David Leitch | SmartLess

Who speaks in this episode?

• Will Arnett (Host) · 19 min speaking
• Jason Bateman (Host) · 15 min speaking
• Sean Hayes (Host) · 13 min speaking
• David Leitch (Guest) · 10 min speaking
• Amanda (Guest)

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Bradley Cooper, Chicago, SmartLess, SmartLess
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Brooklyn, Bullet Train, Chicago, Deadpool 2
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Fight Club, Ninja Assassin, The Matrix, V for Vendetta
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train, Culver City, David Fincher
5. 20:00 – 25:00: WhatsApp, Graphic Novel, John Wick, Martial arts
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Action Factory, Bob Brown, Magic Mountain, Midnight Run
7. 30:00 – 35:00: Academy Award, Chris O'Hara, Donuts, Frank Marshall
8. 35:00 – 40:00: Brad Pitt, Fight Club, John Wick, Keanu Reeves
9. 40:00 – 45:00: Atomic Blonde, Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, How to Rob a Bank
10. 45:00 – 50:00: Nobody, Bob Odenkirk, John Wick, Pittsburgh
11. 50:00 – 55:00: Donuts, Pittsburgh, SmartLess, SmartLess
12. 55:00 – 57:04: Michael Grant Terry, SmartLess, SmartLess

Notable quotes from "David Leitch | SmartLess"

• Anyway, talk about being open. I love being open with you guys. Welcome to Smartless. What just happened? What happened?

  about SmartLess · at 0:29

• Became a director and a producer and Jason, you already guessed it because he did Deadpool 2, Hobs and Shaw, Bullet Train, Fall Guy. It's my friend David Leech. Leech. No way.…

  about Bullet Train · at 7:54

• The films that you've you've made so far as a director, but the films that you performed as performed in, Fight Club. this is one of the great that's a classic. People often…

  about Fight Club · at 14:38

• Still super fit. Still super fit. The guy's ripped. I know. I know. By the way, Dave, these guys know nobody loves Brad more than me. So, so everybody loves he's he's an…

  about Nobody · at 15:32

• Second unit directors. Wow. Chad Stelski was the other guy. He directed John Wick with me. Yeah, you guys co-directed John Wick. And that's amazing. We have a we have a mutual friend who the great Wade Allen who we.

  about John Wick · at 24:45

• It driving stuff? Is it firework? Is it free falls? Is it Yeah. Well, look, in the fall guy, we got to sort of play homage to all the old school stunts, right? We did this like…

  about The Fall Guy · at 27:39

• Amazing. And Matt must have loved it. sitting there with his Dunkin' Donuts coffee in his hand watching on a He was already on a Yeah.

  about Donuts · at 30:37

• The Academy Awards are going to Well, this is what I was going to bring up. the Yes. This is David's David has been leading the charge on this.

  about Academy Award · at 31:30

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Kelly McCormick — Person · 2 mentions
• Bradley Cooper — Person · 1 mention · first at 2:37
  That Will wrote and just finished acting in directed by our friend Bradley Cooper who's also in it on it. What a filmmate. What a guy.
• David Fincher — Person · 1 mention · first at 16:37
  We're on, who is my one of my favorite directors of all time, David Fincher, his level of specificity, and precision does require a lesser amount perhaps of kind of not contribution, but or even collaboration. I'm not sure what.
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson — Person · 1 mention · first at 18:32
  Cella and we were very precise, but we allowed for like when you look at Aaron Taylor Johnson and Brian Tyrie Henry, they're playing these Lemon and Tangerine. When I was in my…
• Wade Allen — Person · 1 mention · first at 24:55
  Co-directed John Wick. And that's amazing. We have a we have a mutual friend who the great Wade Allen who we both he was around in their early years as well. Just love me Wade Allen.
• Bob Brown — Person · 1 mention · first at 27:58
  Incredible car roll. Yeah. We did the high we did a highfall like and that was Bob Brown's kid and who was a legendary highfall artist like that is really like the lost art you…
• Troy Brown — Person · 1 mention · first at 28:26
  To do that you know in a safer manner But like when we did it in the movie, we had Troy Brown come out who's, Bob's kid and he's one of the few people that can that do it and like has trained that old school sort of stunt.
• Frank Marshall — Person · 1 mention · first at 31:13
  Drive Matt crazy with questions about the Born movies all the time. I make him insane. I ended up Frank Marshall ended up giving me like a rap gift like from the first one with…
• Chris O'Hara — Person · 1 mention · first at 33:34
  Credit on the fall guy and this was Kelly's idea to stunt designer and Chris O'Hara, the stunt coordinator on that. We went to Kelly went to the guilds. She got it approved by…
• Nick Meyer — Person · 1 mention · first at 39:01
  She was curating their slate of projects. And she was I'm going to get you guys. And Nick Meyer, the guy that owned that company, allowed her to do that. And so, she really…
• Keanu Reeves — Person · 1 mention · first at 39:38
  Your first film as a director? Yeah. And was that the first John Wick? The first John Wick. Yes. Wow. Now, Keanu Reeves is notoriously very picky and snobby in the best way…
• Brad Pitt — Person · 1 mention · first at 39:48
  Is notoriously very picky and snobby in the best way about directors, as is Brad Pitt. these guys just work in director vehicles, even though they're enormous stars and can…
• Pete Davidson — Person · 1 mention · first at 43:55
  New, taking a heist movie and turning it on its head. And I have Nick Holt and Pete Davidson.
• Bob Odenkirk — Person · 1 mention · first at 48:25
  Nobody's coming out. Nobody too is coming out in August. That's another exciting Oh, nobody with the great Bob Odenkirk who I who we all know very well. I just saw him on stage at Gleng Gary Glenn Ross. I did too.
• Michael Grant Terry — Person · 1 mention · first at 56:53
  Glass smartless is 100% organic and artisally handcrafted by Rob Armjarf Bennett Barbco and Michael Grant Terry.
• Brian Tyree Henry — Person · 1 mention
• Chad Stahelski — Person · 1 mention
• Daniel Bernhardt — Person · 1 mention
• David Harbour — Person · 1 mention
• David Leitch — Person · 1 mention
• Edward Norton — Person · 1 mention
• Emily Blunt — Person · 1 mention
• Greg Smrz — Person · 1 mention
• Jack Gill — Person · 1 mention
• Jason Bateman — Person · 1 mention
• Jonathan Sela — Person · 1 mention
• Melissa Stubbs — Person · 1 mention
• Nicholas Hoult — Person · 1 mention
• Ryan Gosling — Person · 1 mention
• Sean Hayes — Person · 1 mention
• Will Arnett — Person · 1 mention

Books & papers

• Nobody — Book · 4 mentions · first at 15:37
• John Wick — Book · 4 mentions · first at 24:49
• Bullet Train — Book · 3 mentions · first at 7:59
• Fight Club — Book · 3 mentions · first at 14:41
• The Fall Guy — Book · 3 mentions · first at 27:45
• Deadpool 2 — Book · 2 mentions · first at 7:59
  Became a director and a producer and Jason, you already guessed it because he did Deadpool 2, Hobs and Shaw, Bullet Train, Fall Guy. It's my friend David Leech. Leech. No way.…
• The Matrix — Book · 2 mentions · first at 11:11
  Great points from? Yeah, I mean I worked with the Wowskis for a long time and they you know on the Matrix movies on the Matrix movies. and then after that we did V for Vendetta. We did Ninja Assassin, the classic Ninja Assassin.
• You Can't Take It With You — Book · 1 mention · first at 4:50
  Play at my old high school with some friends that I was in that play with. It was they did You Can't Take It With You, you know that old play? And so all of a bunch of friends, not a show.
• V for Vendetta — Book · 1 mention · first at 11:16
  They you know on the Matrix movies on the Matrix movies. and then after that we did V for Vendetta. We did Ninja Assassin, the classic Ninja Assassin.
• Ninja Assassin — Book · 1 mention · first at 11:19
  The Matrix movies. and then after that we did V for Vendetta. We did Ninja Assassin, the classic Ninja Assassin.
• Perfect Target — Book · 1 mention · first at 23:38
  Things like that and I went and visited them in Mexico on the set of this movie called Perfect Target starring Daniel Burnernhard and I watched them put together fight scenes…
• Midnight Run — Book · 1 mention · first at 27:16
  Movies that you will repeat repeatedly watch? I have the Born movies. Yeah. Ronin. Yeah. Midnight Run.
• Atomic Blonde — Book · 1 mention · first at 41:58
  Films that you've done that you've directed just that you've directed John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobson Shaw, Bullet Train, Fall Guy. Like these are I know these are…
• How to Rob a Bank — Book · 1 mention · first at 43:44
  Straightup drama. I think right now I'm actually in Pittsburgh and I'm prepping the next movie. It's called How to Rob a Bank. And it's the it is sort of a new, taking a heist…
• Violent Night — Book · 1 mention · first at 49:15
  I have to say. Hey, like we this is movie number seven and then plus the ones we produced Violent Night with David Harbor and the Nobody with Bob. So, but again I love it. I…
• Fight Club (film) — Book · 1 mention
• Hobbs & Shaw — Book · 1 mention
• Man of Tai Chi — Book · 1 mention
• Ronin — Book · 1 mention
• The Book of Awakening — Book · 1 mention
• The Bourne Identity — Book · 1 mention
• The Bourne Ultimatum — Book · 1 mention
• The Fall Guy (TV series) — Book · 1 mention
• Whitnail and I — Book · 1 mention

Companies & orgs

• Academy Award — Company · 3 mentions · first at 31:30
• WhatsApp — Company · 2 mentions · first at 20:39
  Yes. And actually, we did that crazily enough during the pandemic on WhatsApp.
• Steiner Studios — Company · 1 mention · first at 9:21
  Months later, I got to just sit in the cab of a truck on a parking lot outside Steiner Studios in Brooklyn and just hyperventilate and pretend I was doing that. But I want to…
• Action Factory — Company · 1 mention · first at 29:20
  He's got a company called Action Factory and he just won or he was u he was recognized by the Academy for a technical achievement award for his gel, the stunt gel that allows you to.
• Sierra Affinity — Company · 1 mention · first at 38:55
  She wasn't a manager, but she hypoceted Chad and I when she was working at this company called Sierra Affinity, which is a foreign sales company, and she was curating their…
• 87North Productions — Company · 1 mention
• Carnegie Mellon University — Company · 1 mention
• Directors Guild of America (DGA) — Company · 1 mention
• Portillo's — Company · 1 mention
• Screen Actors Guild (SAG) — Company · 1 mention
• Writers Guild of America (WGA) — Company · 1 mention

Products & tech

• SmartLess — Product · 4 mentions · first at 0:33
• Donuts — Product · 3 mentions · first at 30:42

Concepts & topics

• Graphic Novel — Concept · 1 mention · first at 20:23
  Production design and the music and like the costumes and I'm I'm going to make this sort of a anime graphic novel.
• Martial arts — Concept · 1 mention · first at 23:02
  Specializing and so they were looking for like martial artists and I competed in martial arts as a kid and like all through college and wow I was getting really excited about…
• Preparation plus opportunity equals miracles — Concept · 1 mention · first at 26:36
  Today. It was pretty funny. There was two women in a diner sitting behind us and they were Preparation plus opportunity equals miracles, sister.
• Stunt Designer — Concept · 1 mention · first at 33:30
  Designer. And so we rebranded our credit on the fall guy and this was Kelly's idea to stunt designer and Chris O'Hara, the stunt coordinator on that. We went to Kelly went to…
• Anime — Concept · 1 mention
• Pickleball — Concept · 1 mention
• Racquetball — Concept · 1 mention
• Second Unit Direction — Concept · 1 mention
• Squash (sport) — Concept · 1 mention
• Stunt Adjustment (Bump) — Concept · 1 mention
• Stunt Coordination — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

• Pittsburgh — Place · 3 mentions · first at 43:42
  You'd be I would love to do, a straightup drama. I think right now I'm actually in Pittsburgh and I'm prepping the next movie. It's called How to Rob a Bank. And it's the it is…
• Chicago — Place · 2 mentions · first at 4:39
  Very excited. It's going to be fun. On the way back, I flew back yesterday. I stopped from Chicago, right? Yeah. From Chicago. I stopped in and I saw a play at my old high…
• Brooklyn — Place · 1 mention · first at 9:21
  Months later, I got to just sit in the cab of a truck on a parking lot outside Steiner Studios in Brooklyn and just hyperventilate and pretend I was doing that. But I want to…
• Culver City — Place · 1 mention · first at 19:28
  It was right in right during the pandemic and takes place in Japan and you guys shot it in Culver City primarily. Right. Totally. Yeah, we shot it. Yeah. It was like height of…
• Minneapolis — Place · 1 mention · first at 23:54
  That looks fun. I'm in. I just like packed up my car and left. I was teaching second grade in Minneapolis.
• Magic Mountain — Place · 1 mention · first at 25:21
  Show, but I was trying out for the Batman live show at Magic Mountain. I was, by the way, trying out. I wasn't even the guy. Yeah. Yeah. And to play Batman.
• Japan — Place · 1 mention
• Los Angeles — Place · 1 mention
• Redondo Beach — Place · 1 mention

Sponsors

• SmartLess — Sponsor · 4 mentions · first at 0:33
  Anyway, talk about being open. I love being open with you guys. Welcome to Smartless. What just happened? What happened?
• Portillo's — Sponsor · 1 mention

Full transcript with timestamps

0:06 Do you guys eat standing up at all? Like lunch or breakfast? When you're doing a horse sleeps, does a horse sleep standing up or is that just cow? That's a cow. That's a cow. No, I mean they eat hay. What do you Sean, you go. Sorry. Cuz you had It seems like you had a thought about you. Are you doing a lot of standing at standing counters? What are you doing? I do. I eat through open windows. What are you doing? Anyway, talk about being open. I love being open with you guys. Welcome to Smartless. What just happened? What happened?

0:42 Smart. Smart. Smart. Willy. So, wait. So, when did you move into your new place? I moved in uh yesterday. I just got here. Can you straighten out your [ __ ] hat? You're You're not Justin Bieber. Hang on. First of all, I'm very young. I know. Okay. No. Well, you don't tell your face. Okay. Um, honestly, why is it why is it why is it cocked? Why is I just did it I just did like that for one second. Yeah. Thank you. It feels good to put it on the side like that. I do that, too. Some Shut up, Sean. Wow. That I think that's a record for a shut up Sean.

1:31 Inside 2 minutes. Inside 2 minutes. We're already at Shut Up Sean. You guys, I miss you. Can't you tell? I know. We're going to see each other tomorrow. Tomorrow all over you guys. It is on. It's gummy city for me. Chew it up and suck it down. And then take a gummy. Yeah. Hey, so uh Will, how's your new Well, first of all, congratulations Will on finishing incredibly hard period of work. Great. Um, what we have cooking in Hollywood's oven is uh is undoubtedly a masterpiece. I'm going to call it right now. Yes. And I was there to witness the masterpiece. It was so good. Little dash of Shawn in it. Thank you, More than enough. Sprinkle of Scotty. Sean and Scotty were so great. Can I just tell you having them, it was so fun and I've seen a bunch of stuff and it's really really good. This is a film listener uh that that uh Will wrote and just finished acting in directed by um our friend Bradley Cooper who's also in it

2:39 on it. What a filmmate. What a guy. Oh, what a night. Yeah, exactly. He was so great. And um Yeah, it was super fun. And and Jay, are you done with yours yet? No, I got another six weeks left. Oh, wow. That's awesome. But it's uh that's that's also fun. Going well. But you're having a good time and you're working your butt off, too. I am. It's very very hard. But um but don't try to deflect. You've just finished uh uh just like uh an incredibly uh large amount of work and it must feel nice to be done. And you're back home in a new home. Um your hat's kind of cocked and it's like it's all everything's everything's happening. Well, I'm wearing it high.

3:22 I'm I'm thinking about I'm I'm like van von Dutch adjacent right now with my situation. Cuz listener, he's got long hair and it's all kind of kinkedked and looking super sexy. I'm going old school with my flaked hat. You know what I mean? You must crushing ass out there, huh? Just walking around with that hairdo. Can't wait for that headline. You know what I mean? How about we're all in the same city though for once. I'm so excited to see you guys. I feel like we haven't recorded one of these in a few weeks, too. Many weeks.

3:53 Yeah, it's it's been a minute. And what do we got on the menu for tomorrow night? Has anybody made a request yet for food? Yeah. Can I make two guesses? Yeah. Yeah. Well, there are only two guesses. By the way, they're great. They're great guest. Great. They're always And if she's listening, listen, they are in Those two meals are two of my favorite meals. No, they're the best. There's a reason they're they're on um reason heavy rotation. Yeah, we there's we always have an unbelievable time and a delicious meal and we're very very lucky and we haven't been able to be there for a long time. Willie, you haven't been there for months and months and months since January, I think. Yeah. Yeah. I'm very excited. It's going to be fun. On the way back, I flew back yesterday. I I stopped from Chicago, right? Yeah. From Chicago. I stopped in and I saw uh a play at my old high school with some friends that I was in that play with. It

4:50 was they did You Can't Take It With You, you know that old play? And so all of a bunch of friends, not a show. Turns out you can take it with you. Um what Well, but wait a second. Saw a show at your high school. You're still in contact with the folks that run your high school theater program? No. No. friends, my friends that I was in theater with in in high school and and my friend Amy and Rob and Shireen and we Shireen I went to prom with and she's like so we're all like let's go see the play that we were all part of. Was she Was she a beard situation? Yeah, 100%.

5:23 Yeah. Can I ask you this too? I I actually thought that you were going to say I I was in Chicago and I stopped in to check in with I thought you were going to say a piece of chocolate cake. I stopped to check in with Portillos. Yeah, Portillos. That's that's the name of the place. By the way, I did I got off the I'm always I'm always impressed um I don't know if that's the right word with the the amount of people you're still in contact with me from from speaks to it speaks to what a great genuine person you are. It really does. It really does.

5:52 Yeah. Yeah. Because on the surface you seem like such an a world class a-hole and then Thank you, Will. That I was trying to figure out how to say it. Yeah. But then it turns out No, you are such a caring and loving and surprisingly nice. That's crazy. Look at that's her. Yeah. And that's my friend Rob and that's me prom. Oh my god. Anyway, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. The show was good. How was the show was great. The kids were great. Do you have any notes for the person? I had one line. I had one line and it was, "You were right, chief. They have enough gunpowder down there to blow up the whole town." So when Wait, do you say that with anxiety? Yes. Have you just come back from a reconnaissance?

6:28 Yeah, exactly. By the way, when like kind of out of breath, you were right. Totally. Totally. And when the guy came on cuz we said you you remember the way you read it. Yeah. Let me have it ready. And I think I just did it. No, just do it. Okay. You were right, Chief. They have enough gunpowder down there and blow them. I hope you weren't laughing like that when you This guy is not in the moment. But the guy But the guy that came out and said my line, I was like, "Woo!" The claps really are. Oh my god. They were great.

7:00 They're all great. Anyway, well, listen. You could have used some direction which and and maybe you could have used direction from uh from our guest today. Oh, nice, Will. Yes. Because because segue alert because this is a guy who's become one of our more accomplished directors that we have today. Not only is he prolific, but he is also a fantastic director and what he is and he came at it. Listen, I again he's one of those guys once you name some of his credits. you're going to go exactly who it is. But what I and I know this guy and I got to know him because he's he's worn a bunch of different hats in what we do. He he uh uh for many years was started as a as a stunt guy. I say stunt guy, stunt person. And then and then he became a stunt coordinator and then he became a director and a producer and and Jason, you already guessed it because he did Deadpool 2, Hobs and Shaw, Bullet Train, Fall Guy. It's my friend David

8:02 Leech. Leech. No way. What's going on? The second you say it cuz he's such a legend. He's such a legend. Very good at what he does. Everybody, he is. He is very good. And And one of the things, Dave, that I want to say, right? First of all, welcome to Smart List. Welcome. I'm excited, guys. Thanks for having us on. Hey. Yeah, I'm nervous. One of the things I love about you, David, is is that I I knew you back when you were still coordinating when I first met you and you were also second unit directing and you have not changed a bit. You've become like this huge director and you are still the same guy.

8:41 You're still very hungry. You're still very normal. You're still very grounded. And so I I really it's a real testament. Uh you're I Before we get going, everybody needs to know what a great dude you are. I I just want to say that off we we we had a great Thank you. Thank you. Well, you know, we had a great time on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, didn't we? We did. We did. We had a great time. David made me look really good because he shot all this stuff of this 18-wheeler driving down a mountain, right? And so he went and he shot all this stuff, this insane 18-wheeler thing. And they shot it like two months before. And then like two months later, I got to just sit in the cab of a truck on a on a parking lot outside Steiner Studios in Brooklyn and just hyperventilate and pretend I was doing that. But I want to say that was a great performance. Thank you. Very brave. Very brave. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

9:33 Very brave. I had to get out. I had to get out of my Escalade then get into the front cab of the thing and take your warming coat. Think what time is lunch. But David, don't you think you have to be as prolific as you are and a bunch of directors that are as successful as you and Mr. Baitman here, don't you think you have to have that kind of personality that Will just described you are, which is a peacekeeper and like, you know, you can't get a hot head and everybody's, you know, keep everything in order because you can't have a temper, right? Well, I mean, you there are directors that have it that are prolific. There's plenty that have made it made it work that I've worked with as a as a stunt man or a department head.

10:18 You know, I look, I was really lucky. I got to mentor under a lot of great directors. You got to see what worked for you and and and what doesn't work for you. And being an [ __ ] really doesn't work for me. It really doesn't work for It doesn't It doesn't You You would not wear [ __ ] Well, it is interesting, isn't it? Like a lot of people don't realize that that mo directors don't work with other directors. So they don't know whether what they're doing is good or bad or efficient or not or not or you know and so actors or cameramen or really anybody on the set has the opportunity to sort of cherrypick from you know a bunch of directors how to how to do it if they get a chance to do it. And and so David, you've uh you've can you mention any that you've that you've picked some some great points from? Yeah, I mean I worked with the Wowskis for a long time and they you know on the Matrix movies on

11:13 the Matrix movies. Um and then after that we did V for Vendetta. We did uh Ninja Assassin, the classic Ninja Assassin. But we did we did a lot of films and you know there there's a precision to what they do. there's the the the um homework that they do to be prepared like all of that stuff and they really build a family with their department heads and they you know they're really close and and they allow their department heads to be creative and bring them ideas and like and that's that's where I really enjoy you know I think there's other directors that are that collaborative yeah the collaborative spirit of a director whereas especially coming from production you want your ideas to be heard you know you design a sequence as a stunt coordinator you want to you want to be heard That kind of goes to Jason.

12:00 Jason kind of you know it's interesting the point you make uh both of you guys as direct became directors but you came from Jason you were an actor for many years since you were a kid and then you came to so you got to witness and cherrypick pieces as you went and bring it into and David you started as a stunt perfor and then and then coordinator so you also got to work under whereas you know Jason as you were mentioning a lot of directors who start as directors don't have that breadth of experience working with directors you guys did to know to know how to manage to know how to behave and to know how to collaborate, right? Do you think there's something to that? I I Yeah, I I I do, David. And you you were kind of touching on it that that um you know, you you you get exposed to a few uh work environments, you know, sets that have that collaborative spirit or that or just basically like a you know, to you

12:52 know, minimize it, it's sort of a good vibe. And what that yields is is is a is just a better product. And and it's and it's applicable to any industry where and I've said this before. I apologize to anyone who's heard this. Um but um you know, no one gets fired for doing 75%. Like you can hold your job for 40 years if you if you deliver 75%. That's what kind of people expect. But if you want that extra 25% from people, it's they've got to feel a little bit of ownership, a little bit of buy in, a little bit of um you know, equity in in the process. And uh that comes from people feeling like they kind of uh it's it's partly theirs. It's like if it's your house, you put a coaster underneath your drink without even being asked to.

13:38 But if it's not your house, you might put your drink on the wood table and leave a ring as you don't really give a [ __ ] You're going to drive home. So if you let people feel like they're a part of the process, you get that extra bit and then the product really soarses, especially in what we do. And I think that's really really long said. That's really long said and I think it applies to many jobs. So thank you, David. Thoughts on that? No, I mean it's it's 100% true. I mean again it like having been on set you know my entire adult life as a performer or a department head it just you want to be included and then you know being in the director chair and knowing all those people are there to make you look good you take the good ideas and then you steal all the credit that's but David David so so I mean you know when you look at at your just your first of all your your resume as a director is

14:36 impressive enough considering, you know, the films that you've you've made so far as a director, but the films that you performed as performed in, Fight Club. I mean, this is one of the great that that's a classic. People often reference it, uh, especially dudes as their favorite film of all time. You were Brad's stunt double in Fight Club. Is that true? I was, but in and it was kind of like one of those movies where you're not doing a lot. You know, when you think about it's funny. It's like the name is Fight Club and then you go back and watch the film. I actually watched it a couple months ago. There's only like three fight sequences in it, right?

15:10 But what we were doing, and you often do as a stunt performer, is train the actors. So, we were training the actors for a long time, sort of in this messy style of fighting, and then I might have doubled Brad on two or three little moments, right? Cuz at that time, he was like super fit, dude. He by the way, still super fit. Still super fit. The guy's ripped. I know. I know. By the way, Dave, these guys know nobody loves Brad more than me. So, so everybody loves he's he he's an awesome human being. Yeah, I love it. And um yeah, so it really was like one of those movies where I was working a lot, but we weren't, you know, the stunts I had to do were like very very simple. Although I do remember one great, this goes back to Fincher being the sort of like uh perfectionist that he is. I had to throw the um Ed Norton stunt double down that set of stairs at the end of the movie.

16:10 Sure. 12 times. 12 times. 12. And I ran and I ran into David, you know, this is like a couple years ago. And I ran into him and I asked him like, "Hey, what take did you use?" And he's like, "Oh yeah, take two." No. No. Oh, yeah. So, so, um, while while while we're on, um, who is my one of my favorite favorite directors of all time, um, David Fincher, um, his level of of of specificity, um, and precision does require a a lesser amount perhaps of kind of not contribution, but or even collaboration. I'm not sure what the right word would be, but he knows exactly what he wants. And so the the sort of the the arena for, hey, well, what do you guys think? You know, what should how should we do? Like there's a great deal of planning and precision going into every shot that he's doing.

17:10 And so, how do you how do you recommend in even in other industries room for other people to fit into that their own ideas? I mean, with David, I think you you you buy into the vision, right? And so I think, you know, part of like your the excitement with his crew is like, you know, the vision is so strong that you want to make sure you're providing the details for it. And so again, like if you're if you're a professional and you love this business and you get to work with somebody who has this really strong vision, then you just, you know, you you ratchet the gear and looking in that way and like, okay, how can I serve this vision? I mean, you're doing a lot of that though, too. like you know um uh bullet train is am I got the title right or yeah I mean I there was so much incredible technical execution on that that like there's no room for [ __ ] hey guys let's all kind of figure this

18:09 out you know we'll just rehearse until lunch and then we'll just shoot after lunch let's just like no you coming in with a plan you know exactly what so um well I would say this sorry to interrupt but I think that that was a mixture of those two styles I think, you know, I had shot listed that movie with Jonathan Cella and we were very very precise, but we allowed for like when you look at Aaron Taylor Johnson and Brian Tyrie Henry, they're playing these Lemon and Tangerine. When I was in my setups, I let them go like they were just brilliant and I was just like rolling like, you know, like and just mining for gold.

18:48 So the composition and the editorial style and like all the production design like that was really my department heads and we curated it and we had a plan going in and but we let the actors riff a lot right but once you get into the action sequences or stuff that where the camera is being the performer you've got to you've got to keep them somewhat reigned in. They got to tow the marks. They got to make sure their look doesn't turn until camera gets around. Like they they need to be good soldiers. And as you as you probably know and David, we've talked about it. You you made that film under very tough circumstances.

19:23 It was uh right in right during the pandemic and takes place takes place in Japan and you guys shot it in Culver City primarily. Right. Totally. Yeah, we shot it. Yeah. It was like height of the pandemic, you know, before the vaccine and we were green lit and we were actually getting ready to like sort of prep it for Tokyo and we were going to go shoot it on location and then it's like they decided they want to do it, but they're going to do it. Can I do a version on stage? And so, um, well, wait, you weren't you but you you had to assume that a lot of that was going to be a build, right? Like you weren't going to shoot it on a practical train, all that stuff, were you? No, no, no.

19:59 But I really wanted to go to Japan and like get some um you know some real environments and like you know and real grit and texture and even the tone of the movie is now completely different because I'm like okay we're going to shoot it on stage. what's the anime version of this film? And then I think we did a a big pivot, you know, with the production design and the music and like the costumes and I'm like, I'm going to make this sort of a anime graphic novel. Yeah. Movie because we really have one big sound stage we can, you know, do it on. But you knew you were going to you were going to go with us a splinter unit or or a second unit or whatever and get all the exteriors and the establishing.

20:37 Yes. And actually, we did that crazily enough during the pandemic on WhatsApp. Yeah. Oh, what do you mean? I had a I had a cinematographer. I know. I had a cinematographer. This is the greatest. I love this story. Cinematographer in Japan. Yeah. And a first AD in Japan. And we had, you know, had them for weeks scouting, sending location photos, sending video because we no one was allowed in Japan. You couldn't travel there. It was like there was a lockdown. So Oh, so you did it through We did it all the plate photography we did with a remote unit. And I would get up in uh you 2:00 in the morning and get on WhatsApp and watch on a camera. No way.

21:16 That's crazy. So he's directing remotely from the stage through WhatsApp and you're like, "Yeah, maybe frame it up a little bit." You guys, you know what I mean? So your video tap was through WhatsApp as well, or was there another piece of soft? No, we had another We had another piece of software to give us the video and I can't remember what it was exactly, but that's so insane. It was crazy. We'll be right back. And now back to the show. So, we've never had a stunt person on before and I'm fascinated with that life and why you chose it and was the first like, you know, I just watched Smoking the Band and I was like, that guy was a stunt guy. You know, Nem.

22:00 Yeah. Hell needed legend. So, if anybody needs him, hell does. So, you know, um the if so, like what makes you want to do uh to do that? Because how does somebody wake up one day and go, "Hey, you know what? I'm doing I want to beat the [ __ ] out of myself." Yeah. I hope somebody throws me down the stairs today. Yeah. And don't you just Aren't you constantly aching? Anyway, go ahead. Well, I actually I I am a little achy. I'm not going to lie, but you know, I've been doing a lot I do a lot of PT and I I stayed tried to stay healthy and I I did get out, you know, earlier than some of my friends who are still like calling me like, "Hey, I hear you got a movie going and like got a couple days for me on that show." Uh and you're like, you know, you're 50, dude. You're not jumping out of the car. Yeah. But like, were you were you constantly uh were your parents constantly driving you to the emergency room when you were a

22:50 little boy? Were you always jumping off [ __ ] and hurting yourself? I actually came into the stunt business right around the time everyone was like specializing and so they were looking for like martial artists and I I competed in martial arts as a as a kid and like all through college and wow um I was getting really excited about using this knowledge in movies like you know cuz you you learn so much in martial arts that's completely useless let's be honest like there's all these moves that don't work and you're like why am I studying all of this stuff and then you realize oh because I can make up a fight with it and it could be really cool and look cinematic. So, um there was a group of guys that I was competing with that were in LA and they were working on, you know, these bad blood sport movies and things like that and I went and visited them in Mexico on the set of this movie called Perfect Target starring Daniel

23:41 Burnernhard and um I watched them put together fight scenes, jump off of stuff and like you fall into pads and I'm like that looks fun. I'm in. I just like packed up my car and left. I I was teaching second grade in in Minneapolis. I just graduated from Wow. And you're like instead of They're like, "Where are you going?" They're like, "Where are you going?" You're like, "I'm going to be a stunt performer." I'm like, "Move into LA. I'm going to be a stunt man." And then of course nothing in this business is easy. And so I I moved into a house in Roondo Beach. There were six of us that um were all trying to be stunt people. I mean, this is a show in its own right. Yeah. So, we we dug a we dug a trampoline in the backyard without telling our landlord. We bought our pads. We bought an airbag. We went out to the desert. We built highfall towers.

24:31 We were just going to train to be stunt people until somebody crazy gave us a shot. No way. And those are you still friends with those that group of Yeah. They're all, by the way, they're all really successful stunt coordinators, second unit directors. Wow. Uh Chad Stelski was the other guy. He directed John Wick with me. Yeah, you guys co-directed John Wick. And that's amazing. We have a we have a mutual friend who the great Wade Allen who who we both he was around in their early years as well. Just love me Wade Allen.

25:02 Lovely. Stupid stupid question, but what's the biggest injury? Like what's like you're like, "Okay, I'm out. I can't do this." So the I This is a great one. So I'm thinking like, you know, the training ground for stunt performers is the live show, right? Uh, and so I hadn't even done a a movie yet or a TV show, but I was trying out for the Batman live show at Magic Mountain. I was, by the way, trying out. I wasn't even the guy. Yeah. Yeah. And um to play Batman. To play Batman. Excellent. And I was showing off. I was like swinging from the the car goes under this catwalk. I grab the bar and I'm supposed to do a back Well, I'm not supposed to do a back flip, but I'm going to show everybody how I'm going to do a backflip. Oh my god. Yeah. Famous last words, hold my beer. Right. And then it was like uh I completely under rotate it, put my wrist down, and I shatter it in four four places.

25:53 Wow. Wow. I'm like surgery uh you know, I have a big halo on my wrist. And you know, and it's super embarrassing because again, I'm not even a stunt man yet. I am just like the beginning of my career. I'm trying to break into trying to cover it up. Do you think And do you think And do you think like, "Oh [ __ ] I'm not I don't have what it takes because I broke my wrist." Like, is there part of you that were you were you discouraged? I I I was embarrassed more than discouraged. I think, you know, there was a great group of guys that we were all like we just really believed it, you know, we really believed we could make it. And um part of it was this conversation we overheard in a diner. We always tell each other this today. It was pretty funny. There was two women in a diner sitting behind us and they were like, "Preparation plus opportunity equals miracles, sister."

26:40 Preparation plus opportunity. And so we would jokingly we'd always say that, but we really meant it. It's like just get good. Just get good and then someone will open the door and then you're good and get to do stuff. And so we would just train. All we did was train. Like I mean it's crazy like Tron, which I love Tron the Born movies like Ultimatum. I mean that is what a I I there are very few movies that I watch on repeat and the Borne movies are are in there. There are like five Do you guys have like five movies that you that you will repeat repeatedly watch? I have the Born movies. Yeah. Ronin. Yeah. Midnight Run.

27:20 A Midnight Run and with Nail and I. That's it. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. Midnight Run. So good. David, what what's what's what's sort of uh agreed upon as the when you say the stunt men sometimes I now specialize, what is sort of the agreed upon hardest thing the the high water uh for all stuntmen? Is it is it driving stuff? Is it firework? Is it free falls? Is it Yeah. Well, look, in the fall guy, we got to like, you know, sort of play homage to all the the old school stunts, right? We did this like incredible car roll. Yeah. We did the high we did a highfall like and that was um Bob Brown's kid and who was a legendary highfall artist like that that is really like the lost art you know the down into like down into an airbag see those anymore right it's all cable drops now is it yeah we use you know visual effects lets us erase the wires and we can use high-speed winches or we can use descender rigs and there's a lot of ways

28:21 to do that you know in a safer manner But like when we did it in the movie, we had Troy Troy Brown come out who's, you know, Bob's kid and he's one of the few people that can that do it and like has trained that old school sort of stunt. Um but look, it's such a wide discipline of stuff like and that's why you have to be specialized because you know everything got more and more technical as we tried to make it safe and so the drivers specialize in driving and but but is there one stunt that exists in in cinema like in film that is that is heralded as the stunt like Well, you know what you don't see anymore and I wonder if this is the answer uh is the fire gag. Like you never see somebody lit on fire anymore walking around like, "Oh my god, put me out." Yeah. Because they're in like they're in like a Michelin man suit. Yeah. Yeah. Well, now there's like they've invented this great gel actually. U there's a stunt

29:18 performer. He's got a company called Action Factory and he just won or he was u he was uh recognized by the Academy for a technical achievement award for his gel, the stunt gel that allows you to basically burn for a long period of time without the the big suit and like without the uh prestige rub it on your body. Well, it's um there's the gel underneath it, but it's really the fuel that burns cooler. It's a combination of the the water gel, which is like an aloe based gel, and then the fuel that burns cooler. But look, it's all like the circus. Like there's all these sort of secrets. Jay, what's that story from you? When you were you were 18, you had to use a gel for burning. What was that?

30:03 That whole thing. Hey, hey, hey. Um uh but is there but but I guess what I'm asking is I is there one thing that everybody uses as you know Jason said you know like there's a particular style of stunt that's the high water mark but is there one performance stunt performance that everybody goes that's the granddaddy of them all somebody who did like a jump or a thing or a fall or what about that jump in the one of the Borne movies where the guy jumps from one building into another building through through a side window and camera follows him in. Yes. I think about that all the time. Yeah, it it was pretty amazing. And Matt must have loved it. I mean, you know, sitting there with his Dunkin' Donuts coffee in his hand watching on a He was already on a Yeah.

30:47 You know what? That looks really [ __ ] good from over here. Yeah. Do it one more. Is the one where we can see his face a little bit less. That'd be great. Just so people believe it's me. [ __ ] it. I don't want anybody taking his hair. No, Matt. You know how Matt is. He probably was sitting on first unit. I mean, I don't know if we shot it on second unit. I can't really remember that. But yeah, it was um it was a pretty amazing set. I, by the way, I drive Matt crazy with questions about the Born movies all the time. I I make him insane. I ended up Frank Marshall ended up giving me like a rap gift like from the first one with the briefcase and the jacket and stuff cuz I wouldn't stop bothering him about how'd you guys do that and then what did you do when you did that? Like I'm so annoying. I love those movies so much. David, how do you feel? Are you excited about this?

31:30 You know, the Academy Awards are going to Well, this is what I was going to bring up. the Yes. This is David's David has been leading the charge on this. Jason, do you know this? No, not at all. David sort of gra really grabbed the reigns on and David, I I want you to say it in your words, but I want to tee you up. Tell Tracy what this is. Yeah. You have uh uh it's a real breakthrough in entertainment and in in our a new category in the Academy Awards. Yeah. Yeah. It look it was it's been a long journey and um look for 20 plus years inside the academy there's been a lot of stunt coordinators working on it um you know Jack Gil, Greg Smurs, Melissa Stubs, there's been a lot of people trying to move the needle and um after you know we basically we we made Fall Guy, we're coming back from making Fall Guy. we are all feeling really excited about this giant commercial we made for why there should be an Academy Award for

32:24 stunts and um I just went in with Kelly uh my wife and producing partner we went in and talked to the academy of like what's been the stumbling blocks how do we get this done you know casting found a way to get this done how can we find a way to get this done and they really did there was a a tremendous amount of support inside the academy and they just said look we we have a road map you follow and um it's just been some sort of lack of clarity and so Kelly and I really went down the road of like trying to rebrand what we were asking for and I think you know the the academy obviously has these this legacy of honoring design like production design costume design and I think when people think stunts they're like what are you going to give the stunt to the you going to give the award to the performer or you going to give the award to the the person that rigged the stunt and it's like no, we're

33:18 going to give it to the stunt coordinator, the department head. The tradition is you give it to the designer. And so we rebranded um our credit on the fall guy and this was Kelly's idea to uh stunt designer and Chris O'Hara, the stunt coordinator on that. We went to Kelly went to the guilds. She got it uh approved by the WGA and um and the DGA, I'm sorry, the DGA and and SAG and it was like we we got the credit stunt designer and that was sort of the first that's really cool brand now. And so now this year and the next Oscars uh uh stunts uh are going to be recognized or maybe it's going to be two years I think you know that's kind of like they we have we have some internal things to do um in terms of like how it's going to be awarded and right um and they want to they want to do it on the 100th um oh do we know if that's going to be a part of the prime time awards or is that going to be the

34:15 technical awards? I think it's all open for discussion and really wasn't what we voted on this time around. Yeah. Um but it's it's it it's exciting. Like look, I think it was it's long overdue and um I was happy to be instrumental inside the academy like really getting on the Zooms with all the governors I could and like really canvasing it. And then, you know, for our final vote, I curated a a video presentation with a lot of um director friends, celebrity friends that were really advocates. Well, I honestly, David, kudos to you for doing it. I think it's awesome. And I think it's awesome that the academy recognized it, too. So, kudos to them for for that. And and I as we all know and and Jason, I've heard you talk about it before and we all know here on this and and people should know you know everybody who's on set when you're there everybody is a filmmaker at that point. Everybody is

35:10 part of the film making process. There's no one there that doesn't need to be there. Especially when it comes to rigging up a stunt is such is such serious work. so much and rigging and that recognition is is is long overdue to to all the incredible uh stunt performers out there. So so really kudos to you. It's it's awesome and um yeah, it's great. I have a question about like overall stunt work. Well, because from Will and Grace there falls in. By the way, by the way, one of my one of my entrances on the By says me, I don't believe in it. One of my entrances entrances on David Letterman when I when he had his talk show. They let me jump off the balcony onto a Yeah. I jumped off the balcony onto what is it called?

35:56 Like a pad. Like like it was filled with air. Like an air pad. Like an airbag. Yeah, an airbag. I can't believe they let me do that. So David, go ahead, Sean. No, I was just going to say so is By the way, that's whatever that is. But is it true that um Oh, sorry. Sorry. Hang on. Yeah. No, no. I just meant like I can't believe somebody let me do that and I'm not I wasn't even stunt performance at a talk show appearance. There was no stunt coordinator on set. There was none. Was there a bump? Did you get George? You just get the appearance fee or was there a bump?

36:26 Jason, you Jason, you always did a bub before Letterman, did you? I always love a good bump on Letterman and not Letterman. But anyway, so uh but is it true? Did they get Do you guys get Are the stunt people get paid every single take? Is that right? It's not like a regular acting fee or whatever. Is it true that that's how they get paid? I heard that. Well, that that that's a great that's a great we can explain what bump means in the stump world. Yeah. So, every time Yeah. Well, in the 80s it meant two things, I'm sure. Probably meant one, like how am I going to get ready? And two, how am I going to get paid? But it's really it's called the stunt adjustment, and you get you get money for each time you do something that's dangerous. And that's sort of it's it's decided by the stunt coordinator in production and like sort of agreed upon. Um, and so yeah, if you did this that st that stairfall I was

37:16 talking about in Fight Club, I mean, he was probably getting $500 each time. By the way, on top of his salary, David, I like the idea that he's like he's like he's like, "Uh, hey man, listen. My kid needs new braces. Do just throw me down a couple more times. [ __ ] it up, you know." Exactly. and we will be right back. And now back to the show. Um, wait, you you mentioned that um that your your wife is your producing partner. Talk to us talk to us about that. That's that's awesome. I mean, how long you've been doing that?

37:56 Uh I mean the fact that you never have to be uh separated because so much of what we do necessitates a separation from your family and I know boohoo you know these are high class problems but you know it it is kind of tough. It's so great it sounds like you guys get to stick together all the time. Talk to us about that. It really is actually. I mean we so we've been we've been married uh 12 years and it we and it's been it's been amazing. Like look, I we we met a little later in life and that that was great. Um she's just Was she a Was she a producer when you met her? Yeah. Is that how you got I mean she had she came she worked at Scott with Scott Ruden's company and then she ended up in uh LA and she is 100% responsible for me turning becoming a director. I will give her all the credit. So, she sort of uh she wasn't a manager, but she hypoceted uh Chad and I when she was working at this company called Sierra Affinity,

38:57 which is a foreign sales company, and she was curating their slate of projects. And she was like, "I'm going to get you guys." And and uh Nick Meyer, the guy that owned that company, allowed her to do that. And so, she really, you know, taught us how to take meetings and like really was a champion to the agencies about these guys direct action, but they also tell stories. and she was like a big advocate for us and she ended up um finding John Wick. It came through Sarah's office and she sort of slipped it to Chad and I and she's like you guys should meet on second unit and then you should pitch yourselves as directors because it's all action. And was that your first film as a director? Yeah. And was that the first John Wick? The first John Wick. Yes. Wow. Now, Keanu Reeves is notoriously very picky and and snobby in the best way about directors, as is Brad Pitt. Like, these guys just work in

39:50 director vehicles, even though they're enormous stars and can work in and create star vehicles and just get any director that'll listen to whatever the hell they want to do. They don't do that. They they they love to work for. So, what a huge compliment that you ran through whatever gauntlet creatively through Keanu. so discerning. That's that's awesome. Yeah, he he was incredibly supportive from the beginning and he is you're right, he's like a a director's actor. Like he loves the director and he we had worked with him for so long on the Matrix sequels and we had trained him for those sequences and and Chad was actually he was familiar with you guys. Yeah. and he um and then um we had helped with uh choreography on Man of Tai Chief, something that he directed and so we were like we maintained that relationship and friendship. So then when it came up, hey, there's a lot of action in this

40:46 movie. We'd love to be considered and we put together our presentation, our lookbook, our sort of, you know, our character sketches and our arcs and we pitched it to him. He said, "Let's go to Lionsgate and tell him you want to do it." Do you ever see yourself uh Dave, do you ever see yourself doing something kind of moody and small and talky just as just as a gear shift? Yeah. Do you you have a script you want you want to submit? Will Yeah, you got one. It's real talky. It's just me basically talking. It's, you know, it's hard because I mean, I have so much fun, you know, since Deadpool. I, you know, everything has had a real fun tone and I do enjoy comedy, you know, I'm that's why I'm, you know, not only the reason, but I'm a huge fan of all your work, you know, all you guys like, you're just so freaking funny. Um, and that's why we have to do something together. Please.

41:40 The uh the Smartless Stump movie. I see it. Let's do it. where you where you just throw me down the stairs and that's it over and over and over. By by the way by the way before you get into it because I want to hear your I want to hear your answer of what you want to do. Just just to remind our audience the films that you've done that you've directed just that you've directed John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobson Shaw, Bullet Train, Fall Guy. Like these are I know these are all big like big cinematic you know uh event movies that people love to go. Just to remind our listener, these are the movies that you love. The degree of difficulty is super high. It's super high. So, so having said that, so you've done these big movies that take a lot of planning and a lot of resources and figure So, do you see yourself making something simpler?

42:31 Yeah. No. Well, I do. I mean, I look, I the the fun moments for me right now, it's not the big action sequences. I mean, again, I love making them, but they're the sort of like earnest dramatic moments. You know, I thinking of the Fall Guy, like um some of the scenes with Ryan and Emily that are really sort of emotional. They're both such good actors. Yeah. They're Yeah. And like watching those collaborating with those great actors and like bringing, you know, some real humanity to the screen. Yeah. I think separates, if I pat myself on the back for a second, I think it separates what, you know, people go to see my movies because they're big action movies and there's com subversive comedy and all that, but they're they remember them because they love the characters so much and because you actually cared about them, right?

43:18 Well, I think and and it goes to David also like how I kicked it off, which is you are such a great guy and you are such a you are a very thoughtful person and so it it doesn't s it wouldn't surprise me if you did something like leaning more that way. And you're right, your movies do have those elements in it. So it would be cool to see. I think you'd be I would love to do, you know, a straightup drama. I think right now I'm actually in Pittsburgh and I'm prepping the next movie. It's called um How to Rob a Bank. And it's the it is sort of a new, you know, taking a heist movie and turning it on its head. And I have Nick Nick Holt and and Pete Davidson.

43:58 Amazing. Um, that's awesome. There's a lot of dramatic elements in this project. That was why I'm attracted to it. Yeah. Talk talk about that for a sec. like would you have been as excited earlier earlier um that that that a project like this sort of led with you know just sort of you need to be able to talk actor [ __ ] lingo and you need to be able to talk [ __ ] you know lighting and editorial pace and but but do you know what I mean like how was how was that a comfortable transition for you or uh or not transition was it a comfortable process for you to learn and get as familiar with talking actor or talking gaffer or talking camera operator as it was talking stunts? Like was that was that was that one of the big things that was like, oh, you know, I I can coordinate a fight, but the the other part of the this directing stuff is being able to like help an actor kind of find a moment or try or talk to, you

44:57 know, the the the gaffer about, you know, what the lighting strategy might be in this thing or talk about that stuff or tell Jason Bman that his wig is slipping off. You know what I mean? Yeah. You got to take him to to the side, you know, cuz no one knows. No one's going to tell. Yeah. Well, I will say yes, you get you get better each time out. And I think but I did, you know, I had for better or worse, I had the training wheels of Second Unit. Okay. And so with Second Unit, you're still working with actors and like, you know, a movie like um this, you know, this blockbuster Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that Will and I work on. Like I mean, I It was a blockbuster. It was number one for three weeks. Go ahead. We um we um I worked with Will, you know, I got to work with actors and we were working on performance even inside the action. So you were constantly like you were learning actor speak at that that

45:56 is that well um but then you know obviously sitting in the the first unit chair becomes it's a different animal. Um, but I felt really really comfortable from the get-go. But I think it was, you know, having years of like, you know, being a second unit director, getting more and more a bigger piece of the of the film each time out, you know, like these big commercial films, like you might have like six weeks of second unit. You know, it's a lot. And it was that's more than we had to shoot John Wick, the first movie. What would the what what would what would what would folks listening who were not in who are not in this business what what what part of the process as a director uh would they be surprised to hear is really not enjoyable not really pleasant is it is it is it the is it sort of the start of things like sort of pitching you know trying to describe what you're going to do to these studio heads when you're

46:53 sitting in an office you know or is it is it marketing it like talking to the press afterwards words about what to expect. Like there's so many different parts. Is there is there a part that's particularly unpleasant to you or or a part that you're still kind of getting used to or making friends with? I I mean getting them getting them off the ground is always the hardest I think, you know. I It's just um selling selling it, you know, and like and getting people involved and getting their schedules right and like getting your key collaborators to believe in it. Once you even once you've sold it, just from the mo even once they say yes, even from the yes to first day to actually showing up, you're like right to the end, right?

47:36 You're like we're never a hard green light. Are we green lit? Are we green? Are we green lit? And you you're working on the budget like the week before they're like kind of approved budget, right? Explain a little bit how that works. Like, yeah, you get, you know, you they say they want to make it for something and then you get it into that box and then, you know, you have a creative idea and like that's a great idea and then you're like the Yeah, the money box and then it's like the box expands and then you try and get it back in and it's constantly like trying to hit a number whe whether it's a, you know, $100 million movie because there's all these expectations that drive those costs up or it's a $25 million movie like these ones that we produce that you know it it they're never agreeing that nobody's coming out. Nobody too is coming out in August. That's another exciting Oh, nobody with the great Bob

48:28 Odenkirk who I who we all know very well. I just saw him on stage at Gleng Gary Glenn Ross. I did too. Jay god was he great. So great. He's he's amazing. He's so good. And uh nobody too. I'm really excited about it. We've had we've had we had a great time making it. I I was actually one of those where Kelly produced it, but I was on set quite a bit. It was really fun. Like we were Isn't that Sean? That's your That's your handle on Grinder is just nobody, right? And that's correct. Yeah. And just my photos are just the neck down. Um so you don't get you you don't get a lot of downtime to just go travel or do anything. I mean, it seems like you just go project to project to project. Right now it's been that like the last 10 years has been pretty busy, I have to say. Hey, like we this is movie movie movie number seven and then plus the the ones we produced uh Violent Night with David Harbor and uh the

49:22 Nobody with Bob. So, but again I I love it. I guess I kind of grew up said my adult life was all physical production. I loved it. I love the set life. I love my fellow friends on there. I love like waking up eating the bad burrito and like how do we get this done? Like so I miss it. It's been 2 years since we were on set. Oh, no way. Really? Yeah. So for me it's like I'm ready to to dig in and and uh shoot some stuff. How are you liking Pittsburgh? What have you found up there in Pittsburgh that you that you're liking to do? Uh we play honestly we play pickle ball so Oh yeah. Have you have have you have you experienced any uh life scarring injuries from pickle ball? Cuz that you can really represent.

50:09 Listen, I I I knew somebody that works in the ER just recently. She said most of the people that come in here are because of pickle ball. Oh, it's I swear to God, David, no offense. I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan of pickle ball. You're not. Did you play tennis? You're a curious. I just I don't know. I think pickle ball it's a fat man sport. It's replaced raetball. You know, you stand in the middle of the thing, the ball's going to come to you eventually. You know, raetball. I love raetball. I know. You used to play with Johnny Schwarz. remember JB back in the day?

50:40 Can you There's even places to play raetball anymore. I loved it. And when you find them, you're like, "Oh my god, look at that big white room." I like squash cuz it was harder. You know what I mean? And you had to run. Yeah. But there's a very unsatisfying sound and and and and hit. How dare you say that about squash? We almost enjoyed it immensely. Um uh so you're playing a lot of pickle ball, which is good. Yeah. Our nephews go to Carnegie Melon, the Kelly's nephews. And so it's been odd like being here. They're both in college and we're now here on prep and it's like, "Hey, you guys want to hang out? It's Saturday night." And they're like, "Uh, yeah.

51:18 We're in college." Yeah. Yeah. And you're And you're 50. Yeah. Exactly. And you're 50. Yes. Exactly. Well, Dave, I again, David, I I just want to say I I want to reiterate how cool it is what you've done for the stunt performers. uh and and to to bring them uh you know, yeah, to to get them recognized and and that the Academy did that is really awesome and and so congrats to everybody and uh again another testament. What a great dude and what a what an awesome guy and what a great director you are that you've become and increasingly it's just so it's so [ __ ] rad and I'm I'm happy to know you and continued success my friend. Yeah, it's great to have talked to you for a bit about all this, man.

52:00 Thank you for doing this. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, man. Appreciate it. This has been so fun. Send my love to Kelly if you will, please. And yeah, and uh uh we'll talk to you really soon and and uh have a great time out there in Pittsburgh. I appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. See you back, too. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. That was a great guest there, Willie. How's it going? Really super guy. Such a fan of his. I'm really stoked it worked out uh and that that the sketch worked out and and uh he's such a great guy and I have had the pleasure. We also made a commercial together that that hasn't aired for a bunch of reasons but uh uh and so and it was something that it was great but we didn't really have to do much and we were just on a stage for three days at Paramount. Yeah, it seems like a really fun hang. So we just kind of hung out for three days and we did this thing. It was fine and the people

52:51 were really nice and we did a nice but I just got to spend an additional 3 days with him like 4 months ago and it was so great. He's he's such a good thoughtful dude. I think we should workshop what what the smartless movie would be uh uh that we can pitch to. It should be stunt intensive. The three of us the three of us get kidnapped by a disgruntled listener and uh and we're tied up in the back of a van. Disgruntled listener and Sean is held hostage at the donut factory. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Oh, I'm back in.

53:18 I'm back in. And he's just to keep him [ __ ] quiet. He's got a dozen donuts in his mouth the entire movie. By the way, by the way, the the last day, our last day, mine and Scotty, cuz Scotty's in Will's movie as well. We sent donuts to everybody on set. Huh. They did. They sent donut. They sent donuts. And then I asked him if he'd had any. He said, "Of course." And then I had a great moment. I will say, I won't say where, but I had a great moment. There was this big guy set this like I don't know like 30 boxes of donuts on on on this big table and at one point I I see like four cops standing over it. I was like where and I didn't have my I never had my phone. I was like where's my [ __ ] phone? I know it was pretty good. They were great guys. David's great though. You know what the the one thing No, no, no. This isn't it. This isn't it yet.

54:07 But I did want to ask him because he does seem so levelheaded and like really cool like you're saying just really like down to earth and Jay you're the same way I imagine on set where you're just but it's like those your those types of personalities that are like just down to earth and have to keep everybody happy on a set. What do you do when you get so [ __ ] pissed about a person or something? How do you stuff it and then how does it come out later? Well, let's ask Amanda because she's usually Wait, wait. Sorry. She bears the brunt of most of the frustration. Wait, wait, wait, shot. I was sorry. I was actually reading something. Say that one more time. Oh my god. No, no. Honestly, uh I just we just got a pitch for a buy.

54:50 Uh but what what was when did you say when somebody says something that you don't like, how do you keep your No, no, no. Like you guys have personalities where you have to you're very levelhead and you have to keep the piece on set all the time and when something somebody or something really pisses you off, you can't let it out. So, how do you let it out later or what do you do about stuffing all that? Like Yeah, I know. I mean, I I I am not perfect with this. I'm sure some some will attest, but um I I guess you just like if anything like you or will or anybody else in this world um you just hope that you have managed your day properly leading up to that point where you are living in a place of patience and compromise uh that you need to sort of uh Yeah. There just must be so many things that are just like what the [ __ ] like all day long when you're directing like when anybody's directing and you're so mad

55:44 yourself right now. You're already worked up. I know cuz I feel like I would be that way. That's why it is part of the job though, right? It is part of the job to to manage all the incoming. Uh if you're going to raise your hand for a leadership position, there's a lot that comes with it. So unless you can do it all, no, you know what it is I think that you got to do. I think that in those moments when you have that stuff, no, you just got to be calm and you got to think about what what certain people would do like you know historically people who were good. So you think about great people and thing you might think about this and you think about God and whatever you do you can always look it up in the book or you might need to just bite your tongue don't waste that one. Okay.

56:36 Smart L smart glass smartless is 100% organic and artisally handcrafted by Rob Armjarf Bennett Barbco and Michael Grant Terry. Smart less.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "David Leitch | SmartLess"?

Will Arnett (Host), Jason Bateman (Host), Sean Hayes (Host), David Leitch (Guest), Amanda (Guest).

What is discussed in "David Leitch | SmartLess"?

In order: 0:00 Bradley Cooper, Chicago, SmartLess, SmartLess; 5:00 Brooklyn, Bullet Train, Chicago, Deadpool 2; 10:00 Fight Club, Ninja Assassin, The Matrix, V for Vendetta; 15:00 Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train, Culver City, David Fincher; 20:00 WhatsApp, Graphic Novel, John Wick, Martial arts; 25:00 Action Factory, Bob Brown, Magic Mountain, Midnight Run; 30:00 Academy Award, Chris O'Hara, Donuts, Frank Marshall; 35:00 Brad Pitt, Fight Club, John Wick, Keanu Reeves; 40:00 Atomic Blonde, Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, How to Rob a Bank; 45:00 Nobody, Bob Odenkirk, John Wick, Pittsburgh; 50:00 Donuts, Pittsburgh, SmartLess, SmartLess; 55:00 Michael Grant Terry, SmartLess, SmartLess.

What is mentioned in this SmartLess episode?

90 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including SmartLess, Nobody, John Wick, Bullet Train, Fight Club, The Fall Guy. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "David Leitch | SmartLess"?

The episode runs 57 min; the transcript is about 11,201 words in 73 timestamped sections.

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