SmartLess: "Ben Affleck"

Well, you know I just can't get enough of that opening song. I just think it's just great.

It's under our voices right now. Can you hear it right under us?

Yeah, it's just kind of gets me going.

Oh, I'm being real buoyed by this.

Well, you always call me a robot. It's kind of like my little theme song, right?

I know. Yeah, it is like a little thing for a little robot thing, but it's playing underneath us right now.

It's going to kick it in a second, kick it in.

Three, two, one.

Now, so we had a little record earlier today and now we're having our second record.

There was a gap in between where lunch usually sits and I always whenever this happens, I'd love to know what Sean had.

Oh, good. I had chicken curry with rice and cauliflower and sweet potatoes.

And then I had a huge bowl of ice cream after.

Wait, you had chicken curry with rice?

Yeah.

I did not, I did not know that Chef, we already made that.

That's funny.

That's true.

But you see, I didn't change. I still, I'm still in my smart list.

Yeah, smart list merch. There's some good stuff in there.

I was, I guess I shouldn't be surprised because we looked at it all before it went in there.

Let me tell you something. I slept in this shop, shopsmartlist.com.

It's the best.

It's sleepable.

Wait, is it shopsmartlist.com for real?

Shopsmartlist.com.

What's it again?

Sorry, Sean.

What'd you say?

Shopsmartlist.com.

I'm telling you, are you sleeping in the sweats?

You put the hat on when you roll out of bed.

It's great.

Who, did you design the blanket, those big heavy blankets?

You did, right?

You wanted the heavy blanket.

I didn't design them, but I, what's that?

You wanted the heavy blanket.

I wanted the heavy blanket because I have an issue with a throw blanket.

A throw blanket covers one leg.

Right.

So I never understood the function of a throw blanket.

No, I'm saying I like it because it's weighty.

Yeah, it's weighty and it's big.

It covers your whole body.

And it's like, what do you call it?

Warm?

Fleece, like fleece, I guess?

Yeah.

Hey, by the way, you know what I did?

Oh, definitely whisper.

Yeah, that's good.

For Scotty, I got him a surprise.

I got John Williams, the composer, to sign a page of the ET score for Scotty.

Jesus.

How'd you do that?

A friend of mine knows his friends with his daughter and then we just kind of made it happen.

Are you guys good at that?

Are you good?

It sounds like you are, Sean, where you sort of like, you remember what your friend or

partner or kid or whatever he really loves.

And you work on it for a few months and you get the perfect gift.

Like, do you do that every year?

I love doing that.

Yeah.

Really?

Yeah.

Hey, Will, you don't need to go up high like everybody in the world does it except you,

Jason.

I don't do it.

So that's why I'm saying.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Will is very good at throwing money at a gift.

Of course, Sean.

And I am very good at that.

You're very good at that.

For a Sean, you'll do sort of a sentimental thing or I remember you said in July that

what you wanted for Christmas was.

That's right.

Like I clocked last year for Maple's birthday.

She just mentioned that she loved skateboarding.

So I got her skateboard or a certificate for a skateboarding thing.

Yes.

And we went and spent the hell out of that.

Did you?

That's how she broke all her teeth.

Remember?

Thanks, Sean.

Yeah.

That's why she's got those flippers now.

And we've got this memory of her.

And she takes her teeth out every night.

She thinks of you when she has to take him out.

By the way, though, back to the ice cream thing.

Yeah.

I didn't tell you this.

Jay, last episode we recorded, we talked about you having their, what is it called?

The root canal.

Yeah.

I had a cavity.

You had one.

And I just got, yeah, just last week.

And I got a crown.

Not possibly your first.

No.

Oh my God.

I have so many, but it's 52 years old.

I have a cavity.

Oh, they're going to start coming fast and furious.

They are strange.

Let's take a look at your diet.

Yeah, but what is strange about things on your body degenerating as you get older?

Well, but I floss and I brush and I do everything.

So it's like, why don't teeth, teeth don't play by that.

No, because they're sitting in sugar all day.

Yeah.

I will say this.

You're having ice cream.

When you're having dessert for lunch.

Yes.

Breakfast.

You have a situation.

He had dessert for breakfast the other day.

Hey, I did have a thing where one of my favorite sweeteners that I use.

Which one with my coffee.

Cause I thought, oh, I'm not having sugar for a few years.

I've been using a sweeter.

And I see that one of its ingredients, this study came out yesterday.

A huge study saying that it causes like strokes and heart attacks.

Yeah.

Oh, I saw that.

Yeah.

Really?

I know.

Yeah.

I'm so fucking bummed.

Well, so you don't want to say this publicly since it's already public?

Well, just cause it's an, so I don't want to call out the one particular brand.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's being reported on or whatever.

Also the sweetening component is the problem, not the brand.

That's right.

Right.

One of the ingredients.

So then what is the ingredient?

Do you remember?

Cause I wouldn't know if I'm having that.

Agave.

No.

Is it agave?

No.

It's in a lot of, it's in a lot of sort of stevia centric sweeteners.

Really?

Yeah.

Is that what you're using?

Yeah.

I'm mainline stevia.

Yeah.

So a lot, I don't know if purists, I don't know, but I know that some of them have it.

Anyways.

Guys.

You're real uplifting, huh?

Are we ready for our guest?

Oh, I guess let's get to the guest.

Before I die, let's get it done.

At least we'll know why.

I gotta say, I get some of the best guests.

This guy has had not one.

Did you write this intro?

Did you write this intro?

This is the intro.

Yeah.

Did you write it?

Of course I did.

Yeah.

This guy has not one, but two songs written about him by a huge pop star.

Most would agree he's Hollywood royalty, being an Academy Award-winning filmmaker,

a heavy-hitting movie star who's portrayed a very famous DC comic book character onscreen

multiple times.

I knew it is.

But most importantly, just an all-around great guy.

Call it.

That I'm so happy to call a friend who I love a whole bunch, and I know you fellas do too.

Please welcome to smart list Mr. Benjamin Giza Affleck Bolt.

Benjamin Giza.

Oh.

No.

No.

There he is.

Oh.

I love him.

I love him.

Very nice.

That was...

Your second.

How did Sean get you and I don't?

God damn it.

Because I like him.

Yeah.

And he's a great guy.

You are a good actor.

I always feel like I'm liked when I'm around you.

Where are you?

Are you in the basement?

I'm in my lair.

Okay.

Lower lair.

Because crime might need to be fought.

Oh, God.

I am.

Yes.

Wait.

What songs have been written about you?

Dear Ben and Dear Ben Part Two.

The songs that have been written about me have been written by the greatest.

Jennifer Lopez.

Performer in the history of the world.

Jennifer Lopez.

I don't know that they're exactly so much about me as maybe inspired by.

Because, you know, because there's some negative things.

So they're aimed at you.

I was going to say, are they flattering?

She's amazing.

Yes.

Can you imagine?

And also, there is a third song written about me, but not by anyone gifted.

Jimmy Kimmel wrote a song about me called I'm Fucking Ben Affleck.

Oh, wait.

Did Jennifer write the songs about you during or when you weren't dating?

Jennifer, you know what, Jason?

You asked me these questions.

I just want to know if they're thriving over and over.

And I tell you, if you want to ask Jennifer about her career, if you're interested in

her work, go ahead and screw your courage to the sticky plate and ask her.

I learned a lot about her with that great documentary.

I loved that.

I loved it.

Wasn't that amazing?

Yeah, I loved it.

I thought that was incredible.

Yeah.

And by the way, that's the first time.

I know we're going to interview you in just a second.

But Jennifer Lopez, who was on Will and Grace twice or three times or whatever.

Was she on Will and Grace?

That's fun.

And I was one to no times.

No.

This is the story of my life.

Will was, I wasn't.

But that documentary blew me away because I was like, my God, what the woman has accomplished

is astounding.

Yeah.

And she's just not done yet.

It takes a big man not to feel inadequate in the face of my wife's many men.

But no, but she's amazing.

But you too.

You too.

You've accomplished.

Oh, I don't feel bad about myself.

I'm not low self-esteem.

I'm not.

Well, I'm fishing a little bit, but nothing.

No, the truth is, it's amazing.

Sometimes I think I like completely forget because here's this incredible actress and

this incredible performer.

And then we're sitting in the car, you know, and I'm humming along like I will.

You know, the radio.

And then a professional singer goes ahead and sings along.

And you kind of feel like, well, that's embarrassing.

You know, I should just zip it.

Do you know all her music?

Don't lie.

I do know all of her songs.

Can you sing all of her songs?

Not to you.

No, but you know them though.

I can't get a JLo song past you that you haven't heard.

Waiting for the night.

That's the remix.

There it is.

I like when Sean does it sound, it kind of sounds like Cher is doing a remix.

No.

That was like a Cher waiting for something.

I think Cross was a go.

Now you're making me self-conscious like, oh gosh, if I were on like Jeopardy, would I

miss a question?

But I do love her music.

It's brilliant.

And I know all of it.

Thank you.

Jason, don't put them on the fucking spot.

Fuck.

We don't even remember your wife's birthday.

Yeah.

Pretty sure it doesn't.

It is surprising.

No, wait a second.

Now, Ben.

Yes.

Hi.

Hi, Ben Affleck.

Ben Affleck sign here.

Hi, Ben.

It's kind of great.

We don't know each other.

Hi.

Thank you.

Somebody.

Yes.

Hi.

I don't have the pleasure of knowing you, but everybody who knows you likes you a great

deal.

And it's often like Bateman.

He's doing something with Bateman, which is really, so I mean.

It's surprising.

It is surprising.

And as you know, yes.

So you, but you and Jason have known each other for a number of years?

Yeah.

I've known Jason for a long time and I had the chance to do like now four movies with

a guy.

I know.

And by the way, the trailer for air looks incredible.

It looks amazing for your guy, for the new movie you guys did that you've invited Jason

to be part of.

And any regrets, and you can be honest now, you can be, if you have regrets about this.

I got to tell you, I mean, usually, and I hate, you know, when people come on shows and

they're like, you know, you're great.

No, but what you bring because it's just so fucking boring to listen to.

Yeah.

And let me tell you why, because it's actually true.

And I've lied so many times that it's nice to get the chance.

Jason is fucking amazing.

Guys, let him finish.

And has the hardest part in the movie, which is the part where you're supposed, you know,

the guy who's like, but if we don't make it to the train station by six, you know, the

whole time, you know, it's constantly telling the audience what the stakes are.

Look out.

What's going to happen?

Turn right.

And somehow, like, made himself, you know, the most, I think, like, the most compelling,

real, you're drawing.

That's enough.

It's brilliant.

I love it.

A lot of it's improv and funny and a lot of it's just humanity.

But it's, Jason is brilliant.

And it was such a, I was really lucky because that, you know what Matt did?

Very easy.

You're the lead, you're that guy, and you have those lines.

Exactly.

You know what this scene is?

When you look out the window, you know, that's going to help.

That's the wind at your back.

That was the one working.

Do you know, by the way, you should know, Ben, that we were at, we watched the Super Bowl

at Kimmel's.

Oh yeah.

I have a problem.

This is a problem.

Hang on.

So we're watching.

And at that moment that the ad for your movie came on, Jason and I were sitting there,

and Jimmy happened to kind of drift in right between us.

And then I said, hey, quiet everybody.

Here's the commercial for the big movie.

And Jason was all excited.

And then there was just a silhouette for a second.

And then nothing silhouette.

And then Jason's daughter goes, dad, I thought you were in that room.

Oh my God.

In front of my kids, Ben.

That can't be true.

True story.

Right.

Jason, is that true?

That's a true story.

But listen, there's many different.

I mean, it's my fault in the sense that I did see it and not notice.

But it's not my fault.

And since I didn't make it.

Can I talk to your daughter?

Dad, he's very good.

This is all a joke, but it was actually pretty funny.

It was like, hey, I thought you were in that.

And everybody goes back to their chips and watching the other kids.

I've been there.

Things aren't panning out in your career and you've been in the movie.

And all of a sudden you're like, I think I show up in this tree.

No, the worst is when you're at the premiere and they go past the point where you know

your big scene was and it's now gone.

And they've moved on and you're like, oh, guess that was cut.

You're like, mom, no, this is where I have the monologue.

Oh, maybe it comes later now.

I don't know.

Maybe it's during the credits.

I saved it for doing the credits.

Anyway, I'll do it for you at home.

It'll probably need special features.

So Ben, talk to me a little bit about, you know, we had Matt who came and joined us on

tour.

He came to Madison, Wisconsin.

When you think Madison, Wisconsin, you think Matt Damon.

That's the thing about Matt is he'll always do something nicer than me.

Hey, what you're doing is great.

You know, Matt went a whole lot further.

No, no, no, but we did.

But we talked to him about, about how you guys started and how you guys knew each other

back in the day and what that was like when you guys were kind of.

Yeah, it was really cool.

Yeah, it was, it was great really hearing from him.

And I, and I'd love to hear your perspective of how you guys, and I'm sure you told it

a million times.

So forgive me if it's, if it's boring, but for us, it's really, I love that story.

And I told Matt, I remember we made this really bad.

I say bad about my friend, but this really pretty chintzy version of a movie called

Southie and you guys came to the rap party that I was in.

And then you guys were about to do goodwill hunting.

And then our movie would like, they buried it under a couch somewhere.

And then you guys went on to like amazing.

But I just love the beginnings of what you and Matt did.

And I want to hear it from you because I think it's a great story.

And by the way, I had no idea you guys grew up so close to each other.

No idea.

Yeah, we did.

First of all, it's like, it's a really lucky thing.

It occurs to me now.

I saw him the other day and we're doing this movie together.

There's very few people are lucky enough to spend their life in the same line of

work with their best friend from when they were kids, managed to, you know,

stay friends, not end up hating each other, actually be friends and love each other.

And not have one of them soar to the stratosphere and the other one be,

have nothing ever happened.

That was brief.

But no, no, but I'm saying like, that's like, that's what usually happens.

The fact that both of you guys are superstars.

Yeah.

So in context, the reason we're asking this hacky question is because in air,

the film that we're talking about, Ben for the very, very first time directs Matt.

I love it.

It's full circle.

I love it.

I love it.

And it was something that seemed really normal and that I took for granted because

there were, we were kids who, he was a bigger kid for a brief period.

I was eight.

He was 10.

He was a big kid.

He played baseball.

He was really cool.

He had a bowl cut that was feathered that we all wanted of course.

And he, and he was, you know, nice to me.

And we were both interested in the same.

I mean, just, just kids who grew up two blocks apart and both wanted to be actors for

whatever reason it is that makes you want to do that thing and hung out.

And then we're in the same, the same friend group.

And then sort of went off and did like, oh, let's, you know, we're just like dumb enough

to think like, it'll pan out for us, but we'll just go be actors.

We'll just go work, you know, and, and kind of sort of believe in it and then live together.

But I think the reason why it wasn't a thing that sort of competition thing that you talk

about is because we did a lot of auditioning very early on for, for, for the Mickey Mouse

Club, for example.

Amazing.

I think maybe for some of Jason's early work.

Gosling got the Mickey Mouse job.

He did.

He was one of them.

We did a Corey Hame film called Soul Man.

I remember we both auditioned for, we did, we both auditioned for Robin and the Clooney

movie.

No way.

Uh-huh.

Yeah.

We were extras together all the time.

Matt did Mystic Pizza.

I didn't get the line in that.

I didn't get it.

And, and always the thing was we would get our, you know, little act together and practice

our scenes and do our workshop.

I mean, Nerdy doesn't even get to describe it.

Really?

And, but it really was a genuine thing where we were like, look, I hope I get the part.

But if I don't, I really hope you do.

Right.

And, you know, for a while we had this thing where we were like, well, just split all our

money.

You know what I mean?

You guys have high voices.

We like had, oh, you really.

Did you really say that?

We really did and we really split the money.

No way.

We put it in the bank account.

At the time I was making the lion's share of the money.

Yes.

No way.

How old were you?

Yes, Sam.

We had a joint bank account.

I, I think I was, I was 14.

That was 16.

Oh, that's cool.

That's really awesome.

Put money in the ATM and then it's like, okay.

What do you want to get?

I saw you made a big withdrawal last weekend.

Joking as much as you are.

But it does show that on a certain level there is a trust there that you guys just trust

each other implicitly that there's just, right?

That that's on a very basic level.

I like took for granted that he liked me and rooted for me and wanted me to succeed.

We just didn't, we're lucky enough not to have the friendship of that, the whole like

it's not enough that I succeed.

All my friends have to fail thing.

Like, and I, there are people I've wanted to fail.

You know what I mean?

Like, I can be just as petty and bitter as any other actor, but I loved them and he

loved me and it felt like we would work the scenes together.

And, you know, it actually, I think what made us sort of good writers and better actors

was that we learned very early on to hear like, I'm not sure that works, that choice,

you know, and you go, okay, let's try something else, you know, and get our facts, our sides.

Let's try a lower voice.

Do you ever give that note?

That too, I had to hit puberty.

So wait, but you, but when you say you grew up, you grew up together in Boston, right?

But you were born or raised in California.

Like, what's the California thing?

I was born in California, my parents were at a teaching at a like an experimental school

outside Berkeley briefly.

And then actually my mom, and yes, and then I moved back to Boston around two or three.

I moved into a central square in Cambridge and then Matt moved there from Newton when

I was eight and he was 10.

And that's when you met at the, at the basketball.

And you got a Burger King commercial.

That was your very first thing?

Listen, I had done a Burger King commercial.

Okay.

I'm sure you remember the slogan was sometimes you got to break the rules.

Yeah.

And I was a little bit of a rule breaker.

Really quick.

I did it.

I did it.

These guys are gonna love this.

I did a McDonald's commercial.

One of my first things where I worried, I was, I worried about how I was going to impress

a girl and the catchphrase from my guy scene partner was, don't worry about it.

I was like, how am I going to pay for the date?

Don't worry about it.

That's my story.

So wait, go back to the burger.

You're going to get hired one day.

You're going to get hired one day.

Ben's got a head of steam going.

You're going to be out of the job.

You're going to be out of the job.

You'll be without a podcast.

One of these days.

One of these days.

Out of gas.

Jesus.

Wait.

Sorry, go ahead, Ben.

Anyway, let me just, can I regroup?

Do you mind?

Oh man, take all the time.

Just go ahead and start over.

Shake it off.

Wait, and then you think he's crying.

So we were, I've established that we were very nerdy and a little weird.

We used to have business lunches in what was called the media cafeteria.

Amazing.

Which at the time, there was a big ESL portion of our public high school, which was like

2600 kids, and that was where the ESL kids, I don't know why that was where we, we liked

to be surrounded by people who spoke other languages.

I'm not sure what it was, but we, maybe we didn't want them to actually hear our business

lunches.

Sure.

Because no business was conducted.

But we plotted things.

We planned our careers.

Look at you now.

Look at the business you guys are in now.

Artist equity, yes?

Yeah.

Yeah.

It is bizarre to have gone this far.

And definitely a lot of, I don't think I would be sane, as sane to the extent that I am,

had I not had somebody who was from where I grew up and who was my best friend and who

was going through the same thing.

So you could, because I'm sure you guys, oh no, there are these moments in this business

where you look around and go like, is this completely insane?

Yeah.

Every day.

Absolutely.

I feel as though, you know, I'm coming unglued.

And, and having that when somebody shared that perspective.

And then so, as we went on and on, so finally got to a place where like with Last Duel, it

was like, why haven't we just, we had so much fun every day on that set.

It was so much fun.

And we're just like, let's just do this.

Let's just do movies together and with people we like.

And we will be right back.

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I'm never going to get hired to play anybody but a dumbass American.

And now back to the show.

Going back to the first thing that kind of launched was it dazed and confused or was

it something before that?

And what's the story about Vince Vaughn?

He's asked a two-parter there.

You can take him one at a time or you can ask him to repeat it.

I get excited.

I get excited.

I know it.

I know it.

Do you ever write these things down?

Do you ever wrap in the pre-interview of the Vince bitch?

No, dad.

I don't know where you're going with that.

No, but I heard that.

I heard that.

I do know that we, I had done a couple of, I was the more experienced, I don't want

to make Matt feel insecure.

Sure.

I had some early experience with professional acting.

You're selling burgers, you know?

Well, not only I sell burgers, but I don't know if you know your public television history.

I was on a show.

Voyage of the Mimi?

No, Voyage of the Mimi.

Yeah.

Voyage of the science.

It was also shown to sixth graders for their science class because I think because it was

so gripping and a young boy and his grandpa wrenching out a boat to scientists for experiments.

And so I would periodically go off and do a little Voyage of the Mimi.

So Matt was a little threatened by that.

And when I got to the high school, he kind of pulled me aside and he said, listen, man,

all right, this is the theater, it's not about your looks, okay, it's about the work.

And I took that very seriously and I felt that I was hearing something, you know, real

like the words of wisdom from a guy who understood it.

I didn't know until that time, he felt I'd been entirely bow guarding my way through

life on like charm and looks of which there were very few.

Well, no, it sounds like actually you came roaring into high school just killing it.

You were crushing it.

And Matt, and Matt, I mean, by the way, I mean, again, no insult to Matt, but it sounds

like he felt threatened by you, Ben.

And I want to just...

I think maybe...

I think maybe he was so little.

I'm gonna show this on the guy.

The other thing he said to me was like, you know, the thing about Hoffman and Salesman

is you can see the wheels turning, but he wants you to see the wheels turning.

Matt Damon, 15 years old, Matt.

No way.

That's hysterical.

That's a true story.

That's fucking amazing.

However...

Well, that's why he's brilliant, because that guy has been absolutely convinced that...

And has paid attention to like, you know, very little else in his free time other than

acting, since he was a little kid doing Wheelock Community College Theater when he was 11 years

old.

And he's been with absolute conviction that this is what he was gonna do.

And he was a lot smarter about it than me.

He understood a lot earlier on.

He was like, it's just all about the director.

I'm just gonna focus on the director.

He was like passing on parts when we were broke.

And so what are you passing on?

You can't pay the gas bill.

How is this not good enough for you?

Because he didn't like the director?

Yeah, he just didn't feel he didn't have anything to offer.

You know?

Wow.

I was like, I'm doing after school specials about steroid abuse.

You're passing on like movies.

That's probably great.

But I will say this, you gave him a piece of advice that he has since paid for and given

and he let us in on it last year when he came to join us, which was apparently you said

to him, if somebody asks you to do something down the road, imagine that the thing, you

know, we get it all the time.

Hey, will you come and do this six months from now and come to show up at this thing?

Imagine that you would have to do it tomorrow and then let that be your answer.

If you don't want to do it tomorrow, say no.

I did give him that.

I never thought that was particularly wise.

Ben.

No, it's because that was constantly saying yes and then be like, hey, man, can you call

them and tell them I'm sick?

Right.

Yeah.

And that's bullshit.

I've told, I've told minimum 50 people that piece of advice is as if I came up with it

my own and they have people love it and have latched onto it, right, JB?

We've talked about it all the time.

I live it.

I did it today.

I got asked to do something like three months from now that sounds kind of interesting.

I'll be kind of fun.

But then I thought, well, actually, if it was on the calendar for tomorrow, would I wish

that it was canceled?

If the answer is yes, pass.

Pass.

I love that.

The thing about that that I can't completely co-sign that my dirty little secret is, I

might pass on everything.

Did you think about it?

I almost never want to get off the couch.

Did you think about this show today, about passing on this show?

Oh, I mean, I was a half dollar late, wasn't I?

Yeah.

Yeah.

They had to talk you out of it.

So for the guy who likes to do nothing except sit on his couch every day like I do, I find

it interesting that you're actually able to get up and work as hard as I think anybody

could possibly work when it comes to directing.

That's a really, really all-encompassing job.

So are you like me where it's like either all or nothing?

I'm either working full or out.

I think you and I have that in common, yes.

And I think that part of it is, it's a little bit like, it's more sort of social things.

I feel actually kind of shy.

I don't really want to go say hi to people.

It feels a little bit like, oh, I'm going to, you know, something's going to happen.

This is going to make me feel awkward.

But I love directing movies.

And that movie in particular was the best experience I've had.

Directing is hard and terrifying.

And at first I thought, like, okay, even if I don't know anything about this, I know

that I can at least work harder than everybody else.

And so I thought, well, you put in 20 hours a day and that's what you do.

And it made it excruciating and I got migraines.

But like, to the extent that the movies, you know, I was happy with, I thought, well, it

must be because I worked 20 hours a day and did nothing else and thought of nothing else.

And eventually realized that you don't quite have to do it that way.

And that actually this movie, which is the favorite movie I ever made, I love this movie,

it benefits entirely from the writing and acting of Jason and Matt and Chris and Viola

and Chris Piscina and Matt Mayer, but it was so much fucking fun every day.

Well, it's your fault.

I mean, well, we don't have to do a whole thing on the kind of set you run and your

talent and everything.

But it was...

No, no, no.

We can actually...

Actually, I don't understand.

Do we have 25?

It was actually incredibly easy.

Guys, we shot this down the street.

We shot it in a business, in an office building that we're supposed to be in an office building.

So they basically just flipped the lights on.

Now, that's to take nothing away from Bob Richardson, who is like the best DP in the

history of movies.

But it was very fast.

I think after...

Wasn't it after like seven days, we were already three days ahead?

Yeah, we...

Something like that?

I wanted to go quickly and then you and Matt showed up.

Like having not directed Matt, I didn't appreciate...

When you're a director, right, you have your plans, you're worrying about all these other

things.

Yes, you're worrying about the performances, but I thought, okay, well, I won't have to

worry about the performances.

And I'll just worry about all the other sort of bullshit I'm doing that I think is relevant

when really the actors are the only thing the audience is paying attention to.

And like, you know, camera moves and that kind of thing.

And Jason and Matt are such pros that, I mean, it was like a dance to watch these two

guys together.

They've done it so much and so well, so that as soon as you start to feel the dolly is

laid, it's not gonna be...

All of a sudden, Jason's looking in his pocket for something that might be behind him.

And Matt looks behind, and all of a sudden, he makes maybe a little more mournful choice

on that line delivery, because it's gonna give him an extra half step to the turn to

where he knows the steadicam's gonna come in.

The two of the guys...

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I started feeling like you're making it for me.

That part is so fun.

Stop doing this.

It's so fun.

I love that.

It really was amazing.

In fact, it got to the point where because Bob's crew and everyone was so good, they

started anticipating and trying to do it, and then the guys who were really good and

women who were doing it were like, it started to just speed up, and finally I was like,

Matt and Jason don't do their job for them.

You don't have to do everybody's job.

Yes, I know, you're great at it, but just worry about the scene, because I think they

kind of started having fun with it.

Because I had wonters, and you'd have to see this, and Matt and Jason would know, like,

you're probably gonna want that magenta in the background, and I thought you'd like

the window, and I was like, you son of a bitch.

Yeah, I did want the window.

I didn't think I was that transparent.

Did you, can you remember having any sort of significant creative negotiation with Matt,

either in the writing process or in the directing process, like giving him a note that he didn't

want to take, or writing a scene that he thought was kind of fine already?

Because didn't you have the writing process, like Goodwill Huntingham back in college, where

you would-

Well, they won an Oscar.

You would talk about it or improv it and record it?

We record it, yeah, on what were audio cassettes at the time, kids, those were small, brown

tape cassettes.

Really?

We put in devices.

Wait, really?

You guys talked out the script?

Yeah, because we never thought of ourselves as formal writers.

We had a great teacher, a drama teacher in high school, who taught us kind of sort of

writing, directing, acting, and didn't sort of put them in distinct silos, so we would

actually end up making plays, which we later, I later realized we were act, write, direct

them in effect, but we just thought we would improvise them and kind of distill them down

and find a story.

It's such a great idea.

So that's just how we know how to do it.

This person did you such a favor by doing that, by sort of putting it all together, right?

There's no question without Jerry Speck and Matt, or I, or my brother, or Matt Mayer,

or Max Casala, or Anika Larsen, or all the people that came out of the program who are

working and who are terrific would, I think, be working, because he was, he taught us that

and he taught us to not take ourselves seriously, respect other people, but take the work that

we were doing incredibly seriously.

And that was like that kind of, and there's that like great time of life when you have

the older person, who's the mentor, who you look up to, who's doing the thing you want

to do, who says, this is meaningful, but you really have to work hard at it.

Right.

And so we did.

Ben, is that, so that was a teacher that you guys had at your public high school?

High school, yeah.

I mean, our public high school just lucked out and got this guy who was a genius.

That's so awesome.

He was amazing.

And he was amazing for kids that didn't even end up wanting to be in theater.

I mean, he was, I could do a whole thing on him, but the truth is, I think that's part

of why I learned to be collaborative is that Matt and I never fought or argued about stuff.

It was always that we, and we never got our feelings hurt because most of the ideas are

bad.

So I'll have a bad idea.

He'll have a bad idea.

I'll have a bad idea.

He'll have a bad idea.

I'll have an idea what that's a little bit that may be better.

And then Matt, that kind of key something in math that's mediocre.

You know what I mean?

And we, so we know we're building from there and it's never about, and then it just becomes

about like finding the best thing until both of us feel like it can't be improved.

And we kind of go like, and, and if there is a kind of difference of opinion, it always

ends up coming down to who cares more.

Yeah.

I go, Matt, I don't know.

I really think this is about the, and he's like, man, that and I go, all right, all right.

If you don't want to do it more than I want to do it, then we're not going to do it,

you know?

Or if I want to do it more than you don't want to do it, we're going to do it.

Like that's just common.

Well, Amanda and I try to live by that, there she is, Jennifer, special guest.

There she is.

Hi.

You can't hear us.

Hi.

Hi Jen.

Hi.

Hi guys.

You were just doing very well.

We were talking about you in very favorable terms and so was your husband.

Oh, thank you.

I was singing some of your songs back to you.

Oh, sing.

Please sing.

Waiting for the night.

Oh.

Oh my love.

It's waiting for tonight.

Oh, that's the mic drop right there.

But thank you.

She crushed it.

That's when we were lucky that we had her.

That is brilliant.

Thank you for saying hi.

Yes, of course.

Bye, Jennifer.

I'm looking forward to doing this with you guys.

Oh, good.

I love you.

There's the part that will make the show.

By the way, we just bypassed Jason's, I didn't know this term, creative negotiation.

That's the point.

Way to take the art out of it, man.

You fucking find a way every fucking time.

Just business, my friend.

Canal Street.

How much for the batteries?

Hey Picasso, how much paint did you use?

How many cubic liters of paint did you use?

That's the beautiful thing.

Just take the fucking art out of it, babe and fuck you.

You see, Picasso never had to negotiate with anybody because it was just a single thing.

What we're doing is like team stuff, right?

That's true.

Always negotiate, who wants to do that?

The lucky thing is when you don't have to negotiate, when you go like, you do something, you write it, you give it to him, and then Jason sits down and reads the scene.

He made me cry.

And then you feel like a jerk because you feel like that guy who just, was it Marty Short or whatever, who's to go?

And then, you just want to give one of those...

What's the name of that character played?

Jiminy Glick.

Jiminy Glick, I just watched him last night.

I have a question, Mr. Affleck.

So to wrap up the Matt stuff, we'll leave him out of the rest of the interview, but the...

Because we've had enough of Matt, right?

I mean, Will, with you, with your wordle, quartle, and squirtle every morning.

I want to get in on that.

And Matt was like, you're not ready.

I was like, we're not ready.

Jason dropped out and couldn't take the heat.

No, it's not the heat.

It's Will likes to tell you how much better his score could have been had he done X, Y, or Z.

Anyway, this really...

Wait, wait.

I wanted to close the Matt part of it.

To tell for the...

And you could...

I know I would love to do a full podcast with you about artist equity and all the studio economics that you're embodying.

They didn't even want to do this.

We put our audience to sleep.

So for those that have narcolepsy, do the quick version of generally what the concept is, what you guys are doing versus...

what exists, and why that makes sense for you guys doing this since you're buddies.

And you want to kind of spread that kind of buddy feeling in the process.

It's a tough elevator pitch and I over talk and go on too long.

So it's a bad comment.

Sean, I'll cut you off.

Don't worry.

Basically, what it is is like over the years, as I'm sure you have, we start to kind of know it.

Like there's money that gets spent on things that don't end up making the movie any better.

And the more money that you spend on what you do, the more obligation you have, the sort of more risk there is,

and the less likely people are to do things that you consider more interesting and they want to be more conventional.

And then I looked around and I just, as a director, started to really understand and value the people on the crew

who made such a significant difference to the quality of what you're doing, both in terms of speed

and in terms of the environment and the way in which you're able to perform it.

I'm a big believer that the performance really ultimately is what draws people in and performance and the writing.

And so we came up with this idea, never thinking anyone would ever actually fund us,

to do a movie studio that was predicated on two things.

Basically, allowing the crew and the artist being the writer.

And I consider the crew the artist, which is the whole group, actors, directors, writers, so on,

as well as cinematographers, sound mixers, everybody who collectively create the value in what we're doing

to benefit from the upside of it in a really meaningful, significant way, but also to be responsible for it.

In other words, listen, if it goes over, you're going to get less.

If it comes in under, you're going to do better, but all of us have to make it good.

Otherwise, we're not going to get anything and sort of treat people like grown-ups, believe they can be accountable

and also believe that because incentives have not historically been aligned

between the people financing movies traditionally and the people making them always.

And so without going into too great a detail, the idea was like,

and let's separate this out from like, what is the value of a movie?

Well, usually they'll use comps.

Like, well, what's the budget and what did you make on your last movie?

And especially now because there's no back end and no gross, that's sort of it, right?

Well, I've always felt that was akin to going into the Apple store and saying,

I'll tell you how much I give you for the iPhone when you tell me how much you paid the guy that put it together.

But that's not how it works, right?

So why does it have to work in the other way?

So by being agnostic as a financier and producer, this studio,

and we had to then hire all the business affairs and legal and physical production and so on

so that we could be an entity significant enough to take on the entire creative responsibility

of developing, producing, shooting and delivering the movie.

And in exchange, we got to say, look, this is what it's going to cost.

It won't cost a dime more than that.

If it goes over, we pay for it.

But you have to sort, we're going to be the ones who take on the burden,

the role of saying, we're going to deliver something good.

If it's terrible, it's our fault.

But you are going to sort of put your trust in us to be able to do this.

I'm sure whatever partners that we work with, there are excellent, brilliant people

who are distributing and marketing movies.

We don't do that.

We don't want to do very many movies, but we want to just really make good movies with people we like.

I love that.

And that's it.

And we think people should be paid more for what they do.

So you're basically taking on the financial risk by funding the production effectively.

And then you're saying, we don't need you.

You don't get the leverage financier by giving us the money to make it,

assuming that we don't have it to make it.

We actually do.

We're going to spend the money to make it.

And we're basically coming to you and saying, we'd like to sell you this product.

We're going to take care of the wholesale part.

Here's the retail price.

Who wants to buy it?

Exactly.

Yeah, exactly.

It makes a lot of sense.

That's what he just said.

He just said.

I'm trying to see if my brain heard it right.

We'll be right back.

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And back to the show.

So now, but then once you have finished the completion of a film,

you now have to enter into a whole other thing because you're going out there to distributors.

Yeah. So are you working with all different distributors, all different...

Businesses like there's all sorts is changing a lot.

You have streamers, you have, you know, the companies are theatrical and streaming.

And so, and that's, nobody's quite figured that out yet.

My feeling is people are watching things and interested in them.

And that's going to be ongoing, how they figure out the economics of where they place value on it.

You know, they're, if we keep our focus to a few things and make them, try to make them really good.

And also, I really was felt like, you know, interesting original dramas, comedies, sort of ideas were starting to fall away from theatrical world.

Yes.

Like, nah, that's not in movie theaters. And so with this movie, and this movie's themes are kind of congruent with the ideas and the philosophy of this business.

Like, what are the people worth and how should they be compensated?

And isn't this the story itself, I think is interesting.

I want people to go see movies like this.

Yeah, I watch, watching your trailer, I thought that very thing, the first time I saw it, I thought nobody gets to make movies like this anymore.

Because we've lived in a world where, and everybody has benefited and participated to a certain degree.

In these sort of, whatever you call them, these temples, or these, these...

Including me.

Yeah, no, that's what I mean. Everybody, all of us have benefited in certain ways.

However, what happened was, the result of that is, is that these other kinds of movies that you're talking about.

Without special effects.

Without special effects and that are story driven and that are character driven.

Well, your hair.

But besides that.

Yeah.

Those things don't really, those kind of movies don't really exist as much anymore.

Not in the theaters.

Not in the theaters.

Well, part of the problem is fucking Ozark.

Yeah, exactly.

Because it used to be that, you know, to put on a movie, you're competing, you know, like Lawn Order or whatever, Magnum.

You know what I mean? You had an 11 inch black and white and you could watch Simon and Simon.

Or you could go see, you know, Harder at 1600.

Oh my god.

And now, you've got Succession and Ozark and really good fucking stuff.

Where people at home go, you know what, I can pause, I can watch tomorrow.

That's made it very difficult.

It looks like they're approaching a good combo where you're getting a nice window of time in the brick and mortar theaters.

You can see it on a big screen if you want.

Or you can wait, what is it?

I think it's now basically six weeks before it'll be at your home as opposed to the old method was like three months.

I'm really grateful to Amazon.

The first time they're really going for the, we're going to do a theatrical traditional, you know, 3,500 screens out in the theaters.

Go see.

That's amazing.

You can't wait to see it for free.

Like not sort of upstaging it with a very impending free version at home.

This is Amazon, right?

Yeah, Amazon, yeah.

And they really are taking a flyer on this.

And I really, I mean, I hope it works honestly for obviously for the movie, but also so that we can do it again.

And the reason why going back to that model, the one thing that we do ask is that like the Hollywood model is kind of like I get paid in failure, right?

Right.

Like I still have the money, I spent it, but like I made money on Geely.

I didn't have to give it back.

Right.

You know what I mean?

Like everyone else went broke and I got a car, you know?

So this is like, we're not going to get paid here.

We're just going to spend what it costs to make the movie itself.

And we're all going to show up and invest our time and energy.

And if it works and if it's successful and if it's financially successful, you'll get paid, whether you're the cinematographer, whether you're the writer's director, much more otherwise than you would have.

But the relationship between how you're compensated and how much it connects to audiences is really direct versus just like, hey, man, you know, I don't get out of bed for less than whatever.

And that's what I kind of, you know, that and such a nice thing to not have that vibe, you know, where the people who are doing it just want to be there.

And I think this film's got a real good chance of hitting that sort of zeitgeist thing only for two reasons.

Number one, it's a story we all think we know, but we don't.

The whole story about how and why Nike got into business with Michael Jordan when Michael Jordan entered the NBA and when this whole start of this sneaker, this whole Air Jordan thing.

Like, it's an incredible American business story that no one really knows how it went together in this movie.

And you're releasing it during March Madness, which I think is genius.

First of all, I hear it's great from a few different people who've seen it. Two of them are in the movie, but they say it's great.

Believe them.

You can come by the house and watch it anytime, by the way.

I want to come and see it.

I told Jason two or three times, please ask him to come.

He did not.

I think he broke up.

That part of the phone call.

I'm desperate to see it.

And I think Bradley saw it.

Anyway, whatever it is, I'm desperate to see it.

I think it sounds amazing.

Bradley won't let me see this movie until it's mixed.

It's really good.

That movie's great.

I read the script and I remember saying to him, like, this is the movie.

You're talking about Maestro.

Dude, Maestro.

Really.

Incredible.

And the test, it's amazing.

It's fucking amazing.

Talk about movies that nobody makes.

It's the best script I've ever read.

It's really, really good.

But I was going to say, for your movie, what's great is, because it is, like as Jason says, it does tell the story and it's so great.

You know, people like Jason, this is where they learn stuff is from the movies because they've never read a book before.

They have no life experience.

Right.

They have no life experience.

So, but I, truly, everybody says, and even Jason says this, which you never say, you didn't even, you weren't talking about yourself about how much you love the movie.

I can say that he legitimately loves it.

So it's, I'm very excited to see it.

Now, let's talk about Batman.

Let's talk about the real thing that everybody's said.

Can I jump in here for a second?

Let's get down to business.

Hey, Sean.

The only time we really hung out was when we did that thing with Kimmel about the Batman.

And then I stuck my head in as Lego Batman and you guys all laughed at me.

We do have two Batman's on the podcast show.

I know. That's kind of cool.

Very cool.

One real and one cartoon.

But I saw the trailer for The Flash and everybody was, like, freaking out when you came on the screen.

You know what? That movie's good.

I hear it's amazing.

That movie's really good.

It looks good.

I hear that movie's fucking cool.

Yeah, I love that.

It's my best shit I've done. I finally figured out how to play the game.

No, really?

For real?

I was like, hold on.

I quit.

I know I quit.

And I know I came back to it.

But I got it now.

It's like, you know, you do the audition and you're on your way home and you're like,

wait, what was the moment?

Yes.

Why did the penny drop?

What happened?

I mean, I don't want to give a spoiler, but it was a scene where I got, I get caught,

I get saved by Wonder Woman.

Yeah.

She was wearing a conflagration with some, some, some bad guys.

Yeah.

And she saves me by, I mean, I'm sure I'm like the spoiler, you know, DC assassins.

She saves you some way.

She saves me with the lasso of truth.

Yeah.

And so what happens is that Batman divulges, you know, some of his real feelings.

Yeah.

About his life and his work.

And it helps you, it helps you see the character and now you want another chance to play it.

I was like, wait a minute, I got it.

Am I still with, can I guys?

Are we still rolling?

Can we write another story?

This is a story in my fucking life.

By the way, Ben, one time I remember years ago and I asked him about it.

I remember Alec Baldwin saying in an interview that he was driving home from Nottsland when

he was on Nottslanding and like on a Friday night and just going like, oh, fuck, that's

how you do the scene.

And he's like, from that moment on, he made a deal with himself that he would never leave

and that he would always figure out the scene while he was there.

And it always stuck with me, especially because it was Nottslanding.

So funny.

Alec told me a similar story, but totally different.

Is that true?

Yeah, he loves this metaphor.

He's like, you know, I am a good actor, but not a great actor.

And I was like, no, Alec, and I don't want to answer that.

It was like because I was playing Skowalski on Broadway.

And he was supposed to leave the screen door.

And I guess in some, and the screen door wouldn't open.

He was exiting, it wouldn't open.

I shook it once and I shook it twice and it wouldn't open.

And so I stepped around it.

And right then, right then I realized what would Brando do.

He would have kicked it down.

He would have kicked it down.

And I was like, so kick it down.

He's very focused on that like moment after thing.

Dude, that's hilarious.

I want to ask you about, you've won two Academy Awards, Good Will Hunting and Argo Lighting.

Thank you.

I'm just wondering if we're going to get to that.

It's been the Jason Bateman show.

Your publicist is like all over me about that.

I was like, okay, got it.

Texting, texting.

Yeah, no, but I want to talk to you about Argo because he wrote me one of the funniest emails,

which I want to read right now.

We can cut it if you want, but it's really funny.

Anyway, Victor Garber, who's a friend of ours, right?

He was staying in my guest house here while you were filming Argo.

He said you were in his guest house, but go ahead.

What's that?

He said you were in his guest house, but yeah, sure.

We swap.

Like you share a bank account, we share a guest house.

We don't want to still share a bank account with Matt.

All of a sudden the deal's over after born.

But you shot Argo three houses down for me and I would walk over my pajamas and sit down and watch you direct.

And it was super, super, super fun.

And then you won the Oscar and I was there at the Oscars.

And I wrote an email to you and I said, I'm so proud of him, so thrilled for you.

Then all the other sentences had question marks.

I said, I still haven't seen it and I probably won't add to it.

I'll probably have to Netflix it and someone will have to read the subtitles to me,

but I'm sure I'll love it like everyone in Iran says they do.

And then I said, I love your speech, blah, blah, blah.

And you wrote back, I saw your little sweet face when I was standing up there accepting my Oscar.

In the middle of the greatest triumph of my professional life, I thought,

I have got to tell Sean to go tanning.

I fucking, so when I was doing all this research for you today, like all this stuff,

I found that old, I was like, I can look at old emails.

I laughed out loud and then you wrote another one.

I haven't taken me up on it. Still pasty.

No, not at all. I'm translucent.

So good.

Benjamin, this has been amazing way too much of your time.

Is it over? They told me it's two hours. So only an hour for me.

You don't usually do it two hours.

It just feels like two hours.

I am a big fan. I got to tell you guys, I love the Mark Maron show.

You are wonderful.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Wrong show, wrong show, wrong show.

No, the truth is you guys are, you guys are, do a great job.

You managed to be very interesting to listen to and yet very little of substance has ever said.

We distract you with all the constant noise.

It feels like, kind of wonderful.

I enjoyed it. It's an honor and a pleasure to be on the show.

Thank you for having me.

Well, likewise.

You are honest to God, you are fucking amazing in the movie.

From the first time I met you on the day of smoking aces,

when I walked into that scene and you did the monologue about congenital alcoholism

and herpes in a small penis, I have never, you can,

if you go back and watch that movie, there is not a shot of me.

Yeah, that's not from the movie.

That's not from the movie, dude.

He was just telling somebody.

We were just hanging out and remember.

They put it in the movie.

It was, I was like, this guy is a genius of genius.

And I have never forgotten it.

Joe Carnahan's fault.

You know, he wrote a great scene and directed a great movie.

No, no, your fault.

Genius.

Love, Joe.

Great in that.

Great in extract.

I have loved it.

We had fun on extract.

I think you're a genius.

Yeah, you are a genius.

I do.

I think all that you've got.

My mother thinks that word's overused.

Yeah, it is.

She hears it a lot about her sons.

But we're really happy.

I will say this.

I'm so happy that you're directing movies

and you're making movies like this

and that you just continue to do fucking great stuff.

Yeah, I can't wait to see it.

I love it.

This is all I want to do.

You do want to direct more than act, right?

You love it.

You're so kind.

You know, I started really loving acting finally for real

when I was like, I don't want to do this anymore.

I'm just gonna direct movies.

I'm done with this.

I don't care.

I just like directing.

And then I was like, well, I'm already here.

And I can, you know...

Do them both, right?

Act in the movies and be direct.

Yeah.

And then I just let go.

And I remember Sidney Pollock once saying,

he was a director and an actor.

We did a movie called Changing Lanes 20 some years ago.

And he said to me, you know why I'm a good actor?

I was like, no, no, no, Sidney.

Because I don't give a shit.

I was like, I didn't understand at the time,

but I know what he's getting at now,

which is that so much of it just has to do with letting go

and being relaxed and trying things

and not sweating what people are gonna think.

Yeah.

And, you know, trying the take that at the time,

Jason and Matt make fun of you for,

but later on works in the movie,

we know what we're talking about.

Wait, really?

Wait, which part was that?

It was the take where I really wanted to play my part

and I interrupted Matt and made him wait a second.

And you were like, maybe too big.

Maybe that's too big.

I said that?

Uh-oh.

No.

Believe me, Matt was right out in front of you.

You were like, you can't do that.

Hold on.

Oh, wait a second.

Oh, wait, is this the one with the blaster glasses

and the jogging outfit?

Oh, no, you were all equivocal about that

and that didn't make, that was too big.

Dude, it's on the poster.

What do you mean it didn't make the movie?

You're on the poster in your phaser glasses

and your jumpsuit, right?

That is historically accurate.

I get it.

No one's gonna know that though.

They're just gonna be like, oh boy.

I'm trying to promote it.

Why?

That's what I'm hearing.

The whole point was to get to the fact that

that is not made up.

It's so good.

That is the clothes that were worn.

And his purple is purple Porsche.

He had a purple Porsche that said Nike Man.

This is Film Night listener.

The guy who created Nike.

Film Night.

I can't wait to see it.

It's fun.

And I do, once I started doing it and doing it with people

I really loved, and it's true.

I would, I love directing in a different way,

but acting has become really fun.

Tender Bar was really fun.

Last tool was really fun.

The Way Back was really fun, weirdly,

for a movie about a person whose child dies and is alcoholic.

You were awesome.

It was like, it become joyful

because I started developing my own criterion

and stopped kind of making it about like, you know,

who likes me?

As Will says, it's a sexy indifference.

Right, Will?

I don't say that.

No.

I'm going with overweight indifference.

No.

Indifference is attractive.

Well, whatever you're doing, please keep doing it, man.

Thank you.

Just such a fan.

You're so great at what you do,

and you always have been, and just such a fan.

Thank you very much,

and I'm going to hold you guys to it,

since you're all in the next one for free.

Thank you.

Oh, my God.

Oh, yeah.

I told you the model.

Thank you.

We just do it for the art.

Thank you.

You're amazing for doing this.

I'm too handsome for film.

Will you let me into the fucking octurtle battle

and my JV stuff?

Tell Matt.

Here it is.

Yeah, give my agent your number.

Yeah, I know.

Okay, great.

Does Matt own the invites?

Yeah.

He's the commissioner?

So did he really keep you out?

I'll talk to him.

Yeah, totally locked me out.

I'll talk to him.

Well, not even locked me out.

He was like, maybe keep working.

Maybe like that.

Try the crossword.

Try the crossword.

I tell him this.

He finally won today for the first time

in like six weeks,

and he was ecstatic.

Really?

Yeah.

Yeah, he was having a tough time.

But like I said,

once I found out that he's in the low 50s,

now maybe I'm wondering if there is kind of

an intramural league that I can be.

Because I'm feeling Ben's going to wax all you guys.

Yeah, it won't take you long.

Believe me.

You're a sharp guy.

It will not take you long

to fucking make us all look like fools.

I'm starting to lose it.

Yeah.

You are y'all young.

Ginko.

Sure.

Ginko.

Thanks, guys.

I have a question about Batman.

Oh, sorry.

No.

Feel free.

Go ahead, Colin.

Ben, love you.

Thank you for doing this.

Thank you, Ben.

Yeah, I love you, pal.

Very, very nice.

Jason has my number,

and you guys honestly got like the movie is here,

on the projector,

and if you ever want to come at any point,

even if I'm not here,

it's like set it up,

bring the bell, come watch the movie.

You probably don't give a shit,

and you're going to end up, you know,

watching it down.

No, no, they do.

You live about three blocks from Will.

Oh, wow.

Oh, wow.

So someone has no excuse.

Oh, shit.

We'll walk over.

By the way,

we will cut this,

but I love the new house.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Well, the rental's not too fucking shabby.

Is that the one you're talking about, Sean?

No, the one that they just purchased.

Sean is keeping up with some of our celebrity journalism.

No, no, no.

I have a real estate agent who's known.

Oh.

But yeah, and I saw it under construction,

and I was like, this is amazing.

So I'd love to see it when it's done.

You are the first to be invited.

We heard it.

We got it recorded.

Thank you, Benjamin.

We love you.

Thanks for the rest of the night.

I love you all.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ben.

Bye, bud.

That's what we had in our second cottage, Sean.

So when we were talking about...

Big star wattage, I mean, we had Damon on tour,

and that was fine, that was fine,

but then we have Ben, athletic,

and just coming in with a fucking wattage and you're like,

well, that's the reason.

Now that's a star.

That's a star.

Yeah, through outer space.

It's not like, remember,

how I really matched it up in a fucking hoodie

and he fucking, you know what I mean?

I guess I should just get through the interview.

and he's handsome, he's talented, and he's smart as fuck.

He's prepared.

And he's prepared.

As he bears gorgeous.

Yeah.

Hang on a second, Jason, let me see your hands real quick.

I want to see your hands while you're talking.

Yeah, because it's really dark where you are.

No, all jokes aside, wow, that was awesome.

Yeah, and when I was doing the research,

learning about him and stuff about his past and whatever,

I was like, and then you go through his credits,

you're just like, wow, forget like, wow, bang, bang, bang,

hit after hit after hit after hit.

He's been so relevant and talented and successful

for so long, and I feel like he's only halfway done.

Yeah, and I think, I don't know if this is true,

does anybody know, hasn't he played Batman

more than any other actor?

I'll bet.

I think that that might be, I think he might be right.

Yeah, I think so.

He's played it five times, I think.

Really?

It's just, I'm so happy for him.

This movie, he just, he crushes it and Matt and him

did a great job writing a lot of stuff too.

He's such a natural as a director.

I mean, Jason, it's kind of what you talk about

when you spend all that time doing it

and you've got a head on your shoulders

and you spend all that time on set

and in that environment.

Yeah, you've got to absorb something.

You absorb something and you can kind of apply it

and he, you have done it and he has done it

and he's made so many great films, as you said.

Sean.

Sean.

No, no, no, I know, but what was the one about,

Ron, the hostages.

Argo. Argo.

So Argo.

I'll see that.

Ron is amazing as well.

That's another great film that he directed.

Yes, The Town.

I love that movie.

Really, really good.

Yes, see, that's what I'm saying.

I didn't even get a chance to talk to him about The Town.

That was so good.

I know, well, because you had, you were asking,

you know, you had too many questions about,

at a left field.

He just texted me, I hate Sean.

For example, when he's spelt at S-H-A-W-N,

but the hate is spelt correct.

No way.

No, that's not true.

No, he's the guy, my God,

I want an interesting one.

I'd like to read his book.

I want to read his book.

I want to read Downey's book.

Just a book.

Any book would be great.

I guess, right?

It would be amazing at this point.

It's top to bottom, left to right.

Right?

Yeah, as long as the book has a.

Bye.

Bye.

Ding, bye.

You said I turned, those pages are bound.

That works.

Oh no, he doesn't even know it works.

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