Ruby McCollister • Films To Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein #266

Published Sep 20, 2023, 10:00 AM

*This episode was recorded prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike.*

LOOK OUT! It’s only Films To Be Buried With!

Join your host Brett Goldstein as he talks life, death, love and the universe with the fantastic comic, writer and actor RUBY McCOLLISTER!

"...are you lost...?"

We catch Ruby as she's just about to start her Edinburgh Festival run so we can only assume that 'Tragedy' - the show itself - was an unmitigated success. Ruby is in the perfect spot in this podcast, as you'll hear - life, death, everything in those levels between, these are well within Ruby's wheelhouse as we kick things off with some good old fashioned Hollywood ghost tales. Do things let up from there? Not a chance. From said ghostly times, to the millenial approach to ghostbusting (or rather, ghost therapy), to past lives, birth charts, Natasha Lyonne, actors and acting and theories within, right up to a positively mortifying cinema experience. It's a wheel of fortune of an episode. Enjoy.

Video and extra audio available on Brett's Patreon!

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Look out. It's only films to be buried with. Hello, and welcome to films to be buried with. My name is Brett Golstein. I'm a comedian and actor, a writer, a director of Fraudster, and I love films. As Bernard Schlink once said, I'm not frightened. I'm not frightened of anything. The more I suffer, the more I love. Having said that Hereditary did proper shit me up. Yeah. Every week I about a special guest over. I tell them they've died, then they get them to discuss their life through the films that meant the most of them. Previous guest include Barry Jenkins, Hims Patel, Sharon Stone and even But this week it's the brilliant comedian, actor and writer Ruby McCollister. Head over to the Patreon at patroon dot com forward slash Brett Colstein, where you get extra twenty minutes with Ruby. We talk about secrets, favorite beginnings and endings. You get the whole episode uncut and ad free and does a video. Check all of that out over at patron Forard Slashbret Garlstein. So Ruby McCollister. Ruby McCollister is a brilliant comedian and actor. You've seen her in all sorts of things. She just went and did the Edinburgh Festival where she got absolutely rave reviews. So do see her show if it is coming anywhere near you. We recorded this long before she was headed off to Edinburgh, so it's nice to know as you listen. It's a bit of a spoiler, but she absolutely stormed it. I think you're going to love this one. So that is it for now. I very much hope you enjoy episode two hundred and sixty six of Films to be Buried With. Hello, and welcome to Films to be Buried With. It is me Brett Goldstein and I am joined today by an actor, a writer, a comedian, a sketch, a stand up, a seer, a light oh and a birth charter. Someone from the stars, connected to the stars. Who is a star. She's here, she's about to go to everywhere we record this. When you hear this, she's probably one edin breath. Please welcome to the show. The real life person that is this one. Ruby mcconist.

Oh my god, hey, thanks thanks for having me. Oh my gosh, I loved that intro. That was the best one. I've ever had.

Thank you, Ruby, it's delightful. Thank you for doing the show. Rebby, you're about to go and do Is it your first Edinburgh? It is?

Oh my god. I'm like, I'm yeah, it is my god. I feel I feel excited but overwhelmed, as I think one is wont to do. But I feel like I don't know I'm projecting here, but I feel like for people in England, it's just like what it's it's sort of is it more casual for people in England? No, it's never casual. It's never casual.

Okay, good good, Yeah, you're still you know, all the body you've had in the in the check down.

A drain exactly exactly exactly, And that's exciting and it's very exciting to do that. And there's sort of like a cyclical sort of addiction to gambling sort of feeling to it. But I'm no, but I'm really excited. And uh, today you're speaking with me when when you know the opening night is not you know what I mean, it's like we're looking at we're looking at something.

Forgive me for not knowing this is this your first hour show or you've done this?

No, No, don't know. This is my first hour and I'm really starting This first full assembled hour is really like the story of my first hour a little bit. It's really were and it's really I'm so glad to be here for so many reasons, but largely because it's, you know, a show about I'm going to say death. I'm gonna say it's about dad.

People, Well, then you've come to the place, Yeah, the right place. May I ask whose death? Or is it about all death?

It's about sort of all deaths. It's about how my father ran a theater in Los Angeles, which is not I'm going to say, and you probably know this at this point. It's not a theater town. I didn't know if you knew that about the Yeah, it's not sort of a theater town. And my dad ran this theater and I was at I lived basically at this theater, and I ran the box office at this theater. It's called the Cornet Theater.

It's now the Largo, A my favorite place.

Yes, was so that theater before it was the Largo. My father ran it. My father is an Flan Again, that is not that is not my father's In fact, Oh, I'm sorry for you yeah, I know me too, man. But before it was the before the Largo took over management, it was my dad was managing it. And yeah, I ran the box office every night. I was seeing so many psychotic like Vanity Project, one Woman show plays. It was always that. It was like the darkest level of Hollywood. I was witnessed to chronically. And on top of that, I found out that Charles Lawton, which maybe you know or haunts the Cornet. He's the resident ghost of the Cornet. Yes, because he died two days before the opening night of Bertold Brex premiere of Galileo Galilei e. Charles Latin directed the premiere, which happened to be in Los Angeles in like nineteen fifty four, which is crazy. And he died during the previews of Galilee And he was rumored to have haunted the Cornette. And when I was a child, I was obsessed. This was when I became This is when I learned about ghosts, and I became obsessed with Charles Lawton's ghost. And I had a really deep relationship with Charles Lawton's ghost.

And what do you mean you saw him? I saw him.

I believed he was always around. I felt him watching over me, and then I became obsessed with like Hollywood, you know, in the international sense of Hollywood, Hollywood ghosts like this whole other realm of my hometown, and so my shows like about all the ghosts that I was obsessed with.

Yeah, mate, can you tell me one ghost interaction?

Okay, maybe I won't tell the Charles Lawton ghost story, but I'm going to tell you another one, Okay, okay, And this is also a tip to anybody traveling to Los Angeles.

Okay.

So, at the basically the basin of the Hollywood Hills is this little sub neighborhood called Hollywood Land, and Hollywood Land was the original real estate development. That is why the Hollywood sign is there, right. We all know it used to say Hollywood Land, and then the land sort of crumbled.

Off whatever pressed into.

It exactly right, yes, And then at the basin of like right below the Hollywood Sign are these horse trails that have been there since the early nineteen hundreds when that piece of land was where actually bandits used to camp in the hills too. It was like because la at the time was like the most dangerous place in the world. It was just like basically still the wild West, so you can still go to these horse trails at the basin of this place. And I, you know, my dad had a friend from out of town who also had a daughter who later became my best friend. But that's a different story. But I was trying to impress her. I was trying to be like, we got to show her a good time in La. We got to do it right, And so I was like, let's take her, Let's take her to these trails. So you basically bored. These horses that are like so overly medicated, are really maybe not treated fabulously, but it's like set to the scene, you know what I mean, It's all part of the allure. And you sort of like hoist your body on these horses that are so tired and they are going up these trails by the Hollywood sign, and it's like pretty fab to do if you have nothing to do in La, okay. And I I'm like six, I'm six seven around there, and I'm pretty like I'm really newly anointed into my obsession with phantoms or ghosts, right, and I'm like really upset. I'm just totally obsessed. And I'm so I was like open to it, you know what I mean. I was like out for an experience, and so I was like riding this little horse and it was sucks it and I'm riding past the Hollywood Sign and I see two My god, this is this is a little scary. I see like two little feet, like not just like little feet walking past the Hollywood Sign out of the corner of my eye. And I'm like, I'm really startled. And I'm like telling my dad, like and he knows that I'm obsessed with ghosts. So it's like maybe I saw it in my head or maybe I saw you know what I mean. We don't we're not here to judge, we're not here to get our but not you know, our little sethist goes out. But I saw some feet, Okay, that's what I thought, and so then I started bare feet and that's when I found out, you know, And this is the thing about ghosts. This is my selling point about ghosts, is that you can believe in ghosts. You don't have believe in gohoes. But if you do believe in ghost or if you indulge the belief in ghosts, it's actually a gateway drug to be a historian. It's how you become a freaking historian. Man, That's what I'm saying. Because I go, I saw, excuse me, I saw feet by the Hollywood Sign. What's with that?

And I do.

Some research and I find out about peg and Twistle, who was the singular, if not most famous. I don't think she's the only person who did this, but she was the first person to throw herself off the age of the Hollywood Sign in nineteen twenty nine. And I mean, like, that's a one twenty man. Like I was totally seeing her ghosts, right, And then like peg and Twistle is like if you get into like Hollywood macab Blore, she is like, oh gee, she is like one of the main spooky stories of Hollywood is the peg and Twistle. She's the first person to throw herself off the Hollywood Sign.

So you think you saw get fate judged? I met, I met.

You know what I'm saying. I'm it might have been hers. I'm just saying it was.

A gateway because of which I have a guyst it was. It told you about.

Peggy exactly, and it just fed my lifelong addiction to this level of Hollywood darkness.

When did you last say, you guys.

I think the last time I saw ghost was about ten years ago. Yeah, I had in college, I had a ghost visit me quite often.

He was disguised.

I was scared because he would visit me. It was what I like, lived in this room on this campus in my school in New England and very haunted spot in the world, but different type of vibe, you know, to the Hollywood ghosts. Not as not as not as glamorous to say the least. But it was like this blonde guy. Yeah, this blonde guy sitting on the foot of my bed like every night, whoa see Yeah, for like a semester, which is about six months.

What was he doing just watching you Saturday watching it?

He was just constant and yeah, he was just always sitting and like looking around. And I eventually I think once you know, I was just sort of a sleep, you know what I mean. But I would like come to and it would be like after like the tenth time he did this, I was like, are you lost? Which is an amazing question to ask any ghost. He didn't talk, but he like acknowledged. He was like, I was like, are you lost? Do you need help? Like this isn't where you're supposed to be. And then after I talked to him, he went away. Sorry, in my los A great question. It's a great question, it is. And like there is this like whole school belief in like ghost hunting, which is like a whole other genre. This is a whole other topic. But there's like this new sort of more accepted vibe that instead of like ghost hunting with like lasers and guns and this like Ghostbusters level type thing, there's this new sort of millennial approach which is to communicate with the ghosts and and give them what they need. And that's actually how you unhunt a space, which I actually really think is cool. I think that's a cool sort of cool thing.

Yeah, what do you think this This gaz needed the blung gazer at the end of your bed.

Well, he was definitely young. Br you just said Geezers just like chum like blokes whatever. Yeah, no, no, no, no, that's okay. Yeah, and in America that means he's like totally old. But yeah, geezer, I'm saying geezer too, now hey, yeah, I'm saying a Geezer tonight. Yeah, whatever, totally awesome. I think what he wanted. I think he was genuinely lost. I think he was didn't realize he was passed on, right, Jesus, I think I know. Sorry not to not to out Macob, you're macab show.

But no, Well it's funny to say that. It's really funny to say that because I forgot to tell you something and now I'm realizing, Oh, you don't know either, You've you've died, You're dead. Yeah, I'm definitely lost.

If you're just bringing those news on me now, I'm like, I'm I am shocked to my core.

I guess for a long time I've been thinking, what is she doing sitting at the end of my bed, probably say something?

Are you lost? Yeah, I'm definitely lost. Oh honey, I'm definitely lost.

Yeah, how did you die? Maybe?

I think the last thing I remember, if you're telling me that I'm dead right now, the last thing I remember, member, is I literally got a cold. I got a chill. I caught a chill.

You were chilled to death. You would side chill, you would too chill you died.

Yeah, it was actually too cool. Yeah, it was literally too too cool for this mortal coil a little bit.

Wow, Yeah, no, too chill. Wow, your reputation procedes.

I lived as a Dodge.

Yeah, yeah, totally chill, totally chill, totally chill. What a tragic death. Hello, do you want to know when you die? Fuck?

I would say, like, actually, like, are we really talking here?

Yeah?

I think either thirty six don't tempt fate, okay, or because that's like a nice number. I think that's a very sexy number. Thirty six is an incredibly sexy number. Yeah, or ninety three right?

Yeah, Now you you can see the future, right, yeah, a little bit. What does your future say? Do you know when you will die? Will you die ninety three?

There's actually in as you mentioned in my incredibly unbelievable intro, I do do astrology. I have an astrology practice. But in my chart, it either says that I'm going to die old or I'm going to die by the hand and I'm not joking, by the hand of a lover like murdered. There's an indication, but I don't think that's going to happen. I actually don't think that's gonna happen.

So every time you're with a lover and they get slightly annoyed, you're like, uh oh, here it comes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I shouldn't have forgotten the milk.

Yeah yeah, it's I'm walking on eggshells. But no, I think I don't know. Yeah that it's like one indication in my chart, but I don't. I don't think I ascribed to that. You know, it's not it's not set in stone. This is all malleable. It's all a conversation.

Do you feel that you're connected to the light? What is it? Do you feel you're channeling something or are you just looking at numbers?

I think like it's a little bit of both, And I think I I wish I could take myself seriously enough to say I was channeling light, but I just can't.

It's hard for a comedian and such a spiritual advisor or whatever it is.

I know it's really hard. I mean, but I do think like I do think like I will say that the best people in my life that have given me spiritual guidance, advice, whatever, are are funny people. I think they're hand in hand. I think wisdom. I think being funny is so important for so many. I know there's all this talk about like you know, comedians are like the most tortured types of human beings that they're dark blah blah blah. But I also think like, if you don't have a sense of humor about yourself, you're sort of dead.

In the water.

I think a little bit, Yeah, a little bit, But that's just a hot take.

That's just a hot take. Yeah, but yeah, Okay, do you worry about your own death? Is it something you fear or welcome?

Can I ask you a question? Were you ever a hypochondriac?

I don't think in an extreme way. I fear illness, for sure, but I don't always think I'm ill. Do youeel me? Like, if someone sneezes near me, I'm like, oh oh oh wow. But I don't necessarily think now I'm gonna die because they sneeze. I just think we need to I need to be gone.

Yeah, I think like my fear is that that that's absolutely nice, that's actually really nice thing to desires what I'm going to.

Say, But.

I think I do. I used to be a really insane hypochondriac, which I think maybe also was like some of the spiritual stuff helped me through that a little bit. And uh, but recently, yeah, Mike, I guess I fear death in so much as I fear, Yeah, not knowing if it's happening or not, that would freak me out, like if I was just like hit by a bus.

Oh you want it like to be slow and you know it's happening really.

Yeah, And I like and I want to be like, do do you like? I really want to like say goodbye to everything, very romantic in a romantic.

Way, you know, see you want sort of like a good sort of good licking slow terminal ioness.

One hundred percent.

What do you think happened to any die? Then? With all your interactions with guys? What do you think between there's enoughter life the people that are lost? Are they going somewhere?

I do unabashedly and I'm I guess I have to say this without any sort of conceit. But I do believe in I do believe in it afterlife.

I do.

So I don't know what. I don't entirely understand what happens. I do know that not everybody becomes a ghost. I think that's like a general consensus is that not everybody does. And I do believe that, and I don't necessarily want to become a ghost. I do think, like you know, I think there is this like lack of recognition between you know, and then there's this other since we're all getting into quantum physics, now, don't you think that's it? Quantum physics is hot hot hot? Am I wrong?

Oh yeah, it's so in again, it's.

So freaking in And I think, like, so I can say this, like, you know, then there's this other idea that it's like, are they just too dimensioned, you know, the simultaneous time briefly overlapping and are interaction with that It's like I don't know, yeah, yeah, I can't say yeah, so there's some of that.

So you don't think a ghist is like someone who hasn't made it to the other side, as in this they are literally lost on their way to the other side. Some people don't become guys because they go straight to heaven, and other people are guys because they get.

I don't believe in heaven. I'm not I'm not really believing in heaven, but I am thinking like you go into like the warm light if you're if you aren't attached, if you're ready to let go, and then you like rejoin, you rejoin the cosmic Yeah, you know, recycling machine. You know what I mean.

I do know what you mean. Yeah, yeah, you become one with the high consciousness that you always wear, and then you PLoP out again into a.

Different Yes, I do, Yes, I do, and I think we and I do believe. I don't hold on too strongly to understanding what my past life are. I think that sort of. I'm not super into that, but I do like people that are. I love hanging out with people who feel very connected with their past lives.

That's real.

That's really fun for me. And some people have told me some wild shit about supposedly what my past life is. I do believe all actors, so shout out Brett, also you, I do believe all actors were at some point soldiers.

That seems like the opposite job.

And there we go, because I think, like once I do. I do think there's like this militant aspect to all actors, like this real seriousness and like over regulation or ability to overly regulate. But I think it is the opposite job. And I think that's why, like, once you fight in a war in your next life, you want it, you want to like express yourself and like.

Yeah, that's interesting, that's interesting.

I do think all actors were reincarnated soldiers, And I think that's why, honey, at the twenty first century, after two World Wars, there's so many freaking actors all over the goddamn blaze.

Yeah, because they were all soldiers and I need someone to bring me tea.

They're like, you know, what sounds great waiting around on set for twelve hours a day to say two lines?

Yeah, yeah, you get it.

I think you totally got it, get it?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It explains sort of why why there was why you get like a lot of entitled actors because I was a fucking soldier. I thought it exactly. It's like, you know, uff, give me my stuff.

And it's like, you wonder why actors are so like solipsistic that we can just keep going back in on ourselves. And it's because we were in the trenches. You were we we were, our helmets were on, our heads were done. We were so scared.

We had no space for our emotions. Excuses the behavior of access.

But I know, if only we could litigate with past lives.

Yeah, I know, yeah, because often you go with people, you go that person is an awful dickhead. But you know, they did. If you knew what they've been through and their childhood or when they were teenager. But if you could go, if you knew what they've been through a hundred years ago, they were in the walk, honey.

You would have absolute compassion for them.

That's yeah, you really would. No. Listen, hey, get them, get them their tea, let them shout everyone.

Yeah, they were in. They got trench foot. That's how they did it. It's like Connie, Oh my god, you had trench foot part.

I'm so sorry. Yeah, you take all the time you need in that trailer.

Exactly exactly. I think we're getting close to that. I think we're getting close, sir, to that level of compassion.

I do. I do. Well. Listen, there is a heaven. You you don't like the word heaven, but it's just the bit where the high consciousness all hangs out. Okay, I like it, and you're way work in there, and it's filled with your favorite thing. What's your favorite thing?

I think my favorite thing is like some music.

Okay, well then.

It's well, what what's your favorite thing? What do you say?

I'm not I'm not a guest on this podcast, and never I think anyone.

Who no, no, you have. It's your idea, dude, what is your favorite thing? Water?

I'm still waiting, you know. That's why I guess I'm here. I'm here every week waiting for the for the right answer. But music is pretty good. You get to heaven and there's music everywhere.

Or it's like music and Seltzer music and Seltzer with like.

A lemon, there's celter lemon handed to you, beautiful musicians. Everyone's so excited to see you. But I want to talk to you about your life. But I want to talk about it through the medium of film. And the first thing they ask you, mccallich, for sure, first film you remember seeing? Okay, this is.

Such a complicated one, So I remember the first one. I like that. I have a visceral, really amazing memory watching even though I think I technically watched movies before this. But my the first one I that came to mind was Edward Scissor Hands with my family. I love that phone. I love that film and I rewatched it recently. In it Oh my god. When I was a child, I watched it with my mother, who is also a Native Angelino and a goth and basically raised another goth, you know what I mean, more or less, you know, I'm a I didn't let in the loafers goth a little bit, but so she was like totally down for me to watch this movie. My parents were also in theater, so there was a lot of theater actors in Edward Sisserhands, so it was like our family friends were sort of in the movie or whatever. But I was thoroughly transformed as a child, and I was convinced I didn't relate to Edward scissor Hands. I obviously related to Kim and I think that was like the first depiction of a redhead I'd ever seen as well, oh I forgot, Yeah, she has like dyed orange hair, so that was really significant for me. And I then was convinced every night in my parents' shitty West Hollywood rental that we lived in, on the bars on my windows that Edwards I had like this deep fantasy that Edward sister Hands was like racking his little fingers, like yeah, but he was sort of like but in a way, in a sexy way. But I was like really frightened and really charmed by this fantasy of like Andred sitter Hans is like obsessed with me and like you know what I mean, And I was really freaked out for a while and about like the fantasy, the imagined fantasy of Edward racking his little fingers.

The music is one of the tracks that I would like played at my funeral as my coffin really with snow.

Oh my god, Oh that's really sad. It's really chilling.

The great, great film. It is a great film that doesn't come up. It doesn't love that film.

That's really weird.

So weird, Yeah, obviously, Yeah, Okay, I.

Mean, are you an only child?

No? I have a sister.

Yeah, you don't seem an only child.

The film.

Scared, I do. I love being scared. I'm addicted to being scared. Well, everybody probably says, what does everybody say?

The exorcis right, it comes up?

Yeah, obviously that was a legitimately scary film for me. I also think my my other the deeper cut of that is whatever happened to baby Jane?

Deep cut, deep cut Scared?

And that was really scary for me. Yeah, so that's Buddy Davis scary.

Not famously thought of as a scary film. I'd say, what why is so scary? It's dark.

It's dark, but it's like about you know. Buddy Davis plays this woman in her sixties who was a Vodvillian child star and still has her outfit from being a Vadvillian child star, you know what I mean, and like failed to become a movie star. And at sixty also she has like her sister Joan Crawford is paralyzed from an accident that was supposedly Baby Jane's fault, Betty Davis's fault. She has this paralyzed sister upstairs, and she's like trying to have her act happen again, Like she's trying to like put her act back up, and so she puts on these clothes to make her look like a baby doll. And she's like in her sixties and has like powders. Like it's like it's very very very scary. It's very scary. And I remember when I saw that as a child also with my goth mother being like, yeah, this is a fabulous film or whatever. I remember like brushing my teeth and you know what I mean, and like feeling, you know, when you have that scary movie feeling where it's like suddenly you're alone after you see it for the first time, and then you're and then it's like and then the characters truly begin to like invade your like space.

Is that just me?

No, that's everybody.

Yeah.

So then I remember like imagining closing the mirror of my bathroom and seeing Baby Jane. Seeing this like old woman and a baby doll outfit is like, that's really scary, and she sings this who oh my god, this is the Baby Jane song. Okay, it's I it's I've written a letter to Daddy.

Who's that dresses heaven above. I've written, Dear Daddy, I miss you. And I'm right like whatever, you know what I mean, that's what it is.

But it's like like I've written a letter to Daddy.

So creepy, creepy as fuck funny. These films Way Ahead That and Sunset Boulevard both did both these films about like aging Hollywood stars they can't like guy, that are completely madness, I know.

And it's the It's remarkable that I decided to become a performer because I really was like obsessed with these stories of like of tragedy and failure and delusion and I and and since a Boulevard is one of my is what's my answers for two is coming? It's coming up.

What's the film that made you cry the mist Do you cry easy? Do you cry lout?

I do? I do?

I do well?

I can? I know, I know, I mean I haven't cried recently so much. But I okay, So this is my answer. This is my stock answer basically, and I and I hate to be so on brand. I am like psychotically on brand sometimes, so this one's another psychotically on brand answer. But the film that makes me cry the most is A Star is Born. But it's but it's it's.

The Garland version, okay, okay.

Which is the best one by far. And there's this Then there's this scene where she is, you know, she has an alcoholic husband, as we all know in the Lady Gaga version two, she has an alcoholic husband. In this version, Judy Garland plays a movie star, not a musician, not like the barbaro Streysand version either. Judy Garland plays a musical, you know, like movies are like how Judy Garland was, Like she's saying she dance, she acted whatever, and she's in the middle of doing Oh god, this I could cry just thinking about it. She's in the middle of doing a musical number where she's dressed as and forgive me, but this is the term. This is the aesthetic term. She's dressed as a hobo. Okaya, that is what the term is. Unfortunately antiquated, I know. Okay, listen. So she has like a charcoal beard on like this, like freckles and a blacked out tooth like Judy Garland. Okay, and she's like doing this number and they're like, okay, take a break, and like she goes into her dressing room and the head of the studio is like, your husband is a real is like really making a fool of himself, and it's like is he okay? And then she breaks down in this makeup She is crying. She is like and it's Judy Garland crying, like and you can see that she is actually in such despair and it's like, I forgot the exact line, but you know, it's just like it's her crying, like it's so hard to you know, love somebody who doesn't love themselves, you know, all of this just devastation. And then it's like, okay, yesther, you got five minutes and that she's like and then it's like the next cut is her like wiping her tears and like doing that the next take and they're at that. I reference that scene all the time. It's one of the most poignant scenes I think in like of the fifties basically, and it's you know, George Kooker directed it. It's like a hugely massive and such a beautiful film. And I think if you know anything about Judy Garland, it's so devastating and it's just such a relatable I think it's a position that I think many people have felt. It's not just for actors. I think it's like this really universal feeling of like there's something terrible that I'm that's going on that I have no control over, and yet I still have to sort of like continue on.

Yeah. I never have to do public have to do public face.

Yeah, and I have to go to work or I have to like just keep it together. And I think that's like such a oh God, I just cried cry.

Really good. What's the thing. What's what's the film that you love? Most people don't like it. It's not critically acclaimed, but you love it unconditionally.

Okay, this is a good an, I really love Confessions of a Choppaholic.

You couldn't answer that question.

I adore this movie. I think it's actually a really important I'm going to go Isla Fisher playing an American also a redhead, not to brag, who has coincidace?

Who's who the.

Villain of this? And I guess maybe I don't really understand the credit system in the UK, but but to be an American is to have a lot of debt. That's a huge thing in America. And uh, basically literally the villain of this movie is her credit card company. And it's like amazing, like it's about her like struggling to get out of debt, and it's like and she just can't stop. And it's like there's so much in there that is like and that is there is such a great movie. It's such an amazingly important film. It's an amazingly important film.

Reason I would double bill it with the Fifty Shades of Gray, which I think is a profound statement about American capitalism. That film put them together.

I mean, I've never seen fifty Shades of gray? Should I what you're saying?

I think I think if you like Confessorsolic for the reasons that you like it. I think you like fifty of Great, which is basically a whole no about money, right right, Yeah, I don't think it's about sex at all. I think it's about conservatism and that's all. The shots of it are like sexy building where money is made, sexy helicopter that money.

Yes, yes, yes, I mean I think like with Confessions of the Chapoholics. Also, similarly to what you're saying, is like fifty Shades isn't about sex, Like a guy doesn't really enter the chat of the movie, like until she pays her credit card down, isn't that fascinating.

It's like, dude, it's like it's it's just she can't find paid her debt. Is that what it said?

Yes, that's what it's saying, which is like, afar out. I don't think that's true. But I do think I do think that's like I do think that's a crippling fear for a lot of Americans. I think like, like I don't remember the amount of money she's in debt. I think it's like as all movies like super Low, you know, I think she probably has like five thousand dollars, you know, like, I don't think it's like a ton of money she owes her credit, her creditors, but it's about like obviously like a girl who's like neglectful of paying her bills, that she's sort of just spending, spending, spending whatever, that she's like from a lower class background, that she was trying to make it big in New York, that she needed these closes to do so, which one hundred percent like that's real, right, Yeah, that's real. And I think there's like a real who doesn't have fear if they had, like if I had a ton of I mean, do you know who doesn't have fear about their debt?

Yeah, very relatable film. Yeah, I mean your adult is bucked, as if to say yeah, yeah yeah. On the other on the other end, a film, what's the film that you used to love but you've seen it recently and you've gone, I don't like this anymore. I've changed.

I'm sure a lot of people talk about this movie, also probably from America. There was a few answers I put for this one because it was it was many that I was way back. But I think like the most poignant one is Garden state.

Does everyone say that They don't say that.

No, not like a million Americans say that. That's interesting.

What do people say comes up around?

Okay, but I'm also saying, does everybody also say Blade Runner?

No?

Honestly, I'm changing its blade Runner?

Okay.

Can you believe actually how boring Blade Runner is? And it's like actually not a good movie and it has just like a few good shots and really good costumes. It's like the most boring movie ever. Everybody's totally out of their minds and we're stoned to the gods the last if they say bad Blade Runners boring, it's a bad movie period. Sorry, It's like an amazing book by Philip K. Dick and it was like translated like purely stylistically and like is not. I don't think it's that good. I really actually don't think it's that good. Sorry, I think it's boring as well.

I would shut down your Twitter when this comes out.

I know, I know, I know this is gonna be It's not the first time that up.

And anyway, what is the film that means the most to you? Not necessarily the film itself is any good, but the experience you had around seeing it will always make it special to you, Okay.

So I saw I was going to talk about how I saw Tar, and I was going to talk about how I saw Tar. And I never finished Tar because when I saw it with my mother, who I realized, I am constantly bringing up my mom and I guess she's the only person who ever watched movies with me. In my Tar life, there was a man crawling under the seat. What yeah, crawling under my seat? And then I said yeah, and then I said, excuse me, sir, are you okay? And he had diamond earrings on and a nurse outfit on. There was something going on, but whatever. And then he told me, I like, your.

Shoes absolutely terrifying, scary, and then of the guy.

Stars, yeah yeah, and honey, my shoes weren't My shoes weren't cute anything I was. I was wearing like really banged up sneakers, like I was wearing some crazy shoes. It was really scary. And then I left the theater. He followed me out. We had this alter kid, it was like a crazy Tar is like and I never finished it, but I said, I said, I'm not going to call the cops, just leave me alone. And he did, and then I carried on with my day. But my mother, who was who was like raised by a British person. I turned to her and I go, Mom, I have to leave the theater. Not to call you guys out, but I sometimes think this is a little British fer She goes like, I go, Mom, I have to leave the theater. There's a man under my seat. And then she goes, and then she goes, and then she goes, Okay, then move seats. I go, and I go, no, it's actually actually I can't do that. My experience has been ruined. And then she goes, I don't like letting fear win.

But the guy is no.

At this point, he's crawling.

Back to his.

So I don't like letting fear whin. And I said, which I think is sort of, you know, approximate to keep calm, carry on, you know what I mean, the famous keep calm, carry on. And I go, we're past the point of fear, mom, this is actually happening. And I go like, and then I'm like, and then I.

Excore myself out of the theater, and your mom stays in to finish the film.

She sees in an extra twenty minutes and she's really pissed off that I left, and she's pissed.

She is, like.

I think she was like thinking I was maybe being history on it, you know what I mean.

Do you think it's possible, and I'm not denying your experience that it was a guyst when you saw her man in a nice under your thing? Did you say you lost? Sir? There are you lost?

What I did say, though, actually chills, and I'm getting chills because he might be a ghost. Now I go, do you need help? That was actually what I asked her, So do you need help?

Sir? Because the part of the story that's weird, and this is with all due respect to your mom, Your mom is the weird part of this story.

Because yes, because it's like she couldn't tell what the crisis.

If she's not going, Jesus Christ, your seat right for your life, she's going, I don't worry about it. You're being silly and you're going, yeah.

I might have been the only one able to see him.

Is what you're saying.

Oh, I never even thought of.

That, Brett disturbing. It's much more disturbing if it's not a guys. You know what I mean? I'm sorry, this happened horrible.

It's okay, you know, like things happen. It's New York City. It was a New York City. You know, things happened and I was fine. I know, I know I didn't, but I think it was fine.

More.

You know, like things happen and I'm fine, but it but it will forever. I do know what happens in Tar, I know the final scene or whatever. Like it's like, I know what happens in Tar, but I don't think i'll ever.

Yeah, that would have tainted that.

Yeah, I don't think i'll ever exactly. Yeah, absolutely fair period period.

What is the film you most relate to and would it have been.

To the film I most relate to. I'm really gonna say the most annoying answer, I'm so do people just hate their answers?

No, people like, oh I haven't. My answers are very clever. People are saying they're always good. Everyone's good.

I know.

Everyone's answer is so revealing. When I listened to past episodes, there's there's such a there's such perfect portraits of people. Okay, Uh, Unfortunately, I'm gonna say my the most relatable film is either Slums of every Hill, which was a big film for me. Natash Leone looked a lot like me. Yeah, and she in that movie is like, you know, I might sound like a nepotism baby because my father managed the theater in Los Angeles, but it is sort of the slums of Beverly Hill. It's the lowest rum of the entertainment industry, you know what I mean. It is one it's one step before writing home to mom and going back to Kansas or whatever. You know, Like, it's not it's not it's not fab. So I related to this character of having this sort of this dad that's trying to keep everything afloat in sort of a chic, glamorous neighborhood but can't really cut it, and you're sort of at the mercy and the whim of, you know, like a lower aspect of a glamorous situation, the back end of glamorous situation. And I really related to that. And then on top of it, you know, I looked so similar to her, like it was like sort of like it was like a.

Crazy, crazy experience that Yeah, what is the sexiest film?

Oh my gosh, well I just saw it. Bra I can you leave this because oh my god, if we had talked like a few weeks ago, would have been a completely different answer.

What would have been a few weeks ago?

Breaking the waves?

Okay, let's go to In the Cut, which.

Yeah, In the Cut is an amazing movie by Jane Campion and Mark ruff.

You've seen this, I've seen this film.

How did you as a man? How did you deal with Mark Ruffalo? How did you how? Because Mark Ruffalo is the hottest person, very sick I've ever that character, The way he's dealing with that woman is the sexiest thing I've ever seen my entire life. I thought my molecules are changing. I was like, I went, how is everyone not? It was shocking to my core? How did you as a man deal with seeing Mark reffl You're an actor?

How do you? How did it make me go I should give up life? Because nowhere you.

Go like, how am I going to stop at my game? Like you're like, how can I get?

Like?

How am I gonna?

Like? How am I going to do? How am I going to have sex like Mark Refflee Exactly?

All I'm saying everyone who wants to have sex with some women channels and Mark Ruffalo and the cut, real real tip, real advice.

Yeah yeah right, a very misunderstood film when it first came up.

Totally yeah. So wait, can you talk to me about this because it was two thousand and three. What was the vibe of the film?

This is the thing, this is the thing that happened, This is should be the outside of you were wrong about whatever. This was so of the thing that kind of ended Meg Ryan's career, which was and I remember like half seeing It's one of those things that I remembered wrong until I saw it till I saw it again, which is that there was a talk show I it is called Parkinson Michael Parkinson, and it was like the best one in England. I don't know what the equivalent with being in America, but you know, long fairly long form interviews with with the movie stars and stuff, and he was really good. It was always good. And Meg Ryan went on it to promote in the cut and they had a very awkward interaction. And the way it was sort of talked about in the press was like she was hard work, she was a nightmare. Like it was like she came out of it very badly. This sort of ruined her reputation or something like that. It was really it was like pre internet, so it was much more like movie stars were gods, and then here was this woman that we had all loved, kind of being shit on TV and beating this interview and being rude to National Treasure Michael Parkinson and all that. Anyway, I then years later saw this on the Internet, this interview. He's being fucking horrible.

To it really is, and he's like asking her questions.

Or he hates He clearly hates the film, and he's clearly like triggered by the film because she says something like, I think the aim of this film was to make a non romantic romance film. She says something like that, and he says, why would you want to do that? What's wrong with romance? And he gets really sort of defensive, you know what I mean, Like she's essentially saying this was like a feminist telling of a sexual love story, and he seems to be like offended or scared of what she's saying, and so he's really being quite difficult with her until eventually she kind of shuts down, and then he goes, what do you want me to do now? And she says maybe we should just wrap it up, and he goes, okay, well that was Meg Ryan and it's like a nightmare.

But also the weird part is is that it's so evident that this type of character became like totally like water marked by Nicole Kidman, and then I did research, Like it's so weird, like you look at my grind and you're like, this is a Nicole Kidman, yeah, character.

But it's years ahead of his time that film. When you think about now that film would be like, yeah, of course everywhere it was years ahead.

I guess it's totally years ahead. But I say, you know when American writers can go pencils up again? I go, you have to. The level of sexuality is so like dangerous. I don't there's so little films that are actually saying doing anything, And it's like sexuality in that way is very campy. There's a camp aspect to it, which is why in the Cut is such a complicated film and at first you're like, is this a piece of shit? Like is this like the worst film ever made? Or the best film ever? Because it's like to talk about murder and sex and a single woman and all of this, like you're a non romantic romance film. It's so camp. There's something so corny about it, and it's like, I don't know, I wonder maybe we as a culture no longer can like take the cringe or something or something. But there's like it's such a complicated or like really on, I don't have many other examples of that type of writing or that type of romance. But you also look at this like Nicole Kimmen thing, and I go Nicole Kimmen. This was like a Nicole Kimmen character. Nicole Kimmen was the first pick for that role a I found out, yes, and she turned it down because she was tired from her divorce from Tom Cruise. She was too exhausted. So it went to Meg Ryan. But Nicole Kimmen's name is still on as executive producer on the film, which is fascinating.

Yeah, crazy, it's very much.

Yeah, but it's fascinating that Meg Ryan's career. Yeah, Like you're saying like it was totally never heard from again.

We never heard from her again. It's so sad. She's so great, great, there's this subcagriage. This question troubling is worrying. Why don't film you found a rousing that you went, sure you should.

What is it, Rebe Mine's a really pretentious but really bad one. This is I don't know, well, it's Death in Venice.

Wow, Okay, which is?

But it's about a troubling boner. It's about a troubling arousal and I and it's like about two men and who is it? Oh my god, it's Stick Boguard. It's right, Dirk. He's amazing. He's so amazing. Servant is also a troubling boner film too. If you've ever seen Servant, is.

That the one with Charlotte?

Yes, And it's about this guard plays Yes, no, no, no no. Maybe Charlie Rampling is not in it, but it's like it's about like Dirk Bogart is a servant to this like young rich guy in the sixties. It's like a it's a very scary movie too. It's so good and hot and weird and it's about like two men being like obsessed with each other and like you don't know if it's gay, and it might not be. It's like that's a really crazy, horrendous boner movie. And Devin Venice is also a similar a similar category of like it's about two guys and it's disturbing, and and watching it is so disturbing, and but you're obsessed with it. And Dirk Bogart is a real troubling boner actor. You like want he's so hot. Yes, it's every single movie he does is like why is this? Why is this sort of sexy? And why is this so upsetting? That's a complicated This is complicated answer because Death in Venice is about a young boy and there's like a whole freaking documentary about how casting that kid was like the worst thing that's ever happened, you know, Like it's like that's a really troubling one.

That's what that's like.

Yeah, and like Andy Hall is a similar one. You know. It's like that's so you want to you want it's so fun and then obviously you know it's like a similar but Death and Venice is majinie. And there was also that new meme that was circling around the summer that was Jerk Bogard and Death and Venice like in a beach chair and it's like me this summer, like instead of hot girl summer, it's like Jerk Boguard being sickly in the sense, and that is a good meme.

That's a good Yeah, what's subjectively the greatest film of all time since.

I couldn't Yeah, Okay, let's.

Go for it.

I'm gonna say the Wizard of Oz.

Okay, my god, this is.

Like, this is such a hard question, dude. Really, these are hard questions. That's terribly hard. Wizard of Oz obviously, because like it changed like the unconscious of the whole world or whatever, you know what I mean, Like we're always like thinking about the Wizard of Oz.

And I've seen behind the cut and I've seen the ways that we're always I said, every day.

I say it, every day. I said it today, I said, I was explaining my existential feeling at the moment, and I said, there's no illusion of a wizard anymore. There is just a man.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, and the and the Munch, the Emerald City, like every single thing about it is is puncture. It's also like one of the first films many people see. And I think that's an interesting fact too, And it was it was technicallor it's like the first like those colors.

Yeah, it's great.

It's a great film. It's a great movie. I rewatched it recently and it's really moving.

Moving.

You're crying crying.

Yeah, you're crying, crying, You're crying, crying. What's the film you could or have watched the most over and over again.

Okay, so then this is when we're coming back full sir, we're going sensible. Vard is the most watched film I've ever watched. A great question, and everyone asked, yeah.

Fantastic question for you. Have you seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber Sunset Boulevard?

Oh my god, I haven't have you.

I've seen it a number of times, and I'll tell you this, I really like it. I tell you why I like it, And I think I like it because I really like the story and the music's really good, and it's like, yeah, it's just a fucking great story. And now they've just set it to music and it's almost word for word the film. It just is it occasionally rhymes like yeah it's in you go, yeah, you're doing that brilliant story now with some banging chunes in it.

Did you see it with Glenn Close? But who was Norma Desmond?

I think I saw it.

Oh wow, Jesus.

Yeah, pretty great. It's great, and it has a car chase on stage, which I've always said that's what theater is missing. Chase is on stage.

Well we have to. I mean, he's gotten enough of words. But Andrew Lloyd Weber is going, what can we put on stage this time? He's going, He's going, let's get let's get the water off. She goes, He've got to get this water on stage. He's not settling for less funny. He is getting this water on the Stage's like, it's amazing. And the car. I had no idea about the car, but it's like that, oh my god, oh my god. When William Holden goes, not having my car in Los Angeles is like not having my legs, Like it's like nothing that was written in nineteen forty nine. It's like we could never.

It's like, ugh, it does does how It is like remarkably the same, the same, Yeah, you go, It's the same, that the same.

One hundred percent except for one thing. And I will give this to civilization. William Holden calls Norman Desmond at for being an actress at the age of fifty. She's supposed to be fifty years old. But there is this implication, especially in the bridge scene in Sunset Boulevard where Buster Keaton is in like in one of his Oh my god, it's like so devastating. Buster Keaton is literally in the shot where William Holden it's like a pan around this bridge table and it's William Holden's genius voiceover. It's like, and that that theme is really good of that movie too. There it's so creepy. The music is so creepy in that movie. They pan around the bridge table and then William Holden goes like in every Friday she would invite her whack.

This works.

Oh And it was this implication of these like old aging actors, but they are all supposed to be their fifties. It's like, honey, now times have changed. I guess it's a little bit.

You know. They're well, yeah they have, but also we live longer now. People used to diet fifty back then.

I know, and they looked so I mean that's the other thing is like everyone's looking as young as a bug these days.

What a great film? What is the worst film you've ever seen? Oh?

Yeah, this is a great answer too, because I really I thank God for a letterboxed. Oh my god, shout out for Letterbox. I would never have a single answer for this if it was not for that application I wrote By the Sea.

Have you seen this movie? I have seen By the Sea a little two hours and I.

Have too, and it's the worst film I've ever seen. But I love it. I mean I love it.

I love it.

I loved it. I loved it. I loved it. I can't stop. I love it, and I love how again back to all actors are reincarnated soldiers theme. I uh, I love that actors get really obsessed with, like, how can we make a movie? I myself guilty of this. How can we make a movie that's about sort of sex getting a little perverted. It's like it's like it's like that's the hot idea from an actor. It's like, how can we make it a little sexy in a crazy sort of French way. It's like it's like or you know what I mean? Or like how can we incorporate some poison? Or like how can we incorporate some naughty It's like so so written by actors. It's basically the only document written by actors. It's the most actor thing I've ever seen in my entire life. It's it's crazy. It's crazy, you know what I mean. It's like everybody wants to be in like Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf? Like everybody wants to be in that play. So it's like and every actor is like I've always wanted to play George or like I've always wanted to play Martha, and so it's like, actually, honey, we can do that if we write this script about a French hotel and we get to get drunk and yell at each other. It's like, it's the it's the need, right, it's the it's the compulsive twenty first century actors need to do Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf's which it's true, true, we're all we're all desperate for it.

We don't want to do it.

I did want to do of course, Yeah, exactly, that's what everybody wants to do. It's the best one.

It's the best one.

Yeah, it's the best one.

So it's the play.

It's actually the only good play. And if we just sit we and really like maybe I do like Arkadia a lot, but but besides that, that's that's that's that's me being that's me being decorative, me saying Arcadie. That's like me full ship.

Yeah, plays boring except for.

And we are lying to ourselves every goddamn day being like look at all these plays. Like it's like, oh, we could do a play. It's like that's a lie. The human race wants to do one.

But you said today that's the only play.

It's the only play.

No stop.

Yeah, Or it's like we're doing a dolls house and it's like the person it's like, it's like, how can we make our dolls house be? Who's Afraid of Virgin? Every It's like everything it's like if you see it through these lenses now, it's like most contemporary art is like, how can we make it? Who's you?

Change my life? Again? It's what is the funniest film you've ever seen? What makes you laugh? What film made you laugh the most?

Okay, well, okay, this is a this was also I'm sure people have said this one too, and again it's so on brand too, but I can't help being myself. Is Waiting for Guffman is the funniest film to me of all time?

Great?

Obviously, yeah, obviously, very similar idea.

Yeah, it's a group of people trying to make ye Ruby mcaulist. You have been wonderful. You have taken us on a journey, thank you, across time and to the other side. However, when you were when what some would call too chill, you were so chill that you were sat down, you were just being chill, and you were so fucking chill that your heart went stop. I'll just stop beating. We're just chilling. Yeah, we're just chill, baby, And the heart stopped, and then you're all going to stop working. And then suddenly in the way that you dreamed of, not quite because it was a bit quicker, but you realized, oh, I'm dying slowly but in a like hot way.

Yeah, definitely love love, Yeah, yeah.

I'm walking. I'm walking through Hollywood with a coffin. You know. I'm like, and I go, I just pop in check in on Ruby, and I'm.

Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I knew.

She was chilling, but she's she's chilled. She's done it again. She's chilled too hard. And I come in. You're dead and I have to chop you up because I brought I've misjudged, chop mere. I have to chop you up to fit you into the coffin. Chop you God stuff doing stuff you in and I'm having to smash you in there anyway. It's grammed. There's only enough room in this coffin me to slip one DVD into the side for you to take across to the other side. And when you get there, it's movie night every night. What film are you taking to show the musicians of Heaven when it's your movie night? Ruby mccallis the third all about Eve, great twists perfectly on bread. You've done it, I did it. Is there anything you would like to tell people to watch? I believe that this sadly is not coming out in time for the Edinburgh Festival, so it's totally the tour of your show, which you will be doing I'm sure around the world.

Yes, my show is called Tragedy and it's about basically my fixation on all of these macabre themes of failure and jaf because I was raised in the hell mouse that we call Los Angeles. That's yeah, that's what it's about. And you love your gry I sing, I entertain you know it's it's it's yeah, it's on brand, that's what it is.

It's brand. Ruby. You've been a pleasure. Thank you.

Thank you, this has been so fun.

Good luck in Edinburgh. Thank you, Bret, I have a wonderful death.

Thank you, goodbye.

So that was episode two hundred and sixty six. Head over to the patroon at patreon dot com. Forward Slash Brett Goodsting for the extra secrets and video with Ruby. Go to Apple Podcast give us a five start rating. But right about the film. It means the most to you and why my neighbor Marien loves reading. It always makes a grind. It's very much appreciated. Thank you all for listening. Thank you to Ruby for doing the show. Thank you to Scruby's Pip and the Distraction Pieces of Network. Thanks to Buddy Piece for producing it. Thanks to iHeartMedia and We'll Fare with Big Money Players Network for hosting it. Thanks to Admitchison for the graphics and Lisa Linen for the photography. Coming join me next week for an absolutely smashing guest. In the meantime, that's it for now, have a lovely week and please now would never be excellent to each other.

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