00:00Hi, I'm Caleb Herron. I'm Zooey Deschanel. I'm Chris Rae. We're here from Trash Mountain with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:20Guys, can we go? I'm in a bit of a rush today. Thank you. Guys, quiet, unset. Thank you, we're
00:25trying to... I'm so sorry.
00:27Put that out, put that out. I'll stop doing bids. Hi, Saya Rankin. I'm here with the cast and director
00:34of Trash Mountain, the co-writer, star, subject matter.
00:40Tell me about deciding to write a movie about yourself and your life. And did it... I'm sure a lot
00:49of people have seen your stand-up where you kind of are, I don't want to say workshopping this movie
00:53because it's probably separate.
00:54But did that start to make you feel like, hmm, maybe there's a whole movie here?
00:59The first thing I started writing... Anytime I'm going through anything, I, like, immediately am starting to try and write
01:06jokes.
01:07As the trauma is happening?
01:09Surely. Yeah, surely. And we can actually have a big conversation about whether or not that's healthy.
01:15But that is my first instinct. And I started trying to write jokes about this experience that I was having
01:20when my dad passed.
01:20And immediately I was like, it's not working. And so I was like, well, then you need to write something
01:25else.
01:25And so I just started writing down things that were happening. And while many of them were funny, it felt
01:28more like a piece.
01:30And so eventually I did write jokes about it, which was in my HBO special.
01:33But the first thing I started writing was this film and then got a lot of it done and then
01:37called my friend Ruby Castor, who co-wrote it with me, and said, hey, I think I'm too close to
01:40this.
01:41Can you help me write this movie? And she was gracious enough to say yes.
01:44And then, yeah, got Zoe, got Chris, and we got to make a movie, which is, every movie feels like
01:49a total miracle to me.
01:50It is.
01:51Yeah. And now we made a movie, which is cool.
01:54What changed when you brought her on that stuff that you were too close to? Like, what changed?
01:59Or did she, like, were you writing yourself really awesome?
02:02Oh, everything. Like, Ruby is such a foundational piece of the movie.
02:07I remember she and I forever were trying to crack this ending, that I had this kind of, like, idea
02:11of a scope of an ending, like a story area of an ending.
02:16And we couldn't crack it.
02:17And I remember we agreed to, like, let's just write the rest of the film and rewrite the rest of
02:20the film and not worry about the ending until we have to.
02:23We did that for a couple months.
02:24Then we got to this place where it was like, God, we really need to crack that ending.
02:27And then I remember I was in a hotel room at, like, 3 in the morning, and I called Ruby.
02:31She was in L.A., so it was a little earlier for her.
02:33And I was like, I think I figured this out. Can we talk it through?
02:36And then in that moment, we wrote the ending that ended up being the ending for the film.
02:41And, yeah, she was so pivotal.
02:43I think there were just moments in the film that I was like, this is what actually happened.
02:48What do you think of it?
02:49And she'd be like, I think it would be better if we fictionalized and did this.
02:52And, yeah, she's a brilliant, brilliant writer.
02:55She really is. And you guys were also, like, even what was nice was, like, during rehearsals, we would rehearse.
03:01And if something wasn't quite working, you guys would go and, like, every day you were still workshopping it
03:09and getting it to the best spot, like, for the cast we have.
03:13And, you know, really, until the very end, Ruby and Caleb were...
03:19Yeah, she was on set the whole time.
03:21The whole time.
03:21It was, yeah.
03:22Which was also just, like, fun because we love her.
03:24Yeah, she's a blast.
03:25My brain is in 2023, and I want to be like, and that's why writers should be on set.
03:28But we already figured that out.
03:29Yeah, we got that.
03:30Writers should absolutely be on set.
03:32It was great to have her on set.
03:33That issue is complete, I think.
03:36How did you...
03:36Did you know Chris already?
03:37And did you ever consider directing this, too?
03:40Some people do that, but...
03:41I think we should all be so grateful that I didn't direct this film, because Chris Ray directed the hell
03:45out of this movie.
03:46Directed the hell out of it.
03:48And, no, I met Chris during this process through our mutual friend, Lily Wachowski, who executive produced the film.
03:53And I'm so...
03:54I couldn't see your eyes, but I'm so grateful that Chris agreed to do it.
03:57It's such a beautiful, beautiful gift that she gave to this story to direct the film,
04:03and we just couldn't have made anything half as beautiful without her.
04:06It's an absolute honor that you gave me so much trust with your story.
04:11It's easy to.
04:12Yeah.
04:13It's easy to.
04:13You got the...
04:15I've said this in other interviews, so I always feel weird saying the same thing again.
04:19But Chris has amazing taste.
04:22Like, every...
04:23Her just, like...
04:24And will not let a false moment be on screen.
04:27So it's, like, such a relief to have a director that's, like, you know, not going to let, you know,
04:35a false moment happen.
04:36So you can feel okay, like, playing, you know?
04:40And it's an incredible feeling.
04:42And also, by the way, the greatest challenge was probably having to reign these guys in.
04:47If they were in between takes, like, goofing off, making each other laugh, which they always were.
04:56And to try and get them to calm down sometimes.
05:00But they were amazing.
05:02Amazing people.
05:03Amazing friends.
05:04Amazing actors.
05:05You said you kind of went through, like, here's what really happened.
05:09Let's write the kind of movie version.
05:11I won't go through and list everything from the movie and ask you if that happened or not.
05:14But I do have one element that I want to ask about.
05:17Which is, um, you were...
05:19So you're searching through your dad's house.
05:21He was a hoarder.
05:22You're finding the things.
05:23Were you actually finding guns?
05:25Oh, yeah.
05:26That's...
05:26Oh, yeah.
05:27There were so many guns.
05:28There were so many guns.
05:29That guy fucking loved guns.
05:31Like, he just...
05:31He loved them.
05:32It was, like, a hobby.
05:33It was, like, we were...
05:33Yeah.
05:34Him and the guns, it was, like, such a discussion between us.
05:36My dad was so, like, hard to pin down politically.
05:39But guns were this big sticking point for us that I was, like, what is the obsession?
05:43You know?
05:44And, yeah, the part where the grandma says, you should have the guns.
05:47That was a real pitch of my grandma's.
05:48She was, like, you should take the guns.
05:49And I was, like, to Los Angeles?
05:51To my, like, gay comedy show?
05:53What the fuck am I going to do with the guns?
05:54Like...
05:54What did you do with the guns?
05:55We...
05:56Some of my family members kept them that wanted them.
05:58And I think they sold quite a bit of them.
06:01And in reality, I didn't have as huge of a hand cleaning out the house as Gavin does in the
06:06film.
06:06I couldn't, yeah, I couldn't do it.
06:10So, my grandma and my uncle did a lot of it.
06:12Yeah, that makes sense.
06:15There's the line where I'm, like, do you think that, like, when he, like, bought another gun,
06:22it was because he couldn't find the last gun?
06:26Which was not scripted.
06:27That was a real...
06:28Oh, did I?
06:28Oh, I ad-libbed it?
06:30You ad-libbed it, actually.
06:32I just gave myself a compliment on that.
06:34No, no, no, no.
06:34But it was a beautiful moment.
06:36You were locked in.
06:37But I literally do that.
06:39It was between steps.
06:41So, you were, like, you were really...
06:43Do you think...
06:43What was the answer?
06:45Well, because I do that with things.
06:47I'm like, I can't find my charger, so I'll just order one, I guess.
06:52And I'm like, I know that's, like, such a hoardery tendency to do.
06:56And then, I think in the ways that we might all relate to the character of the dad, that's
07:06one of them.
07:06Yeah.
07:07Yeah.
07:08I don't know.
07:08Maybe he did.
07:08Yeah.
07:09Who knows?
07:09It's a very real tendency.
07:10What...
07:11So, this was obviously an indie film.
07:14It's for sale here.
07:15Guys, it's for sale.
07:16It's for sale.
07:17If you want to watch...
07:18If anybody in here wants it, just hit me up, call my cell.
07:21Absolutely.
07:22We can make a deal.
07:24What I want to ask you, though, is, like, how did you make...
07:27Because you're kind of...
07:27I know you're not the director, but, like, how did you guys work together to make sure
07:31it's still your story, you're the lead, to, like, make the vibe on set what you wanted
07:36it to be, especially under the constraints of indie filmmaking, budget, schedule, et cetera.
07:45Like, and this is not me putting you on the spot of, like, did you walk the walk of
07:49all the things that we all believe in?
07:50But, like, how...
07:51No, absolutely not.
07:52I would never walk the walk.
07:53I was horrible to people.
07:54No, he was, like, incredible.
07:58Like, Caleb had such a...
08:00The best attitude.
08:01He's in almost every shot of this film.
08:04Always in a good mood.
08:06Yeah, he was, like, not always in a good mood.
08:09I won't say that.
08:11Yeah, but always trying.
08:13Yeah, what can make you stressed out on a set?
08:17Any of you guys?
08:18All the normal stuff.
08:19I think, like, it's...
08:20You can be grateful and be tired.
08:23You can be having a long day and be kind.
08:25Yeah, and things go wrong all the time.
08:26Yeah.
08:27You can be frustrated.
08:28You want another take.
08:28You want another setup.
08:29You can whatever.
08:30But the important thing that I think everyone here did so well, and 116 people worked on
08:34the film, and we literally got lucky with every single person.
08:36Every single person.
08:38Everyone was there because they loved the script.
08:40That is true.
08:41This is the one thing that, like, really carries you through, especially doing little indie
08:47films.
08:47And, like, everyone is there.
08:51Like, and I mean everybody.
08:53It's a lot of people on a film crew.
08:55Everyone is there because they love it.
08:57And then, like, everyone's on it because they're not just there for a paycheck.
09:02They're there because this is, like, something that feels meaningful to them.
09:06It was really easy to have fun on this one and to set the tone.
09:08And, yeah, because it's, for me, it was, like, I, at least, at least once almost every
09:13day I would have, like, a private tearing up or full cry about, and I could cry talking
09:17about it, about, like, all these talented people choosing to work on this film for,
09:22like, $7 and a handshake.
09:24You know what I mean?
09:24Like, that's fucking crazy to me.
09:26And, yeah, you're just so grateful that you're, like, I can't believe we got these people
09:29who are so good at what they do, who are, like, Matt, the production designer, and Andy,
09:33the DP, and, like, every, like, Seneca, like, our second AD, like, every single person
09:37who worked on this has done a million things.
09:38They're so good at what they do, and they chose to work on this movie.
09:42And, yeah, you just feel so grateful that you go, like, I can't believe we get to do
09:44this.
09:45Like, people, like, you know, Roof Houses in the Summer, and, like, we're making a
09:49fucking movie for a living.
09:50That's crazy.
09:51Yeah.
09:51What did you do on Rap Day to celebrate?
09:54We threw a big party.
09:55We had a party, like, at, like, a casino in rural Illinois where we were filming.
10:01Remember that one?
10:02And then, like, what was it, a couple nights later or something we did, or the next night we
10:06went to Chicago, and we did, we got this bar, we did karaoke all night long.
10:10Yeah.
10:10I got drunk, which I never do.
10:12That was a mess.
10:13What did you sing?
10:14I sang a couple songs, Lucky by Britney Spears, always.
10:17And then I remember when I was, like, particularly drunk and stoned.
10:21Like, I was in a particular zone of being crossfaded that I decided I was going to do
10:25I Write Sins, Not Tragedies.
10:27Oh.
10:28And was screaming.
10:29Do you know the words already, or that's a hard one to keep up with?
10:32Oh, I know the song.
10:33Yeah, I know the song.
10:34And even in that state, you can tap into something primal.
10:38Yeah, we threw a big fucking party and just, like, hung out with everybody.
10:40It was awesome.
10:41I missed the rap party, but I was at your birthday, and that was pretty much.
10:44I was at my birthday where we dropped into just, like, a random karaoke bar.
10:49And Zoe was doing karaoke with strangers.
10:51They were so alerted.
10:52We were having a good time.
10:53It was really fun.
10:54And Jackie Weaver was not able to be taken home.
10:56No, she was, like...
10:57Jackie Weaver was tearing it up.
10:59Tearing it up.
10:59Had a fierce look on.
11:00She had, like, a slick back and a leather jacket.
11:02I was like, girl, get home.
11:03What did you gift yourself when you got your first, whatever your version of, like,
11:08your first real Hollywood paycheck, first job, first gig, anything?
11:13Looking forward.
11:17When this sells.
11:20When everyone in here goes in together on Venmo to buy this movie.
11:26I remember I paid off debt when I got my first writer's job.
11:30I paid off, like, medical debt.
11:31I love America, and I can't get enough of the way we do things.
11:34And I paid off, yeah, bills that I owe people for getting sick on accident.
11:38And then I bought a little house in Kansas City.
11:41I was, like, very, very...
11:42It's, like, a teeny tiny little house.
11:44My mom lives in now.
11:45But that was my big, like, getting a piece of home felt really important to me.
11:49That sounds special.
11:50I remember, like, I did my first movie, and I went to New York with my parents, like, afterwards.
11:58It was, like, I was in high school, so.
12:00And I was walking down Park Avenue, and I saw this, like, coat in this window.
12:05It was, like, a swing coat.
12:06It was, like, red.
12:07It had this, like, pattern of these, like, ladies painted on it.
12:10And I was, like, I love that coat so much.
12:13And we went in, and I looked.
12:15The price tag was $500, and I was, like, I was, like, I've never spent this kind of money.
12:20And my mom was, like, you just made some money.
12:22Why don't you buy yourself the coat with your, you know, with some of your money?
12:25And I was, like, okay.
12:27I was, like, and I bought it, and I still have it.
12:29Do you still wear it?
12:30Yeah.
12:31I haven't worn it in a while.
12:32I should take her out.
12:35She's around, though.
12:36She'll never.
12:38Talk about hoarding.
12:40I'll never get rid of that lady.
12:42As you shouldn't.
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