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The Talk Show

21: Looper, with Rian Johnson and Adam Lisagor

 

00:00:00 ◼   ► my favorite sentence i saw written about

00:00:01 ◼   ► it was Anthony lanes review in The New

00:00:03 ◼   ► Yorker and just what does the sentence

00:00:05 ◼   ► that got me it just said what happens if

00:00:06 ◼   ► you hit you in the face and take off

00:00:09 ◼   ► would be pissed if it doesn't then gave

00:00:14 ◼   ► it and yeah I can't really landed

00:00:15 ◼   ► punches really tried so i guess i'd be

00:00:18 ◼   ► ok i am here and what we call it

00:00:23 ◼   ► sandwich studios sure what ya never

00:00:25 ◼   ► grabbed never come up with a name for it

00:00:27 ◼   ► well I'm diagonally studios that looks

00:00:30 ◼   ► to the ring to it here in beautiful Los

00:00:32 ◼   ► Angeles California it is a twenty-fourth

00:00:35 ◼   ► of october and I've got two very special

00:00:37 ◼   ► guests with me i have ryan Johnson

00:00:40 ◼   ► writer and director of looper smash-hit

00:00:44 ◼   ► time-travel sci-fi movie and friend of

00:00:49 ◼   ► the show a longtime friend of the show

00:00:50 ◼   ► Adamle score i will i should point out i

00:00:53 ◼   ► think also upfront is that I've warned

00:00:55 ◼   ► all of you on previous episodes that you

00:00:57 ◼   ► were too obscene looper by now

00:00:59 ◼   ► the show will be very spoiler riffic you

00:01:02 ◼   ► should keep it up on your ipod to listen

00:01:04 ◼   ► to later if if you haven't seen the

00:01:06 ◼   ► movie and shame on you for not having

00:01:08 ◼   ► seen that are who has an ipod anymore

00:01:10 ◼   ► well iphone i don't know i have an ipod

00:01:13 ◼   ► do you really yeah because I like to

00:01:14 ◼   ► have my whole music collection the

00:01:16 ◼   ► classic is the only one that's got that

00:01:17 ◼   ► much capacity so boom

00:01:20 ◼   ► ok I didn't alright I will do what you

00:01:24 ◼   ► gotta say you can say that again saying

00:01:27 ◼   ► I have nothing to say except iCloud well

00:01:30 ◼   ► but that's really we don't need nobody

00:01:32 ◼   ► don't my client has a 25,000 song

00:01:35 ◼   ► limited for someone with the music

00:01:37 ◼   ► collection as studly as mine that

00:01:39 ◼   ► actually presents a problem you do love

00:01:40 ◼   ► music and this is something i wanted to

00:01:42 ◼   ► actually ask about as well in relation

00:01:44 ◼   ► to the so it's been a it's been how long

00:01:49 ◼   ► now since the movie came out spend like

00:01:51 ◼   ► 3-4 weeks now and you've done you you've

00:01:55 ◼   ► done quite a number of interviews and

00:01:57 ◼   ► press for it and you and I've tried to

00:02:01 ◼   ► absorb all of it i mean we

00:02:03 ◼   ► its weak just because I wanted to not

00:02:06 ◼   ► talk about stuff that you've talked

00:02:08 ◼   ► about as impossible there that's the

00:02:10 ◼   ► thing there's only so many things you

00:02:12 ◼   ► can ask about

00:02:12 ◼   ► the movie you know it's true but button

00:02:15 ◼   ► there are a million facets of the

00:02:17 ◼   ► process of making the movie i think i'm

00:02:19 ◼   ► alright do you like talking about hello

00:02:21 ◼   ► i would I gather you do because I

00:02:22 ◼   ► listened to your commentary and and I

00:02:27 ◼   ► can get a sense for what you like

00:02:28 ◼   ► talking about because you didn't have

00:02:29 ◼   ► anybody prompting you just had your

00:02:31 ◼   ► movie to respond to feel so naked before

00:02:34 ◼   ► you but I'm excited about this to be

00:02:37 ◼   ► fair we are naked right and you think

00:02:39 ◼   ► that is one of the event requisite in

00:02:42 ◼   ► which students that's kind of where it

00:02:44 ◼   ► gets its name music it's like I know

00:02:46 ◼   ► what that means but yeah yeah um well

00:02:51 ◼   ► that's a good place to start that was

00:02:52 ◼   ► one of the things that you've done and I

00:02:53 ◼   ► I i don't know if it is unprecedented I

00:02:56 ◼   ► don't know if you've stolen the idea

00:02:58 ◼   ► from somebody else but you have issued a

00:03:00 ◼   ► what would you call it a commentary

00:03:02 ◼   ► track you know standalone and the

00:03:04 ◼   ► intention is the movie is obviously it's

00:03:06 ◼   ► still in theaters it's not out it's not

00:03:07 ◼   ► for the DVD it's not for the blu-ray

00:03:09 ◼   ► intentions you loaded up on your ipod

00:03:12 ◼   ► Adam get in the theater for the second

00:03:16 ◼   ► time you watch the movie you sit there

00:03:18 ◼   ► with your headphones on and you've got

00:03:19 ◼   ► writer-director ryan Johnson talking to

00:03:22 ◼   ► you throughout the movie like you're

00:03:23 ◼   ► watching a DVD with the commentary it's

00:03:26 ◼   ► pretty it's pretty so pretty great and I

00:03:29 ◼   ► listened to it without without the movie

00:03:31 ◼   ► like I thanks man

00:03:33 ◼   ► does anyone know i mean like as i slide

00:03:34 ◼   ► business this is a battle ok this is I

00:03:39 ◼   ► have to explain myself I I i went back

00:03:42 ◼   ► and saw the movie a second time

00:03:44 ◼   ► okay um and I wanted to take notes

00:03:46 ◼   ► during it so I didn't want to sources of

00:03:47 ◼   ► information competing gadget and then I

00:03:51 ◼   ► went home after I watched the movie and

00:03:53 ◼   ► I put the commentary on by itself

00:03:55 ◼   ► without the movie and a challenge it

00:03:58 ◼   ► challenged me to do something I didn't

00:04:00 ◼   ► expect that would be doing which is

00:04:01 ◼   ► trying to recreate the movie in my head

00:04:03 ◼   ► right through it right which with a

00:04:06 ◼   ► visually strong movie like this is

00:04:09 ◼   ► easier to do because it's not

00:04:12 ◼   ► wall-to-wall dialogue and long takes and

00:04:14 ◼   ► everything it's a lot of really

00:04:16 ◼   ► well-composed stuff which is what angry

00:04:18 ◼   ► which is what you do know

00:04:20 ◼   ► so what I want to get back to the

00:04:26 ◼   ► commentary stuff as well but i wanted to

00:04:29 ◼   ► first I want to start out by

00:04:31 ◼   ► congratulating you on something I i

00:04:34 ◼   ► thought was even more impressive by then

00:04:36 ◼   ► the in theater commentary which is that

00:04:39 ◼   ► on opening night of the movie

00:04:43 ◼   ► yeah you did you did something that was

00:04:46 ◼   ► a lie i found so impressive and it was

00:04:49 ◼   ► that in la here we we have a we have a

00:04:52 ◼   ► theater a movie theater that's the best

00:04:55 ◼   ► theater in town is called the arclight

00:04:56 ◼   ► scott stadium seating you can reserve

00:04:58 ◼   ► your seat and everything and always go

00:05:00 ◼   ► for a row j johnson yeah yeah and the

00:05:06 ◼   ► ushers are they all wear these kind of

00:05:10 ◼   ► embarrassing purple banded collar short

00:05:13 ◼   ► sleeve button-down share what you know

00:05:15 ◼   ► button button up shirts and I've always

00:05:18 ◼   ► wanted to like find one of these shirts

00:05:21 ◼   ► to be a halloween i now have one in my

00:05:23 ◼   ► closet

00:05:23 ◼   ► ok but i would love to borrow thank you

00:05:27 ◼   ► for offering and so what you did is you

00:05:29 ◼   ► you without you know giving up the gag

00:05:34 ◼   ► you posed oh and these officers

00:05:36 ◼   ► introduce the movie every single

00:05:38 ◼   ► screening of a movie they got in front

00:05:40 ◼   ► of the audience to say thank you for

00:05:41 ◼   ► coming to the arclight you're going to

00:05:43 ◼   ► be watching such-and-such movie please

00:05:45 ◼   ► silence your cell phones & Ryan did this

00:05:47 ◼   ► in front of an expecting audience and

00:05:50 ◼   ► one of your friends videotape yeah video

00:05:52 ◼   ► and it was amazing it was a pretty

00:05:55 ◼   ► impressive and I don't know how many

00:05:56 ◼   ► people knew that it was you then and

00:05:59 ◼   ► there now that's one of the nice things

00:06:00 ◼   ► nobody knows what directors look like so

00:06:02 ◼   ► right here there are a couple people

00:06:03 ◼   ► snickering bed yeah well it was such a

00:06:06 ◼   ► lie i feel like it was just it's a

00:06:08 ◼   ► perfect emblem of yours that the spirit

00:06:10 ◼   ► of the love of movies that you have and

00:06:13 ◼   ► what you put you put into

00:06:17 ◼   ► that experience now you've gone through

00:06:18 ◼   ► three times with releasing a feature

00:06:20 ◼   ► film is it's always so kind of giving

00:06:23 ◼   ► that you want to put everything you have

00:06:25 ◼   ► into the audience's enjoyment of movie

00:06:27 ◼   ► that's that that's what that's what

00:06:30 ◼   ► struck me about that my kissing your ass

00:06:32 ◼   ► that's a very kind way of putting that

00:06:34 ◼   ► and I appreciate that it was a fun thing

00:06:36 ◼   ► for me to do that so that's a very kind

00:06:37 ◼   ► of flattering way of putting it

00:06:39 ◼   ► another thing that the ushers do as they

00:06:41 ◼   ► were in tag ya around their neck with on

00:06:43 ◼   ► a lanyard that says therefore the name

00:06:45 ◼   ► of their favorite movie

00:06:46 ◼   ► yeah you know I borrowed one from

00:06:48 ◼   ► somebody i forget what his favorite

00:06:49 ◼   ► movie was it was not my favorite thing

00:06:51 ◼   ► huh

00:06:52 ◼   ► so maybe I Terminator 3 and maybe the

00:06:56 ◼   ► rise of the machines you go

00:06:58 ◼   ► yeah so that was fun

00:07:02 ◼   ► um I learned a lot about stuff that I

00:07:07 ◼   ► the the technical stuff behind the

00:07:10 ◼   ► process of making the movie from your

00:07:12 ◼   ► commentary just like things like the I

00:07:17 ◼   ► mean you talked a bit about your choice

00:07:19 ◼   ► in lens flare and and your lens choice

00:07:21 ◼   ► and shooting a more anamorphic format

00:07:23 ◼   ► and everything

00:07:24 ◼   ► yeah here's a question why why do

00:07:30 ◼   ► anamorphic lens flares work for you and

00:07:33 ◼   ► what do you mean like why is that

00:07:35 ◼   ► exactly what do you think it says about

00:07:36 ◼   ► about the frame

00:07:39 ◼   ► well if you get that purple blues yeah a

00:07:42 ◼   ► little streak

00:07:43 ◼   ► well I mean it's really distinct to

00:07:44 ◼   ► anamorphic lenses it's it's something

00:07:46 ◼   ► it's something that doesn't look like

00:07:48 ◼   ► anything else and I like it when it

00:07:51 ◼   ► feels organic and the frame usually when

00:07:54 ◼   ► when there is a light source in the shot

00:07:58 ◼   ► that you can see that it's actually

00:07:59 ◼   ► coming from

00:08:01 ◼   ► so when there's a there's a lot of the

00:08:02 ◼   ► instances in the movie there's like a

00:08:04 ◼   ► helicopter with the you know the light

00:08:07 ◼   ► coming right in the camera or there's a

00:08:09 ◼   ► scene between Joe and Paul Danos

00:08:11 ◼   ► character where they're in the kitchen

00:08:12 ◼   ► and the whole thing is designed to be

00:08:15 ◼   ► lit by this refrigerator that's open and

00:08:18 ◼   ► the bear refrigerator bulb in there and

00:08:20 ◼   ► there's a really distinct Flair that's

00:08:21 ◼   ► coming off of that in one shot it

00:08:23 ◼   ► crosses processes eyes

00:08:25 ◼   ► yeah we lined it up just right so that

00:08:26 ◼   ► you could kind of so because the whole

00:08:29 ◼   ► thing is he's

00:08:30 ◼   ► always spilling his guts out and Jose

00:08:32 ◼   ► kind of sitting and you're trying to

00:08:33 ◼   ► read what how Joe's reacting to what

00:08:36 ◼   ► she's gonna do and was going to do and

00:08:37 ◼   ► the idea of like a mask across his eyes

00:08:40 ◼   ► but I yeah yeah I know for me it i think

00:08:43 ◼   ► it looks cool

00:08:43 ◼   ► first and foremost I think it it also

00:08:46 ◼   ► has a very comforting sort of reminds me

00:08:50 ◼   ► of early Spielberg movies and you know

00:08:53 ◼   ► close encounters an ET and there's

00:08:56 ◼   ► something about it that just feels like

00:08:59 ◼   ► a movie to me it's interesting that it's

00:09:03 ◼   ► become something that people are are

00:09:05 ◼   ► familiar with you know from I know JJ

00:09:07 ◼   ► Abrams uses it quite a bit but a just a

00:09:10 ◼   ► little just a little bit yeah

00:09:12 ◼   ► is it i'm curious is it something that

00:09:14 ◼   ► you you talking in the commentary as

00:09:16 ◼   ► well about a couple of effects shots

00:09:18 ◼   ► that you actually used fake lens flare

00:09:22 ◼   ► and well sounds or artifacts well it

00:09:24 ◼   ► would know what we did was for the

00:09:27 ◼   ► helicopters which were cg helicopters

00:09:31 ◼   ► and they I i had had a bad experience

00:09:35 ◼   ► with CG helicopters on the brothers

00:09:37 ◼   ► bloom we had a full daylight shot where

00:09:40 ◼   ► helicopters had to go through and we had

00:09:42 ◼   ► to create that we can't afford real

00:09:44 ◼   ► helicopters we had to create cartoon

00:09:45 ◼   ► helicopters and to me they always are

00:09:47 ◼   ► how hard we worked on them they always

00:09:49 ◼   ► look like cartoon helicopters so I've

00:09:51 ◼   ► been very frustrated I knew there were a

00:09:52 ◼   ► lot of flying vehicles and this one our

00:09:55 ◼   ► advantage was they were all gonna be at

00:09:56 ◼   ► night and I had remember it's i had seen

00:09:59 ◼   ► the extras on the blade runner like

00:10:02 ◼   ► boxset where they showed the development

00:10:05 ◼   ► of the flying cars and they showed a

00:10:06 ◼   ► pass of the the effects pass before they

00:10:09 ◼   ► added in those really distinct of flares

00:10:11 ◼   ► those lights are coming off the cars and

00:10:14 ◼   ► they looked terrible it look like what

00:10:16 ◼   ► it was an optical comp but then when

00:10:18 ◼   ► they put those flaring lights on

00:10:20 ◼   ► suddenly forgave all the ills and it

00:10:23 ◼   ► looked awesome and so that's what we did

00:10:25 ◼   ► with these and so those r cg but and

00:10:30 ◼   ► then there were a couple instances where

00:10:32 ◼   ► we had to we shot something that had

00:10:35 ◼   ► lens flare but then we had to like pay

00:10:37 ◼   ► down the wire or something across the

00:10:39 ◼   ► lens there and then the

00:10:40 ◼   ► effects guys have to repaint the lens

00:10:41 ◼   ► flare but you're trying and I you I

00:10:43 ◼   ► think the trick is you try and keep it

00:10:45 ◼   ► organic

00:10:45 ◼   ► I gotta work sucks i used to work in

00:10:47 ◼   ► effects and I did invented backlit ones

00:10:50 ◼   ► there's no it's not fun

00:10:52 ◼   ► I'm so what what i was going maybe get

00:10:56 ◼   ► at was well okay so you wouldn't had

00:10:59 ◼   ► lens flares necessarily that weren't

00:11:03 ◼   ► organic which is a good thing

00:11:04 ◼   ► yeah um OH speed is another thing I

00:11:08 ◼   ► noticed about what helps sell the like

00:11:11 ◼   ► the cg vehicles or the like the blade

00:11:13 ◼   ► runner type optically comped flying cars

00:11:16 ◼   ► is that sound design that that you add

00:11:19 ◼   ► that makes it all the sudden a real

00:11:21 ◼   ► object rather which you can you used

00:11:25 ◼   ► great automotive sound design quite

00:11:28 ◼   ► literally in this movie

00:11:29 ◼   ► yeah like even in the trailer early on i

00:11:32 ◼   ► think there was a the first trailer i

00:11:35 ◼   ► saw which is more of a teaser had some

00:11:38 ◼   ► you know future car stuff that you just

00:11:41 ◼   ► sounded unlike any any automotive sound

00:11:44 ◼   ► design weekend we had a great sound

00:11:47 ◼   ► designer Jeremy person who had worked

00:11:50 ◼   ► actually we found him because we first

00:11:54 ◼   ► talked to skip leave say who works with

00:11:57 ◼   ► the Coen brothers and who that's kind of

00:11:59 ◼   ► and he's kind of like a and I kind of

00:12:03 ◼   ► worship that guy his the his work in the

00:12:07 ◼   ► Cohens movies was kind of the first time

00:12:09 ◼   ► I started really paying attention to how

00:12:11 ◼   ► sound was used as a storytelling device

00:12:14 ◼   ► integral to the film and so I we found

00:12:20 ◼   ► Jeremy through skip and Jeremy had

00:12:22 ◼   ► worked a lot with skip and and jeremy is

00:12:25 ◼   ► a tremendous sound designer and he I

00:12:28 ◼   ► think what he did was he took his cue

00:12:30 ◼   ► from the visuals he took you know and

00:12:32 ◼   ► from kind of the feel of the whole world

00:12:34 ◼   ► we're creating which was a very grounded

00:12:37 ◼   ► feel so you hear a lot of or you know a

00:12:41 ◼   ► lot of mechanical kind of worrying and

00:12:43 ◼   ► kind of you know stuff that sounds like

00:12:47 ◼   ► it's coming from a real engine is as

00:12:48 ◼   ► opposed to space-age but I think that's

00:12:50 ◼   ► because the visual visually all the

00:12:52 ◼   ► stuff in our movie looks like real

00:12:54 ◼   ► engines and so he was just yeah those

00:12:56 ◼   ► kilobyte to me has a sort of millennium

00:12:58 ◼   ► falcon starting up its yeah well that's

00:13:01 ◼   ► what I mean the first Star Wars was kind

00:13:03 ◼   ► of you know that was that was a big

00:13:04 ◼   ► touchstone in terms of I still think in

00:13:06 ◼   ► terms of sci-fi movies that's when you

00:13:08 ◼   ► know it's kind of that one of the most

00:13:11 ◼   ► convincing world that's that's ever been

00:13:13 ◼   ► created i think because everything feels

00:13:15 ◼   ► so lived in and so mechanical and so I

00:13:18 ◼   ► think they I'm either they either they

00:13:20 ◼   ► reused it or I'm I've lived last 30

00:13:24 ◼   ► years of my life and alive but at that

00:13:26 ◼   ► my kid net that Millennium Falcon

00:13:28 ◼   ► mechanical starting value was reused in

00:13:31 ◼   ► Raiders for the airplane that jock trial

00:13:34 ◼   ► that's funny jumps in the river if they

00:13:36 ◼   ► didn't we use it then it's I always

00:13:38 ◼   ► thought it was an in-joke because it

00:13:39 ◼   ► sounds almost identical but it says how

00:13:41 ◼   ► mechanical the Millennium Falcon was a

00:13:42 ◼   ► spaceship that you could reuse the sound

00:13:44 ◼   ► for a 1937 prop plane right well it's

00:13:48 ◼   ► funny to I remember it at in film school

00:13:51 ◼   ► at USC doing they showed like a

00:13:54 ◼   ► breakdown of the of sound effects in the

00:13:57 ◼   ► sequence where he was escaping from with

00:13:59 ◼   ► the idol in the very beginning right

00:14:01 ◼   ► that's the one where they reuse that

00:14:03 ◼   ► Falcon sign when he starts the plane

00:14:04 ◼   ► yeah when they and they talked about how

00:14:06 ◼   ► when that the boulder was rolling down

00:14:08 ◼   ► they close Mike the wheels of their VW

00:14:12 ◼   ► van on the gravel driveway and just got

00:14:16 ◼   ► the mic right up close to it and that

00:14:18 ◼   ► create that were kind of rolling stone

00:14:20 ◼   ► against own type type field or when Indy

00:14:24 ◼   ► is holding onto the pit and the doors

00:14:26 ◼   ► closing he starts to like it

00:14:28 ◼   ► the divine kind of starts tearing loose

00:14:31 ◼   ► you know that's that you can hear the

00:14:34 ◼   ► bite of an apple in there to hear that

00:14:36 ◼   ► camp as it's coming loose and so yeah

00:14:40 ◼   ► yeah it'sit's um but the sounds I mean

00:14:43 ◼   ► that you know besides just the sound

00:14:44 ◼   ► effects for the the sound design is a

00:14:47 ◼   ► really integral part of the story

00:14:49 ◼   ► telling and um so many the musical and

00:14:53 ◼   ► i'm just going to shift over to this

00:14:55 ◼   ► stain get on chance to shift somebody uh

00:14:59 ◼   ► you're going to see I'm going to

00:15:00 ◼   ► cleverly tie it back into the sound

00:15:01 ◼   ► design and wait so many of there are so

00:15:05 ◼   ► many mechanical elements in the music in

00:15:07 ◼   ► the in the score that your composure

00:15:11 ◼   ► need your cousin correct Nathan uses in

00:15:14 ◼   ► the score does doesn't go the other way

00:15:17 ◼   ► at all did

00:15:18 ◼   ► are there any musical elements that are

00:15:19 ◼   ► used in the sound design um not really

00:15:22 ◼   ► because they're kind of working and more

00:15:26 ◼   ► or less working separately and there's

00:15:27 ◼   ► sun because of the way Nathan works we

00:15:29 ◼   ► actually ended up getting oftentimes in

00:15:32 ◼   ► the mix to the point where we would have

00:15:34 ◼   ► to choose between one or the other

00:15:36 ◼   ► because the music and the sound design

00:15:37 ◼   ► work and doing the same thing and so so

00:15:41 ◼   ► no there there there yet but you know

00:15:44 ◼   ► their stuff in the sound design that's

00:15:45 ◼   ► very musical like there's a kind of

00:15:49 ◼   ► tonal beds that Jeremy will lay and that

00:15:51 ◼   ► will just be like the ambient sound in a

00:15:53 ◼   ► room but they'll have they'll be

00:15:55 ◼   ► performing the same function as music

00:15:57 ◼   ► we're locally grown we have they been

00:15:59 ◼   ► laying down a drone that gives like a

00:16:00 ◼   ► feeling of uneasiness or attention or

00:16:02 ◼   ► you know but also there's like a lot of

00:16:05 ◼   ► percussive missing your editing style

00:16:07 ◼   ► and yeah it feels like over and over

00:16:08 ◼   ► across the three movies you see these

00:16:12 ◼   ► moments of impact that are just expertly

00:16:14 ◼   ► achieved with cutting and sound

00:16:17 ◼   ► I mean the bet the probably the best

00:16:22 ◼   ► example in this movie is just the

00:16:23 ◼   ► blender but the you know the blunderbuss

00:16:25 ◼   ► going off the first time you see it it's

00:16:28 ◼   ► so impactful and it's and it's paired

00:16:30 ◼   ► with that just that frame of a cut when

00:16:34 ◼   ► the figure appears and then yeah yeah

00:16:36 ◼   ► are you

00:16:38 ◼   ► do musical background oh no not really i

00:16:41 ◼   ► died tool around on a couple instruments

00:16:44 ◼   ► but i'm not really but my favorite

00:16:47 ◼   ► editing is all you know the same way

00:16:50 ◼   ► that was talking about sound design with

00:16:52 ◼   ► the Cohens for me you know Scorsese is

00:16:54 ◼   ► is where it begins and ends in terms of

00:16:56 ◼   ► everything if you watch is ending its

00:16:58 ◼   ► it's all musical it's not you know it's

00:17:02 ◼   ► not continuity it's nights it's just

00:17:04 ◼   ► purely purely jazz and based on rhythm

00:17:07 ◼   ► and kind of you know it's got it's got

00:17:10 ◼   ► its own kind of music to it so so that's

00:17:14 ◼   ► I don't know that but the the places

00:17:17 ◼   ► that I really kind of learned anything

00:17:19 ◼   ► from watching that very integral to like

00:17:22 ◼   ► you're heading with where a musical

00:17:23 ◼   ► instrument you'd be good at

00:17:25 ◼   ► oh yeah that's right now we also i

00:17:27 ◼   ► should say we have a very talented very

00:17:29 ◼   ► talented editor them that worked with

00:17:31 ◼   ► Bob you say it was a rigid just you know

00:17:34 ◼   ► we ended up getting along really really

00:17:37 ◼   ► well just having a good working

00:17:39 ◼   ► relationship with the first time work

00:17:40 ◼   ► yeah first time working with him yeah

00:17:41 ◼   ► Adam you said you were talking to you i

00:17:44 ◼   ► love the adjective percussive for the

00:17:46 ◼   ► sound design and one that really stuck

00:17:48 ◼   ► out to me that really just got me so

00:17:50 ◼   ► unnerved was Sarah chopping the wood

00:17:53 ◼   ► mm and the sound of the acts hitting the

00:17:56 ◼   ► wood block

00:17:58 ◼   ► ah and percussive exactly was just over

00:18:01 ◼   ► and over and over again and I was so

00:18:02 ◼   ► when you listen carefully you can hear

00:18:05 ◼   ► some apple crumb yeah but i would

00:18:08 ◼   ► someone interrupted the diamond and

00:18:09 ◼   ► they're racking and then there's this

00:18:11 ◼   ► horrible horrible violent acts hitting

00:18:15 ◼   ► the wood over and over again a it makes

00:18:18 ◼   ► you wince and it's that something Jeremy

00:18:20 ◼   ► Delta at first I thought as a too big

00:18:23 ◼   ► but then I realize now that actually

00:18:25 ◼   ► especially for dialogue scene like that

00:18:27 ◼   ► that's kind of just backstory that she's

00:18:29 ◼   ► telling it's a really nice kind of

00:18:30 ◼   ► violent way of keeping you on your teeth

00:18:33 ◼   ► on edge during it and she really busted

00:18:35 ◼   ► herself up doing this she did actually

00:18:37 ◼   ► she is it's hard this swing an ax and

00:18:39 ◼   ► we'd after a bunch of takes of that her

00:18:41 ◼   ► shoulder was was actually really messed

00:18:43 ◼   ► up and

00:18:44 ◼   ► and for the rest of the shoot she

00:18:46 ◼   ► actually had a really hard time holding

00:18:48 ◼   ► stuff like anytime she had to hold a gun

00:18:51 ◼   ► with that arm

00:18:52 ◼   ► remember we had like a our prop guy

00:18:55 ◼   ► actually holding the end of the gun that

00:18:56 ◼   ► was out of frame at one point because

00:18:58 ◼   ► she couldn't support person for for long

00:19:00 ◼   ► enough

00:19:01 ◼   ► no oh let's see so i guess if we could

00:19:08 ◼   ► go back to like the automotive stuff you

00:19:11 ◼   ► you had constraints budgetary

00:19:13 ◼   ► constraints that led you to you and he

00:19:17 ◼   ► talked about this in your commentary a

00:19:19 ◼   ► little bit but that led you to go with a

00:19:21 ◼   ► certain era of cars for you know that

00:19:26 ◼   ► we're just cars in the world in 2044 m24

00:19:29 ◼   ► yeah um but you're able to justify it

00:19:35 ◼   ► other than budgetary ways talk about

00:19:38 ◼   ► that

00:19:38 ◼   ► yeah well you to you know anytime now I

00:19:41 ◼   ► watch a science-fiction movie that it

00:19:43 ◼   ► has not a huge budget and the first

00:19:46 ◼   ► thing I look at is how did they do the

00:19:48 ◼   ► cars

00:19:48 ◼   ► I mean anything that's new that's in the

00:19:50 ◼   ► future because that's the expensive

00:19:52 ◼   ► thing that you can't get around it's

00:19:54 ◼   ► like that's then that's the thing that

00:19:55 ◼   ► is guaranteed to change no matter what

00:19:57 ◼   ► your take on the future is the cars are

00:19:59 ◼   ► going to be different now

00:20:01 ◼   ► married 20 years from now than they are

00:20:02 ◼   ► now and and there are you know it's

00:20:06 ◼   ► always interesting look like if you look

00:20:07 ◼   ► at with a get wizard that the one with

00:20:12 ◼   ► the show with the even hot Gallic attica

00:20:17 ◼   ► attica did the way the approach that

00:20:19 ◼   ► they took with the retro but a very

00:20:21 ◼   ► specific kind of retro card that you

00:20:22 ◼   ► don't see very often it was like all the

00:20:24 ◼   ► specifically like these European retro

00:20:27 ◼   ► cars therefore into your eye and they

00:20:29 ◼   ► like an art deco yeah yeah yeahs says so

00:20:33 ◼   ► anyway so you have the the approach we

00:20:36 ◼   ► took because we knew we are creating

00:20:37 ◼   ► this grounded broken-down society was to

00:20:40 ◼   ► say okay well it's like the yank tanks

00:20:42 ◼   ► and Q about like people had to make

00:20:44 ◼   ► their cars last for 20 30 years and so

00:20:46 ◼   ► so yeah we took with that in that way

00:20:49 ◼   ► we're able to take cars from now and

00:20:51 ◼   ► then just age them way down

00:20:53 ◼   ► and make them look like i've had new

00:20:56 ◼   ► engines kind of put into them and and it

00:20:59 ◼   ► seems like not even just now it was like

00:21:00 ◼   ► it was maybe 10 and 15 years ago some of

00:21:03 ◼   ► the animals yeah it feels like like the

00:21:06 ◼   ► way you talk about gattaca referring to

00:21:08 ◼   ► that arrow like the Art Deco era of to

00:21:11 ◼   ► take its the production design cues

00:21:13 ◼   ► yeah I kind of think that your movie

00:21:15 ◼   ► kinda took a lot of cues from the

00:21:17 ◼   ► nineteen nineties like for a lot of the

00:21:19 ◼   ► the wardrobe choices and you know just

00:21:23 ◼   ► like with the hairstyles even and I i

00:21:28 ◼   ► like i like the idea as the character

00:21:31 ◼   ► edge ft animals character Abe talks

00:21:34 ◼   ► about when he's making fun of jo Jung

00:21:36 ◼   ► Joos ty yeah his cravat and he calls it

00:21:41 ◼   ► a graphic at it you never heard it never

00:21:43 ◼   ► mind that i'm going to say it that way

00:21:45 ◼   ► from the rabbit

00:21:46 ◼   ► um is that that these things are

00:21:49 ◼   ► cyclical right and so you kind of have

00:21:51 ◼   ► to imagine that this world of 2044 2044

00:21:55 ◼   ► yeah has already gone through the whole

00:21:57 ◼   ► back to the seventies and eighties and

00:21:59 ◼   ► nineties and exactly 40 50 60 all well

00:22:02 ◼   ► there's also there's a man you know if

00:22:04 ◼   ► he if you know if you were in whatever

00:22:08 ◼   ► if you were in the sixties designing a

00:22:11 ◼   ► film that was going to be said in the

00:22:12 ◼   ► our future of 2012

00:22:15 ◼   ► you know if you look at this right here

00:22:17 ◼   ► in 2012 you know we were in 2012 and my

00:22:20 ◼   ► watches from the fifties you know and

00:22:22 ◼   ► and you most of the stuff that were

00:22:24 ◼   ► wearing you could have seen on somebody

00:22:26 ◼   ► 20-30 years ago I think that it's a i

00:22:30 ◼   ► don't know i died i wanted to the same

00:22:33 ◼   ► way that good period stuff good period

00:22:37 ◼   ► design doesn't draw just front like a

00:22:39 ◼   ► movie set in 1963 a big mistake is to

00:22:42 ◼   ► have everything in the person's bedroom

00:22:44 ◼   ► beef circa nineteen sixty-three define

00:22:46 ◼   ► stuff from the four days and from the

00:22:48 ◼   ► three and stuff that would be handed

00:22:49 ◼   ► down and thrift thrift shop stuff so

00:22:52 ◼   ► taking that as you approach the future

00:22:55 ◼   ► seem to make a lot of sense but one

00:22:56 ◼   ► thing I thought to with the choice of

00:22:57 ◼   ► the cars

00:22:59 ◼   ► and aging them even to is it laid this

00:23:03 ◼   ► backdrop of what the economics the

00:23:09 ◼   ► economy of the u.s. in money 44 without

00:23:12 ◼   ► anybody ever talking about it or

00:23:13 ◼   ► mentioning it and it was this palpable

00:23:15 ◼   ► sense of methods things have not gone

00:23:18 ◼   ► well the next 30 years

00:23:20 ◼   ► yeah the the miata is the hottest car

00:23:23 ◼   ► yeah and and the only successful people

00:23:26 ◼   ► seem to be gangsters red team's in the

00:23:30 ◼   ► criminal world

00:23:31 ◼   ► yeah there you go my dad drove my dad

00:23:33 ◼   ► drove me out and making 90 and it was

00:23:35 ◼   ► the most futuristic thing you ever see

00:23:37 ◼   ► ya then

00:23:38 ◼   ► well I like the idea of it being it's

00:23:39 ◼   ► funny though I realized forget if I talk

00:23:41 ◼   ► about this in the commentary and talk

00:23:43 ◼   ► about macgruber

00:23:44 ◼   ► yeah yeah and yeah pretty taxing joke

00:23:47 ◼   ► yeah as macGruber where they like you

00:23:49 ◼   ► think it's gonna be a hot sports car and

00:23:50 ◼   ► they reveal to me odda and I saw that

00:23:52 ◼   ► while we were editing for the first time

00:23:54 ◼   ► where time but you didn't every mazda

00:23:57 ◼   ► miata signage on the car now anyway gate

00:24:01 ◼   ► I know it is yeah I don't know if we got

00:24:03 ◼   ► clearance because we actually there was

00:24:06 ◼   ► a futuristic car that Bruce drove in a

00:24:10 ◼   ► sequence that got cut

00:24:12 ◼   ► actually that was a this crazy concept

00:24:15 ◼   ► mazda so i think we had were working

00:24:18 ◼   ► with in 2044 into money 70 whatever yeah

00:24:23 ◼   ► yeah yeah so my favorite future car of

00:24:25 ◼   ► all time is probably in woody allen's

00:24:27 ◼   ► sleeper

00:24:28 ◼   ► oh yeah if you can tell it's it's

00:24:30 ◼   ► plywood held together with strap as well

00:24:32 ◼   ► be a Oscar Meyer Weiner yeah let me take

00:24:37 ◼   ► one quick let me take a quick break and

00:24:38 ◼   ► thank our first sponsor and this is a

00:24:40 ◼   ► most unusual sponsor read we've ever

00:24:42 ◼   ► done on the talk show i want to want to

00:24:44 ◼   ► direct your attention to field notes my

00:24:45 ◼   ► favorite brand of notebooks everybody

00:24:48 ◼   ► here in the room can vouch I've all my

00:24:50 ◼   ► notes for the show are on field notes

00:24:52 ◼   ► they have a special edition the

00:24:54 ◼   ► Traveling Salesman addition it's an

00:24:55 ◼   ► old-fashioned ledger book it looks great

00:24:59 ◼   ► that the ink on the cover is copper is

00:25:01 ◼   ► brilliant

00:25:01 ◼   ► they don't want me to say anymore though

00:25:03 ◼   ► they want to know about field notes

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00:25:07 ◼   ► at the end of this episode of the show

00:25:09 ◼   ► we've got a very special

00:25:11 ◼   ► production put together by the field

00:25:14 ◼   ► notes people about the history of

00:25:15 ◼   ► traveling salesman

00:25:17 ◼   ► trust me it's worth listening to it's

00:25:19 ◼   ► going to be tacked on at the end of the

00:25:20 ◼   ► show about 20 minutes of your attention

00:25:23 ◼   ► you're going to love it

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00:25:25 ◼   ► just stay tuned we're gonna have a

00:25:26 ◼   ► little special message from field notes

00:25:28 ◼   ► okay can we go back to like just going

00:25:31 ◼   ► through period you know cyclical period

00:25:33 ◼   ► and culture and anachronism and you are

00:25:38 ◼   ► a person who you've either like you

00:25:42 ◼   ► you're sort of planted in in a lot of

00:25:44 ◼   ► different periods in time 33 your

00:25:46 ◼   ► story-telling there's tons of it and

00:25:50 ◼   ► brothers bloom obviously in brick all of

00:25:55 ◼   ► the style the storytelling and the

00:25:57 ◼   ► dialogue and everything it all comes

00:26:00 ◼   ► from a period of of story you know

00:26:02 ◼   ► storytelling from what the would you say

00:26:04 ◼   ► the forties

00:26:05 ◼   ► i well it's been a man ham it so its

00:26:08 ◼   ► earlier

00:26:08 ◼   ► okay 30 do you feel like you're a you

00:26:15 ◼   ► ever feel like you and your watches from

00:26:16 ◼   ► the fifties do you ever feel like year

00:26:18 ◼   ► of a different time and place into you

00:26:20 ◼   ► do you I'm not to say an old soul or

00:26:23 ◼   ► something stupid like that but do you

00:26:24 ◼   ► ever feel like you know I don't know I

00:26:28 ◼   ► feel like I feel like I feel like this

00:26:31 ◼   ► is the moment that we're in this is the

00:26:33 ◼   ► time that we're living and I feel like

00:26:34 ◼   ► one of the things that's exciting about

00:26:36 ◼   ► right now is especially i don't know i

00:26:41 ◼   ► did especially the fact that culture has

00:26:43 ◼   ► become so how exactly phrase this I did

00:26:49 ◼   ► you know it feels right now like the

00:26:54 ◼   ► idea of like everything from the past is

00:26:59 ◼   ► up on the surface seriously and

00:27:00 ◼   ► instantly accessible and remixes ball

00:27:03 ◼   ► and only the best from every period of

00:27:06 ◼   ► every culture and absolutely absolutely

00:27:09 ◼   ► it's more accessible than ever and so

00:27:10 ◼   ► for me that's that's not that that's

00:27:13 ◼   ► entirely of this moment you know the

00:27:15 ◼   ► fact that we're drawing from all over

00:27:17 ◼   ► the place

00:27:19 ◼   ► you know Indian mixing styles and errors

00:27:22 ◼   ► completely indiscriminately and now even

00:27:24 ◼   ► the gig look at the furniture in this

00:27:25 ◼   ► room you know look at that next to that

00:27:27 ◼   ► next to that you look at that you know

00:27:30 ◼   ► the the design it's kind of just taking

00:27:32 ◼   ► whatever works and for me with

00:27:35 ◼   ► filmmaking like I think it's the same

00:27:37 ◼   ► thing really it's it's all about

00:27:40 ◼   ► whatever is going to serve the story

00:27:42 ◼   ► best it's all about what's going to get

00:27:44 ◼   ► at the heart of what I'm trying to talk

00:27:46 ◼   ► about the best and for each of these

00:27:49 ◼   ► movies that there's a different reason

00:27:51 ◼   ► that they have those kind of

00:27:52 ◼   ► anachronistic things and them

00:27:54 ◼   ► yeah but it's never because out of a

00:27:57 ◼   ► sense of nostalgia for an area or a

00:27:59 ◼   ► sense of what pining for an era it's

00:28:01 ◼   ► always and because that specific thing

00:28:05 ◼   ► makes me feel a certain way and so

00:28:07 ◼   ► that's that communicates something

00:28:09 ◼   ► that's very important to me right now in

00:28:11 ◼   ► this moment I look at wes anderson's

00:28:13 ◼   ► movies in in that light yeah with the

00:28:15 ◼   ► way he just decided you know does

00:28:17 ◼   ► production design and chooses artifacts

00:28:20 ◼   ► as object yeah so carefully from all

00:28:23 ◼   ► throughout time you know through all

00:28:25 ◼   ► throughout the 20th century anyway I'm

00:28:27 ◼   ► in a movie like tetrault I'm bombs you

00:28:30 ◼   ► see ben stiller's character Chaz running

00:28:33 ◼   ► his whole his whole investment operation

00:28:37 ◼   ► with like you know 19 circa nineteen

00:28:40 ◼   ► eighty-three Apple to ya next to you

00:28:43 ◼   ► know late nineties cinema display right

00:28:45 ◼   ► over this from a text standpoint of your

00:28:47 ◼   ► technique or an apple nerd yeah you kind

00:28:49 ◼   ► of geek out over that stuff but I i feel

00:28:52 ◼   ► like i've heard him talk about that

00:28:53 ◼   ► before and he said exactly what you have

00:28:55 ◼   ► which is he just responds to the objects

00:28:58 ◼   ► that make the most sense

00:28:59 ◼   ► exactly about being necessarily you know

00:29:03 ◼   ► specific to period

00:29:04 ◼   ► yeah because he's creating a modern

00:29:06 ◼   ► world like you you know where you are

00:29:08 ◼   ► but it's a world where the people in

00:29:10 ◼   ► that world have taste and there's an

00:29:13 ◼   ► immediacy and that like Moonrise Kingdom

00:29:14 ◼   ► which i think is you know masterpiece I

00:29:17 ◼   ► think it's absolutely you know

00:29:20 ◼   ► my very favorite movies of the year

00:29:22 ◼   ► definitely but I you know he i don't

00:29:26 ◼   ► know he so many of the stuff in the so

00:29:32 ◼   ► many of the individual objects in there

00:29:34 ◼   ► could be considered an acronym cystic

00:29:35 ◼   ► the whole thing is built to and then

00:29:39 ◼   ► with such as and Sarah day that it busts

00:29:42 ◼   ► through that wall and takes it so far in

00:29:44 ◼   ► that direction that suddenly everything

00:29:46 ◼   ► and it is incredibly vital in stand it

00:29:49 ◼   ► hits you with an immediacy they're all

00:29:52 ◼   ► every object you see is an object that

00:29:53 ◼   ► you had as a child yeah and evoke

00:29:55 ◼   ► something that just that gets you right

00:29:57 ◼   ► there in the moment where you're

00:29:58 ◼   ► standing it doesn't smack of nostalgia

00:30:00 ◼   ► at all it has a vital necessity to it

00:30:03 ◼   ► that uh yeah that's extraordinary

00:30:07 ◼   ► yeah those are you know I was gonna say

00:30:08 ◼   ► the other I mean I don't know the other

00:30:09 ◼   ► interesting thing with them i guess this

00:30:13 ◼   ► is kind of a kind of a tangent but uh I

00:30:16 ◼   ► don't know essentially i always did I

00:30:18 ◼   ► think that there's talking about

00:30:20 ◼   ► west/andersen specifically makes me

00:30:23 ◼   ► think of the idea of i think that in a

00:30:27 ◼   ► lot of cases people tend to think that

00:30:31 ◼   ► director premeditate his style the way

00:30:35 ◼   ► that you would choose an outfit to put

00:30:38 ◼   ► on in the morning and because it's

00:30:41 ◼   ► specifically directors have very

00:30:43 ◼   ► distinct styles like Tim burden or west

00:30:46 ◼   ► anderson it's very easy to look at their

00:30:49 ◼   ► movies and think you know or i guess to

00:30:51 ◼   ► a lesser degree with what you're saying

00:30:52 ◼   ► with the period stuff with the films of

00:30:54 ◼   ► that done

00:30:55 ◼   ► it's easy to look at them and think you

00:30:57 ◼   ► know why did you make that choice those

00:30:58 ◼   ► um obviously made this set of choices in

00:31:01 ◼   ► order to and and the truth is I don't

00:31:04 ◼   ► know what that like I can only speak for

00:31:06 ◼   ► myself I may be very surprised if you

00:31:08 ◼   ► talk to Wes Anderson if he wasn't just

00:31:11 ◼   ► that it's really the equivalent speaking

00:31:14 ◼   ► in your voice you know it's not that

00:31:16 ◼   ► it's very little that's premeditated it

00:31:18 ◼   ► so it's almost like when you're talking

00:31:19 ◼   ► to somebody your natural accent of your

00:31:23 ◼   ► voice is not something you're

00:31:24 ◼   ► consciously controlling you're just

00:31:26 ◼   ► trying to communicate as clearly as

00:31:27 ◼   ► possible what's on your mind and you're

00:31:29 ◼   ► speaking in a way that's natural to you

00:31:30 ◼   ► if it's insulting when somebody's

00:31:32 ◼   ► just otherwise because it's almost like

00:31:34 ◼   ► if you're speaking your natural voice

00:31:35 ◼   ► and they say why are you doing that dumb

00:31:37 ◼   ► voice right now we're ahead

00:31:40 ◼   ► are you doing a dumb idiot impression

00:31:42 ◼   ► else well and also that you can see

00:31:44 ◼   ► though how its I know you you can see

00:31:46 ◼   ► that it's and if i call it it's

00:31:48 ◼   ► insulting someone's being insulting and

00:31:50 ◼   ► calling you dumb but it's it's also

00:31:52 ◼   ► something is very it's almost counter

00:31:54 ◼   ► instinct Schewel to look at the film and

00:31:57 ◼   ► and I talked about it and he quit you

00:32:00 ◼   ► know it's hard to communicate the degree

00:32:02 ◼   ► to which the some feeling of the film is

00:32:05 ◼   ► the process of a time that thousand tiny

00:32:08 ◼   ► little decisions to the point where

00:32:09 ◼   ► there is something very and you weirdly

00:32:14 ◼   ► you know the cumulative about it and

00:32:16 ◼   ► where lay the the direct product of

00:32:21 ◼   ► what's inside that they are solely

00:32:22 ◼   ► mystic pros yeah completely as opposed

00:32:25 ◼   ► to a determined one in that way

00:32:28 ◼   ► yeah um so you're right we could go back

00:32:33 ◼   ► to your the you feeling like you're a

00:32:35 ◼   ► man of your tub this time in place is

00:32:37 ◼   ► really exciting which I had this time

00:32:40 ◼   ► and is overall at you what you said was

00:32:44 ◼   ► you're a tiny little girl this time in

00:32:45 ◼   ► place and this and it's exciting that we

00:32:51 ◼   ► can't get to it we have access through

00:32:53 ◼   ► to through whatever archival technology

00:32:55 ◼   ► or whatever it is we have access to all

00:32:57 ◼   ► the best of of of all times and cultures

00:33:00 ◼   ► and everything if you were to explain

00:33:02 ◼   ► extrapolate that project into the future

00:33:04 ◼   ► you're going to be making movies and

00:33:05 ◼   ► telling stories for 10 20 30 years

00:33:08 ◼   ► bless you sir ok so do you ever think

00:33:13 ◼   ► about what its gonna be like to you know

00:33:14 ◼   ► what what it was gonna be like to make

00:33:17 ◼   ► these kinds of movies or whatever

00:33:18 ◼   ► stories were gonna be telling in in the

00:33:20 ◼   ► future and you mean adding mean likely i

00:33:24 ◼   ► mean like in the way that you feel like

00:33:26 ◼   ► we've you like if you could call it like

00:33:28 ◼   ► a singularity or something or unity

00:33:29 ◼   ► right now and do you think but I like I

00:33:33 ◼   ► I kind of like I look at that in a sort

00:33:36 ◼   ► of a relative sense and think that maybe

00:33:38 ◼   ► all 20 years ago they thought they had

00:33:40 ◼   ► reached unit is some sort of a unit and

00:33:42 ◼   ► sure they did ya

00:33:43 ◼   ► absolutely so I think it's important

00:33:45 ◼   ► though to always feel like it you know

00:33:47 ◼   ► and I mean I i think that it's no I

00:33:52 ◼   ► think it's incredibly important to to

00:33:53 ◼   ► feel like the moment you're in is the

00:33:56 ◼   ► most exciting moment hologram is in

00:33:58 ◼   ► there i think that I'm i hope that in

00:34:01 ◼   ► the future all you know will do i'll

00:34:04 ◼   ► still feel that way I guess maybe I'm

00:34:05 ◼   ► not understanding your question no

00:34:06 ◼   ► youyou answer to what degree do you

00:34:09 ◼   ► think the tools that he the that you use

00:34:12 ◼   ► for that we use you know you and

00:34:14 ◼   ► everybody all the thousands of people

00:34:16 ◼   ► have helped you make your movies yeah to

00:34:18 ◼   ► what do extent do you embrace those

00:34:20 ◼   ► tools it and think that they influence

00:34:23 ◼   ► how the final product comes oh yeah

00:34:26 ◼   ► now there are probably mean it's really

00:34:27 ◼   ► to the point where what you create is

00:34:30 ◼   ► inseparable from the tools that you use

00:34:33 ◼   ► to create at least as a film yeah at

00:34:35 ◼   ► least from my perspective as a director

00:34:37 ◼   ► but my experience of a film is very

00:34:39 ◼   ► different than you know for me for me

00:34:42 ◼   ► looper is is either different to take an

00:34:45 ◼   ► example of the most recent movie for me

00:34:47 ◼   ► you know when I look at looper it's so

00:34:49 ◼   ► much of it it's not my experience of it

00:34:52 ◼   ► has a very manageable so much to do with

00:34:54 ◼   ► my memory of making it and the

00:34:56 ◼   ► experience I had with the people around

00:34:57 ◼   ► it and that means the camera that we use

00:35:00 ◼   ► that means the type of equipment we use

00:35:02 ◼   ► the rigs that we use the lights that we

00:35:04 ◼   ► just that that all that is baked into

00:35:06 ◼   ► that film for me but thats that you know

00:35:09 ◼   ► not for the audience obviously so

00:35:11 ◼   ► sometimes maybe sometimes even a on an

00:35:14 ◼   ► unconscious level

00:35:16 ◼   ► yeah maybe yeah I decided about that

00:35:18 ◼   ► stuff about how the audience response to

00:35:20 ◼   ► technological choices that they never

00:35:22 ◼   ► ever going to be thinking about

00:35:23 ◼   ► consciously you hope that they do ya

00:35:26 ◼   ► there there's a you know

00:35:28 ◼   ► yeah you'd idea i guess you hope that

00:35:30 ◼   ► they do all you can do is and obviously

00:35:32 ◼   ► that's your also choosing your tools

00:35:36 ◼   ► based on what feels good for you in

00:35:39 ◼   ► terms of how it's going to look at the

00:35:41 ◼   ► end product for example from me I that's

00:35:42 ◼   ► the reason that shoot on film is that I

00:35:44 ◼   ► think it looks you know it looks like a

00:35:46 ◼   ► movie to me it looks

00:35:48 ◼   ► it looks good it looks it feels the way

00:35:50 ◼   ► that I want you know my stuff to feel I

00:35:53 ◼   ► guess all you can do is make that for

00:35:55 ◼   ► yourself and hope that they're that

00:35:57 ◼   ► connection on with Delhi some people in

00:35:59 ◼   ► the audience same way and it gives

00:36:01 ◼   ► something even for argument's sake of

00:36:04 ◼   ► there was absolutely no visual

00:36:05 ◼   ► difference between digital and film i'm

00:36:07 ◼   ► not saying that's true but again for

00:36:09 ◼   ► argument's sake the fact that you are

00:36:11 ◼   ► shooting filming and you get a sense

00:36:14 ◼   ► internally that there's real you know of

00:36:16 ◼   ► film rolling through the camera and

00:36:18 ◼   ► probably makes your experience of

00:36:19 ◼   ► directing it different in the LA you

00:36:22 ◼   ► know it would impact the the final

00:36:24 ◼   ► outcome as well yeah yeah i would guess

00:36:26 ◼   ► so

00:36:26 ◼   ► it also looks a lot better where I I

00:36:29 ◼   ► don't think I'm ever in co will notice

00:36:31 ◼   ► that the way what i did was i was in

00:36:33 ◼   ► school

00:36:33 ◼   ► yeah that I have access to shoot on

00:36:35 ◼   ► filter I mean maybe I don't know who

00:36:36 ◼   ► have access to it it's not what do i do

00:36:39 ◼   ► you say that because like a highway all

00:36:43 ◼   ► of the part of the pros and cons of

00:36:44 ◼   ► using resources go into the production

00:36:48 ◼   ► yeah I don't prioritize that one hot

00:36:50 ◼   ► very highly

00:36:51 ◼   ► I don't know what I would choose

00:36:52 ◼   ► something else the thing that's a

00:36:56 ◼   ► personal choice and it's also where

00:36:58 ◼   ► you're coming from now I mean you're

00:37:00 ◼   ► coming up where you're shooting digital

00:37:03 ◼   ► all the way up that

00:37:04 ◼   ► yeah that that's true and not that were

00:37:07 ◼   ► far separated and age or anything but i

00:37:09 ◼   ► probably my experience my early

00:37:12 ◼   ► formative experiences of cinema ar-ar-ar

00:37:15 ◼   ► maybe a little bit different from from

00:37:17 ◼   ► yours and that you like I'm or I'll

00:37:19 ◼   ► always kind of personally jealous of

00:37:21 ◼   ► people who can feel the quality of

00:37:24 ◼   ► celluloid over because i can't really

00:37:27 ◼   ► yeah you can't do and you see a film

00:37:29 ◼   ► shot digitally really and I'm pretty I'm

00:37:32 ◼   ► generally kind of astute about media

00:37:34 ◼   ► stuff planned but that's something that

00:37:36 ◼   ► I was pretty pretty blind too

00:37:38 ◼   ► that's interesting huh maybe I don't

00:37:40 ◼   ► know maybe maybe you could teach music

00:37:41 ◼   ► now I got nothing that i now need to me

00:37:45 ◼   ► it's night and day to me I see a movie

00:37:47 ◼   ► shot digital and it can be very well

00:37:48 ◼   ► shot and can you know it's it did but I

00:37:51 ◼   ► you know I don't know it's very it's

00:37:53 ◼   ► very rare very rare except for went well

00:37:56 ◼   ► I don't know

00:37:56 ◼   ► there although a lot of times stuff the

00:38:00 ◼   ► challenge film these days is so baked

00:38:02 ◼   ► and treated in the DIA and so messed

00:38:05 ◼   ► with it's hard to you know Andy can be

00:38:08 ◼   ► hard to decipher sometimes but I don't

00:38:10 ◼   ► know anyway I'm the point is not i guess

00:38:14 ◼   ► to tip to put down another medium the

00:38:16 ◼   ► point is just to say that i like the way

00:38:18 ◼   ► the film looks I think it's the best

00:38:19 ◼   ► looking thing out there did you want

00:38:21 ◼   ► maybe it is something that is

00:38:22 ◼   ► specifically tuned into I don't know but

00:38:24 ◼   ► I'm not to me i did it makes a

00:38:27 ◼   ► difference

00:38:28 ◼   ► did you or did you see that documentary

00:38:30 ◼   ► and I haven't seen ya haven't seen it

00:38:32 ◼   ► yeah yeah I don't know I I it's tough

00:38:36 ◼   ► it's i guess and to some degree i guess

00:38:38 ◼   ► i don't know you could you can make the

00:38:40 ◼   ► argument that it's like the audiophile

00:38:42 ◼   ► talking about mp3's vs AIFS and

00:38:45 ◼   ► listening to him and what the difference

00:38:46 ◼   ► is a night that's it's like we were

00:38:48 ◼   ► talking we be a prominent kick around

00:38:51 ◼   ► maybe if we had more time whenever we

00:38:53 ◼   ► talk about the master too but that's the

00:38:54 ◼   ► explanation that I've seen PT Anderson

00:38:56 ◼   ► give was that if I'm gonna shoot film

00:38:58 ◼   ► and that's why he shot 65 millimeter was

00:39:00 ◼   ► then i might as well go all the way and

00:39:03 ◼   ► I really should film shoot the biggest

00:39:06 ◼   ► film i can get my hands on right even if

00:39:08 ◼   ► the camera is the size of a you know

00:39:10 ◼   ► refrigerator

00:39:11 ◼   ► yeah film looks like a movie to me

00:39:12 ◼   ► digital looks like video to me it just

00:39:14 ◼   ► unite and I don't know I know that

00:39:16 ◼   ► that's anyone else's experience but now

00:39:17 ◼   ► it's mine and so I'm gonna make those

00:39:19 ◼   ► choices for my own films and them and

00:39:21 ◼   ► kind of Labor discussion

00:39:23 ◼   ► yeah it's kind of boring or e-mail or a

00:39:26 ◼   ► right up here we just took a panorama

00:39:30 ◼   ► picture of you guys actually digitally

00:39:33 ◼   ► haven't used that feature who wants oh I

00:39:36 ◼   ► was the best of that it is really

00:39:38 ◼   ► fantastic that

00:39:43 ◼   ► yeah okay awesome so if we were

00:39:46 ◼   ► triangulated right now if we each take a

00:39:48 ◼   ► panorama we can pretty much get 360 yeah

00:39:51 ◼   ► so I going back to the tools you use

00:39:56 ◼   ► this is a tech podcast I mean generally

00:39:58 ◼   ► speaking they taught you know you talk

00:40:00 ◼   ► about other stuff movies but the people

00:40:06 ◼   ► largely the people who listen to it are

00:40:07 ◼   ► probably fascinated by the tools you

00:40:09 ◼   ► know what tools of whatever trade ya so

00:40:13 ◼   ► but there's a lot of going back inside

00:40:15 ◼   ► the movie there are a lot of there's a

00:40:18 ◼   ► lot of tech in inside the movie you know

00:40:20 ◼   ► the ending of the movie did you did you

00:40:24 ◼   ► spend a lot of how much thought

00:40:27 ◼   ► proportionately speaking did you put

00:40:28 ◼   ► into like imagining all these that this

00:40:33 ◼   ► technology

00:40:34 ◼   ► I know like four for AI or minority

00:40:36 ◼   ► report offers Spielberg is something

00:40:38 ◼   ► else greatest pianist and that you know

00:40:40 ◼   ► came up with every gadget did you do a

00:40:42 ◼   ► lot of brainstorming reason no no thats

00:40:44 ◼   ► the head on that now III is interesting

00:40:47 ◼   ► because i didn't write the movie from

00:40:49 ◼   ► like a world building perspective I

00:40:51 ◼   ► guess I was just I was mostly just doing

00:40:54 ◼   ► everything I could to make the story

00:40:55 ◼   ► work and so I wasn't thinking really of

00:40:59 ◼   ► how the world was going to look and so

00:41:01 ◼   ► so when it came time to actually design

00:41:04 ◼   ► the world it was less about digging into

00:41:07 ◼   ► what future tech will actually seemed

00:41:10 ◼   ► like it was more about you taking that

00:41:13 ◼   ► picture got in that it was more about is

00:41:17 ◼   ► more just evaluate what will work for

00:41:19 ◼   ► the story and and honestly taking a very

00:41:24 ◼   ► simplistic approach to the tech and the

00:41:26 ◼   ► film also seemed right because I figured

00:41:28 ◼   ► there was so much else we are asking the

00:41:30 ◼   ► audience to absorb and spend their

00:41:32 ◼   ► brainpower figuring out with the time

00:41:34 ◼   ► travel and the looper stuff in the TK

00:41:36 ◼   ► stuff

00:41:37 ◼   ► the last thing we needed was a ton of

00:41:40 ◼   ► tech that the audience had to kind of

00:41:42 ◼   ► like when sad and say oh what is that

00:41:44 ◼   ► the crazy thing doing how does that work

00:41:46 ◼   ► even if that's fun for me it just wasn't

00:41:49 ◼   ► what the movie was about so you know we

00:41:51 ◼   ► got cell phones that kind of fold out

00:41:53 ◼   ► and are cool that we have we got

00:41:54 ◼   ► hoverbikes it can look like triumph

00:41:56 ◼   ► motorcycles and there's not a ton of you

00:41:59 ◼   ► know hopefully there's nothing you can't

00:42:02 ◼   ► glance at and figure out what it is is a

00:42:04 ◼   ► invisible keyboard

00:42:05 ◼   ► yeah that actually like the controller

00:42:07 ◼   ► because the library the idea that

00:42:09 ◼   ► there's a that you're actually

00:42:10 ◼   ► manipulating something in 3d space right

00:42:12 ◼   ► that that that i did--like i like time

00:42:15 ◼   ► like that you know in children of men

00:42:18 ◼   ► that game that the kid yeah that's right

00:42:19 ◼   ► in there with the yeah and I also

00:42:21 ◼   ► thought it stuck out to me that unlike

00:42:23 ◼   ► minority report which everybody looks

00:42:25 ◼   ► super cool but everybody points out

00:42:26 ◼   ► would be physically exhausting because

00:42:28 ◼   ► your arms name of your tongue have your

00:42:31 ◼   ► time right out of your tom cruise before

00:42:33 ◼   ► anybody else your shoulders would fall

00:42:34 ◼   ► off and we're present in looper the the

00:42:37 ◼   ► touch technology looks like something

00:42:40 ◼   ► you could sit there and like I do like

00:42:41 ◼   ► work at ten hours a day and an

00:42:43 ◼   ► ergonomically safe i like the one that

00:42:45 ◼   ► old old Joe's almost called him old

00:42:48 ◼   ► Bruce that's not play snap Elena was

00:42:51 ◼   ► good that old Joe's wife uses in the

00:42:53 ◼   ► display that she kind of vacation / your

00:42:56 ◼   ► fingers everybody's turning off yeah he

00:42:58 ◼   ► wasn't even glass it was now it's just

00:43:00 ◼   ► putting their hand from a storytelling

00:43:01 ◼   ► perspective one of the things that I

00:43:03 ◼   ► thought was interesting is that a lot of

00:43:04 ◼   ► time travel movies it's now like today

00:43:10 ◼   ► when the movies being made vs where

00:43:11 ◼   ► you're going so back to the future

00:43:13 ◼   ► it was nineteen eighty-five in 1955

00:43:16 ◼   ► right i'm in looper there is no now the

00:43:21 ◼   ► only two years

00:43:22 ◼   ► really there's there's a little montage

00:43:23 ◼   ► where you go through them but you're

00:43:24 ◼   ► talking 24 tease in the 27th ease and

00:43:27 ◼   ► and 24 teams are effectively now like

00:43:29 ◼   ► and you get into that mindset where now

00:43:32 ◼   ► is 2044 right and the tech is a lot more

00:43:36 ◼   ► grounded and and you don't spend we

00:43:38 ◼   ► don't spend a lot of time in the 27th

00:43:40 ◼   ► ease but when we do that's where there's

00:43:42 ◼   ► the way more whiz-bang star ever read ya

00:43:46 ◼   ► in Shanghai to which is it like its

00:43:48 ◼   ► search engine so ya futuristic city and

00:43:51 ◼   ► begin with

00:43:51 ◼   ► yeah i mean it it i mean it made sense

00:43:54 ◼   ► to me to have are you know to have our

00:43:58 ◼   ► present-day be near future just because

00:44:00 ◼   ► I figured it was either that or we

00:44:01 ◼   ► create an alternate present day and

00:44:03 ◼   ► that's a little more complicated

00:44:05 ◼   ► to me it was just easier to wrap your

00:44:06 ◼   ► head around the notion that ok since 30

00:44:08 ◼   ► years from now so some things are

00:44:10 ◼   ► different

00:44:11 ◼   ► the big thing being that time travel is

00:44:13 ◼   ► used in this way with these guys which

00:44:15 ◼   ► it would then pain in the ass if we had

00:44:18 ◼   ► done the present day and had to have it

00:44:20 ◼   ► be something that was like underground

00:44:21 ◼   ► but actually around today like that just

00:44:23 ◼   ► where required a lot of machinations

00:44:25 ◼   ► that would have taken up screen times

00:44:27 ◼   ► now ya made sense

00:44:30 ◼   ► um so you've you've you've talked a lot

00:44:36 ◼   ► of other interviews about the UH the

00:44:38 ◼   ► theory of that the the way that time

00:44:40 ◼   ► travel operates and and i found it

00:44:43 ◼   ► interesting i was listening I want when

00:44:46 ◼   ► I saw the movie again I don't know we

00:44:48 ◼   ► know when I listen to your commentary

00:44:50 ◼   ► again you said something about how when

00:44:52 ◼   ► you're writing that scene between young

00:44:54 ◼   ► and old Joe in the diner how Bruce is so

00:44:56 ◼   ► dismissive of that whole line of

00:44:58 ◼   ► questioning and see Lawrence and is it

00:45:01 ◼   ► something you said you know where it is

00:45:06 ◼   ► used against me

00:45:07 ◼   ► no not at all used against you you said

00:45:09 ◼   ► Bruce is more interested in what's

00:45:11 ◼   ► happening inside his head than

00:45:12 ◼   ► explaining the time-travel stuff

00:45:14 ◼   ► yeah I feel a lot like Bruce in that it

00:45:18 ◼   ► right now in that I you know I've cut I

00:45:21 ◼   ► can't wrap my tiny brain around a lot of

00:45:22 ◼   ► the time travel stuff i am confused when

00:45:24 ◼   ► when we see the tool alternate realities

00:45:27 ◼   ► unfolding in you know yeah um some way

00:45:29 ◼   ► more interested in what's happening

00:45:30 ◼   ► inside Bruce's head and I'm Way more

00:45:32 ◼   ► interested in what's happening in your

00:45:34 ◼   ► head like this

00:45:35 ◼   ► we've been talking about it and process

00:45:37 ◼   ► of making making the movie um someone of

00:45:40 ◼   ► that I feel like I'm there's two types

00:45:42 ◼   ► of people watching these kind of movies

00:45:43 ◼   ► and there's people that are so smart

00:45:46 ◼   ► that they get caught up in all those

00:45:47 ◼   ► details in the mission them the

00:45:49 ◼   ► machinery of the time travel and I'm one

00:45:51 ◼   ► of the lucky people that's not smart to

00:45:52 ◼   ► get caught up in it so I just let it all

00:45:54 ◼   ► fall away and i enjoy the stories are my

00:45:56 ◼   ► people

00:45:57 ◼   ► you built the world you're the architect

00:46:00 ◼   ► so you get your kind of both

00:46:02 ◼   ► yeah yeah but at the same time that's I

00:46:06 ◼   ► don't know they did a dead the

00:46:08 ◼   ► you know the mechanics of time travel or

00:46:12 ◼   ► something that they're kind of fun after

00:46:13 ◼   ► the fact but I'd I don't know man i'm

00:46:17 ◼   ► frankly and I guess if it you know that

00:46:20 ◼   ► to me that's almost like added it's

00:46:24 ◼   ► almost like bonus content if i go see a

00:46:26 ◼   ► time travel movie i'm either going to

00:46:28 ◼   ► enjoy it or not enjoy it based on

00:46:30 ◼   ► whether it was a good story and whether

00:46:32 ◼   ► i was into it and whether it took me

00:46:34 ◼   ► someplace that I cared about whether it

00:46:37 ◼   ► was funny weather was entertaining

00:46:38 ◼   ► basically and then and completely

00:46:41 ◼   ► secondary level afterwards all then

00:46:43 ◼   ► think about and the time travel well

00:46:45 ◼   ► this made sense that didn't make sense

00:46:46 ◼   ► and i'll try and like pick it apart like

00:46:48 ◼   ► that and so I guess that's the level on

00:46:51 ◼   ► which it operates from me and they get

00:46:53 ◼   ► the time travel

00:46:55 ◼   ► what if it's ever a priority between

00:46:57 ◼   ► keeping the momentum of the story up and

00:47:00 ◼   ► stopping for 20 seconds to explain

00:47:03 ◼   ► something so that somebody won't wonder

00:47:05 ◼   ► about in the car ride home i'm going to

00:47:07 ◼   ► keep the momentum of the story up to me

00:47:08 ◼   ► that's just where my where my priorities

00:47:11 ◼   ► lies it as it doesn't necessarily tell

00:47:13 ◼   ► her you know

00:47:14 ◼   ► yeah it probably create some like little

00:47:16 ◼   ► bit of tension that propels the move you

00:47:18 ◼   ► forward anyway there's enough you know

00:47:20 ◼   ► just yeah like the right amount of

00:47:21 ◼   ► mystery not too much I hope so and it

00:47:24 ◼   ► you know yeah you always hope so and you

00:47:26 ◼   ► always odd in the other answers you just

00:47:28 ◼   ► you try your best you know you just try

00:47:30 ◼   ► your best and yeah I always get right

00:47:32 ◼   ► I'm sure there's stuff that I probably

00:47:33 ◼   ► should have explained more deeply and

00:47:35 ◼   ► the thing and or stuff that I've

00:47:37 ◼   ► explained too much but all you can do is

00:47:38 ◼   ► kind of trust your instincts and ride

00:47:42 ◼   ► that line between keeping things moving

00:47:44 ◼   ► and keeping things explained it so good

00:47:47 ◼   ► i think it's almost more important to

00:47:49 ◼   ► make it feel like it makes sense then

00:47:52 ◼   ► that it

00:47:53 ◼   ► let's say it's like it makes absolutely

00:47:55 ◼   ► that's all that's important and that was

00:47:57 ◼   ► you know watching time travel movies

00:47:59 ◼   ► preparing to write this that was a

00:48:01 ◼   ► really liberating thing that I realized

00:48:03 ◼   ► is your it really is like doing a

00:48:06 ◼   ► the magician doing a trick you know

00:48:08 ◼   ► you're not creating something that and

00:48:10 ◼   ► the other thing is I mean that you have

00:48:11 ◼   ► time travel is a time travels is putting

00:48:15 ◼   ► in the genre of science fiction

00:48:17 ◼   ► the truth is time travel in this works

00:48:21 ◼   ► some people to hear this but time travel

00:48:22 ◼   ► is not a science for the scientists time

00:48:25 ◼   ► travel is a fantasy element time travel

00:48:27 ◼   ► is like Harry Potter stuff its magic and

00:48:30 ◼   ► unicorns and dragons that you have to

00:48:31 ◼   ► treat it storytelling was on that level

00:48:34 ◼   ► where you create a little box that it

00:48:36 ◼   ► exists in and make sense and inside that

00:48:38 ◼   ► little box here and never going to be

00:48:40 ◼   ► able to explain it or ground it to an

00:48:43 ◼   ► extent to where somebody can actually

00:48:44 ◼   ► analyze it with real-world logic and and

00:48:47 ◼   ► say yes that was airtight that makes

00:48:49 ◼   ► sense

00:48:50 ◼   ► meta koriians in the corner there you go

00:48:53 ◼   ► um what I mean you've answered this

00:48:57 ◼   ► question hundred thousand times to isn't

00:48:59 ◼   ► terms of all the long list of time

00:49:01 ◼   ► travel movies that you appreciate or

00:49:04 ◼   ► research you know watched his research

00:49:05 ◼   ► for writing this

00:49:06 ◼   ► yeah um when somebody says to you back

00:49:10 ◼   ► to the future as well not you know blah

00:49:12 ◼   ► blah blah Terminator blob and future but

00:49:15 ◼   ► does that desire to ignite a positive

00:49:18 ◼   ► response in you like the yeah this is

00:49:20 ◼   ► good that all these reference points

00:49:21 ◼   ► came out in the movie or is it is it

00:49:23 ◼   ► like what me and I made by only screw

00:49:27 ◼   ► you old man idea as tremendously good

00:49:29 ◼   ► because they're you know because those

00:49:32 ◼   ► are great pieces of people are seeing

00:49:35 ◼   ► that in there you know that's that's a

00:49:37 ◼   ► huge tremendous compliment you know I

00:49:39 ◼   ► supposed to blah blah insert bad time

00:49:42 ◼   ► travel movie name here blondes yeah

00:49:45 ◼   ► that's that would be bad but you know

00:49:47 ◼   ► and I didn't you know did I think that

00:49:49 ◼   ► it would because of the story was not

00:49:52 ◼   ► about time travel because the story was

00:49:54 ◼   ► about the characters dealing with this

00:49:56 ◼   ► situation I absolutely was not above

00:49:59 ◼   ► using an audience's knowledge of the

00:50:02 ◼   ► genre in order to shortcut over as much

00:50:04 ◼   ► as I possibly could and and so and so

00:50:09 ◼   ► far from it in terms of you know saying

00:50:12 ◼   ► i built my own thing I didn't I stood on

00:50:14 ◼   ► the night i took anything i could and

00:50:16 ◼   ► not only in terms of using them as

00:50:18 ◼   ► storytelling things

00:50:19 ◼   ► using them as things I knew the audience

00:50:22 ◼   ► would be familiar with so that I could

00:50:24 ◼   ► you know so that i could shortcut over

00:50:28 ◼   ► not having to explain it like like the

00:50:30 ◼   ► fingers disappearing you know that's

00:50:32 ◼   ► exactly what i was going to jump to in

00:50:33 ◼   ► the way that you can pass a message to

00:50:35 ◼   ► your future self which is by writing

00:50:37 ◼   ► it's scaring them you know taking an ax

00:50:39 ◼   ► blade and yeah writing a message into

00:50:42 ◼   ► your skin so that the scar shows up on

00:50:43 ◼   ► their future self

00:50:45 ◼   ► yes the young Joe and I love that you

00:50:47 ◼   ► see young Joe with a bloody bandage yeah

00:50:48 ◼   ► i got a text message I don't want to add

00:50:51 ◼   ► texted there's a gag there to that I i

00:50:54 ◼   ► know i said i warned everybody about

00:50:55 ◼   ► spoilers but it's too risky angry so

00:50:57 ◼   ► deep into it it's too good of a guy who

00:50:59 ◼   ► never said that but yeah that you know

00:51:02 ◼   ► that's just a really gruesome version of

00:51:04 ◼   ► The Back to the Future Polaroid you know

00:51:06 ◼   ► and i think that in that's it that's a

00:51:08 ◼   ► conceptual thing that we're all just

00:51:10 ◼   ► culturally aware of because we grew up

00:51:12 ◼   ► watching that movie and that's

00:51:13 ◼   ► absolutely the same way that old Joe

00:51:16 ◼   ► trying to change things by finding you

00:51:19 ◼   ► know this problem and eliminating it

00:51:21 ◼   ► instinctively we know that from watching

00:51:22 ◼   ► terminator movies growing and that's I

00:51:24 ◼   ► wanted to absolutely no use that and I

00:51:27 ◼   ► wonder this is like this this is

00:51:29 ◼   ► stretching pretty far but a by putting

00:51:34 ◼   ► Bruce Willis in your movie is that its

00:51:36 ◼   ► own cultural reference point it i mean

00:51:39 ◼   ► actually actually it's more like I

00:51:41 ◼   ► watched your movie the first time was

00:51:42 ◼   ► the first time I saw it and I and I see

00:51:45 ◼   ► Bruce and I've seen 12 monkeys and I'm

00:51:47 ◼   ► the end without I caught myself thinking

00:51:49 ◼   ► is Bruce Willis from the future

00:51:51 ◼   ► yeah thank you very well you know I

00:51:52 ◼   ► think they've been going to spend time

00:51:55 ◼   ► with his very last one yeah and it's

00:51:57 ◼   ► very possible

00:51:58 ◼   ► oh it is watches from the fifties don't

00:52:00 ◼   ► go figure

00:52:01 ◼   ► oh is it now Anna um yeah that which is

00:52:08 ◼   ► your favorite back to the future

00:52:09 ◼   ► yeah let's let's get right down to it

00:52:12 ◼   ► you get to brass tacks there's one cause

00:52:14 ◼   ► there's only one rational answers to

00:52:16 ◼   ► that question

00:52:17 ◼   ► god I think I know what you're going to

00:52:18 ◼   ► say but it's probably different answer

00:52:19 ◼   ► them you're kidding no I don't think I

00:52:22 ◼   ► think it's an easy answer

00:52:23 ◼   ► ok so it is there is only one out how

00:52:25 ◼   ► can you say anything but one are you

00:52:27 ◼   ► going are you a to apologist we go over

00:52:29 ◼   ► time

00:52:29 ◼   ► no not that i don't like to i think is a

00:52:31 ◼   ► great movie been number 11 remember one

00:52:34 ◼   ► thing about ya kisses his mom

00:52:37 ◼   ► oh my god yeah well it's also a number

00:52:40 ◼   ► one news mom kisses him but either way

00:52:42 ◼   ► yeah number one is you know it really it

00:52:46 ◼   ► to make a really handfasted dama knology

00:52:48 ◼   ► if number one is a you know if number

00:52:54 ◼   ► one is a like a great tune like someday

00:52:56 ◼   ► my prince will come

00:52:57 ◼   ► number two is kind of a riff on that

00:53:01 ◼   ► yeah exactly yeah yeah but there's

00:53:03 ◼   ► something about and I was just like a

00:53:06 ◼   ► perfect movie and it's just perfectly

00:53:08 ◼   ► constructed 224 me who I just got so

00:53:11 ◼   ► excited by the world that created the

00:53:12 ◼   ► the future world that it created in the

00:53:14 ◼   ► end that I that made me that almost

00:53:16 ◼   ► single-handedly made me want to make

00:53:19 ◼   ► movies you know yeah yeah yeah it made

00:53:21 ◼   ► my cinematographer steve gadlin's also

00:53:24 ◼   ► like my best friends too is when I first

00:53:26 ◼   ► met him he was still a senior in high

00:53:28 ◼   ► school and he had shot with a new we're

00:53:32 ◼   ► going to be friends because he had just

00:53:34 ◼   ► with the video camera and his little

00:53:35 ◼   ► brother and his friends had shot back to

00:53:38 ◼   ► the future to like it recreated just

00:53:40 ◼   ► like the kitchen the whole thing yeah

00:53:42 ◼   ► the way that those kids do with the

00:53:45 ◼   ► Raiders Steve had done somehow it back

00:53:46 ◼   ► to the future two and he loves em yeah

00:53:50 ◼   ► and if he still doesn't really you're

00:53:51 ◼   ► gonna hear is that when you're a kid you

00:53:53 ◼   ► recreate any of your favorite

00:53:54 ◼   ► yeah i actually have told the story

00:53:57 ◼   ► before in some interviews but I I

00:53:59 ◼   ► actually almost burned down my parent's

00:54:01 ◼   ► garage trying to recreate the DeLorean

00:54:04 ◼   ► fire tracks into the future and it was

00:54:08 ◼   ► there i was a really stupid notice

00:54:10 ◼   ► because I tried to do them by i figured

00:54:13 ◼   ► i would soak little strips of toilet

00:54:15 ◼   ► paper and gasoline obviously and lay

00:54:17 ◼   ► them out behind the car but to soak the

00:54:19 ◼   ► strips of paper and gasoline i poured

00:54:21 ◼   ► gasoline into a Styrofoam plate and soak

00:54:25 ◼   ► them and of course the styrofoam

00:54:26 ◼   ► dissolves and basically becomes napalm

00:54:28 ◼   ► know and so I let these things up they

00:54:30 ◼   ► look great but I stamped on them to put

00:54:32 ◼   ► them out and accidentally stepped back

00:54:34 ◼   ► into the napalm and that ignited and was

00:54:36 ◼   ► stuck to my foot and meanwhile the

00:54:38 ◼   ► garage which somehow is filming this

00:54:40 ◼   ► inside the garage

00:54:41 ◼   ► schwoz was feeling with black smoke and

00:54:43 ◼   ► it was it was a big mess that

00:54:46 ◼   ► yeah when when childhood love

00:54:48 ◼   ► moviemaking combines with our next I

00:54:50 ◼   ► wrote techniques and I definitely for a

00:54:53 ◼   ► class project I definitely blew up the

00:54:56 ◼   ► US embassy in Beirut like to recruit you

00:54:58 ◼   ► know to reenact to reenact that

00:55:00 ◼   ► disastrous loud yelling a truck full of

00:55:03 ◼   ► explosives into a model only crap you

00:55:05 ◼   ► were your another level I look down and

00:55:08 ◼   ► down so the John and I were talking

00:55:14 ◼   ► about this a little bit earlier I how

00:55:19 ◼   ► that the looper had this additional

00:55:22 ◼   ► element that sort of took it in turn it

00:55:25 ◼   ► like added on top of the what you

00:55:27 ◼   ► thought

00:55:27 ◼   ► whatever you thought the movie was going

00:55:29 ◼   ► to be and that was the TK element right

00:55:31 ◼   ► the supernatural and you include that

00:55:36 ◼   ► element in a very organic way it doesn't

00:55:38 ◼   ► seem supernatural and until it until

00:55:42 ◼   ► shit gets real

00:55:43 ◼   ► yeah yeah you know and what I kind of

00:55:45 ◼   ► think of is like the third level iiia I

00:55:47 ◼   ► don't normally think about act in movies

00:55:49 ◼   ► in act structure or whatever but I felt

00:55:51 ◼   ► two different you know plateaus share

00:55:55 ◼   ► like two different kicking it up a notch

00:55:57 ◼   ► and rare and the first one was the the

00:55:59 ◼   ► montage of Joe got becoming old Joe yeah

00:56:02 ◼   ► the second one was the first time that

00:56:05 ◼   ► said musician you know and and the sound

00:56:09 ◼   ► design that piercing scream there that

00:56:12 ◼   ► that supernatural element was very

00:56:14 ◼   ► exciting and unexpected and see like

00:56:17 ◼   ► what just happened

00:56:19 ◼   ► a

00:56:20 ◼   ► I love how you there's like the extreme

00:56:23 ◼   ► telekinetic supernatural element and

00:56:26 ◼   ► then like the most base stupid

00:56:28 ◼   ► yeah side which is that it's mostly guys

00:56:30 ◼   ► floating quarters above their introduced

00:56:32 ◼   ► like an hour earlier

00:56:34 ◼   ► yeah Phil minutes just there and I and

00:56:37 ◼   ► it's there for one reason is it is to

00:56:39 ◼   ► pick up chicks

00:56:40 ◼   ► it's like they already in the same book

00:56:41 ◼   ► and I think of like I played poker and

00:56:44 ◼   ► casino is a lot and then like there's

00:56:45 ◼   ► two types of poker players there's the

00:56:47 ◼   ► kind to learn to like it is with an

00:56:50 ◼   ► apples yeah they roll the chips with

00:56:51 ◼   ► their knuckles and I played enough that

00:56:54 ◼   ► i probably could have learned but i

00:56:55 ◼   ► always thought that was a terrible thing

00:56:56 ◼   ► to learn because then you sit down and

00:56:58 ◼   ► you realize what this guy plays poker at

00:57:00 ◼   ► but that's what it seemed like the order

00:57:03 ◼   ► thing was with the tk's was that you

00:57:05 ◼   ► just did not even thinking about it like

00:57:06 ◼   ► the big people who can do it just sit

00:57:08 ◼   ► there and an aide rotate a quarter to

00:57:11 ◼   ► three inches above their palm and

00:57:12 ◼   ► they're not even thinking about it but

00:57:13 ◼   ► yeah energy and to try to pick up chicks

00:57:16 ◼   ► well there's a somewhat arbitrary and I

00:57:18 ◼   ► think rather stupid rule of thumb in

00:57:21 ◼   ► screenwriting that you're not supposed

00:57:22 ◼   ► to ask the audience to buy one more than

00:57:25 ◼   ► one big thing that there's probably a

00:57:27 ◼   ► name for there's something but you know

00:57:29 ◼   ► I'm just from a screenwriting class

00:57:33 ◼   ► point of view it's something that's

00:57:35 ◼   ► probably it is something is tricky it's

00:57:37 ◼   ► problematic i think that you know i did

00:57:41 ◼   ► i'd i tried to it attempted obviously

00:57:43 ◼   ► and i think that you know there are

00:57:44 ◼   ► people that I've talked to are heard

00:57:46 ◼   ► from where they were it didn't work for

00:57:48 ◼   ► that reason we're like that's more than

00:57:49 ◼   ► one thing you're asking me to buy why

00:57:51 ◼   ► was that in there but for me it did was

00:57:53 ◼   ► first was really necessary just because

00:57:56 ◼   ► I wanted Sid to not just be a

00:57:59 ◼   ► theoretical threat

00:58:00 ◼   ► I didn't want him to just be someone who

00:58:04 ◼   ► could grow up to be evil because he's

00:58:05 ◼   ► super smart or something i wanted that

00:58:07 ◼   ► threat of the future to be manifest in a

00:58:11 ◼   ► very concrete and affecting way in the

00:58:16 ◼   ► present so I wanted the danger of the

00:58:19 ◼   ► future to be not just something

00:58:21 ◼   ► intellectual but something actually

00:58:22 ◼   ► right there threatening your life and

00:58:25 ◼   ► and that seemed like a way of doing that

00:58:28 ◼   ► but it did require you know planting

00:58:31 ◼   ► this other big thing in the first act of

00:58:34 ◼   ► a movie when we're already setting up

00:58:36 ◼   ► this one incredibly big thing and so my

00:58:38 ◼   ► pressure was to throw it away said to

00:58:40 ◼   ► plant it by at the beginning when your

00:58:42 ◼   ► heads wrapped up in the time-travel

00:58:43 ◼   ► stuff to just toss this little thing out

00:58:45 ◼   ► there and at the end of it when the

00:58:47 ◼   ► time-travel stuff is gone away that's

00:58:48 ◼   ► when we raise this thing back up that

00:58:51 ◼   ► was the approach i took it was very

00:58:54 ◼   ► effective effective i want to thank our

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01:01:14 ◼   ► you didn't flip it not in slurpin take

01:01:17 ◼   ► to hear the slurping smile delicious

01:01:24 ◼   ► here's here's one here's one more thing

01:01:27 ◼   ► that I've been wanting to talk to you

01:01:29 ◼   ► about since our mutual friend roan and

01:01:32 ◼   ► brought it up on Twitter

01:01:33 ◼   ► yes and that is he kind of challenge you

01:01:36 ◼   ► a little bit and said Ryan you're doing

01:01:38 ◼   ► all this generous stuff talking about

01:01:40 ◼   ► all these different parts of the movie

01:01:42 ◼   ► that in maybe in another time the

01:01:47 ◼   ► audience wouldn't have access to the to

01:01:50 ◼   ► the author's thoughts right

01:01:53 ◼   ► and let's make no mistake it's very

01:01:55 ◼   ► generous of you and but being a movie

01:02:00 ◼   ► maker of 2012 means you can give that to

01:02:03 ◼   ► your audience and um have you like have

01:02:10 ◼   ► you thought about metering how much

01:02:13 ◼   ► you're giving to the audience very much

01:02:15 ◼   ► you know that a lot about it okay to

01:02:19 ◼   ► lose him now I don't know I thought a

01:02:22 ◼   ► lot about I don't have a shit you know

01:02:24 ◼   ► an opinion I I an hour i should say i

01:02:26 ◼   ► don't have like a you know conclusion

01:02:29 ◼   ► about it something I've given a lot of

01:02:31 ◼   ► thought it's hard because I'm you know I

01:02:34 ◼   ► am very much out there on Twitter mostly

01:02:36 ◼   ► these days and a very president and I

01:02:39 ◼   ► try to be like part of the conversation

01:02:41 ◼   ► respond to people and that's something

01:02:42 ◼   ► that I do just because i enjoy doing it

01:02:45 ◼   ► something i was doing before people were

01:02:47 ◼   ► even really watching movies I just like

01:02:49 ◼   ► you know being part of that big

01:02:52 ◼   ► conversation that's going on and it's

01:02:55 ◼   ► hard because when people ask you

01:02:58 ◼   ► questions about your movie you know you

01:03:01 ◼   ► there are several things that happen

01:03:03 ◼   ► first of all you don't want to seem like

01:03:05 ◼   ► you're being a being kind of like an

01:03:08 ◼   ► aloof jerk by saying that sunday so

01:03:10 ◼   ► whatever she wants to do you think

01:03:12 ◼   ► yeah exactly but there's also something

01:03:15 ◼   ► that comes from a worse place than that

01:03:18 ◼   ► where you think if i don't answer people

01:03:20 ◼   ► are going to think I didn't think about

01:03:22 ◼   ► this and I don't have an answer and the

01:03:23 ◼   ► truth is I do so I want to you know I

01:03:27 ◼   ► want to respond so people know that I

01:03:29 ◼   ► you know because because I also when

01:03:32 ◼   ► it's when it's phrased in terms of it

01:03:34 ◼   ► being a quote-unquote plot hole or I you

01:03:37 ◼   ► know even even though we got some really

01:03:40 ◼   ► we would King got some really great you

01:03:43 ◼   ► know reviews where the week I can't

01:03:45 ◼   ► complain at all in terms of the critical

01:03:46 ◼   ► response you would occasionally read the

01:03:48 ◼   ► review where would you know kind of

01:03:51 ◼   ► dismiss the logic as you know you think

01:03:54 ◼   ► too closely about this it doesn't make

01:03:55 ◼   ► sense but the building

01:03:57 ◼   ► and the thing is I thought very closely

01:03:59 ◼   ► about it for two years of my life and it

01:04:01 ◼   ► all makes sense and it's hard to not do

01:04:04 ◼   ► it when somebody engages you in a forum

01:04:07 ◼   ► where you can talk where you can reply

01:04:09 ◼   ► to it it would require just a Herculean

01:04:12 ◼   ► effort not to i think but it's something

01:04:16 ◼   ► that I am I don't know it does for the

01:04:20 ◼   ► next 1i guess I'mI'm i don't know i can

01:04:23 ◼   ► really see the merit and not responding

01:04:25 ◼   ► i can really see the meriden doing

01:04:27 ◼   ► whatever I would need to do to to kind

01:04:30 ◼   ► of disengage a little bit I guess what

01:04:33 ◼   ► do I know what do you think I think of

01:04:34 ◼   ► it isn't like an editorial choice kind

01:04:37 ◼   ► of if you think about the whole world of

01:04:39 ◼   ► your movie as as one artifact in to

01:04:42 ◼   ► which you're contributing right now

01:04:44 ◼   ► ya think if you choose not to answer the

01:04:48 ◼   ► questions then you're editing your

01:04:50 ◼   ► editing on out of debt of that artifact

01:04:52 ◼   ► that artifact separate from looper them

01:04:54 ◼   ► the movie that people has a starting to

01:04:57 ◼   ► finish and but you can't ignore the

01:05:00 ◼   ► right now the artifact takes on a

01:05:03 ◼   ► different form being you know having

01:05:05 ◼   ► exposure to conversation the artifact

01:05:09 ◼   ► being a massive conversation that yeah

01:05:12 ◼   ► the national conversation or the

01:05:13 ◼   ► artifact being every release of of this

01:05:17 ◼   ► the original Star Wars trilogy that ever

01:05:18 ◼   ► existed in every piece of packaging and

01:05:20 ◼   ► every toy beeping a part of the movie

01:05:22 ◼   ► right air and I'll kinda like thinking

01:05:24 ◼   ► about it that way to yeah it is it Anna

01:05:27 ◼   ► is it and is it is there value in

01:05:33 ◼   ► letting it exists on its own label

01:05:36 ◼   ► sticker itself and even if that means

01:05:38 ◼   ► short-term they're going to be people

01:05:40 ◼   ► who you know see it once don't give it

01:05:43 ◼   ► much thought and say this damn makes

01:05:45 ◼   ► sense because of this or that but maybe

01:05:46 ◼   ► they see it on DVD on gian anh brain

01:05:49 ◼   ► chip 50-foot 10 years from now and say

01:05:52 ◼   ► oh actually this and this yes that's

01:05:54 ◼   ► interesting you have been having the

01:05:55 ◼   ► patience to let it take root and let it

01:05:58 ◼   ► do its own thing rather than trying to

01:06:01 ◼   ► immediately patch it yourself is is

01:06:04 ◼   ► there are married in an absolutely i

01:06:07 ◼   ► think there is i mean i am speaking as

01:06:09 ◼   ► somebody who racked it reacts

01:06:10 ◼   ► defensively constantly throwing you know

01:06:12 ◼   ► it's all things I see merit in in not

01:06:16 ◼   ► making decisions based on defensive is

01:06:18 ◼   ► and yeah yeah yeah i don't know i'm sure

01:06:20 ◼   ► i honestly I'm still figuring I think it

01:06:22 ◼   ► at Camp isn't any doubt the time travel

01:06:25 ◼   ► movie invite that sort of feedback to a

01:06:28 ◼   ► much greater Lenny movie you're going to

01:06:29 ◼   ► invite criticism of characters decisions

01:06:32 ◼   ► shell and that in the end if the movie

01:06:34 ◼   ► and would in a way that you didn't want

01:06:36 ◼   ► going to get complaints no day at a time

01:06:38 ◼   ► travel movie invites like this whole

01:06:39 ◼   ► second level of I don't know

01:06:42 ◼   ► fantasy metaphysics yeah yeah yeah its

01:06:46 ◼   ► chair

01:06:46 ◼   ► yeah you're you're you're you're

01:06:48 ◼   ► operating in that tricky gray area of

01:06:51 ◼   ► where science meets fiction and and

01:06:53 ◼   ► you're inviting all sorts of yeah

01:06:54 ◼   ► there's a gotta be there is a small

01:06:57 ◼   ► number of people who have very strong

01:06:58 ◼   ► opinions about what would happen if you

01:07:01 ◼   ► traveled back in time and get yourself

01:07:02 ◼   ► and regardless of those assholes i think

01:07:05 ◼   ► permanently generous of you to have been

01:07:09 ◼   ► contributing to the conversation

01:07:10 ◼   ► including coming and being with us today

01:07:14 ◼   ► mmm yeah thank you very much I mean this

01:07:17 ◼   ► is a real thrill is that they're done

01:07:21 ◼   ► the following podcast is brought to you

01:07:24 ◼   ► by field notes brand notebooks in

01:07:26 ◼   ► connection with our limited edition

01:07:28 ◼   ► made-in-the-usa pocket memo books for

01:07:31 ◼   ► fall the Traveling Salesman edition for

01:07:33 ◼   ► more information please visit field

01:07:35 ◼   ► notes brand.com

01:07:37 ◼   ► my philosophy is that because I've been

01:07:43 ◼   ► so tied in with traveling sales for so

01:07:45 ◼   ► many years

01:07:46 ◼   ► my dad and I might both my sons are

01:07:49 ◼   ► traveling salesman i really think that

01:07:52 ◼   ► the travelling salesman is probably the

01:07:54 ◼   ► inspiration for our country the way it

01:07:57 ◼   ► is now because they're industrious

01:07:59 ◼   ► people they they work very hard they

01:08:02 ◼   ► don't take no for an answer and to me

01:08:05 ◼   ► that's that's what we are today in this

01:08:07 ◼   ► country and the traveling steals the

01:08:09 ◼   ► salesman is still there there in

01:08:11 ◼   ► television or on radio there on the

01:08:13 ◼   ► internet and they're still there are

01:08:15 ◼   ► traveling their ways they aren't

01:08:17 ◼   ► traveling door-to-door much but I guess

01:08:19 ◼   ► you're still there and it's been it's

01:08:22 ◼   ► been a real trip to travel along with

01:08:23 ◼   ► them these many years that's Ron solberg

01:08:26 ◼   ► author of The Wiz bangs of oohs and aahs

01:08:28 ◼   ► America salesman their lower lives and

01:08:31 ◼   ► laughs which is an incredibly thorough

01:08:32 ◼   ► guide and fascinating history of

01:08:34 ◼   ► traveling sales in this country we got

01:08:36 ◼   ► the chance to sit down with Ron recently

01:08:38 ◼   ► for an interview to talk to him about

01:08:39 ◼   ► the profession and some of the stories

01:08:41 ◼   ► behind those who criss cross the nation

01:08:43 ◼   ► before us so Ron thanks so much for

01:08:48 ◼   ► joining us you you actually have a

01:08:49 ◼   ► background in traveling sales yourself

01:08:52 ◼   ► he said well I really got started

01:08:53 ◼   ► working my for my father in southern

01:08:55 ◼   ► Minnesota he was my boss and when i was

01:08:58 ◼   ► attending college and make a little

01:08:59 ◼   ► money to go to college and so he hired

01:09:02 ◼   ► me as one of his traveling salesman and

01:09:05 ◼   ► I went door-to-door both in communities

01:09:07 ◼   ► and in farms and was selling brushes and

01:09:11 ◼   ► what waxes and insecticides during the

01:09:14 ◼   ► summer months and actually was making

01:09:16 ◼   ► pretty good money a hundred-dollar day

01:09:17 ◼   ► was considered to be pretty good and I

01:09:20 ◼   ► got about fifty percent of that so I was

01:09:22 ◼   ► making maybe fifty to sixty dollars a

01:09:24 ◼   ► day on those hundred dollar days so

01:09:27 ◼   ► you're currently a teacher and i think

01:09:28 ◼   ► i'd read in your book that your father

01:09:30 ◼   ► was also a teacher as well wasn't he

01:09:33 ◼   ► he was he was a stranger in Minnesota

01:09:35 ◼   ► and this would be in the 1930s and he

01:09:39 ◼   ► actually started selling these canning

01:09:43 ◼   ► products for you can-can pickles and

01:09:45 ◼   ► things and he was selling that door to

01:09:47 ◼   ► door but he went into four brushes

01:09:49 ◼   ► and he realized he was making more money

01:09:51 ◼   ► selling for brushes in the summer than

01:09:52 ◼   ► he was teaching in the other nine months

01:09:55 ◼   ► of the year so he made the logical move

01:09:57 ◼   ► to switch back to to fuller brushes and

01:10:01 ◼   ► he was a he was a boss get about 15 guys

01:10:03 ◼   ► working for him in southern Minnesota

01:10:06 ◼   ► and I was one of those guys during the

01:10:08 ◼   ► summers at least he was he was terrific

01:10:11 ◼   ► I'd get down and I couldn't make a sale

01:10:14 ◼   ► and for the life of me and I come back

01:10:16 ◼   ► to them and say dad I I just I really I

01:10:18 ◼   ► can't do it the doors are being slammed

01:10:20 ◼   ► in my face is well let me help you any

01:10:22 ◼   ► he come back with me and walk

01:10:23 ◼   ► door-to-door and he was super he he had

01:10:26 ◼   ► away and it's hard to even explain it

01:10:28 ◼   ► but he taught me to be a good salesman

01:10:31 ◼   ► and the trick really was a volume is the

01:10:35 ◼   ► number of stops to make

01:10:37 ◼   ► if you make certain number of stops for

01:10:39 ◼   ► instance in a community you're going to

01:10:41 ◼   ► be going to make the hundred-dollar day

01:10:42 ◼   ► if you panic in farmers are bigger

01:10:45 ◼   ► buyers at least they were at that time

01:10:46 ◼   ► because they didn't get to the

01:10:47 ◼   ► department stores in other places and so

01:10:50 ◼   ► you didn't have to make as many stops at

01:10:52 ◼   ► farmers but if you made those stops

01:10:55 ◼   ► that's a three to four stops in the

01:10:57 ◼   ► country in an hour you probably would

01:10:59 ◼   ► make make a pretty good day for yourself

01:11:02 ◼   ► do you know approximately how many years

01:11:05 ◼   ► he sold for I don't know he must have

01:11:07 ◼   ► been selling for brushes and and the

01:11:09 ◼   ► field manager for maybe 30 years 20 to

01:11:11 ◼   ► 30 years we finally retire down to

01:11:13 ◼   ► Arizona he couldn't get out of the sales

01:11:15 ◼   ► business so he he went to selling maps

01:11:18 ◼   ► to schools so in the end in the sense he

01:11:20 ◼   ► can was returning to his roots because

01:11:22 ◼   ► he he was going back to the school but

01:11:24 ◼   ► as a salesman i went along with them to

01:11:26 ◼   ► kind of see how he did it and you know

01:11:28 ◼   ► he was using super salesman just was

01:11:31 ◼   ► getting into the the history of it what

01:11:34 ◼   ► are the origins of the Traveling

01:11:36 ◼   ► Salesman the earliest sales people in

01:11:39 ◼   ► Europe they call them monitor banks and

01:11:43 ◼   ► Monta bank actually translates into

01:11:46 ◼   ► somebody who would stand on it on a

01:11:48 ◼   ► platform and promote a product kinda

01:11:51 ◼   ► like you see in a carnival barker or

01:11:53 ◼   ► something to that effect and so it was

01:11:55 ◼   ► stationary wasn't a traveling salesman

01:11:58 ◼   ► although they would travel as

01:11:59 ◼   ► group from place to place kinda like

01:12:01 ◼   ► early patent medicine people would they

01:12:04 ◼   ► have their patent medicine shows and

01:12:06 ◼   ► bring their shows around just in America

01:12:08 ◼   ► but they were doing that in Europe and

01:12:10 ◼   ► developed differently in the states in

01:12:13 ◼   ► because in Europe the enterprise

01:12:15 ◼   ► themselves were selling the they had

01:12:17 ◼   ► rights to sell their products in

01:12:20 ◼   ► particular areas in in this country the

01:12:23 ◼   ► salesman went out and sold away from the

01:12:26 ◼   ► enterprise they might sell clocks or 10

01:12:28 ◼   ► where but they could make it roam the

01:12:31 ◼   ► country they didn't have they didn't

01:12:33 ◼   ► have any particular territory that they

01:12:35 ◼   ► were locked into and so that was kind of

01:12:38 ◼   ► a difference the travelling salesman in

01:12:40 ◼   ► America really traveling and of course

01:12:42 ◼   ► you had a different situation or two

01:12:44 ◼   ► with with being a wide-open country and

01:12:46 ◼   ► and people were located in different

01:12:49 ◼   ► areas in fact one author is called it

01:12:51 ◼   ► the the introduction of the everywhere

01:12:53 ◼   ► community because in a sense the

01:12:56 ◼   ► travelling salesman was was bringing the

01:12:59 ◼   ► the goods and services from the city's

01:13:01 ◼   ► out east boston and other is to to the

01:13:05 ◼   ► farms and settlements that were farther

01:13:08 ◼   ► west they were they were several things

01:13:10 ◼   ► they weren't just salespeople they were

01:13:12 ◼   ► also newspapers in fact that was an

01:13:14 ◼   ► important role that these traveling

01:13:16 ◼   ► salesman had an early times they were

01:13:18 ◼   ► carrying news with them they would

01:13:20 ◼   ► Johnny Appleseed for instance was very

01:13:22 ◼   ► much involved in warning settlers as to

01:13:25 ◼   ► maybe some some Indians or sort of on

01:13:28 ◼   ► the warpath agency and they would tell

01:13:31 ◼   ► them you know you've got some problems

01:13:32 ◼   ► coming down the road here so this is

01:13:34 ◼   ► really travelling salesmen were more

01:13:36 ◼   ► carriers of news and advice so they had

01:13:39 ◼   ► multiple multiple functions and with

01:13:41 ◼   ► those early salesman what what were they

01:13:44 ◼   ► selling exactly or rather what was the

01:13:47 ◼   ► most like prevalent thing or things that

01:13:49 ◼   ► they were selling book salesman were

01:13:52 ◼   ► probably the most common salesman and

01:13:56 ◼   ► sales women in in the 19th century one

01:13:59 ◼   ► of the finest book salesman of all time

01:14:02 ◼   ► was parson whims eat his primary product

01:14:06 ◼   ► will buy it was Bibles but actually he

01:14:09 ◼   ► wrote his own things

01:14:10 ◼   ► some say he's kind of equivalent to

01:14:13 ◼   ► current reports for National Enquirer

01:14:15 ◼   ► and some of the others because he would

01:14:16 ◼   ► tend to fictionalize the the people of

01:14:18 ◼   ► his day like George Washington for

01:14:20 ◼   ► instance he wrote a story about George

01:14:22 ◼   ► Washington cutting down the cherry tree

01:14:23 ◼   ► and and telling his dad it was you can

01:14:26 ◼   ► read it and is that complimented him for

01:14:29 ◼   ► for being honest and that's fiction it

01:14:31 ◼   ► didn't really happen but actually what

01:14:33 ◼   ► did happen is probably Williams is on

01:14:35 ◼   ► sun did something very much like that

01:14:38 ◼   ► but I don't think he admitted to stay at

01:14:40 ◼   ► that he had done it but he wrote a lot

01:14:42 ◼   ► of books and they were very popular

01:14:44 ◼   ► people really enjoy them and what's kind

01:14:47 ◼   ► of interesting about the web's book the

01:14:50 ◼   ► the book about George Washington about

01:14:52 ◼   ► being honest it was one of Abraham

01:14:55 ◼   ► Lincoln's favorite favorite books i

01:14:57 ◼   ► believe that he had like the book so

01:15:00 ◼   ► much that of course his campaign theme

01:15:03 ◼   ► was on a state and he probably got it

01:15:06 ◼   ► from person rims and the story about

01:15:08 ◼   ► George Washington so these things get

01:15:10 ◼   ► kind of passed on and in strange ways

01:15:12 ◼   ► but book sales can be involved in

01:15:14 ◼   ► another way uh it's called subscription

01:15:17 ◼   ► subscription sales they would go

01:15:19 ◼   ► door-to-door with a portion of a book

01:15:21 ◼   ► with some illustrations and text and

01:15:24 ◼   ► there were a lot of blank pages and they

01:15:25 ◼   ► would go door-to-door and say we're

01:15:27 ◼   ► selling this book are you interested and

01:15:30 ◼   ► they said yeah I'd like to buy that book

01:15:32 ◼   ► and so they put their write their name

01:15:34 ◼   ► in the back of the book and they go to

01:15:36 ◼   ► the neighbor and say you know your

01:15:38 ◼   ► neighbor down there said that they'd

01:15:39 ◼   ► like to have this book maybe you would

01:15:41 ◼   ► too and so the neighbors oh my gosh it's

01:15:43 ◼   ► endorsed by my neighbor slops I'll sign

01:15:45 ◼   ► for it and of course they didn't have to

01:15:47 ◼   ► publish a book at a time because they

01:15:49 ◼   ► knew just how many books are going to

01:15:51 ◼   ► sell Mark Twain got involved in that

01:15:53 ◼   ► that kind of process his early books

01:15:56 ◼   ► were sold by subscription publishing one

01:15:58 ◼   ► of the most successful subscription

01:16:00 ◼   ► published a salesperson was a woman and

01:16:04 ◼   ► she was criticized for for doing this

01:16:07 ◼   ► women shouldn't be doing that sort of

01:16:08 ◼   ► thing they should be going out in public

01:16:10 ◼   ► and and knocking on doors and and and

01:16:13 ◼   ► she got so mad about it that she wrote a

01:16:15 ◼   ► book about that defending her position

01:16:17 ◼   ► that that she should be able to do that

01:16:19 ◼   ► just like anybody else just because

01:16:21 ◼   ► she's a woman shouldn't restrict

01:16:23 ◼   ► come from that profession but it's very

01:16:25 ◼   ► very important way of selling books and

01:16:28 ◼   ► in the 19th century there's that that

01:16:30 ◼   ► sort of stereotype they're not to answer

01:16:33 ◼   ► your door because they're gonna give you

01:16:34 ◼   ► this hard sell and they're going to try

01:16:36 ◼   ► and make you buy something but in those

01:16:37 ◼   ► early days when these people were so

01:16:39 ◼   ► kind of like rural and way out and in

01:16:42 ◼   ► these distant areas i was it something

01:16:45 ◼   ► like more positive because the strangers

01:16:47 ◼   ► coming to your door and he's going to

01:16:48 ◼   ► talk to you and he's also gonna bring

01:16:50 ◼   ► interesting things from the outside

01:16:51 ◼   ► world

01:16:52 ◼   ► yeah it was for many different reasons

01:16:55 ◼   ► one of the kind of traveling salesman is

01:16:59 ◼   ► called the Arkansas traveler and the

01:17:02 ◼   ► Arkansas traveler actually person was

01:17:05 ◼   ► probably in arkansas traveler not just

01:17:07 ◼   ► because he sold books in Arkansas but

01:17:09 ◼   ► the characteristic of the Arkansas

01:17:11 ◼   ► traveler was that he would speak with

01:17:13 ◼   ► people who are really out in the boonies

01:17:16 ◼   ► and people who really don't talk to

01:17:18 ◼   ► anybody they were there to get away from

01:17:20 ◼   ► life i guess we get away from from other

01:17:23 ◼   ► people and so he had to ingratiate

01:17:25 ◼   ► himself with these people to sell these

01:17:27 ◼   ► items and so what he did is he brought

01:17:30 ◼   ► his violin and instruments with him and

01:17:32 ◼   ► he would invite the these people to join

01:17:36 ◼   ► him in music and of course that really

01:17:39 ◼   ► really attracted them and that was

01:17:42 ◼   ► typical the Arkansas traveler also a

01:17:44 ◼   ► traveling salesman or collectors

01:17:46 ◼   ► collectors of music you have a couple of

01:17:49 ◼   ► traveling salesman who were selling

01:17:51 ◼   ► nursery items they were not out there to

01:17:55 ◼   ► sell the items as much as they were

01:17:56 ◼   ► collecting the music of of america and a

01:18:00 ◼   ► couple of museums ones in Missouri and

01:18:03 ◼   ► the other windows down in North Carolina

01:18:05 ◼   ► that has a collection of massive amounts

01:18:08 ◼   ► of music of the time this should be

01:18:10 ◼   ► nineteenth-century america and of course

01:18:12 ◼   ► in the case of the music can reverse the

01:18:15 ◼   ► process

01:18:16 ◼   ► whens was there to contribute is music

01:18:18 ◼   ► but these traveling sales people were

01:18:21 ◼   ► there to collect the music of the people

01:18:24 ◼   ► other people did other things their

01:18:27 ◼   ► storytelling was big and they the people

01:18:29 ◼   ► knew that when the salesman came along

01:18:32 ◼   ► here a lot of stories to tell

01:18:33 ◼   ► you were jokes i can see why people were

01:18:36 ◼   ► attractive they knew that this is sort

01:18:39 ◼   ► of an entertainer who was coming around

01:18:40 ◼   ► and in the process they buy some things

01:18:43 ◼   ► from the entertainer the travelling

01:18:45 ◼   ► salesman would come in a lot of

01:18:46 ◼   ► different colors and brands and purposes

01:18:49 ◼   ► fact and one the travelling salesman was

01:18:51 ◼   ► collecting the music is Boston you know

01:18:53 ◼   ► you're not doing much selling frankly

01:18:55 ◼   ► get your trading your your goods in this

01:18:57 ◼   ► case nursery items for music you're not

01:19:00 ◼   ► you're not really bring in much revenue

01:19:02 ◼   ► but that wasn't is his thing in your

01:19:05 ◼   ► book you've dedicated a whole section to

01:19:08 ◼   ► Johnny Appleseed and you said you

01:19:09 ◼   ► consider him a legendary traveling

01:19:12 ◼   ► salesman

01:19:13 ◼   ► that's not something you usually think

01:19:14 ◼   ► of when you think of these this iconic

01:19:16 ◼   ► folk hero

01:19:18 ◼   ► why do you consider him a traveling

01:19:20 ◼   ► salesman for several reasons Johnny

01:19:22 ◼   ► Appleseed covered a lot of territory he

01:19:25 ◼   ► started out in the east coast and in

01:19:27 ◼   ► went all the way up to Indiana and he

01:19:31 ◼   ► was spreading the word about very very

01:19:33 ◼   ► important product with the apple today

01:19:36 ◼   ► it's pretty common but at the time

01:19:37 ◼   ► people didn't have access to sweeteners

01:19:40 ◼   ► and certainly alcoholic beverages an

01:19:43 ◼   ► apple compatible Jack and it's also a

01:19:46 ◼   ► preservative and and perhaps the most

01:19:49 ◼   ► important element of the Apple was that

01:19:51 ◼   ► it intended to serve as boundary the

01:19:53 ◼   ► trees served as boundaries to the

01:19:55 ◼   ► property because these people were

01:19:57 ◼   ► settlers end and they were just claiming

01:19:59 ◼   ► their piece of land and they could claim

01:20:01 ◼   ► land bye-bye ringing their territory

01:20:05 ◼   ► with these apple trees so Johnny

01:20:06 ◼   ► Appleseed is really helping them settled

01:20:08 ◼   ► as well but he's also a missionary he

01:20:11 ◼   ► was so he was passing on information

01:20:15 ◼   ► about the Swedenborg and religion which

01:20:17 ◼   ► is kind of in a really equal to his

01:20:20 ◼   ► isn't interested in in the people that

01:20:22 ◼   ► he was talking to and the the college

01:20:25 ◼   ► there in urbana is actually there

01:20:28 ◼   ► because of Johnny Appleseed he he was

01:20:30 ◼   ► able to persuade a friend of his to

01:20:32 ◼   ► donate property to to the college that

01:20:35 ◼   ► they could put that the educational kind

01:20:37 ◼   ► of facility up and build it is a very

01:20:40 ◼   ► interesting person i think that the the

01:20:43 ◼   ► real story about Johnny Appleseed is far

01:20:45 ◼   ► more interesting

01:20:47 ◼   ► and really unusual than the legends that

01:20:50 ◼   ► have grown up around and disney and

01:20:52 ◼   ► others have tended to fictionalize much

01:20:55 ◼   ► what he was but he was he was truly an

01:20:58 ◼   ► inspiration there are certain sales

01:21:01 ◼   ► techniques or things that we now

01:21:03 ◼   ► consider like sales staples that you

01:21:06 ◼   ► write about that you were born from the

01:21:08 ◼   ► heyday of traveling sales like the

01:21:10 ◼   ► warranty in the money back guarantee

01:21:13 ◼   ► well in terms of the warranty or the

01:21:16 ◼   ► money back guarantee

01:21:18 ◼   ► marshall field's was an early innovator

01:21:20 ◼   ► and of course it was very very popular

01:21:22 ◼   ► and that was the cornerstone of his

01:21:25 ◼   ► early business here in Chicago the the

01:21:28 ◼   ► title of my book has words was banging

01:21:30 ◼   ► in it and of course that was a word that

01:21:32 ◼   ► he called his his people with bangs his

01:21:35 ◼   ► traveling salesman of the other thing is

01:21:38 ◼   ► giving away samples and of course a lot

01:21:40 ◼   ► of started to you as door openers and i

01:21:42 ◼   ► use samples when I was selling for

01:21:44 ◼   ► brushes I'd pastry brushes and vegetable

01:21:46 ◼   ► brushes and and the bottles of perfume

01:21:48 ◼   ► and I say if you talk with me for just a

01:21:51 ◼   ► moment of give you this pastry brush of

01:21:53 ◼   ► this vegetable brush and that doesn't

01:21:55 ◼   ► sound like a big deal today but it was a

01:21:58 ◼   ► big deal and frequently these these door

01:22:01 ◼   ► openers became products one of the most

01:22:04 ◼   ► amazing stories i think is with the SOS

01:22:06 ◼   ► pad it was a he was selling out for the

01:22:10 ◼   ► for the kitchen cookware control

01:22:12 ◼   ► beginning door open so he was talking to

01:22:13 ◼   ► his wife and he's what can i do to get

01:22:16 ◼   ► the door open to sell my goods and she

01:22:17 ◼   ► said well when we when we do something

01:22:20 ◼   ► with us a pad that maybe a steel wall

01:22:24 ◼   ► and maybe it has soap in it and give

01:22:26 ◼   ► that away and maybe the doors will open

01:22:28 ◼   ► one of course they did but the the kind

01:22:31 ◼   ► of funny part of this was that he said

01:22:33 ◼   ► well what what what are we going to call

01:22:35 ◼   ► this thing and she's a lot of imma call

01:22:37 ◼   ► an SOS pads into the SOS pads would save

01:22:40 ◼   ► our saucepans and so his wife in that

01:22:43 ◼   ► case was his partner in and putting that

01:22:46 ◼   ► together Wrigley started out selling

01:22:48 ◼   ► soaps and he's giving away Styx ago and

01:22:51 ◼   ► of course we now know that the

01:22:52 ◼   ► government far more popular and

01:22:54 ◼   ► is soaps and what's interesting about

01:22:58 ◼   ► that he took a step took it a step

01:22:59 ◼   ► further but by mailing out samples to

01:23:03 ◼   ► people with telephones and chris is

01:23:07 ◼   ► early 20th century so he used it the

01:23:09 ◼   ► addresses of people with telephones as

01:23:13 ◼   ► his the potential customers avon

01:23:16 ◼   ► products started out as he was selling

01:23:19 ◼   ► books and he needed a door opener and so

01:23:23 ◼   ► he worked with I think a relative who

01:23:27 ◼   ► was a pharmacist and he said can I put

01:23:28 ◼   ► something together that maybe would open

01:23:30 ◼   ► the door and they concocted some

01:23:32 ◼   ► perfumes and things and of course now we

01:23:34 ◼   ► know that the perfumes and cosmetics

01:23:36 ◼   ► became far more interesting to the

01:23:38 ◼   ► customer than the things he was trying

01:23:41 ◼   ► to sell the name is kind of interesting

01:23:43 ◼   ► the reason is called Avon is because he

01:23:45 ◼   ► lived in New York and he lived near a

01:23:47 ◼   ► river that look very much like

01:23:48 ◼   ► stratford-on-avon in England where

01:23:51 ◼   ► Shakespeare from so that's that's where

01:23:54 ◼   ► they got the word Yvonne and you know

01:23:56 ◼   ► other bits it's serendipitous how things

01:23:58 ◼   ► happen we have a traveling salesman la

01:24:01 ◼   ► who of course we know and now is the

01:24:04 ◼   ► potato chip man discovered that Chef

01:24:09 ◼   ► coincidence names crumb out in saratoga

01:24:12 ◼   ► and the story goes that Vanderbilt came

01:24:15 ◼   ► in the very wealthy railroad man came in

01:24:18 ◼   ► and ordered some potatoes and the chef

01:24:21 ◼   ► delivered them and vanderbilt said you

01:24:24 ◼   ► know this is this is not good and so

01:24:26 ◼   ► chrome went back and invented the potato

01:24:28 ◼   ► chip and called the saratoga trip

01:24:30 ◼   ► initially it was just a regional thing

01:24:32 ◼   ► he was discovered by leigh and he bought

01:24:36 ◼   ► a bunch of this bag it up put in the

01:24:38 ◼   ► trunk of his car and store the store

01:24:40 ◼   ► saying I've got something here that I

01:24:41 ◼   ► think you'll be interested in course we

01:24:43 ◼   ► know today that free delay is you know

01:24:46 ◼   ► begin in the potato chip business and it

01:24:48 ◼   ► what's I think so important about these

01:24:50 ◼   ► salespeople the very best sales people

01:24:52 ◼   ► take advantage of the moment they they

01:24:55 ◼   ► they see something and they say my gosh

01:24:57 ◼   ► this is this is something that will sell

01:24:59 ◼   ► favorite story i have is a learned about

01:25:03 ◼   ► it when i was working with this is

01:25:05 ◼   ► really great salespeople one of them had

01:25:08 ◼   ► been out to Colorado and he was skiing

01:25:11 ◼   ► with his wife they were going from one

01:25:13 ◼   ► peak to another to go to to another

01:25:15 ◼   ► slope and they were going to be taking

01:25:18 ◼   ► this cable car from one location to the

01:25:20 ◼   ► next and my they were trying

01:25:23 ◼   ► transversing this valley small plane

01:25:26 ◼   ► came down and clip the cable and the two

01:25:28 ◼   ► or three of the cable cars in front of

01:25:29 ◼   ► this this insurance it salesman crashed

01:25:33 ◼   ► into the valley across it they were

01:25:34 ◼   ► killed and but he was left dangling up

01:25:36 ◼   ► there above the valley with his wife and

01:25:40 ◼   ► in the process sold insurance policies

01:25:42 ◼   ► to the people who were in that car again

01:25:45 ◼   ► each other these people see the

01:25:47 ◼   ► opportunity and they they take advantage

01:25:49 ◼   ► of it they just did and they aren't

01:25:52 ◼   ► necessary taking advantage of people in

01:25:54 ◼   ► most cases i think they're they're

01:25:56 ◼   ► giving people something that they maybe

01:25:59 ◼   ► didn't realize that they wanted in the

01:26:00 ◼   ► first place

01:26:02 ◼   ► one of the favorite stories that i have

01:26:04 ◼   ► is the man who was actually from this

01:26:06 ◼   ► particular area went to college in April

01:26:08 ◼   ► the gates

01:26:09 ◼   ► his name is better million gates he did

01:26:12 ◼   ► wasn't born a better million but that's

01:26:14 ◼   ► what they call them later gates

01:26:16 ◼   ► eventually would sell barbed wire for

01:26:18 ◼   ► the people in dekalb in fact help

01:26:21 ◼   ► university northern illinois university

01:26:23 ◼   ► is probably there because of the barbed

01:26:25 ◼   ► wire business and because that's where

01:26:28 ◼   ► barb wire was invented in to count but

01:26:30 ◼   ► he started selling barbed wire and he

01:26:33 ◼   ► was called been a million because he

01:26:35 ◼   ► would he would bet on anything he

01:26:37 ◼   ► started his first sailing west and he

01:26:41 ◼   ► has so some farmers who had cattle who

01:26:44 ◼   ► were roaming all over the place across

01:26:47 ◼   ► this way had the cowboys because they

01:26:48 ◼   ► had to continue to corral these

01:26:50 ◼   ► cattlemen and know where they work and

01:26:53 ◼   ► you so i can keep the scandal right

01:26:55 ◼   ► there there's three very wild cattle but

01:26:57 ◼   ► I can keep them there and and they said

01:26:59 ◼   ► they can't do that he said I betcha I

01:27:01 ◼   ► can of course he's throwing the barbed

01:27:03 ◼   ► wire around these cattle and they were

01:27:05 ◼   ► ready to go anywhere eventually was so

01:27:07 ◼   ► successful selling barbed wire that he

01:27:09 ◼   ► went in the steel business Republic

01:27:11 ◼   ► Steel and it's probably his biggest

01:27:13 ◼   ► venture was a oil company that we didn't

01:27:16 ◼   ► know now is Texaco

01:27:18 ◼   ► that was his company so very wealthy

01:27:20 ◼   ► that he was so wealthy that he actually

01:27:23 ◼   ► did for Carnegie steel business across

01:27:26 ◼   ► Carnegie we know is probably was one of

01:27:29 ◼   ► the wealthiest people of all time in and

01:27:31 ◼   ► in America but that's how wealthy this

01:27:34 ◼   ► guy was the gates for something else I

01:27:36 ◼   ► mean he was very successful and he knew

01:27:39 ◼   ► what he wanted to do and he took

01:27:40 ◼   ► advantage of the moment just like so

01:27:42 ◼   ► many of these is very good salespeople

01:27:44 ◼   ► do with those success stories do you

01:27:46 ◼   ► think there's a process of like that

01:27:48 ◼   ► process of learning to walk toward the

01:27:49 ◼   ► door and kind of meet all kinds of mix

01:27:52 ◼   ► of people does that help and and does it

01:27:54 ◼   ► further their career in the end

01:27:56 ◼   ► ultimately and end is learning to sell

01:27:59 ◼   ► have some sort of benefit in general do

01:28:01 ◼   ► you think i've seen articles written

01:28:03 ◼   ► about this that sales training can help

01:28:06 ◼   ► people in almost any location

01:28:09 ◼   ► except you're a monk or somebody that

01:28:11 ◼   ► set a computer all day and we need to

01:28:13 ◼   ► talk to anybody but I think there's some

01:28:15 ◼   ► basic principles that you learn just

01:28:19 ◼   ► going door-to-door one of them is

01:28:21 ◼   ► there's formulas the formula i mentioned

01:28:23 ◼   ► to you that you you have to make so many

01:28:25 ◼   ► stops in an hour in town and i think it

01:28:28 ◼   ► was i think the the formula was eight

01:28:31 ◼   ► stops our if you go slower than that

01:28:34 ◼   ► you're not selling if you're faster that

01:28:36 ◼   ► you're not selling so it stops an hour

01:28:38 ◼   ► in the country it was four stops an hour

01:28:40 ◼   ► so it's formulas that you learn and

01:28:43 ◼   ► there's also the idea that optimism

01:28:47 ◼   ► persistence is so important and I mean

01:28:52 ◼   ► that's kind of an intangible but but it

01:28:54 ◼   ► is important and I think the very best

01:28:57 ◼   ► salesman our friends to the people that

01:28:58 ◼   ► they sell to Johnny Appleseed was a

01:29:01 ◼   ► friend to his people

01:29:02 ◼   ► there's so many examples where they

01:29:04 ◼   ► didn't see them just as salespeople but

01:29:06 ◼   ► they were friends and I think it goes as

01:29:09 ◼   ► far as to talk about some of the

01:29:10 ◼   ► television personalities like Ron Popeil

01:29:12 ◼   ► he comes across to you as a friend I've

01:29:16 ◼   ► got something I want to share with you

01:29:17 ◼   ► give me a moment and

01:29:19 ◼   ► I'll tell you about it because it's

01:29:20 ◼   ► really pretty good bargain and only 999

01:29:23 ◼   ► a month for and i'll give you something

01:29:28 ◼   ► extra with that i'll give you a cookbook

01:29:29 ◼   ► or whatever it is they they know the

01:29:33 ◼   ► people are talking to in there they're

01:29:35 ◼   ► like friends and the moment as a teacher

01:29:39 ◼   ► I can't call it the teachable moment but

01:29:41 ◼   ► the it's a sellable or the sales moment

01:29:44 ◼   ► when there's a moment when you say yes i

01:29:46 ◼   ► know that this is something you could

01:29:48 ◼   ► use one of the quotes is the last one to

01:29:51 ◼   ► say something you know the cell is the

01:29:54 ◼   ► buyer so you wait until the customer

01:29:59 ◼   ► says something you don't talk over the

01:30:01 ◼   ► customer you you let the customer

01:30:03 ◼   ► finally say something and person that

01:30:05 ◼   ► says something last is probably the one

01:30:07 ◼   ► who's winning

01:30:08 ◼   ► I should say is is buying in this

01:30:11 ◼   ► particular case there are techniques and

01:30:14 ◼   ► some of it is more art than science but

01:30:19 ◼   ► a lot of it is things that you can tell

01:30:21 ◼   ► people you should be doing it this way

01:30:23 ◼   ► for instance one salesman very

01:30:27 ◼   ► successful says you gotta have a gimmick

01:30:28 ◼   ► his gimmick was jewelry he had some very

01:30:32 ◼   ► fancy jewelry watches and things that

01:30:35 ◼   ► people isn't really that's very

01:30:37 ◼   ► interesting and so they would become

01:30:39 ◼   ► interested in him as an individual's a

01:30:41 ◼   ► way that's what you got there that's

01:30:43 ◼   ► entry that was his his thing

01:30:45 ◼   ► how did your book wound up happening how

01:30:48 ◼   ► did how did with bangs get written and

01:30:50 ◼   ► what was the process there

01:30:52 ◼   ► I'm a history teacher and i was asked by

01:30:54 ◼   ► the Newberry Library to put together

01:30:57 ◼   ► some us appliance on a

01:30:59 ◼   ► turn-of-the-century sales activity or

01:31:02 ◼   ► labor activity in chicago and i decided

01:31:05 ◼   ► to focus on merchandising and marketing

01:31:08 ◼   ► and and as I was doing that I realized

01:31:10 ◼   ► that this is this inches to a lesson

01:31:14 ◼   ► plan it's a book so seven years later I

01:31:17 ◼   ► ended up completing this book about

01:31:20 ◼   ► traveling salesman it was some of the

01:31:22 ◼   ► most rewarding times that I've ever had

01:31:24 ◼   ► combed the stacks of the library

01:31:27 ◼   ► Congress and the new

01:31:28 ◼   ► Barry librarian in fact that's where I

01:31:30 ◼   ► found this journal this Bible salesman

01:31:32 ◼   ► am Jones was a journal

01:31:34 ◼   ► I don't know that anybody ever seen it

01:31:35 ◼   ► it was I had a handle it with gloves

01:31:39 ◼   ► because it was very fragile probably one

01:31:42 ◼   ► of the first things i find it with this

01:31:43 ◼   ► is this is unbelievable

01:31:45 ◼   ► maybe this is something that's written

01:31:46 ◼   ► by a traveling salesman you know a

01:31:48 ◼   ► hundred-plus years ago and it told me

01:31:51 ◼   ► his techniques and everything else and

01:31:54 ◼   ► so one thing led to another I realized

01:31:56 ◼   ► that such a wonderful rich rich field

01:32:00 ◼   ► and i had the opportunity to do is serve

01:32:02 ◼   ► as a researcher in that library Congress

01:32:05 ◼   ► home their stacks for everything they

01:32:06 ◼   ► had visited museums i visited the parson

01:32:10 ◼   ► whims museum and virginia and i went

01:32:14 ◼   ► through their stacks they had a lot of

01:32:16 ◼   ► information about personal whims and I

01:32:18 ◼   ► don't want it was just there's so many

01:32:19 ◼   ► not wonderful resource is the patent

01:32:23 ◼   ► medicine capital of the country which is

01:32:26 ◼   ► marshall michigan at the turn of the

01:32:29 ◼   ► century early 20th century there were a

01:32:31 ◼   ► hundred plus patent medicine businesses

01:32:33 ◼   ► in marshall michigan talk to a lot of

01:32:35 ◼   ► people there and we knew a lot about the

01:32:37 ◼   ► patent medicine business and that was

01:32:40 ◼   ► that was thrilling to to get in touch so

01:32:42 ◼   ► they're just a number of resources being

01:32:45 ◼   ► able to talk to people being able to go

01:32:47 ◼   ► to museums libraries and some of said

01:32:51 ◼   ► well you became sort of a traveling

01:32:52 ◼   ► salesman show again by kind of traveling

01:32:55 ◼   ► around and selling my ideas or at least

01:32:58 ◼   ► buying idea that goes from others you

01:33:01 ◼   ► have a whole section about humor that's

01:33:03 ◼   ► based around the travelling salesman in

01:33:05 ◼   ► your book

01:33:06 ◼   ► how did that come about some historians

01:33:08 ◼   ► believe that you can tell more about the

01:33:10 ◼   ► life of a Salesman by reading the humor

01:33:13 ◼   ► of the day then than almost anything

01:33:15 ◼   ► else because some of the humor that I

01:33:17 ◼   ► have collected goes back under 50 years

01:33:20 ◼   ► and it's funny today as I think it

01:33:21 ◼   ► probably was the day that the salesman

01:33:24 ◼   ► first uttered it a lot of jokes about

01:33:26 ◼   ► themselves they like to make fun of

01:33:28 ◼   ► themselves and so many that so much of

01:33:31 ◼   ► humor is a farm farmer salesman my

01:33:36 ◼   ► favorite story is the Traveling Salesman

01:33:39 ◼   ► came up to the door

01:33:40 ◼   ► r and as he was knocking in the farmers

01:33:43 ◼   ► door life comes to the door and he

01:33:46 ◼   ► notices a three-legged picture i would

01:33:48 ◼   ► speak with it wouldn't like running by

01:33:50 ◼   ► you said before I sell you something

01:33:51 ◼   ► I've got to ask you about this

01:33:53 ◼   ► three-legged figured what's with that

01:33:55 ◼   ► and want to see that pig is very special

01:33:58 ◼   ► well i think i can see that it's got

01:34:00 ◼   ► three legs and I wouldn't like they're

01:34:01 ◼   ► well it does more that pig our daughter

01:34:04 ◼   ► is failing math and that pic to your

01:34:06 ◼   ► daughter she's straight A's

01:34:08 ◼   ► well thatthat's that special but it will

01:34:10 ◼   ► what about the three legs

01:34:12 ◼   ► there's more this house was on fire that

01:34:15 ◼   ► pig comes in rescues us and today we're

01:34:17 ◼   ► here because that pig got us out of the

01:34:19 ◼   ► house

01:34:20 ◼   ► well that's that special but what about

01:34:22 ◼   ► the three lights there's more we were

01:34:25 ◼   ► destitute we didn't know where our next

01:34:26 ◼   ► dollars coming from the pig nose that

01:34:29 ◼   ► goes the backyard is all vines oil

01:34:31 ◼   ► ok alright alright special p tell me

01:34:34 ◼   ► about the three legs well I pic like

01:34:36 ◼   ► that you can't eat all the words it's

01:34:39 ◼   ► great you mentioned at the start that

01:34:42 ◼   ► all of this historical traveling sales

01:34:44 ◼   ► is wound up coming around and now kind

01:34:45 ◼   ► of there are glimmers of it on TV in the

01:34:49 ◼   ► internet and you specifically you

01:34:51 ◼   ► reference that the grocery store chain

01:34:53 ◼   ► jewel here in Illinois but that's sort

01:34:56 ◼   ► of a good example of what goes around

01:34:58 ◼   ► comes around that kind of idea in sales

01:35:01 ◼   ► the drill teeth company has started out

01:35:05 ◼   ► in Chicago actually doridori you went

01:35:08 ◼   ► door-to-door selling coffee and tea and

01:35:10 ◼   ► things and it was an innovation at the

01:35:12 ◼   ► time because at that point if you want

01:35:15 ◼   ► to get coffee and tea you go to store

01:35:17 ◼   ► and it probably in a barrel

01:35:18 ◼   ► it wasn't very fresh and so he was able

01:35:21 ◼   ► to deliver some fresh food door to door

01:35:23 ◼   ► out of his wagon and of course one thing

01:35:27 ◼   ► led to another and it became a grocery

01:35:30 ◼   ► store he actually the the founders of

01:35:33 ◼   ► jewel T work or relatives they were

01:35:36 ◼   ► eventually acquired by the grocery store

01:35:39 ◼   ► business move fast forward to do about

01:35:43 ◼   ► that perhaps 20 years ago and the

01:35:46 ◼   ► introduction of

01:35:47 ◼   ► peapod and what happened was of course

01:35:50 ◼   ► people now started going to the grocery

01:35:53 ◼   ► stores picking out the items for you and

01:35:56 ◼   ► in delivering them to you so that you

01:35:58 ◼   ► get the fresh products needed nap to go

01:36:00 ◼   ► to the store and get them yourself you

01:36:02 ◼   ► know where they got those items from

01:36:04 ◼   ► jewel T they actually shop jewel T to

01:36:08 ◼   ► pick up the groceries to deliver to the

01:36:11 ◼   ► people so it came full cycle you know

01:36:14 ◼   ► you go from door to door to the grocery

01:36:17 ◼   ► store and back started our and it's

01:36:20 ◼   ► that's that's so typical of of of the

01:36:23 ◼   ► way this thing goes it it comes out in a

01:36:26 ◼   ► different way but it's still

01:36:28 ◼   ► door-to-door sales and stillbirths

01:36:30 ◼   ► sounds so that's a that's a that's kind

01:36:34 ◼   ► of the story of travel

01:36:38 ◼   ► the priest eating podcast was brought to

01:36:40 ◼   ► you by field notes brand notebooks

01:36:42 ◼   ► specifically in connection with a

01:36:44 ◼   ► limited edition pocket memo books for

01:36:46 ◼   ► fall the Traveling Salesman addition

01:36:48 ◼   ► this edition features the 3-pack of made

01:36:51 ◼   ► in the USA field notes each with a dark

01:36:53 ◼   ► and rich french paper pop down cover and

01:36:56 ◼   ► embossed logo and gold text inside the

01:36:58 ◼   ► Traveling Salesman addition you'll find

01:37:00 ◼   ► like green paper with ledger lines great

01:37:03 ◼   ► for tracking expenses sales mileage or

01:37:06 ◼   ► any other data you gather on the road

01:37:07 ◼   ► for more information please visit field

01:37:10 ◼   ► notes brand.com