February 12, 2025 • 9 mins
Actor Matthew Modine talks 40th anniversary of his 80's classic 'Vision Quest', season 5 of 'Stranger Things' and more!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're on with Mario Lopez. It's up here with Mario
Lopez joining me right now on Zoom. Actor and filmmaker
mister Matthew mo Dean. What's going on, Matthew?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
How you doing? Brother? It's good to be with you.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Always good to see you, my man, Always good to
see you. So this month, I want to get right
to it because you know, it's one of my favorites
being a former wrestler. The fortieth anniversary of the classic
Vision Quest, a wrestling romantic drama. You don't see that
mashup happening. And by the way, dare I say, one
of the most underrated soundtracks of all time. The soundtrack
(00:32):
is awesome. What do you remember most about that time film?
In that movie?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
You know, was that magical time? We have a desire
to be an actor. You know, it's insane, the idea
of pursuing the profession of being an actor.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I mean, I go to NBA games and I think.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
About how few people are able to make it to
that level of athleticism and brilliance to be a member
of the NBA.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
It's a small club.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
And when you think about this profession that we're in,
being an actor, that the chances are probably one in
a million that you find success in this profession. And
there I was, you know, it's twenty two years old,
coming from Imperial Beach, California, moving to New York City
because I wanted to get as far away from all
(01:28):
my friends who were saying you can't do that, You're
never going to make it, and you want to get
away from all those naysayers and figure out how to
do it. So I had done at that point. I
did Baby IT'SU with Rosanna Arquette, Streamers with David Allen
Greer and Michael Riot and Mitchell Lichtenstein, Guy Boyd, George Zunza,
(01:52):
incredible cast, and then I did Private School with Phoebe Kates.
And then all of a sudden, I got my first
starring role in a Herald Echer movie called Vision Quest.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
It was it was, I mean, I.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
You know, there's a great line in that movie broadcast News,
Albert Brooks is talking to William Hurt, and William Hurt
says something like, what do you do when your life
exceeds your dreams? And Albert Brooks says, you keep your
mouth shut. And my life, my life was exceeding my
dreams at that point, that point, that point, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Yeah, that's awesome. What a poign in line too. I
love that in that film, of course, Madonna made her
big screen debut. Was it like being on set with her?
Did you get to interact or hang out at all?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
We had one of those two bangers, you know. We
were in a small trailer and she was just a
few inches from me through that thin wall. And she
was dating a guy named jelly Bean Benita's yeah, really
famous record producer, and apparently she wanted to marry him,
and she was she was really angry, and there was
a lot of noise about her wow about getting marriage
(03:00):
and and then she I don't think she was on
set for more than six hours. And I'd love to
find this out, but I think that Warner Brothers had
this kind of unspoken rule that if you were a
Warner Brothers artist, you had to do some like be
in a movie being you know, to promote your music.
So she was the band that they put in the movie.
And and there's a scene that was written especially for
(03:24):
her to be able to come in, and she sang
Gambler and she had that boy George vibe the way
she dressed in those days, and then she sang Crazy
for You and we went, oh, wow, she's got some chops,
she can sing and that that was a really sweet
romantic song. And when the film opened overseas, they changed
(03:44):
the title from Vision Quest to Crazy for You. Really
because Madonna blew up, you know, like a virgin came
out and the.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Rest is history.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Wow, that's a fun fact. So yeah, Journey was on
that only such a great sound.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Red Rider, yeah exactly, Red Rider, yup. And in March,
you're doing a screening on the film and Spokane where
y'all shot, Uh are you are you going to be there?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Or oh yeah, yeah awesome?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
There should could be Dana White, the UFC fella.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
That's my buddy of mine.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
He says that he built his empire kind of on
the on the principles of Loud and Swain's work ethic and.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
I love that. I'm the dell of that. I was
talking about that, I think.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
He said on Joe Rogan.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Uh Sean McDermott from The Buffalo Bills. He says he
plays it for the football players a couple of times
a year to get him fired up and ready for
a game, So it's it's wonderful. I think that mark because.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
You know, I'm older than you, but you were around
in the eighties.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Absolutely that.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I think part of the successive Stranger Things is that
it predates social media, cell phones, internet computers, and so
if people wanted to be together, they couldn't use a device,
they had to go be with that person had to
get on their bicycle and ride to their friend's house,
to get on a motorcycle, drive a car, walk and
(05:12):
and so when young people today watch Vision Quest or
watch Stranger Things, that that if they don't maybe consciously
understand what it is, but they they feel that that
the beauty of being with your friends and just hanging out.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Now, you're exactly right. My son, coincidentally, is really into
Stranger Things right now, and he's just he's eleven, so
I think I think he's about ready. I think to
see Vision Quest and he'll appreciate it now. So I
can't I can't wait to watch it and watch it
with him. And in a couple of years it's going
to be the fortieth anniversary of Full Metal Jacket.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
How was it?
Speaker 1 (05:46):
How how was that experience with Kubrick?
Speaker 3 (05:49):
It was you know, I can't compare the experience of
working with Kubrick with any of the other filmmakers I've
worked with. You know, I like to say they all
make love, they all do it a little bit differently.
Kubrick we were together for two years, so I can't.
I can't really compare it to other experiences. The only
other director I worked with a lot was Robert Altman,
(06:12):
which was you know, streamers and shortcuts, and I did
a play with him in London at the Old VIC
called Resurrection Blues and Arthur Miller play. It was a
gigantic disaster, fantastically bad it was. It was wonderful.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
In England.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
They still talk about that terrible play and and you know,
it wasn't it wasn't necessarily my fault.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
It was a whole it was.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
There should have been a play about them about us
doing the play, like noises Off. But yeah, he I
mean some of the direction that people are shocked by
that I really loved, was like, this is a really
specific direction. You're not going to do it that way,
(07:00):
are you?
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I mean that's good for the No.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I don't know what I was thinking. I'm not going
to do it that way. That's good, but it's so specific.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
He didn't want to get into the psychology of why
you're doing something or you know, all the method stuff.
He just it was like, that doesn't work. Do something
different and or act scared, right, that's very specific. If
a director tells you act scared because you're scared, it's
going to be different than mine. It's going to be
different than ten different actors.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Everybody's going to do it a little bit different. Sure
how you interpret being scared.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
You know, I'm going to use that line because it
just like you're not gonna do that way. You've inspired
me to use that. You mentioned Stranger Things, which of
course is going into a fifth and final season. Now
Doctor Brenner appears to have died, but then it looks
like there is he possibly returns or is it flashbacks
because on social media? Are you allowed to discuss it
(07:57):
or we have to wait and see.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
No, I'm not allowed to discuss it. I'm a troll,
you know. I love teasing, teasing the fans of Stranger
Things because there I've never had such passionate fans in
my life.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I mean, you always hear like I'm a New York
Knicks fan.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
It's my New York's Jessy that the players talk about
that these are the greatest fans ever. But you always
hear athletes say it, and you wonder, are the fans
in Buffalo really the greatest fans? Are the fans in
Kansas City? The greatest fans are Philly or New York,
Yankee fans, et cetera, la Dodgers fans. But I really
(08:33):
have to say, I think that the stranger things fan
I've never experienced a globally, you know, especially the ones
down in Brazil.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Wow. Yeah, they're so passionate.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
And if you like something that on Instagram or make
a comment or wave to somebody in Brazil, it's it's
you feel them with such joy and happiness and love.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
It's it's such you know. It's My mom's always just
to say, it.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Doesn't take any time to be kind, right, And so
when I hit on Instagram and say hi to people,
it makes me feel good and hopefully it always makes
them feel good.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
That's awesome. Well, I've always enjoy catching up with you
and a big fan of your work, Matthew, and I
want everyone if you've never seen Vision Quest, you have
to check it. Out. It is a classic, true eighties classic,
and if you're in the Spokane, Washington area on March ninth,
check it out of the Fox Theater out there. Thanks
so much for the time, and I hope I get
to see in person soon.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Thank you, Mario. I hope to be on your show
again soon.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Right on, buddy, Take Care with Mario Lopez
You're on with Mario Lopez. It's up here with Mario
Lopez joining me right now on Zoom. Actor and filmmaker
mister Matthew mo Dean. What's going on, Matthew?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
How you doing? Brother? It's good to be with you.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Always good to see you, my man, Always good to
see you. So this month, I want to get right
to it because you know, it's one of my favorites
being a former wrestler. The fortieth anniversary of the classic
Vision Quest, a wrestling romantic drama. You don't see that
mashup happening. And by the way, dare I say, one
of the most underrated soundtracks of all time. The soundtrack
(00:32):
is awesome. What do you remember most about that time film?
In that movie?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
You know, was that magical time? We have a desire
to be an actor. You know, it's insane, the idea
of pursuing the profession of being an actor.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I mean, I go to NBA games and I think.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
About how few people are able to make it to
that level of athleticism and brilliance to be a member
of the NBA.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
It's a small club.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
And when you think about this profession that we're in,
being an actor, that the chances are probably one in
a million that you find success in this profession. And
there I was, you know, it's twenty two years old,
coming from Imperial Beach, California, moving to New York City
because I wanted to get as far away from all
(01:28):
my friends who were saying you can't do that, You're
never going to make it, and you want to get
away from all those naysayers and figure out how to
do it. So I had done at that point. I
did Baby IT'SU with Rosanna Arquette, Streamers with David Allen
Greer and Michael Riot and Mitchell Lichtenstein, Guy Boyd, George Zunza,
(01:52):
incredible cast, and then I did Private School with Phoebe Kates.
And then all of a sudden, I got my first
starring role in a Herald Echer movie called Vision Quest.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
It was it was, I mean, I.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
You know, there's a great line in that movie broadcast News,
Albert Brooks is talking to William Hurt, and William Hurt
says something like, what do you do when your life
exceeds your dreams? And Albert Brooks says, you keep your
mouth shut. And my life, my life was exceeding my
dreams at that point, that point, that point, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Yeah, that's awesome. What a poign in line too. I
love that in that film, of course, Madonna made her
big screen debut. Was it like being on set with her?
Did you get to interact or hang out at all?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
We had one of those two bangers, you know. We
were in a small trailer and she was just a
few inches from me through that thin wall. And she
was dating a guy named jelly Bean Benita's yeah, really
famous record producer, and apparently she wanted to marry him,
and she was she was really angry, and there was
a lot of noise about her wow about getting marriage
(03:00):
and and then she I don't think she was on
set for more than six hours. And I'd love to
find this out, but I think that Warner Brothers had
this kind of unspoken rule that if you were a
Warner Brothers artist, you had to do some like be
in a movie being you know, to promote your music.
So she was the band that they put in the movie.
And and there's a scene that was written especially for
(03:24):
her to be able to come in, and she sang
Gambler and she had that boy George vibe the way
she dressed in those days, and then she sang Crazy
for You and we went, oh, wow, she's got some chops,
she can sing and that that was a really sweet
romantic song. And when the film opened overseas, they changed
(03:44):
the title from Vision Quest to Crazy for You. Really
because Madonna blew up, you know, like a virgin came
out and the.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Rest is history.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Wow, that's a fun fact. So yeah, Journey was on
that only such a great sound.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Red Rider, yeah exactly, Red Rider, yup. And in March,
you're doing a screening on the film and Spokane where
y'all shot, Uh are you are you going to be there?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Or oh yeah, yeah awesome?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
There should could be Dana White, the UFC fella.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
That's my buddy of mine.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
He says that he built his empire kind of on
the on the principles of Loud and Swain's work ethic and.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
I love that. I'm the dell of that. I was
talking about that, I think.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
He said on Joe Rogan.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Uh Sean McDermott from The Buffalo Bills. He says he
plays it for the football players a couple of times
a year to get him fired up and ready for
a game, So it's it's wonderful. I think that mark because.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
You know, I'm older than you, but you were around
in the eighties.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Absolutely that.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I think part of the successive Stranger Things is that
it predates social media, cell phones, internet computers, and so
if people wanted to be together, they couldn't use a device,
they had to go be with that person had to
get on their bicycle and ride to their friend's house,
to get on a motorcycle, drive a car, walk and
(05:12):
and so when young people today watch Vision Quest or
watch Stranger Things, that that if they don't maybe consciously
understand what it is, but they they feel that that
the beauty of being with your friends and just hanging out.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Now, you're exactly right. My son, coincidentally, is really into
Stranger Things right now, and he's just he's eleven, so
I think I think he's about ready. I think to
see Vision Quest and he'll appreciate it now. So I
can't I can't wait to watch it and watch it
with him. And in a couple of years it's going
to be the fortieth anniversary of Full Metal Jacket.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
How was it?
Speaker 1 (05:46):
How how was that experience with Kubrick?
Speaker 3 (05:49):
It was you know, I can't compare the experience of
working with Kubrick with any of the other filmmakers I've
worked with. You know, I like to say they all
make love, they all do it a little bit differently.
Kubrick we were together for two years, so I can't.
I can't really compare it to other experiences. The only
other director I worked with a lot was Robert Altman,
(06:12):
which was you know, streamers and shortcuts, and I did
a play with him in London at the Old VIC
called Resurrection Blues and Arthur Miller play. It was a
gigantic disaster, fantastically bad it was. It was wonderful.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
In England.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
They still talk about that terrible play and and you know,
it wasn't it wasn't necessarily my fault.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
It was a whole it was.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
There should have been a play about them about us
doing the play, like noises Off. But yeah, he I
mean some of the direction that people are shocked by
that I really loved, was like, this is a really
specific direction. You're not going to do it that way,
(07:00):
are you?
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I mean that's good for the No.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I don't know what I was thinking. I'm not going
to do it that way. That's good, but it's so specific.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
He didn't want to get into the psychology of why
you're doing something or you know, all the method stuff.
He just it was like, that doesn't work. Do something
different and or act scared, right, that's very specific. If
a director tells you act scared because you're scared, it's
going to be different than mine. It's going to be
different than ten different actors.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Everybody's going to do it a little bit different. Sure
how you interpret being scared.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
You know, I'm going to use that line because it
just like you're not gonna do that way. You've inspired
me to use that. You mentioned Stranger Things, which of
course is going into a fifth and final season. Now
Doctor Brenner appears to have died, but then it looks
like there is he possibly returns or is it flashbacks
because on social media? Are you allowed to discuss it
(07:57):
or we have to wait and see.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
No, I'm not allowed to discuss it. I'm a troll,
you know. I love teasing, teasing the fans of Stranger
Things because there I've never had such passionate fans in
my life.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I mean, you always hear like I'm a New York
Knicks fan.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
It's my New York's Jessy that the players talk about
that these are the greatest fans ever. But you always
hear athletes say it, and you wonder, are the fans
in Buffalo really the greatest fans? Are the fans in
Kansas City? The greatest fans are Philly or New York,
Yankee fans, et cetera, la Dodgers fans. But I really
(08:33):
have to say, I think that the stranger things fan
I've never experienced a globally, you know, especially the ones
down in Brazil.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Wow. Yeah, they're so passionate.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
And if you like something that on Instagram or make
a comment or wave to somebody in Brazil, it's it's
you feel them with such joy and happiness and love.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
It's it's such you know. It's My mom's always just
to say, it.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Doesn't take any time to be kind, right, And so
when I hit on Instagram and say hi to people,
it makes me feel good and hopefully it always makes
them feel good.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
That's awesome. Well, I've always enjoy catching up with you
and a big fan of your work, Matthew, and I
want everyone if you've never seen Vision Quest, you have
to check it. Out. It is a classic, true eighties classic,
and if you're in the Spokane, Washington area on March ninth,
check it out of the Fox Theater out there. Thanks
so much for the time, and I hope I get
to see in person soon.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Thank you, Mario. I hope to be on your show
again soon.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Right on, buddy, Take Care with Mario Lopez
Host
Mario Lopez
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