Paul Feig Lightning Round

Published Aug 13, 2024, 7:00 AM

Like any good director, Paul Feig is discerning to a tee. On this week’s bonus episode of Table for Two,the Bridesmaids director joins host Bruce Bozzi to share the only acceptable martini recipe, what he’d bring to a desert island, and why a house party is the best way to socialize.

Hey, everybody, it's Bruce. Thanks for pulling up a shriff for another bonus episode of Table for Two. At the start of this year, I sat down with one of Hollywood's most stylish men, director Paul Figue. We didn't do a lightning round during our lunch, but I had so many questions for Paul that I jumped on a zoom with him a couple of days ago.

He was in London.

Promoting his new movie, Jackpot, and while we weren't face to face, we still had a little drink together. I hope you enjoy our conversation and we'll be back with the full interview next week.

Hey, Bruce, how are you. What a beautiful surprise.

And you're looking very dapper. Oh my god, what are we drinking?

I invented a drink. Were doing a press screening of my movie Jackpot tonight, and so I invented a cocktail for it, called the Jackpot Tail, and it's gin in blue carousol and a pair brandy.

Wow.

Well, you know what, I'll have a little with you here in the morning, so sears to your movie tonight, My friend, this is exciting. Okay, as we sit here with mister Paulfi we are going to do.

Our quick round.

Okay, okay, ready, advice that changed your life? Oh god, I'll start small, I start small.

I mean really yeah, thanks Bruce Jesus Christ. I've been given some really good advice in my life. I think it was probably I don't remember who gave it to me, but it was right what you know. I mean, honestly, I think it partly formulated it myself out of things that I learned when I was being very unsuccessful as a writer, trying to create things out of you know, completely out of the air, and thought it was cheating to write, you know, kind of things that happen in your life about people that you know, and then realize the best writing I've ever done was that. And you and all writers write from what they know. You can't, you know, if you're a sci fi writer, you're still writing about things that you've gone through. You just them in a bigger world. So I think, yeah, that kind of honesty is what you need in you're writing.

I think that's really important for young writers to hear, or young you know, screenwriters to hear write what you know.

When people veer off, it tends not to resonate.

Yeah, and not did come from anything, because literally, when we talk about jackpot in a second, right, what you know?

And then if you have put it in a bigger world, put it in a big commercial world.

Okay. Biggest pet peeve.

Oh Man, vodka martinis. Why because they're not real martini's. But martinis are supposed to be gin. Every Ready hates me when I say this because everybody loves vodka martini's. I love vodka, it's great, but a martini is all about gin, and it's really you know, the vermouth is in there to kind of soften the edges of the gin, but it's all about tasting the gin. And when you have a vodka martini, all you're tasting is vermouth and the lemon or the twist that you put into it, because you know, vodka tastes like really nice water. So yeah, what's the point. So you've got to learn to gin if you like martini. And my other pet peeve is when you ask for martini and the bartender says vodka or gin, it's like I said, a martini. If I asked it, very vodka martini, that's it. But if I say martini, it's gin. So there you are.

That's the OG. The OG martini means gin G. Do you does gin?

So is it like a dirty martini? Is that only with vodka? Or is that with gin too? You'd have a dirty gin martini.

Anything that you call a martini should be with gin. The only exception of the rule, and I will let this happen, is an espresso martini, which which yes, when we went through the nineties in the two thousands where every barhead their martini menu and it was like anything they dumped into a martini glass like this was considered a martini. No, I'm sorry, it's not the glass, it's the drink society. So I'm a cranky old man when it comes to this stuff.

No, you're not cranky.

You are a perfectionist when it comes to your drinks, your cocktails, your style.

You know how you want You're a man who knows how you know you want to live. And it's very clear person you text most.

It should be my wife, but it's it's a tie between my wife and and my producing partner Laura Fisher. So yeah, because you know one I'm working with and one I'm living with. So h But I think if I had to tip the scales. I think it probably I'm texting my wife. More problem is my wife is a terrible texter because she'll text me something like I need to know this now, right back, right away, here it is, and then she never writes me back, so like, did you get that? Oh yeah, I got it? Well let me know you got it. Put a K or something or a smiley face.

Let me tell you. That's Brian Lord all the way? Where to go?

Like I thought we were in a conversation. Do you feel when you test with you?

Like with like?

So I have a thing about text So if you text me and then I text you back, but it's like an open it's like a tennis match. There's a final text that should come through. And most like especially if people don't hear what they want to hear, they just disappear.

You're like, yeah, where'd you go?

I know I am. I'll admit I am guilty of that. If somebody writes me a text that I I don't like, I just won't. I'll just ghost them, which I hope. I know. It's terrible. That's really bad. That's your pet, peeve is what I do?

Right? It is exactly. So, okay. Three things you would bring to a desert island?

Mmm? Everything I own? No, I would bring. I would bring a bottle of jit because I'm a big lush. I would bring a guitar because you know, why would you not? And uh, boy, for the last thing, what would I bring? Because there's so many things I love? I would bring a hat a cowboy.

Hated to protect, right, okay protect?

And I look good in a cowboy yet I'm just I'm I'm just not gonna pull pull punch.

There's not a thing you don't look good, and that has been established. It's in Hollywood forever. Bless you were growing up, what was your dream car?

My dream car was a t R seven, which was I forget even who made it, but they would you're too young. It was it was a wedge shaped car. It was a sports car, but it was shaped like a wedge and I just remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever and I really wanted one of those.

Did you ever get one?

No? No, no, I mean I stually look around now that I uh that I need a car, I guess.

Yeah, it might be time to sort of forget that. You know, you've earned it. Let's just say I got a final one. The biggest career regret. Is there a regret that you have in your career a movie you didn't do?

There is, but I can't say, Okay, yeah, it was something that was offered to me to get me, keep me from going to another studio to do something else. But I didn't get it at the time because I didn't quite see what it was supposed to be. And then it turned out to be this giant But I can't. I can't say what it is because then it'll it'll start a whole thing.

So I'm going to tell you when we are at a bar having our martinis.

Jim, you're telling me.

I'm telling you this story because you know all the people involved, and.

Oh my god, this is exciting. So what is your idea of a good time?

My idea of a good time is being with friends and having great food and great drinks, which sounds pedestrian, but it's just I look forward to like if somebody, especially if somebody I like, only into restaurants with people, that's really fun for me. But I really like when somebody's like, Hey, we're gonna cook and come over. We're gonna have martiniz. That just happened last night. I went to my friend Paul and Eric, who live in London here invited Laurie and I and our other friends George and Trish over for dinner. Eric's a master PATISSERII. When you have a patisserie and you're a chef, you're a patisar. I don't know what why not he's a pastry chef. I was trying to be fancy and the head is over. He cooked this amazing meal. They had amazing champagne and wine and you know, and we were having jin and soda and martinis and and fun conversation and just lots of jokes and just happy times. And I love it because you can really relax. And also I like about eating somebody's house is if we get loud, I'm not I'm always really concerned about being loud in loud places and trying to ruining other people's good time if we're too noisy, and so I'm trying to pull everybody down a little bit. So when you're somebody's house, like you just go nuts. And it's it's such a nice feeling.

Right now, that's true.

You could just be loud, especially, you know when we like to have a couple of cocktails.

We like that exactly.

So what is it then, what would be your guilty pleasure? You know?

Yeah, I mean it's so fun. I try not to be guilty about too much stuff. I think over the years, there was stuff I'd be like, oh, I would never admit to that. Now I'm just like things like I just like, you know, pop music and stuff like that. I love country music. There's music that I was always felt like, Oh, you're not supposed to admit you like that, likes you know, some popular song or some you know, thing that's really commercal. And I realized I cut myself out of a lot of fun, you know, like I mean, you know, the small example, but like you know, in the nineties or whatever, you're like, oh, Britney Spears, Oh that's so poppy. We don't like that. I love Britney Spears music now, like I'll put on like a Britney Spears playlist. I'm like, why did I not give myself the gift of how much fun this is to dance to and listen to? Because I was trying to be so oh I'm counter culture and you know I'm not going to be manipulated by you know, commercialism and all that stuff. It's that weird thing you get when you're young, where you're you know, young as an artist, especially of like, oh, I reject stuff. I think the only thing I enjoy still is is reality TV, just because I don't because I know too much about how show business made and I know if there's cameras in your face, you're not acting real. So the only reality TV that I think is really true reality TV was candid Camera because people didn't know that there is.

Yes completely And I would say the same thing happened with me with Lady Gaga way back when she was the first hit.

I was like, oh please, and now I mean, I.

Mean, who's who's greater. Yeah, there's a reason why people like stuff, you know, well a lot of people like it, and so we're just like, I'm tired of I get tired of being like the grumpy guy. Like you know, I don't like.

That you're not Grumpany actor or actress that you haven't worked with that you'd like.

To Oh, there's so many. There's so many, Bruce, I know, and I hate to single anybody out. I mean I'll just go back to like old wish lists, and like I've always want to work with John Lawrence. I think she's great and I actually got to have dinner with her years ago and we really had so much fun. And when I see her occasional, she's like, hey when we do when we do a movie together, and I'm like dying to figure one out. So hopefully that will happen someday.

I mean next level.

I love her, Okay, So you know our final question is would you kill for the jackpot?

Like in my movie Jackpot opening August fifteenth.

Right, that's like right, I forgot to plug it in full No, no, sorry, but.

Like and I kept thinking to myself, would I kill for the Jackpot?

You know, Well, it's an interesting it was in the by the rule, I don't think I would, but but by the rules of our movie, it's that you almost have to put it through that because of like, if anything goes and you could kill somebody with however you wanted to, I think or people might consider it meaning guns. But at my movie, the only rule in the lotteries you can't use a gun, which means you got to kill somebody up close, so you got to look at the face, struggle and do it. And I don't know. I could never do that. I can't kill like a fly. I feel bad. I'm always scooping up spiders that take him outside. As my wife yaels of me to kill it.

I mean, I would say, I mean, And it was you you incorporate with Jackpot. It's so great because there's such like high level tension, there's such humor, there's like so many things going on at the same time, and with the ethical.

Question of like what would you do? I don't know.

That was a pretty high Jackpot. I think I might just take somebody out rebellion.

I know it might be worthy because you know, no no, no concept. But would you feel guilty of the rest of your life? That's the question?

Yeah, I think you know, like anything, you don't think you would and it probably would destroy your psyche for the rest of your life, probably.

Exactly as you're floating on your yacht.

Yeah, as you're on your yacht right covered and remind us again, what's the cocktail for tonight's premiere.

The cocktail is called it's called the Jackpot tail, and so it's Jackpot tail. So like you got the pun. If I have to explain the pun, then I've told a bad joke and it's delicious. It's I'll tell you right now. It's two ounces of gin arting stalls, brilliant London dry gin. There you go, half ounce of blue Carousau, which is your orange, you know, Carousow, but with the blues get the blue color of the of the gray Latto, and a half ounce of pear brandy.

I am going to try my best to recreate that when I get into the city tonight. Congratulations, so good to see you again, and we'll break some bread in La And congratulations on tonight, and thank you for doing our speed round on Table for two today.

I appreciate my pleasure, Bruce, thank you so much. You're the best. Truly.

Table for two with Bruce Bosi is produced by iHeartRadio seven three seven Park and Airmail. Our executive producers are Bruce Bosi and Nathan King. Our supervising producer and editor is Dylan Fagan. Table for two is researched and written by Jack Sullivan. Our sound engineers are mel B Klein, Jess Krainich, and Jesse Funk. Our music supervisor is Randall Poster our talent booking is done by Jane Sarkin. Table for two's social media manager is Gracie Wiener. Special thanks to Amy Sugarman, Uni Scherer, Kevin Yvane, Bobby Bauer, Alison Kanter Graber. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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