FULL INTERVIEW: M. Night Shyamalan & Saleka On Filmmaking Journey, Personal Fears, 'Trap,' Family Dynamic + More

M. Night Shyamalan & Saleka On Filmmaking Journey, Personal Fears, 'Trap,' Family Dynamic + More

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
What's up its way up at Angela Yee, and this
is so exciting for me. We have two special guests
here today. We have m Night Shyamalan and Silika in
the building and we're getting ready to.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Talk about the movie Trap.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
But first, Selika, congratulations to you for everything that you've
been doing, going on tour with Giveon and the music
and putting out an EPN. Now you have fourteen songs
that are about to come out August second with this movie.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yes, So how do you feel.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
I'm very excited.

Speaker 4 (00:30):
I'm like, I just, you know, I just finished the
album a couple of days ago, when I'm super in
love with it, and I'm nervous and you know, anxious,
but just really grateful and excited.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
And I loved writing these songs.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
It was so fun, all right.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
And I know you must be proud as a dad
to see what your daughter has accomplished.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Absolutely.

Speaker 5 (00:49):
I mean our house is kind of a little different
in that way. It's kind of you know, it's always
grown up in the arts. That's the culture in there
and the conversations about the arts. So it isn't really
about any kind of destination or accomplishment in and of itself,
but their relationship to the particular from if you're a
painter or a musician or a poet or whatever it

(01:10):
is that if you choose that that it's it's your
integrity to the art form is the thing that hopefully
they've been inculcated with since they've been for rather than
validation from being seen or money or fame or any
of those things which are that's nothing to do.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
With it, right, I mean, listen to be honest, seeing
how you've come up and the things that you've done,
just the path that you've been on to get to
where you are because both of your parents were doctors.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Right, correct, So this is a completely different path.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yes, you know that for you to have done that,
so that actually allowed for your children to decide what
they want to do and be creative, because I know
it's hard when your parents have like a path and
an idea for you that they want you to proceed on.

Speaker 5 (01:50):
Yeah, I mean, you know they came if you imagine,
you know, their first generation immigrants that came and they
they were the first of their families to leave India
and come here. And they were both the first doctors
in the family, and they came here and they went
to a country, you know, in the sixties where it
was just a different world back then, and they were
first of everything. My mom was the first female doctor

(02:11):
in the area, blah blah, all of those things, and
that's huge. Yeah, So there was a lot of you know,
you know, the courage that they had, and then the
work ethic that was involved with being doctors, of course,
but there was a belief system in something prescribed for
you and following that, and so we took I took
two of those three things, which was the risk, the
risk taking, and the work ethic, and then applied it

(02:33):
to the arts. And of course, when your son says, hey,
I want to go into filmmaking to two immigrant Indians
that came that's not that scene as as you understand it,
as as folly, right, it's not. That's not real. You're
going to become You're going to become the Indian filmmaker
at you you were the one, really and so it

(02:55):
sounds ridiculous, right, And so all I could do was say, hey,
I have a few about the relationship to the art
that feels special and I don't know how to do
it yet, but I want to pursue that. So this
is you know, when I'm seventeen or sixteen, and and
I got very lucky and I got to do that.
But conveying that now to this generation of the work
ethic and the importance of the of the the relationship

(03:20):
to the art is the primary thing because that will
whatever comes from that, if it's if it's not honestly,
is the correct thing. So whether you have a little
bit that comes from it or a lot that comes
from it, it's the correct thing. Don't don't take the
a lot if it's going to compromise your relationship, your
own integrity, You'll hate yourself for it.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
And both of you actually went and did you know,
went to school because sometimes people go off and like okay,
I want to do this, but you both actually went
to school to hone your craft. You know, you went
to Selika, You went to Brown.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
Yeah, I went to Brown.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
That's where my brother went.

Speaker 5 (03:51):
Really.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, I went to Wesleyan so that's not that far.

Speaker 5 (03:53):
Yeah, it's the best.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Actually I went to wesley because I was taking screenwriting
and doing all the oh way, yeah, which was really interesting.
And here I am doing radio now. So you never
know where you'll end.

Speaker 5 (04:04):
Up they have a good film program they do.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
And so I did photography, I did screenwriting, writing, I
took Shakespeare.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
All of that.

Speaker 5 (04:10):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
Yeah, So I think though writing helps you with anything
in life. I always tell people, no matter what you
want to do, because think about it, like as a songwriter,
you know, as a filmmaker, as a writer, as a director,
as a producer, all of those.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Things are really important.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
Even being able to write an email, you know, to
ask for some money for something like when you're trying
to get something funded.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Those that's an important skill.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
But I feel like with Ai, maybe now no one
knows has to know how to write anything.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
You know. But let's talk.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
About the movie chat because this sounds like an exciting
one for.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
All age groups.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
You know, horror movie is also my favorite genre, and
so I know you guys grew up in a household
where you would watch horror movies together. What was your
favorite horror movie coming up?

Speaker 4 (04:54):
I mean Sounds of the Lambs when I was a
little older. When I was younger, I loved Poulter Guys.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
Okay, me too, that was like.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
My childhood favorite movie.

Speaker 4 (05:02):
And then this movie called Audrey Rose, which is now
that I look back.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
On it just like so traumatizing. It's scary and terrible.
But I love that movie.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
I don't know, I think for me, the Exorcist, I
couldn't sleep when I saw that movie. I had to
leave the light on. And I was the only person
in my house that liked to watch our movies. And
I would literally like watch it, but I would cover
my eyes and my ears when things were happening. They
were too scary for me. And then so sometimes it
felt like I never saw the movie at all because
I missed all the like you know what happened at

(05:29):
those points. But some of them you look back and
you're like, I can't believe I was scared during this.

Speaker 4 (05:34):
You know.

Speaker 5 (05:35):
Exis for me is my favorite?

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Is it really? Okay?

Speaker 1 (05:37):
I read the book too, and the book is so graphic.
Also there's certain things in there, and I know you
like to also adapt, you know, books into to film
also sometimes sometimes but that is difficult too because then
it's also like, how does this story work as a movie,
And it's somebody else's you know, ideas that you have

(05:58):
to I'm sure all of those things are very precious
to a person.

Speaker 5 (06:01):
It is, you know, sometimes they just you know, something
speaks to you at that time. You know, there was
a graphic novel that these guys gave me for Father's Day,
which became Old, and then this other movie which became
Knock at the Cabin came to us to produce, and
it just spoke to me the idea of what you
know love is and you know that form of it
now and so it just where you are. Just let

(06:23):
it speak to me. But I have to say, you know,
my my true true love and life is just coming
up with an idea and following it in this color
that I haven't heard before, like trap. You know, it's
a combination of many things, but you haven't felt this
before and I haven't felt and that draws me, you know,
it interests me.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
Every time I see m Night Shyamalan on a movie,
I watch it. So I did.

Speaker 1 (06:45):
I did see Old, and I did also see Knock
at the Cabin because as soon as I see that,
I was like, Okay, I'm into it. And what I
did like about Knock at the Cabin first, and I
want to ask some questions about that before we get
into chat. But what I did enjoy about that was
the couple there It wasn't based around like people just
exist yes, you know, And so sometimes a film can
get categorized as like, oh, this is it, but it

(07:06):
just existed, like people were able to just be like,
you know, this is the couple, yes, you know that
we have in the movie. It wasn't focused on is
this an LGBTQ. You know, it's just this is just life. Yeah,
and it's just happening and that's not It was about love.
And it was also made me think, like, when you
write a movie like that, do you have conversations at home,
like what if we were in that situation?

Speaker 5 (07:26):
Definitely, Yeah, we definitely got to go. That was the
first when I was thinking about it. That was the
first dinner table thing.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Who's going, what a difficult conversation to have at home?
Who would sacrifice it?

Speaker 4 (07:40):
Well?

Speaker 5 (07:40):
That was what's so great is because it feels like,
you know, in a conversation, especially with the family of
only girls, it's like, well, the guy's going.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
What a blessing? Only girls? Absolutely?

Speaker 1 (07:52):
But yeah, so I wanted to ask about that and
then also old I feel like, like I said, I
saw that as soon as I see a night Shyamalan,
I'm gonna watch the movie. And I feel like a
lot of people's fear is to get old. And we
were talking about that here before you came in, but
then he was like, yeah, but in one day, to
get that old is like the biggest fear, you know,
in Liperia. But being getting older is a blessing. Aside

(08:14):
from you know, the way that that happened. I think
people are so scared of that.

Speaker 5 (08:18):
Yeah, I mean you're seeing kind of, you know, the
things in my life, you know, reflected in what I'm
writing or interested in doing. And so you know, let's say,
you know, you know, every movie is kind of the
fear of losing the nuclear family. That's just the primary
thing that's underneath all these movies. And then there's some
kind of supernatural or unusual circumstances surrounding those the family

(08:40):
and the potential threat to the family. But as you
see each thing moving, you're seeing the girls and in
the movies or the kids in the movies are all
the same agores as my kids, you know, like Abigail
Breslin and Signs was five when Silika was five, so
they would win trick or treating together, and you know, said,
they're all so Abigail word princess dresses all the time
through the movie because Sleiker war princess tress all the time.

(09:01):
So like you're seeing all those things and even in
a kind of twisted way like you know, yeah, Split,
like we're the same ages as the girls getting abducted.
Where the same age as as the girls.

Speaker 1 (09:10):
You know at that time you have all daughters to
do a movie like Split where he's abducting all these.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Yeah, and that makes them go away.

Speaker 5 (09:20):
That it helps you with them. You write them down
and it helps you a little bit, gives you a
little distance. And the oldest like watching my parents, you know,
and we're at that place where you're watching them and
you're scared. Your every day is a precious stay. You
have one more day with them, and I don't know
if tomorrow will be the day. You know. Now we're
about to go on tour for Trap and around the world,
and I'm scared because I'm going to go around the

(09:41):
world and come bect in there. I don't know, you know.
And so that those those thoughts and those feelings are in.

Speaker 1 (09:46):
Old Were you scared for Selika to become a singer
and a songwriter because that is a different industry and
there's a lot going on that we could write movies about. Yeah,
in the music business right now.

Speaker 5 (09:58):
Yeah, I want you, you want to I want to
hear your your your thoughts on that part of the
journey for you. But I you know, I have felt
in my field that I want to be I want
to walk the way I want I want to do
industry to walk. So I have to do be it myself.
So and and and in the music industry. Having now
been you know, on the side of it with Selika

(10:18):
for all these years and watching it and now I'm
a bunch of my friends or musicians and you know,
seeing how they're handling it. It's a there's the same
kind of pitfalls of it, and you have to have
some kind of integrity underneath it, a structure that makes
you not go insane, you know, Otherwise you get into
the machinery of it and it becomes you lose yourself

(10:39):
in the in the in the worst way. And it's
a beautiful art form, the music of it all. But
when she started it was in classical piano. So that's
when from four years old and she was going to
go to the at least we thought into a musical conservatory,
you know, yeah, yeah, to go to Juilliard or go
to I'm Forgetting in Philly, the other musical and yeah,

(11:04):
Curtis Curtis. So that's where we thought she would end up,
you know, doing the kind of kind of prescribed Asian
movement of like classical piano training. And then she came
in like around fourteen or so and said, hey, thank you,
I don't want to I don't want to do that.
I want to do this. And at that point it
was ten years of three hours a day tiers from

(11:27):
four years old. Everywhere we would go on vacation, there's
a piano. We couldn't even go put someonewhere without a
piano because you had to do three hours every day.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
But did you love that or was that hard for
you to do three hours a day? Because that is
a lot.

Speaker 4 (11:38):
I don't I guess it was never like an option
in my head like whether to not do it. It was like,
if you're going to do piano, this is what is
required of it. It's almost like if you're a ballet dancer,
you have to keep up practicing otherwise you'll lose your skill.
So I guess, my you know, my teacher thought of
it in the same way, and I thought of it
in the same way that if this is what you
want to do, you have to dedicate the time to it,
and as you get older, more and more time is

(11:58):
required to.

Speaker 3 (11:59):
Be at the level.

Speaker 4 (12:00):
You know, if I was going to go to a
conservatory or something like that, it would need to be
like three to four hours a day of practicing.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
How was it letting your parents know, actually, this is
I'm going to switch.

Speaker 2 (12:11):
I'm going to do a different type of music.

Speaker 1 (12:13):
I like R and B, and yeah, you know, I
don't want to necessarily go to it.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
It was very scary.

Speaker 4 (12:19):
I think, you know, they're so supportive of my classical
piano and you know, just in watching me and going
to all the recitals and all that stuff.

Speaker 3 (12:27):
So I didn't want to disappoint them.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
And I knew that that was sort of the path
that we had in mind as a family, that you know,
we had this vision.

Speaker 3 (12:33):
Of what life was going to be like.

Speaker 4 (12:34):
And you know, him even being in the film industry,
it didn't make the music industry any less scary.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
It's very it was unknown to us.

Speaker 4 (12:42):
We didn't really know anything about it and how it worked,
and it's just a scary thing. I think for any
parent to have their child go into a field and
a space that you know, we don't know and is
you know, unstable. It's not uneasy or prescribed path that
you can say I'll do these three things and then
I know where I'll be, like, you just don't know.

Speaker 3 (13:01):
So it was definitely a scary thing.

Speaker 4 (13:02):
And you know, I was young, but I feel like
once he saw that the work ethic was the same
and the discipline was the same and the three hours
of training just went into a different form of music,
it didn't actually go away.

Speaker 3 (13:15):
I think then he understood.

Speaker 4 (13:16):
He was like, Okay, this is like what film is
for me, you know, and it was very supportive.

Speaker 5 (13:21):
There was a moment that I didn't react well yeah,
my wife's head, Yeah, I didn't react. Well, I was pissed.
I was like, you're going to give after after putting
in the ten thousand hours, you're going to stop doing.

Speaker 2 (13:35):
This, But it's not really stopping. I know.

Speaker 5 (13:37):
I know that was my ignorance.

Speaker 2 (13:38):
That was It felt like that, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
And you know what I just too, which is interesting
because you know, you dropped the shamala when you're for people.

Speaker 2 (13:47):
So you're Silika, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (13:48):
I mean I used Shyamalan for my writing and production name.
It's just force for like streaming and stuff like that.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
Right, Yeah, what are you going to say?

Speaker 3 (13:55):
I don't know.

Speaker 5 (13:55):
I was just saying, you know, I probably had a
bias that the move from classical piano to writing and
singing was motivated by lesser instincts. Okay, and that's probably
you know where that I would they were suspicious to me.
You know that that you're, oh, you you want to

(14:17):
you want to be you want to be famous?

Speaker 2 (14:19):
Is that?

Speaker 5 (14:19):
Is that what it is? Or you want to be
you know, one validation from others, So yeah, you want
to be cool or whatever it is. Oh it's a
really sexy field. Oh that's what you want to do.
You know, that's not where you should come from. So like,
so that was where I and I put all on that,
you know, into my bad, bad position that I had
with that that that that moment. But she's you know,

(14:44):
to switch, and you know, it's like it was suspicious
and then she she started writing and singing and immediately
we saw it. We saw it.

Speaker 1 (14:52):
That's perfect and we got to address this. I see
that people yes, Ken Lamar, that must have been Did
you know ahead of time or was that a surprise
when that song came out?

Speaker 2 (15:02):
Was there? I didn't know what a fan he was.

Speaker 5 (15:06):
We we do kind of lightly know each other, and
I did know. I didn't, I didn't. You know, he's
very gracious with me and I love him, you know.
And again speaking of integrity, you know, so yeah, so,
and she knows that. So when she says, hey, this person,
they won't even my kids won't even recommend music. And
you know, they know what I'm going to say. If
it doesn't have it. It can be anything, you know,

(15:27):
any form of music, but it has to be you know,
from the right place, coming from the right place. And
and Kendrick comes from the right place. And so he
did give you a heads up. No he didn't, he didn't.
He didn't, But you were like.

Speaker 2 (15:38):
What who told you first?

Speaker 5 (15:40):
Then I think was it you?

Speaker 4 (15:42):
No?

Speaker 5 (15:43):
No, no, someone in the office and it was the
first song the first song ends with it. Yeah, yeah,
it references that he ends. So someone in the office
was like, oh, Kendrick, just drop something and he references
one of your songs.

Speaker 4 (15:54):
I was like, oh cool.

Speaker 5 (15:55):
And then that was before all everything blew up.

Speaker 4 (15:57):
I was in a zoom and you were like, come downstairs,
Oh you just played the started playing the song and
it was like seven minute song and I was like,
what are we what?

Speaker 5 (16:03):
Oh that was the first one.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
Yeah, that's can't work with Drake.

Speaker 5 (16:08):
We love everybody.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
I mean, not start an issue here, totally kidding.

Speaker 1 (16:15):
But so what was it like for you filming this movie,
because it is an actual concert that takes place, So
talk to me about that process of packing out this
stadium and really like performing in front of everybody.

Speaker 2 (16:27):
What was that like for you?

Speaker 4 (16:29):
I mean, we really prepped it like we would prep
like a tour.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
You know.

Speaker 4 (16:32):
We did choreography for all the songs and trained and
did weeks of you know prep with the dancers, and
I trained, you know, as if I was going to
go on tour and do these moves.

Speaker 3 (16:42):
And then I was writing all.

Speaker 4 (16:43):
The songs thinking about the performance element and how they
would flow in the concert and kind of what does
what does the opening feel like? And then what is
the encore and what is this last song before the encore?
And and how do you incorporate features and when do
they come up in the concert? And so it was
very just like kind of work is right a show
in a way, and then the costumes as well, you know,
thought really thought out in terms of what is the

(17:05):
opening has a little bit of a hidden you know,
a hood kind of hide and then you kind of
slowly reveal, and then the ballad there's a more vulnerable
moment maybe like a simple dress there, and just everything
was very thought thought out in a way that I
would kind of think out a tour, and we did
that together with the production design and every song specifically,
like what do we want the background to feel like here?
And there's so much thematic elements that are put into

(17:27):
it and it's not anything that necessarily you might notice,
but I think you'll feel it when you watch the
movie that the concert is feels real because it was real.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Oh and Release and Save Me.

Speaker 1 (17:37):
Those are the two songs that have been put out
so far, and it sounds so good when you see
the trailer too, like putting the music with the trailer
and feeling like the tone of that. So when you
wrote the soundtrack, right, was it you wrote that first?
And then like how does that work in alignment with
what's happening?

Speaker 2 (17:54):
As far as the script I wrote to the script.

Speaker 4 (17:56):
He wrote the script first, and then I wrote all
the songs. Some of them kind of overlapped with while
we were already in pre production and shooting, but it
was all, you know, once the script was written, it had.

Speaker 3 (18:08):
To be you know, very specific to the scenes.

Speaker 4 (18:11):
And the way he writes is very you know, everything
is detailed and thought out, and the images there there's
kind of not really like questions there. Everything is storyboarded,
everything is thought out, and so the scenes, I knew
exactly how many songs and what scenes they were over
and what's happening during those scenes, and so kind of
orchestrating and producing the songs to fit what those were.

Speaker 1 (18:31):
How is it working together? And I know your sister,
your younger sister also directs. And I saw that movie too,
by the way I tells you where I watched all
of them, the Watchers. I watched that as well, Watchers.
But how is it for you guys? Like working together?
Is it? Because sometimes working with family can be difficult,
but then you know, this is the best teacher there is.

Speaker 5 (18:52):
Yeah, it was. It was great and I've loved it.

Speaker 4 (18:55):
I loved it for me, Like you know, I'm I'm
introverted person, so a lot of these things. Putting myself
out there is a very anxious thing for me. And
I felt like one having my dad there as a
protective a person that I felt safe with on set,
which I think a lot of people don't have the opportunity,
they don't feel safe on st and I got to
feel that, So that was just a beautiful thing. And
then also I had the best mentor in the world.

(19:17):
You know, he has such integrity. Everything that he does
has the highest standards and the most integrity. And so
getting to be in a place like that, I know
he's not gonna let you know, He's not going to
compromise his vision for anything. So I knew, you know,
as long as I can execute what he's telling me
and try to, you know, reach the character that it's
I can kind of let go because I can let him,

(19:37):
you know, take all the burden.

Speaker 5 (19:39):
I mean, what what I asked you to do is
so incredibly hard to do, you know, honestly, less than
less than two hands I think on the planet could
have done. What if two hands? You know, I said,
I came up with an idea, you need to write
fourteen songs you need to write them, produce them, perform them.
Then you have to act in the movie all of it.

(19:59):
And we're do a concert. So you're gonna prep a
full concert all within this same time period.

Speaker 3 (20:04):
Camp y, Yeah, it was. It was like an art
boot camp.

Speaker 5 (20:07):
Who could do that? You know that, you know, and
that's why it was. Yes, And so you know when
you think of like, you know, you know, and I
do think they're you know, like you know, I love
Billy and you know and Phineas and what they do,
and you know, they my mind goes to that where
people that can come and write and go, hey, just
get inspired by what I'm saying. Now write fourteen of those, now,

(20:30):
prep them, now shoot those, now, now be in the movie.
It's it's it's in the extreme like she's she would
be you know, rehearsing or shooting and then come back
to her hotel room and record a song in the
hotel in the in the closet, like you know, write
and then you know, it's like it's that is that demanding,
that fast that we have to to to deliver all

(20:50):
this so and and she she just came from the
right place and not didn't buckle. I mean, it would
have been appropriate to buckle under those under that pressure.
And even Josh Josh Shartner, who's the lead of the movie,
when the concert finished, when we finished the you know,
the movie the concert, he was like, whoa, that was insane.
What's Selika sleeping man?

Speaker 1 (21:10):
And I say, you leaving some Easter egg clues in
the movie on your Instagram? So you know, I'm excited.
I'm going to be right there. I cannot wait to
see it. Everybody's like, did you get a screen? I'm like,
not for this one. You know, they're not giving an
out to people to be able to watch. He talked
about feeling safe with your father, and I do want
to ask you. A lot of your movies are intense, right,
and there's child actors, like in The Sixth Sense you

(21:31):
back at the cabin. Yeah, so what is it like
for on set now? Because you also want to make
sure because I always think about these kids acting in movies.

Speaker 2 (21:38):
I'm like, is this traumatizing?

Speaker 1 (21:39):
Like to play these roles after what happens to make
sure that they're like mentally okay.

Speaker 5 (21:45):
Well, again, you come from loving the character, so me
and that individual, whether it's a child or an adult
where we're creating and protecting this third thing, this third person.
So when I'm talking to the kid, I'm saying, she
or he doesn't feel that way. What does she feel
at this moment? What? No, she's too smart for that, right,

(22:07):
Why would you what you know, when you did that thing,
you're making her feel ignorant about that, that situation. Hold that,
don't let go of that. And and there's always and
so it's a feeling. The feelings are complex. And I said,
don't try to control it, don't try to come out
with some kind of thing. And so when I talk
to children always i'm talking from the character. Say she,

(22:27):
and I use the character's name. They know it's right, Riley.
In this case, Riley. Riley feels this Riley Riley Riley.

Speaker 2 (22:32):
You know.

Speaker 5 (22:33):
So when Ari the actress, who you know, who's a
little girl, she's thirteen years old, was tired or whatever,
I go, Riley's Riley's not feeling that. That's that's Ari, right,
So so what what is out Riley feeling? And then
we both kind of she comes alive thinking about Riley
and protecting Riley.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
You know, all right, that's good.

Speaker 1 (22:54):
I'm glad to hear that because I always am like,
these kids are amazing, you know, just to see kid,
I mean when I tell you.

Speaker 4 (23:00):
So empathetic to which is why you feel so pure.

Speaker 2 (23:04):
What is the first concert you guys have been to together?

Speaker 5 (23:07):
WHOA, what was the first one?

Speaker 4 (23:08):
Because the big, big one in my mind is Beyonce
when I was ten.

Speaker 2 (23:12):
That's a good one.

Speaker 4 (23:14):
I don't know if I don't that's like core memory.
I don't know if that was the first show I
ever saw. We saw a lot of classical, Yeah, classical music,
you know, my teachers performing.

Speaker 5 (23:26):
It might have been.

Speaker 3 (23:26):
It might have been. I think that was maybe like
the first thing.

Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, high bar right, yeah.

Speaker 4 (23:31):
We went, yeah, the highest just y like, wait till
you're ten and then we're going to take it to
the greatest. We went.

Speaker 5 (23:38):
I think we went backstage to meet her, right yeah
what yeah?

Speaker 4 (23:43):
No, we also that was that was when I was fourteen.

Speaker 1 (23:47):
This is when it really comes in handy to have
your dad. Yeah, come on, let's go say how to Beyonce?

Speaker 4 (23:50):
It I think I was like actually shaking. I was like,
she just was so beautiful and tall.

Speaker 1 (23:59):
But I'm excited to see this because from the trailer
I can see that it's visually going to be beautiful,
but it's also something I feel like that is relatable
and will maybe make us all scared to go to
a concert again after this because the whole premise of it.
But I know there's going to be a twist, So
that's what I'm excited to see. Because I saw people
were like, oh, he gave away you know everything, and.

Speaker 5 (24:19):
I can't remember.

Speaker 2 (24:20):
You can't so long since I remember what happened.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
But I appreciate you so much for coming through, And
I do want to say that right now, it feels
like we're living in a movie. Yeah, And I always
feel like real life is like it's scarier than any
movie could be. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (24:36):
Yeah, I keep saying we our culture has become high school.
Were just more and more. You know. I used to
think just being famous is like being in high school forever,
but then now everything is turning into high school. It's
like the outrageous things that the kids that did outrageous
things and got talked about in high school.

Speaker 2 (24:51):
That's now, yeah, except it's like it's doing it.

Speaker 1 (24:56):
Do you get inspired by seeing even though like there's
some crazy things happening, you know, we're coming off of
like an assassination attempt on the president and all these
you know, madness things. Does that ever make you feel
like this is a movie right here? Like how can
we turn this into? Yeah?

Speaker 5 (25:12):
It does, you know, affect the thoughts you know sometimes
you know, like Knock at the Cabin, there's questions of
are we going in the right direction or not right?
That's what That's what the basis of that thing. We
are we worth saving? You know, That's what knocked the
Cabin about. So it does, it does. And I do
feel comfortable going to very dark material like in Trap,
because I feel very optimistic about humanity and life. That's

(25:34):
just who I am. So I feel safe to take
you like you can. Even though I'm taking you to
a dark place, you know that the person taking you
on the journey it has it has a different point
of view about life that I do feel optimistic about things.
And even though as you'll see, you know, when you
watch Trap, you know it has both sides to it.
And I think art really resonates when you get that

(25:56):
balance right of how we yard we all are as
human beings, we have both things in us at all times.
We have the very worst and the very best, always there.
And when we feel that, like when I play the
mom that's loving, but she's also selfish and you know that,
then then it rings true. You have to find the

(26:17):
dark balance.

Speaker 1 (26:18):
And Selika, are you going to go on tour maybe
and really perform this album?

Speaker 2 (26:22):
Because how could you not? I know, it feels like
the tour is ready to go.

Speaker 3 (26:28):
It's true.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
Yeah, all right, well listen, thank y'all so much for
coming through.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
I am so excited to see it.

Speaker 1 (26:33):
Y'all know, I am definitely like in the theaters for
this one.

Speaker 5 (26:36):
You're so caught. It's been so lowly talking to you.

Speaker 2 (26:38):
All right.

Speaker 1 (26:39):
Make sure y'all see Chap August second. It's out in
the soundtrack as well. Yes, so we'll be able to
hear that too.

Speaker 4 (26:44):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (26:44):
It's way up up