Bryce Dallas Howard, Vol. III

Bryce Dallas Howard returns to talk about her documentary, PETS, her directing career, STAR WARS, plus she gets surprised by her dad, Ron Howard! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Quince -- Go to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Quince.com/happysadco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 365 day returns and free shipping! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! 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.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:57Speaker 02

  Sam Jackson has been incredibly supportive of me and has told me many times that he would act in something that I directed, which has been like, I'm like, I'm not worthy, basically. And, and then I like went straight to Dave Filoni and I was like, so let's just talk about Mace Windu and where he is. Can we just talk about this? Because is he dead? Is he?

• 1:22Speaker 03

  Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now.

• 1:29Josh Horowitz?

  Hey guys, welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. I'm Josh. Welcome to the podcast. Today we have Ms. Bryce Dallas Howard, actor, and more particularly for this conversation, director Bryce Dallas Howard. We're talking about her new film Pets, Star Wars, her dad who makes a more than a cameo appearance in this conversation and much, much more. Thanks guys, as always, for checking out the podcast. For those of you that might've checked out our Emilio Estevez conversation last week, and there were a lot of you, um, between that conversation and my Breakfast Club 40th Anniversary reunion.

• 2:08Josh Horowitz?

  That's a lot, a lot of pickup in the pop culture sphere. So that was a really exciting. It's always cool to see people take an interest in what we do over here. So thank you for checking it out. If you haven't checked out, especially the Amelia chat, because that's particular to the podcast. Check it out. It's a really cool one that I'm very proud of. Some things to mention, we have a new event that we have just announced. I'm going to be hosting a Q and A, not a podcast, actually, just a Q and A. Only difference being it's not going to run on the podcast. So all the more reason to show up because it's exclusive to this live event. April 29th in New York City

• 2:49Josh Horowitz?

  with Jeremy Renner. Jeremy Renner, fantastic actor, you know, from Marvel, Wind River, The Town, so many great things. I don't need to list Jeremy Renner's credits. His new book that we're going to be chatting about is all about the aftermath and rehabilitation of his life and physicality after that horrific accident a few years back. He's written very eloquently about, yeah, his road back, his long road back. So April 29th, it's going to be at the Gramercy Theater. And I always love chatting with Jeremy and I'm so honored. He has asked me to host this conversation.

• 3:32Josh Horowitz?

  He's not doing a lot of live events. I think he's doing like one in LA, maybe one in Pittsburgh, where they shoot his TV show and one in New York. So link is in the show notes for how you can get your tickets, but come on out, say hi to me and Jeremy. We have some more events coming up very, very soon. One in May for Star Wars fans. Keep your eyes peeled. Something cool there. And always more to come. As always, the best place to keep. Track of all the events, et cetera, is on our Patreon, patreon.com/happy sad confused. We have an exclusive video from my adventures at C2E2. That is up on the Patreon site, just for Patreon folks. It includes a little catch up with Sam Heughan and John Boyega and some other cool

• 4:18Josh Horowitz?

  moments from that really fun day in Chicago recently. Patreon.com/happy sad confused, merch, discounts, event announcements, all sorts of cool stuff. That's your place for all things Josh Horowitz and happy sad confused. Okay, so back to Bryce Dallas Howard. Her new film is called Pets and it is a documentary. She's been directing a lot of documentaries in in recent years. She's been directing a lot of stuff, period. But this is her, I think it's her second feature length documentary. She's done a lot of shorts. She did a lovely one called Dads a few years back. And this new one is called Pets and it is, of course, about pets and humans' relationships with pets.

• 5:00Josh Horowitz?

  It is a very sweetly told story, a series of stories about different relationships, features a lot of really sweet, you know, reflections from children throughout and it'll just put a smile on your face and we all could use that right now. It's on Disney Plus. I encourage you to check it out. This conversation was taped at the 92nd Street Y. Always good to me and good to my guests. And it was also a really cool one because a lot of the participants in the Pets documentary, the real life participants, the producers, folks behind the scenes, all came out to support Bryce on this night. You'll see that she comes out just as I'm starting to do to introduce her.

• 5:42Josh Horowitz?

  So you're not going to get the full like laundry list of what she's done, but we all know what Bryce Dallas Howard has done. So that's okay. And the other thing to mention, I want to say is stick around because Ron Howard, her dad, one of the great filmmakers, surprised her on stage. I surprised her by bringing Ron out the last 10 or so minutes. And that's a really fun part of the conversation too, to see them, you know, interact. That's all I think I have to say. And yeah, if you're a Star Wars fan, by the way, there's a lot of Star Wars fun conversation in this too. So I hope you guys enjoy this. She's always a delight. Please enjoy me and Bryce Dallas Howard. How's it going? Thank you guys so much for coming out tonight.

• 6:24Josh Horowitz?

  My name is Josh Horowitz. I host a podcast called Happy, Sad, Confused. And whether you know it or not, you're inside my podcast right now. This is a live taping of the show. And we have a returning champion, one of my favorites. It is the fantastic Bryce Dallas Howard. We know her. We love her.

• 6:44Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, here she is. I was trying to give you an introduction. Come on, Bryce, come back out. Bryce, come back out. I was gonna toot your horn and do the whole thing.

• 6:52Speaker 02

  I just heard my name and I started walking.

• 6:55Josh Horowitz?

  She's an amazing filmmaker, an actor, an extraordinary director of the new film Pets. It's on Disney Plus. It's Bryce Dallas Howard!

• 7:04Speaker 02

  And Josh Horowitz, yay!

• 7:08Josh Horowitz?

  It was my one job, Bryce.

• 7:10Speaker 02

  No, I think it was my one job, was to walk out at the right time.

• 7:13Josh Horowitz?

  This audience here has just had the opportunity to see this amazing film on the big screen. Congratulations. What a sweet... We need this in the world right now.

• 7:21Speaker 02

  Thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you, everyone, for coming out and, you know, seeing it live in a theater like this, especially because it's already streaming. So, I really, really, really appreciate it. And it's so wonderful to get to experience it on a big screen with everybody who made it, you know. It's very cool.

• 7:39Josh Horowitz?

  So, we were just talking backstage. You kind of answered my own question, but this has to be the best press tour of your life. Because, basically, at every stop, you're cuddling kittens and puppies. You're surrounded by warmth and love. People are showing you their pet photos. Has this been a bit of an unusual press tour in the best possible way?

• 7:57Speaker 02

  It's the best. It's literally, I arrive at a place, and there are just, like, puppies and kittens. And they're like, "Which one do you wanna hold, Bryce?" Like, it's just, it's... Honestly, it's very... It's very heartwarming because in these scenarios, in press, you know, you're going to talk shows, you get nervous, like, there's a little bit of pressure, you don't want to mess up. But the moment that you see these, like, innocent, you know, little, like, animals that are up for adoption, it's just like, nothing matters, right? Like, it's just, you're just present and you're with them. And so, and that's really how it's been at all the places

• 8:41Speaker 02

  that I've, that I've gone to. Like, one of the, one of the crew members from The View adopted one of the kittens. And, um, and it's just, like, everyone is so excited. So, the animals are, are definitely magical and they do magical things to people.

• 8:55Josh Horowitz?

  I do feel like this is, this film's a good barometer. It's like, show this to a person and if you don't show some kind of human emotion, you're a robot, probably.

• 9:03Speaker 02

  Correct, yeah.

• 9:04Josh Horowitz?

  So, you've, you've created a good litmus test, like a Blade Runner kind of test, going forward. That's a bonus.

• 9:09Speaker 02

  Well, yeah, yeah, in a sense. I mean, what's cool, what I'll just, like, add to that is, is that it's, um, my, my taste is not very niche. Like, I like stuff that a lot of people like. Like, I'm a big nerd and stuff like that. And, and so many people do love animals. Like, like you were saying, it would be weird for someone to not love an animal.

• 9:37Josh Horowitz?

  You're a sociopath, I'm sorry.

• 9:38Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah. So, I just tried to lean into that, you know? Yeah.

• 9:44Josh Horowitz?

  So, talk to me a little bit about the derivation of this project. So, we, we had talked when your feature doc, "Dads" came out. How does that one bleed into this one? Does this start at Imagine Documentaries with that team? Or is this your idea? Give me a sense of the origins of this.

• 9:59Speaker 02

  Yeah, so, um, so I very, I'm just gonna go right back to the origins. So, I was born in 1981.

• 10:06Josh Horowitz?

  Settle in, we have an hour, it's perfect, yeah.

• 10:09Speaker 02

  My dad would film everything. So, um, uh, basically, I was, uh, yes, we've got a lot of home movies and all that, but that did not come into play with this movie. But I, um, I was working with a lot of folks who, who then came and created Imagine Documentaries, like, before Imagine Documentaries existed. I was getting to do a lot of Short documentary films and actually did a film about Chrissy Beckles, who created The Sato Project. Is Chrissy here? Oh, my gosh, rock star. So Chrissy is a professional boxer and puts all of her winnings into saving dogs,

• 10:52Speaker 02

  rescuing dogs off of Dead Dog Beach in Puerto Rico. How about that?

• 11:00Speaker 02

  And that's where Blue came from. That's where Beautiful Blue came from. So years and years ago, I got to collaborate with a lot of the people who ended up, you know, working on this movie, on the short that we did about Chrissy, and then learned about The Sato Project. And as we were then working on Dads, I just kept thinking, I was like, "God, we have to do this with pets. Like, we have to do this with pets." And I pitched it to Justin Wilks, one of the producers. And he was like, "That sounds bad for my allergies."

• 11:39Speaker 02

  Cut to, he now has a dog who is adorable, and he's totally obsessed with that dog, and I'm sure he takes a lot of Claritin. But I, you know, everyone was into it, and we were just trying to kind of get through Dads. But I would sort of talk about it nonstop. And then from there, I was having a lot of conversations, like I was saying, with the folks at Imagine Documentaries, and just being like, "Okay, how can this happen?" And started working with a woman named Elizabeth Jamison, who is here, who is the producer of this documentary, and is incredibly passionate about, you know, animal rescue, has four cats.

• 12:24Speaker 02

  Brave woman. That's a producer. And I'd worked with Elizabeth in the past, in particular with casting for documentaries. And so she just knew where to go and who to find.

• 12:38Josh Horowitz?

  So was the approach kind of self-evident? I mean, it shares like, you know, a stylistic attributes with Dads. And it's like a really fascinating kind of way you've approached this. So like, you obviously choose these five or six deep dive stories. And yet, kind of the through line, the interstitials, I mean, you're essentially having children narrate this beautiful story about this relationship between pets and humans. Does that come right at the beginning? Do you go through different ideas? Or like, was it self-evident of like, how you wanted to tackle the actual structure?

• 13:06Speaker 02

  Yeah, that structurally, I'm a little bit of a one-trick pony. Because way before Dads even, this is sort of what I would do. Like, I just, I love using the Intera-tron. The Intera-tron is the rig that goes on the camera, so that it looks like people are talking to cameras. Created by a gentleman named Errol Morris, one of the greatest documentary filmmakers of all time. And for, since I've, how long have I been doing documentary stuff? Sarah Lynn Critchlow is here in the audience and has been doing it since then. But like, 12 years or something?

• 13:41Josh Horowitz?

  I remember 10 years ago, you were on the podcast for Soulmates. That's short.

• 13:44Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 13:45Josh Horowitz?

  That was a doc.

• 13:46Speaker 02

  Yes, and this was right before that.

• 13:47Josh Horowitz?

  Okay.

• 13:48Speaker 02

  So it was, so yeah, so I, I've been loving doing these kind of like, full-body interviews. I've worked with the same DP, Andre LaScaris, who's incredible. And with, you know, folks talking directly to camera. And then, and then also was doing a lot of just kind of going out into the field and getting to profile individuals. And it's kind of just that, that simple formula, verite and interview style, but something that feels a little bit more... Like you can go into humor because it's full body. It just makes space for it. So, yeah, and then I love viral videos.

• 14:28Josh Horowitz?

  Checks all the boxes. So, I mean, you alluded to this a little bit in the casting of these stories. I mean, you're spanning the entire world. Like, I guess, like, is it about checking boxes? It's like, we need a pig story. We need a falconer. We need like, I mean, like, how does that work in terms of even fingering out where to go? What kind of stories you're looking for? Because there are a billion pet stories out there.

• 14:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, it's unbelievably complex because it really is about so many things. It's making sure that there's, you know, the right balance of animals. You know, we wanted to be really mindful of not featuring, like, exotic animals as pets.

• 15:06Josh Horowitz?

  The Tiger King sequel.

• 15:08Speaker 02

  Exactly, exactly. And then as well, you know, it's a project and there's a budget. And so you need to be kind of aware of, okay, so we would love to go to Japan. Can we go anywhere else? Like, it was sort of, it was sort of that thing. And Elizabeth, just so early on, was figuring all of this out. And I, like, the first kind of, sort of, dossiers that I would receive with all these, like, faces and all these stories and everything, I was like, oh, man, this is cool. How are we going to narrow this down? And, yeah, so it's sort of, it's sort of kind of just figuring out, like, what's the team?

• 15:51Speaker 02

  What, who are, who are the, you know, the heroes that are going to ultimately, like, represent this, this idea? That, you know, it's a story of mutual rescue. So, yeah.

• 16:04Josh Horowitz?

  And what about casting the kids? Do I have, are your kids in this, in this movie, Bryce? Are your children in it?

• 16:10Speaker 02

  They might be.

• 16:12Josh Horowitz?

  I looked at the credits pretty closely.

• 16:14Speaker 02

  They might be.

• 16:15Josh Horowitz?

  Okay.

• 16:15Speaker 02

  They might be in there. I needed kids.

• 16:20Josh Horowitz?

  Looked around, wait, there are two.

• 16:21Speaker 02

  No, I honestly, that's, that's how it usually is. So, a lot of, again, kids, Elizabeth Jamison, and just sort of, like, everyone, in a way, you know, everyone was like asking, like, the friends of their friends, or, like, Goldie is the daughter of a childhood friend of Dave Rios, someone who was, you know, very, very involved, worked with him on, on Dads as well, a producer. And, and so, you know, it was just, yeah, it was like, I know a lot of the kids were, like, Elizabeth knew them and stuff, but what was important is that it was, like, the

• 17:03Speaker 02

  kids weren't actors or performers, you know, that it was all very real. That was the whole reason to interview kids, that there wasn't going to be any, any artifice. And, and so, I was just, I was, I was really, I, I just, I just loved, because all the kids were totally themselves, they came in their outfits, and I was like, I think I know what you're like, and it was just awesome, really awesome.

• 17:27Josh Horowitz?

  What I also find interesting is, like, there is a through line between your narrative directing and, and this. I mean, there's a different version of this movie that a different documentary maker could make, that's more like a scientific approach, like, what the, what's the linkage between man and, and pet? And this is an emotional story, this is about emotions and connection and warmth, and that shines through, I think, in, in all of your directing work. Is that, I don't know, is that fair to say that that's kind of a, something that's emerged as kind of a guiding force in all the films that you're tackling?

• 17:56Speaker 02

  Yeah, I think, I've realized that I don't like talking heads. Like, I have a really hard time with experts talking expertly. I don't know, I, it, it just takes me out of it, like, I don't, I'm like, what does this cost you to say this? You know? Like, really? And so, and so, I, it isn't really, I, I, I haven't made stuff about things where you really need to understand the facts, or reveal, um, the real truth is this. It's more kind of... Just trying to poke at a universal truism that we all start nodding our heads when

• 18:41Speaker 02

  one person says it. And so I think that was the goal.

• 18:44Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, it does feel like, okay, so you do like dads, you do pets, it's like food, sex, like these elemental kind of things that we all share.

• 18:52Speaker 02

  Yeah, love, like, you know, human relationships, seniors, moms, hello. Sarah Bernstein, you've been all over that forever.

• 19:03Josh Horowitz?

  We just got a peek at the development slate, I think, right? All right, where do you stand on these controversial topics? Dressing a pet in human clothing?

• 19:12Speaker 02

  I, to be perfectly honest, I don't, I don't personally do that. Because I haven't seen a pet for myself. One of my pets like be like, ooh, that's what I want. But I have, I have seen and I do know that there are pets who like, you know, there's, they accessorize. And it seems like they really like it. But for me, I don't judge it, you know, but for me, that's not, that's not a thing that I've really done. Maybe like a lion's sort of head for like Halloween or something.

• 19:47Josh Horowitz?

  Right. You're too aware that you don't want them to feel any discomfort, that you're in their, you're in their head, you're like, you want them to feel...

• 19:53Speaker 02

  Yeah, I just, I don't know, I don't know, I just, yeah, I, I, I just get a little nervous. I get a little nervous because I know that they, they didn't choose to put on the clothes themselves.

• 20:05Josh Horowitz?

  You haven't talked to my dog Lucy that likes to dress up as Chucky, the horror figure for Halloween?

• 20:10Speaker 02

  I'm sure she does, Josh.

• 20:12Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, she did, she asked for that. And it was adorable.

• 20:15Speaker 02

  But like, in all seriousness, though, you can feel it. Like, I'm sure you would have felt it if Lucy wasn't down with it. You'd be like, no, no, no, let's do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 20:23Josh Horowitz?

  Do you, generally speaking, when you encounter a cute pet, is it baby talk or human talk? Like, how do you speak to pets?

• 20:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's baby talk. It's out of control. It's like, oh, but you want your baby, look at the bubble. Like, it's like, what is happening? What is happening inside? And it's all of us. We have these little, like, love monsters inside of us. I, I learned, this could be not true, but I, I heard this once and I've since told everybody, so hopefully it's true, that the, the part of your brain, when you see something that's cute, the part of your brain that is like associated with cuteness, lights up, it's right next to the violence part of your brain. And so when you see something really cute, you're like, oh, it's so cute, I just wanna smoosh it

• 21:10Speaker 02

  and crush it and eat it, like, it's, it's-

• 21:15Josh Horowitz?

  This makes sense, yeah.

• 21:16Speaker 02

  Yeah. And so, it's, that's where the like, you know, that's where the violence comes from. And that's what the voice is, I think. I think the voice is like, you're managing your like, love and passion with like, the like, I don't know, there's like a demon that's like, oh, but, like, it's just, anyway. But that's just me, I suppose.

• 21:35Josh Horowitz?

  Do you like a good talking animal movie? Where do you stand on like, the Babe movies, the-

• 21:40Speaker 02

  I love Babe.

• 21:41Josh Horowitz?

  It's great, yeah.

• 21:42Speaker 02

  I love Babe.

• 21:45Speaker 02

  Yeah, I, yeah, I mean, there, I, I loved Milo and Otis.

• 21:53Josh Horowitz?

  It's a good one.

• 21:53Speaker 02

  Love that a lot. There, there are a lot of great movies, for sure.

• 21:57Josh Horowitz?

  What's your experience with, with animals in your own career as an actor?

• 22:02Speaker 02

  Not much.

• 22:03Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 22:05Speaker 02

  Not much, more children. More children. And they always say, you know, never work with children or animals.

• 22:11Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 22:12Speaker 02

  And I was like, but how about both? Simultaneously. But, you know what, there's, actually, it's, it's very different doing a documentary than shooting something narrative that has a script that you need to follow. And so, working with kids and working with animals are tricky when you have an objective that may or may not be the same objective of that child or that animal. And, and it is a scenario where you need to respect the free will of that child and the animal, and still in your head, you're like, but I really want them to stand there, you know? And, and so, I think that with a documentary, what's wonderful is that there are no expectations. It's just, you just truly-

• 22:57Speaker 02

  You're there to sort of see what folks say, see what they do, observe. And I think that that's, I mean, that's a very fun feeling as opposed to the tense feeling of being on set and being like, "Oh, they missed the mark."

• 23:12Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, yeah, we're losing the light and I have to get this child, this eight-year-old to say this line in this way.

• 23:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 23:18Josh Horowitz?

  No, there's something freeing up, I would imagine, in documentaries of like surrendering to the process and the story. You know the story to a degree, but you're letting it guide you.

• 23:26Speaker 02

  I'll just say really quickly, Ravi, the lead of Skeleton Crew is in the audience. Ravi, you and all the other kids were perfect and I never had to deal with anything. But like, actually, like, actually.

• 23:38Josh Horowitz?

  I'm gonna name one of your characters. You tell me if you think they were a dog, cat, pet person at all.

• 23:43Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 23:44Josh Horowitz?

  Okay? Hilly in The Help?

• 23:46Speaker 02

  No, Hilly's evil. Hilly's one of those sociopaths that would be like, "Mm, I don't like animals," like, you know.

• 23:55Josh Horowitz?

  Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man?

• 23:57Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah. She's, I mean, I think, oh, God, is she a dog person or a cat person? I feel like she would be down with both. I think Gwen is game.

• 24:06Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah?

• 24:06Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 24:06Josh Horowitz?

  Okay.

• 24:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 24:08Josh Horowitz?

  Sure.

• 24:08Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 24:10Josh Horowitz?

  Claire, Jurassic, feels like there's some trauma related to animals. I don't know. You tell me.

• 24:17Speaker 02

  I don't think that Claire had a very healthy relationship with animals. Ever. I'm realizing, ever. No, because that's kind of her journey. Claire's a character in Jurassic World. And she sort of starts as this, like, sea-level executive who's just sort of crunching numbers and seeing dinosaurs as assets rather than the animals that they are. And then she goes on a whole journey over the course of three movies.

• 24:49Josh Horowitz?

  But maybe by the end, she's ready for...

• 24:52Speaker 02

  A velociraptor.

• 24:52Josh Horowitz?

  A velociraptor, yeah.

• 24:54Speaker 02

  Correct.

• 25:02Josh Horowitz?

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• 25:44Josh Horowitz?

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• 26:26Josh Horowitz?

  Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. It's now available in Canada and the UK, too. And when Quince asks where you've heard about them, you know what to do. Let them know it was happy, sad, confused. That's the best way to support our show. If I had a dollar for everybody in my life who's benefited from therapy, I would be a very, very rich man. Therapy has certainly helped me, especially when I was a confused teenager, and thankfully, that's not a shameful thing to say anymore, right? It's okay to seek help. And need help and talk about it. We're all doing our best. We're just trying to get by, right, guys? Unfortunately, the reality is that getting help is still harder than it should be. That's why I'm thrilled always to have Rula as a sponsor of Happy Say Confused because

• 27:09Josh Horowitz?

  it's very obvious to me that online therapy should be both accessible and affordable for everybody. So let's make it easy for anybody who wants help to get help. That's where Rula comes in. Here's the thing, a lot of online therapy platforms don't actually talk about. Most don't take insurance. That means you're either paying out of pocket or signing up for some very expensive monthly subscription. Rula does it all differently. They work with over 120 insurance plans, so the average copay, I can't get over this, it's just 15 bucks a session. So basically two of your lattes, okay? A pretty good deal if you ask me. That means you can get real therapy from a licensed professional without breaking the bank. And Rula doesn't just set you up and leave you alone. They give you that therapist and then

• 27:53Josh Horowitz?

  they're along the way, the whole journey with you to make sure your care is working for you and you're actually making progress, hitting your goals. This can all happen right away, guys. With Rula, appointments are often available as soon as tomorrow. There are no wait lists, there's no frustrating back and forth. They make it easy. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high-quality therapy that's actually covered by insurance. Visit rula.com/happy to get started. That's rula, R-U-L-A dot com slash happy. You deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget.

• 28:30Josh Horowitz?

  Here's a provocative one. Which of your films, on the documentary tip, not about pets, which of your film productions would have made for the best documentary, the behind-the-scenes making of?

• 28:40Speaker 02

  I don't know, Manderlei, probably.

• 28:42Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, wow. Lars Muncher, that's always interesting.

• 28:44Speaker 02

  But, okay, but what's, what's, you know what, my, my, gosh, there's a lot, there's a lot.

• 28:51Speaker 02

  Everything is pretty wild, isn't it, Josh?

• 28:53Josh Horowitz?

  It's not what it looks like.

• 28:55Speaker 02

  Everything is pretty insane. And that's actually, like, in many ways, it's much easier to make a documentary, because you don't have to come up with incredible things. Incredible things are happening all the time in the world. Human beings are extraordinary and magical and full of pain and humor and wrong-headedness and, and, and, right? So, there's so much drama that's really happening in the world. And if you can find your way in with a documentary, it's really, you just, like, you just get to witness it. Whereas, you know, good story, well-told, that's made up, you have to make all of that stuff up.

• 29:37Speaker 02

  And sometimes, people won't believe things, because they'll be like, "Oh, no, well, that's too crazy. Like, someone would never do that." But then, when you go back to the true story, you're like, "No, but the true story was even crazier." Like, when my dad was doing Apollo 13, he had to, during the screenings, people would give feedback, being like, "No, that's not possible. They would never be able to do that." He's like, "They literally did that." Like, that's actually what it took to bring them back to Earth. And I needed to sort of manage that with the audience. And so, that's why I kind of like leaning into true stories and all of that.

• 30:16Speaker 02

  There's a sort of gift that comes with endeavoring upon making a documentary.

• 30:25Josh Horowitz?

  Don't look at me. This is what happened, okay? I'm not the crazy person, yeah.

• 30:28Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 30:29Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. On the narrative side, so you have these amazing early experiences as an actor in film, right? So, it's the Lars von Trier's, then the Night Shyamalan's. Like, are you, in those early experiences, soaking it all up with a mind towards, "I'm gonna be a director"? How early on were you thinking seriously about that?

• 30:46Speaker 02

  Um, well, I was directing theater by then. So, John Watts, actually, who, incredible director and showrunner for Skeleton Crew, he recently, we went to college together, and he still has a playbill from a play that I directed, This Is Our Youth, when he came to see it, when I was like nineteen years old. So, I was sort of known, I was in the drama program, but I was always directing outside of school. And like, I put on a production of No Exit in the subway station, which was really fun. And we only got broken up by the cops like three times.

• 31:31Speaker 02

  But it was great. I was like, "Meet at the Columbus Street exit." And so, it was wild. And so, that was definitely, that was something that I loved. Mostly those circumstances were about that there were actors that I was like, "Oh, these actors are so good. I want to see them do their thing. It's ridiculous they're not being cast." You know, it was that kind of thing. And then, as I've always, as an actor, I've always been very director-focused. And because it's, you know, it's ultimately, as an actor, you need to be of service to their vision. And even if you don't think like that, you will, you will, because you leave and they cut together your performance.

• 32:15Speaker 02

  So, I definitely, as I was starting to work with directors, I was just, I mean, everyone does it so differently. And it was amazing to get to observe that and learn that. And something that my dad has shared many times is because he started as an actor and then transitioned into directing in his early twenties. And he really misses being on other people's sets. Because it's like, it's so cool to see how people solve problems differently.

• 32:49Josh Horowitz?

  And obviously, look, by virtue of the fact that he was your dad, you spent a lot of time on sets as a kid too. And then, you know, we get into the Star Wars side of things. And this I didn't actually realize until I was reading another interview you mentioned. Not only, you know, you got into Star Wars, and I know you shadowed your dad on solo, but prior to that... You were friends with Natalie Portman. You were on the set of some of the prequels, right?

• 33:10Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 33:11Josh Horowitz?

  So what was your experience like? Were you there a lot? Like, were you witnessing those?

• 33:15Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 33:16Josh Horowitz?

  George do his thing?

• 33:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah. It was really cool. George, um, he, he, he's extraordinary, as I'm sure we all know. And he gives this great direction where he's like, "Say that faster with more intensity." And so I'm always thinking that when I'm directing. I'm like, "Oh, if George came in here, he'd be like, 'Say that faster with more intensity.'" But I, I went to summer camp with Natalie Portman, and we became buddies. And when she was shooting the prequels, I got to come and visit and stuff. And she was 15 and like turned 16 on the set. And it was unbelievable to get to, to get to see that kind of...

• 33:59Speaker 02

  Like, I remember Keira Knightley on the set because she was Natalie's double. Yeah, yeah. And just being like, "Oh, my gosh. This girl looks so much like you, Natalie. Wild."

• 34:12Josh Horowitz?

  Crazy. And then, so then flashing forward, you know, your dad, you know, through his circumstances, ends up directing solo. And I guess you saw that as an exciting, like, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

• 34:23Speaker 02

  Yeah. And I was like, "I'm calling it in. I'm calling the favor in." I have, I, I think it's important to just say this. I'm a third-generation actor and director. My dad was incredibly privileged. My dad and uncle to be raised in a household with parents who worked in the industry. I, in turn, have been enormously privileged to be raised in a home where my dad is doing the work that, that he's doing. My mom is also a novelist and is absolutely incredible. And, and so it's, it's just, it's, it's, it's a joy to get to...

• 35:07Speaker 02

  To get to do the stuff that we do. And, uh, but it's also, it's a very rare thing. And so I just want to, like, I, I, I talk about all these things in ways that are very, you know, it's very fun and it's a part of my life, but I just want to acknowledge for a moment that this is a very unique way to be raised and I've been very, very lucky. And I've tried my hardest to put everything that I've learned into my work. And so, um, and so I've, you know, that's kind of been my ethos. And then my dad got this opportunity to direct a Star Wars movie. And I was like, I don't care, I just want to be on the set, just give me this chance. Like, I just want to be on this set. Like, it was, I was, I was manic about it.

• 35:52Speaker 02

  And, um, and he at first was just like, no, no. Like, you can't, like, it's a closed set. Like, you can't come on set. And so I, I, I just, I really, I really begged. And I was like, I just, I, I want to see how this is, how this is done. You know, how, how a movie like this at this kind of stage is, um, how everybody does it. And, uh, and I was very lucky to, to get to do that. And, um, and from that, I met, uh, my now producing partner, John Schwartz. And he asked me to, um, to write a short film that I ended up writing with my husband that we were developing at Lucasfilm. And so that's how I then, then I was kind of like in that path and gotten, getting to

• 36:37Speaker 02

  know folks through that, which was really, really, really, really cool, so.

• 36:42Josh Horowitz?

  And then you get the call and you start to get into the mix to actually direct?

• 36:45Speaker 02

  Star Wars.

• 36:46Josh Horowitz?

  Mandalorian.

• 36:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 36:47Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 36:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 36:48Josh Horowitz?

  So, I mean, Star Wars is obviously such a unique beast for a number of reasons. I mean, literally everything you see on screen has to be manufactured, created. You can't just be like, oh, let me pull this rotary phone over here, like, from, you know, whatever. This is, this is, requires a lot of detail and a lot of restrictions in a way. I mean, do you, how do you feel it's creatively satisfying for you to work within the parameters of Star Wars where there's so much lore, there's so many, you know, strictures to abide by?

• 37:17Speaker 02

  Yeah. Well, I mean, Star Wars is...

• 37:22Speaker 02

  Awesome. Like, it's so fun. It's really, really fun. The tone is fun, the vibe is fun. Everyone who's working on it has their heart in the right place. It's a little bit like pets in that sense of where it's just like, "Ooh, I love pets." It's like, "Oh, I love Star Wars." You know, it's kind of like that. And it's been an amazing journey because there is a significant learning curve every single season. And so it's something, before I worked in, kind of, you know, with Jon Favreau and Dave

• 38:01Speaker 02

  Filoni and all of that, I was testing cameras and kind of working secretly in emerging tech with Canon Camera. And I was, like, I was kind of like a gearhead a little bit, like, kind of into all that stuff. And so Jon Favreau identified that early. He's a super dork, I love him. And so he would sort of give me opportunities to test the technology or to push the animatronic further. And that was very, very, very exciting. And I don't get embarrassed easily.

• 38:45Speaker 02

  Like, if I, like, I know that things aren't gonna work out. Like, I know that things are gonna fail. It's just that you have to try. And so I think that that's a little bit, like, a lot of folks who come into Star Wars or any sort of, like, large production, it seems very intimidating. But I think what folks don't realize is that every single time, every person who's involved is learning something new. Because the industry is developing. It's very technical and has a scientific component to it. And like, you know, a scientific field, there are gonna be new things that come up. So...

• 39:29Speaker 02

  So that's just my long-winded way of saying like, it's really fun and you learn new things and no one should be intimidated.

• 39:37Josh Horowitz?

  I mean, obviously, it's, yeah, the innovation is baked into the DNA of Star Wars, whether it's the stuff he was doing on A New Hope to doing digital filmmaking, the volume now, I mean, it's, it's, it's just part and parcel to push the envelope.

• 39:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:52Josh Horowitz?

  And that must be invigorating as a filmmaker to kind of be the first one to test out the new, the new toys.

• 39:56Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's, it's really fun. It's really, really fun. And in a way, it almost feels like live theater. Someone else here who's a producer on the movie, Nia Farrell, who I've been able to work with for many years, has been involved in all the, all the Mandalorian stuff and everything. And Nia comes from a background with devised theater. And, and it's so, it's so fun on these sets because it's like, sort of, you, you almost have a stage. And you need to figure out how you're gonna use the space so that, you know, it's

• 40:34Speaker 02

  like a small space so that it can feel epic and so it can feel like Star Wars. And it, it ends up being, it, it's, it sort of ends up being like you're putting on a show. There's so much more prep. It's more like the rehearsal period of time that you would have for like a Broadway show or something. And so when you're actually doing it, it goes kind of like this, but, but it's because at that point, you're, you're ready for the performance. And so it's, it's, it's a joy.

• 41:03Josh Horowitz?

  So when do you get your turn at bat for a Star Wars feature? Have you raised your hand? That, that has been a discussion. I refuse to believe that you, Filoni, Favreau, Kathy Kennedy, have not said, maybe at some point. No?

• 41:20Speaker 02

  I would always say yes.

• 41:23Speaker 02

  I would always say yes.

• 41:24Josh Horowitz?

  It's not, you're not the one saying no. You would be up for it.

• 41:27Speaker 02

  I, I mean, honestly, it's, it's, how many Star Wars features are there, right?

• 41:32Josh Horowitz?

  Right.

• 41:33Speaker 02

  I mean, I'm excited to see The Mandalorian and Grogu with Jon Favreau. I got to visit set. It's awesome. It's gonna be fantastic. And I think seeing that, as much as, as much as sort of, I think, I mean, a lot of filmmakers, like, people dream of, like, winning Oscars and directing Star Wars movies. Like, it's, it's a little bit like that. And, um, and, and getting to watch Jon Favreau do his thing and sort of elevate everything that he did within Mandalorian as a show to something that is worthy of a theatrical experience is, is thrilling.

• 42:13Speaker 02

  So what I'll say is I'm still learning. And, um, and I, you know, I, I've loved everything that I've gotten to do with Lucasfilm. And if I ever get a chance to do more, you know, they know that I'm, that, that I would, I would do anything.

• 42:31Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. So is there anything in the, this is my last Star Wars. Is there anything that you've directed for them that I haven't seen yet?

• 42:38Speaker 02

  Um.

• 42:39Josh Horowitz?

  Because I, as I, a Soka?

• 42:41Speaker 02

  I can't say anything.

• 42:42Josh Horowitz?

  Okay, okay. I don't want to get you in trouble.

• 42:43Speaker 02

  I can't say anything. I can't say anything.

• 42:46Josh Horowitz?

  I can, I can read minds. I feel like I know. Okay.

• 43:28Speaker 01

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• 43:56Josh Horowitz?

  You're kind of away with some of the documentary projects that you have on your mind. So, you're gonna be continuing down, I guess there are ostensibly three different paths. There's acting, there's the docs, and there are gonna be narratives. Is that sort of like, how do you prioritize? Is it like, I want it all and however they fit together, they'll fit together? I mean...

• 44:15Speaker 02

  Well, it's, it's, um, literally in my entire career, which is, at this point, been like 20, 24, almost 25 years. I've only had a conflict once between two projects. And one was a directing project and one was an acting project. And so usually, it's honestly, it's like, oh, thank God, I'm like working. Thank God that there's like more things that I do. Because if I only sort of, like, it's like diversifying the portfolio or something. And so, um, I mean, I absolutely love acting. And, acting, for me, is an opportunity to learn from filmmakers.

• 44:59Speaker 02

  So I'm always seeking out those kinds of opportunities. And then I, I love, yeah, I, I love directing too. So, if I'm lucky enough to do more of anything, that would be awesome.

• 45:09Josh Horowitz?

  All right, we've got a bunch of audience questions. Before we get to that, I have a very random question that I promised my editor, who's the biggest Spider-Man fan on the planet, to ask you. You ready? What was your perspective on a kind of infamously iconic scene, the jazz club scene in Spider-Man 3? I want your perspective on this. It's not usual for a Spider-Man film to have an extended dance sequence in a jazz, jazz club. What was Bryce's perspective on that?

• 45:34Speaker 02

  My perspective was that it took a lot of rehearsals for Toby and I to do something that was not ultimately incredibly impressive. But, uh, um, no, I mean, it was fun. It was cool because Sam Raimi, for me, Spider-Man 2 was like, ah, like blew my mind because it was taking, sort of taking the piss out of, out of Marvel in a way, before Marvel was even Marvel. It sort of established that tone and that playfulness and irreverence is, is just delicious and so fun to film.

• 46:15Speaker 02

  So, yeah, so Toby and I, Toby and I practiced that dance a lot and, and, you know, it was, it was one of those really fun situations where you're shooting all night and everyone is delirious and, you know, it was, it was fun.

• 46:29Josh Horowitz?

  We're talking about it to this day, so that means you've made something special.

• 46:33Speaker 02

  Well, he was wearing eyeliner, so.

• 46:35Josh Horowitz?

  That was, that was emo Peter Parker, famously.

• 46:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, he was emo Peter Parker, yeah, yeah.

• 46:39Josh Horowitz?

  So, okay, inevitably, when you do, the directing career continues, you direct a narrative feature. Are there actors on the list? You've worked with some of the best of the best. What's an actor, who's an actor you are dying to work with, dying to direct?

• 46:52Speaker 02

  Oh, my gosh, that's so fun. That's such a fun question. Um, oh, my God, all of them, all of them. Oh, actors are so great. Honestly, I mean, it's, um, I would love to direct Chris Pratt. He's very funny. He's like a very funny person. Sam Jackson has been incredibly supportive of me and has told me many times that he would act in something that I directed, which has been, like, I'm like, I'm not worthy, basically. And, and then I like went straight to Dave Filoni and I was like, so let's just talk about Mace Windu and where he is.

• 47:33Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, my God.

• 47:34Speaker 02

  Can we just talk about this? Because is he dead? Is he?

• 47:38Josh Horowitz?

  He said on this very stage, he wants back in. Mace Windu still has one arm, running around the galaxy.

• 47:43Speaker 02

  Correct.

• 47:44Josh Horowitz?

  Right?

• 47:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 47:46Josh Horowitz?

  You also have some great actors in the family. Might I recommend dragging your dad fully out of retirement?

• 47:52Speaker 02

  Yes, yes, yeah.

• 48:00Josh Horowitz?

  It's Ron Howard.

• 48:01Speaker 02

  Hi Dad.

• 48:02Josh Horowitz?

  Have a seat. I'm gonna stand over here. Have a seat.

• 48:04Speaker 02

  Fun, fun, fun, fun.

• 48:06Josh Horowitz?

  This is an intervention. We have to talk, Bryce. Ron, thanks for joining us. Talk to me about what it's like seeing your daughter center stage, talking about her amazing directing career.

• 48:19Speaker 05

  It's kind of an out of body experience and I thought I had seen the final cut and yet you were still at it and it was even funnier and more emotional than the last time that I had seen it.

• 48:34Speaker 02

  Thanks Dad. He's not biased at all.

• 48:38Speaker 05

  I'm gonna tell a quick story though about being proud of Bryce sitting in the audience. She was doing Tartuffe. It was her first, she was just out of NYU and it's Broadway and it's opening night and Cheryl and I have to help her get to the theater because she has a fever and yet it's opening night and she's going to go on and she does...

• 49:01Speaker 02

  Food poisoning because of what you brought over to the house Paige, my sister.

• 49:04Speaker 05

  And so we were, you know, we're going there and it's, you know, it's Broadway. I've never been on Broadway but, you know, and here she is. She's got a terrific role in, just prior to intermission, she's got this scene where she's crying at her father's feet and, you know, and I'm close enough that I can see real tears, real emotion. It's kind of incredible and I'm just beaming with, I'm just feeling this pride, this emotion myself and I look over and my wife Cheryl, who's here tonight, is kind of like this.

• 49:47Speaker 05

  And I'm surprised that, she's a very emotional audience member in person, I'm surprised she's not swept up by this and so then intermission comes and I said, "Weren't you just knocked out by Bryce? Wasn't that amazing?" She said, "Yeah, she was great." And I said, "Yeah, but she was so emotional and, you know, real tears and I looked over at you and I thought you'd be more into it," you know, and she said, "Are you kidding me? She did that every day of her life when she was 17."

• 50:19Speaker 05

  She can, that's a light switch for her.

• 50:23Speaker 05

  But, so I've been a very lucky father, and Cheryl would attest to this, many times, whether it's a premiere and a great performance, or something that she's made as a director. And, yeah, here's another, here's another great one.

• 50:42Speaker 02

  Thanks, Dad.

• 50:46Speaker 02

  You're so sweet.

• 50:47Josh Horowitz?

  Bryce, can I, can I ask you, what's the most, like, implicit or explicit advice you've gotten from watching your dad work over the years? Whether it's being on his sets, seeing his films, or directly talking to him. What has informed your work as a director, seeing how he does what he does?

• 51:02Speaker 02

  I would say his confidence within collaboration. A lot of folks I've seen hesitate to collaborate because they're afraid that other people will not then see them as the leader. Or, they're afraid that folks will think that they don't have the answers. And I've just observed my whole life, you know, he's an unbelievably bright, creative, experienced individual, and yet he still will always, always, always listen to feedback, pay attention to how people are responding, ask people, you know, what they're thinking, how it could be better.

• 51:45Speaker 02

  Empowering, you know, the crew and department heads to, like, one time I remember hearing him say about the folks that he was working with, he was like, "Yeah, it's important to me that, that people are not guessing what I would want. I, I, I want them to be doing what they think is best, not guessing what they think I want." And so, I think there's an integrity within that, that I, that I really respect. And beyond integrity, it's, it's effective. It's the best way to engage in collaborative storytelling. You know, it's, it's...

• 52:25Speaker 02

  Like, there's a reason, for me, this is not a diss on anyone who has this title, but like, I like "directed by," and then my name, rather than "a film by." Because it's not a film by me. It's like, a film by everyone who worked on it. And the editor, and the DP, and the producers, and, and, and. And so, I think that he really modeled, for me, sort of, how to navigate a career like this without an ego, with that mission of "good story, well told,"

• 53:09Speaker 02

  knowing that the way to do that is by assembling an incredible team of people. You know, from all different skill sets, all different backgrounds. And to empower them to do their very best.

• 53:25Speaker 05

  With a good crew, everybody's a filmmaker. Everybody there is a filmmaker. And the first time I went to see Bryce directing a narrative piece, I think I came on day two. It was only a three or four day shoot. But I came on day two, and it had a crew, and I recognized some faces from people that I had worked with. And she was so relaxed, and so on top of it. And it was just fluid. It was just, you know, amazing. And one guy came over to me, a guy, a grip, who I'd worked with a number of times, and he said, "Duck off of Waters' back." She's just taken to it from day one.

• 54:09Speaker 05

  Like, it seems like she's been directing for 10 years. But I think that... Bryce approaches it, and I think a lot of really, you know, really intelligent actors who choose to direct can almost always pick up on the rhythms of the process very easily and comfortably. But I think one of the reasons that Bryce moves easily back and forth between scripted and documentaries is she's so driven by curiosity. And kind of what is, what's at the essence of a potential moment? And how do we get there?

• 54:50Speaker 05

  And she just loves being at the center of that, of that discovery, you know? And whether that's discovering what's been found in an interview, or, you know, a piece of archival footage, or whatever it is she might be looking for. Or what can be discovered out of a moment that's scripted that perhaps was never thought about before. So it's really fun to see her develop. And it's even more fun to be the beneficiary as founder of Imagine Entertainment. So Brian Grazer and I appreciate all you've brought to the team.

• 55:33Speaker 02

  Thanks, Dad.

• 55:35Josh Horowitz?

  So Bryce, looking at your-

• 55:37Speaker 05

  My chance to gloat a little. Give me a break.

• 55:39Josh Horowitz?

  Looking at your dad tonight, we've greenlit the Mace Windu series. What are we gonna cast Ron as in the Mace Windu series?

• 55:45Speaker 02

  No, he's so good. He's so good. So has everyone seen The Studio?

• 55:51Josh Horowitz?

  So good.

• 55:52Speaker 02

  I was so nervous for him because he hasn't acted. He's done some stuff like in, you know, Arrested Development. He's done, you know, some cameos here and there, but like a, like a real part with like dialogue, and they're shooting it all with oners, so you cannot mess up. And I was just, I was, I was very, I was very nervous for him, so I went with him. I was like a momager. Like, I went with him to set, and I liked what he was wearing, I approved of that.

• 56:27Speaker 05

  She'd acted with Seth Rogen, so she thought she could pave the way.

• 56:30Speaker 02

  It was okay, and made sure he was hydrated. And then he went, and he did the rehearsal. And honestly, I was like, oh my god, he was so good. He was so on point. And everyone was just sort of baffled by it, frankly. And I guess you have learned a bit from Tom Hanks over the years. I mean, and you were great before Tom Hanks. He's like, he definitely rubbed off on you.

• 57:00Speaker 05

  You were talking about pets, animals that you worked with as an actor, and a director, versus the pets in our lives. And Cheryl loves animals, grew up with animals. And we've always had, at one point, we had 14 cats living in our barn. It was like Andrew Lloyd Webber in there. But it is so different. And I thought, as you were talking about that...

• 57:32Speaker 02

  Please tell the Lassie story.

• 57:33Speaker 05

  Okay, that's what I was gonna tell. Okay, so I had left the Andy Griffith Show and was kind of in between series. Happy Days had not started yet.

• 57:43Speaker 02

  How old were you?

• 57:44Speaker 05

  15, gawky 15. And during Easter break from high school, I had an opportunity to actually do a guest shot on Lassie. Which, okay, that sounds like a decent job, sure. Now, this was when Lassie was no longer living with a family. Lassie was an existential hero roaming America, solving problems, like Route 66 or something, or Kung-Fu. And so, the storyline was, there was this boy who rode horses, loved horses,

• 58:30Speaker 05

  and a horse got sick, and the father was a problem. And I can't even really remember the plot. But at one point, I'm supposed to be standing there next to Lassie. Holding Lassie and my dog, not my dog, my horse is very sick and dying. And I'm emotional. Now, Lassie was shot super fast, really fast, one take, one take only. And no matter what you did, if you got through the lines and set them, they were moving on. Print, going on. So, we do this wide shot where, you know, I'm supposed to be emotional, I'm holding Lassie here by the collar, Lassie's sitting, and I'm supposed to be kinda crying and saying

• 59:15Speaker 05

  something, and it wasn't very good. But they printed it, take one. Now, they did my close-up. I tried to sort of get the emotion right and everything, but it wasn't good at all. But print, moving on. And I said to the director, "Sir, could please, maybe just one more take? I just feel like I could just do that better." And he said, "Oh, no, no, kid, no, no, we got that, we got that, we're fine. Good, moving on. Close-up of Lassie." So now they move in for a close-up of Lassie, and I'm thinking, "Well, I didn't do very well in mine, but you know what? My hand happens to be holding Lassie's collar." So, maybe at that moment where I'm emotional, I'll just kinda do, I'll like tense my hand

• 59:56Speaker 05

  around Lassie's collar, and you know, maybe that'll just, and maybe add to the emotion. So, they're rolling cameras, he's doing that thing, and I'm getting to that emotional point, reading my off-camera dialogue, and I sort of tense my hand on Lassie's collar, and all of a sudden I hear, "Cut! Cut!" And the director comes up to me and says, "Kid, don't you ever frickin' try to steal Lassie's close-up again." "Okay, take two, let's do it." So I've held my hand still, so I...

• 1:00:30Speaker 02

  There are children in the audience, right? It wasn't frickin'. It wasn't frickin'.

• 1:00:35Josh Horowitz?

  You don't mess with number one on the call sheet, ever, even if it's a dog.

• 1:00:38Speaker 02

  Wasn't it, "Don't ever F with Lassie's close-up"? Wasn't it that?

• 1:00:42Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah, "Don't try to steal it."

• 1:00:43Speaker 02

  "Don't try to steal Lassie's close-up."

• 1:00:45Speaker 05

  But later Cheryl surprised me, and I got a collie, Cooper.

• 1:00:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Cooper, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:00:53Josh Horowitz?

  We're almost out of time, so we're gonna do the Happy, Sad, Confused, Profoundly Random Questions for you, Bryce. Ron, you're welcome to jump in with any answers that occur to you, but Bryce, you're front and center for this, and the first question's very appropriate. We ask this of all guests, dogs or cats?

• 1:01:09Speaker 02

  But I can't choose.

• 1:01:11Josh Horowitz?

  I understand. I get it.

• 1:01:11Speaker 02

  I'm a both.

• 1:01:12Josh Horowitz?

  I get it.

• 1:01:13Speaker 02

  I'm a both person.

• 1:01:14Josh Horowitz?

  Okay, that's fair.

• 1:01:15Speaker 02

  It's like saying, like, do you want to act or direct?

• 1:01:18Josh Horowitz?

  Right.

• 1:01:18Speaker 02

  Or like narrative or, you know, documentary. Like, I can't.

• 1:01:22Josh Horowitz?

  Do you collect anything? What do you collect?

• 1:01:26Speaker 02

  In childhood, porcelain dolls. Yeah.

• 1:01:30Josh Horowitz?

  Do you have a favorite video game of all time?

• 1:01:33Speaker 02

  Time girl, Timegal. There was like, yeah, there was like a time travel.

• 1:01:38Speaker 05

  Wasn't really allowed to play video.

• 1:01:40Speaker 02

  I wasn't allowed to play. I wasn't. No, but I would go to Alice Levitt's house and I would play Timegal. And I liked that one because you would, it was, you know, there was a story.

• 1:01:50Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Wallpaper on your phone? What's the wallpaper on your phone?

• 1:01:55Speaker 02

  Oh, it's usually either a pet or an animal or just I have a very, when I'm overstimulated, I have just a neutral background of like a, like a splotch painting that I made. I paint. And so it was just like a neutral thing.

• 1:02:09Josh Horowitz?

  Last actor you were mistaken for?

• 1:02:12Speaker 02

  Oh, I think it was, um, God, what is her name?

• 1:02:17Speaker 02

  I swear, Jess. Jessica Chastain?

• 1:02:25Speaker 02

  Like, literally, two days ago.

• 1:02:28Speaker 02

  Which is always a compliment. I was made up. And so it's like, when I look really good, sometimes people think I look like Jess.

• 1:02:33Josh Horowitz?

  What's the worst note a director has ever given you?

• 1:02:41Speaker 02

  500% less.

• 1:02:42Josh Horowitz?

  Wow.

• 1:02:48Josh Horowitz?

  Wow.

• 1:02:48Speaker 02

  Thanks, Lars.

• 1:02:52Josh Horowitz?

  That checks out. And in the spirit of Happy, Say Confused, who's an actor who always makes you happy. You see them on screen, you're immediately in a better mood.

• 1:03:00Speaker 02

  David O. Yallowe. Like, I mean, but there's so many.

• 1:03:05Josh Horowitz?

  Great.

• 1:03:06Speaker 02

  He just, he's like,

• 1:03:09Speaker 02

  like, no matter what happens, he's, he makes everything great, so.

• 1:03:13Josh Horowitz?

  A movie that makes you sad.

• 1:03:15Speaker 02

  A movie that makes me sad?

• 1:03:18Speaker 02

  Forrest Gump.

• 1:03:21Speaker 02

  I cry a lot with that one, yeah.

• 1:03:22Josh Horowitz?

  And finally, a food that makes you confused. You don't get it.

• 1:03:26Speaker 02

  Food that makes me confused?

• 1:03:28Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, why do people eat that? Yeah.

• 1:03:30Speaker 02

  Oh my god, like, all of it.

• 1:03:32Josh Horowitz?

  You're anti-food?

• 1:03:33Speaker 02

  No, I'm the worst eater.

• 1:03:34Josh Horowitz?

  What?

• 1:03:35Speaker 02

  I can't.

• 1:03:35Josh Horowitz?

  You're picky?

• 1:03:36Speaker 02

  I'm a, I eat like a four-year-old. Don't I, Dad?

• 1:03:41Speaker 05

  She won't eat her vegetables. She still won't eat her vegetables.

• 1:03:43Speaker 02

  No.

• 1:03:45Josh Horowitz?

  What, give me, give me the list. Give me the list that, what are the don'ts? What are the...

• 1:03:50Speaker 02

  I mean, honestly, I want to be like, almost anything. Like, I've never had anything that is, like, exciting in any way. Like, I just, I just stick to the very basics. And nothing is touching, anything else. And there might be some coordinating colors. And I might be a little neuro-spicy when it comes to food. Yeah.

• 1:04:12Josh Horowitz?

  Okay.

• 1:04:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:04:13Josh Horowitz?

  It's a good note to end on. Uh, congratulations on this fantastic film. I was saying before, the, the world needs a, a bright, beautiful story like this in the universe right now. I know this audience is going to spread the good word of Pets.

• 1:04:25Speaker 02

  Thank you so much for, for having us and for, you know, for hosting us here and letting us watch it on the big screen and celebrating, you know, all the work that everyone did. It's very, very fun, so thank you.

• 1:04:38Josh Horowitz?

  Thanks, everybody, for making this a very special night. Thanks to Ron for sharing the stage. And most of all, thanks to Bryce Dallas Howard, the director of Pets. Thanks, Bryce. Appreciate it. Thanks, everybody. Thanks for coming out.

• 1:04:56Speaker 03

  So ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Remember to review, rate and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh.

• 1:05:16Speaker 00

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