Danny Philippou
Appearances
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Live studio audience here.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, that's amazing. And in Australia, and some of the stuff that we'd worked on, just as crew members, they're like, you have to... Australians are not going to stand that. Really, really pronunciate it. So if you're like, oh, what's that over there? They're like, oh, no, that's mumbly. Oh, what's that over there? And it becomes awkward Australian or too Australian where it feels really false.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And then Australians have this cultural cringe about it where they're like, oh, that feels weird. And then Americans are like, that sounds weird. And there was something about it, especially when we went into making Talk To Me. The producers are the people that we originally gave the script to were like, can we film it somewhere else? What about with American accents?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
That could be more accessible. What about in America? You do it in America. That's very interesting.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I love it as well. And I love that there's certain words or phrases that are from Australia that audience members would be like, what's that mean?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And I think it's something that's... Because we had one chance, it was like, Talk To Me was it. It was our only movie we were probably going to make because it probably wouldn't work or whatever. So to us, it felt right to do it authentically. And Australian is authentic. That's where we knew, that's the people we know and how we grew up. So it felt right doing that.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
So the fact that it resonated, you know, kind of internationally, and I think it does because it doesn't matter who the people are, where they're from. It's a human to human story.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
So we all know those people. It doesn't matter. Yeah, where you're from. Yeah.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yes, I would do the hand if the hand was available to me. I'd be fucking on that thing. You would, wouldn't you?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Oh, yeah, I'd fucking do the hand.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
The rules are bullshit. Boys, relax.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Dude, that was like one of the inspiration points was like these neighbors that we watched grow up, he was like having a bad reaction to this drug that he was taking. He was on the floor convulsing and everyone he was with was just filming him and laughing at him. And then I saw that footage and I was like, God damn, that's fucking barbaric. Yeah, man. I was the one filming it.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Even when you're writing those characters, same as with Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, draw from real experiences. Draw from things that make you uncomfortable. For example, there's these things, Greek Orthodox funerals in Australia. They probably do this everywhere. You know when they've got an open casket?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And then, in Greek corporal funerals, you have to kiss the head of the corpse.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
That's a real thing. You kiss their heads. And you don't have to do it. It's not something that you have to do. If people freak out about it and they don't go there, and you can see it's really bothering them to see even a body or a casket, they don't have to go up to it. But Laura is trained in this. She's a child therapist. She's a psychologist. She knows this is bothering him.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And she's like, I'm going to pull him up there. Because she's trying to break his ass. She's trying to break his ass. Make him unreliable. Get him out of the house. Yeah. And yeah. I don't want to spoil anything. No, that's the problem. It's so hard to not do because I want to. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what's so terrifying. And it's tapping into that. Like that was freaky to me as a kid.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I remember when my grandfather died. There was like. This woman that I didn't really like that much. And she was not even really part of the family. And she came up and put her arm around me. And I was like, I'm trying to grieve here.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
She's like, you're okay. He's okay, everyone. It was this weird thing where I was like, oh, gosh. It felt really... When she told you to kiss your grandfather? No, that didn't happen.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It felt like cold marble.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I feel like you two guys have probably killed someone.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Cut that out. No. Can I see your acting face of strangling someone?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
A lot of people say that.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, you don't get given a crack. And that was just how, like, kids bonded back then. Like, you just fight each other. Yeah, a lot of the kids that we fought, we became friends with. Yeah.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
You gotta fight them, and then you're friends with them.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
What? I'm disturbed. My sister used to fight us. And she has to have the last hit.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
In fact, she'll chase you with a fucking frying pan until she cracks you over the head. She will not stop. There's no stopping her. Does she like the movies? She loves them. She's in the end. Hey, hey, hey, don't. At the end of the film, there's someone that gets out of a car. That is my sister.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And then our cousin was in the backseat too. And then she starts getting out and we cut it. She's like, I can't wait to be in the movie. And I was like, yeah, it was the same. It was the same in Talk To Me. She was in it and the scene got cut. It felt so bad. It's not personal, Lana. No, it's not, Lana. But you've got to perform better or we're not going to use it.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
What is wrong with you? I'm sorry to your wife. What are you doing here? I don't know what's wrong with me. Yeah, I don't know. You know, you've got to get the doctors out somehow.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Were you in that scene?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Have you seen Wolf of Wall Street? I've seen Wolf of Wall Street.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I'm different now. I love that film.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I love trauma movies. I collected those as a kid.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Actually, I think you have to pay him to work for him. At first, six jobs on sets were completely free. I would have loved a Kaufman set.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
The heroes that I've met have all been pretty heroic. Great. Nice. Yes. Sam Raimi. Oh, he was so nice. You know what's awesome? It's so cool in LA because all these people are local. So we had a movie night just the other night with Fede Alvarez.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And Zach Kroegers. We watched Weapons. Fuck yeah.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
That was so- I'm like, this is so Hollywood right now. Oh, man. And exchanging stories and stuff. It's incredible.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Fede Alvarez is funny.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I feel a little bit of both. We're in the middle there, because, like, we're at his house. We don't know him too well, but you came out with, like, guns blazing, so I was like, oh, yeah, we can cut this out.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
any room that we're in I remember we were at like this A24 party and it was just all these directors were there real directors real directors yeah and I felt so out of place in that room I was like I do not deserve to be in here well you do now man that's fucking everything you guys have made is incredible yeah dude you're two for two
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Uh, M. Bison did... We weren't as in love with bison as we were Akuma.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
We love Akuma. Do you know, we were in the Street Fighter rabbit hole for a while. It was a lot of fun. I was traveling around Thailand, going to different Muay Thai camps, doing research, looking for the real Sagat who still trains people. Whoa!
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
That level with a giant Buddha statue, that's a real place.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
That's an actual place in Thailand. Yeah, so I was going to these places, and I was speaking to these trainers that apparently he'd been with, and they're like, no, he's over here now. So I was traveling around. It was awesome. It was so much fun. Did you find him? Yeah, I found him. Well, he's so tall, it's probably easy. He's shorter in real life. He's shorter than me. He's short.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
He's shorter than me in real life. How about Blanca?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It was hard to turn down Street Fighter. It was hard to walk away. It was hard. It was just a... What are you, singing? I don't know what that was. It's blues.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I'm in America, so I started singing. It was just scheduling. It was between Bring Her Back and Street Fighter. We love Street Fighter. Bring Her Back, it's more personal. It felt more right. I don't know. You were correct. Well, luckily Street Fighter... I didn't see our Street Fighter movie though.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Legendary Pictures is amazing and I think they're going to do a good job with Street Fighter.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Something like that. No, because they're making it still. I remember I read an article that it's being postponed indefinitely. And I was like, yes. And then I texted Mike, what's going on with Street Fighter? That's a false story. It's still happening.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I was about to say, that's the real game. That's the best Street Fighter game.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
He's saying Street Fighter 1.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
He's saying Street Fighter 2 is the shit. Yes.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
So make Street Fighter 2.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's bound for failure. Yeah, we'll sign up for Street Fighter 2. Oh, my God. The set pieces we're making. It would have been brilliant. Yeah. Anyway, bring her back. Bring her back. She's really good.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah. And what's exciting... as opposed to taking a big IP, is making your own IP. Amen. And it's like, oh, what if in 20 years they want to remake Talk To Me? That'd be pretty cool. They won't, yeah. No, they'll be on Talk To Me 10 by then.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I need to get my sequel ideas up.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Dude, I was on Time Magazine as one of the main photos for the storming Area 51. No way.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
He clapped the alien cheeks.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I was like, if everyone runs, I'm running as well. And there were SWAT cars everywhere. There was people with guns. And then I was like, I can't wait to get there. We pulled up. Like 50,000 people RSVP'd. There was like 50 people there. And everyone was like this. Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I think the military were like, if you do cross the line, I'm gonna shoot you.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
They're like, we literally will shoot you.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, everyone was just afraid. South of the Capitol building, for Christ's sake. It looked scary from those pictures. It was terrifying, and then people getting arrested, but no, it was a good time. Let me get my sequel ideas up quickly. Michael, change the subject, change it, talk to them.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I knew Naruto ran. Here's the picture. Does someone edit things?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Here's the picture. In fact, there's two pictures. Here's the two pictures. I went in two different outfits. I was all about it. This is amazing.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Do you know what's cool about Sally Hawkins? No matter how cold it was, no matter how bad the stunt was, they're like, oh, we're going to pad you up because you're about to hit the wall. She's like, was Laura wearing pads? I don't think Laura's wearing pads. There's a scene where she jumps in the water at the beginning of the movie. It was the first day. And they're trying to put a wetsuit on.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, they had wetsuits. She's like, so when was Laura wearing? Did Laura put on this wetsuit before she jumped in? Or did she see her daughter and jump in? Sally's the fucking best.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's probably too genre-y to get an Oscar. Man, fuck that. Not after last year, not after The Substance.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
We are too big for our britches. Step back down. Humble yourself.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
No, no, we're going to win all the Academy Awards. No, no, it's sort of like, I like that the crossover is happening. We are in such a boom right now for horror. It's like we're in the 80s again. Oh, yeah. It's heaven.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I thought it would have been breakfast. I'm actually just jealous. And why haven't you brought your dog in? I miss my dog and I haven't patted a dog in quite a while. So you're going to bring your dog next time. What's your dog's name? My dog, I got a new dog named Harley.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
We'll probably be a couple down then.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, you know what that is.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Here's a story. There was a certain sound that we couldn't replicate. Whoa. The sound designer was doing it. So I got a knife. And I did it. And on the microphone right up close. And that's what you hear. It's like, okay, this is going to be hard to watch. You can close your eyes, but do it so you have to try and close your ears as well. It's going to be too confronting.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And also, yeah, so, like, part of me is like, oh, I think this could, like, maybe, like, non-genre fans might like it. And the other part of me is like, because of scenes like that, I'm like, you have to be a hardened horror fan to enjoy it. But I don't know. I don't know.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I think, well, we're doing the documentary next. Great. Yeah, so there's that. And then I think that we're writing a few different things.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
But I think the next thing. Like, I still want to do two more horror films. I know for sure. I've got two that I've got mapped out of my head, me and my co-writer. And, like, I need to do them. People are going to be coming to see them if you make them. What's the documentary? The Deathmatch Wrestling. Oh, yeah.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I don't know how many people can actually watch it. It's a real underground form of wrestling, but it's exciting. I find it exciting.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, no. The big thing of the documentary is why. What draws people to it? Why do they do it? But they are professional wrestlers.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, but it's, and it's not for money. It's not, it's... God forbid. Something else. Yeah, they don't get, they don't make much money from it and they're literally killing themselves.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
There's a few different reasons.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Wait, hold on. I'm so sorry. I just want to... When is this alien festival thing? I really want to go.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Dude, I love alien shit. Please.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
But there's also one that you guys don't know.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Parham. They experiment on aliens there.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's a base. And there's a town near it, and when the lights go red, no one can get out of that house. Fuck yes. Yes, I've been there. And it's horrific. Really? No, no. It's pretty chill. But, like, apparently there's theories that there's aliens there. I've not seen any such aliens. Where is that located? South Australia.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
See, that's crazy. The guys have been to Adelaide. You're the only Americans that have been to South Australia.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
You were doing a show there?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's so weird. There's like concerts don't come to Adelaide because no one goes to things. Dude, Adelaide was- That theater we were in was awesome. Yeah, it was packed. Adelaide, we love you, Adelaide. Adelaide, reppin'. I love Adelaide.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
See, that's awesome. I love- See, it's changing then. The pendulum's shifting. Maybe we are becoming a bit more cultured and arty.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Well, it was always, that was always, the YouTube stuff was just practicing to become filmmakers. That was always the goal, always the aim. And, you know, speaking of stunts, Michael couldn't be listed as one of the directors at the start of insurance for Bring Her Back because he was in Detroit having death matches. What does that mean?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I heard a disturbing story because you know how the barrels got discovered because the smell. Yeah. And the sludge. Yeah. So when it did get found out and it was on the news and everything, people were like driving there and then trying to sniff under the bank vault to smell the- Oh my God.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I'm loving this. Could you sign that, please?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, we're a little, we're a little. Michael, are you okay? Ow. Sorry. That's not interesting, and that hurt him? Yeah, just take it easy, Matt. Take it easy. You know what I had in the, I was going to bring it, but I thought against it. It's in the car. What is it? I had a fake knife and fake blood, and I was going to start chewing it.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
to fuck like this is the time for you all to to flirt and fuck each other and this is like you shouldn't be you're all talking shop oh my god no but it is good that is tonight we were writing an alien movie to the galactic warriors you needed someone to defend you and if the aliens were coming they were already while you were fucking in the pool yes they're protecting you i'll fucking aliens
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Who knows what disease you'd contract. But listen, listen, listen. We were writing it, writing an alien movie, but then Jordan Peele released the trailer for Nope. And I was like, no, all right. Nope was good as hell.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's like an extreme form of professional wrestling where they use light tubes and barbed wire and real weapons, and they cut each other up for real. It's like an extreme performance art blood sport. We're doing a documentary on it, and I was like, I want to be in it. You look okay.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
We were writing an alien movie. Do you know what's a great alien movie? Fire in the Sky.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
How great is that? And Phenomenon, the documentary Phenomenon. I love how it's wrapped everything up.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Oh, he's like a rock star there. Yeah, that's wicked. I want to tell you a story about that. Off camera. Okay, great. It's the best story you'll ever hear. I love it. Alien vibes. Alien story vibes.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Cut that out, because they're going to feel like they're leaving out. We didn't mean to leave you out. No, we love to leave them out.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's just one of those things that if you talk about, you could get into trouble. You've already given away like five spoilers for your movie that's not even out yet.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Here's my thing. Okay. Aliens are real. Sure. Bring it back to the cinemas very soon. Don't forget that, guys. It's out now.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
You guys can check that out. Bring it back just so we remember. But, yes. Okay, you know how we've got drones and we're flying them around? Yeah. And you know how we can observe planets from all this miles away? Yes. Light years away, we can observe. If they're that... Sophisticated. And they're that ahead of us. And their technology is stuff that we couldn't imagine.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
How are we capturing them on camera? Why are they floating around down here? They could observe us from- No, but how are we even not- Totally. How's all the footage? Looks like it was on like a Nokia 3315. No, but even when it isn't. Even when it isn't. There's no- Where's the 4K? Even when it isn't. If you look at a bit of planets, where are the- That's a good footage of the aliens.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Or there's dumb aliens, like tourist aliens.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
There's dumb tourist aliens, and they crash the UFO, and they're like, oh, what the hell are you doing? They talked about this.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Stop crashing and fucking on planet Earth.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Just go outside of the atmosphere.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
You could be in that much shock. I don't know. If I saw the UFO, I would get that shit. But you're a director. Yeah, well, yeah.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Before we go, quickly, what happened was... My phone isn't working in terms of, is there a Wi-Fi here?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Oh, right there. Michael, did you have some talk to me ideas? It's not going to work unless I read them out.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
All right, it's going to come. It's going to come. It's going to come.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
We've got a visa. We have a visa, actually. We're visans.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Don't make him come.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Talk to me again.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yes, yes. Talk for me. These are titles. These aren't ideas.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
These are talk to me five more times. Wow. Oh, no, high five. Oh, yes, high five. Yes. Yes, okay, I'll write that. Yes, that's five ideas. Why are you still talking to me? Whoa. Number six.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Again, all these are just titles, right?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
These are movies. These are movies. I've read lots of these. Talk to me, hand takes Manhattan.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Oh, it's got to be in the 80s club scene.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Oh, yes. Yes. Yes.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
These are good. Talk to me triple A's. Porno in space.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Everybody's expecting space. Don't give them what they expect.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
That one, that movie's not as popular.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yes, talk to me. That's like an AI version with Michael Jackson. Talk to me. Hey, you guys want to see what this life is? Oh, my God, because of the glove. Yes.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
See, he's getting it. Thank you. These are smart. Talk to me, embalmed foot version. Oh.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Both. I think we've been obsessed with deathmatch wrestling since little kids. So we used to do it with our friends, unfortunately. There were parents that would literally not let their kids hang out with us. No way. Yeah, because we were delinquents. We were actual delinquents. You just threatened to kill my dog.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
There was a talk to me porno. There was a talk to me porno.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, yeah. I sent it to Sophie. And I was like, was that inappropriate? And then she laughed.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I know. Yeah. And they were possession porn. It was really awesome. Was it like fingering someone and then she saw a ghost?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I did not harass. I was not part of that film. But yeah, they were possessed and having sex. Come inside me. No, that's enough titles about this. Stop telling them to come inside you. They're trying to leave town. What would you say, what stuck with you more since you watched them both today? Talk to me or bring her back. Bring her back.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Guys, I'm so happy you're here. Are we rolling? Testing. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Sometimes we get suddenly loud.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
We wanted to make it like a character that the young comfortably empathize with. And I think that's what was great about Sally is that she brought it. She brought a human element to it. She didn't play it like a horror villain. She played it as a broken human being. And she's struggling with what she's doing.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Always in Treatment, which is a TV show. Yeah. Because of how realistic those characters feel and how real the world feels. And something like throwing water on somebody feels like a car crash. So I love that film. I love Let the Right One In.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I think that is a really incredible film.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah. What's snowy? Snowy, you're right. Snow is wet. There's a pool scene. And then obviously, obviously, the Holy Grail, Exorcist. Yeah. Yeah, everyone talks about elevated horror. I'm like, they've been elevating horror since the 70s. Have you seen The Exorcist? Have you seen Rosemary's Baby? Yeah. Mouse Hunt is a good one. Yeah, Mark was obsessed with fucking Mouse Hunt.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It was out of envy.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Have you seen Mouse Hunt? Mouse Hunt.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
They were very practical. That mouse hunt, they did things so practically. It is a little bit bring it back-ish.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Oh, is he in there?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Well, he's in Mouse Hunt. He's working on the sequel.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
You said, did you see me? I started with Leonardo DiCaprio. I'm naked at the back of that plane. Whoa.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
oh right she was proud we invited my mom to come watch Bring Her Back in America but she wouldn't come why?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And Laura was based on her.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
There was one scene that was real.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
One scene? Which one? That punch. Oh, yeah? We did a couple of takes for real. Whoa. I'm joking, I'm joking.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah. Underwater cars we got, Michael got arrested for, so did I. Which wasn't even my idea. That was a video. Danny had an underwater car made, and he didn't want to drive it. Well, because I was filming and Michael's terrible at recording. That's his excuse for everything. Michael's so bad at recording. Michael, you're so bad at recording. We would do a scene and I'd try to be in the videos.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Was that girl able to do all that stuff with her eye? She's naturally, she actually is, she's got vision impairment. Okay. She's great.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
She nailed it. She'd never acted before.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's about finding the right people when Especially the audition process. Yeah, it's in the auditions and everyone's so committed and down. So yeah, we're blown away by everyone. And especially with young actors and everything, you just let them know like there's no such thing as a bad take. And you can change dialogue if you want to. Don't be embarrassed about anything.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
You're not letting anyone down. It's like building up a trust and letting them know that it's okay to fail. Like there's no wrong or right take. It's just about finding it.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
He might kick the shit out of you. I would not survive that. And he's way more talented than us. He beats us in every possible avenue.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Thank you, sir. Have fun with the alien thing. We will.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
The effects. I'm gone.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I'd try to be in something. And his footage is out of focus. He's punched it in a weird way. It's like, dude, just point it at me and film it. Yes, but you were correct to be scared to get in an underwater car. Well, no, I got in the underwater car. I was filming in there. Okay.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Oh, and you can get into certain clubs. What's that all about? There's lounges that you can't get into. Yeah, at the airport.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
You weren't in there.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
No, no. So the video came out, and then suddenly, like a year later, Danny got arrested. It wasn't a year later. It was like a couple of months.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It was so good. But I actually got arrested for pretending to be Michael. Yeah, sure.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
But it was like a year-long lawsuit. What was the charge? Driving recklessly, driving dangerously, driving without a licence, driving without a seatbelt, driving a car that's not... Are you not American? Yeah.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
No, no, not littering. Not littering. That would have been a bad one. They're pretty easy on littering, actually. No, but it was a big thing in the end that I got off scot-free because I wasn't actually driving dangerously or recklessly. No, we actually, it was a stunt performance practice car. It was a stunt.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Oh, I was trying to get in. They're like, do you have the card?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
The police said that they were going to have to recreate the underwater car to prove it was dangerous.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Why don't we go for a race, boys?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah. Yeah, Danny. Don't at me. Yep.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, that's my, I love it so much. I love world building. I love like building out the Bible and the backstory and the law and like going into every possible detail. Like I love ironing that out. And then I also love dropping people into the middle of it. And it's like told from the perspective of the characters and the point of view of the people that we're following.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And the kids being out of the depth of their hand and talk to me, I love that. They're not sitting there researching and figuring out all the answers, but there's obviously a history there. There's something happening. And the same, so this, there is something that we've built out and we're designing right now that is like the hand of talk to me to the bring her back universe.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I love that thing.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's a candle holder, mate.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's an incense holder, buddy. No, but it's the same as when you're writing a character. You've got to know the entire backstory of the character. You need to know all the moments that led up to this moment, why they're like this, their personality, what are the key moments in their life that made them this way.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And it's the same with the backstory of anything like on that other side of it, the tapes, the... Where did Laura get these tapes? The backstory. Who are these people? Who created them? Why? What is the mythos, the entire mythos? You've got to know that stuff. That's important to know. So even though you never, same with the characters, there's a lot of things you'll never see on screen.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
There's like different clubs. You can't get in for $65. No, you can't get in for $65. Do you want to step outside? Do you want to get knocked out right here?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
It's still important to have that so it feels real. I love that thing with The Shining and that ending. If you read the script, you'd know that Jack Torrens is a resurrected person from someone that used to live in a hotel, but it's completely cut out of the movie. And then there's the book that has all this backstory, and you're getting glimpses of this bigger world.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And I love that there's a bigger stage that these films are playing in. I love that. Malazan, do you know those books? Yes. Yes. You know, like there's this entire world and you're like, you're reading it and you're a bit out of your depth. And you're like, wait, what's this? Who's this?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, you can figure it out. Is to stay engaged.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I would say it's very arrogant of you to compare yourself to The Shining. I did not compare myself.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
I'm sort of like Stephen King.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah. It's sort of like the theorizing or when you come across like a piece of lost media or you look at those old school footage and you're like, you don't have the context and you're like, what the fuck is this thing? This is terrifying. This weird clip or this execution video, fake, but whatever it is. And it's like, where are they? What language are they speaking right now?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Like what is happening? Like that stuff just makes for really horrific art.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, because it's more, in a way it's more accessible now. the mystery. It's more accessible now.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
That's even scarier because you can't differentiate that line now and you're lost between those things and you're like, people can fake this stuff, but also it's real enough that that real stuff also does happen, so it's terrifying.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
And we thought there's no fucking way that she would respond and she would say yes. I still don't think she'll do it. Yeah. She was the first person that we reached out to and we were thinking, there's no fucking way she's going to say yes. She's like the new Amanda Plummer. Yeah, that's her. That's her. We said that. You're like the new Amanda Plummer. And she turned down the film.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, she's like, fuck you both. Do you know who I am? I make wet films.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
She does. Well, she loves Shape of Water. She loved this. It was the only reason she was drawn to it. No, she was like, she wasn't drawn to it.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
She was like, she didn't connect to it on like a genre level because she always reads it from a character's point of view. It's just connected with Laura as a character and she was just like going so in depth with Laura and like picking up on the smallest nuances of the script and she was, it's the best collaboration.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And especially with that, there's like a scene with Wendy and she's like, okay, I can't stop her physically. I have to convince her, like, please listen to me. Listen. We have a history together. We know each other. Please listen. Listen. Listen. And, like, she's so desperate. Like, please, let me explain this to you. I know it seems impossible. It seems psychotic.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
But I'm telling you, like, a miracle is happening here.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
She's beautiful. Of course. But she is terrifying when she's fully in character.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Well, look, I'm the director, so... Can I ask, though?
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Well, there's this thing where it's like you're writing stuff and you're always putting things together. And there was parts in the script writing when characters in Bring Her Back were in Talk To Me. Characters that were in Talk To Me were in Bring Her Back because they were written at the same time.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
You find your footing and you find the structure and you find the bones. The more that you go over a script, the more you iron over it. You're like, oh, okay, this is that. This makes sense. Sometimes it's like scribbles. It's just like rough drawings everywhere when you're first starting off with something. And then eventually you color it in and the full picture is there.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Every movie is going to be set in the same neighborhood.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
Someone's going to be driving along, they don't look over. Laura's kidnapping Oliver.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
No, I love it. No, I love it. I love it. Does it feel uncinematic at all to people? No. Do you really think that? No, no, no. People in Australia think that. No, I do as well.
Last Podcast On The Left
Bring Her Back: An Interview with Danny & Michael Philippou
In an American accent, it sounds scary, but an Australian, oh, what's that over there, mate?