Bruce Bozzi: John Wayne at Starbucks
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Hey, everybody. Welcome to Literally It Is Me. Today, Bruce Bozzi is here. Bruce hosts Table for Two, which is a fantastic podcast. Came up in the world of his family, basically created The Palm, one of, let's face it, if you know steak and you know food, you know The Palm. He is married to Brian Lord, who runs CAA, the big agency, stepfather of Billy Lord. And like this guy knows show business from a whole different angle.

I mean, he knows it from the real angle, which is through restauranting. Let's face it, because that's where it all goes down. And one of the which is one of the greatest guys ever. So I'm excited for you guys to hear from Bruce.

How's everything with you, man? How you been? Everything's excellent. Super excellent. I just got back from New York City. I'm back here in Los Angeles. And I'm busy. And I'm just super happy it's 2023. I think this is going to be a good year for everybody. I think so. I always think so. I'm a total glass half full guy. Yes. I can tell that about you. Always. Right? Yeah, I agree. No, I mean...

Even in spite, even during the time in the 2020, a couple years ago, were you glass half full? I always figured there's a greater good somehow that we may not be aware of. Right, right. I hear you. I just got to say to you, Rob, because we're like peers. Yeah. We're 100% peers. And all your movies to me, like your movies took me through the 80s in a profound way.

epic way that have like shaped me from the outsider to the hotel, New Hampshire to St. Elmo's. I mean, these were these iconic movies. Like I just got to go out of the gate and having a conversation with you saying, thank you. Well, Bruce, you're coming from you who you, you talk to so many great people on your podcast. I mean, you,

I mean, you get all the heavy hitters. So for you to say that, that means a ton. Speaking of that, I would love for you to be a guest on Table for Two. Yeah, Turnabout is fair play. It's a two-way street. I am down to do it. I mean, we've known each other sort of forever. We would cross paths and things like that. So when my movies were out in the 80s,

Is that the era you were working at the West Hollywood Palm still? Was that under your purview? No, that's earlier. So when your movies were coming out in the 80s, those were like my high school, college. Okay, right. So you weren't there yet. I was there. The latter part, I was working at the Palm on summers out in Long Island or New York.

And in the early 90s is when I started working when I was in college, after college, for the West Hollywood Palm. So you were hitting the Hamptons Palm, though, during that time. Because that was, I shot a movie called Masquerade in the Hamptons.

Yes, you did. In that big house. In that big house, which I think is knocked down. Tilly, Tilly. Meg Tilly? Meg Tilly. And I go down- Do I not know your career? Do I not know your career? I'm so impressed. I love it. I love it. Those were in my hard charging days. And I have so many moments that took place in the Palm restaurants. Really? So many. I remember-

I'll give you a little parade. Want a little trip down memory lane? Yeah, definitely love it. One of them was Mike Myers and I having dinner and Chris Farley had just died. And Mike said that he's going to take over for a movie that Chris was halfway done doing. It's an animated movie. And he had the life-sized head of

of the character he was going to be playing with him at this on the table. And it was the head of Shrek. Wow. That's kind of cool. That's really cool. I mean, I saw the head of Shrek.

At the Palm before, before anything. That's super cool. What other ones would you go when you were shooting in East Hampton where you go, was that like a place you guys would hang out at? That was a place, but mostly the, the, uh, the LA Palm, the old one on, on Santa Monica. Um, I mean, so many great stories. I mean, that was, I used to love, I was, I remain obsessed with the caricatures on the wall.

Right.

Always when they see me say, oh my God, I have these incredible stories from, you know, really beautiful, heartfelt stories. And so now just for the, anyone who's listening, because I just. So if I get a bad stake at the current Palm, it's not your fault. That's where, that's where I'm going, Rob. Well, actually where I'm headed is if, if my caricature gets bad placement on the walls. Call me up. I got, I got, I know you have nothing to do with it now, but please.

but please tell me I would buy a coffee table book of the Palm caricatures. I know it was, you know what it's, it was when we did the, when I, and I wasn't like I was in operation. So I was at the Palm West in New York in the theater district there, we did a cookbook and I said there should, we should have put together a book of caricatures and sort of a whole narrative. And it didn't happen. And it,

And then, funny you should say that, because years ago when West Hollywood went south, we took them off, and Robert Downey said –

you should do a whole art installation show of these caricatures. Yes. It was so traumatic and everything. But I think there's, I guess that. Are they saved? Do they exist somewhere? Yeah. Well, some we gave and some I have. I wonder where yours is. I might have yours. If you didn't get it back, I might have yours because you were in West Hollywood. Yeah, I didn't get it back. And I loved my placement. Yeah. It was not, it was sneaky placement.

A-list real estate. It was not in the main dining room. It was not on it, but it was when you went to the bathroom. You could not go to the bathroom without looking directly at me. Yes. And isn't that a joy? Isn't it? Yeah. I mean, look, with the one in New York, when I really, because that was like my baby, where I was really...

Put the placement was so fun to do. What about this? How did you make the decision? I'm so obsessed with this. I could do it. I literally could do an entire podcast over this. How did you decide, you know what? He's been dead for 15 years. Nobody can wait. It's time to put Leonardo DiCaprio up here or whatever.

Well, it's interesting. So like, right. So the room tells a story, it becomes this narrative. It becomes like a time capsule. Yes. And then it gets to a point where if you're too far out, you're right. There's a generation of people that don't even know who these people are. You play, it's a little dangerous because when you, if you take someone down and like they still have family that you don't realize. Yeah.

Oh, yes. And they're like, yes, use me. You know, so that's a little tricky. And yeah, so it was always how quickly how quickly do you take people down when when they pretty clearly have perpetrated a double murder?

How quickly did OJ come? He came down very quick. And his was huge. Do you remember how big OJ's caricature was? It was right over that four booths center. The listener will understand. His came down pretty quick because somebody put a steak knife in his head. Right in the center of his head. All right. So it was clear.

that the people were talking and it was time to take him down. Your audience had spoken. My audience had spoken. Because Rob, you know, part of me is, of course, someone, you know, part of me feels like when you're up, you're up there and that's part of like the story and take people down. Even like, you know, perpetrators of

Putting OJ aside, because that's something very specific, but let's say you were a part of like a white collar crime and you stole money from people. We had couples. Forget about it. Once they got divorced, it was in the divorce agreements. You get your picture taken down from the palm, not me. I mean, it was crazy.

That is the greatest thing I've ever heard, which I hadn't even thought about. Yeah, no. So that was one. When I did Palm in New York, Donna Hanover was married to Giuliani. I mean, please, this was 1999. And I was put – there were 19 couples put up all like cheek to cheek and Donna and Rudy were like –

10 feet apart. And at the time it was very noticeable because there wasn't, you know, there wasn't a lot of faces. So page six called me up and they said, so come on, give me, give me the skinny. Why are they not? And I said, you know, I don't know what you're talking about. And they're like, yeah, you do. I go, I don't know what you're talking about. Meanwhile, her office had said, I'll be up on your wall. I don't want to be anywhere near him. And this is before they announced they were getting divorced. So, you know, it's a little inside info. It's, it's the absolute greatest. And, and I,

I also loved like seeing the character actors that, that, you know, it just, it just was, you'd see a ginormous star next to a character actor. And the other thing I like is when you go to the Palm in the Palms in outside of New York and LA and in the smaller cities, um,

And you see their version of the glitterati of Philadelphia or whatever. Right. Exactly. Like you're in Charlotte and you're like, oh, so that's what's going down. So it was a total bummer when it all went south. But I'm very thankful for the 30 years that I worked there, my career plus my family and the whole shebang. But –

And it taught me a lot. And I met incredible people like yourself and many other people that we – I think that I have a picture of us, you and I, and I was searching for it. And we are under the caricatures in Beverly Hills of Sherry Lansing, Amy Pascal, and –

Oh, the age, super age, Sue Mengers. Sue Mengers. Yeah. That's some women power right there. That's true. Yeah. That's a power. That's true. And it was done like Charlie's Angels. So you have one like, you know. Oh, I remember. I read. Oh, yes, yes, yes. I remember we took that. I remember when we took that photo. Yeah. Yeah. It was like. I remember that. Yeah.

That was like a cool thing to do. I wish I could just carve that whole thing out and take it. But I did take a bunch of them when I left because I had ones with like Valerie Harper and Sammy Davis Jr. autographed. So like that's like, oh my God, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood. I mean, come on. Farrah Fawcett and Lee Majors. To this day, Lee Majors calls asking for that.

And I'm like, no, dude. Like, it's a piece... Because once you take it off and you frame it and mount it, they're quite cool. And so... Super cool. It's funny you say that, speaking of restaurants. And remember when Spago was the...

Like VVV when it was above sunset. This is now we're talking the 1980s. Bam, you're coming out with all my favorite movies and everywhere you look there was a movie star like yourself there. It was crazy. Spaga was and every single famous person in the world was there and I will never forget seeing Lee Majors

No, I'm sorry. It wasn't Lee. It was Ryan O'Neill and Farrah. Yes. Ryan O'Neill and Farrah walked in and they were the most beautiful couple I had ever seen in my life. I've seen a lot of things in my life. It was nuts. Yep. It was crazy. I was there a night where they both, it was the night before because Oscars used to happen in the 80s, as you know. The night before that weekend, I was there. It was when they walked in,

It was showstopper. It was like, you know, they were, it was something very special, that room. And it was overlooking Sunset Boulevard and it had patio chairs and, you know, Wolfgang, who's a genius, I think, was a genius at what he does, really was unrivaled. And that place is like, I think still nothing's there. Nothing's there. Why? How can that be? Why?

All of the history, it clearly is a location that works. Yeah. How has no one figured out something like that there? I don't know. And if you recall, because this is a big thing for those of us who live in LA, there was parking. They had a whole parking lot in the front. No idea. Because this guy started a whole... This may be... You and I may need to crack this together. I'm open to that. We might have to open something there. So I'm saying. Yeah. Let's figure out something to do there. That's just... It's just...

It's begging for... This also tells you how quaint it was and how long ago. It was the only place in LA, the only place where you knew the paparazzi would be every night. Yep. The only place. That's it. It was like a...

a lightning storm when people would leave. The sky would just light up. You're right. Bernard was the host. I don't know if you remember Bernard. Yes, the nicest and sweatiest man. Really? Yeah. Very nervous. It's a hard job. Right. At that time, you were...

You were hitting in all these movies. Who was that Rob when you would come in? That was the wild party Rob. This is like when you know you have real Hollywood clout. I would go to Spago when it was closed and they would open it. Oh, whoa. Wow. Yeah. I remember vaguely taking Demi Moore on a date there before –

St. Elmo's fire before she was cast in St. Elmo's fire. Really? And I was like, I know it's time to go to Spago. I love that story. Like, I feel like I learned something. I mean, I also had a great Spago story where, wait, wait, wait, you took to me and did, did you, you dated her for a while? Is that? Yes. Yes. Yes. We, we, we, we had a couple of run-ins and, uh, and Spago played a big part in it.

I just remember you, you know, the night in St. Elmo's, you know, the Jeep. Oh, the Jeep. The Jeep. The Jeep. I remember filming that scene vividly. Yeah.

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Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. I had a good night at Spago with dinner. This is my table at Spago. Andrew McCarthy, Patrick Swayze, Melissa Gilbert, Liza Minnelli.

Okay, wait a minute. Like, it's like that Sesame Street, like- One of those things is not like the other? Yeah. Totally, right? Yeah. How did that happen? Like, you have all my 80s icons, and then, oh, what happened? And the best was Liza was fresh out of rehab. Okay. And-

And ended that winning streak that night. And so we were doing our thing, whatever we were doing, and Liza goes, and I don't do a very good Liza. My Liza is going to sound like Jimmy Durante if I do it. I'm just telling you. By the way, nobody has more current references than me. Liza Minnelli, Jimmy Durante. No one's more current than I am, obviously. And Liza's like, we should all go up to Sammy's house. And

And that was my attempt at Liza. Now, wait. You have to now say, I know who you're talking about when you're talking Sammy. Now you have to reference the Sammy. Sammy Davis Jr. Come on, there's only one Sammy. Well, that's true. There's only one Sammy. Yes, you're right. And I had never met Sammy. And I was like, wait a minute. I'm going with Liza Minnelli to Sammy Davis Jr.'s house with Liza.

Andrew McCarthy and, and, and Swayze bailed, I could think, but we all, we went up to, to, to Sammy's and I, I shot pool with him and he was so charming and just wonderful and,

It was a great, great, great Hollywood memory. Talk about another era. I mean, another era plus because we grew up when people weren't taking pictures with their phones. So a lot of that's just like you're living your life. And now granted, when you stepped outside, you were being photographed. But when you went inside, you just could experience the intimacy of that, which how good, how happy are we that we grew up then? Oh, come on.

I I've thought about it a lot in that people say, if you could live in any era, what era would you live in? Right. And maybe if I were a different, had different interests and had a different job, there might be other areas I would, I would want to live in. But as an actor, for sure, I lived in the right era. Yep. There's no doubt. By the way, I wouldn't want to live any earlier. I wouldn't want to live any later. Like I want to be famous.

In the 80s. Yeah. Not the 60s. Right. Not the 70s. Not the 90s. Yeah. I'm famous in the 80s. I fully get what you're saying. You were famous in the 80s. It was a great decade to be famous and a great decade to be an actor. And the movies were coming out. First of all, movies were real movies. Yep. Real movies. I don't know what it is today, but it's nothing I recognize as the movies. Yep. And-

You had the right amount of privacy. You could like, you used to get live your life. Nobody was taking secret pictures of you. And it was more innocent. It was just a more innocent time and super. So I'm so grateful. I feel for people today who, who didn't, didn't have that, that, that part of the two way street that is fame. I agree of all of the movies that you did in that time. Was there one that stands out as just your favorite? Yeah.

Some of them stand out for different reasons. Yeah. You know, The Outsiders, because it was Coppola and such a great group of young men. It was an important movie. It was a teen movie, but it was Coppola, so it was still important. Oh, it was. In effect, all adolescents, and that's what we were, it was a very important movie to see. And that doesn't happen, particularly for teen movies. Yeah. They don't have the kind of prestige around them. So that was good. Cinema wasn't about last night, for sure.

I mean, About Last Night's my favorite of all the ones I did in that era. Because it holds up. It was a David Mamet play originally, so the writing is spectacular. To me, he's never been better than that. She was amazing. You were amazing. The transformation of the character. Belushi was great. Elizabeth Perkins. Amazing. I mean, just constant and fun. She came in and read, and it's the first time it's ever happened to me...

it's maybe happened once or twice since, but not often, where you come in and you read someone and you go, oh, we're done here. Really? We're done here. That's it. Done. Like, not even a question, not even a look to the other people. Like, cancel. Cancel everybody else who's coming in. You know, it's funny because I, you know, on Table for Two, which, you know, we'll talk a little bit about, but like, so I just, last week, George Clooney and Julia Roberts, it dropped and

We did and we talked about chemistry. And, you know, when chemistry happens between people. And in that movie, there was such chemistry between the four of you and the two of you as best friends and best friends. Yeah. It was really like an interesting just dance. It was great. Like, you don't find that. You don't see that that often. No, they're...

Jimmy and Elizabeth crush. Absolutely crushing. You know who people forget in the movie is Megan Mullally. She is? Megan Mullally has blonde hair. Okay. And she's the one who has that great moment where...

Demi's friends are sort of taking the piss out of a girl that's flirting with me at the bar and like, oh, here comes her big move. The hair flip with a giggle. Oh, yeah. And then they hold up the napkin. It's 10.0. Yes. That's Megan Mullally. It's great. I did not know that. Yeah. But I remember the scene. Hair flip with a giggle. Right. 10.5 degree of difficulty. Yeah.

Yeah, Julia and old Clooney, they've got some serious chemistry. Yeah, they talked about it. And it was like, you know, and like George said, it's like that thing when you know someone's a movie star, but you can't explain why. They just have it. And it's like the thing with chemistry. You just really can't put words to it. It just exists. So then I asked.

Julia, so what happens when it's not there? And she goes, oh, you know, oh, well, I mean, I wouldn't know about that. And then she starts laughing because obviously everybody has that experience. But it is really interesting to see when it sparks. What's the movie that they did that's one of my favorite movies where they were like white-collar crime spies? Not the Oceans movies. No, no, sorry. It's Clive Owen. It's not George. It's Clive Owen. Oh.

Now we have to think about this. So she also did Closer with him. Closer is one of my favorite movies ever. That movie is amazing. Amazing.

Like you can't get over it, how amazing it is. And yet again, all the nuances of time. And if something, if you take a right or a left, I mean, when he comes home from that trip and she's leaving him, it's, it's a great, it's yeah. And the movie I was thinking about with, with Julia and Clive Owen is duplicity. Ah, yep.

Oh, yeah. It's a great movie. I mean, again, I mean, I don't know. So what do you think about movies today? Like with – you don't stop working. No. You know, I mean, I think the good thing is that there's – that more than ever, work is work is work is work. Yeah.

Sure, there was the golden age of movies when movies were movies. But then that was also the time when people looked down on television. And now, you know, you can have prestige and good and bad in any platform. Yeah. Any platform. Yeah. So it's more democratic. Is that the word I'm looking for? In a way? I don't know. But I was with your husband at the premiere of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and we saw ourselves...

Just watching the red carpet and like, and he just, we were both feeling something, but we couldn't really put our, couldn't really articulate it and just turned to me and he said, you know what? It's a real movie premiere. Right. Yeah. And I was like, it is. That's what the fuck this is. Yeah. Because it was for a real movie too. It was a real movie with an auteur, with a, with a director who meant something. Yeah. With a cast who meant something. Mm-hmm.

And it was an, an, an original, not a based on a cartoon character or a, or a reboot. It was a real movie. Yeah. That movie in particular, but you're right. And it's like, when you notice it, like, cause it's changed so much because movies have changed so much. So movies are now streaming and, and it's fusing and, and,

who's a movie star, what's a movie star. We knew that growing up. We grew up at a time watching the Oscars and you saw Jessica Lange and you saw Meryl Streep and you saw the same group of – and you didn't see them every day. And even with Maverick this summer, like that was a big movie that people wanted to sort of enjoy and see. He is the last movie star. I'm loving watching him do all these amazing stunts and –

Tom Cruise is now shooting the International Space Station, his next movie, apparently. Really? Yeah. He's going to shoot in space, walking in space. The man's insane. He's insane. And you know, I was there when it started. I remember when Francis Ford Coppola said to all of us, for whatever reason, Francis had it in his head that we were, as greasers, we would be good at being gymnasts.

I'm not sure. Francis, I have friends who are working on Megalopolis right now with Francis, and he's still doing the same stuff. Like that kind of thinking where you're like, I don't really know, but whatever. He's Francis R. Coppola, so he must know. But he had it in his head that like the greasers and the outsiders should also be gymnasts. So we had to take tumbling classes and work on the parallel beams at the University of Tulsa and

Have you ever tried to learn a standing backflip? No. It's gnarly. It's gnarly. You feel like you're going to end up in a wheelchair. Yeah. And I wasn't good at it, nor did I want to be good at it. Well, wait a minute. So you're talking about one of the rumble scenes that you needed to, because it was so choreographed? I have no idea what the thinking was. He never articulated it to us. Because the rumble was a whole other thing. That was a whole stunt thing. So I remember the only person who took it really super seriously was Tom.

Wow. And Tom Cruise learned how to do a standing backflip. And if you have watched The Outsiders again, in the middle of the movie, for no reason, literally for no reason, we kind of stop and Tom jumps up on a car and does a backflip and then the movie continues. But like I'm like, oh, so that's where this is. It starts with a backflip and it ends with walking in fucking space. Right.

It's amazing. That's what makes Tom Tom. That's right. That movie really, Rob, when you think about all of you guys that really went on to have these amazing careers, just sort of like brought together. Talk about that chemistry. That was wild. We had real chemistry. Because we auditioned for months and months and months. And it was like...

super competitive and we all watched each other do it. Francis wanted us all to see each other do it. So it's like you wanted to kill everybody, but you also, they were your brothers. It was like interesting competition, love thing. And, you know, by the time we did the movie, we were, we felt like we'd been through the trenches. And to this day, whenever any of us see each other, it's, it's like, I, the only thing I can, I could compare it to that people might relate to is like when you run into your fraternity brothers, um,

Or a sorority sister who you've really been through it with. Like, it doesn't matter what's happened in your life. You're like, okay. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? Right. We were there at that moment. It's like high school in a weird way. You know what I mean? It's like those four years. It's like –

They're so important. And as many years that go past, it's like they just define who you are and they all – and like you said, you just are always connected. Wow. Your stepdaughter, Billie Lord, who is Carrie Fisher's daughter. Yes. You look at what –

her era of show businesses. Right. And you see, it's completely a different path. Totally. Completely different. And I actually think there's pros and cons. And, you know, we started this interview by saying I'm a glass half full guy. And I think part of it is, is that I find the good in everything. And there's a, there are lots of things about coming up today where I'm sure I'm glad I'm not coming up today. Really glad on the other hand.

There are some elements of it that are a lot better than when I came up, but it's really different. Give me an example of better. Better is there's more the volume of opportunity. Okay. There are more jobs. Right. So there are more jobs. Like if you can act even a little. Right. You're going to get a job. You should be working. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, not maybe not all the time.

But like there's a lot of work. No, you're 100% right. The amount of TV shows that are on every sort of platform. So that's – I guess that's a positive if you're an actor and you want to work. The negative to that for me is the exclusivity of watching like when growing up and the – knowing who my actors were and the movies in the limited amount. There's something very special about the limited amount. Yes.

And the profound effect as a result of that. Look, I could tell you, and this is, and I'll go, when you sit with me and we have lunch, I'll ask really specific questions. But like the fact that I can remember I was on 71st Street and 3rd Avenue and I saw Hotel New Hampshire. There's a reason that that movie, I can tell you, you know, like that's where I think things get lost now. People, the specialness of movies.

Oh, I remember where I was when I saw that movie because I wasn't seeing something every day. We were fortunate to grow up and you were fortunate to be in the career you're doing during that time. And for someone like Billy, yeah, you might have more work opportunities. And Ryan, like someone like Ryan Murphy, who's so amazing and he's doing such great work for the LGBTQ plus community and representation. And he has big platform opportunities.

It's just, it's, you know, maybe we're just getting old. So it's a little bit like, ah, it's better. Look at it this way. He did his, his, um, it didn't, I don't think it quite did what he would have liked to, but his movie he did with Meryl prom, like that would have been a big deal in our era.

Oh, yeah. I mean, things could bomb and did all the time. But if you had the right auspices around it, it was going to make some sort of an impact just by virtue of the auspices. That's no longer true. Did you have a favorite? I'm not yours. If you go back in your head, you go...

Favorite movie. Favorite movie of all time. Of just not one of my movies, but my favorite movie of all time? Yeah, just a movie that you're like. Oh, yeah. And again, you remember where you saw it. I mean, I was very lucky to know Erwin Winkler. I think Erwin's still alive. And I ran into Erwin and I was walking down the, it sounds very romantic. I was walking down the Champs-Élysées, but it's true. And there was Erwin. And I said, what are you doing in Paris? I was promoting Masquerade.

And he goes, it's funny, I'm about to go see a cut of the movie I just finished with Marty. Do you want to go? And I went with Erwin and saw Marty's cut of Goodfellas. Ah, wow. And I've never recovered. It's my favorite movie of all time. Yeah, from the second it starts. From the second it starts. Second it starts. You're like, so...

Hold in. That's a good one. I mean, it was, it was, you know, it's, it's so influential. People forget how influential that movie is because so many of the filmmaking techniques have been aped by everybody that it becomes been all. But like when, when they did that sequence to the, to Layla, where they discover the bodies, that great Clapton song that had never been done before. No. And of course the Sopranos then did it every episode. Right.

Right. And which is great. And I love it. And, and that's on and on and on. And, you know, they do it Dahmer and people do it. People use music of it. Marty started it. And that was the first time it was amazing. And that, and that movie, wasn't that the movie Rob were, it was that one shot that he cuts through walking through the hole. Yes. And the girlfriend, Lorraine. And then we did that on the West wing every week.

We did our walk and talks. And yeah, go to the Copacabana. Yeah. And when you look at it now, Clive Owen must be in the ether. If you look at Clive Owen's movie, Children of Men, there are way longer oners, we call them. Shots done in one. Way longer. Really? Oh, watch Children of Men. There are eight and nine minute oners. That's amazing. But you know what the difference is?

In Goodfellas, it's designed to wow you and it's designed for you to go, oh, my God, they haven't cut. Oh, my God, they haven't cut. Oh, my God, this one. In the other one, which is even more sophisticated by my line of thinking, it's designed so you don't notice. Right. Which is a whole other level of sophistication. Completely. Yeah.

You know what I mean? It's like not rubbing it in your face. Right. But I love filmmaking. I love all of that stuff. And I miss it because it used to be you could go on any Friday and find some element of it. And it just is not really the case so much anymore. Yeah. Well, that's another thing you bring up, which I think was the romance of a Friday night opening. Yes. Remember Friday night openings? Yeah.

Yeah. It was a big deal. You saw the trailer, the trailer, and it was like this was a plan. You were going to a Friday night opening of a movie. It was like waiting in line. I can remember all the Woody Allen movies, all those throughout. You're just like, yeah, this is big deals. Now we've lost that a little bit. It's like can you imagine what it would have been like to see John Wayne –

walking out of Starbucks on TMZ. No. Can you imagine Cary Grant coming out of a spinning class? You're right. It would have been... Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Bad. Okay, let's think. What would be the worst... By the way, I think those are two pretty good examples. But what would be the worst, most demoralizing example of that? Grace Kelly...

coming out of her dentist's office maybe i don't know yeah yeah yes like right with it with bandage like in her yeah yeah i can't talk um do you see how quickly we've debased the greatest stars in the world it doesn't take much marilyn monroe coming out of like costco

Erewhon. Erewhon, like your celebrity shop too. She's just, stars are just like us. But see, well, by the way, you wonder why, there it is. Like somebody came up with the idea of, no, no, no, no, wait a minute. This whole star thing? Yeah. Wait a minute, fuck that. Stars are just like us. Well, congratulations, now they are.

And you wonder, too, I think why a lot of these award shows have trouble keeping an audience is because this generation doesn't see it in the same way. Like that's when we saw our stars. You know, we saw them those nights all glitzed out.

Are you amazed that like that whole thing became such a business? The red carpet, the dresses, the jewelry, like that really was once just you dressing up to go and be with your peers and receive an award. I remember very vividly, very vividly, the first time I was aware of somebody saying, what are you wearing tonight? Mm-hmm.

Because it went from, how do you feel about your chances? How was it making the movie? Yeah. Have you talked to any of the people in your category? Those are the questions you got. And then I remember overnight, it was, what are you wearing tonight? Right. I want to say, what am I wearing tonight? Right. That becomes the most important thing. Exactly. Yeah.

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Meet the next generation of podcast stars with Sirius XM's Listen Next program, presented by State Farm. As part of their mission to help voices be heard, State Farm teamed up with Sirius XM to uplift diverse and emerging creators. Tune in to Stars and Stars with Issa as host Issa Nakazawa dives into birth charts of her celeb guests. This is just the start of a new wave of podcasting. Visit statefarm.com to find out how we can help prepare for your future.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Here's the other thing I think, and what I make up is that the stars of yesteryear had a little bit better sense of the room overall. I could be wrong, and it could just be a function of they didn't do that many interviews, they didn't tweet, they weren't on Instagram, so you maybe didn't know

their shortcomings to the extent that they had any. Yeah. But I feel now a lot of times when I see, sometimes when I see other actors by actors, I mean, male, female actors, people who act like I, I, I feel like I'm not sure that they have what they do in the proper perspective in terms of the world. Okay. And I think,

that rightfully rubs a lot of people the wrong way. So if you broke that down just a little bit more specific for me, so meaning that they think that they're doing something that's more important, or do they, or reading, like the distinction between the older generation reading the room versus the inability. Look, I think the more egregious ones probably do think they're doing something more important, but I don't really think it's bad. I think there's just sort of...

Sometimes a lack of implicit understanding that we dress up for a living and we

Yes, what we do is important because storytelling, I think, actually is one of the most important things that human beings can do. I agree. And we wouldn't have survived as a species, by the way, without it. Yeah. Wouldn't have survived without storytelling. Right. The person who was able to impart to the other caveman the most dramatic version of don't go into that forest because there's a tiger. Yeah. Super important thing. Yeah. So I'm in no way negating the importance of storytelling and how beloved and necessary it is. But

There are also other things that are equally important and that are done without wit with much less fanfare, much less payment. Yes. Much less accolades. And I just feel that sometimes I feel, I don't know, maybe it's that, that,

People have lived a life of rarefied air for too long. I just don't know. But there's an element of that that I – maybe it's that I'm older now and I have more of a perspective. I think it is. And I think it's also there's perspective as a result of that. So I think – and I'll bring up – so I asked –

Julia, if there was anybody she wanted to, or wish she could have worked with. And she talks a little bit about Catherine Hepburn, but she really talks about meeting Audrey Hepburn, which then leads into, and she was quite surprised on how she met Audrey Hepburn. They were on a flight and Audrey eventually, she misses her in the sort of the customs line because she assumes they're going to be in the same one. But of course, Audrey Hepburn has a different passport. And then

And Ms. Hepburn comes up to her and it's a whole thing. And then eventually turns into her receiving, because Audrey's sick at that time, but nobody really knew, a Lifetime Achievement Award.

And Gregory Peck introduces Julia. So it's like a moment. And then Clooney's talking about Gregory Peck. I think what you're saying, what I'm hearing a little bit is there was an elegance and a quietness to Audrey Hepburn's work in UNICEF in how to receive an award.

A humility. There was a humility. Yes. And I think that is something that now the younger generation and who, you know, it's just different. Like good or bad and, you know, it's just different. Yeah, listen, I just did a podcast with Stephen A. Smith, who's the great sports commentator. And we were talking about this and it is. It's different. We're talking about why the NBA is different today. Why sports.

sports is different it's more in your face it's more loud and and it's not bad it's not it's just it is different i really i i i don't want to end up like sounding like you know the meme of the old man on you know cursing at the clouds because yeah that is not that is not me at all but it's a different time no no that is not you at all if there was somebody you could have worked with or met of that period is there somebody that comes to mind oh yes and i'll never forget

So does this drive you crazy, people who do this? This is another Tom Cruise story. And I love it. False modesty drives me berserk. I'm like a big bragger. I have the number one movie on Netflix. It's a stupid dog movie. It's the number one movie. I'm going to tell everybody. As you should. I'm telling everybody. My dumb dog movie is the number one movie. Come on. I'm not going to be... There's no false modesty in me. Right. Because I like to think there's no falseness in me. Right. Yeah. Exactly. But that's another thing. Because I'll never forget where young actors...

You know, we're still on the up and up, trying to grinding, being competitive. But what we've done, Outsiders together and Tom and I are getting a slice of pizza at La Monica's in Westwood on our way to see a movie. And I'm like, bro, what are you even doing? What do you even? And we didn't use the word bro then. Probably dude. What have you been doing? He goes, oh, yeah, and I'm I'm I'm getting ready. I'm doing this thing with Marty. And I go, Marty, what?

Scorsese? Because, yeah. I go, oh, that's amazing. Yeah, so it's going to be me and Newman. I go, wait, wait, wait. Paul Newman? Yeah. We'd been together for like five hours already. I would have started with that. I'd have been like, dude, I'm doing a movie with Martin Scorsese and Paul Newman. So the false modesty killed me, but Paul Newman is the answer to your question. I would have loved to have worked with

Understood. I just got this. Oh, how is it? I haven't started it yet. And so it's Paul Newman for everyone who's listening. The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man. I mean, come on. You're going to have to. I'll give it to you. I'll send it to you when I'm done. Newman and Redford are my...

Warren, my heroes. Jack. Yeah, Jack. I mean, they all, they were such a class. I mean, and you know what I watched yesterday? I watched, I haven't seen it in a long time, was Midnight Cowboy. Oh, yeah.

That's an interesting movie to come out in 1968. It was intense. I mean, it won Best Picture. They both were nominated. But it's like this kind of weird psychedelic, you know, it's a movie that I don't know. I don't think it would be made today. No. See it. No, it's one of the great movies of all time. It's just one of the great. I like that and Deliverance as a double feature.

That's like light movie night. I mean, if I'm going light, I'm going light. Like it's either that or a true light comedy. Like a Bill Murray? Like we're going back to something like that? Yeah, I'm a big Caddyshack guy. Yeah. Borat, I think, is one of the funniest movies ever made. What's been the highlight for you in your career thus far, do you think? I...

Right. Right.

How about in the days when there were magazine covers? Yeah, exactly. There was nothing bigger than Vanity Fair. Yeah. Nothing. So I've been at this a long time. I've never been on the cover of Vanity Fair. Never. I write a book and the book gets me on the cover of Vanity Fair. Your memoir gets you on the cover. And that I think is one of my proudest things that my writing is.

Right. Ends up being the thing that gets me on the cover of Vanity Fair. It's a hell of a memoir. FYI. It's a goodie. Thank you. Was that hard to, you're welcome. Because like writing a memoir, you really bring stuff up. Was that a difficult journey? Well, it was difficult to hit the bullseye of, because look, if you're going to do it, you got to do it. There's nothing worse than people. The only thing worse than people throwing people under the bus is people,

mincing around being real. So you, you have to find the thing. And I, I had loved David Niven's book, the moon is a balloon, which is sort of in the memoir world considered the creme de la creme of pithy, clever, real, honest, like it has it all. Yeah. So my,

My thing was like, if I could do it like the moon's a balloon, I can do this. And I think I did. I really do. No, you did. You did. And that's a perfect example because I also think in regard to even what we're doing today and what you're going to be doing with me when we sit. And she's doing it. And if you can't, if you're not willing to share. Don't do it. You can't do it.

At the end of the day, the person who has to look the worst in the book is me. Yeah. That's smart business, Mr. Lowe, because that's like, oh, okay. If I'm going to write a book and be real and be honest, I got to come out not the hero. With my warts. With the warts. Right. Before we go, I have to ask you this because it came up in the research. Are you a big ice bath, infrared sauna person?

Rob Lowe, I am a big – yes. So about a year and a half ago, fitness has been a whole part of my game probably from like the early 80s, mid-80s, like when it started happening. Remember when that happened? Yeah. By the way, that's another thing about the 80s. Remember like overnight. Right. You had to be in a – remember? Like overnight, I didn't lift a weight ever. Ever. We got to say Jamie Lee Curtis and Travolta propelled us.

But yes, so remedy. I go to this place. Ice baths are great. It's like they're 41 degrees. Go minimum of three minutes. Try to make it six. It's just good for inflammation. It's good for kind of fat loss, all that kind of stuff. We're going to put a pin in this and get back to this. I feel like we missed a whole thing on fitness because I'm with you. I'm a freak.

about it. So when I call and you, we do lunch, we're going to talk about fitness. Yeah, because listen, I'll speak for myself. You're a spring chicken. I'm no spring chicken. Excuse me. I'm going to be 57. You're 58. We're together. Okay, we're together. I didn't want to cast dispersions. I didn't want to be ageist. FYI, if I should look like you at 58, and I think I look pretty damn good at 58. You look great. When I saw you on the thing, I was like, oh, okay, my man's got it going on. Okay. Right.

I will leave you with this. I once asked Clint Eastwood, and this was fairly recently. And Clint's like 90 something, right? It's amazing. And so this is fairly recently. And I said, I want to be you. How do you do it? You direct a movie every year and a half still.

And he said, Rob, I never let the old man in. You know what? Sage, sage wisdom, because the people that get old think they're old. Yes. That's state of mind. It's just, we're lucky to have our health. And that's why the saunas and all this stuff we'll talk about. I just think it's just keep a body in movement to me is the most important thing we can do. And

I would love to have dinner with you and Cheryl. Let's do it, but let's... I mean, you have so many mutual friends. Let's do a Montecito dinner. Okay. Let's do that. Yes. Because I feel like I'm so overdue to catch up with Brian, who always makes me laugh so hard. Definitely. I could do a table for two up in Montecito. Let's do that. Pick your favorite restaurant up there. We go and it's easy. We will do it. Thank you, Rob, for having me today. I love it. So fun.

What a great guy. I could talk to him forever. I have to say that I can't get over the notion of Cary Grant coming out of a spinning class. Like if stars of yesteryear were subjected to today's media, they wouldn't be the stars of yesteryear. So I leave it up to you, dear listener. Think of your own demoralizing version of a great star being debased by today's society. And call up the lowdown line and tell me what you've come up with.

John Wayne coming out of his dermatologist office. Is that one? Would that be something? That'd be bleak. I'm not ready to give up on this quite yet. I know we're wrapping it up, but I've kind of got an episode. Oh, I got a good one. How about Vivian Lee coming out of her chiropractors? It's a good one. I got one more for you. Clark Gable outside the Jiffy Lube. They don't seem like stars anymore, do they?

You wonder why there aren't any stars today. All right. Just one more thing before we end today's episode. Let's check the lowdown line. Hello. You've reached literally in our lowdown line where you can get the lowdown on all things about me, Rob Lowe. 323-570-4551. So have at it. Here's the beep.

Hey, Rob. This is Lori from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I've been a fan of your work for a long time, and this podcast is just the icing on the cake. I really enjoy listening to it. My question is, I was wondering if they were going to do a movie about your life, who would you want to play you and why? First.

from your young years and your older years in case they were two different actors. Keep up the good work. Thank you. Wow, that's a good one. It's funny, I'm developing a project about coming of age in Malibu and the beginning of the modern entertainment industry in the late 70s and into the 80s, and I'm in it, and I'm thinking, who is going to play that part? So

I'm thinking about it. Well, I mean, really, it should probably be my son, John Owen Lowe, you know, who's my co-star in Unstable on Netflix, currently streaming. But I don't get, I mean, there's nobody really that I've seen out there. I had such a very specific look in those days, but we'll find them. By the way, if you see somebody walking around the streets of Winston-Salem, call the lowdown line.

Like report that person. Report them to the authorities so I can get them to Hollywood. Thank you. Thanks for calling. I'll leave you with that. Until next week on Literally. You've been listening to Literally with Rob Lowe, produced by me, Rob Schulte, with help from associate producer Sarah Bagar. Our research is done by Alyssa Graal.

The podcast is executive produced by Rob Lowe for Low Profile, Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and Joanna Solitaroff at Team Coco, and Colin Anderson at Stitcher. All of the music on this podcast was composed by Devin Bryant. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time on Literally with Rob Lowe. This has been a Team Coco production in association with Stitcher.

All set for your flight? Yep. I've got everything I need. Eye mask, neck pillow, T-Mobile, headphones. Wait, T-Mobile? You bet. Free in-flight Wi-Fi. 15% off all Hilton brands. I never go anywhere without T-Mobile. Same goes for my water bottle, chewing gum, nail clippers. Okay, I'm going to leave you to it. Find out how you can experience travel better at T-Mobile.com slash travel. ♪

Qualifying plan required. Wi-Fi were available on select U.S. airlines. Deposit and Hilton Honors membership required for 15% discount terms and conditions apply.

Meet the next generation of podcast stars with Sirius XM's Listen Next program, presented by State Farm. As part of their mission to help voices be heard, State Farm teamed up with Sirius XM to uplift diverse and emerging creators. Tune in to Stars and Stars with Issa as host Issa Nakazawa dives into birth charts of her celeb guests. This is just the start of a new wave of podcasting. Visit statefarm.com to find out how we can help prepare for your future.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.