Well, he is trying to sell his short film on iTunes.

He is? Brandon is?

Yeah.

Something that he directed?

He’s in it, something that his girlfriend directed. I don’t know if that’s the same one, but just the other night he was telling my readers look for the short film on iTunes.

Can anyone post a film on iTunes? Well, how do you get on iTunes?

Everything winds up on iTunes.

On YouTube or iTunes?

iTunes is separate.

I know iTunes is separate.

Anyone can post on YouTube.

I know anyone can post on YouTube. But you also can’t get any revenue on YouTube. But that’s interesting to think that somebody can put a short film on iTunes. I’ve never seen a short film on iTunes.

I’m going to move in a different direction. You’ve been in the industry for about twenty-five years.

(Moans).

I know, it’s a tough number. Have you seen the industry change at all?

You know, I was so unaware of the industry when I was an actor. It seems really… maybe because I came out and sort of stumbled into it, it didn’t seem that hard. Oh yeah, you get this part and there were all these teen movies being made. It seemed like there was this proliferation of them. I was in My Science Project, Losin’ It, Top Gun. It seemed like there were so many of these movies and I was working with the same people over and over again, and there was the Brat pack. Now there are fewer of those kinds of those movies being made although the new genre, horror thriller, is sort of picking up the slack of what used to be the teen comedy, John Hughes types of movies. It has certainly got more corporate and there’s certainly more of an emphasis on box office numbers. I mean, everyone knows them. I leave town when I have a movie coming out. I go someplace that has no internet, no phone, ‘cause it’s just too stressful. Unless you know that you have Spiderman 3 and you’re going to have a huge hit… like, fuck that, who wants to stick around and endure? People go around in Limousines to movies. I can’t even imagine that. What if you saw someone leaving? Or what if you went to the bathroom and someone was trashing your movie? That’s just too… well, it’s too hard for me to handle. I can’t stand the NRG screenings because they’re so stressful and you see one person get up to go to the bathroom and you’re sure that everyone is going to leave. And those screenings now, so much of how… whether a film even gets released, the marketing budget, the number of screens, is all based upon that screening that you have in Woodland Hills and the number. That person who comes in with the number… you’re shaking, like, it’s that high stakes now. And I don’t remember any of that. But I wasn’t really exposed to that as an actor. I think they had those kinds of test audiences, but now everything is so test driven that between that and internet chatter you’re fate is basically determined before your movie even comes out.

You put yourself in this movie right at the end. Was that just for fun or are you going to do that in every movie now?

No. I looked at it and was like… ufff. That was kind of a goof because it was really expensive to fly American actors. The girl was Max’s real girlfriend who happened to be there so we didn’t have to pay her. And I was there, so I didn’t have to pay myself to fly down. It was expensive to fly.

So those two characters were in the script and when he says, “Don’t take the bus,” that was in the script already?

Yes, that was in the script, but casting it was kind of a money saving thing.

What’s going to be on the DVD?

In terms of extras do you mean?

Yeah.

We did an unrated which has some kind of semi-crazy on it. There is a pretty cool making of. We had a guy who was there the whole time, and mostly got the partying in Brazil and some of the insanity that went on off set, which I think in many ways is more interesting than what was happening on the set. There’s a whole kind of underwater making of, a special effects thing, how certain things were done. I haven’t seen it. It’s all kind of being done right now.

Is that unrated thing kind of… they go to you and say, “We’ll sell more DVDs if you do two different cuts”?

It’s certainly a marketing thing. I actually asked the same question because I had never done it before. Our producer did the unrated version of American Psycho and he said the difference between the unrated and rated was two thrusts. He was fucking some girl and the MPAA made them cut out one thrust. They put in the extra thrust and released it as an unrated and that’s the only difference. And they sold so many more of the unrated. In our case we actually did have to do some somewhat drastic cuts for the MPAA and then I had some extra kind of pervy stuff that I put back in.

Are you talking about Gore?

No, sex. There is a more explicit scene with the guy and the prostitute. It’s a little crazier. There is more stuff with Bo. But yeah, it’s definitely a marketing thing. Everyone falls for it, though. I was like, doesn’t it have to be longer? And they go, “No, usually they’re like three seconds longer.” Unless they’re a directors cut, which I didn’t do. I did just the unrated version.

How did Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner come aboard or were they aboard from the beginning?

It started with a guy named Bo Zenga, who is involved in the whole lawsuit with Pelacano… so, he’s an interesting character. Then it went to a guy named Scott Steindorf, who’s a great guy. Then it came to Todd and Mark, and they financed and made it. They paid for the whole thing. So they were involved, but they came in through some other parties. And Mark, I think the NBA season was underway, so you really don’t see much of Mark when the Mavericks are playing. But Todd was around.

With people like that who are definitely very… I don’t want to say controlling, but they know what they want or something like that, did they kind of say yes/no or did they let you go?

Absolute total freedom from Todd. Now, he has people who work with him and under him. Mark Butan, who definitely has an opinion, he’s on the set and Kent. There are people there. It was a pretty free experience, though. Mark Cuban has way too much shit to worry about. Todd, again, is good at delegating. He came to Brazil a couple of times. He flew in on a private plane, had bodyguards. Smart guy, though… knows what he wants, but doesn’t try to micromanage.

Have they seen the final cut?

Mmmm-Hmmm.

And they’re pleased?

Yeah. Todd gave notes and we did his notes. They were smart notes. I don’t think I would know if they weren’t pleased. Who the fuck knows? Like with any of these things, you don’t really… that’s why as much as people say they don’t read critics, I think in some ways it’s the only truly unvarnished response. Whether you agree or disagree. Well, there’s no agreeing or disagreeing, if you‘re at a movie premiere everyone could have fucking hated it, but everyone comes up to you like it is the best movie ever made. Even at these junkets, you can kind of read between the lines, but you don’t really know. Then you go on Rottentomatoes and you’re like, uhhhh… really? Or it’s nice, like I can’t help myself, on Thursday night… refresh rotten… and this guy from wherever hates it. Look, a movie like this you don’t make to necessarily get great critical response. But still, at the same time you hope a person will say for this type of movie it’s okay. You want that little bit of affirmation. What was your question? I don’t remember?

Are they pleased?

I guess I was saying who knows. They tell me they are. They asked me to do another movie. I think they are pleased.

So what are you going to be doing?

It’s called Villain. It all takes place in the snow and in Alaska. No bikinis.

Are you one of those collaborative directors or are you like I’ve got my vision so keep doing it till you get it my way?

I used to be more like that, but I think I’m learning to be more collaborative. I guess I just was so insecure, worried about… there’s a difference between being collaborative in the post process. You’ve got more time and you’ve got the Avid, so you can take it apart and put it back together. I’ve really learned that’s the place where you can bring people into. On the set it’s a little dangerous to start appearing like… what do you think, what do you think?  All of a sudden there’s a vacuum that everyone wants to fill and all of a sudden you never finish your days. In a way, for better or worse, you have to say you may be right, but this is the way we’re doing it and we can’t do it five different ways ‘cause we don’t have the time or the money. So, that’s what I’ve learned.

What about that bus scene in the opening of the movie… it seems like it was a one and done thing. It doesn’t seem like you can keep setting it up.

When that bus went over, it was done. We almost went over with it because we were shooting inside and there was this whole rig and it has the thing shaking and then one of the cables snapped and my DP and I was like, “Holy shit!” This was like Brazil filmmaking for you. Thankfully they had a safety cable, so we didn’t go over.

So there was no CG bus going down that hill?

No. In fact, there were some houses, typical third world filmmaking. There were some houses over on the side and we almost flipped over the house. So yeah, there was no CG in that.

How would you describe this film? Just in general..?

I don’t know. Everyone puts it in category and types it. I sort of saw it as a… I always loved Deliverance. Not that this is it, but I loved the idea of people going into a situation which they think is going to be one thing and then having their lives be forever changed for having undergone it. But it took place in a world that may or may not be real… sort of feels like you could have stumbled upon it if you went down the wrong road. That’s the movie I reference, not Hostel.

Not torture with a purpose.

A socialist, yeah, mindset. Deliverance had a kind of quazi political message underlying it, and that’s what this one does a little bit.

We’re coming up on the end of the year… who would you call the entertainer of the year?

Besides Josh Duhamel? (laughter) Entertainer of the year? I don’t know. I mean, I loved The Departed. I think Scorsese is going to win Best Director and that’s going to win Best Picture, I hope. I didn’t love Babel, like I didn’t love it the way people… I know it’s going to get nominated, but I hope The Departed wins. What do you think? Who is..?

Frontrunners have been Sacha Baron Cohen. We’re not talking about Oscars; We’re talking about entertainers.

Oh, of course… Sacha Baron Cohen.

Or Daniel Craig is making a splash.

John - I haven’t seen it, but yeah, Sacha Cohen, he’s cool. I know Isla Fisher a little bit, and he’s really worried about him and his safety. She was like, “I don’t want him to do this anymore because he’s been in so many harrowing situations and he doesn’t really have security.” He’s gonna get shot. Like some of these situations he puts himself in… he’s going to get shot or badly beat up, I think.

People take it too seriously.

Well, they don’t get it, especially if he’s doing Bruno. If he starts doing that in places and they just can’t handle it. Alright, thank you guys…

Thanks.

Turistas opens this Friday at theaters.