Kevin Pollak on The In-Laws

Today, Chuck sits down with the great Kevin Pollak to talk about all things movies, along with some insight into the classic 70s comedy The In-Laws.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Hey, everybody, welcome to movie Crush. This is Chuck coming
to you from the home studio at Pont City Market, Atlanta, Georgia.
Got knoll Over on my left, and this week we
had Mr Kevin Pollock in the studio. And a little
backstory here. Josh and I did a live Stuff You
Should Know at the l A Podcast Festival a couple

(00:45):
of years ago, and literally during the middle of this
uh show, Uh, we were drinking water on stage out
of a glass and I didn't realize my water had
gotten low, and Kevin Pollock jumps on our stage. Uh.
And I think this is even in the episode, the
Rodney Dangerfield episode and uh pours water for me from
a water pitcher. I had no idea. Listened to the show, um,

(01:08):
being a big fan of his for a long time
obviously from everything from a few good men to usual suspects,
and uh, it was just sort of one of those
moments we're like, wow, Kevin Pollock is on stage all
of a sudden, and then we met afterwards and he
and his uh, he and his significant other, uh Jamie
or Big Stuff you Should Know fans. So that was

(01:29):
just a delight for us to know and flash forward
to UH now put out the call for movie Crush guests,
and lo and behold, I get a email from Kevin
Pollock that said, hey in Atlanta doing a movie, and um,
I can do this tomorrow. And that's It's It was
as easy as that. So all of a sudden, Kevin

(01:50):
Pollock is in here. We talked about The in Laws,
the great original in Laws movie, one of the classic
seventies comedies. It really has that classic seventies how many feel.
Two stars Alan Arkin and Peter falk Um just a
great comedy bearing there. Alan Arkin at times and Kevin
I chat about this play is a little bit of

(02:10):
a straight guy for the most part. Um, but they
sort of swap positions in and out. Uh. It is
about and this is this is not to the Michael
Douglas remake. They want to knock that movie because I
haven't seen it, but I'm always a big fan of
the Originals almost every time. But this is a movie
about Uh. These in laws. Peter falk and Alan Arkin
are two men whose uh daughter and son are getting

(02:31):
married and they finally meet each other. And Alan Arkin
is a mild manner dentist and Peter falk is, uh, well,
he's a a shadowy guy, and I don't think it's
quite clear exactly what he does at first, which is
where a lot of the comedy comes from. But hi
Jinkson Sue obviously, and um, you will just hear a
lot of me giggling in this episode as Kevin Pollock

(02:54):
does his range of impressions from Johnny Carson to Alan
Arkin and I could just listen to that off all
day and it was really really fun conversation. So here
we go with Kevin Pollock on the in Laws. I
was doing Grumpio Men in the Greater Minneapolis and Paul
I forgot you were in that. How dare you? And

(03:16):
I play Walter math Son in both. So when we
went to do the first one, Walter math All and
Jack Lemons people, they're reps, you know, they do the
advanced work to find the best hotel sweet for the
for their clients. Turns out there was only one amazing
presidential sweet that there. Reps deemed where did you guys

(03:42):
shoot that? Minneapolis sampo um And so while they were bickering,
Walter and Jack found out about this, and they also
found out there was another bedroom at the far end
of this giant Sweet had like a baby grand piano
in the middle of the kitchen. It was ridiculous. So
they agreed to live in the suite together. The odd

(04:03):
couple lived together while making and they would invite some
of us up, Darryl Hannah and Henry We're just mereth
myself on a couple of occasions, you know, and there'd
be Jack Lemon planning piano. It was just crazy. Well,
one of those very few occasions was that Oscar's telecast

(04:26):
and they gathered us and Margaret and her husband was
there and we're watching the telecast and so if you
remember that category was four brilliant British actresses and Marissa
tom So. When they're saying the nominations listing them, everyone
actors gathered in, Jack Lemon, Matthew uh Walter, Matthews Sweet

(04:48):
were picking which one of the British actresses they favored
based on having worked with them. I work with John
Plowwright and Barry Levins's movie Avalon, and Darryl Hannah or
Vanessa Redgrave and they're all where everyone's talking about. Welter
Math I worked with um Maggie smith So and the

(05:12):
winner is marisom. Well, there is a instant, explosive, coco
cacophony of holy shit, I don't believe it. Um. People
are outraged like something real had happened, but really going nuts.
And math Ow I remember his hands resting on the

(05:34):
arm rests of a comfy chair about five ft in
front of the TV, is not moving or saying a word,
while everyone around him is losing their ship like monkeys,
and he's just staring straight ahead like the true great comic.
He was. His timing impeccable. He waited for everyone to
calm down. The room was silent finally, which took many minutes,

(05:54):
and he waited for that first moment of silent, looking
straight straight ahead of the TV and says to the TV,
I'll sell my oscar for thirty five cents. That was
his protest. It was beautiful, it was that was a
good well, well, you're an impressionist. I do a couple
of voice. That's great, man, I can't believe. I mean,

(06:17):
it's astounding to chair the screen with those guys. Yes,
it was. It was studying at the feet of absolute greatness.
And also for a kid growing up with fantasies of
being a character actor, not a movie star, but a
character actor. And I sort of collected character actors my favorites.
You know. Um, Well, Matthew and Lemon were character actors
who got to be movie stars, but their work was

(06:40):
more in two character actors. You know, Matt that with
that face of a hound dog, you know, I mean,
he looked like you thought he would live when he
was twenty. Yeah, looked sixty five years old at birth. Um,
and then Jack Lemon was But they're both sweet and
funny and gregarious and and you are in the shadow

(07:00):
of greatness unbelievable. Remember I was doing off camera lines
one day and with Jack Lemon, uh for your audience,
not familiar with the term. So you're in the two
people are in a scene and they'll cover it in
a side of view point of view two shot and
also covered over the shoulder of each person looking at

(07:21):
the person they're talking to. And in that case, when
it's over your shoulder, you are off camera. Your face
is next to the camera, so that the person you're
talking to is looking at you and the cameras getting
coverage of them. So I was off camera for Jack
and Jack Lemon said, I usued I usued, I do
a horrible impression of you. I got here weirdly, he said,

(07:42):
he showed it on mine doing doing our camera work. Kid.
I said, no, of course, I don't mind. Well, you know,
Maryland never liked it. He's talking about Marilyn Monroe. So
every story he told not trying to name drop, it's
just these are the people that were in his story. Yeah,
just extraordinary. I just saw it for the first time
of the day. Uh, Save the Tiger, which I had

(08:02):
never seen before. It was just um. I mean, I
think because I watched the documentary on John Albertson on
a plane flight. There's a documentary out about him. Mainly
focuses on like Rocky and Karate Kid, but basically the
whole point of the documentary is like, why isn't he
a household name one of the great directors. I can't

(08:24):
even know it's a documentary on him, He's such not
a household name. Yeah. Yeah, it was really good. Um,
but I realized I hadn't seen Saved the Tiger, so
I watched that the other night. So good. It's an
acting clinic. Yeah. And lemon Man just the Apartments one
of my favorite all time movies and uh, it's just
I can't believe you get to what a life ridiculous? Yeah,
and you it seemed like you got into I don't know,

(08:45):
we're here to talk about it a specific movie, which
we'll get to, but I've got you in here. I've
got it, like really a little bit from being a
stand up. It seems like you got work in movies
pretty quickly and steadily, like that's an not a common thing. Yeah,
you know, I was very fortunate early on to get

(09:08):
a couple of seminal films, but that was your aim
was to be an actor. Well, I started doing stand
up when I was ten, and professionally I was doing
it at seventeen and then really like a touring pro.
But I never toured that much, but that level of
competence by um and uh rose to the top of

(09:31):
stand up in San Francisco until I was about twenty six.
And that's when I moved to l A. And that
was a really good comedy scene too. Oh man, one
of the best in the world. Always ah, but there
were I guess when I was a kid, my mom
would tell me that I would walk out of seeing
a movie with her young six seven years old, and

(09:52):
I would not impersonate, but I would act like one
of the people in the film, not even the actor,
but the character they were plane like a Zelig kind
of thing. To Woody Allen reference to a movie of
his where he played a character who just takes on
the affectations and accents of anyone he's around subconsciously. I

(10:13):
still do that. Jamie loves to give me a shit
about it. I can't help it. I've always kind of
done that too. Just my brother and I both have
always had a mimicry thing, like we're not talented, but
we've always done voices and repeated lines back to the
movie that we've deserved and it's a way that people

(10:34):
share and connect on on TV and movies for sure,
quote lines, but also if you can get the rhythm right.
So there was this fantasy about being an actor, I
think pretty early, but I hated school, so I never
went to an acting class, and even when I moved
to l A to pursue acting, that was the whole

(10:54):
point of moving there. Um, the whole idea was I'm
gonna I'm gonna showcase might stand up at at the
improv where I've heard directors and casting directors will go
and see comedians and then think about them for TV
and movies, and all people are starting to meet and
get to know famous comedians in l a Um. But

(11:18):
tell me you get into an acting class. But I
just hated. Also, I'm now old enough to acknowledge that
I was probably very afraid that I would get interacting
class and the instructor would say, you're horrible. You should
never ever do this. And in fact, the first potential
manager I met with who would see me at the
improv um, said come to my office. I'll give you

(11:42):
a scene to read and we'll see what you've got
you And I read the scene and she said, well, listen, um,
acting is not for everyone. You know, the stand up
seems to be going. Well, ye, yes it is, I said.
She said, okay, well, and it was. It was crushing

(12:02):
because I was already convinced because I always did impersonations,
and that's kind of how I learned to act, because
it was never just turn around and pull back your
hair and do Jack Nicholson. I would sort of create
from the shoes to the top of your head possession
I would call it. Yeah, I mean, those are the
best impressions. Yeah, very physical, And so I think I

(12:23):
was subconsciously learning how to act, which is to breakdown
at character, and I just had to learn how to
break down a scene. Um. Dana Carvey and I started
out in the stand up scene of San Francisco the
late seventies, around the same time, and he had moved
to l A maybe six eight months before me, So
he was giving me tips on how to break down
a scene. And because neither one of us wanted to

(12:45):
go to an acting class, and you still have never
been to an acting I'm not proud of it. It
just happens to be a fact. I learned the best
way possible, which is on a set, on the job. Yeah,
that's awesome. Uh. And you interestingly, this is a show
about favorite movies, and I would hazard tos say that
Usual Suspects is the favorite movie of more than one

(13:07):
person out there. So you're really hedge in your bed. There,
you're you're in. You are in tighten len No. I
think a lot of people branch, yes, you're in, you're
in a favorite movie. Well, that's what I meant. By
Early on, I was part of a few seminal films.
Um prior to a Few Good Men, which was the
big crossing over into getting offers instead of having to auditions,

(13:31):
which for any actor is kind of a goal line
sure to break. I can't imagine auditioning. What a hell?
It's the worst that must be. Yeah. I put out
a book a couple of years ago. I broke off
in one chapter where I just talked about how the
auditioning process is designed to fail. Now that I'm directing
movies I and I've produced for a while, so I've

(13:52):
kind of known this. If you come into audition for
a scene, the level of confidence you have is almost
the antithesis of the confidence you'll have when you have
the job, like polar opposite. So how am I ever
going to know what you're capable of? When I had

(14:12):
the last little movie I directed, um, which is now
available on Netflix, what's it called, The Late Bloomer Um,
I was just calling hired people on the phone because
I just didn't auditioned anyone. Yeah, yeah, you know, like
camal Non, Johnny and Beck Bennett and j K. Simmons
and Jane Lynch and Maria Bellow and done. Yeah, exactly,

(14:34):
extraordinary telling Britney Snow and this kid Johnny Simmons, who's
the center of the story and who you know, he he.
I had to pick our lead out of small handful
of potential you know, up and comers. I just again,
I couldn't audition any of them. I just got on
the phone or skyped and got a sense of them.

(14:54):
Because as an actor, I just know every time I
get offered something, it's like, well, they could have gone
seventeen different people. It's a kind of a fluke that
I ended up being chosen. And a lot of times
I'll say to the director, just to me favor, never
tell me who you went to first and who wasn't available,
you know, And they'll all lie and say no, no,
no you were who hadn't mine? No, I don't know,

(15:16):
I wasn't. Uh yeah. So um, auditioning is horrible and terrible.
And and and to get to the place where offers are
coming in after a few good minutes, I said, December,
that's so sick. It seems like I was seventeen um
uh prior to that. You know, Barry Levinson's movie Avalon

(15:37):
was a big deal. It was right after he did
rain Man, but it was a very small success in
the sense that people who saw it were very passionate
about it, but most people didn't see it. But also
l a story to Steve Martin movie. It was in
that ricochet, the Denzel Washington movie I did. I did
these high profile films and really small parts, but I

(15:59):
got a sense of what was and what that meant. Yeah,
you've always worked with great directors too. It seems like crazy,
crazy good fortune there. Yeah, Ron Howard and Willow is
one of the first movies. Um well, Rob Reiner, rarely
recognize some Willow by the way, Rick over here and
I played these little seven inch tall brownies. That's for

(16:19):
your audience. Who knows Willow. They're religious followers of that
as well. So so by the time I got a
few good men, I really had had worked with some
great directors and that's a heavyweight set and worked with
and then they get there and it's just movie stars
everywhere you look. I'm like, where's Waldo in that cast?
And yeah, um so that and then only two years

(16:41):
later ninety four with Suspects and Casino same year, so
you know that little grouping right there, it's just over.
I'm a dramatic actor forgetting your plans forget your aspirations
of being Michael Keaton from Night Shift being a comedic druggernaut.
That was the fantasy. Yeah, I was a character actor

(17:02):
in drama like that. Yeah, Usual Suspects is so great
because it was a It was for all that you, dude,
it was you were all tough guys. It wasn't like,
like unless you're a friend of mine, and then you
laughed uncontrollably at me being a badass. My friends never
stopped busting my balls when I got up in Stephen
Baldwin's face and said, do you want to dance? My friends,

(17:27):
But all the characters are just all tough guys. It
wasn't like one of these things were like, well there
was the nerd and there was the one guy like this,
like it was a collection of tough guys but stitherre
in a room, which I think that's tech. My character
was a sociopath. Yeah, they all were. Yeah, yes, yes
they were you know. Yeah. And I always tell people
that the movie was lightning in a bottle. And if
you such a great movie, if you need further proof, ah,

(17:52):
you needn't look further than the fact that Stephen Baldwin
is great in the film. That's and he really is.
He's terrific. I wouldn't give me the one to say it,
but sure, Oh I love I busted all so badly
in my book. Well, listen, I'm just reporting what happened
when I met him the first time. He was wearing
leather pants. I should qualify he had not arrived on

(18:15):
a motorcycle or a horse. He was just wearing the
leather pants. And I said, oh, your brother stole your
food at every meal. Um. Anyways, I'm digressing far too much.
So yeah, I I became this dramatic actor in the
in the childhood fantasy was to be in comedies and movies.
And you know, Woody Allen maybe something like Albert Brooks

(18:38):
was a true hero of mine. Who when we get
to my movie choice, we can talk about the horrific
reimagining of of my favorite film that happened only what
ten years ago? We think? Yeah, two thousand three? H se, Yeah,
let's talk about the in Laws. This was um, and
I will say that when you we were texting about

(19:01):
what your favorite movie is, and um, you said, how
about either? Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid is a
perfect film. Also yeah. Um, and we can chat about
that for a secon twelve times in the theater. As
a kid, I just wanted to be back in that world. Yeah.
It's astonishing, romanticized, beautiful actors and maybe one of the

(19:21):
first buddy movies in that kind of true sense. Gotta be,
gotta be. Yeah, maybe there was something else before that.
But and I have a photo of Katherine Ross, the
female lead in the film, on my phone to show
people what the perfect woman looks like. Yeah, Katherine Ross
and that. Yeah, and the graduate too, of course, had

(19:43):
such a crush on her in there. But it's funny
when you mentioned and Margaret before, I had a little
like the hair on my next stood up a little
bit because and Margaret, to me is is one of
the most beautiful women Cardinal Knowledge to ever lived. Yeah,
oh my god, a great movie, I mean all of
the great stuff she But Karon Knowledge is when you
saw a little more skin than you were thinking you might.

(20:03):
Uh yeah, and they get away. No, no, no, I'm sorry,
sorry that was somebody else. Um yeah. Yeah, And and
Margaret was unbelievably sweet and lovely and fantastic to work with.
And and yes, our childhood fantasies were and Margaret spent
some time there for sure. The seventies films were just

(20:32):
so uh, it's just such a yeah, well they were
such a great time. Yeah, there was a lot of
still hold over these big splashing movies well before the transition,
and the books have been written about this. But studios,
so called studio movies weren't so um cookie cutter. They

(20:52):
were still very sort of original filmmaking and stylized. Yeah,
it seemed like they made movies for the right reasons,
which was here's a great story to tell. Yeah. I mean,
people who loved but kets nets kid will argue, what
the fund is the rain drops keep falling on my
head scene? Why does that have to be there? And
I will tell you when you're twelve years old. It worked. Yeah, yeah,

(21:13):
it is. I mean it's a kind of goofy looking back,
maybe that one scene, but we needed to see those
two spend time together. And then when he comes back
to the house and Redford comes out and his underwear
and sees that they were together and says, hey, what
do you doing? My girl? Get your own and he
says you finally he got scratches his back and before

(21:34):
he goes back in the house and he goes keeper. Yeah,
that was just such a yeah magical. So, uh, the
in laws. It was a tough choice. I gave you
two choices. You had to make the choice, the in
laws or budgeting nets kid, And you said the in
law is because because I had not seen it, that's
the dirty secret. And then were you forced to see

(21:55):
before we talked? No, you still haven't seen. No, I
watched it this morning. You did. Oh you're so well,
I know, Thank you seriously. And I did want to say, though,
it's you know, a text saying uh, oh great, let's
go with the in laws. I love Michael Douglas referring
to the reimagining. And I wanted to let it and
even told you this, want to let it hang out
there for a bit, and I imagine to wonder, But

(22:17):
then I thought no, because then when I say I
was kidding, I don't know if he'll believe me or not.
That's right, there's a chance I wouldn't have if you
had left enough time, because I'm discovering my asset. It's
dangerous when you don't know someone well enough, you and
your timing, and I will I give big credit and
big props to taking a stab at that joke. I
appreciate it. And what's brutal for me is my love

(22:38):
of Albert Brooks and I'm a true hero same in
every uh. In fact, I almost said modern romance because
it's um for the romantically challenged of people and relationship
challenged men. Um. It's cathartic, it's so funny and forces

(23:02):
you to live in the eyes of this brutally jealous,
possessive idiot who Yeah, so I could. I got. The
truth is I can quote Albert Brooks movies more than
any other movies, so it's kind of weird that I
didn't pick one of those. But I cheated and picking
The in Laws. Not only do I tell people it's
my favorite comedy of all time, but I had one

(23:25):
of the two stars, Alan Arkin on my chat show
and had him tell the story of how the movie
got made I can now share with you. And then
of course I ran into Peter Falk after impersonating him
on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Yeah, I kind
of tell the story in my act now about doing
Peter Falk on the Tonight Show because it gets it's

(23:48):
the perfect example of me taking advantage of someone's love
of the actual person, because it took me years of
doing impressions before I realized it's a parlor trick that
is based on the following premise. If I can think
of someone you love, a famous person, and I can
recreate them in front of you, I will steal the

(24:11):
affection you have for the actual person in a second.
So if I thought you watched Colombo and I say,
oh jeez, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a passion. Now.
What Charles Chuck is laughing at is I trained myself
and taught myself to move just one off because Peter Folk,
which does not play well in the podcast. But Peter

(24:31):
Folk was very open about having a glass eye. And
when Columbo was on TV, I remember being a kid
reading a TV guide. He had an accident when he
was three, and he had a glass eyes whole life,
and he told a couple of stories. One of them
stays with me. When he was in Little league, he
slid in the second basically I'm called him out. He

(24:52):
popped out his eye and handed it to the jump
and said, you clearly need this more than I do.
So when I finally got a chance of on The
Tonight Show. This is just gonna be a series of digressions.
This is the show because this is all I'm capable. Um.
I finally got a chance with the Tonight Show as
an actor from Willow, even though I dreamt about doing

(25:13):
it as a stand up Um. And there's a pre
interview spoiler alert where they say what do you what
stories do you want to tell so they can help
the host. In this case, Johnny Carson, best set up
your stories. That's why Johnny would say, now I understand
you want skiing with the family, and then you would
tell your skiings. So in that pre interview, the great

(25:37):
Gatekeeper Famous too many comedians, Jim McCaulay said, you know,
what do you want to talk about? And I said,
the first question just have Johnny asked me if I
do impersonations? Now? I watched The Carson Show religiously growing up,
and if you did, you know he loved Peter Falk.
He had him on all the time. And there were

(25:57):
certain guests like Burt Reynolds and a few where he
had them on all the time because he loved them.
And in case of Peter Falk, Peter was funny without
trying to be, because he was a little eccentric and
nutty and could digress in such a humorous way, and
you just went with him on these journeys. And uh. So,
knowing that Carson loved Peter Falk, and knowing that Carson

(26:20):
loved impressions and did them himself, I was over prepared
for that first appearance and that first question when in
fact I stood behind the curtain that I'd seen so
many famous people walk through my whole life. And the
band's playing their way to commercial, and I'm thinking, when
I when, when when I walk out there, do I
wave the dog? Don't be an asshole? You don't know, doc,

(26:41):
don't wave the doc. How old are you? Uh? Twenty nine?
Maybe don't wave the dog. Don't be that jerk. Right Ah,
And so band winds down, they come back from commercial,
and I hear Carson say welcome back, folks. Uh. My

(27:04):
next guest is an actor who's got a new movie
out called Willow. Ron Howard directed the picture. Uh. And
they tell me back stage he's also a comedian, so
we'll ask him about that. Please welcome Kevin Pollock and
Jim McCulley, The gatekeeper is the one who actually pulls
the curtain back for you, and you walk through. And
I did not wave the dock. I said, don't be
that asshole. You'll do that next time. And I did

(27:25):
walk straight to Carson and uh. Johnny would stay at
the throne at the desk and let you pass in
front of him before sitting to his right, unlike Leno,
who would sort of dance out from behind the desk
to greet you halfway. Hey, gonna see you. Hey. So
Carson would stay at the desk and I passed in
front of him, and I sit down, bigger than life,

(27:47):
oh yeah, in every way, and and stinking of hooch.
And uh, and Carson says, now, Kevin, we'll we'll talk
about walloons just a second. Somebody told me backstage that
you do impersonation just that right, And without missing a beat,
I crossed my eyes and I raised one hand like
Peter Falk's Colombo, and I said, Johnny, that's a bold

(28:09):
faced love. I don't know who told you that. And
he was laughing so hard he pushed himself away from
the desk, clutching his chest. That that that thing that
you had seen Johnny do but when other people made
him laugh and it was truly you can take me now,
moment you could retire. And uh. I was back on
the show two or three times a year until he retired.

(28:30):
And I promise you, amazing, I promise you. It's because
I lead with Peter Falk and I knew he loved Peter,
and I took advantage of his affection for the actual person.
Man unbelievable. And so three months later, in the protuce
section at Ralph's Grocery store in Los Angeles, I was
accosted by Peter Falk, who had seen the appearance and
asked me, how do you do that with your eye? Me?

(28:53):
I understand, what how do you do? Day? And we
became friendly. So the in Laws is cheating. Yes, it's
my favorite comedy and I can quote almost from beginning
to end. But it starts two of my heroes, both
of which I got to meet and, in the case
of Alan Arkin, got to work with on a movie

(29:13):
called Indian Summer. Oh yeah, remember that. I ingratiated myself
to him by doing Peter Folk on the set of
Indian Summer. That was a great movie. I sort of
followed Indian Summer was fun. Yeah. I sort of followed
Alan Arkin around the set like a puppy dog, anything
to be near um. And then one day he turned

(29:33):
on me. He's had enough, you know what, get away
from me. Okay, it's not funny, it's not cute. You're
a strange little man. I'm trying to go to the bathroom.
I'd brother do it alone. And you just saw the
movie this morning, so this must be blowing your mind. Yeah,
and I could hear impressions set the wedding's off. CC

(29:56):
fly sweep swooped down to pick up little babies and
their beaks. There's red tape in the bush. There's red
tape in the There's red tape in the bush. One
of the great lines. So, uh, where do you want
to start? You want to start with Alan Arkin telling
me how the movie got put together? Yeah, well quickly,
just don't know. The in Laws nine directed by Arthur Hiller,

(30:21):
great Arthur Hiller. So I had Alan Arkin on the
chat show and did I mention I have this live
streaming video show. Um, and uh, I say, okay, the
in Laws in my favorite movie. You have to tell
me how this happened. He's very strange. I was sitting
home one night and uh, I was watching a talk

(30:42):
show I can't remember which one, and um, Peter Folk
was a guest, and I I was laughing so uncontrollably
at this guy. You know, I didn't know his work.
I just I, uh, he was killing me. I and
I had a little juice with Warner Brothers at the time,
So I literally picked up the phone in bed and

(31:06):
I called the head of the studio. I said, listen,
I want to do a movie with Peter Fall. And
he said, what's the movie? I said, I don't I
don't know. I just want to do a movie with
Peter Fall. He's he's I think would be good together.
And the director and the studio chief said, well, what's
the story. He said, I don't know. We don't get along. Um,

(31:28):
he makes me crazy. And studio chief said, that's it,
that's the movie. Yes, I mean, I'll get a writer,
will come back to you, all right. So I called
Andrew Bergman because Andy, because he had written an early

(31:48):
draft of Blazing Saddles that I was sent And it
may still be the funniest thing I've ever read in
my life, because when the sheriff eventually becomes the shaff
but when that fella comes riding into town, the black
Fellow um in in Andy's script, he was like a

(32:09):
cab callaway kind of jazz man from the forties. And
it was completely different than than the Blazing Saddles, you know,
And I promise you it's the funniest thing anyone's ever written.
So I was so fond of him that I called
him and I said, I want to do a movie
with Peter falk And and and he said, I love Peter

(32:31):
falk And I said, I know, he's great, he's hilarious.
We should do a movie together, and you should write it.
And and he said, what's the story. I said, I
don't know. We don't get along. He makes me crazy,
and and he said, I got it. I'll get back
to you. And he sent me a draft of the script.

(32:51):
And I'm telling you what the movie is. Was that
first dread? I know that blew my mind and it's
it's page turner fronty. So then I asked him, so
many moments do you remember from that movie? So quote?
You know, everyone remembers Sharpentine Cherll. I get you. Helled

(33:12):
that one all the time. When I start doing Peter
Folk or Alan Arkin. But they don't remember little things
like they're driving in that South American country in the
car and Peter Folk says, Cheryl, next time we're here,
remind me. They got a chicken shallotte shandwich. They put
it on a hard roll. They sure it with orange
juice grande, you know, a big one. Oh pigs, there's

(33:37):
a pigs or sheep that are in the road. It
was pigs because Alan Arkin has the great line. Go ahead,
I remember the Alan Artist. It was the uh well,
he's one of the great deadpan actors of all time,
of course, and the line is don't they squeal when
they die? Yes? So so I said to Alan Arkin.

(33:57):
I read I said that line from memory to him,
and he said, you wanted something funny about that line.
We didn't improvise much, you know, it was all written beautifully.
But that line Peter had said to me at the
craft service table about where we were shooting. It was

(34:19):
a real life moment. He said those exact words, Allen,
next time we're here, remind me, because there's this place.
They have a chicken salad sandwich. They make it with
orange juice, a grande, you know, a big one, And
I said, because there was nothing written in the car.
We were just driving and he says, oh, pigs And

(34:41):
then I say that my line. But so I said that, Peter,
you have to say what you just said to me
at craft service when we were in the car. And
that's why that line is in the one of the
improv lines. Well, yeah, I would say it's an ad
but yes, yeah, Ellen Arkin just slays me in this movie.

(35:09):
And it's it's a comedy clinic, I'm telling it is.
And the two of them together, it's um. They're both
kind of the straight man in a way. I mean,
Arkin's a little bit over the top as much as
he ever gets. They're also the crazy one. Yeah right, well,
yeah that's true. They kind of reverse roles, they but
they you're right, they do. They both play the best
kind of comedy, which is play it real, play the

(35:32):
drama of the comedy, don't lean into anything you think
is funny, and a little tiny moments like when he's
when Alan Arkin is sent to Peter Folks office to
fetch remember what he was sent to fetch? He's two
out of the safe and right by the safest money prints. Yeah,
from the mint. They have these plates that's right to

(35:54):
make money, and so he's by the safe. There's a
picture of John F. Kennedy signed to Peter Fawkes character
thanks for the Bay of Pigs or something like that. Yeah,
it's uh, something about we can't win them all or
wish we could have you know, done this one. And
he asked him later and he said it was the
Bay of Pigs. So Alan Arkin looks at that by himself,

(36:17):
and it's a tiny little comedy moment. I think my
memories that he just looks at anyone. Uh yeah, because
he thinks he's insane, he thinks he's does and he
doesn't believe anything he says, and that's one of those
tiny little moments where he has to kind of go, okay,
maybe he really is what he says. Yeah. Arkin had
a bunch of moments like that where it was either

(36:37):
just one word or just a facial expression. Uh. The
one I'm thinking of is when he's in the bathroom
early on and he's brushing his teeth and his daughter's
in there and they're just kind of arguing about you know,
he wants to call off the wedding because this crazy
father in law, and she's like Dad, we can't do this,
we can't do this. She's like, you look like you're
rabbit foaming at the mouth. And he looks in the

(36:58):
mirror and he just goes toothpaste. It's just like a
single word, but so funny. Yeah, or it's just a
facial expression all through the film. Yeah, it's kind of
NonStop and very subtle stuff. Though the other it's not
like written jokes, you know, No, it's all in the performance.
It really is tough to to explain unless you can

(37:19):
do the impressions. And then it's slightly helpful when they
go to finally meet the Dictator brilliantly played by Richard Libertini.
And here's my memory of it. I you saw it
this morning, so I'm probably paraphrasing. But Peter falk is
warning Alan Arkin about the Dictator and he says, I

(37:39):
listen to me show when you meet the dictator, he
has a scar on his face. He's very sensitive, So
I don't say any Why would you say something that's crazy?
I'm asking you don't say anything because he's very sensitive
about the scar on his face. I'm not gonna say anything.
What's wrong with you knocking the door? They open it up.
They see the scar in his face and Alan Arkin says,
a Z. It was so good a scar in the

(38:03):
shape of the letter Z. Yeah, and it's just the
timing of it is such a dumb joke. Of course
he's going to say it, but like the way he
pulls it off, it's just amazing. Yeah, why would you
Why why would I say something? What are you crazy?
Opened up the door? Well, that whole sequence, uh, is
just off the his hand. Yeah, he has senior senior

(38:24):
Pepe and he's just batchick gracey and then just arking
in the whole scene because at that point he's just like,
it's just this, he's panicked. He's gone a little bit
over the edge in front of a firing squad shortly thereafter. Yeah,
and so he's just kind of lost it and not
for a moment in that movie. Do not believe that
he's a dentist in Manhattan. Well, that's the beautiful thing

(38:45):
about what I mean about playing the drama of the
com Yeah, there are steaks in the film there. There
there are personal risks, steaks. They keep getting heightened. And
if Alan Arkin doesn't play a man who we believe
is fearing for his life while also doing ridiculous moments

(39:06):
like a zero right then the movie doesn't work falls apart.
And also Peter Falk is very throwaway with all of
his everything. He says that's crazy is said with no
emotion yeah um or just emphatic belief in what he's saying. Yeah,

(39:28):
to be true. I like the moment early when he
uh initially comes to dinner with the family and he's
being very charming to everyone, and it's Alan Arkin I
think breaths a little sigh of relief, like, all right,
this guy's maybe not so bad after all. And he
goes to make the phone call in the basement and
his son just says the throwaway line like oh dad
and his mysterious phone calls, and he just, like on
a dime, turns and loses it, you know, And it's

(39:51):
such a moment where, yeah, the whole movie kind of
turns from there. So great. Yeah. Uh. Some of my
other favorite lines, uh see now I just want to
get you to do all these is Alan Arkin, I
have flames on my car. Well that's another one. That's
that's that's quoted to me by fans on the street. Yeah,
because that's another great dumb goes to a car washer. Yeah,

(40:15):
he's yeah, he's evading in his BMW and he pulls
through a car painting place and of course, you know
it's like a screwball comedy thing that he's going to
pull out and the car will be painted, but it
comes out with flames painted on it. Yeah, in like
two minutes, which otherwise conservative car, yeah, which would not
have flames. But then he calls flames. Yeah, it's just

(40:35):
the outrage. He calls Peter Falkin, that's the one thing
that bothers him. I have flames on my car. There
are flames on my car. And then uh. The other
great line too, is when Peter Fox said, uh, it's
cut and dried, he goes, it's not cut, it's not dried.
It's just like so basic, it's not These aren't jokes,
it's just all in the performance. Well, and also just

(40:59):
Alan Arkin has one of the best highest level ability
to play the dead pan outrage. Yeah, it's not just
um dead pan delivery of lines. It's very specific to
outrage that he's a man who you can tell is

(41:20):
on the edge of losing it and he's trying to
keep it together and he's forcing himself to to then
be this dead pan delivery. But you know he's he's
a ticking time. But yeah, and just one of the
great funny voice just speaking voices like you can say
anything and it makes me laugh. I did. I've been
doing it my act long time. And I had him.

(41:41):
I invited him when he was living in New York
and I did a stand up show there, and backstage afterwards,
he's if you said, if you notice I don't stammer
as much when I talk, it is because I saw
you do the impression I didn't care for you always
had me stammering, and I don't. I don't like that. Uh,
give me this one. Just go with the flow. What flow?

(42:02):
There isn't any flow. I don't remember. Peter Fox just
stills and just go with the flow. He's like flown flow. Uh.
And then in the in front of the firing squad,
and this is actually a very funny written line. I
think the guy is about to face his death and
the first words out of his mouth, I've only only
had four women. Yes, it's like what every man thinks

(42:25):
right before they die. It's like the amount of ladies.
And then he kind of makes himself laugh at one
point during that also when he realizes something, but then
the diet tribe, the mini losing it. It was amazing.
I was glad I got to watch it. I don't
know why I never did. It was one of those
that bile Wright should have seen already. Yeah, not, I don't.

(42:46):
I don't know how well it did when it came out.
I don't think that it made like thirty five million bucks,
which back then, Yeah, and I think the budget was
like eight so which he probably was a lot. Yeah,
in seventy nine. Um, but you know, that kind of
movie has a life because people turn other people onto it,
you know, like modern romance. I'm sure you people only

(43:09):
heard about it because someone said, you've got to see this. Yeah,
and I think, um, it's been I think it saw.
Janet Maslin's review of and Law said something about it
being a cult classic from the day it was released.
So it was definitely one of those that I don't
know if it was a blockbuster hit, but well that
says at all yea. And she was one of the
only reviewers who I would salute. Well, we finished here

(43:31):
with a couple of things. Actually, let me look real
quick about the trivia, because sometimes there's a couple of
fun things. After the two thousand three remake came out,
Alan Arkin called Peter Falk to congratulate him on the
great reviews from the original film, because the remake was
getting panned so much, so he just wanted to congratulate

(43:53):
you on your performance. That's fantastic all these years later,
because just a bad idea to remake that movie. Yeah,
and I love Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks of course
as a genius, So yeah, it seemed like a good
idea at the time. And apparently Marlon Brando was a
huge fan of that movie, said he saw it twenty
times and imitated Ellen Arkins. I had Alan tell the

(44:15):
story on this show because he had told me of
getting a call out of the blue at home by
Marlon Brando, who invited him to his house. And that
excursion of going to Morlon Brando at his home is
reason enough for people to pull up the episode on
Kevin Pollock's chat show of Alan Arkin because I don't

(44:38):
want to do it a miss justice by parapet but
it's um, it's you know, and he said the weirdest
part about the dinner was I couldn't really get into
talk that much. He would just impersonate me. He would
just do lines from the movie. Yea, all through dinner

(44:58):
and then we were released my wife and yeah, he's
very engaging and wonderful. Um and uh, I truly feel
blessed to have become friendly and like one of that
we mentioned sketch Fest. One of my great joys was um,

(45:19):
maybe three or four years ago, Cole Stratton, who is
one of the programmers, one of the three founders. He's
always looking for ways to include me as a moderator
of something. So he got Alan Arkin to come up
to San Francisco for a screening of The in Laws.

(45:40):
And right beforehand, I interviewed Alan Arkin in front of
the and is that the Castro the Giant the biggest
audience there? Um, and that was you know. And then
while the movie played, actually Alan and his wife Barbara
Jamie and I went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner
instead of staying for the movie. Also familiar with and um,

(46:03):
you know, the dinner was probably as funny as the movie. Yeah,
so great, You're lucky, dude, I am, and I but
but I'm also painfully aware of it and ridiculously grateful. Yeah,
ridiculously that's awesome. So we finished with a couple of
quick segments. One it's called what Ebert said, This movie

(46:24):
is a complete disappointment, Big Roger Ebert fan comes down
to the usual did he no way? I was with
him in a in a buffet line? No, no joke contended,
no joke contended. After the world premiere, can oh my gosh,
Yeah that's surprising, And he said, yeah, I didn't really

(46:44):
get it. Man, that's weird, really weird, because he came
out afterwards. He came out afterwards a big deal. At
the time, it was, well, everyone gets it wrong. So
Ebert he actually loved and lost so much he wrote
as special appreciation article years later. Uh, and here's one

(47:04):
great quote. One of the problems with a lot of
contemporary comedies is they essentially they are essentially ramshackle nature
of their construction. Too many of them are a little
more than an assemblage of gags and improv sessions, tinuously
linked at best. Granted, comedy films as a rule should
have a loose and spontaneous feeling to them, but too
often one gets the feeling They're literally being made up

(47:27):
as they go along. One of the great things about
The in Laws, however, is that it is a perfectly
constructed screen comedy, one in which every single element fits
together with jigsaw like precision, while still conveying a freewheeling
attitude throughout. Remember the names of the pilots on the
little plane. Is it wong ling Ling? I thought one

(47:48):
of them he he was gonna be governed. Everybody said, home,
what was this? Peter Falk was going on about one
of the pilots. Um, well, they're there success back them
in their native land. And oh man, just that little
moment on the little tiny four seater plane. Yeah, well

(48:08):
when the other guys given in uh, and I guess
it was Chinese the instructions on the plane crashes and
and again Alan Arkins just dead band, just sitting there
watching them. What the fund have I got myself into? Yeah?
In fact, I had somebody on the Chat show and
they they had I do a segment called Famous Questions.
We're all go out to famous people and get a

(48:30):
question for them from them to the guests. And so
I'm trying to remember which guest I had on, but
the person I went out to end them had a connection,
which is the names of the pilots on that little plane,
like Lang and Zang who never was it was kind
of rhymy. Yeah. Um, anyways, back to your segment. That's funny,

(48:51):
all right. And finally we finished up with five questions.
You can be as uh as short or not short
as you want to be here, so I think your
audience has already had a pretty good meandering in DIGRESSI
first question, the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? Huh.

(49:16):
That's a tough one actually, because my memories for ship
my my, Um yeah, I saw so many. And if
you don't remember, that's fine too. You can pass on these,
I would be lying, okay, yeah, all right, because I
my memory is a mixture of about ten films. Yeah,
so there's no one that stands out as the very first. Uh.

(49:39):
Well you may not know this either than the first
R rated movie you saw. Um, it was probably something
like The Graduate or Carnal Knowledge, or you know one
of those seventies movies. For sure, boy, the Graduate that
still holds up well Beyond Home. I watched that about

(50:01):
once a year. From the greatest films ever made, for sure, Uh,
will you walk out of a bad movie? Yes? Do
you remember doing so notably? Or the last time? Um,
it's been a while. I would have walked out of
Mother if I hadn't been there the new eron, Oh,
I thought you made the Albert Brooks movie. Oh no, No,
I was like, wait a minute, Mother of the I

(50:22):
sort have said Mother exclamation point that Aaronofsky's I haven't
seen it yet, latest, Jennifer, I was like watching a
pony die. That's my review and if you know, people
are on the fence with that movie, it's either a
brilliant work of art yea, or it's my review. Yes,

(50:45):
that's really funny. Um, guilty Pleasure, do you have a
movie that you kind of go back to it that
maybe a little embarrassing. Yes, I'm sure. Um, it doesn't
have to be embarrassing. Uh, it should be embarrassing, though.
I think you're right. I think it's a good topic

(51:07):
of question, and it's it's especially good if the guests
can think of like Hankers area is a friend and
his his roadhouse that Patrick Swayzy movie. Yeah he can't,
but he lists that because that's like a perfect guilty
pleasure where you know, it's not a great movie, but
they're just some of those that you can't turn away. Yeah,
and there's so many good lines in that movie. Yeah,

(51:28):
Like so I'm trying to cheesy lines what mine would be?
And am really coming up? Snake's on this memory crap.
That's all right, um and I'm only turning sixty. It's
the new fifty. I tell you, well, what's gonna happen
is you're gonna text some answers later. I am, and
I can always fill it in. I am. I am
going to do that because, um so I do have

(51:48):
guilty pleasures. I know. It's probably like bad Alpaccino movies.
After after al Pacino won an Oscar for yelling, Um,
one of America's his actors, when's an Academy Award for
your an impression of full leg on? Look at me,

(52:10):
I can't see ship. Give me the trophy. So anyways,
after that, I started yelling so much in the nineties, Dad,
Now I sound like an old black blues player. That's funny.
He completely changed the way he talked. Yes, you know. Anyways, Okay,
so there are some you know, like um uh, what

(52:33):
was the one with Keanu Reeves where. Yeah, so there's
a perfectly shitty movie that I can't turn away. Yeah.
So that's example all right. And finally, Lord, if I'm
the director, like Al, he's three ft away, right across
from you. I mean, there's no possibility that he couldn't

(52:56):
hear you. That's this thing now, though, that's Let's do
one where you just say he's an absolute lamb. Just okay,
let me try that. Ready a sound he's an answer? Lord?
Cut all right, Al shoutingly because everyone felt like I

(53:16):
just said it. There's a moment in the movie Heat
bringing back hanker Zaria. I know you like the Simpsons,
So hanker Zaria plays Shirley's Theron's Uh, she's with Val Kilmer.
She's having an affair that's sucking up VAL's character, and

(53:36):
it turns out to be the hank Zaria and Pacino's
character and his crew go to see hanker Zari in
his office behind his desk, and they're they're trying to
get a reaction out of him, and at one Point's
character says to him, because she's got a great ass,
and off camera you hear hanker zarias saying, oh, Jesus.

(54:00):
And he was just reacting to the ridiculous line, reading
and and and and. As Hank tells it, he was
off camera, So, in other words, the director did not
have to include the sound of hanker Zaria, who was
separately miked saying, oh, Jesus, but he it's in the movie.
Next time we watched the look for She's Got Our

(54:21):
Greatest that's funny. Who's waiting at you? I thought it
was Josh. I'm sure I'm wrong. Are you expecting him? No?
I don't think he's in today. Okay? Uh? And finally
movie going one on one? UM, what are your uh?
When you go to a movie? What do you do?

(54:42):
Which I do constantly? I just went to Um, we
went to Blade Run. Loved it. I saw it two
days ago. You did not love it? No, I loved
it so much. I can barely stand it. Yeah, I can't.
I want to see it again. I definitely want to
see it again. It was a a miracle of a movie,
considering what kinds of movies are made these days, and

(55:02):
the big giant shoes that had to follow and Phil
in it in it uh atmosphere. I've never seen a
sequel that so fully worked with its original. It's like
this complete piece. Now. It was I was just knocked
out his love interest on a arm us try and

(55:23):
desperately to get her for this next movie. Oh really,
she's just take your breath away. Yeah, and a brilliant actress,
just a stunning face. So she played the holographic Yeah,
love interest? Did you see it here in Atlanta? Or
I know right before I camera? Okay, so where do
you uh not, where do you see movies? But do

(55:44):
you do you always try to sit in the same place?
Do you get the same thing concession staying? Yeah, I
saw people usually have rituals obey. We we only go
now where we can get reserve seating. Sure, so arc Light,
Uh no, there's some. There's some pretty wonderful cinemas near us.
So we saw uh late on the x D, which
is a giant, giant it's a version of IMAX, but

(56:06):
same here. That's always better. Yeah, the XD. Have you
seen the xting? I think it's the one that they
call it IMAX, but I think it's the fake IMAX,
so it's probably what you're talking about. Well, it's just
crazy sound and a giant. Yeah. The sound like was
shaking me out of my sea. Yes for this one.
So we'll go to that theater whenever possible, but otherwise
reserved seating. It usually the CINEMRX and we'll sit in

(56:28):
the second to last row in the center. Um in
terms of ritual seating. Yeah, the older I got, the
further back I went, yes, um And then where what
was the next? Well like, yeah, do you have? Yeah?
So Jamie, although she's much younger, as I mentioned, her
nickname is depression Baby because she won't let me spend

(56:49):
a time. So she'll well I do sometimes, but she'll
get the bucket and the depth charge size drink container
early in the season and then you can refill it
for less money. She bring it back, Yeah, you bring
it back, but they set it up so that you
can do that. They encourage their patrons to keep the

(57:14):
bucket and the cup, and if you bring them back,
you'll pay a lot less throughout the year for a
drink in a popcorn. We walk in carrying these fucking
plastic buckets and cups, and you know, worry people are
gonna say, like Kevin Pollock man saying that if they
recognize me, And so I'll carry in some contraband sometimes. Um,

(57:36):
and she'll sometimes sneak in her water bottle. Yeah, because
she's a depression baby that too, even though we're getting
some sort of but there's something about paying like water.
But you know how they have those thermosis water containers
that keep it cold you put ice in them. Yeah,
I forget what they're called. So it's one of those
that she'll bring in because it's her carry around everywhere.

(57:58):
I did the same water container. I'll do the same thing,
all right, Um, but I can't think it was any
other rituals uh, Peter in a movie, I desperally don't
want to. But in the case of Blade Runner, that's
two hours and forty nine minutes. Yeah, although maybe not.
Maybe I peid right before and I was very careful. Yeah,

(58:22):
something like Blade Runner, I will put too much thought into,
like two hours before I'll cut myself off from drinking things. Yeah, basically, um, yeah,
what are your Have you talked about your No, no
one's ever asked. Let's flip it. Thanks. I sit try
to sit toward the middle near the back as well. Um.

(58:44):
I usually don't get any concessions interesting unless I have
no I don't like going to the boozy theaters occasionally maybe,
but then I'll have to pee because any alcohol just
makes me pee sure, way too much for a grown man.
So I won't drink or anything like that. Um, maybe
some popcorn every now and then, but other than that, no,

(59:08):
because I can't get those. I don't drink a lot
of soda anyway, so I'll usually sneak in the water bottle. Yeah,
I usually get a sparkling water. Yeah. Um, we often
get just sparkling water instead of a pop not that
anyone cares, No, this is the good stuff. Yeah, but
I uh, the cinema r I think, but definitely the
Arc Light near Us has a great espresso coffee too,

(59:31):
although um, that'll make it also. Yeah, well, when I
was in l A, I tried to go see Um,
I lived in Los Vila, so I tried to always
go to the Vista, which several guests so far have
you know, talked about the Vista. Yeah, it's just do
you not ever go over there? It's well, we're on
the west side, so it's on the other side of
the planet. Yeah, it's funny. I could get to Atlanta

(59:53):
quicker from from the west side of Lost Angeles and
I could, Yeah for sure. Well, thanks for coming in
my pleasure man. All right, Kevin, should your fans know
that you were oddly not wearing pants during this No,
we'll just keep that between us. Okay, cool? All right?

(01:00:14):
So how fun was that? Man? What a guy I
could like, I said before, I could listen to him
talk as Alan Arkin for the rest of my life.
I would just follow Kevin Pollock around as Alan Arkin
and that would be a life well spent, so fun conversation.
Kevin's great. What a great career this guy has had.
He's really found his way in Hollywood, from stand up

(01:00:35):
to working with some of the all time greats in
the business and just a really nice dude. And we've
kind of become palace here. I was on his show.
I'm not sure if that is out yet, but look
for me on Kevin Pollock's chat show soon. And um,
thanks for listening. And as a quick shout out to
the social meds here, we got the movie Crush Facebook
page going and it's kind of been a fun community

(01:00:57):
and a subgroup now called the movie cru Shures, which
are the super fans, and I am active on both
of those and it's kind of fun. To talk about
movies with with all of you guys out there, so
big thanks for getting on board on the social media.
Go tell a friend about movie Crush. I would really
appreciate it. Helps me out and until next week, remember
Silence is Golden. Movie Crush is produced, edited, engineered, and

(01:01:26):
scored by Noel Brown from our podcast studio at Pond
City Market, Atlanta, Georgia,