Turn Dreams Into $3 Billion - w/ Beau Flynn

How do you MAXOUT at the highest level? #MAXOUT is a MOVEMENT! It is a LIFESTYLE, a WORK ETHIC, a MORAL CODE that can be found at the core of some of the most successful people in the world. Today’s guest on The Ed Mylett Show is the epitome of what it means to MAXOUT. I have one of the TOP MOVIE PRODUCERS in the world here to share his story. This man is behind some of the most epic movies of our time including, Skyscraper, Rampage, San Andreas, Hercules, and Journey 2! He has produced over 32 films, grossing more than $3 BILLION at the box office. On top of that, he’s a critically acclaimed producer of multiple independent films, a world-class entrepreneur, AND produced the very first 3D movie. It is my honor to bring you, BEAU Flynn! It doesn’t matter where you came from or what difficult circumstance is in your way, we ALL have the ability to MAXOUT. Having to fend for himself and take care of his sister starting at a young age, Beau was able to use his PAIN as a motivator for success and WIN! You’ll learn what it takes to thrive in arguably the MOST COMPETITIVE industry in the world. You’ll learn how to balance humility with ambition and drive so that you can stay at the top of your game and outlast the one-hit wonders. Beau even shares the inspiring story behind how he began working with The Rock and how their relationship produced 8 movies with one more on the way and a booming partnership. This interview is all about overcoming rejection, conquering fears, sustaining momentum, taking risks, resilience after failure, and what it truly looks like to MAXOUT at the highest level. This is a MUST WATCH! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Ed Mylett?

  I hear so many small business owners say the exact same thing. They just never have enough time in the day. Well, I measure time differently. I've compressed, condensed, heck, I've bent time. My first day is 6:00 a.m. to noon. My second day starts at noon and goes till 6:00 p.m. And my third day, 6:00 p.m. to midnight. I now get 21 days a week. Stack that up over a month, over a year, over five years, and my life's completely different than it would have been otherwise. And if you want to win as an entrepreneur, you have to compress your time, too. And you definitely can't afford to waste it. Waiting weeks on a big bank for capital? Your best bet's to work with my friends at Cardiff. They know how to compress time for entrepreneurs. They get your business approved in minutes and funded the very same day. They're America's favorite small business lender, and for good reason.

• 0:45Ed Mylett?

  Over 20 years in business, over $12 billion deployed to small business across America. Stop letting bank delays slow down your momentum. Head to cardiff.co/ed. That's cardiff.co/ed. Cardiff.co. Real growth, fast funding. Cardiff. Borrow better.

• 1:01Speaker 01

  Mr. President, my company, for me, of the explosion on our rig.

• 1:05Speaker 02

  On October 2nd.

• 1:06Speaker 01

  Causing massive water displacement and triggering a tsunami. They all heap the blame on me.

• 1:11Speaker 02

  Tom Cruise is. Digger got us into this mess. And Digger's gonna dig us up. From the director of Birdman and The Revenant.

• 1:18Speaker 01

  What would happen if I stopped drilling? You stop, you freeze to death, that's what.

• 1:22Speaker 02

  With great power comes great deniability.

• 1:25Speaker 01

  I'm not the first nanny.

• 1:27Speaker 02

  Digger. See the trailer online. Only in theaters October 2nd. Rated R. Under 17. Not a minute without parent.

• 1:38Speaker 03

  This is the Ed Miler Show.

• 1:45Ed Mylett?

  Welcome back to Max Out, everybody. I've been looking forward to this interview for a while because this man has maxed out many areas of life. But today, we're probably going to focus most on the movie industry because he's one of the top movie producers in the world right now. But he's also maxed out a great family. He's an entrepreneur. He's an incredible communicator, and he's becoming a good friend of mine. And so, I'm very excited. You've seen movies like Skyscraper, Hercules, Rampage, San Andreas. The list could go on and on. But I actually kind of like some of the indie stuff. So, Choke, Tigerland.

• 2:20Ed Mylett?

  He's really, really a very unique man and been incredibly successful and maxed out the industry that he's in. So Bo Flynn, thank you for being here today, brother.

• 2:29Speaker 04

  Oh, man. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. What a great introduction and love that you know those movies, both the, you know, the studio commercial films and the indie ones, which are really close to my heart. I'm really honored to be here. I'm a huge fan of yours and I think it'll be fun today.

• 2:44Ed Mylett?

  It's gonna be fun. And the list is much longer than that, you guys. Your quick Google search, you will be blown away.

• 2:50Speaker 04

  I sometimes don't even really believe it when I, when I look at the list. It's just, it's crazy, really.

• 2:57Ed Mylett?

  I want to start there. It's amazing that you said that because I, I was reading about you and, you know, we're talking about all of our mutual friends and you and I have been communicating for a while now. Did you expect this to happen in your life? Like, is this, are you living your dream or were there some left and right turns and you weren't even always sure you wanted to be on the, a producer in the movie business?

• 3:21Speaker 04

  It's a great question and I could answer, I could answer all that. And I am living my dream 100%. Yeah. But it took a long time to formulate and to find. A lot of people, you hear a lot of filmmakers, people are like, when I was five years old, I had a video camera in my hand and I was making movies. Like, that's not my story at all. But I really do pinch myself often. I think that's a, that's a healthy feeling, but it doesn't take away from my ambitions. You know what I mean? I think that it's a healthy feeling to feel like you're gonna have the rug pulled out underneath you, while at the same time, you can kind of pat yourself on the back of your achievements, but never really kind of settle or rest on them for too long. You know, because I feel like I've

• 4:06Speaker 04

  so much to do and I've been extremely, truly blessed by I made my first movie when I was 25 years old. So I have, I have made over 31 movies and yet I still feel like I have so much to give and I have so much left. And fortunately, it's a career that allows you to kind of stay in for as long as, as you want, or as long as they'll, they'll have you. I always have a theme in every movie, one theme, and it's my theme. It's my personal theme. It's usually father-son related. It's usually about family. Even look at St. Andreas. It's about, it's, yeah, it's a, it's a disaster about an earthquake. It's actually, it's about a father trying to rescue his family. Like, it's like, that's, like, that's what the theme of that movie and the drive for me was about.

• 4:46Ed Mylett?

  How did your relationship with your father shape who you are now? I'm, I'm curious.

• 4:52Speaker 04

  Um, it shaped me in a massive way and not the way that, you know, you would expect. Um, you know, it was, it was my father, you know, and everyone deals with divorce and leaving, but it was, it was tricky because my mom raised, you know, my dad left when I was, um, when I was three, my, my sister was one. And, um, you know, he was someone that I really liked, looked up to, but he just, he wasn't, he wasn't around. And, um, you know, really kind of, I think is what drove me to go to school because my mom was also really never around at the time. This is, yeah, this is Miami 70s and 80s. You have to think about that. That was a crazy, wild

• 5:36Speaker 04

  time. And my mom was, was out every night. My dad was never around. And I became the head of the household very quickly and was raising my sister and was raising my mom, to be really honest. And, um, you know, that's something I, I never really talk about. My mom was married six times. Uh, my dad was married three times. Um, and was constantly moving. I, I moved, um, I think I moved 12 times before I graduated high school. So I was constantly kind of having to figure out how to kind of like adapt and where we moved from Miami to California to San Diego to back. I was in numerous different schools all the time. And it's very, very challenging at that age to have to really, you know, figure out who you are

• 6:17Speaker 04

  and who your identity is and how you can find a kind of a group of people that accept you and you feel safe with and.

• 6:23Ed Mylett?

  You feel like you didn't have a childhood as a result?

• 6:25Speaker 04

  No, I didn't. I really, my life, I don't feel like really began for me until college. I feel like that's really when I, um, when I identified with who I was and, and found inner peace in myself and, and belief in myself. I was, um, I really, I, I really didn't because I was too busy trying to, you know, kind of support my mom and, and get out of bed in the morning and, and make sure my sister was, was fed, you know? Um, so it was, it was a very, very tricky time and I still look back on it to this day. I don't understand what, what caused me. No one ever asked, um, what your grades were to see my report card or anything. And I, I was so motivated to do well in school and I, I, I don't know what drove that because it wasn't any parenting whatsoever. Um, and I still

• 7:10Speaker 04

  try and figure that out, um, or try and figure that out what that was.

• 7:13Ed Mylett?

  Sometimes it's one of the few places in our life that we're getting any significance or recognition. It could even be at school when we got the aid and if we didn't bring it home. I know that I found for me in our environment, when I achieved, it was the only time I felt significant or recognized. And even if it wasn't even my own house, it could be at school, it could be by a coach.

• 7:31Speaker 04

  Right.

• 7:32Ed Mylett?

  That did, but in your case, as a 50-year-old man, that upbringing, your childhood affects literally the messages in some of the top grossing movies of all time.

• 7:41Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's all directly.

• 7:42Ed Mylett?

  By that experience.

• 7:43Speaker 04

  All directly in there. And it's also why I really like, I just, I want so badly to be a good father to, to Weston Ruby, to my daughters, you know? Um, want to be there for them and really give them a stable upbringing and a huge part of my inspiration and give back in that way too. So I want to give back to them. I want to give back in terms of to the movies. And then to your point, Ed, it's like, I do really, I happen to really genuinely love people and I want to give back to them in any capacity that, that I can. And I just feel like starting to get to that place in my life where I feel like I'm ready for it and also where I can, you know, have that platform too, you know?

• 8:16Ed Mylett?

  Wonderful, bro.

• 8:18Speaker 04

  It's funny because it's a movie that drove me to go to NYU. I was, I grew up very kind of nerdy and I was a computer hacker and I just was in my bedroom all the time and I was either on my computer or, or I was, I was watching a movie. And I watched every movie I could as a kid just because it was my escape. I grew up in Miami, Florida with a single mother, social worker. There was never even a moment that I connected the idea of myself making films. There was no connection whatsoever. I didn't know anyone in the business. Hollywood was its own isolated bubble that was, you know, 60,000 feet. And there was a movie called Wall Street that I really, really loved and I was a huge

• 9:01Speaker 04

  Oliver Stone fan, you know, from Scarface and into Platoon and then Wall Street. And Bud Fox, who is the Charlie Sheen character, went to NYU. And he went to work on Wall Street. He's the first half of the movie. He started out very kind of ambitious and very well intended. We know that he made a deal with Gordon Gekko and the devil and he learned the hard way. But I really want, so I went to NYU. I worked on Wall Street when I was 18 years old. I worked for an IPO firm and I went to Stern School of Business, but I had a real crisis. I was, and at 18, I was, I had my series seven and I had a real crisis in life because

• 9:42Speaker 04

  by the end of freshman year, I was very unhappy. I was extremely unhappy and I was not doing, I was not getting any satisfaction, but it was, it was an issue because that was my dream. That's what I had set up to achieve and it happened very quickly. Now, when I say like, I also had, you know, at that time, in that age, I was very driven by the dollar sign and I wanted to be worth, you know, a hundred million dollars by 25 and all those things that a lot of us share, but it was all for the wrong reasons and wrong intentions. And once I transferred out of Stern School of Business and I went to the School of Arts and Sciences and I just started taking random classes, that's when my life changed.

• 10:20Ed Mylett?

  Wow, so the movie affected you in the standpoint that you wanted to go get rich, but at the same time it affected you wanting to make movies at the same time, right?

• 10:27Speaker 04

  That's exactly right, but again, I had no connection or relationships whatsoever to it, and when I transferred to arts and sciences, that's when I started taking film. I just started taking classes on Central Park, I took classes on acting, I took classes on filmmaking, took classes on philosophy, things that were never offered in the business school, and from that I started making all these relationships and people that were filmmakers and also just saw New York City in a complete and different light.

• 10:55Ed Mylett?

  It's amazing, everybody listen to this when you're hearing Bo talk, because you may have a dream, you're going down one road, and there's these turns you can make. So, this is a man who's had three billion plus in gross on his movies, guys. I mean, you're talking about, to express the level of success this man's had in this industry, and it's amazing, it's almost like, Bo, because I feel like, I think we both feel like there's a connection you and I, and it's almost like you're in my questions, because one of the things I've observed about you and mutual friends have told me about you, is the Bud Fox thing didn't happen to you, and I think that's one of the reasons you're successful. You've heard me say this before, but people can kind of get intoxicated by their own success.

• 11:36Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 11:37Ed Mylett?

  Their will to win can be bought, not just with failure, but the best of the best, success doesn't buy their will to win. You know exactly what I mean. There's a lot of one-hit wonders, there's guys that had a good three or four year run in your industry, maybe they start believing the pats on the back, or they enjoy the accolades or the access or the money a little too much too soon.

• 11:58Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 11:59Ed Mylett?

  It seems to me it's not affected you, your ambition or drive, and I want you to talk about this, it's not in any of the things we discussed prior. You have what I see in all max-out achievers, which is an element of, obviously, a skillset that you need. You're excellent at what you do, but from a mindset standpoint, high degree of self-confidence, combined with an incredible amount of humility, meaning you know you know what you do, you do well, but there's so much humility that you want to grow, maybe there's even a level of insecurity about that that I think is healthy.

• 12:31Speaker 04

  Sure.

• 12:32Ed Mylett?

  But talk about that, don't be humble for a minute, you are unique, especially in your industry, brother. Your level of humility and ambition and drive to still go where you are, true or false?

• 12:42Speaker 04

  It's very true. I really can't believe I just kind of just really drilled down on all that. I mean, that's, that's a really incredible assessment and I'll be really honest with you. It's, it's, it's really accurate. I do feel like and always have, like, I've always felt like I definitely had a bigger calling. I definitely have enormous drive and will to win. But I do have moments of insecurities and really feel like, even when you just said $3 billion in box office, like, it's just, it's even hearing that sometimes is, is really, sometimes hard to process, but meanwhile, it's like, I feel yet there's so much more to come.

• 13:24Speaker 04

  But I think that's what also is, is allowed me to stay relevant and stay in this business for as long as I've had, which is, you know, 25 years, you know, already. I just turned 50 years old and, and that's been a big moment for me and it happened during the, you know, the pandemic. But I really do believe that humility is very sincere. It's not a show. But it's also, I feel like it's really served me really well because it's kept me honest. And it's, it really has allowed me to really continually do the work. I'm a big believer in like, in no shortcuts because anytime I've taken a shortcut, it's usually failed miserably.

• 14:05Speaker 04

  And I also have never found myself really lucky, never won in, you know, won a bingo game. I've never kind of like, just like first movie turned out to do, you know, billion dollars at the box office. Like, it's all been a natural progression of hard work. And while I've seen peers and other people just arrive in Hollywood and their first or second film is this massive runaway hit, in the moment, it was very confusing because I'm like, I've been doing this for a really long time. Why am I not at that place where they are? But then in retrospect, when I look back over the duration of my career, you can't take any of that hard work away. That's all belongs to me. And it gives me this incredible confidence that I know what I'm doing and can continue it.

• 14:50Speaker 04

  Where other people that have kind of been a flash in the pan or like you said, a one, a wonder or focused on the money, now looking back over a career of 25 years, they're not around. They're not here.

• 15:00Ed Mylett?

  You have another unique thing that I wanna, I want, I think all max out achievers have, which is you've also stepped forward in big moments. I think in everyone's life, there's a handful of moments that can define them. And some risks and and you step into that moment when it presents itself because you're prepared and one of those moments for you is where you show vision and you take a chance. Great leaders see something in people other people don't see. And so Brendan Fraser doesn't come back to Journey to the Center of the Earth. You you call this shock where you have this meeting with this guy. And that meeting was one of those handful of moments that you were already doing very well, but it altered the direction of an industry.

• 15:41Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 15:41Ed Mylett?

  It altered the direction. It took your life to a new level and it certainly altered the direction of this man's life. And a lot of things happened there. You met your moment where your preparation gave you insight. You took a chance, right?

• 15:54Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 15:54Ed Mylett?

  And you had the vision to see something in this person that not everybody was seeing at that given time. So I know who that guy is. But why don't you take us through that meeting? What happened? How the conversation went and how you came to make that decision, which altered the course of history in the movie industry?

• 16:11Speaker 04

  Wow. Well, first of all, Ed, I gotta tell you, this is A, what makes you great. The fact that you are this insightful and can identify that moment, right? Because it's not easy. Like, I can tell you what my career defining moments are, you know, pretty, pretty readily. It's amazing how you can really quickly identify it on your own and through your research and through your conversations with our peers. Because that, that's the moment. I mean, in terms of had a lot of great opportunities and breaks, but that certainly is, is the game changer for me. And I think, you know, for the person that you're talking about, and I'll, and I'll tell you, you made a movie called Journey to the Center of the Earth. And you talk about industry changing and not a lot of people know this. And as you

• 16:56Speaker 04

  can tell, or as you were mentioning, I'm not a big braggart, but we were the first 3D movie. In the entire industry and the history of the movie business was Journey to the Center of the Earth. James Cameron's Avatar was released after ours. We used his cameras and we used the fusion system and James came to set to see how it was working with us and he used this as like a, as a beta testing movie. But we were the first 3D movie ever in, in the entire industry. And that was a huge deal for the movie business because A, you can only achieve it in the theaters, B, it allowed them to upcharge their tickets, and C, it became huge all over the world, particularly in China, which is a massive, massive market and, and we were a massive hit in China, one of the biggest hits in China with Journey to the Center

• 17:41Speaker 04

  of the Earth. And it also caused all the theaters to have to shift their movies over to the 3D projection system in order to play it. So, that was that. So that movie had a huge impact in general to me and to the industry. And the movie did $250 million globally and that was, really, that was my biggest hit at the time. And it's a quarter of a billion dollars and just in theatrical box office, that doesn't include ancillary revenues, it doesn't include DVDs, TV cycles, etc. So that was a big moment for us. Sequel was, was an easy green light for New Line at the time, for Toby Amrick and Richard Brenner. They, they supported that movie. It wasn't, Journey to the Center of the Earth was not an easy green light at the time.

• 18:24Speaker 04

  Brendan Fraser was kind of like, you know, kind of like, definitely still kind of had his things and the movie wasn't, you know, a slam dunk by any stretch. But the sequel, after $250 million, you, you green lighted it. We then had some creative disagreements with Brendan over, over the director and the direction of the film. I really respect New Line for supporting me and taking a strong position because we're making that sequel. You know, it's like if, if, I would have loved if Brendan would have done it. But he didn't and he wasn't, and New Line stayed the course and they stayed with making the sequel of the movie and supported myself and the team, the creative team.

• 19:08Speaker 04

  There was a lot of discussions about who could step in for that role. How, A, how would you achieve it creatively? How do you make that work? Because Josh Hutcherson, who was in the first one and was in the second, went on to Hunger Games. He was an important element to us and, you know, he was 12 years old when he did the first one and, you know, he was 15 when he did the second. And... I kept, the way my name kept coming up to you and the way your name kept coming up to me, the name Dwayne Johnson was just flying into my life in all kinds of ways. Carla Gugino is a very close friend of mine and fabulous actress. She had worked with him a few times, talked about him.

• 19:52Speaker 04

  You need to know Dwayne Johnson on a personal level. He's from Miami, went to the U S of Miami. He's the greatest guy. He is so driven and ambitious. You know, it's like you guys would be a match made in heaven. I heard that from another good friend of mine. Matt Gerald, who had just worked with him, who's an actor and was visiting me in Budapest when I was making a film. Because I was really like, I was at a loss for who, and I feel casting is one of my, one of my strengths in producing. Feel like I really can identify who's right for the role and how to do it. And I've had a lot of success with big breakout actors where it was their first movie and then they went on to be huge stars. And I had a hard time replacing this, this role.

• 20:34Speaker 04

  And eventually I just, I said, he's the guy. Dwayne Johnson is the guy. He's the one who's going to be able to replace this. He is a movie star. He has the energy. He has the comedy, though he hasn't had a chance to really show it. He was just coming off of Tooth Fairy, which had just been released. And, and that was a movie that Dwayne talks a lot about in terms of that challenged his authenticity, which is such an important part of our business and all business in gen, you know, in general.

• 21:08Speaker 04

  And we went on a rogue trip, myself and the director. We went on a rogue trip to Atlanta to meet with Dwayne. We bought the plane tickets ourself. We flew down there. We sent him the script. He agreed to a meeting. He was shooting a movie down there. Flew down, I'll never forget it, ever, ever, ever, this moment. Knocked on the door and he answered the door. Just huge hulking, incredible burst of energy, opens the door and he goes, "Go Flynn?" And I go, "Yeah, that's me." And he goes, "Come here, brother." And he gave me the biggest hug, biggest hug. I mean, I've never met, I've never met him in my life. I mean, it was just this incredible moment of just connectivity, energy.

• 21:54Speaker 04

  You know, whether you want to believe in the universe, in God, in fate, we were determined to come together. We sat down, we spent the day together, we talked about the movie, talked about how we do it. We showed him the previews, we put together an incredible presentation. And in the room, he said, "I'm in, let's go." And, you know, look, these are, those are hard decisions to make in your career to in the room say like you're going to do. It's, the movie's a family movie, he flies on bumblebees, there's some real risky things that have to be done. But we went ahead, we made that movie, he was awesome in it. There's such a trust for him around the world from the audience and for families, trust him. That movie did three hundred fifty million dollars worldwide. And, you know, we kind of really never looked back.

• 22:39Speaker 04

  But I will tell you, and I'll let you jump in in a second. When we were shooting that movie, there was a really incredible moment that we had together. And we were in it, we were in his trailer, we were just talking, we would always, every day, we would kind of chop it up, recap the day, talk about the movie, talk about our futures. And I said to him, I said, "Dwayne, I said, who, who do you want to be? Like, who's your career? What, what do you want to, where do you want to be in, in your career now? It's like, you know, in terms of what you're feeling." And he goes, he goes, "Brother, I want to be the biggest movie star that ever lived." He goes, "I want to be Will Smith, who was giant at the time, right? And had incredible respect, obviously, and Independence Day and, you know, Bad Boys and all those movies.

• 23:24Speaker 04

  I want to be Will Smith and more." This was over ten years ago that he said that to me. And he looked me right down the eyes and said it, I had chills when he said it. And I told him, and I said, "Dwayne," I said, "I am in." I'll hitch my wagon to you and let's go.

• 23:40Ed Mylett?

  Wow.

• 23:41Speaker 04

  Wow. That is, that is exactly how that, how that story went and I feel like the story is still being written. We've had incredible success together. We had a great time together and we still have so much more to go.

• 23:53Ed Mylett?

  How many movies have you guys done together?

• 23:55Speaker 04

  Um, eight movies. We're about to, to start our ninth.

• 23:59Ed Mylett?

  Eight movies and we'll talk in a minute. They're also partners in a tequila company and some other stuff too. So I think what's powerful about that story is two things. One is his ambition and his vision.

• 24:10Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 24:11Ed Mylett?

  You're not giving yourself enough credit for calling the shot to get him, by the way, which at the time was not conventional wisdom that you should do it. So you're, again, there's the humility thing. So if you go really read the story about this, it was both you wanting to get him, but it was also you taking a little bit of a risk in doing it at the time. And then the other powerful thing, guys, and partnerships, and I just wanted to, you know, break apart some of the elements here. It's Bo asking, Dwayne, what do you want? How can I help you get it? Like, those are the elements of great partnerships where you're, you're talking about these things. How can I help you get what you want, right? And I think that's what great leaders do, great partners do. Couple of things you say that, that take me back to, because I just think there's such wisdom in them.

• 24:55Ed Mylett?

  And I think maybe there's a commonality with you and Dwayne on this too, which is I don't think you can stick your toe in something and be successful. I think you have to be all in.

• 25:04Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 25:05Ed Mylett?

  You phrase it a little bit differently about plans and As and Bs and all that stuff, but

• 25:10Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 25:10Ed Mylett?

  I don't know anyone at the max out level. I mean, you can, you can do okay. Like I tried, I worked it, but to get to the top of an industry, in a particularly your industry, as fickle, as competitive, as, uh, consistent as you have to be in your industry. You might have, in your business, you might get, you might have, you might be allowed after a while, one failure, but you don't get two or three.

• 25:33Speaker 04

  No.

• 25:33Ed Mylett?

  Right? And so, talk about that, not having a plan B element for you and how you think that contributes to success. This is huge, guys.

• 25:42Speaker 04

  Uh, I love, I love that, Ed, and you, you're totally right. And you're, you're speaking a really strong, you know, kind of part of my philosophy and what I try and kind of, you know, give back to people starting in the business, particularly in Hollywood, but I think it's relevant to all businesses, which is there's no B plan. You have to kind of plant your flag and you have to be all in. It's the only way. I mean, there is no more competitive business than Hollywood and the industry of making films and television. You are competing against the best of the best. Billions of people dream about doing it and are all coming to Los Angeles to compete for a handful of slots. Right? I mean, it really is.

• 26:26Speaker 04

  It's a handful of people that are getting it done. If you break down, I guarantee you it's probably on the feature film side. It's probably twenty people that are making eighty percent of the movies in Hollywood. Wow. So it's very, very small. So therefore, how can you come into Hollywood? And I hear it all the time. People tell me like, oh, I'm gonna come out, give it a year, see how it goes. I mean, it's, it's, you know what I mean? Actor, writer, director, producer, whatever it may be, either. It's like, you're gonna give it a year? You're gonna give this a year? It's like, but then give it a day and go home. Why are you even bothering? Why are you coming here? It's like, this has to be your life's mission. You have to arrive with a vision and you're gonna back it up and you're gonna be there

• 27:09Speaker 04

  because you are gonna get your ass handed to you day in and day out. A lot of things that come up in your podcast and your discussions are the concept of rejection and the word no. Now, look, all businesses, we experience it, but I don't know. I would easily argue that in Hollywood, you are getting rejected all the time. And the one thing that I was surprised by, even as I started to achieve success and was making movies that did hundreds of millions of dollars, still encountering rejection at a very deep level. You know what? And, and hard no's, not just soft no's. You know what I mean? That I would be like, wow, after all that I've achieved, now here I am and now being told no. It's like, all right, well, let's go ahead, round out the wagons and let's figure it out. Cause we're gonna get it done.

• 27:54Speaker 04

  And that kind of energy is like, if you don't have that energy in the beginning, then it's never going to last and kind of maintain later through your career. When the stakes get higher, when you start to play it safer. You know, you talked about conventional wisdom. That's a real trap in our business because the audience is very, is always ahead of us. They they consume so much content, they're watching so many shows, so many movies, and our turnaround time is very long. Like, a lot of content, people can make in a week, in a month, and have it out there and be relevant. For the film side, three years, four years, sometimes seven years. And when that movie comes out, it has to be topical, relevant, fresh. So you have to be way, way ahead of the curve creatively.

• 28:38Speaker 04

  You know, it's like, and everything has to go right in order for that to really land with the world.

• 28:43Ed Mylett?

  I never thought of it that way. You're watching a movie, you're not really, this was three, four, five, sometimes six years ago, and I had not thought about that. And, and by the way, I think conventional wisdom in almost all businesses equal you will be out of business. I don't think conventional wisdom really, there's principles that sustain themselves throughout life, right? But conventional wisdom, in fact, if you're working with people that use those kind of terms or think that way, you're toast. Ask Blockbuster Video about conventional wisdom when it came to Netflix, right? Ask Barnes and Noble bookstores about conventional wisdom, and Amazon comes along, you know? Ask IBM about Microsoft. I mean, there's, we could go on and on and on, right? I mean, there's, conventional wisdom could be death.

• 29:24Ed Mylett?

  But one thing about the movie business, and I, I look, I don't know a lot about it, obviously. I have friends in it. But it's such a vast enterprise to make a movie, it seems to me. Like, all of these moving parts, I mean, everything, I mean, like, casting, the cinematographers, the editing, the script, the, I mean, it's, every element is crazy, right? There's all these elements of it. And, and then, when you're the producer, it's sort of all yours to some extent, right?

• 29:56Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 29:57Ed Mylett?

  And I think a lot of people as entrepreneurs, they're afraid of it. Like, they're afraid of the mess. And I think you have to be tolerant of some messes in your life to be successful. And you talk so eloquently about the idea of, I mean, I, I've finally accepted this later in my life, I can't control everything.

• 30:17Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 30:18Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, but that lack of, that lack of control, I think, causes most people to never step into the space. I finally, later in my career, embraced, there's gonna be a mess, and I can't, I have to just start, and, and to take action on things. And in your case, there's, everything's yours. You're the producer, you own all of it at some point, the buck stops with you. But you talk so eloquently, like it's one of my favorite things you talk about of, you know, you're not going to control anything. What is your approach about that? Because I mean, imagine everybody, the, the, the scope of conceiving of a movie all the way through production and distribution. How do you handle that? What are your thoughts about control?

• 30:58Speaker 04

  Well, first of all, it's a super insightful question. I've never been asked it before. I'm really excited to speak to it. So, thank you. And I'm just continually impressed, Ed, by the research that you do. And you say you don't know a ton about the movie business. I would beg to differ because your knowledge is on a very high level. So, it's exciting to be having this conversation. But first, I want to answer, I want to answer in two parts. First of all, on the producing side, in terms of kind of all those elements, you're totally right. I mean, you're the CEO. You know, a lot of times people ask me, what is a producer? You know, and I'm always like, I have two answers for it. I always say, I'm the first one on, I'm the last one off. That's really, that's the bottom line. When I start, it's just, it's just

• 31:39Speaker 04

  me, or maybe one or two other people and an idea. When I scale up, it's up to two, three, four thousand people. When you start doing visual effects and have thousands of visual effects shots, maybe another thousand, two thousand people. And then when I scale down, it's just me and that one or two people that I started with. And here we are, just like, on that Friday night, you know, just hoping that we did everything right when that movie opens up theatrically, you know? So, it's like, so you are, you are basically, and it runs the same course as a startup business, right? You're like, you need to have an idea, you need to go ahead and, and exercise that vision, you need to put a team together, you need to scale the project up, you take it to market, and then you go ahead and sell it. It's exactly what you do in a startup business. But that's every movie. So, I've had thirty-one startup businesses.

• 32:24Ed Mylett?

  Wow.

• 32:25Speaker 04

  Some very successful, some not so much, you know? But that's part of it. But each time I've started up a business, or started a movie, I've learned something, I've gotten better, I've gotten stronger, and I've, I've learned lessons that have put me more in control of that. But yet, to your point, to the second point of... It still empowers you to know, the more you do it, the still so much is out of your control, even if you become a master of the craft, you know? And there was one point, the career changing moment for me was that one you discussed about about Dwayne Johnson and him doing Journey to the, Journey to Mysterious Islands sequel. Another changing point was an internal change, career changing moment, and it was when I

• 33:06Speaker 04

  used to get urgent phone calls from, you know, an agent, or from an actor, or from a director, you know, it was urgent, there's a crisis. And I used to really kind of like, be like, shit, I'll call back, I'll deal with that later. Do you know what I mean? Like, you're just like, okay, what's happening, what's going on? It's like, but then I had a realization, which is like, wait a second, I'm the producer, I'm the CEO, I'm the boss, who's gonna solve that? Who's better equipped to solve it? Me, I'm the one that's made X amount of movies, I'm the one that's been on the ground, I'm the one that's been on set for 2,000 days. So, once that changed, it really justified my job, and once I changed the whole way of thinking of it, I was like, now it comes in, there's a crisis, there's a fire, there's

• 33:50Speaker 04

  a thing, I'm like, great, where is it? Let me put it out. And that was a huge game changer for me, and I think that's such an important element for people to think about, because it's scary when you have something going down, something falling apart, you know what I mean? Something that's like, where it's like, but that's our job, and that's the job I signed up for, that's the job you signed up for, when there's a problem at your company, when there's an issue, you want to be the one to solve it and bring it on. But that took you years and years to get there, it took you years and years of, of, you know, confidence and repetition to have the faith that you're like, alright, I can fix this, no problem, it's no issue at all, most of the time, it's not even a real issue. You know what I mean? It's like, but it takes you and your vision to see that. And then, just to close the loop on this thought, is when you do finally have a movie,

• 34:35Speaker 04

  and it's going out to the world, and it's going out, being released on 20,000 screens around the world, and on that Friday, you just hunker down, you isolate into your house, you surround yourself with your family and your friends.

• 34:49Speaker 04

  And all you can say to yourself is, did I do the best job possible? Did I do everything in my power to make the best project, the best movie? Did I do everything I can? Because if you could answer yes to that, then you could be really zen and okay with whatever the results are that weekend, you know?

• 35:08Ed Mylett?

  By the way, you're a million percent on it. I'm so glad we're doing this, Bo. I just, I know how much this is helping people. And in my own case, I've had failures. And a couple of those failures, I didn't answer that question the way I wanted to. I could have done more. I could have prepared better. I've also made the mistake, and you're, no one's brought this up to me before in the history of the show. So, and it, and meaning, you have a finite amount of energy in your life. And where you point that energy matters. And if I go back to the failures I've had, and I don't really think they're failures, they're just setbacks. Honestly, I learned a lot. Like, that was a gain for me. But I spread myself in way too many places.

• 35:53Ed Mylett?

  In other words, I wasn't strategic with where I invested my work, my energy and my focus. It wasn't for me, and I doubt for most people here, a lack of desire, a lack of work ethic, not at the level listening to this show, not at this level, or a lack of focus. It was a diversion of it almost for me. And you're really eloquent about that topic. So what is your advice about that exact thing?

• 36:20Speaker 04

  As a producer and entrepreneur, you have, you have to have a lot of plates spinning. You just have to. Projects are falling apart all the time. Um, you know, a friend of mine and a producer, Nina Jacobson, she said something that I love, which is movies want to be two things. They want to fall apart and they want to be bad, right? It's like, so. And I feel like the same thing, all businesses, like that's our job to keep things together and to keep things great. You know, it's like so, but with that, I found myself, I had all this really diverse slate, had all these ideas, all these things moving. I had movies, I had TV shows, I had business ideas, but nothing was leaving the launchpad. And all these things percolating, but nothing was happening. And so.

• 37:00Ed Mylett?

  A lot of people relate to that.

• 37:01Speaker 04

  Yeah. And I was starting to think about it. I was like, okay, well, let me, let me kind of shift here. And let me invest more and less is the way I started to frame it. And I, the same thing was happening in my personal life. I had a lot, I've been living in Los Angeles for 25 years. I had made a lot of friends from Miami to New York to Los Angeles to around the world, a lot of relationships, business relationships. But I wasn't getting anything in return from them either. I wasn't satisfied on a friendship level and on a business level, they were just surfaced. So I kind of replicated that same philosophy in terms of like, there's 10 people that I really love working with. They're really smart. I trust them. You know what I mean? It's like, let's invest in them. You know what I mean? It's like, and then all of a sudden I started investing in them. They were investing more back in me.

• 37:46Speaker 04

  Then I picked five projects instead of 50. Let's focus on these five. And let's invest all my energy into that. To your point, you have a finite amount of energy. It's a zero sum game at the end of the day. So once I did that, everything changed for me. I started having more movies come together. The momentum was going. We were getting, week by week by week, things were happening and all five of those movies that I focused on all got made. Those relationships that I talked about that I invested more in, the connection was stronger. They trusted me more. I trusted them more. We created more business together. So it was actually really interesting. It was happening for me holistically, both in my business and personal life. And it's one of the greatest kind of, you know, pivots that I've made or that that's happened to me in my entire life, truly.

• 38:30Ed Mylett?

  Real advice from somebody who's achieving at a high level, you guys, and I can, all I can do is just, I can't say it better than that. He's a hundred percent right. It's a mistake I've made. And a hundred percent great advice. Like what's awesome about this interview is every single segment could be its own. Teaching unit, like it's a master class on achievement and on actually execution too. I'm curious, I want to go back to Dwayne just for a minute because I'm curious.

• 38:53Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 38:55Ed Mylett?

  If I asked you, why is he successful? Because I've asked you why you're successful. If I asked you, why is he successful? Are the answers slightly different? Like, what comes to mind? Uh, I mean, let's, the last 10 years on the spinning earth, he's become of a handful of the most well-known and successful people on the planet. And it seems as if he's crushing it in his family. He's certainly crushing it physically. He seems to have good relationships, like what he has with you. I don't think it's been a bad financial decade for the man. Notoriety, impact, influence. You know, I'm, I'm, I know not everything's perfect in anybody's life. People think that in mine too, and it's not. But it certainly seems like this guy's maxing out pretty well. It's multiple areas.

• 39:39Ed Mylett?

  And you've been up close to observe that and you've contributed to it. What would you say about that? Your observations, and you would really know.

• 39:46Speaker 04

  Well, it's, it's really smart because, you know, as, as an actor now, as, as a, you know, kind of CEO of many businesses, it's still, he's, it's a different, slightly different career in terms of producer and actor. So there are things that he does differently um, than me and that are not typical of movie stars to do. And I'll, I'll talk about that. And then there are some areas that we intersect and I believe that I've, um, you know, kind of shown him some ways in terms of how I run my business and some ways that he's run his business that have, you know, kind of, that I've um, kind of taken from him. But one, as, as, we'll start as an actor and as a, as a movie star um, that he does, that's very different. And I'll give real, I'll give a real specific anecdote.

• 40:30Speaker 04

  There's no one that works harder. He really, you know, it's like all of his mantras, he actually backs up. He practices what he preached, rolls his sleeves up, does the work, hardest worker in the room. He never rests on his laurels. Um, he's very loyal, which is also very rare in our business. He also is not afraid to pick up the phone and do things directly. That's extremely rare. People are surrounded with agents, managers, lawyers, all of their people, and those people go ahead. But the minute that they start talking on your behalf, and I understand the importance of them, they're important and they're needed, but the minute that they're talking, it's the telephone game. It's never going to be the same, the way it is from Ed Mylett to the other person on

• 41:15Speaker 04

  the other end of the phone in the meeting, or from Bo Flynn to the other, or Dwayne Johnson. So he will go ahead and, you know, go ahead and he will pick up the phone if necessary and call you and lay it out, even if it's bad news. Something too, that I've really, that I think we've both taken from each other is, is the team. He's a huge believer in the team, and he has surrounded himself with incredible people. Dani Garcia has been his long-term partner and manager for a very long time. She is incredible and brilliant, has vision, and he relies on her. Hiram Garcia, who he grew as his assistant, all the way up to now president of Seven Bucks Productions. His relationship with me, you know, 10 years, and here we are about to go and, you know,

• 41:59Speaker 04

  jump into our ninth picture. Like, that loyalty is very rare, and I feel that that's really paid off for him in a huge, huge way. But, you know, Dwayne is a force of nature. He doesn't accept no. That comes up, obviously, a lot in your conversations. He really, there's always another way. You know what I mean? It's like, and it's like, he gets kind of turned on when he's told, "No," or "We can't do this," or "Why? Because that's the way we've done it in the past. Well, let's change it to the way we do it in the future." And then lastly, too, is like, he's not afraid. And I, when I say he's not afraid, you have to really think about that for a second, because it's not just a broad-based statement. What I'm saying is, is like, not afraid means when you make a choice in your career as

• 42:44Speaker 04

  an actor and movie star. Your whole career could be gone with one bad decision. So when Dwayne Johnson went ahead and like said he's gonna do an HBO show called Ballers. Now, now, we're looking at, "Oh yeah, it's great. I love that show." But not at the moment. No one at his level of stardom was doing television or cable. You know what I mean? It's like, so that could have gone wildly wrong. That was a real trailblazing moment, meaning he wasn't afraid. You know what I mean? When Dwayne Johnson creates a, a network TV show called The Titan Games and is the face of it.

• 43:18Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 43:18Speaker 04

  I haven't seen anyone do that at his level. Do you know what I mean? It's like, that could have gone, and now it's a big hit, and now everyone's like, "Oh yeah, of course, that's the path." That was never the path. When you look back on movie stars in the past, on Clint Eastwood and, you know, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, that was never the path.

• 43:35Ed Mylett?

  You're right.

• 43:36Speaker 04

  He had to create that, and it was because he wasn't afraid and he took risks. And those are real, specific examples of, of what I mean. Because we forget, right? A lot of times, we forget of like, what were real risks? Because they worked out, so they're not sexy.

• 43:50Ed Mylett?

  They're another win. You're so right. You know, I interviewed The Undertaker today. It'll be out, it was out prior to this. And I asked him, he's 30 years in WWE, longest wrestler ever. And we're talking about leadership, and he said one of the key elements was loyalty. It's one of the things not talked about. When you're talking about loyalty or success in life and leadership, the element of loyalty, and you have it too, you're being humble. Loyalty is a huge factor in long-term success. The other one, like, I watch football. My least favorite thing is watching a team get ahead and then play the prevent defense.

• 44:23Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 44:23Ed Mylett?

  Right? And a lot of people get to a certain level of success, and you could have done this too, Bo. They start kind of playing the prevent defense of life. Less risks, they stay in this lane, and I admire you for not always doing that. Like, there's a story around San Andreas, if we have time, like, you've taken some risks, right? And, and in Dwayne's case, I'm glad that you revealed that. It's not something I would have thought of, but you're right, because the tequila thing you guys have done's working out pretty well, because the, the TV show worked out pretty well, because Ballers worked out, but those were all significant risks.

• 44:55Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 44:56Ed Mylett?

  And speaking of loyalty, I'd make a mistake if I didn't say this, but Marley is a big part of your success, right?

• 45:03Speaker 04

  Yeah, huge.

• 45:04Ed Mylett?

  Huge. And she's a successful actress in her own right.

• 45:08Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 45:09Ed Mylett?

  When you have a, when you have a husband... Conquering the world and doing what you're doing. And she was successful. She's, she made some decisions in terms of supporting your family. I think I'm right about this.

• 45:21Speaker 04

  Yeah, you're very right about it.

• 45:22Ed Mylett?

  That helped you rise up in your career as well. I, I think to do justice to your story, we should at least talk about her for a minute. So, because I think every, most people that listen to this probably have a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or a spouse, or will someday.

• 45:35Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 45:36Ed Mylett?

  So how's that factored into, to your achievements in your life?

• 45:39Speaker 04

  I mean, it's, um, really grateful that you brought that up. She's, um, she's made some incredible sacrifices in her career in order for us to build and grow a family. Um, you know, success is, is vapor in Hollywood. It's fleeting at all, at all times. And Marlee has built an incredible, incredible career, um, for herself. And she would then get to a point where like, you'd be super hot and on the cover of Vanity Fair. And then, you know, we, she gets pregnant and, and we have a daughter and, and that takes you off the market for, you know, two years at least. And then you have to build it back up and you have to start to kind of build your career.

• 46:21Speaker 04

  And it's almost like, yes, you have the skills and you have the foundation, but you have to then rebuild it with the public. You know what I mean? Out of sight, out of mind, a lot of times, you know, you have to really stay out there and remind people, remind the town, remind, you know, the casting directors that you're there and, and ready to go. And you've got, you know, you've got it. You've got that star power to give. And then she built it back up again and then we had a second daughter. And then you kind of have to go and it's like, you know, it's very unique in terms of, of Hollywood that way. And it's a big sacrifice, you know? It's a big sacrifice to, to, to have a child. Cause again, you just, you can't be on, it's hard to be on camera, you know, when you're in the middle of, of, you know, kind of having, having a baby over the course of it.

• 47:04Speaker 04

  And that has provided me with such an incredible blessing in terms of two incredible daughters.

• 47:10Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 47:11Speaker 04

  Um, a family that loves me and, and once I had my daughters. I really also changed my entire career drive. It was my drive, a lot of times was, you know, in terms of ambitions and how do I achieve more? And how can I have this and more of that? And once I had my daughters, it really just became really easy. It just, everything was for them. It's really simple now. So for me, that's the drive. That was all given to me by Marley.

• 47:42Ed Mylett?

  You guys, that's an element of success. Just having a great relationship. People ask me all the time, well, what if I don't have that support? You know, that's something you gotta really work on. It's difficult when you don't have it. And in your industry, momentum is one of the most important things to have. And when you have children, you lose that momentum.

• 47:57Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 47:58Ed Mylett?

  And so that's a huge success sacrifice. And speaking of your industry, it's not, guys, we're really talking about content creation here. So everyone listening to this is sort of in your business in the sense that, I love what you said earlier, but 31 startups.

• 48:11Speaker 04

  That's right.

• 48:12Ed Mylett?

  But also you're in the business of creating content and the way it's consumed. Like, I know you've got a movie right now that you were going to release in one sort of platform and now you're going to do it differently. But also there's people here that create social media content. So just, I'm just curious of your thoughts on content creation in general, distribution of messages. What do you see coming in the future? And again, conventional wisdom is not something that would serve anybody in this space. I know that's an open-ended question, but what are your thoughts on content creation, on the future of your business? And any advice you'd give to somebody right now who's creating content every single day?

• 48:48Speaker 04

  Right, well, it's really astute and it's an important point. And you and I could, could really talk about this for a long time. And it's an important, important conversation because what's happening is there were barriers. There were barriers of filmmakers, TV makers, you know, short form, social media. It's now all converged into one. You're right, we are all content creators. You know, and the other day I had to fill out, I don't know, some registration form or something and it put, you know, kind of career. I put content creator and it was one of the first times that I've done it because I've always been a film producer. Right, but that's kind of like, it's a dated title. It's not really accurate. I create content, create content for the world.

• 49:31Speaker 04

  I'm platform agnostic and I've shifted the entire company of my company to be that way. We are storytellers. We create content, however it's, however it's delivered to the audience.

• 49:42Speaker 04

  I'm okay with if it's through a movie theater experience, if it's through IMAX, if it's through streaming through your television, your iPad, your phone, I'm all in. I want to, you know, connect with the most eyeballs around the world possible. And I feel that's what everyone is is doing, right? And any form of platform through, you know, Instagram, through Snapchat, through Facebook, whatever it may be, it's all the same. We're storytellers. Our stories need to be told. And now we have access to everyone now. It's actually really exciting and the the power has shifted to content creators. It shifted to you. It shifted to me because distribution now is there for us.

• 50:21Speaker 04

  Before, distribution held all the cards. They held it all. They got to be the cipher and they got to decide what went through and what didn't. Not anymore. Now it's up to you and I and all the people listening to this. It's like, what story do you want to tell? What message do you want to put out? What's your brand? What's your message? And go ahead and and just pick the platform. It all deserves to be made. It's just not necessarily, maybe it doesn't shouldn't warrant being theatrically released, but that's okay. Then it could just go straight directly through, you know, through Instagram to, you know, to the world and and that's okay, too. You know what I mean? It's it's all the same. It's there's no bias or judgment in terms of how you consume content anymore. And that's really exciting.

• 51:03Ed Mylett?

  Couple hundred shows. That's one of my favorite answers ever. And it opened my mind up a little bit. Like, we're all content creators. And but more specifically, guys, we're all storytellers. Some people don't know it. Your your content should be telling a story. So Ed Mylett's got a team of 10 or 20 people and he creates content that's podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, etc. Bo's got a platform will have two, 3,000 people helping tell his story. Maybe you're gonna have you tell yours with your iPhone. And to the extent that you have a team is probably to the extent of the type of distribution you're going to have. And the lead character for most of you in that content is you, is your consumer, is the difference you want to make, is your mission, is your cause.

• 51:45Ed Mylett?

  Man, that's like another damn. I'm so sick when I do these shows now. I'm listening for like Instagram clips, you know? And that's what I hear. I hear when you talk. I want to go back for a minute and just ask you a couple of things because this is too good. So we're gonna go a little longer. I'm gonna keep you. Sorry. So, um, and I know that you don't mind that.

• 52:02Speaker 04

  Not at all.

• 52:03Ed Mylett?

  But you said not everything's been a success.

• 52:07Ed Mylett?

  Right, and is there an element of the ones that weren't as successful as you assumed they were going to be that's consistent? In other words, you know, is there something you go back and there was a lesson from the couple of times you weren't as successful as you wanted to be? What was your takeaway then?

• 52:24Speaker 04

  Yeah, um, there is a, a, um, a movie and, uh, Dwayne and I have a whole runner about it, but, um, but it is, it is relevant and it's relevant to this conversation and, uh, I, um, I was just starting to make studio pictures. Um, I had a, I had a dream, um, which by the way, that's again, another area we talk about like not dreams in terms of like career dreams, like dream in terms of like sleeping dreams, I think are really, really important. Um, you know, I mean, Einstein had the theory of relativity in his dream about a dream about a farmer and cows and, you know, I had a dream one night that, um, I was in a bubble

• 53:05Speaker 04

  and I was running, running away from, uh, my house and I had arms and legs and I was sprinting and trying to get away from my, from my family. Probably there's some real deep, you know, truths there. Um, and I woke up and I wrote it down and I met with, uh, some writers that I like who, who now are huge writers and write all the, uh, illumination movies, um, all the Despicable Me's, but, um, I called them and I pitched them this idea about a, a kid in a mobile bubble and, and, uh, sold it to Disney as a pitch very quickly and made this movie called Bubble Boy with Jake Gyllenhaal, it's one of Jake Gyllenhaal's first movies. And every day on set with the director, I would say, can you believe that Disney's letting us make this movie?

• 53:47Speaker 04

  It was like, it was edgy and it was pushing the limits and it wasn't just a straight up family comedy. He's like, this is great. They're really supporting our vision, doing everything and they were great. And then all of a sudden, the movie comes out and once it comes to distribution and marketing, they're like, what, what is this movie? This is not a Disney movie. This is not a Disney film. And then, um, the movie got boycotted because they thought we were making fun of, um, you know, of, of the disease of being stuck, you know, where you have no immunities and can't be out, which was of course not the case because the movie, he, the kid wasn't even, Jake's wasn't even sick at the end, whatever. But my point is, is like, If something doesn't feel right, it's usually not right.

• 54:32Speaker 04

  And we weren't in the lane of Disney. We weren't making a movie for that brand. And in the moment, I was young and I was like, oh, this is great. We're radical, we're pushing limits, we're doing things. But like, you have to know who your audience is. And you know, eventually in terms of how you're going to get your movie through. So the movie ended up being released on like a thousand, eight hundred or thousand screens, which is the death knell. If you're released on that amount of screens as a producer, you just know your movie's over. The movie opened to a very small amount and it was, it was rough. It was rough. You take these things very personally and you wear it. You know what I mean? It's like, and so I just, I feel like it was something where I was really proud of how that all came about. The movie really wasn't intended for Disney to be distributed.

• 55:17Speaker 04

  And I've learned that now. And that kind of speaks to this concept of like identifying your lane. Know who your audience is, know who your distributor is, know who you're trying to get to. Stay in it. If it's like people like a lot of like know where the meat and know where the potatoes are. Like it's not, can't all be mashed together. That's not what people want. You need to be identified, especially in a world right now, where it's like we're being bombarded with things and shows and video games and you know, and publications that you can consume so much so quickly in a vertical world. But it's like you have to cut through. So you have to know what you are. And that movie really taught me that.

• 55:55Ed Mylett?

  Man, that's so good. There's another little secret lesson in there, you guys. Bo's got all these things in there. So little thing he said, and even though it was the wrong lane, it wasn't that the idea was bad. He said that when he had this dream, I want to talk about this dream thing for a minute. I want to stay on that with you.

• 56:11Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 56:12Ed Mylett?

  He had this dream that he woke up and wrote it down. Do you know how many people have unbelievable divine ideas in their sleep and think, yeah, I'm going to go back to bed and I'll write it down in the morning. Have they ever had that happen, people, those things? Then you can't remember what it was. It's not the same spirit, the same inspiration. Tell you a really quick story about this. I want to encourage everybody that when you have a dream, you should have a notepad next to your bed, every single one of you here. Or something on your phone you can type in. And when you get woken up with that dream, wake up and write it down. Wayne Dyer, remember the great Wayne Dyer? I met Wayne Dyer running on a beach one day and he was writing a book called The Power of Intention. Ended up being a great book. And we ended up visiting and he told me, he says, I believe that's like the divine waking you up with inspiration. Don't go back to sleep. Get up and write when these ideas wake you up.

• 56:56Ed Mylett?

  All people, another little secret, most of you wouldn't know. Most people I know that are at the very top level, what they do, they have that very habit. They wake up from dreams and write things down and a lot of the things in their life. Is that not true, Bo?

• 57:10Speaker 04

  That's very, very true. I completely agree and I do it all the time. I still do it. I have a notebook right next to my bed and I write and I wake up, as uncomfortable it can be, you're tired, you have to write it down. It's there.

• 57:20Ed Mylett?

  It's, it's rare, most people don't do it, yet almost all of you dream. And there's a lot being lost by you by not paying attention to those dreams. You are so on, that's, that's no, it's not in any personal development handbook anywhere, but it's a truth. It's an absolute truth.

• 57:36Speaker 04

  And you have, and it's like, and it's not always right there either. It's like you have to write it down because then when you wake up, you have to look at it and you have to put a little thought into it.

• 57:44Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 57:44Speaker 04

  And drill down on that because there is usually something there that you can apply in your business life and your creative life. I, I had a dream about that I was inside a building during a massive earthquake and I wrote it down and I woke up, I had already done the first 3D movie ever and then I woke up at that dream and then I was like, what if we made the first disaster movie ever in 3D? And that's what spawned San Andreas. And I called, I called my very close friends at New Line, Toby Emmerich and Richard Brenner and Carolyn Blackwood. And I said, this is a one line idea for a movie and they're like, let's do it. Let's go.

• 58:19Ed Mylett?

  So awesome.

• 58:20Speaker 04

  And that also then was, we did that, you know, I mean, off the back of, of, of the relationship with Dwayne, immediately called Dwayne. He said, let's go, brother, I'm in. And, and that movie was really a huge breakout film for, for Dwayne and, and for myself and for the studio. It was the biggest movie of, of Warner Brothers, not just New Line, it was the biggest movie of Warner Brothers, the New Line of 2015.

• 58:42Ed Mylett?

  Masterclass, you guys. Are you feeling all these elements coming together? The risk with Dwayne, building the relationship, what do you want? The dream, the execution, the writing it down, the taking the risk, all of this stuff comes together and bam, you have a boat. That's how these things work, everyone, okay? What advice would you give? You could go back.

• 59:02Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 59:03Ed Mylett?

  A lot of young people watching this. And by the way, I don't mean to mean like chronologically. There's early startup entrepreneurs, early people with a dream they're chasing. There's people that listen to this, there's a lot of athletes, a lot of people who want to get in the entertainment business that follow me as well. If you could go back to that, maybe it wouldn't change anything, but you go back to that guy in New York, who's switching majors, and you could whisper some advice from the 50-year-old Bo, isn't that weird to say?

• 59:29Speaker 04

  Wow, yeah, yeah.

• 59:31Ed Mylett?

  The 50-year-old Bo could talk to the 18-year-old Bo, what would you tell him now? What advice would you give him?

• 59:40Speaker 04

  It's a great question, and it's, it's funny, just one word popped in, in my head really quickly. Um, because there's a lot of things, right, that we wish we could share when we were, you know, younger. But the word that popped into my head immediately, Ed, is, is authenticity. And that's something that I really, really struggle with, to be honest with you. And authenticity has nothing to do with, with honesty or loyalty. It's about a representation of, of who you are, and who you are to others. And when I moved to Los Angeles, I felt there was a version of Bo that people wanted. There was a version of me as a human being, as a friend, as a producer.

• 1:00:18Speaker 04

  And it never, no one knew this, except for me, you're the only one that knows that layer is not actually fully authentic to who you are. It was presentational. I was getting things done, I was moving things forward, and I wasn't feeling fully satisfied, and my career wasn't where it should have been. And once I just said, you know what, the real me, I don't care what, what the repercussions are, I'm letting the real me come through. That's when everything really shifted for me in a huge, huge way. And that is, now, look, I had to go through that lesson, so maybe if, if the 50-year-old Bo came back and whispered that to NYU Bo,

• 1:00:57Speaker 04

  you know what I mean, maybe, who knows what would have happened, but it took me a while to figure it out, and it was just an incredible cleansing, and a life and soul-changing experience, and made me also so happy. Maybe so happy as a human being to just be in the skin that I want to be in, and not trying to be someone else that I think other people want.

• 1:01:18Ed Mylett?

  Wow. Yeah, and I like you a lot, so I'm glad you did that.

• 1:01:25Ed Mylett?

  I mean, what a profound message. You know, I have a little element of that. There's even a, there's probably even a little element of that that still exists in me from time to time in certain settings.

• 1:01:35Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:01:36Ed Mylett?

  You know, in certain settings, you know, perhaps I could be more authentic. Uh, you're making me think right there.

• 1:01:43Speaker 04

  Right, because people, there are people want Ed Mylett, right? What they know from, you know, from you and all your success, from your shows, from your Instagram, they want that. And so you want to deliver that, but, but I don't know, you know, is that exactly a hundred percent exactly who you are inside? And how you're feeling at that exact moment, you know, it's like it's.

• 1:02:01Ed Mylett?

  Well, that's the thing. Well, I'm answer that. That's a great question for both of us too. I'm a really multifaceted person. So there are moments that I think the true me is this, but I have down moments and weak moments and angry moments and fearful moments too. And perhaps it would be better for me in certain environments to share those more often. Because to your point earlier too, I did make the decision, as I've gotten older, my circle of friends has gotten smaller and deeper. And I put a much more, my energy into a more concentrated place. I totally agree with the points that you've made too, like it's, it's, I like you said earlier that you enjoy listening to my content when we're off camera, because it's validated things that you already do.

• 1:02:43Ed Mylett?

  And the reason that today is so powerful for me is it validates things I already do. And it validates things that I teach and you're like a manifestation of so many of these things. Um, a couple more things really quickly. I want to talk about pivoting right now between COVID, the economy's changed. Lots changed and is going to continue to change. And during the time that we're recording this, there's a great conversation happening in this country about justice and equality.

• 1:03:11Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 1:03:11Ed Mylett?

  And that needs to be had, as painful as it is to have, is necessary to have, and I'm grateful that it's happening. Um, I'd like to see these injustices stop and these murders stop, but at the same time, the conversations needed to be had. And, and you though, even in business have had to pivot. You had a movie, talk about that, that was supposed to do one thing this summer. I mean, you made a huge decision there.

• 1:03:34Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 1:03:35Ed Mylett?

  Talk about in life, entrepreneurship, as a, as a husband, as a father, as a business person, the idea of being willing to have vision and pivot and not just stay down a road that you know is leading to a place that's not going to be successful.

• 1:03:48Speaker 04

  Yeah, no, wow, that's, um. First, thank you for your honesty about authenticity. First of all, I think that's really important and I appreciate you being honest about that because I think it's important, I think it's important for people to really, who are listening, to really think about that. And, you know, I wish I could have gotten there even sooner and that's really cool for you to acknowledge that. In terms of, secondly, in terms of where the world is at, I mean, and what's happening and what we've been through in the last three months, it's, it's the entire world is going through. And that's the first time that you could really point to something, at least in our generation, of the world, seven billion people is having a shared experience right now.

• 1:04:30Speaker 04

  So we're all going through it, we're all feeling it on a deep, kind of intimate, personal level, on a family level, how that impacts us. And then as you spread it out amongst your friends and social group level, and then into business and how we're going to kind of interact and, and work together, you know, in the upcoming future. It's, it's an extraordinary, you know, process that we're gonna have to kind of figure out to get through it. And, you know, it's, it's, it really is, is going to take a lot of adaptability, a lot of patience, a lot of empathy. I really think empathy is such an important word right now, that applies to both what's

• 1:05:11Speaker 04

  going on in terms of what we experienced in, with the coronavirus and what's going on with the conversations about, about race and, and the criminal system and, you know, how we're all, you know, living together with inequality. So we have to start to make these adjustments in major ways. And I think it's, it's something that I actually feel rather comfortable doing because from a business level, it's what I have to do all the time. Constantly, you know, kind of having to adapt, something happens on a production, can't do this, okay, great, let's quickly shift and go here. You know, it's like, the day costs on our movies are $400,000 a day.

• 1:05:53Speaker 04

  There's no, there's no, there's no time to, let me think about this. Let me take a, you know, let me take the night and let you get, get back to you tomorrow. It's like, we have to make that decision, we have to make it now because we have responsibility to our investors and studios and we have to be, you know, fiscally smart and, and responsible. So, in a way, I have that in my DNA. I always have had it, but now it's really, it's a muscle that's been worked out. And so we we want to discuss it in terms of on a business level. We got hit really hard in terms of of two movies that were in production and two of the biggest movies of of my career and and and Dwayne's career as well. One is Jungle Cruise, which is a movie that we were one week away from finishing.

• 1:06:39Speaker 04

  We had the final mix that we were about to the movie was shot. It was edited. Two thousand visual effects were about to be complete. We're about to be, you know, kind of finished. And we just were doing the final mix and then we're going to release it this summer in July. We still have that one week left. We'll have to figure out how to do that, but now we're starting to open up. We'll get back there and we'll do a socially distant mix with, you know, with the director and the producers and and Dwayne will be there and his team. And we'll finish that movie, but we really took a strong position to move the movie an entire year to July two thousand twenty one. I think that was really, I think that was really important. A lot of movies were shifting three months and six months. We really wanted to wait a year. Movie is so important to us. It's Dwayne and Emily Blunt and Jack Whitehall.

• 1:07:25Speaker 04

  The movie is an event. It's an experience. We were tasked with the responsibility by the Walt Disney Company to adapt the first ride ever at Disneyland in nineteen fifty five. Not only was the first ride ever open in the opening of Disneyland, but it also was designed and created by Walt Disney himself. He created Jungle Cruise. He designed that ride. He was the first skipper. So we were shoulder with this incredible responsibility, which we were excited about, and I think we achieved it in the movie. But we could not have anything. I could not sleep with myself. You know, and kind of if the movie opened in a few months from now and people are like, hey, ma'am. Sorry about what's going on with the world that people didn't go see your movie.

• 1:08:09Speaker 04

  That was something like while we talked about things that are out of our control. This is something that while, yes, the what's going on in the world and the pandemic, you know, and everything else is like. You couldn't predict and we can't fully manage, but what we can manage is we can go ahead and take the position that, hey, let's move this for a year. Let's get the world back on its feet. Let's get the theme parks back open. Let's get the cruise ships going and let's go on a global tour. And let's go ahead and make sure that we can have Dwayne and Emily go everywhere around the country to make sure that they're bringing people in to see that film. So that's one pivot that I wanted to, you know, discuss with you and answer your question on.

• 1:08:45Ed Mylett?

  It's a huge pivot, you guys. You're talking about a huge pivot. So I'm going to give you a shot with all the money invested in a movie like that to call a year. Wait is a major move. And so you may need to make tough calls like that too, guys, in your businesses and in your life and in your family right now. Right? Some of you have been messaging me, what should I do with my, should I sell my house? Hey, maybe, I'm not, I don't know your personal financial situation, but if there's a major move you need to make, you've got to have the vision and the risk to take it. Okay, last question.

• 1:09:12Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:09:13Ed Mylett?

  Last thing.

• 1:09:14Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:09:14Ed Mylett?

  First off, I want to say one thing. I know why you won and it's obviously you're great at what you do, but you prove at the highest levels in life, good people can win.

• 1:09:22Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:09:24Ed Mylett?

  And, and, and let me tell you something, Bo. You're good. And it comes through. There's a, your spirit is infectious. Your goodness is contagious. And I'm really glad, no, I'm really, I mean, I'm glad you're winning. You know this, your industry and industries I'm involved with, sometimes you're disappointed when you meet someone that you look up to and you admire has been successful.

• 1:09:47Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:09:48Ed Mylett?

  And in your case, you're an even better man. And, and that's just wonderful to know. So I asked you the advice you'd give you.

• 1:09:55Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:09:55Ed Mylett?

  I mean, I'd ask you the advice you'd give the young 18-year-old you. And then the last thing is everyone's got to sit in a conversation today with one of the most successful people in the world in his chosen industry, you. And, you know, if they could sit down at Starbucks for five minutes with you.

• 1:10:10Speaker 04

  Uh huh.

• 1:10:11Ed Mylett?

  And say, Mr. Flynn, I'm sorry to bother you, but I've got a dream like you had a dream. And it's X, Y, or Z. And I'm not exactly sure whether I can do it. I'm not exactly sure where to begin. What would your advice be to somebody who says, "I've got a big dream and I want to make it happen"? What would you say to them?

• 1:10:33Speaker 04

  I've got a few things to say to that. One is I think those long horizon dreams are critical and it's really important to have those, to have the vision of what you're going to do. But in terms of achieving them, I really think it's so important to go ahead and set short-term, digestible, and achievable goals. Again, I had to learn that lesson the hard way and I set these crazy lofty goals and I wasn't achieving them and I was feeling like a failure. Like I was feeling like really like I wanted to just quit and move back to Miami and, you know, be a waiter and, you know, just, you know, just kind of be a beach bum and that was it, like really.

• 1:11:14Speaker 04

  But once I started to change to short goals and I moved out to Los Angeles and I got a great opportunity to work for the biggest producer in the world, producer by the name of Scott Rudin, who's won every Oscar, Tony, brilliant, brilliant man, incredible, and to be his assistant, to be his sixth assistant in the totem pole, work my way up to be his first. And when I was his first, I set a goal. I set a goal to stay for six months. Stay for six months. Because he was very tough, very demanding, you're working 18 hours a day and it was, there was no no accepted from him. Just get it done, period. Achieve the first six months, set another six months, set another six months.

• 1:11:57Speaker 04

  I stayed there for 18 months, one of his longest-tenured assistants to this day. But I didn't say like I wanted to be, run his company.

• 1:12:04Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 1:12:04Speaker 04

  I didn't say that because I would have failed, would not have achieved. I want to be his assistant for six months. I think that's really important. And then when I left there, I said, "Okay, I'm ready. I want to make an indie feature and I want to make it within 12 months." That was in January of 95.

• 1:12:21Speaker 04

  I started shooting a movie, my first movie, in May of ninety-five, within six months. So I had achieved, again, which are these, and then I wanted to get into a film festival, and then I wanted to, and that was my number one goal after we achieved it. We get another six months later, we world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, the biggest film festival in the world with Cannes. That was twelve months in terms of making a movie and then have it world premiere at Sundance. Which is crazy, and that was all at twenty-five years old. But the point being to this conversation in Starbucks is, I didn't say I want to be running, you know, Universal Studios, and I didn't say that I want to make three billion dollars in the box office. I would have said that at twenty years old.

• 1:13:05Speaker 04

  I said I want to be an assistant for six months and I want to be the best one he's ever had. I said I want to make an independent feature film and I want it to world premiere at a film festival. And all those things happen in two, you know, what happens then is like, you build this momentum, you get this wind at your, at your back, you start to get some downhill speed. And I made another indie, another indie, another indie, five movies in a row at Sundance Film Festival. You know, it's like, and then the sixth one went to Cannes Film Festival, and then, then I want to make bigger movies, and then I wanted to make studio films, then I wanted to make blockbusters. It's like, though, it took all those steps to get there in twenty-five years, and, you know, fortunately, I'm still doing it, and I love what I do, and I'm so happy, and I'm so blessed to be able to have this career, but like, it took those small steps, those small measures, and that's, that's would be the story I would tell.

• 1:13:50Ed Mylett?

  Very, very good. Guys, this is like a massive, this is one of these you don't listen to once. You go all the way back and you, you listen or watch this again. Um, you owe me tequila, by the way, last thing.

• 1:14:00Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:14:02Ed Mylett?

  So the last thing, by the way, I, I, I gotta tell you, I, I, for me, this was, this is one of those ones where like, I don't, I do a lot of shows, I'm writing notes down as we're, as we're going through this. These are things for me as well. But tell them lastly, because we're gonna get the promo in, because we want to do it.

• 1:14:18Speaker 04

  All right.

• 1:14:18Ed Mylett?

  You and Dwayne and some others have tequila right now that I'm about to sample. What's the name of the tequila and where do they go?

• 1:14:26Speaker 04

  You're about to get a shipment from me. It's called Termana. Which is, you know, it comes from mana, which is Dwayne's kind of always his mantra about mana, your spirit, your energy and terra is the earth. So it's energy of the earth. It's 100% organic. Dwayne and his partner Danny Garcia, they partnered up with Ken Austin. They created this incredible tequila that Dwayne went down to Mexico. They created this incredible operation. They are making something really extraordinary. If you were a tequila fan, I promise you, you will love this. Quality is so important. It's really like also Dwayne as the people's champ, wanted to make the people's tequila. So like it's priced really reasonably unfair.

• 1:15:07Speaker 04

  I'm very fortunate to have a small part of it, but I'm having a blast with it. Dwayne is having a great time. And what it has allowed us is, is I'm a huge believer, and I'll close with this is, I'm a big believer in the concept of toast. I love making toast, whether it's with your family, whether it's your friends, or whether it's at a kickoff event. I really believe that you need someone to stand up and raise a glass. You know, and say why we're all here, what we're trying to achieve. Remind people how lucky we are to be in this room, or be together, or have our health. And it's something that it really gets overlooked. And I love it. And all my friends and Dwayne and everyone that I work with makes fun of me because they know if they're at dinner with me, I'm gonna stand up and I'm gonna raise a glass

• 1:15:51Speaker 04

  and make a toast. It's now a Termana, but it could be with anything. But think about that concept. You know, you're sharing something all together. You're drinking something. You know, it's uniting you, bringing together, getting ready to go into the mission, whatever that is. Or as a family, you're saying like, let's be grateful for the day. And let's celebrate our love and the fact we can be together and have food on the table. It really connects to all those levels. And so to be part of something like this, I know it's a little bit out there and a little spiritual, but the Termana part of it is like, is really cool. Because that's something that I've always kind of wanted to be part of. And it's an honor to be part of the team with Termana. So I can't wait for you to taste it. Let me know. And I know you're gonna be honest with me, Ed, and tell me.

• 1:16:28Ed Mylett?

  I will. I'll tell you. You know that. Hey, I wish you continued success.

• 1:16:33Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 1:16:34Ed Mylett?

  And, and I, I, I enjoyed the day so much. I, I took these notes here today and I'm going to tell you something, what I'm going to do. I have a break between calls. I want to review some of the stuff with my son upstairs. My son's getting ready to go off to college. I think they're just lessons, fresh that you've just given, that I'm going to be sharing immediately. And everybody else out there, I hope you share the show. This is one of those you want to share with people you love, that you believe in. And to get access to somebody like Bo is not easy to do every day for you guys. And so I'm grateful you all got to meet Bo, experience him. And thank you, brother. I enjoyed it tremendously.

• 1:17:07Speaker 04

  Oh, man. What a blast. It's what an honor to be here and a privilege. And I cannot believe the level of research and your questions are so right on the target, man, right on the money. And I cannot wait to be with you in person.

• 1:17:19Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 1:17:20Speaker 04

  And we're going to raise a glass to Termona and we're going to hang out and

• 1:17:22Ed Mylett?

  You're going to toast. And you're going to toast.

• 1:17:25Speaker 04

  I will. Get ready for it.

• 1:17:26Ed Mylett?

  All right. All right, everybody. Hey, remind you, every day, I, I kind of do a toast every day. We call it the max out two minute drill. We gather every day, 7:30 Pacific, 10:30 Eastern on Instagram. Turn your notifications on. When I make a post, engage in the dialogue, make a comment, reply to other people's comments. Comment every day. If you do that, I pick winners every Sunday. They get trips with me. They get to ride on my plane sometimes. They come see me speak. They meet my guests. They get max out gear. It's just a wonderful way for me to connect with you. It's my version of Bo's toast every single day on Instagram. So I'll see you guys there. God bless you and max out.