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[0:00] Michelle Simone Miller: Happy Mentor Monday. Welcome to a new episode of Mentors on the Mic podcast. I'm your host, Michelle Simone Miller. And this is another fun Hamptons International Film Festival Red Carpet episode. I'm very excited about this one. This was the first Red Carpet that I did this year for the Hamptons International Film Festival, and it was for The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd. This film is written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson, who you might know from so many movies like O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and for some people, Holes, such a good movie. So many amazing movies, it's hard to go into with that. But we've actually had Tim Blake Nelson on the podcast before.

We interviewed him a couple years ago for the film Bang Bang at the Tribeca Festival, which was really exciting. So it was wonderful to have him back. It was wonderful to mention it. I'll talk about that in a second. And also the Red Carpet interviews we were also able to obtain was with Amanda Seyfried, which was very exciting, and actress Scoot McNairy. You might know Scoot from things like the television show Furious with Emmy Rossum, Night Bitch with Amy Adams, Narcos Mexico, the third season of True Detective. He is fantastic. And such a pleasure to speak to because, I mean, he has such an ability. I can imagine acting with him. I'm just honing in, speaking to you, looking you in the eyes, and really being present in the moment, which is something, again, that was reflected later by Amanda Seyfried when she had her conversation with Amanda Seyfried the next day.

And she got to talk a little bit more about working with Scoot as well as working with Tim Blake Nelson and the whole project. But we did get to speak to her a bit. I was able to ask her a couple questions on the carpet. She is such a pleasure to speak to and also really gave the time to everyone on the carpet to speak to each outlet. And she did that not only for that day, but the Red Carpet the next day, which is something I heard from other people as well. And so I'm just really excited to share these interviews with you. I will say that I thought I was doing something fun. I reached out to Andrew Liner, who was in Bang Bang with Tim Blake Nelson a couple years ago. And I asked him for any cool questions or anything I could ask Tim Blake Nelson.

And he said, well, Tim is really good about, well, he said two things. One, that Tim is really, really good about research, that like that's a big thing for him. And he also said, you know, something, he asked a question about advice to filmmakers and younger actors, etc. So I kind of combined the question and I asked him a question about doing the research. And then I said, as someone who has written, directed, and starred in this film, The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd. Now, I haven't seen the film, I try to see as many films as possible. This was the premiere of the film at the festival, I wasn't able to obtain a screener link prior to so I couldn't watch the film ahead of time. But I didn't realize and I probably should have that he is not the mean star, right, that he is someone who is starring in the sense that he is in it, he is acting in it, but he is not the star.

And so Tim Blake Nelson really put me in my place, but in like a nice way. You tell me what you guys think. I really wasn't super embarrassed. But what I did notice in his answer and in sort of saying that, yes, he directed and he wrote it, but that he didn't star in it. He then named all the stars, he named a bunch of the actors, including Missy Pyle, who we've had, actually on another red carpet for Tribeca a couple years ago, for the movie All That We Love, starring Margaret Cho. So it was just a really funny thing that, you know, he responded in that way, but it was such an actor move, such an actor friendly move to be able to go, well, I'm not starring in it, I have a small part in it, but here are the people who are actually stars of the film.

So what a class act. Let me know what you guys think about that interaction. And before we start, if you haven't yet, please follow on Spotify or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also find a lot of these on YouTube. I don't put them out right away on YouTube so I can give people a chance to listen to the podcast, but there's a lot of stuff on there. The link is in the show notes, as well as a link to our sub stack. I am going to be sharing some information about what it is to do these red carpets and how I got them and how I got to be, you know, interviewing on carpets and what the experience at the Hamptons International Film Festival is really like as someone with a press badge.

And make sure to follow on Instagram at Michelle Simone Miller and at Mentors on the Mic where I'm going to be putting up a lot of these red carpet clips so you can see them, you can see our interaction in person. So that's been really fun. Please check that out. We have other wonderful episodes that feature, you know, wonderful people like Ron Howard, Jesse Eisenberg, Nina Dobrev, to name a few. Oh, and just to mention, The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd is a very intense prison drama thriller that's making the rounds right now. So definitely check it out. I know I want to. And without further ado, here's Tim Blake Nelson, Scoot McNairy, and Amanda Seyfried.

[5:30] Amanda Seyfried: Hi, Amanda. How are you today?

[5:30] Michelle Simone Miller: Good. How are you?

[5:30] Amanda Seyfried: I'm good. So you worked recently with Tim Blake Nelson on The Testament of Antley. So I wanted to know how is it working with him then and what made you want to work with him on this? And how did he approach you for this project?

[5:38] Amanda Seyfried: I don't remember how he approached me. I guess he just sent it to me. I knew about this movie for a while before Antley. But then I met him on Antley and I was so excited that Tim was lending himself, coming to Budapest to shoot these days with us and spending time with us. It blew my mind that we had somebody of his caliber just flying in and playing around. And so I got to know him then. He's just such a fun actor to play around with. And it feels very safe and especially when you're a little nervous. But as a director, I guess he sent me the script and his writing is superb. It's really, really realistic, especially these days. I feel like there's so many scripts that are just written. It does feel, and I know this might not be true, but I do get a sense that there's some computer component to the scripts that I've been reading.

And he writes a very human story and he made a very human movie. We shot in a real penitentiary. It was eye opening many times throughout filming. And he doesn't shy away from the truth, which is sometimes as harrowing as anything. And I think that's why I just loved the script. When it comes to the actual notes and the direction that he's giving us, it's like I needed a lot of help because he wanted very specific moments. Sometimes I come from maybe a broader scope sometimes depending on the scene, depending on the character, depending on the circumstances. It's always different. And with this, I needed a lot of help getting details of what this person was experiencing because she's so far from anything that I've ever experienced in my life.

So it was essential to have Tim there as an actor, as someone who wrote it, as someone who's as invested in anything, as this as anything. So it was important. It was good. It's a one of a kind story way of telling the story, I think. It's not a one of a kind story.

[8:02] Scoot McNairy: It's happening all the time, in terms of, you know, the capital punishment, but the botching of it.

[8:11] Amanda Seyfried: Yeah, God, I'm excited for people to see it. Is there a through line, do you think, of the projects, the dramas specifically you've taken on the last year? It's like, I'm thinking a mouthful there. I think cultural, I think things that are important, things that are, just need to be reminded, we need to be reminded of. There's so many human beings on this planet, there's so many troubling, concerning aspects of policy that are being ripped away from us, and we have so little control over things, and the people that do have control don't have our best interests at heart, and so it's up to us to inform ourselves, and we do like to see movies as a society. So, and read books, and watch TV, and I think it's like, sorry, it's just, I think it's important when these things happen, especially when they're happening as often as they are, that we talk about it.

I mean, we're seeing some kind of tide move in a direction that makes me feel hopeful, and as long as the movies, like the movies I choose, yeah, I'm gonna do a political movie next year, because it has to be done, and they're gonna make it, and I wanna be a part of it, and I mean, and we're not necessarily making political movies. This is not a political movie. This is a human movie, and the movie next year, like, it's about humans, and it can be political, but I don't think it necessarily needs to be. I think we're past that point. I think now we're just like, we need to take care of each other, because we're not being taken care of by the people that we voted, or some people voted for. Anywho, I gotta go.

[9:59] Tim Blake Nelson: Alright, so I've actually interviewed before at Tribeca for Bang Bang, and I reached out to Andrew Liner, and I was like, can you ask a question for Tim? What would it be? So first, he wanted me to ask you about how much research you put into everything. So I wanted to ask how much research you put into this film before writing it, directing it, and starring in it. Well, so I have a nice role in it, but the starring roles are Amanda Seyfried and Scoot McNairy, and then a wonderful cast with Missy Pyle and Devin Tyler, Grant Harvey. So I'm part of a really great ensemble with this movie. In terms of the research, I take this very seriously. I'm a meticulous researcher, whether I'm acting or writing and directing.

There's a lot more that goes into research when you're writing and directing, because you're kind of researching for everybody. Not just the actors, but the production designer, the costume designer, because you're collaborating with all of them, and it has to reflect both accuracy and taste. So this was years in the writing and years in the preparation. And if you could give any advice to young filmmakers out there, what would it be? Watch as many movies as possible, read as many novels as possible, and write. If you can write, it gives you all the power.

[11:23] Tim Blake Nelson: Any particular novel you'd recommend? Oh my God. I know. I'm a big reader, too. Everything by Dostoevsky, everything by Faulkner. But if you're from a particular area of the country, explore those writers that are particular to your region. Flannery O'Connor was a huge influence on me, and that can be seen in this movie tonight. Amazing. Thank you.

[11:55] Scoot McNairy: So how did Tim Blake Nelson approach you with this project? He reached out to me and asked if I would take a look at the project, the film, the script. And I read it, and I was already sort of itching to work with Tim. I'm a big fan of his work as an actor and sort of his choices and why not? And also Amanda. She's pretty good.

[12:15] Tim Blake Nelson: Yeah.

[12:16] Scoot McNairy: She's amazing. And so I got really lucky for this to come my way and to get an opportunity. And so I have to read this part, but Tim described your performance as almost cellular in an interview, so that as though he wasn't watching you perform, you were just so in the moment. What kind of preparation do you feel like you personally take into creating that level of sort of physical and emotional specificity? I don't know. That's a great question. I'm an actor, so I'm petty about this stuff. I wish I could give you, you know, just trying to keep it real, just trying to make choices that are real and that aren't a far reach. And also, this is a really fun character for me, just in a way that I haven't played somebody that has nothing to lose.

And sort of there was a lot of freedom in that to do whatever, because he didn't care. So that was something that I explored and that was different and interesting. But as far as preparation, it was just, as I always say, just do whatever you got to do to keep it real.

[13:29] Tim Blake Nelson: Well, so then I have to ask you, because they always say make bold choices, but you obviously don't want to make choices for choice's sake. So when you look at a script, how do you make choices that you feel like is real for the purpose of storytelling and real for the character? Mostly when I read a script, the first thing that comes to me is like, would I go see this movie? Okay. And that's it. Nice. You know, it usually has something to do with the location, how far it is. But if it's like, if I like the movie and I'm like, I would go see this movie, then I'm going to be excited about the whole... It takes a long time to do it and you've got to stay passionate about it the whole time. And if you really like it and you would go see that movie, then you make it. That doesn't always go well for me, you know what I mean? But at the same time, I'm always having a good time.

[14:18] Scoot McNairy: And lastly, what do you want people to walk away from this? What are you hoping they learn or... Watching this movie, I hope that people take a really good look and realize that this is part of turning a mirror on our society. And it's showing also how cruel humanity and we can be to each other. And so in that of watching this sort of love story unfold with this sort of heinous, unbearable truths that are happening, that people walk away from this and really sort of analyze how they treat each other and how they treat the people that are close to them and that people have a little bit more compassion for anybody, whether what color you are, what race you are, what religion you are, just have a little bit more compassion.

[15:05] Amanda Seyfried: I love it. Thank you so much.

[15:07] Tim Blake Nelson: Awesome. Thank you.

[15:09] Michelle Simone Miller: Thank you so much for listening to Mentors on the Mic. If you enjoyed the episode, please share it with a friend in entertainment you know would love it. Let me know what you learned or what stayed with you on our Instagram at Mentors on the Mic. I love reading your messages. You can also find me at Michelle Simone Miller on Instagram. On both accounts, I'll be sharing even more information about our mentors. Talk to someone about what you learned today who would really appreciate it and send them the episode. Also, if you love the show, please go ahead and leave us a rating and review on iTunes. It really makes a huge difference in growing this. It makes it easier for people to find our podcast and I love reading your reviews. So thank you so much and I'll see you next week.