Yeah.
00:46:17You need to find a way to work this into your next movie.
00:46:22So anyway,
00:46:23I,
00:46:23I,
00:46:24I,
00:46:24I love that.
00:46:25And,
00:46:25and again,
00:46:26you know,
00:46:27this is,
00:46:27I think the movie is,
00:46:34it's a wonderful way for people to get a glimpse into a more contemporary
00:46:39Chinese culture,
00:46:40see people in,
00:46:42in their own cultural environment,
00:46:44dinner,
00:46:45life,
00:46:46thinking,
00:46:47their process,
00:46:48the adversities they faced and how they,
00:46:51how,
00:46:51how they,
00:46:55how they navigated living through those adversities and what they did to
00:47:00overcome them and to,
00:47:01and to persevere and not just give in.
00:47:04And you know what?
00:47:05I,
00:47:05I hate to say it,
00:47:06but you know,
00:47:07we,
00:47:07we can,
00:47:08you know,
00:47:08I,
00:47:08you know,
00:47:09I live in Canada.
00:47:10I live back and forth in Canada and the U S all the time.
00:47:13I'm like,
00:47:13I,
00:47:13you know,
00:47:14I have my,
00:47:14I have my green card till I was 30.
00:47:16My,
00:47:16my,
00:47:17my,
00:47:17my,
00:47:18my,
00:47:18my grandmother is from St.
00:47:19Joseph,
00:47:19Missouri.
00:47:20I'm a direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln.
00:47:22So I think I can say whatever I choose to say.
00:47:26I'm a citizen of North America.
00:47:28Well,
00:47:29I'm glad you said that because I've got an episode that it's going to be
00:47:32airing real soon.
00:47:33It'll be out by the time this airs logos,
00:47:37the origin of our first amendment,
00:47:39not logos as in corporate logos logos from the Greek logic and reason.
00:47:45They didn't have a word for speech,
00:47:47but it meant as in the Bible,
00:47:51as in the Bible,
00:47:51the truth will set you free.
00:47:53You are to speak the truth,
00:47:56not delusion and unicorn fart fantasy and spin to peddle,
00:48:02to peddle your idiotic narratives.
00:48:04But I want to go back to,
00:48:07but I want to go back to,
00:48:07I made a note,
00:48:08the enticing,
00:48:10the allure of the suggestive,
00:48:13what's hinted at sometimes is like the men in black movie.
00:48:19Remember the one where the guy's always talking about women's ankles because he's from the 1800s.
00:48:25And that's all they ever saw back then.
00:48:28Right.
00:48:30Yeah.
00:48:32That's funny.
00:48:33I love that part of that movie.
00:48:36I thought,
00:48:36yeah.
00:48:37Hey,
00:48:37I discussed that in my beauty of the eye of the beholder series of shows.
00:48:42I've got,
00:48:43but they,
00:48:43Oh,
00:48:44time.
00:48:45We blew past the 30 minutes.
00:48:47I like to try to target.
00:48:48We're at like 45 minutes now.
00:48:51So I want to wrap it up.
00:48:53Yep.
00:48:54Go ahead.
00:48:55Where can people find you?
00:48:57Do you have a website?
00:49:00Well,
00:49:01the website for both the book and the film is dancing through the shadow.com.
00:49:06The book obviously is on Amazon and doing extremely well.
00:49:14Then the.
00:49:17How about you personally?
00:49:19Do you,
00:49:20does your production company or.
00:49:23Well,
00:49:23my,
00:49:24my production.
00:49:24You're not about ego.
00:49:26That's good.
00:49:28No,
00:49:29I don't have a website.
00:49:30I don't need a website.
00:49:33I'm the easiest person on the planet.
00:49:35The fine.
00:49:36You just look up leaf films on Google or on anything.
00:49:39And,
00:49:39and I come up.
00:49:40I'm,
00:49:40I'm the only leaf films you're going to find.
00:49:43That's good.
00:49:44That's good.
00:49:44Now dancing through the shadow,
00:49:47the whole word.
00:49:48T H R O U G H or T R T H R U shortcut.
00:49:53Everything's a breed.
00:49:55no.
00:49:56T H R O U G H dancing through the shadow.
00:50:00Yeah.
00:50:00And it's a,
00:50:01yep.
00:50:02And pretty soon.
00:50:03We'll hopefully later today.
00:50:04Cause I have a call with him.
00:50:05Jim in 20 minutes.
00:50:08So you got to go anywhere.
00:50:09Yeah.
00:50:10I'll,
00:50:11I'll know where it,
00:50:11I'll know where,
00:50:12where I'm when it's,
00:50:13it's supposed to be premiering.
00:50:15That would be great.
00:50:16So yes,
00:50:17technically it is not out,
00:50:19but by the time this airs,
00:50:21people should be able to look and they could check most likely dancing
00:50:26through the shadow.
00:50:27The shadow.com and information will be there by that time.
00:50:31Yes.
00:50:32Absolutely.
00:50:33So thank you,
00:50:35leave Bristow.
00:50:36This was a great guy.
00:50:37Again,
00:50:38theater captain for beyond the mask.
00:50:40I love movies.
00:50:41I'm trying to get my entire life and living series,
00:50:44including some romance stuff in there,
00:50:47into,
00:50:47into movies and stuff like that too.
00:50:50So I was such a delight to be able to have you on.
00:50:53This is really wonderful.
00:50:54I really appreciate it.
00:50:56Take care.
00:50:57God bless.
00:50:57Love you all.
00:50:58You take care.
00:50:59Bye.
00:51:00Bye.
00:51:40I got ink on my sleeves and a stack by the bed.
00:51:44Little worlds I built inside my head.
00:51:48Turn the page.
00:51:49See me under that frame lit glow.
00:51:51I wrote my way here.
00:51:53Now let the trailer roll.
00:51:55Tell them I'm ready.
00:51:57Say my name loud.
00:51:58I've been in the margins.
00:52:00Now I want the crowd.
00:52:03Hollywood,
00:52:04here I come.
00:52:06Hollywood,
00:52:07here I come.
00:52:09Take my name.
00:52:11Take my words.
00:52:13Make them shine for everyone.
00:52:17Hollywood,
00:52:18here I come.
00:52:20Hollywood,
00:52:22here I come.
00:52:23Maybe I was born to star.
00:52:27I'll be the story on the run.
00:52:32Hollywood,
00:52:33here I come.
00:52:35Maybe I'm meant for the close-up.
00:52:37Maybe just credits and gold.
00:52:39Maybe my wild little chapters are better when they're told.
00:52:42Red carpet,
00:52:43paper,
00:52:44camera,
00:52:44flash.
00:52:44I can already feel it hum.
00:52:46If they want a laugh to cut and cast,
00:52:48baby,
00:52:49I'm the one.
00:52:49Tell them I'm ready.
00:52:52Say my name loud.
00:52:53I've been in the margins.
00:52:55Now I want the crowd.
00:52:57Hollywood,
00:52:58here I come.
00:53:00Hollywood,
00:53:02here I come.
00:53:03Take my name.
00:53:05Take my words.
00:53:07Make them shine for everyone.
00:53:11Hollywood,
00:53:13here I come.
00:53:14Hollywood,
00:53:14Hollywood,
00:53:16here I come.
00:53:18Maybe I was born to star.
00:53:22I'll be the story on the run.
00:53:26Hollywood,
00:53:27here I come.
00:53:28If I'm not the face,
00:53:30then I'm the flame.
00:53:32If I'm not the star,
00:53:34then I sign my name.
00:53:36On every scene,
00:53:38on every line,
00:53:39baby,
00:53:40this whole town
00:53:41is gonna know my shine.
00:53:59Hollywood,
00:54:00here I come.
00:54:01Hollywood,
00:54:03Hollywood,
00:54:04here I come.
00:54:05Take my name.
00:54:07Take my words.
00:54:09Make them shine for everyone.
00:54:13Hollywood,
00:54:15here I come.
00:54:16Hollywood,
00:54:17Hollywood,
00:54:18here I come.
00:54:20Maybe I was born to star.
00:54:24Or be the story on the run.
00:54:28Hollywood,
00:54:29here I come.
00:54:30Silver screen.
00:54:32I may be looking to star.
00:54:35Or just my books adapted.
00:54:38Hollywood,
00:54:40Hollywood,
00:54:40here I come.
00:54:43Hollywood,
00:54:47Hollywood,
00:54:55here I come.
00:54:58You call yourself a background face.
00:55:01Standing in the corners of the place
00:55:04Laughing it off
00:55:05Guess I'm just plain Jane
00:55:10But I watch the way your eyes misbehave
00:55:15Beauty in the eye, in the eye of the beholder
00:55:18I keep looking twice every time I get closer
00:55:21From the shy little smile that you're trying to mute
00:55:24To the way you light a room in that worn out suit
00:55:27From I'm nothing special in your bedroom shoes
00:55:30Determinely cute in the way you move
00:55:33Oh, beauty in the eye, in the eye of the beholder
00:55:37And I can't get over you
00:55:45Sunday sweats and hair up halfway
00:55:47Coffee on your lip, you say you're a mess today
00:55:51Then you show up dressed in that midnight blue
00:55:56Elegant as if the world waits on you
00:56:00Oh, beauty in the eye, in the eye of the beholder
00:56:04Every time you turn, every page I read slow
00:56:06You're an intriguing cover on a quiet shelf
00:56:10But the words inside you rearrange myself
00:56:13From nervous and simple in your thrift store shoes
00:56:16To effortless grace when you slip in the room
00:56:18Oh, beauty in the eye, in the eye of the beholder
00:56:22And all I see is you
00:56:29You say it's just angles
00:56:32It's just good light
00:56:35But I've seen you crying in the kitchen at night
00:56:41Bare face, broken, still somehow
00:56:46Drop dead gorgeous in the here and now
00:56:51Oh, beauty in the eye, in the eye of the beholder
00:56:55Every shade of you
00:56:56Gettin' bolder and bolder
00:56:58From ordinary days
00:56:59Eatin' takeout food too
00:57:01The dresser makes the whole street turn for you
00:57:04From I'm hard to love
00:57:06Whisper like it's true
00:57:07To a masterpiece that only grew
00:57:10Oh, beauty in the eye, in the eye of the beholder
00:57:13And my eyes choose you
00:57:20Beauty in the eye, in the eye of the beholder
00:57:26From plain Jane, to terminally cute
00:57:30To elegant look, to intriguing cover
00:57:33On the book to drop dead gorgeous spectrum
00:57:38You called yourself plain as a paper plate
00:57:41Baggy hoodie hair in your face
00:57:44Chewed up nails, secondhand shoes
00:57:47Still laughing so loud they all look at you
00:57:50You think you blend in, fade in the hall
00:57:53But every tiny freckle writes on the wall
00:57:58Beauty lives on a spectrum of your face
00:58:01From just okay to I can't look away
00:58:04Every angle, every awkward face
00:58:06All of it counts, all of it stays
00:58:10From under it, cover to hearts
00:58:12In a flood of your every shape
00:58:14From simple to a maze
00:58:15Beauty lives on a spectrum of your face
00:58:21Beauty lives
00:58:22Gloss, gloss from of your fate
00:58:24Cherry on your tongue, ribbons in your room
00:58:27Then one day, you walk in silk
00:58:29Neckline whisper, eyes like guilt
00:58:32They stare too long and you shift your ways
00:58:36Is this too much or is this just late?
00:58:41Beauty lives on a spectrum of your face
00:58:44From kinda sweet to I can't look away
00:58:46Every angle, every stolen gaze
00:58:49All of it counts, all of it stays
00:58:53From under it, cover to hearts in a flood of your every shape
00:58:57From quiet to a blaze
00:58:58Beauty lives on a spectrum of your face
00:59:01Oh, beauty lives on a spectrum of your face
00:59:09Sully!
00:59:16Sully!
00:59:19Sully!
00:59:20Sully!
00:59:22Sully!
00:59:50Hope, hope is great
00:59:53We need more hope
00:59:57But it in itself is not a strategy
01:00:03Shall be known by fruits
01:00:07Action God demands of you and me
01:00:14Hope is a whisper, a pretty thought
01:00:17A warm blanket when battles are fought
01:00:20But a whisper won't win, no, not a single fight
01:00:23Gotta stand up and shout
01:00:25With all of your might, yeah
01:00:29Hope is fine
01:00:32It's a lovely thing
01:00:35But hope is not a strategy
01:00:38No, it ain't a strategy
01:00:41You gotta move your feet
01:00:43Gotta feel that beat
01:00:45Hope is not a strategy
01:00:50For you and for me
01:00:55Talk is cheap, a dime a dozen phrase
01:00:59Pretty words spin through all of your days
01:01:02But action speaks louder, thunderous sound
01:01:05When your boots hit the ground, no turning around
01:01:08We can dream big dreams, paint pictures in our head
01:01:11But if we just sit still, we might as well be dead
01:01:15The fruits of our labor are what the world will see
01:01:18Not just what we wish for
01:01:22But what we choose to be
01:01:27Cause hope is not a strategy
01:01:30No, it ain't a strategy
01:01:32You gotta move your feet
01:01:35Gotta feel that beat
01:01:36Hope is not a
01:01:48Job well done
01:01:49Job well done
01:01:51How many lineups that's medium rare
01:01:56But those doing work for me
01:01:58Better do it
01:02:00Well done
01:02:12I like my steak warm red
01:02:14On a cast iron plate
01:02:17But when you take my dime
01:02:20You better bring it straight
01:02:24No sloppy corners
01:02:26No half-lit chain
01:02:29I don't need excuses
01:02:31I need clean gains
01:02:35Show me your hands
01:02:37Show me that pride
01:02:38If you said you're on it
01:02:40Then go all the way
01:02:41One missed detail can spoil the trade
01:02:44So bring that polish just about my way
01:02:47I'm not asking for magic
01:02:50Just a job with a spine
01:02:52Leave it better than you found it
01:02:56Every single time
01:02:58Don't make me repeat it
01:03:00Don't make me chase
01:03:01If you're in my circle
01:03:02Bring your best face
01:03:05Job well done
01:03:07Job well done
01:03:08If you work for me
01:03:09Do it
01:03:10Job well done
01:03:12Job well done
01:03:14Job well done
01:03:17I may like my steaks
01:03:19Medium rare
01:03:20But your work better come out
01:03:22Job well done
01:03:24I see the sweat on the wrapper
01:03:27I see the line stay true
01:03:30I see the extra mile
01:03:32When nobody told you to
01:03:36That's the kind of move
01:03:38That gets respect
01:03:39A sharp little finish
01:03:41With nothing left to check
01:03:42Hold that standard
01:03:43Keep that flame
01:03:45If it's your name on it
01:03:46Own that frame
01:03:47I don't want loud talk
01:03:49I want proof
01:03:50A plan that's solid
01:03:52And a job that's smooth
01:03:53I'm not asking for magic
01:03:56Just a job with a spine
01:03:59Leave it better than you found it
01:04:02Every single time
01:04:04Don't make me repeat it
01:04:06Don't make me chase
01:04:07If you're in my circle
01:04:09Bring your best face
01:04:11Job well done
01:04:13Job well done
01:04:14If you work for me
01:04:16Do it job well done
01:04:19Job well done
01:04:20Job well done
01:04:21Job well done
01:04:23I may like my steaks
01:04:25Medium rare
01:04:26But your work better come out
01:04:28Job well done
01:04:31Show me the clean finish
01:04:34Show me the grind
01:04:35Show me the grind
01:04:36Show me the part where
01:04:37You cared enough to mine
01:04:38Not just fast
01:04:39Not just done
01:04:40I want that feeling
01:04:42When the task is won
01:04:48Job well done
01:04:53Job well done
01:04:55Job well done
01:04:56Job well done
01:04:57Job well done
01:04:57If you work for me
01:04:58Do it job well done
01:05:01Job well done
01:05:03Job well done
01:05:04Job well done
01:05:05I may like my steaks
01:05:08Medium rare
01:05:09But your work better come out
01:05:10Job well done
01:05:18Boys
01:05:23Let's go
01:05:30Calendar screaming
01:05:32Fit to me
01:05:34Group chat blowing, pull up
01:05:38Range is clear
01:05:39My wallet thin
01:05:41But the home is here, so I'm all in
01:05:44Cinco de Mayo, walk and roll
01:05:46Avocado prices got me in a hole
01:05:48Chips and salsa, tequila blow
01:05:50One more margarita, let's go
01:05:53Cinco de Mayo, walk and roll
01:05:55Paid on credit, charge my soul
01:05:57Salt on the rim, lose control
01:05:58One more margarita, let's go
01:06:01Let's go
01:06:07One more margarita, let's go
01:06:09One more margarita, let's go
01:06:16Card decline on extra cheese
01:06:18Split the building, broken Spanglish, please
01:06:22Line whip stuck on my front, tooth grin
01:06:26DJ yelling, otale sweet spin
01:06:30I'll be broke tomorrow, that's tomorrow's me
01:06:33Tonight I'm rich in bad decisions, cheap ecstasy
01:06:38Passing around the plastic cup like it's made of gold
01:06:42Last round said three rounds ago
01:06:45Let's go
01:06:46Cinco de Mayo, walk and roll
01:06:47Avocado prices got me in a hole
01:06:49Chips and salsa, tequila flow
01:06:51One more margarita, let's go
01:06:53Let's go
01:06:54Cinco de Mayo, walk and roll
01:06:56Calling sick, blame the coughing cold
01:06:58Salt on the rim, lose control
01:06:59One more margarita, let's go
01:07:01Let's go
01:07:07One more margarita, let's go
01:07:15One more margarita, let's go
01:07:20You're pluribusunum, from anyone
01:07:27United we stand, together we blend
01:07:33Different cultural styles, firing tonal sounds
01:07:43We stand together, on this same ground
01:07:50Different hands, same long road, paper cuts and names we know
01:07:54One small table full of plants
01:07:58Many voices, one set of hands
01:08:04We came in from every side, muddy boots and tired eyes
01:08:12Still we stand, still we lean, into one shared dream
01:08:19It pluribusunum, from anyone
01:08:26It pluribusunum, we rise as one
01:08:34Take all our scars, turn them to gold
01:08:41From anyone, that's how we roll
01:08:47Uh, yeah, uh, yeah
01:08:49One kid cries on the front step, one old song on a cassette
01:08:53Harvest dust on denim sleeves, every heart mile still believes
01:08:57We came in from every side, muddy boots and tired eyes
01:09:03Still we stand, still we lean, into one shared dream
01:09:11It pluribusunum, from anyone
01:09:16For anyone, for anyone
01:09:18It pluribusunum, we rise as one
01:09:24We rise as one, we rise as one
01:09:25Take all our scars, take all our scars
01:09:29Turn them to gold, turn them to gold
01:09:32For anyone, that's how we roll
01:09:38All the names on the same wall
01:09:40All the rain on the same straw
01:09:45If you fall, I pull you through
01:09:48If I'm weak, you carry two
01:09:51Stone by stone, brick by brick
01:09:54Hands in the dust, making one thing stick
01:09:55Every voice carries weight, different past the same gate
01:09:59Step by step we find the thread, many tongues one word said
01:10:03Side by side we make it true, I am me and still I'm with you
01:10:09E pluribus unum
01:10:12From anyone
01:10:16E pluribus unum
01:10:19Till the work is done
01:10:21From anyone
01:10:23From anyone
01:10:30We rise as one
01:10:32We rise, rise
01:10:34We rise as one
01:10:36Uh, uh, uh, uh, old truck, bed, folded flags, lunch pail, hands in patched up bags, rain on corn, mud
01:10:43on boots, same heart roll with different roots, some came north, some came west, all these dreams in one long
01:10:49chest
01:10:49Step by step we find the thread, many tongues one word said
01:10:53Side by side we make it true, I am me and still I'm with you
01:10:59E pluribus unum
01:11:01E pluribus unum
01:11:03From anyone
01:11:04From anyone
01:11:06E pluribus unum
01:11:09Till the work is done
01:11:11From anyone
01:11:13From anyone
01:11:15From anyone
01:11:16From anyone
01:11:18E pluribus unum
01:11:19We rise as one
01:11:26From anyone
01:11:34E pluribus unum
01:11:37We rise as one
01:12:07Like an intro
01:12:09Grins so wide
01:12:10It filled the room
01:12:13Now the chair
01:12:15Sits by the window
01:12:18But I swear
01:12:19I hear that tune
01:12:22Dad's up there leading the heavenly
01:12:25Poker band
01:12:27Squeezing joy out of that
01:12:29Squeeze box in his hands
01:12:31Angels twirl
01:12:32Halos tilt when they all start
01:12:35To stand
01:12:37Dad's up there leading the heavenly
01:12:39Poker band
01:12:41They got a floor
01:12:44Made out of starlight
01:12:45Clouds lined up like
01:12:48Wooden pews
01:12:51Trumpets laughing into moonlight
01:12:54Every waltz
01:12:56A bit of news
01:12:59He's calling out
01:13:02For old partners
01:13:03Step in line
01:13:05Step in line
01:13:06You're doing fine
01:13:08Heaven's never had a party
01:13:11Till his rhythm hit the sky
01:13:17Dad's up there leading the heavenly
01:13:20Poker band
01:13:22Squeezing joy out of that
01:13:23Squeeze box in his hands
01:13:26Angels twirl
01:13:27Halos tilt when they all start
01:13:29To stand
01:13:31Dad's up there leading the heavenly
01:13:34Poker band
01:13:37On earth he signed those posters
01:13:41Pack the hall on Friday nights
01:13:45Now every star
01:13:47Now every star's a paper lantern
01:13:50Swinging gently in the lights
01:13:57Dad's up there leading the heavenly
01:13:59Poker band
01:14:01Squeezing joy out of that squeeze box in his hands
01:14:04If you listen in the silence
01:14:07You'll hear them clap along the stand
01:14:09Dad's up there leading the heavenly
01:14:12Poker band
01:14:17Rest well, poker king
01:14:19You are not forgotten
01:14:21You're still a thing
01:14:23Heard one of your tunes
01:14:25On radio the other day sing
01:14:28You and Richie, your brothers
01:14:29Are dancing in the hereafter
01:14:32Not done, just a new chapter
01:14:38Dad's up there leading the heavenly
01:14:40Poker band
01:14:42Squeezing joy out of that
01:14:44Squeeze box in his hands
01:14:46Oh, if you listen in the silence
01:14:48You'll hear them clap along the stand
01:14:50Dad's up there leading the heavenly
01:14:54Poker band
01:14:59Like and subscribe
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01:15:08Thank you for having tuned into
01:15:11Another Constitutionalist Podcast Show
01:15:15I really appreciate that you stopped by
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01:15:26The Constitutionalist Movement
01:15:28Thank you again
01:15:29Take care
01:15:31God bless
01:15:32Love you all
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