Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Mia Threapleton; Danny & Michael Philippou (Bring Her Back); Robert Patrick

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly, it is action packed.
I speak with Robert Patrick, Beneccio del Toro in the
cast of The Phoenicians Scheme, and Danny and Michael Philip
Howe all about the brand new A twenty four horror
film Bringer Back.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Let's go.

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from my
Heart Radio, your pop culture news, views, reviews and celebrity
interviews on all the movies, TV, music, and pop culture
U CRABE Weekly. Here's Kyle McMahon.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Nick No no no, Nick. Hello, Welcome to pop Culture
Weekly with Kyle McMahon. I of course am Kyle McMahon.
I thank you once again for joining me on pop
Culture Weekly, your backstage pass to the biggest names and
buzziest things in entertainment and pop culture. I of course

(00:51):
I'm Kyle, and I'm so stoked about this stacked episode
for you today. First up, we're going to be honoring
the spirit of Memorial Day, as we did with the
last episode where I was live from you know, the
West lawn of the US Capitol in Washington, d C.
For our annual National Memorial Day Concert episode where I

(01:13):
interviewed a bunch of the talent, and you know, it
was all about that amazing show, which is on demand
and on Facebook and YouTube for the next two weeks,
so make sure you check it out. So I have
an interview from there with Robert Patrick from Terminator and
The X Files and nineteen twenty three and Peacemaker and

(01:37):
Reacher and just an awesome guy. So I talked with
him once again about National Memorial Day concert. Then we're
stepping into the eerie and electrifying universe of Danny and
Michael Philip Hoal and their horror world as I talked
to them about their brand new, amazing and spinting film

(02:00):
Bring Her Back. It is so good. It is all
of the things that I loved about. Talk to me
times ten for Bring Her Back. And then we're diving
headfirst into the mysterious and thrilling world of Wes Anderson's
The Phoenician Scheme with its powerhouse cast including Academy Award
winner Benicccio del Toro, be always compelling Michael Sarah and

(02:25):
rising star Mia three polten. So trust me, this is
one you don't want to miss. This is an awesome
episode and I'm really hyped about it, all right, so
let's jump right in. My first guest is an amazing
actor whose career spanned over three decades and include some

(02:46):
of the most iconic roles in film and TV, from
terrifying audiences as the relentless T one thousand and Terminator
to Judgment Day to delivering powerful performances like Agent Douga
on The X Files and Sons of Anarchy and Peacemaker
and so many more. He is a true force of

(03:06):
nature on screen. But today he's not just going to
be discussing those things, and you know, I got to
ask him about the X Files, but something far more
personal and powerful, the National Memorial Day Concert. So please
welcome the one and only Robert Patrick. Okay, I am

(03:27):
here once again with the amazing Robert Patrick on the
West Lawn of the US Capitol. You're here for National
Memorial Day Concert once again. Why is this so important
for you to continue to do this show?

Speaker 4 (03:38):
Well, the show is fantastic because it's how we honor
our fallen men and women that have given the ultimate
devotion to this nation. I'm very, very proud to be here.
I come from a military family. My grandfather was a
lieutenant colonel of the United States Army fought War One,
World War II, and Korea, and I honor his ser

(04:00):
us by being here. But I love coming to DC,
And even if I'm not doing the show, I'm here
every year. I ride my Harley out here and I
come out with the Vietnam Vets and we demonstrate. We
ride through the streets doing rolling Thunder. I'm also involved
with TAPS. I go out there. I'll be going out

(04:21):
there shortly after this interview. But to become involved with
these different organizations, it really helps me make sure that
I show my appreciation for the men and women of
our armed forces that have given their lives uses and
you know freedom, freedom is not free, and somebody sacrificed

(04:42):
their life for you to enjoy all this. So it's
a fantastic way to honor them.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yes, And you know, you've been in so many amazing projects.

Speaker 4 (04:52):
Some of them some of them not so good.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
Well, you're very kind.

Speaker 4 (04:56):
There's a couple.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Then you are here, you're doing You're telling somebody's real story.

Speaker 5 (05:04):
You know.

Speaker 4 (05:04):
Uh, this is probably one of the hardest acting jobs
to do because you're gonna tell one of these heroes,
one of these men that has actually been in combat
and seeing his brothers fall and witness the horror of war,

(05:26):
and tell it from his perspective, in his words, his
point of view, and try to find a tone that
he will he he will approve of. And he's going
to be sitting right there, so the pressure is on.
I was gonna ask you if you can't, I can't
play Don Graves, but I hope I tell his story

(05:48):
very well.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
Well rehearsal you certainly did well.

Speaker 4 (05:51):
I had. It was a good rehearsal. Today. Let's hope
we didn't blow that for the for the performance, because
you only get so many of those everyones.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
Finally, I'm a huge X Files fan. I've asked you
about it before. Sure, Ryan Coogler is kind of rebooting
it with Fox.

Speaker 4 (06:07):
Yeah, I'm so old. They don't want me. I'm sixty
six years old. They don't want me out there being
the X Files. I guess some young, sexy, thirty year
old guy, forty year old guy I'd be out there
doing that. There's nothing for me to do in the
X Files except maybe play the aged John Doggett. But
I have a Since you brought up John Doggett, I'm
going to talk to you. About John Doggett. You know,

(06:28):
John dogget was marine Don Grays's marine. John Doggett was
an FBI agent. I told everyone at the end of
the X Files. People said, what do you think happened
to John Doggett? And I said, well, John Doggett ran
off and joined the Motorcycle Club and he's living as
a hermit somewhere in the Southwest. So that's where John

(06:50):
Doggett is.

Speaker 1 (06:52):
Thank you, Sarah.

Speaker 4 (06:52):
It's always a pleasure, my pleasure.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
I appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (06:55):
God, bless you, buddy. There's the handshake here.

Speaker 1 (06:57):
Thank you, Thank you, God, bless you, Thank you God.
All right, buddy, Okay. Robert Patrick such an awesome guy.
He's funny, he's so talented, and his dedication to you know,
our nation's heroes is really just so touching and inspiring.

(07:20):
So you can still catch the National Memorial Day Concert
on demand on PBS's website, on Facebook, and on YouTube.
We'll have the links in the show notes and check
it out. It is really really powerful stuff. Capitol Concerts
always does such a great job, and this year was

(07:40):
no exception. So all right, next up, Danny and Michael
Philippal exploded onto the scene with their breakout horror hit
Talk to Me, which you know I raved about when
it came out, and they proved that not only can
YouTubers make the leap to filmmaking, but they can freaking
crush it. So now they're back with their highly anticipated

(08:03):
follow up film, Bring Her Back, a twisted, emotional and
terrifying ride that is sending shock waves through the horror community.
I mean there's this one part no spoilers that I
honestly thought about not leaving totally the you know, the movie,
but getting up and standing outside for a moment because

(08:24):
it was crazy. But anyway, Danny and Michael are they're
also you know, they're Australian brothers, and they always bring
a unique electric energy to everything they do. Their YouTube
is amazing, now their films are amazing, and their bold
vision is really helping to reshape modern horror. So please

(08:44):
welcome to Pop Culture Weekly the wildly talented and brilliantly
unhinged duo Danny and Michael Philippa. Thank you so much
both of you for joining me. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
Oh my gosh, yeah, I think of having us. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (09:02):
Of course, First of all, I love talk to me
and I love this film. Who Hurt you guys.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
A multiple people. Yeah, it's like any time.

Speaker 6 (09:16):
That you're writing any sort of horror film, you're drawing
from everything that makes you uncomfortable. You look back on
every single experience, you look back on anything that like
sticks with you in like a sort of bad way,
and then like the film is our way to exercise
that sort of stuff.

Speaker 4 (09:30):
You know.

Speaker 1 (09:31):
It's it's amazing to me because it's just both films are.
It's I feel like it's I'm a huge genre fan,
huge horror fan, as both of you are. I feel
like it's it's helping to elevate the genre, you know.
It's I mean, there's a place and a time for
like silly, mindless slashers or whatever, and I love those two.

(09:51):
But I feel like the work that you guys are
doing are helping to lift it to be taken more
seriously as films. You know.

Speaker 6 (09:59):
Yeah, we always try to super make sure that like
the films can exist as a drama film, Like if
you took all the horror elements out, you could still
tell this story as like a real life story, and
well that just helps the horror when you can if
you can connect with the characters and they feel real
when these things happen. It gives them more impact. So, yeah,

(10:20):
we love the mindless slash of stuff.

Speaker 2 (10:22):
I do as well.

Speaker 6 (10:23):
Yeah, but for our stuff, it's like we like trying
to create stuff that's like with three dimensional characters and purpose.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Yeah, and it's working. So, you know, Talk to Me
comes out and it's your first big feature film and
kind of explodes why did you choose for Bring Her Back?
Why did you choose this story?

Speaker 6 (10:46):
There was a bit of a pressure to go bigger
and to go bolder, and it felt this felt like
the right story to tell.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
And there were so many offers that came in.

Speaker 6 (10:55):
There were so many big, exciting projects, but this felt
like the most personal.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
Story to tell.

Speaker 6 (11:00):
And it was a script that got written while we
wrote Talk to Me. So it was something that we
just wouldn't be able to get out of our heads
unless we actually made it. Anytime I would have been
on anything, I would have just been.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
Thinking about this.

Speaker 6 (11:10):
And I felt like a really personal expression, and I
think that always makes the best art.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
When you're being as personal as possible. It is kind
of in a way, it's bigger that it's bigger in
a different way. Yeah, it's definitely more violent.

Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yes, I for me, you know, as I watched it
last night and there was a scene that I was like,
I wish that I didn't have ears and eyes at
that moment, if you know what I'm talking about. And
but for me, it really boils down to grief and
you know, what, what will we do? What could we

(11:48):
do for our loved ones? Do you how is that?
Does that resonate with the both of you?

Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (11:55):
Like it was tapping into those fears, Like the idea
of a never ending grief is so terrifying, the idea
of never being okay ever again, the idea of not
being able to let someone go. Manifesting that in your
mind and picturing what that looks like and what does that.

Speaker 2 (12:10):
Once look like? What does grief look like?

Speaker 6 (12:12):
It's all consuming, it's all encompassing, and it's like twisting
someone so beautiful into someone you know, horrific.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
So yeah, that was a very very big inspiration point
for sure.

Speaker 1 (12:23):
And do you feel, you know, as you're doing a
film like Bring Her Back, do you feel that you know,
putting these emotions in like in other words, is that
something that's extremely conscious from the beginning as you're conceptualizing
the project, like this is a story on as you said,

(12:43):
you know, not being able or whatever to let somebody go.
Is that a concept that then conceptualizes into a bigger
story or how does that process work for you?

Speaker 4 (12:56):
Guys?

Speaker 6 (12:57):
It's so interesting, like you you find that theme as
you're writing, and it's always moments and scenes and characters,
and it's sort of like you're putting these things together
and the story finds itself as you write. But yeah,
the biggest inspiration point for this movie was a friend's
little sister who's non sighted and.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
Her wanting to catch the boss.

Speaker 6 (13:16):
Yeah, and she, like her family was a bit scared
to let her do that, because you know, it can
be really dangerous. But in her mind, she's like, I
need to learn how to be independent, I need to
learn how to navigate the world. And I could see
both sides of the argument, and so that was a
really fascinating thing. And I started writing on that and
talking to her a little bit more and like asking
what she feels, like, what what do you think that

(13:37):
would be like to be able to see? And she said,
I'm glad I can't see because now I don't have
to see the ugly things in the world, And like
that statement was so poignant and that became like the
thematic base for the entire film.

Speaker 1 (13:49):
Wow, okay, so that's so that's actually where the it
came from.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
Yeah, that was that was definitely one of the first
scenes for sure.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
That's incredible when you're doing a film like this. Obviously,
as genre lovers yourself, do you find inspiration in other
films and if so, what were some of those projects
for for Bringer Back.

Speaker 6 (14:13):
I mean, we looked at a bunch of psycho baby
films from the fifties and sixties, and so whatever happened
to Baby Jane was a big one. Wait until Dark
was a big one. Se you know, Evil was a
big one. Yeah, mouse Hunt was a big one. Uh,
Michael loves this movie called mouse Hunt.

Speaker 1 (14:29):
Uh film mouse Hunt, the the with Nathan Lane or whatever.

Speaker 6 (14:34):
Yeah, that's the one baby.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
Ye a few scenes we guess which once.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
When? And you guys essentially started out on YouTube as
you are, you know at that time creators obviously, you know,
as artists, we all envision bigger for ourselves. But do
you ever think, you know, in five years, ten years,
three years, two years, I'm going to be you know,
we're going to be creating projects for We're causing bidding

(15:08):
wars and being with eight twenty four And was that
ever on your radar? Then it's just.

Speaker 6 (15:14):
The most impossible thing to imagine. And it just this
is always the dream. The dream was always to be
able to make movies that we wanted to make. We
have no kind of limitations, like whatever idea we wanted
to do to.

Speaker 2 (15:25):
Create it, that was always the dream.

Speaker 6 (15:27):
So yeah, it's so surreal that like we're able to
be in this position and we feel so lucky and
so honored that we get to do it, and yeah,
it's it's scary, so like please don't go away, because
it's just like, yeah, it's that that's a terrifying thing
as well. And yeah, and I could feel the pressure
mounting off to talk to me where I was like
getting scared to make another movie, Like I was like.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
Am I supposed to top this? Am I?

Speaker 6 (15:50):
There's a certain expectation now, And like I could feel
myself getting paralyzed by that, and the only way to
sort of overcome that was just the sign onto the
next one and be like quickly like the doors open, go,
let's go, and don't think about it, just just jump in.

Speaker 1 (16:03):
I'm so glad you did. And I know everybody that
sees it is going to feel the same when when
you're doing, you know, a film like Bring Her Back.
Do you ever, and I kind of mean this more literally,
do you ever put parts of yourself into these characters?
I mean you're you're both, you know, writing and directing.

(16:25):
It's gotta I feel like kind of be hard not to.
Is that accurate?

Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah? Yeah, I do not write with Michael. Michael did
not write this. I did. He did not.

Speaker 6 (16:36):
We have a co writer named Bill Hinsman who's so
incredible to collaborate with. And yeah, it's interesting, like you
draw from everywhere, you draw from yourself, You draw from
people that you know, experiences that you've had, and just
listening to stories of people and talking to certain people
as well, like talking to a bunch of different mothers
and talking about like how far would you go for
your kid? And even our producer Samantha Jennings is such

(16:58):
an incredible creative producer as well. Conversations with her, deep
conversations with her. It's such an intimate thing when you're
writing a script, and I think the way to make
it the most unique is to make it the most personal.

Speaker 2 (17:07):
And yeah, so I think there's bits of everything in that.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
I love that. Thank you boys both so much. I
can't wait for everybody to see this. And I'm already
excited for your next projects. And thank you.

Speaker 6 (17:18):
Awesome, thanks, thank you Danny and Michael philipp.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
Love those guys, love their work, love talk to me,
love bring Her Back, and I can't wait to see
what they do next. I can't wait for you to
see Bring Her Back so we can talk about it.
It is so good. I really really loved it, and
I think you will too. So once you see it,
hit me up on social or email, or leave a

(17:48):
voicemail on the website or at podcast dot pop culturewekly
dot com, or if you're listening on the iHeartRadio app,
you can use the talkback button and I might just
feature you on the next episode. So all right, we're
gonna take a quick break. When we come back, we
are speaking with the cast of Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme,

(18:10):
including Nicccio del Toro, Michael Sarah, and Mia Threppleton. See
you in sixty All right, welcome back. Thanks for supporting
our sponsors. Whill help make this show possible every week
and help me bring it to you so we can

(18:30):
continue to do this and I can continue to interview
you know, these amazing talents and talk about movies and
music and streaming and TV. So all right, our next
guests are starring in the latest cinematic adventure from the
endlessly inventive Wes Anderson. I love Wes Anderson. The Phoenician Scheme.

(18:51):
That's his newest film. It is a visually stunning, emotionally rich, and,
as always with Wes, a delightfully offbeat tale that only
he could bring to life. So he is an Oscar
winning actor known for his magnetic intensity and unforgettable roles
in everything from Traffic to The French Dispatch. The legendary

(19:14):
Benicio del Toro, and joining him is a comedic genius
who's charmed Us in Super Bad, Arrested Development and Scott Pilgrim,
and is now diving headfirst into Anderson's whimsical world. The
brilliantly understated Michael Sarah and rounding out the trio. She
is a rising star and actually she is the daughter

(19:38):
of Kate Winslet, and she's making serious waves on her
own with powerful performances the incredibly talented Mia Threppleton. So
let's jump right in and get a peak behind the
pastel curtains of the Phoenician scheme. Here they are Benicio
del Toro, Michael Sarah, and Mia Thripleton. Thank you all

(20:04):
for joining me. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 7 (20:05):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
So. First of all, the film's incredible. And I got
to ask, Benicio, you've worked with Wes Anderson before. Uh,
he builds these like worlds that are so unique and incredible.
Is that part of the attraction of doing another West film?

Speaker 8 (20:25):
Yeah? Absolutely, I think. I think he also creates these
characters that are very that are full of contradictions, that
are like that are you know, very human, and you know,
uh so it's a challenge for for any actor to
try to, you know, be that character and bring it

(20:51):
to life.

Speaker 4 (20:52):
Uh.

Speaker 8 (20:53):
And it's it's it's a lot of fun, you know,
that that contradiction, the arc. Also, the all three of us,
you know, had characters that evolved, you know, and you
know that's to have three in the same movie. It's
that's that's like, you know, they don't make them like that,

(21:13):
movies that have character. You know, all these actors, all
these characters are evolving. It's kind of it's really really
really exciting and a compliment to us his writing.

Speaker 1 (21:26):
I love that. And Michael, you've had a interesting You
have an accent that obviously you don't normally have, did
you like at the practice that like tell me a
little bit about that.

Speaker 5 (21:39):
Yeah, it took a little work, and it was kind
of a matter of Wes and I delicately kind of
finding where, you know, how far you can take that
without ruining the movie basically or just you know, tipping
it into like being ridiculous or just you know, being
too loud of an element in the movie. So it's

(22:01):
kind of a fine line. But I mean the character
was written as Norwegians, so it was sort of and
you know, not to spoil anything, but like then there's
a twist later that where the character I'm kind of
spoiling it, but anyway, it kind of turns, and that
turn was kind of you know, kind of depends on
the accent in a way too, because so that you

(22:22):
can kind of create a like a before and after.
So yeah, it was like a matter of working with
Wes and both of us like taking a deep breath
and just going for it. At a certain.

Speaker 1 (22:32):
Point, that's great and in me, this is your first
starring role in a big you know, a big film.

Speaker 6 (22:40):
What is that like?

Speaker 1 (22:41):
I mean, that's so awesome.

Speaker 7 (22:43):
It was.

Speaker 9 (22:46):
Unbelievable, and not just as a hyperbolic thing to say it, truly,
I did not believe that it was happening to me.
I got the first email, which was a self tape
request with dummy sides, sides that were or audition pages
that were not from the original film script. So I

(23:09):
and so I sort of did that and had that
moment of thinking, right, Okay, well it's out in the
universe now. If nothing else comes of this beyond this point,
then I will still be very I'll still feel very,
very grateful and very happy that I got to send
in a self tape to Wes Anderson, somebody who I've
loved and admired his work since I was eight years

(23:31):
old and literally have been dreaming of hopefully maybe fingers
cross wish on all of the stars, wanting to work
with that person. And then, yeah, complete disbelief when that
moment came, when my agent called me and said they'd
like to offer you the job. I did burst into
tears and did not stop crying for possibly a good day.

(23:55):
Maybe I didn't. I still don't really know how this
is happening, but I'm sort of waiting for someone to
sort of wait me up from this dream. I don't know.
I still feel like I'm dreaming.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
Well, I think it's real, and I think you've earned it,
and you're amazing in it, as all of you are.
So thank you all very much. I can't wait for
everybody to see the film. It's so great.

Speaker 5 (24:16):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (24:18):
A good game, Nicio del Toro, Michael Sarah me a
Thriple team, Love those guys, Love the Phoenician Scheme, Love
Wes Anderson, and I got to know. If you're a
Wes Anderson film, go see The Phoenician Scheme and let
me know what you think. I love him. He builds
these like worlds that are just you don't find anywhere else,

(24:42):
you know what I mean, Like you're You're I always
feel like I know it's a Wes Anderson film by
the look and the cast and the script and the
just everything about it. He just puts you in the
unique world of Wes Anderson. So anyway, that's our show
for this episode. Let me know what you think. What
are you watching, what are you not watching? What are

(25:03):
you loving? What are you not loving? Let's talk about it.
Leave me a voicemail on the iHeartRadio app using the
talkback button or on podcast dot popculturewekly dot com, and
I may just feature you in a future episode, so
make sure you leave your name and all. All right,
that's it for this week. I will see you next episode.

Speaker 7 (25:23):
I love you.

Speaker 3 (25:24):
We thank you for listening to pop Cultureweekly. Here all
the latest at popculturewekly dot com.

Speaker 7 (25:37):
It was an action packed episode, an action back episode.
We had Robert Patrick, Beniji Yountora, the Philip Brothers, Michael
Sarah and week Forget Me Fenya. He was a knocking

(26:01):
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