WEBVTT
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.199
You have any money?
00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:08.000
Oh, why two thousand listened is 100% 15 by 65 now?
00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:10.640
I think Dr.
00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.759
never wanted to be a director of just for momentum.
00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:19.519
That's how the Marriott must have solved when they went to apply for their liquor license.
00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.199
Why how would they be able to 15 by 50 steps, right?
00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:27.199
Like I would watch off every time.
00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:31.199
Why do you always take two bad distance fitness?
00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:35.200
Because if you just take one, he'll drink all your beer.
00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:47.520
All right, here we go.
00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:52.159
We're back with LDS Uncorrelated.
00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:55.359
Um, and we got an incredible show today.
00:00:55.520 --> 00:01:00.880
Um, we got first of all, let's introduce our guest because uh, you know, he's our honored guest.
00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:02.719
We got Brad Whitbeck in the house.
00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:15.840
Uh you may have seen him in Ward Radio, um, and other films like uh Escape from Germany, um, and uh what what other big films have you done?
00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:18.719
Oh, mostly like Book of Mormon videos, man.
00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:26.560
Okay, so Book of Mormon videos and then the other one I get most recognition for is actually the PS100 course at BYU.
00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:28.480
That one's hilarious.
00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:30.560
No way, yeah.
00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:35.040
I in Provo, there'll be people who are like, Where do I know you from?
00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:36.799
And it's almost always that.
00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:39.680
PS100, is that public speaking 100?
00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:41.840
Uh no, it's physical science.
00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:45.359
It was like a vilnai the science guy kind of thing, yeah.
00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:47.120
That's awesome.
00:01:47.280 --> 00:02:07.920
Yeah, um, so today we uh so well last time we started chatting about um acting, and we wanted to talk to Aransa mostly about her her her her short stint as an actor, and then we wanted to talk about um LDS film and like some of the culture and stuff, and uh so I thought this group would be perfect for that.
00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.759
Um, and and then a little later we got a treat for the audience.
00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:15.680
We're gonna show them a clip uh of an upcoming film.
00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:25.919
I I don't know if it's public yet, uh, but um the director sent me the the full movie, and we're just gonna show like a peak we're gonna give people a taste of the film and we're gonna talk about it.
00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:34.080
Um but um yeah, we didn't know that like as we were talking, you know, and as we do the podcast, we get to know each other a bit better.
00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:36.080
We didn't know that Aranza was so talented.
00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:44.080
Like it was all the pieces of all coming together, you know, why you're on quick and why you're blowing up, you know, you you just got talent under the hood, you know.
00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:46.479
No, it's just childhood trauma.
00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:50.319
It's just you know, it's come it's come full circle.
00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:56.159
I'm I'm unafraid at um sharing my opinions and sharing my joy online.
00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:00.319
So yeah, that definitely trained me up for that.
00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:01.759
Awesome.
00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:08.960
So so tell us then uh how did you get into acting?
00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:11.840
How young, and then like what what happened?
00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:12.960
Like, tell us the story.
00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:13.680
Sure.
00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:19.919
Well, I grew up in Connecticut, and um, we were just a train ride away from Manhattan.
00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:29.439
And I don't know, as a little girl, I was very loud and bright and always performing for everyone.
00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:38.400
And when I was seven years old, my grandmother was like, we need to get her into the movies, and and she heard that there was this huge casting call in the city.
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:41.439
So we all got on the train and went into the big city.
00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:50.719
I was just a little girl, and there were hundreds and hundreds of kids at this huge cattle call, and they did rounds and rounds of callbacks.
00:03:50.800 --> 00:04:04.960
It was all day, and I got hired by this manager, and that had like uh seven agents, and they would, you know, call my mom a couple times a week and send me out on different auditions.
00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:13.280
So from the time I was like uh seven years old to 13 years old, I was going into the city a few times a week, auditioning.
00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:18.639
You know, and like I said, uh it was a big job for a very little girl.
00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:28.720
I had to grow up fast, I had to um learn a lot of things really, really quickly, learn how to handle rejection really quickly.
00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:35.279
And so there is so much I'm grateful for as like grateful for as my time.
00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:49.519
There's so much that I'm grateful for uh for the time spent that I spent doing that as a young girl, but um, it definitely was quite the experience on many levels for a little girl.
00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.399
But that the acting bug infected me.
00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:56.399
I went to high school for performing arts.
00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:05.439
In fact, uh Dave, I was just watching your high lowbrow episode on the Odyssey the other day, and it was like it's he's it's such a good show.
00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:07.120
Um go watch that, guys.
00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:17.920
Um, but it was that kind of stuff that like I fell in love with in high school the Iliad, the Odyssey, um, Trojan women, all of those like Greek plays.
00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:22.879
And I I'm still acting, you know, I do plays here and there.
00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:25.199
Um, I get I got my kids into it.
00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:30.000
They're they're doing little community theater projects, and it's just it's just so fun.
00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:31.439
It's always stuck with me.
00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:49.600
So it's cool to um see the intersection of that and how I've brought that into you know my life, what I do online, and um I'm excited to talk about uh how this affects media and Mormon culture.
00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:50.959
That's cool too.
00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:55.600
Yeah, that's awesome.
00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:00.399
Um how old were you again when you started acting?
00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:08.160
Um I was around eight years old, and I think I would have kept going, but I had developed epilepsy.
00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:21.920
Um I was around it started off like slow, um, where it's just like little ticks here and there, but it started interfering with my work and it progressed to like big seizures.
00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:23.839
Um, I'm okay now as an adult.
00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:26.639
I grew out of it, but it was like really bad timing.
00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:27.759
Dang.
00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:28.319
Oh yeah.
00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:30.000
Yeah, and at eight years old.
00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:33.360
So you got like a different baptism than the rest of us at the time.
00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:34.079
Yeah.
00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:34.399
Yeah.
00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:42.240
I I think I think a lot of the stress contributed to that as a young age because it was it was very it was a lot for a little girl.
00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:53.279
Like you have a lot of appointments, you you know, you're instead of instead of outside playing with your friends, you're worried about whether you're gonna land a job or not, or whether you were good enough or not.
00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:55.279
Like it was it was a lot, you know.
00:06:55.439 --> 00:07:00.480
I'm very grateful, but at the same time, like it definitely made me who I am today.
00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:02.319
Yeah.
00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:06.639
How did your parents let you experience that?
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:10.079
Like, were they worried about the jobs or were you?
00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:20.160
Yeah, I I think I think you're trying to ask if my parents um like willingly or like maybe saw some of the things that I struggled with.
00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:21.600
Is that your question, Chris?
00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:29.519
Did were you like, did they say, Oh, we're trying to get this role, or did you just do things and then they fill you in as you went?
00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.560
Like, did it feel like you were an actor on your own?
00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:50.079
Kind of um, I I think maybe like there was a lot of stuff that I did know that maybe I shouldn't have known, like, okay, well, it's down between you and this other girl, and I was really trying really hard to book this off-Broadway role of Helen Keller, and it was literally between me and this other girl.
00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:56.240
And so there were instances where I knew that I was really close to something, and the that rejection hit hard.
00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:02.319
Or, like, does anybody remember that um children's show out of the box back in the day?
00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:11.360
I got cast on that show, and really, and they were like, Okay, time to move to New Jersey, you know, you're gonna have tutors, you're gonna be on set every day.
00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.079
And my mom was like, No, we're not gonna do this.
00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:22.319
And so that was like really hard for me because I I like I knew what was going on at such a young age.
00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:28.240
So I had that taste of success without ever really stepping on set, you know what I mean?
00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.839
And so it's just oh, I don't want to trauma dump on guy.
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:32.960
No, no, no.
00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:39.360
I mean, that is the core of like any theater kid background, is trauma dumping, right?
00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:48.240
So, but but you're eight, so like you're not driving yourself like like did your parents want you to do this?
00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:51.279
Like, how did you end up at the age of eight getting into this?
00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:57.840
Like, is this like a jack side story where your your mom is like you are going to be an actor and drove around?
00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.120
Yeah, like anything you've heard about stage moms is real.
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:02.799
I love my mom, I do.
00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:20.320
Um but you know, that was that was hard for us because she was working just as much as I was, you know, taking me here and there and coordinating with my agents and uh had your parents been actors?
00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.559
Or did they want to be actors?
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:23.519
No.
00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:26.399
No, my father was a high alike player.
00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:33.279
He he immigrated from Spain and did that, and then he worked on heating and air conditioning units.
00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:34.639
That's what he does now.
00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:39.840
Uh I don't know if most of our viewers will know what Hyalite is.
00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:43.360
It's um it's an awesome sport.
00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:46.639
It is a sport, it is a ball game.
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:52.480
Um characteristic of sp of Spain and the Spanish speaking world, right?
00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:54.639
It's like ultimate pickleball.
00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:59.039
Yeah, it's I think of it as being like a racquetball or handball kind of game.
00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:06.799
Yeah, you can do it with your hand, or you can tie a giant basket to your arm, the cesta, and they whip it at the wall really fast.
00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:07.919
They're so cool.
00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:09.200
It is really cool.
00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:11.440
There is this homework.
00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:14.639
I have quite a layered uh life.
00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:25.679
Like it's so weird how I got from point A to point B now being a member of the church, and just so things are so radically different than I ever thought they would be growing up.
00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:35.759
I can't remember what the Netflix documentary was that came out recently about like all the Nickelodeon kids that are like, you know, deep messed up injured.
00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:36.320
Yeah.
00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:49.360
Um that's like where my mind instantly goes, like when I think about like child actors and the um so I hope nothing like that ever happened to like all my friends in the film industry, you know.
00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:49.759
Yeah.
00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:59.919
Um but now, but also see, we're in Utah, most of us are in Utah, and so California and Hollywood is just like a state and a half away, you know.
00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:06.399
And so we're like I'm glad that's over there and not like here, you know.
00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:16.799
Um but uh but now we have like a lot of like LDS films that are growing, and we kind of have like uh I mean like church studios are just in Brovo.
00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.360
And uh we got a lot of stuff going on in Salt Lake.
00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:26.960
Um but uh I'd like to petition for a new temple video.
00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.840
I think we can do something really, really cool.
00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:30.879
Oh my gosh.
00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:34.000
Yeah, I'm afraid we're not gonna.
00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:37.600
Oh, I just said our temple videos are not gonna involve human actors anymore.
00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:39.200
It's just gonna be animated.
00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.759
Is it gonna be like uh translation situation?
00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:50.720
They want it to be No, we're just we're gonna keep pushing through the uncanny valley to try to get to the other side.
00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:56.080
Uh it's gonna be AI people all the way from now on.
00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:58.399
Bro, I want live sessions again.
00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:02.559
How much pressure would you feel though if you were casted as Adam or Eve?
00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:03.679
Like that would be insane.
00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:11.279
Well, this is the problem is what if Adam or Eve, you know, a million Mormons know them, and then the person who prominently goes apostate.
00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:11.919
That's the problem.
00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.200
That happened, though.
00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:14.399
Yes, correct.
00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:16.879
All right, so stage names.
00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.519
So uh we got one mighty and strong.
00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:24.159
You have to be the one mighty and strong because there's so many competitors, and you seem to own all of them.
00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:25.200
Yeah, Chris.
00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:27.279
Do it now.
00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:29.360
I I renamed Brad.
00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.759
Does he show up renamed on your screen?
00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.720
Oh my gosh, why did I get marred servant?
00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:35.360
Oh no.
00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:38.559
Because you're the ugly guy of the show, bud.
00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:40.320
It's true, it's true.
00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:41.440
Yeah, it's ugly.
00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:43.840
That's awesome.
00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:45.919
Um all right.
00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:53.519
It's a lesser it's a lesser known.
00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:54.960
What should my stage name be?
00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:58.559
Should it be like like third knee fight number three or something?
00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:01.039
Or fourth knee fight didn't make the cut or something?
00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:02.399
Just Mathoni ha.
00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:05.600
People have to be like, oh yeah, that was one of the 12.
00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.440
How about John the Bill but with a normal nose?
00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:15.039
I like it.
00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:18.799
No, I just need to get him a Ferrari.
00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:19.840
That's right.
00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:21.120
The black Ferrari.
00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:24.879
He got the black hair, he's you know, his nose is perfectly normal.
00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:28.240
That's okay.
00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.960
See, why haven't they made a 3D fight series yet, right?
00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:39.120
Like, I would watch that every Saturday morning if they made like a you know, just like a 30-minute episode.
00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.840
Yeah, an office style 3 knee fights.
00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:45.120
Oh my gosh.
00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:49.120
As they have to deal with all of the knee fights just not listening.
00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:53.600
Office style chorum of the twelve phone.
00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:55.200
That would be funny.
00:13:55.440 --> 00:14:06.159
You just see like present or like elder Bednar just like side side-eyeing, like looking at the camera, like all right, really quickly.
00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:10.159
All right, so we we started out, we got Aronsa's origin story.
00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:11.679
We're moving through here.
00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:15.759
Uh Aronsa, you're you're it's your birthday, you're 37.
00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:18.000
That means you were born what year?
00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:19.360
36.
00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:20.240
36.
00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:22.240
37 is still old.
00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:23.759
Subtract a year, okay.
00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:25.279
Block it back a little bit.
00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:27.360
We're discussing Aranza's age right now.
00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.000
It's all downhill from 36.
00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:35.600
It really feels sometimes it feels like that, but also it's like amazing to get older.
00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:37.120
Like I'm really enjoying it.
00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:47.120
Because like I have my kids, I have my husband, and like every wrinkle, every gray hair tells, you know, some sort of stress, some sort of beautiful, some sort of beautiful story, right?
00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:49.759
Um yeah.
00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:51.120
Absolutely.
00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:51.840
Absolutely.
00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:53.360
But what year were you born?
00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:55.039
1990.
00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:56.159
So 1990.
00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:00.080
90 baby represents the elder millennial.
00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:03.200
Wait, uh, Brad, what what year were you born?
00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:04.480
93.
00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:05.840
93.
00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:07.519
Yeah, 90s.
00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:11.759
Dave, these are youngsters, my friend.
00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:14.720
Yeah, two of them were born during my mission.
00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:16.080
Is that what?
00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:16.879
Yep.
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:18.240
Oh, dude.
00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:19.279
Right.
00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:23.840
I was um, you know, I'm a good, I was born 1981.
00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:31.679
Now, I, when I joined the church, I became aware of church cinema.
00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:33.519
You know, it was like a big deal.
00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:42.879
I was I joined the church, and uh maybe like the week after or the week before, we went to the Washington, DC temple, and they showed us videos.
00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:47.840
And this is the first introduction to church film I had, and it was Lamb of God.
00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:54.799
And Lamb of God was like treated as if it was almost pseudo-temple film, right?
00:15:55.039 --> 00:16:04.879
You only could see it in the visitor center, and it was like, you know, oh, it's uh we need to uh treat it as a sort of sacred experience.
00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:19.200
It wasn't for another five years that I found that someone shared with me Saturday's warrior, um, which uh remains one of my favorite pieces of LDS culture.
00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:30.799
Um, but right after that is when God's army shows up, and we have this wave of kind of awesome LDS movies.
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:34.559
Now, Lucifer gets body, aka Dave.
00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:40.799
I want you to tell me about how you were introduced to cinema in this 2000.
00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:46.159
Were you aware of the the Mormon moment of homegrown provo film?
00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:53.519
So, first of all, I I don't think I've ever seen uh hold on, what's the what's the old church movie you were just talking about?
00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:56.480
I've never seen Scott Scott.
00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:57.519
I've never seen it either.
00:16:57.759 --> 00:16:59.279
I'm vaguely aware of it.
00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:04.559
Uh I don't know how I missed it though, because I was a I certainly saw Johnny Lingo many times.
00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:14.559
Oh yeah and and uh and and remain to this day a big fan of Tom Trails, which I think predates moving pictures.
00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:18.319
I mean, not not as a technology, but as a church production.
00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:29.759
It's a it's a slideshow show, it's a still image and narrated dialogue over it, which someday we should need to watch that whole thing and react to it on this program.
00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:39.119
Um yeah, you say a wave, but like I think the wave is God's army and uh and Brigham City and then everything else sucked.
00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:40.960
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:45.680
This slander against Sons of Provo will not be allowed.
00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:46.160
Yeah.
00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:48.960
So that is peak cinema right there.
00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:51.119
Sons of Provo was so good.
00:17:51.440 --> 00:18:08.319
So my impression is that God's army showed people that on a low budget you could you could tell a story about Mormons, principally for Mormons, although a person who was, I think Dutcher never wanted to be a director just uh for Mormons.
00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:18.160
Um and um although that's sort of how it ended, I don't think he ever really reached a national audience.
00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:26.559
Um so uh and and and you could you could do that, you know, if you if you're in a low budget, you could do it profitably.
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:35.759
And so uh, you know, God's army, if you're not uh familiar with this, is a is a serious film about missionaries.
00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.839
And uh, you know, so the set you don't only need sets per se.
00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:43.200
You're filming it on streets and in apartments, right?
00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:49.519
Uh and the people are mostly where the actors are mostly wearing, I mean, they're dressed like missionaries, right?
00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:54.960
They're wearing white shirts or or you know, nuts slightly slightly frumpy dresses.
00:18:55.680 --> 00:19:01.599
Is this the movie where you have like the Hispanic elder and like the white elder and they like the other?
00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:03.039
Yeah, Dutcher himself.
00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:15.359
Doesn't want to go home, wants to wants to finish his mission or whatever.
00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.799
Um yeah.
00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:21.279
I um I don't remember a Hispanic.
00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:24.559
There was a sequel called God's Army 2.
00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:25.920
Maybe that's the one I saw.
00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.920
He had another name, God's Army Great, but it's States of Grace.
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:31.519
Well, States of Grace, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.720
I think it was God's Army 2 Cole and States of Grace.
00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:38.720
And I think one of those one of those missionaries was a former gangbanger or something.
00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:39.119
Yeah.
00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:43.039
And he buries his gun like the anti-nefile has.
00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:43.920
Yeah, yeah.
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:49.200
And then like his white companion like sleeps with a girl or something, and then is like sent home.
00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:54.960
It's I I hate part two, but people think it's uh think it's an improvement.
00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:55.839
I I don't think so.
00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:00.480
I think the best I haven't seen I haven't seen part two.
00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:08.400
Uh I look for sort of the my observation of Dutcher's career is he did God's army, then he did Brigham City.
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:09.519
Brigham City?
00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:10.000
Yeah, right?
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:10.720
Brigham City?
00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.519
Brigham City.
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:11.839
Yeah.
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.319
Which I thought was actually the better film.
00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:15.920
It was more ambitious.
00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:23.359
Um, it was it's about a there's a there's a murderer in small town Utah, and uh and Dutcher puts a bigger one.
00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.119
Like the bishop is the sheriff, yeah.
00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:36.480
Who is also the bishop, and it's sort of about the conflicts between you know, he's like the sh the the sheriff, and someone will come in to want to talk to him as the bishop, and so he'll like take off his sheriff badge and put it in his drawer.
00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:48.000
And and there's a really lovely scene at the end where he it's a sacrament meeting, and like he feels like he has failed because he did not recognize the killer.
00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:57.359
And so when the sacrament is passed, if he doesn't take it, and like the whole community validates him by everybody else not taking the sacrament.
00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:00.880
And then like the deacon brings it back around to him and he's like crying and takes it.
00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:09.440
It's beautifully done, super low budget, very the camera's never tricky, it's just a very kind of naive camera, just kind of looking at the scene.
00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:15.599
Um and I thought that was actually I I like God's Army, I really liked uh Brigham City.
00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:28.079
Um, and then he was gonna be doing a biopic of Joseph Smith, and then he announced he was leaving the church, and then he made like some kind of horror movie and God's Army 2, and I don't think he's done anything for like 15 years.
00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:29.759
So that's wild.
00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:30.720
He is picking up.
00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:38.640
And also on the site, there was like a bunch of like crappy Jane Austen singles ward sitcom ripoff stuff.
00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:40.799
Wait, Aronta, did you act in that?
00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:42.079
Is that why you're doing this?
00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:42.640
No.
00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:47.279
I've just never heard someone say crappy and Jane Austen in the same sentence.
00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.799
I'm gonna do the Mansfield Park with the lesbian scene.
00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:51.680
There are plenty of things.
00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:53.039
Oh, that yeah, okay.
00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:54.480
We're talking about adaptations.
00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:56.079
Then yeah, that's garbage.
00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:58.319
Every movie is an adaptation.
00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.200
What are you talking about?
00:21:59.440 --> 00:21:59.680
No, I
00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:06.880
I love church cinema.
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:15.039
And so I was, you know, I left the church for, you know, kind of pseudo-left the church for for uh five years.
00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:16.400
And I'm coming back.
00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:30.960
I've managed to stop drinking and smoking, and and I go out to Utah on a pilgrimage, and I uh oh, I I haven't even stopped drinking because I have a shot of whiskey with this dude right before I go into it.
00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:35.759
But um I go we go to the movie theater and we say, What are we gonna watch?
00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:41.359
And Singles Ward is one of the options on this, and I said, Oh, we gotta go watch this film.
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.079
And I I didn't have any idea what it was.
00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:50.079
And we go in and we see Singles Ward, and this guy, you know, has now become an Alistair Crowley follower.
00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:55.039
I think he's he became like a DJ for Burning Man and stuff, a different character.
00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:05.519
But I watched this, and he did not think it was great, but I watched Singles Ward and I loved it, and I still love it.
00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.079
Um, in fact, I love these guys.
00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:16.640
I I'm a fan, and the point that when I find out that the star on Singles Ward married the actress from what was the show?
00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:21.279
Uh uh Vengeance, African-American woman.
00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:26.880
Uh it was such a big deal in its time, about you know, 10 years ago.
00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:29.119
Vengeance, rival, scandal.
00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:30.400
Scandal was the show.
00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:34.319
He married her, they moved to New York, and he's left the church.
00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:37.599
And my heart breaks inside.
00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:39.279
I love this.
00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:42.559
The same thing happened to all these stars, right?
00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:46.799
The the the star of well, not all of them.
00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:48.640
The pre Haborn still gonna be a very good thing.
00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:52.480
From the fame of being in Singles Ward, broke them.
00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:53.359
Yeah.
00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:54.319
The pressure.
00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:06.000
The one that came back to church was the actor on he was on Singles Ward, but he was also on the home teachers, the chubby guy that's really funny.
00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:07.359
I enjoy him.
00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:18.640
Um, he talked about leaving the church and waking up after a cocaine binge and being arrested or whatever, and then it started his life, you know, rock bottom coming back.
00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:20.400
They were living hard and rough.
00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:25.279
There could definitely be a documentary, just like this Nickelodeon one, calling the lies.
00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:27.359
Like washed up Mormon actors.
00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:32.319
What well some of them are you know, Kirby's still awesome, and but Kirby had his low point.
00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:38.400
The butt like we all had to forgive Bradford.
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:40.160
How dare he feed his family, man?
00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:42.240
Like how dare he do that.
00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:48.000
That's how the Marriott's must have felt when they went to apply for their liquor license.
00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:50.799
Yeah, talk to the church about at first.
00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:55.440
Uh, so Chris, with Will Swenson, I actually have a fun experience with him.
00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:59.519
He was the actor you were talking about who went off on Broadway.
00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:09.519
Um, so I was in the acting program of BYU, and one of my teachers told me that if I saw Will Swenson on my mission, I needed to say hi.
00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:18.160
And uh, because I was in New York, my mission president was like, hey, as a cultural experience, you guys can go see a play on Broadway right before you leave, right?
00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:24.079
And so I got to go see Le Miz, and Will Swenson was there as Javert.
00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:35.759
And so one of the last things I did as a missionary is I got to meet Will Swenson after the play and let him know that this BYU professor says hi, right?
00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:43.279
And like it was awesome to have that like final moment of like, oh, they gave me this mission to do as a missionary and like to see.
00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:45.599
And uh, dude, it was cool.
00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:47.440
He he did a really, really great job.
00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:48.799
He's a really good actor.
00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:58.559
Um, it it was really interesting to see, especially for me as a guy who was like studying theater at BYU and thinking, like, hey, uh, where do I want to go with my life?
00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:02.000
What what direction might acting take me?
00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:06.000
And what could I do to use it as a service for people?
00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:07.839
Because that was a really interesting thing that I saw.
00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:22.799
It was like, bro, Will is still serving the audience in this way by like providing really interesting characters that show you like good and evil and their struggles and what happens when you go too far in one direction, right?
00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:24.319
It's a really fascinating thing to see.
00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:25.279
So I don't know.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:36.880
It was really, really fun for me, like in a really meta sense of yeah, the Lord sent me to New York to see like what happens with actors and uh like the highs and lows that that can bring, right?
00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:37.839
It was cool.
00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:38.559
I love it.
00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:41.200
Brad, jump us back in the past, man.
00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:47.519
You uh you are in this, you're the next era of this sort of Latter-day Saint actor.
00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:54.960
And I say that, you know, uh, I named you Mard Servant on here because you're a dashing fellow, my friend.
00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:59.119
I would hire you as the man to any film I'm ever gonna produce.
00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:01.440
I won't produce films, but I would.
00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:01.920
Uh-huh.
00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:02.799
Yeah.
00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:07.839
But uh, but um, you're kind of the next generation here.
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:11.119
You're 15 years younger than most of these guys.
00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:14.160
Um, where did you get involved in acting?
00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:19.599
And uh we got some some roles that you've been in in your career.
00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:22.400
Talk, talk, tell me the story, give them the trajectory.
00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:28.000
Yeah, so actually, funny enough, mine started uh in grade eight.
00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:37.119
I ran for student body president in my school for grade nine um and did a sketch impersonating George Bush and had a ton of fun with that.
00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:45.200
And it was a very Napoleon dynamite sort of situation because I was running against like the most popular girl in school, and for some reason I won.
00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.839
And it was like really weird, but then it was really funny.
00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:51.039
I was like, hey, this was a super fun thing to do.
00:27:51.200 --> 00:28:02.000
And then uh, like, I don't know what was going on with the student government people at my school, but I ended up doing an awful lot of improv because they're like, hey, we have an assembly, we'd like you to like uh run this.
00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:03.599
I'm like, cool, what do you need me to do?
00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:05.200
And they're like, oh, you'll figure it out.
00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:05.920
And I'm like, what?
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:13.279
And then they like literally I got pushed out on stage one day uh and like had no idea what I was supposed to say or do.
00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:18.559
But that was when I started realizing, oh, dude, uh, crowds are very easy to work with.
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:20.720
It's like talking to a person almost.
00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:25.920
Like there, there's an energy that a crowd forms, and you can like work with that crowd and work with it.
00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:36.960
And so uh I ended up doing some really fun theater stuff in like middle school and high school that made me like, oh, this is so much fun and such an interesting thing.
00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:39.599
And so I went to BYU studying acting.
00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:51.440
And um, when I got my mission call to New York, it was kind of like, oh, dude, the Lord really does want me to see like what this is like and what this can do for you in your life.
00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:58.480
And oh yeah, uh, like stage theater, I probably can't support a family while doing that.
00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:00.880
So it was a lot of cool things to learn.
00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:16.960
But I also met like uh um some really amazing actors while I was on my mission, uh, had several of them in my wards and saw that, yeah, no, this is a thing you can absolutely do as an upstanding member of the church who maintain maintains their testimony.
00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:24.160
And it's actually an incredibly Christ-like thing that you can do because you have to love the characters that you portray.
00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:29.279
And a very easy way to do that is to try to see them as God would see them, right?
00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:40.640
And it kind of forces you to think about like, okay, how can I portray this person in a way that um they love themselves?
00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:43.279
Because that's one of the things that I started to realize as an actor.
00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:53.039
I would see people like um the worst acting I ever saw almost always came from people who didn't like the part they were playing, and they like wanted to be something else in the production.
00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:55.039
And I'm like, bro, I can see that.
00:29:55.119 --> 00:30:00.240
I I need to like see that you love your character, and that makes such a difference.
00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:10.480
Um, and sorry, this is getting long, but uh it's ultimately it comes down to a misinterpretation of Second Nephi 2 where like we're supposed to act and not be acted upon.
00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:13.440
I'm like, okay, sick, I'll be an actor, got it.
00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:15.359
I mean love her.
00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:24.000
On that fateful day, the part of the story he doesn't want to tell you was on that fateful day when they thrust him out on stage in front of the assembly.
00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:30.160
He was wearing moon boots, and there was a disco, there was a disco track on the PA.
00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:34.480
It was direct Napoleon Dynamax.
00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:36.480
That was a documentary about my life, actually.
00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:38.000
Straight up, straight up.
00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.519
What a good film.
00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:42.319
So that's that's the Mormon cinema of your youth.
00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:43.759
It was Napoleon Dynama.
00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:49.039
It was a Mormon cinema that I think most of the world didn't recognize as Mormon cinema.
00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:50.640
I I agree.
00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:55.839
R Roger Ebert has written a couple of movie reviews that I thought were just flat out stupid.
00:30:55.920 --> 00:31:03.279
And one of them was the Napoleon Dynamite review, and he his take was this is a mean film.
00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:10.319
The filmmakers are making fun of all their characters, and I thought that is the stupidest thing I've ever read him to say, and he said some stupid things.
00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:14.079
See also his Lord of the Rings review, which was similarly stupid.
00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:27.839
Um, obviously, these guys are making a film about like their own people, and it is a very affectionate film, and Napoleon is a true hero, right?
00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:39.519
And and like this is a story about how a kid whose actual talents are being able to detect a little bleach that has come through what the cow ate into milk, right?
00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:47.440
Uh, and like future farmers of America skills, um that that kid can rise and be a hero, right?
00:31:47.599 --> 00:32:10.079
But but but there was no overt Mormonism, there was something doctrinal, but like the culture of Southeast Idaho, uh you know, kind of sage-billy farmers, small town high school, um was immediately recognizable to anyone who's sort of uh um uh known it.
00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:14.160
Although the superior film is Gentleman Broncos, if you have not watched that.
00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:18.240
I love Napoleon Dynamite, Gentleman Broncos, They're gonna be a little bit of Gentleman Broncos was really cool.
00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:19.359
Yeah, I've never seen that one.
00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:20.480
It's a great film.
00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:20.799
Yes.
00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:22.079
So check it out.
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:36.319
I it speaking of acting, it has two different plays within a play because it's about a kid who writes a novel which is then stolen by his writing hero who's uh has a who's in a um has writer's block.
00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:43.200
Um, and there are two different versions of people making the story into a movie in the movie.
00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:48.240
So there are two plays within a play about this fantastically goofy science fiction novel.
00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:49.279
Yeah, it's really good.
00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:51.200
Well, this sounds this kind of sounds awesome.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:52.079
Is it legitimate?
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:55.119
Like this is this is a film I should go check out.
00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:58.880
Yes, this is a film made by the but yeah, by the same guy.
00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:01.599
Uh it was his next project, Gentleman Broncos.
00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:04.400
Yeah, I didn't get as much like buzz as the first one.
00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:06.480
Almost no disappeared.
00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:14.319
And then and then I was in the music scene heard about it because there was this guy, his name is Isaac Russell.
00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:18.720
He got signed on by Columbia Records, and he was and he was gonna release this big album.
00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:27.599
He was an actor in the film too, so we all like watched it to support him, and then Columbia shelved his record, and then he like went into debt, which kind of sucked.
00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:28.400
Oh man.
00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:33.200
But uh yeah, fall of these Utah County boys.
00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:36.640
Jermaine Jermaine plays the writer.
00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:39.039
There's this absolutely fantastic, he's very pumped.
00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:41.200
I think it's based on Christopher Paolini.
00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:46.480
Um really looks like he looks like Paolini's author photo of a certain period.
00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:50.799
And he's also he's like he does his own cover paintings and stuff.
00:33:50.960 --> 00:34:06.000
There's this absolute if you look at the trailer on YouTube, there's this absolutely fantastic bit where he's standing up in this writing camp in front of all these high school kids, and he says, I I understand that you wish to write fantasy novels, but you cannot come up with names.
00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:11.119
And he's like, he's like it's this list of terminations on the chalkboard.
00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:20.320
You take any name and add anus, ainus, or onius to the end, it becomes a fantasy name.
00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:30.239
And then like when he's stealing when he's stealing the kid's novel, the kid's protagonist is named Bronco, Gentleman Broncos, he's like Broncanus.
00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:33.679
It's just oh I've seen that scene.
00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:36.320
That scene trailer, if nothing else.
00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:39.199
It is a very funny but very offbeat.
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:42.880
If you're expecting like a Hollywood film, you'll be like, This is like this is weird.
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:47.039
The pacing is all absolutely fabulous film, Gentleman Broncos.
00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:52.239
Some some of you are gonna watch this and then like Dave is an idiot, but like some of you will watch it and go, Dave is correct.
00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:53.920
This is a genius movie.
00:34:54.719 --> 00:34:55.199
Awesome.
00:34:55.440 --> 00:35:02.480
Jermaine Clement is I mean, this guy has brought me more joy than very few people in existence, right?
00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:07.360
Flight of the Concords is I've I've never watched a show more.
00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:08.480
Maybe Keim Peel.
00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:11.440
I've watched the same level of Flight of the Concords.
00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:12.320
So brilliant.
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:18.079
Let's watch a clip from a new up-and-coming LDS filmmaker.
00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:23.280
So this is uh Brett Bergen and his wife, Jessica Bergen, their new film, Java Jive.
00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:26.079
Okay, Barrett is brilliant.
00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:32.320
He has done so many, and he actually has given me permission to drop this whole film on my channel in the past.
00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:35.840
So I assume he'd actually be fine with us, including any part that we want.
00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:38.320
But uh, I love Java Job.
00:35:38.559 --> 00:35:46.639
It is his take, uh, he tells me on Jewish cinema that apparently there's some some things he's working with in that direction.
00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:48.639
Maybe we should talk up to him about that in the future.
00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:54.719
But I think of Barrett as a horror film guy because that's what I talked to him about.
00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:58.400
But he's actually, you know, he directs all sorts of small projects.
00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:06.800
Um, and this one is a sort of, you know, do we call it romantic comedy?
00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:08.639
It's a playful drama.
00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:26.559
Um when I when I watched it, it kind of reminded me of like Burn Your Enthusiasm kind of Seinfeld, where the situation lends itself to like just really awkward, tense moments, which and I I by the end of it, I was like sweating and laughing.
00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.280
Like that's how much I enjoyed it, you know.
00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:41.119
My man takes a gentile girl to a coffee shop on their first date and has to play this game, is he gonna drink coffee or not?
00:36:41.360 --> 00:36:42.000
Right?
00:36:42.239 --> 00:36:46.800
Um, and so it's an awkward situation of a Latter-day Saint kid.
00:36:46.960 --> 00:37:03.119
Is he gonna hold on to his morality, his this most important of all virtues, not drinking coffee, or is he going to partake so the girl can fully fall in love with him and not think he's a wacko?
00:37:03.360 --> 00:37:23.280
And so the the clip that I was gonna show, it was gonna be like maybe a minute or two, was the moment where he's about to take a sip of coffee, and then they're sitting on this date in the window seat, and in the distance you see two figures like in the background, and they get closer and closer, and it's the elders.
00:37:23.519 --> 00:37:23.920
Uh-huh.
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:25.760
Um, and they're like, Huh?
00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:31.599
And they're they're catching him red-handed with the coffee, you know, with this girl.
00:37:32.320 --> 00:37:33.119
That's awesome.
00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:34.320
That's hilarious.
00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:38.320
The the kind of pressure that like is so unique.
00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:45.199
And and yet at the same time, there there's like uh something universal in there, right?
00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:53.280
Like uh the trying to impress a girl and if there's something that you wouldn't normally do, but now you're seeing if you can.
00:37:53.440 --> 00:37:54.880
Like it's it's a fun one.
00:37:55.199 --> 00:37:57.199
I think Barrett did a really good job with this.
00:37:58.079 --> 00:37:59.199
It's the old joke.
00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:04.239
Why do you well I think it's originally a joke about Baptists?
00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:05.840
You can tell it about Mormons.
00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:09.840
Why do you always take two Baptists fishing?
00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:16.000
Because if you just take one, he'll drink all your beer.
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:20.800
That's funny.
00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:31.280
So, Dave, I thought about making a short video on this joke, and I I've gotten nervous, but I think I'll clip you there and make the video out of your telling.
00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:33.360
That's very it's a great joke.
00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:34.719
Yeah, it is.
00:38:34.880 --> 00:38:36.480
It is a convert joke, you know.
00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:38.960
So I became a convert at 13.
00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:55.199
My family, alcohol means a great deal to them, and uh so there's lots of alcohol talk in my family, but um as a young convert, I made a super big deal about stuff, right?
00:38:55.599 --> 00:39:01.519
And so my dad was telling last night we were at this, well, two nights ago, we were at this great dinner.
00:39:01.760 --> 00:39:06.320
I ordered bourbon cake for dessert because it's delicious.
00:39:06.880 --> 00:39:12.000
And um my dad said, Oh, how things have changed.
00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:37.360
And then he told me a story about when I was 16, and we were at this restaurant, and I we were having beer battered onion rings, and he remembers this great fear washed over him when we got this, and I read it was beer battered because I was going to, you know, be that anal retentive about this idea of the word of wisdom.
00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:37.840
Uh huh.
00:39:38.159 --> 00:39:44.320
So I I really like the Java Jive playing into that cultural issue for both sides, right?
00:39:44.480 --> 00:39:54.480
Oh, the on the other side is so there's there's some really interesting lore about that film that I don't think has been discussed in other podcasts.
00:39:54.719 --> 00:40:05.440
Um, but the coffee shop where they filmed the the the Java Jive actually has a really interesting connection to the church in a weird way.
00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:08.880
So the cafe is called Taste, it's in Provo.
00:40:09.280 --> 00:40:14.239
You should totally go, it's a really beautiful location, um, and they have really great chocolate.
00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:23.599
But about 10 years ago, the person who supplied the chocolate to taste was none other than the schismatic leader.
00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:26.880
Uh oh, the chocolatier profit guy?
00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:29.039
Yeah, the chocolatier profit guy, Phil Davis.
00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:30.000
Phil Davis.
00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:31.199
Oh man.
00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:32.960
And Phil Davis, oh my gosh.
00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:36.239
So so for those of you who don't know, I'm not promoting him, right?
00:40:36.320 --> 00:40:44.079
But Phil Davis, yeah, um, his story is that as he was making chocolate in this chocolate factory, it just sounds like Willy Wonka.
00:40:44.480 --> 00:40:52.480
He says an angel of light appeared to him, and that um he gave him what's called the baptism of fire.
00:40:53.199 --> 00:41:02.159
And um, and you know, I the way that I met Phil Davis is that I I sit to a barbecue in uh down in Hobble Creep for some friends.
00:41:02.480 --> 00:41:07.280
Um, and uh and I did not invite him, but he showed up anyway.
00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:09.840
And I'm like, I'm like, who is this?
00:41:10.079 --> 00:41:11.920
I'm like, he looks really familiar.
00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:13.119
I don't know who this guy is.
00:41:13.360 --> 00:41:17.519
I start asking around, and then Don Bradley is like, that's Phil Davis.
00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:19.280
Like, maybe don't talk to him, you know.
00:41:19.440 --> 00:41:23.039
I don't know if he's but um we're like, oh my gosh, it's Phil Davis.
00:41:23.199 --> 00:41:32.159
And so I start talking to him, and he's like, Yeah, this angel of light appeared to me, and he gave me a baptism of fire, and he told me to share it.
00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:37.440
And then he told me that at one point the angel asks him if he has any money.
00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:39.360
And I'm like, What?
00:41:39.760 --> 00:41:45.039
And then he just keeps like he said that like nothing, and he just kept going on this story, and I'm like, What?
00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:46.880
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
00:41:47.039 --> 00:41:51.920
That's a very specific, very specific question that an angel asks you.
00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:55.280
Yeah, you can't just drop it.
00:41:55.360 --> 00:41:58.800
Like, like, did you not do you have any money?
00:41:59.599 --> 00:42:01.679
And I'll and so I'm like, oh, I see what's going on.
00:42:01.760 --> 00:42:06.800
This dude is 100% deceived by Satan right now, he just doesn't know it.
00:42:07.119 --> 00:42:10.000
This is not the best part of the Phil Davis story, though.
00:42:10.320 --> 00:42:11.440
Okay, well, no, it's not.
00:42:11.519 --> 00:42:12.320
There are better stuff.
00:42:12.400 --> 00:42:14.559
You play some crazy stuff in there.
00:42:14.800 --> 00:42:17.840
Oh, there's some like all the better story.
00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:31.280
The the the best part of the Phil, I think Phil Davis has the distinction of being the for all of the exciting little pseudo-messianic figures we have dinking around in the sh in the butt shallows around the Mormon Sea, okay.
00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:43.039
For everybody who thinks for everybody who thinks he's the Davidic servant, thanks Avraham Gileadi for creating a category that nobody else has ever heard of, but that every tin pot would-be messiah thinks he is.
00:42:43.119 --> 00:42:43.280
Okay.
00:42:43.599 --> 00:42:45.280
Yeah, they also seem to have read him, too.
00:42:45.760 --> 00:42:48.800
Everybody who is the one mighty and strong they have.
00:42:48.880 --> 00:42:54.480
Uh like I think he's the only one who has exposed himself to his followers on Zoom.
00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:57.280
Oh, you guys know the story?
00:42:57.519 --> 00:42:58.159
Yes.
00:42:59.519 --> 00:43:03.519
Okay, so um I'm pretty sure it's Bill Davis who was on a zoom call.
00:43:12.239 --> 00:43:15.679
Phil Davis, this is this is, and yet he has followers.
00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:18.800
No, when I met Phil Davis, okay, I didn't know who he was.
00:43:18.880 --> 00:43:20.159
I hadn't met him in person after this point.
00:43:20.320 --> 00:43:21.920
I just had heard about his movement.
00:43:22.320 --> 00:43:25.519
But I was like, he, so he first of all, he's an older gentleman, right?
00:43:25.599 --> 00:43:28.480
He's in his 50s, and he's Jack and he's tan.
00:43:28.960 --> 00:43:29.679
Ancient.
00:43:30.639 --> 00:43:32.079
He's Jack and he's Tan.
00:43:32.239 --> 00:43:35.360
And I'm like, this dude is like a charismatic, like, nice.
00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:40.079
And I shook his hand, and I was like, oh, he's like pleasing to be around.
00:43:40.159 --> 00:43:42.320
And I'm like, who is this guy?
00:43:42.639 --> 00:43:45.679
And uh apparently he's not married or anything.
00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:52.480
And I and you know, if you're working out and you're healthy, like, you know, you're you have drives and motivations.
00:43:52.559 --> 00:43:53.840
We'll just say that, right?
00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:59.440
Um and uh and I guess he on the Zoom call, he like
00:44:00.320 --> 00:44:11.039
If you are on video talking to your spiritual followers, and that causes you to want to pleasure yourself, you are doing it all for the wrong reasons.
00:44:11.280 --> 00:44:14.079
You are doing it all for the wrong reasons.
00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:29.679
Okay, okay, now um they so there was so they had this schismatic movement, and then one of the other guys, I can't remember his name, but he he kind of broke off from them because he started to charge tithing from his followers.
00:44:30.159 --> 00:44:33.119
And Phil was like, I'm I don't want to charge people tithing, that's not what I'm about.
00:44:33.280 --> 00:44:43.599
But this guy was like, No, we need to we need to charge tithing because we gotta build the kingdom, and then he ends up getting cancer and dying like the next year.
00:44:43.920 --> 00:44:47.920
So I was like, Whoa, like this is like God smiting these people.
00:44:48.320 --> 00:44:59.599
Um, but then some of these people were like, no, like he's Joseph Smith is gonna come back, and at the hand of Joseph Smith, he's going to resurrect our guy.
00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:01.360
This is a matter of time.
00:45:02.960 --> 00:45:03.280
Yeah, exactly.
00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:04.239
Dustin Smith, yeah.
00:45:04.800 --> 00:45:08.719
I just wish people would stop ruining all of the fun for all of us.
00:45:08.880 --> 00:45:16.960
Like, I want to believe in cool stuff, and everyone is making it so much harder for me because they're ruining it with their nonsense.
00:45:17.360 --> 00:45:18.719
This is why it's great.
00:45:18.880 --> 00:45:25.519
My my favorite, obviously fake messianic character is a fellow I won't name him.
00:45:26.239 --> 00:45:32.800
Is a fellow who claims to be in contact with the ten tribes who are hiding under the polar ice via the internet.
00:45:33.920 --> 00:45:35.039
This is current.
00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:39.440
He also claims to be talking to the the Galactic Federation.
00:45:40.400 --> 00:45:57.760
Uh, he also claims to uh be in contact with uh John the Beloved and other uh people who who have tarried, okay, who he says he used to meet uh in the office of uh Elder Um Holland.
00:45:58.000 --> 00:45:58.880
Oh, yeah.
00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:01.119
Oh, I know who you're talking about.
00:46:01.440 --> 00:46:03.119
And he and he in fact, this is O'Currant.
00:46:03.280 --> 00:46:06.400
This is a guy who's has said this on the internet in like the last three weeks.
00:46:06.559 --> 00:46:09.519
Yeah, and Rad, we gotta make these movies, dude.
00:46:09.599 --> 00:46:11.280
Like we we gotta film this.
00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:13.519
I think that that needs to be a movie.
00:46:13.840 --> 00:46:17.280
Yeah, we know a bunch of this is like the the 12 tribes under the ice.
00:46:17.360 --> 00:46:18.800
This is straight up Mormon folklore.
00:46:18.880 --> 00:46:22.400
Like it's it's exactly the same soup as Bigfoot is KU, right?
00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:23.599
I love it.
00:46:23.840 --> 00:46:26.000
Journey to the Center of the Earth Mormon edition.
00:46:26.239 --> 00:46:30.239
But when someone says it straight up as fact, it's obviously BS.
00:46:30.480 --> 00:46:34.880
So he also said that like his man, his description of John the Beloved is wonderful.
00:46:34.960 --> 00:46:47.920
He said John the Beloved drives a black, I think he said Ferrari, sports cars, I think it's a Ferrari, dresses all in black, has black hair, looks about 30th, uh about 30-ish, and he looks Jewish, except he doesn't have a big nose.
00:46:48.079 --> 00:46:49.599
That's literally what he said.
00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:56.480
Uh so like on top of everything, just a little soup sole of straight up antisemitism, just straight up racism.
00:46:56.719 --> 00:47:02.960
Yeah, and uh um and and and one last thing.
00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:10.400
He said, I wouldn't be surprised if these these people who linger uh are in contact with Pastor Jeff.
00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:13.280
Now, I have not heard from Pastor Pastor Jeffrey or not.
00:47:13.679 --> 00:47:14.960
She's in the mix too.
00:47:15.199 --> 00:47:17.519
Yo, he's competitive.
00:47:18.559 --> 00:47:24.159
Someone needs to ask Pastor Jeff, are you in fact in touch with John the Beloved or others who linger?
00:47:24.400 --> 00:47:27.679
And is it true that he has he looks like he's post-rhinoplasty?
00:47:28.159 --> 00:47:29.599
A Jew who had rhinoplasty.
00:47:29.760 --> 00:47:30.559
That's the discussion.
00:47:30.880 --> 00:47:32.639
What's your comment on that, Pastor Jeff?
00:47:32.800 --> 00:47:34.079
That's what I would like to hear.
00:47:34.320 --> 00:47:34.960
Oh man.
00:47:35.280 --> 00:47:36.960
I feel bad for Pastor Jeff.
00:47:37.039 --> 00:47:41.039
I feel like he's he's got he has gotten so much more than he signed up for.
00:47:41.199 --> 00:47:48.559
Like for anyone who's just wanted to evangelize, that's all he wanted.
00:47:49.519 --> 00:47:52.320
You know, this is the big thing, and it's true.
00:47:52.559 --> 00:47:56.239
We need to have cinema about this story.
00:47:56.480 --> 00:47:58.960
So was it 2020?
00:47:59.119 --> 00:48:01.920
We had that show come out called Messiah on Netflix.
00:48:02.079 --> 00:48:02.880
You guys remember that?
00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:06.079
It was all those episodes.
00:48:06.719 --> 00:48:18.320
It's this messianic figure that's coming out of Islam, but he's the fulfillment of like the second coming, uh, the Mahdi, the original Judaism.
00:48:18.400 --> 00:48:20.079
They're all being fulfilled in this figure.
00:48:20.159 --> 00:48:25.360
And and the president of the United States is LDS at the time.
00:48:25.440 --> 00:48:33.199
You know, they're playing off a Romney figure, and the Messiah appears to him and says, I am the one mighty and strong.
00:48:33.599 --> 00:48:33.840
Right?
00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:35.760
And so he's that in the show.
00:48:35.840 --> 00:48:36.960
Yeah, in the show.
00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:51.440
And so we have this we have a reference to it, but mainly these prophecies are getting associated with you know, you hear about them because the FLDS documentaries play on them.
00:48:51.760 --> 00:48:52.320
And it's tough.
00:48:52.400 --> 00:48:53.760
How do you do a story?
00:48:53.920 --> 00:49:00.480
Because I think most of these prophecies are like about Joseph Smith or about just the second coming, right?
00:49:00.719 --> 00:49:01.280
Yeah, right.
00:49:01.519 --> 00:49:09.440
Or they're just imagined by a scholar who's putting together passages that really aren't supposed to be about a single figure at all.
00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:15.280
They could be applicable throughout the ages, yeah.
00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:16.800
I think we could pitch this though.
00:49:16.880 --> 00:49:19.519
We can make a movie, we'll call it one mighty and the strong.
00:49:19.679 --> 00:49:20.719
That would be sick.
00:49:20.960 --> 00:49:29.679
And then it would be like a film of all these failed mighty and strong guys that just like I issuing a call to Richard Dutcher.
00:49:29.840 --> 00:49:31.199
You're still in Salt Lake.
00:49:31.440 --> 00:49:32.400
Come back, man.
00:49:32.559 --> 00:49:34.159
This is the film for you.
00:49:34.480 --> 00:49:38.559
Make an make a film about one of our tin pot would-be messiahs.
00:49:38.639 --> 00:49:40.239
It's such rich stuff.
00:49:40.480 --> 00:49:41.280
No, no, no, no.
00:49:41.519 --> 00:49:44.480
Brad, dude, we need bread with we need to make our own stuff.
00:49:44.719 --> 00:49:46.639
I I don't need another Dutcher movie.
00:49:46.719 --> 00:49:47.760
Let's make our own things.
00:49:47.920 --> 00:49:49.519
Barrett is an awesome director.
00:49:49.920 --> 00:49:51.039
Yeah, we'll get Barrett on it.
00:49:51.119 --> 00:49:51.920
Okay, I can't wait.
00:49:52.159 --> 00:49:56.239
And he's pulling together some really amazing people to make some really amazing stuff.
00:49:56.400 --> 00:50:02.960
I I think we are so close to making such amazing content here in Utah.
00:50:03.119 --> 00:50:04.239
We have so much talent.
00:50:04.320 --> 00:50:05.679
We just need to start using it.
00:50:06.800 --> 00:50:07.519
I love it.
00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:08.239
I love it.
00:50:10.400 --> 00:50:12.400
Oh, sorry, go on, Mary Magdalene.
00:50:12.880 --> 00:50:45.199
I was gonna say what I love about Barrett too is that he really takes such niche stuff like Java Jive and his horror movie, which is just so crazy, especially if you like know and you're like deep in on the symbolism and the lore, like it is an amazing movie, but those things are also applicable to like non-member audiences, they can easily get something out of it and relate to it on some level, and that's what I like about him because yes, they're like LDS coded, but anyone can enjoy and have an experience with his films.
00:50:45.599 --> 00:50:47.199
Him and Jessica, they're just so cool.
00:50:47.440 --> 00:50:49.119
Yeah, they're super talented.
00:50:50.079 --> 00:50:51.760
Um final plug.
00:50:51.840 --> 00:50:58.320
If you guys haven't checked out Jiva Java or uh Java Jive, go check out that film, it's so good.
00:50:58.480 --> 00:51:02.159
Uh we watched another fun thing, guys.
00:51:02.320 --> 00:51:14.079
Uh, a thing I worked on with Barrett in college, he has a shot for shot remake of the American psycho business card scene um up on YouTube.
00:51:14.480 --> 00:51:21.840
Yeah, and it has a weirdly high amount of views for being a shot for shot remake or something.
00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:25.679
Um, but this is like one of the early things Barrett was working on, right?
00:51:25.760 --> 00:51:27.760
And it was so fun working with him on that.
00:51:27.920 --> 00:51:29.039
It is a lot of fun.
00:51:29.119 --> 00:51:33.440
I just uh shot on BYU campus for a film class.
00:51:33.599 --> 00:51:35.360
It it's a it's a real fun time.
00:51:35.440 --> 00:51:39.039
And then Java Jive, like watch that, then watch Java Jive.
00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:40.960
Barrett's been doing some really cool stuff.
00:51:41.199 --> 00:51:46.719
And I I really do think that we have some really good storytellers in our community.
00:51:46.800 --> 00:51:52.000
I think storytelling is like a part of our blood, it's part of who we are.
00:51:52.320 --> 00:51:58.960
And the more that we lean into it, the more that we just go out and do it, I the better off we'll be.
00:51:59.039 --> 00:52:06.880
I I think I have been fascinated because I've seen so many times people lament the way that the world is going.
00:52:07.039 --> 00:52:09.039
And I'm like, guys, then make content.
00:52:09.199 --> 00:52:17.679
Like, if you're sad that like the buffet has so many poisoned items, you're that's not gonna stop people from going to the buffet.
00:52:17.840 --> 00:52:20.719
You need to put out more things that aren't poisoned, right?
00:52:20.880 --> 00:52:22.800
Like, this is what we need to do.
00:52:23.039 --> 00:52:35.920
And so I I just hope when it comes to like the core thing around LDS cinema and um like how we're portrayed in the media, that we just take up the reins and we start making a difference ourselves.
00:52:36.239 --> 00:52:38.239
All right, with that, that is fantastic.
00:52:38.400 --> 00:52:39.920
Brad, thanks for being here with us today.
00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:43.280
I want you to come back in the next couple weeks if you got time.
00:52:43.599 --> 00:52:52.239
I have five clips of times that Hollywood has portrayed the temple endowment.
00:52:52.559 --> 00:52:59.920
I want us to look a little edits, um, but I want us to look at it and talk about what what this does.
00:53:00.079 --> 00:53:06.079
The sort of, you know, it's a difficulty they're facing to look at LDS material that we'd prefer to be sacred.
00:53:06.159 --> 00:53:09.920
And the same time, they're stepping all over my sacred things, right?
00:53:10.320 --> 00:53:11.920
So there's a question here.
00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:15.039
I want to date, will you come back and and riff on this with us?
00:53:15.360 --> 00:53:16.000
Heck yeah.
00:53:16.079 --> 00:53:16.800
That'd be awesome.
00:53:17.119 --> 00:53:18.559
Oh, appreciate it, brother.
00:53:19.039 --> 00:53:21.039
Till next week, my friends.
00:53:22.159 --> 00:53:22.639
See ya.
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.199
You have any money?
00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:08.000
Oh, why two thousand listened is 100% 15 by 65 now?
00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:10.640
I think Dr.
00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.759
never wanted to be a director of just for momentum.
00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:19.519
That's how the Marriott must have solved when they went to apply for their liquor license.
00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.199
Why how would they be able to 15 by 50 steps, right?
00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:27.199
Like I would watch off every time.
00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:31.199
Why do you always take two bad distance fitness?
00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:35.200
Because if you just take one, he'll drink all your beer.
00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:47.520
All right, here we go.
00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:52.159
We're back with LDS Uncorrelated.
00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:55.359
Um, and we got an incredible show today.
00:00:55.520 --> 00:01:00.880
Um, we got first of all, let's introduce our guest because uh, you know, he's our honored guest.
00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:02.719
We got Brad Whitbeck in the house.
00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:15.840
Uh you may have seen him in Ward Radio, um, and other films like uh Escape from Germany, um, and uh what what other big films have you done?
00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:18.719
Oh, mostly like Book of Mormon videos, man.
00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:26.560
Okay, so Book of Mormon videos and then the other one I get most recognition for is actually the PS100 course at BYU.
00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:28.480
That one's hilarious.
00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:30.560
No way, yeah.
00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:35.040
I in Provo, there'll be people who are like, Where do I know you from?
00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:36.799
And it's almost always that.
00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:39.680
PS100, is that public speaking 100?
00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:41.840
Uh no, it's physical science.
00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:45.359
It was like a vilnai the science guy kind of thing, yeah.
00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:47.120
That's awesome.
00:01:47.280 --> 00:02:07.920
Yeah, um, so today we uh so well last time we started chatting about um acting, and we wanted to talk to Aransa mostly about her her her her short stint as an actor, and then we wanted to talk about um LDS film and like some of the culture and stuff, and uh so I thought this group would be perfect for that.
00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.759
Um, and and then a little later we got a treat for the audience.
00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:15.680
We're gonna show them a clip uh of an upcoming film.
00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:25.919
I I don't know if it's public yet, uh, but um the director sent me the the full movie, and we're just gonna show like a peak we're gonna give people a taste of the film and we're gonna talk about it.
00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:34.080
Um but um yeah, we didn't know that like as we were talking, you know, and as we do the podcast, we get to know each other a bit better.
00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:36.080
We didn't know that Aranza was so talented.
00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:44.080
Like it was all the pieces of all coming together, you know, why you're on quick and why you're blowing up, you know, you you just got talent under the hood, you know.
00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:46.479
No, it's just childhood trauma.
00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:50.319
It's just you know, it's come it's come full circle.
00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:56.159
I'm I'm unafraid at um sharing my opinions and sharing my joy online.
00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:00.319
So yeah, that definitely trained me up for that.
00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:01.759
Awesome.
00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:08.960
So so tell us then uh how did you get into acting?
00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:11.840
How young, and then like what what happened?
00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:12.960
Like, tell us the story.
00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:13.680
Sure.
00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:19.919
Well, I grew up in Connecticut, and um, we were just a train ride away from Manhattan.
00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:29.439
And I don't know, as a little girl, I was very loud and bright and always performing for everyone.
00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:38.400
And when I was seven years old, my grandmother was like, we need to get her into the movies, and and she heard that there was this huge casting call in the city.
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:41.439
So we all got on the train and went into the big city.
00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:50.719
I was just a little girl, and there were hundreds and hundreds of kids at this huge cattle call, and they did rounds and rounds of callbacks.
00:03:50.800 --> 00:04:04.960
It was all day, and I got hired by this manager, and that had like uh seven agents, and they would, you know, call my mom a couple times a week and send me out on different auditions.
00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:13.280
So from the time I was like uh seven years old to 13 years old, I was going into the city a few times a week, auditioning.
00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:18.639
You know, and like I said, uh it was a big job for a very little girl.
00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:28.720
I had to grow up fast, I had to um learn a lot of things really, really quickly, learn how to handle rejection really quickly.
00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:35.279
And so there is so much I'm grateful for as like grateful for as my time.
00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:49.519
There's so much that I'm grateful for uh for the time spent that I spent doing that as a young girl, but um, it definitely was quite the experience on many levels for a little girl.
00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.399
But that the acting bug infected me.
00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:56.399
I went to high school for performing arts.
00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:05.439
In fact, uh Dave, I was just watching your high lowbrow episode on the Odyssey the other day, and it was like it's he's it's such a good show.
00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:07.120
Um go watch that, guys.
00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:17.920
Um, but it was that kind of stuff that like I fell in love with in high school the Iliad, the Odyssey, um, Trojan women, all of those like Greek plays.
00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:22.879
And I I'm still acting, you know, I do plays here and there.
00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:25.199
Um, I get I got my kids into it.
00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:30.000
They're they're doing little community theater projects, and it's just it's just so fun.
00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:31.439
It's always stuck with me.
00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:49.600
So it's cool to um see the intersection of that and how I've brought that into you know my life, what I do online, and um I'm excited to talk about uh how this affects media and Mormon culture.
00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:50.959
That's cool too.
00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:55.600
Yeah, that's awesome.
00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:00.399
Um how old were you again when you started acting?
00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:08.160
Um I was around eight years old, and I think I would have kept going, but I had developed epilepsy.
00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:21.920
Um I was around it started off like slow, um, where it's just like little ticks here and there, but it started interfering with my work and it progressed to like big seizures.
00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:23.839
Um, I'm okay now as an adult.
00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:26.639
I grew out of it, but it was like really bad timing.
00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:27.759
Dang.
00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:28.319
Oh yeah.
00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:30.000
Yeah, and at eight years old.
00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:33.360
So you got like a different baptism than the rest of us at the time.
00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:34.079
Yeah.
00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:34.399
Yeah.
00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:42.240
I I think I think a lot of the stress contributed to that as a young age because it was it was very it was a lot for a little girl.
00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:53.279
Like you have a lot of appointments, you you know, you're instead of instead of outside playing with your friends, you're worried about whether you're gonna land a job or not, or whether you were good enough or not.
00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:55.279
Like it was it was a lot, you know.
00:06:55.439 --> 00:07:00.480
I'm very grateful, but at the same time, like it definitely made me who I am today.
00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:02.319
Yeah.
00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:06.639
How did your parents let you experience that?
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:10.079
Like, were they worried about the jobs or were you?
00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:20.160
Yeah, I I think I think you're trying to ask if my parents um like willingly or like maybe saw some of the things that I struggled with.
00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:21.600
Is that your question, Chris?
00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:29.519
Did were you like, did they say, Oh, we're trying to get this role, or did you just do things and then they fill you in as you went?
00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.560
Like, did it feel like you were an actor on your own?
00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:50.079
Kind of um, I I think maybe like there was a lot of stuff that I did know that maybe I shouldn't have known, like, okay, well, it's down between you and this other girl, and I was really trying really hard to book this off-Broadway role of Helen Keller, and it was literally between me and this other girl.
00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:56.240
And so there were instances where I knew that I was really close to something, and the that rejection hit hard.
00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:02.319
Or, like, does anybody remember that um children's show out of the box back in the day?
00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:11.360
I got cast on that show, and really, and they were like, Okay, time to move to New Jersey, you know, you're gonna have tutors, you're gonna be on set every day.
00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.079
And my mom was like, No, we're not gonna do this.
00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:22.319
And so that was like really hard for me because I I like I knew what was going on at such a young age.
00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:28.240
So I had that taste of success without ever really stepping on set, you know what I mean?
00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.839
And so it's just oh, I don't want to trauma dump on guy.
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:32.960
No, no, no.
00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:39.360
I mean, that is the core of like any theater kid background, is trauma dumping, right?
00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:48.240
So, but but you're eight, so like you're not driving yourself like like did your parents want you to do this?
00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:51.279
Like, how did you end up at the age of eight getting into this?
00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:57.840
Like, is this like a jack side story where your your mom is like you are going to be an actor and drove around?
00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.120
Yeah, like anything you've heard about stage moms is real.
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:02.799
I love my mom, I do.
00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:20.320
Um but you know, that was that was hard for us because she was working just as much as I was, you know, taking me here and there and coordinating with my agents and uh had your parents been actors?
00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.559
Or did they want to be actors?
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:23.519
No.
00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:26.399
No, my father was a high alike player.
00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:33.279
He he immigrated from Spain and did that, and then he worked on heating and air conditioning units.
00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:34.639
That's what he does now.
00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:39.840
Uh I don't know if most of our viewers will know what Hyalite is.
00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:43.360
It's um it's an awesome sport.
00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:46.639
It is a sport, it is a ball game.
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:52.480
Um characteristic of sp of Spain and the Spanish speaking world, right?
00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:54.639
It's like ultimate pickleball.
00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:59.039
Yeah, it's I think of it as being like a racquetball or handball kind of game.
00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:06.799
Yeah, you can do it with your hand, or you can tie a giant basket to your arm, the cesta, and they whip it at the wall really fast.
00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:07.919
They're so cool.
00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:09.200
It is really cool.
00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:11.440
There is this homework.
00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:14.639
I have quite a layered uh life.
00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:25.679
Like it's so weird how I got from point A to point B now being a member of the church, and just so things are so radically different than I ever thought they would be growing up.
00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:35.759
I can't remember what the Netflix documentary was that came out recently about like all the Nickelodeon kids that are like, you know, deep messed up injured.
00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:36.320
Yeah.
00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:49.360
Um that's like where my mind instantly goes, like when I think about like child actors and the um so I hope nothing like that ever happened to like all my friends in the film industry, you know.
00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:49.759
Yeah.
00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:59.919
Um but now, but also see, we're in Utah, most of us are in Utah, and so California and Hollywood is just like a state and a half away, you know.
00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:06.399
And so we're like I'm glad that's over there and not like here, you know.
00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:16.799
Um but uh but now we have like a lot of like LDS films that are growing, and we kind of have like uh I mean like church studios are just in Brovo.
00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.360
And uh we got a lot of stuff going on in Salt Lake.
00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:26.960
Um but uh I'd like to petition for a new temple video.
00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.840
I think we can do something really, really cool.
00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:30.879
Oh my gosh.
00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:34.000
Yeah, I'm afraid we're not gonna.
00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:37.600
Oh, I just said our temple videos are not gonna involve human actors anymore.
00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:39.200
It's just gonna be animated.
00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.759
Is it gonna be like uh translation situation?
00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:50.720
They want it to be No, we're just we're gonna keep pushing through the uncanny valley to try to get to the other side.
00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:56.080
Uh it's gonna be AI people all the way from now on.
00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:58.399
Bro, I want live sessions again.
00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:02.559
How much pressure would you feel though if you were casted as Adam or Eve?
00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:03.679
Like that would be insane.
00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:11.279
Well, this is the problem is what if Adam or Eve, you know, a million Mormons know them, and then the person who prominently goes apostate.
00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:11.919
That's the problem.
00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.200
That happened, though.
00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:14.399
Yes, correct.
00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:16.879
All right, so stage names.
00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.519
So uh we got one mighty and strong.
00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:24.159
You have to be the one mighty and strong because there's so many competitors, and you seem to own all of them.
00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:25.200
Yeah, Chris.
00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:27.279
Do it now.
00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:29.360
I I renamed Brad.
00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.759
Does he show up renamed on your screen?
00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.720
Oh my gosh, why did I get marred servant?
00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:35.360
Oh no.
00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:38.559
Because you're the ugly guy of the show, bud.
00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:40.320
It's true, it's true.
00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:41.440
Yeah, it's ugly.
00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:43.840
That's awesome.
00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:45.919
Um all right.
00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:53.519
It's a lesser it's a lesser known.
00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:54.960
What should my stage name be?
00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:58.559
Should it be like like third knee fight number three or something?
00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:01.039
Or fourth knee fight didn't make the cut or something?
00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:02.399
Just Mathoni ha.
00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:05.600
People have to be like, oh yeah, that was one of the 12.
00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.440
How about John the Bill but with a normal nose?
00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:15.039
I like it.
00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:18.799
No, I just need to get him a Ferrari.
00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:19.840
That's right.
00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:21.120
The black Ferrari.
00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:24.879
He got the black hair, he's you know, his nose is perfectly normal.
00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:28.240
That's okay.
00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.960
See, why haven't they made a 3D fight series yet, right?
00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:39.120
Like, I would watch that every Saturday morning if they made like a you know, just like a 30-minute episode.
00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.840
Yeah, an office style 3 knee fights.
00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:45.120
Oh my gosh.
00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:49.120
As they have to deal with all of the knee fights just not listening.
00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:53.600
Office style chorum of the twelve phone.
00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:55.200
That would be funny.
00:13:55.440 --> 00:14:06.159
You just see like present or like elder Bednar just like side side-eyeing, like looking at the camera, like all right, really quickly.
00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:10.159
All right, so we we started out, we got Aronsa's origin story.
00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:11.679
We're moving through here.
00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:15.759
Uh Aronsa, you're you're it's your birthday, you're 37.
00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:18.000
That means you were born what year?
00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:19.360
36.
00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:20.240
36.
00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:22.240
37 is still old.
00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:23.759
Subtract a year, okay.
00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:25.279
Block it back a little bit.
00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:27.360
We're discussing Aranza's age right now.
00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.000
It's all downhill from 36.
00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:35.600
It really feels sometimes it feels like that, but also it's like amazing to get older.
00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:37.120
Like I'm really enjoying it.
00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:47.120
Because like I have my kids, I have my husband, and like every wrinkle, every gray hair tells, you know, some sort of stress, some sort of beautiful, some sort of beautiful story, right?
00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:49.759
Um yeah.
00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:51.120
Absolutely.
00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:51.840
Absolutely.
00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:53.360
But what year were you born?
00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:55.039
1990.
00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:56.159
So 1990.
00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:00.080
90 baby represents the elder millennial.
00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:03.200
Wait, uh, Brad, what what year were you born?
00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:04.480
93.
00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:05.840
93.
00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:07.519
Yeah, 90s.
00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:11.759
Dave, these are youngsters, my friend.
00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:14.720
Yeah, two of them were born during my mission.
00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:16.080
Is that what?
00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:16.879
Yep.
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:18.240
Oh, dude.
00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:19.279
Right.
00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:23.840
I was um, you know, I'm a good, I was born 1981.
00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:31.679
Now, I, when I joined the church, I became aware of church cinema.
00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:33.519
You know, it was like a big deal.
00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:42.879
I was I joined the church, and uh maybe like the week after or the week before, we went to the Washington, DC temple, and they showed us videos.
00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:47.840
And this is the first introduction to church film I had, and it was Lamb of God.
00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:54.799
And Lamb of God was like treated as if it was almost pseudo-temple film, right?
00:15:55.039 --> 00:16:04.879
You only could see it in the visitor center, and it was like, you know, oh, it's uh we need to uh treat it as a sort of sacred experience.
00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:19.200
It wasn't for another five years that I found that someone shared with me Saturday's warrior, um, which uh remains one of my favorite pieces of LDS culture.
00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:30.799
Um, but right after that is when God's army shows up, and we have this wave of kind of awesome LDS movies.
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:34.559
Now, Lucifer gets body, aka Dave.
00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:40.799
I want you to tell me about how you were introduced to cinema in this 2000.
00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:46.159
Were you aware of the the Mormon moment of homegrown provo film?
00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:53.519
So, first of all, I I don't think I've ever seen uh hold on, what's the what's the old church movie you were just talking about?
00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:56.480
I've never seen Scott Scott.
00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:57.519
I've never seen it either.
00:16:57.759 --> 00:16:59.279
I'm vaguely aware of it.
00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:04.559
Uh I don't know how I missed it though, because I was a I certainly saw Johnny Lingo many times.
00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:14.559
Oh yeah and and uh and and remain to this day a big fan of Tom Trails, which I think predates moving pictures.
00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:18.319
I mean, not not as a technology, but as a church production.
00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:29.759
It's a it's a slideshow show, it's a still image and narrated dialogue over it, which someday we should need to watch that whole thing and react to it on this program.
00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:39.119
Um yeah, you say a wave, but like I think the wave is God's army and uh and Brigham City and then everything else sucked.
00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:40.960
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:45.680
This slander against Sons of Provo will not be allowed.
00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:46.160
Yeah.
00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:48.960
So that is peak cinema right there.
00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:51.119
Sons of Provo was so good.
00:17:51.440 --> 00:18:08.319
So my impression is that God's army showed people that on a low budget you could you could tell a story about Mormons, principally for Mormons, although a person who was, I think Dutcher never wanted to be a director just uh for Mormons.
00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:18.160
Um and um although that's sort of how it ended, I don't think he ever really reached a national audience.
00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:26.559
Um so uh and and and you could you could do that, you know, if you if you're in a low budget, you could do it profitably.
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:35.759
And so uh, you know, God's army, if you're not uh familiar with this, is a is a serious film about missionaries.
00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.839
And uh, you know, so the set you don't only need sets per se.
00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:43.200
You're filming it on streets and in apartments, right?
00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:49.519
Uh and the people are mostly where the actors are mostly wearing, I mean, they're dressed like missionaries, right?
00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:54.960
They're wearing white shirts or or you know, nuts slightly slightly frumpy dresses.
00:18:55.680 --> 00:19:01.599
Is this the movie where you have like the Hispanic elder and like the white elder and they like the other?
00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:03.039
Yeah, Dutcher himself.
00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:15.359
Doesn't want to go home, wants to wants to finish his mission or whatever.
00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.799
Um yeah.
00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:21.279
I um I don't remember a Hispanic.
00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:24.559
There was a sequel called God's Army 2.
00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:25.920
Maybe that's the one I saw.
00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.920
He had another name, God's Army Great, but it's States of Grace.
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:31.519
Well, States of Grace, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.720
I think it was God's Army 2 Cole and States of Grace.
00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:38.720
And I think one of those one of those missionaries was a former gangbanger or something.
00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:39.119
Yeah.
00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:43.039
And he buries his gun like the anti-nefile has.
00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:43.920
Yeah, yeah.
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:49.200
And then like his white companion like sleeps with a girl or something, and then is like sent home.
00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:54.960
It's I I hate part two, but people think it's uh think it's an improvement.
00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:55.839
I I don't think so.
00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:00.480
I think the best I haven't seen I haven't seen part two.
00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:08.400
Uh I look for sort of the my observation of Dutcher's career is he did God's army, then he did Brigham City.
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:09.519
Brigham City?
00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:10.000
Yeah, right?
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:10.720
Brigham City?
00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.519
Brigham City.
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:11.839
Yeah.
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.319
Which I thought was actually the better film.
00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:15.920
It was more ambitious.
00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:23.359
Um, it was it's about a there's a there's a murderer in small town Utah, and uh and Dutcher puts a bigger one.
00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.119
Like the bishop is the sheriff, yeah.
00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:36.480
Who is also the bishop, and it's sort of about the conflicts between you know, he's like the sh the the sheriff, and someone will come in to want to talk to him as the bishop, and so he'll like take off his sheriff badge and put it in his drawer.
00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:48.000
And and there's a really lovely scene at the end where he it's a sacrament meeting, and like he feels like he has failed because he did not recognize the killer.
00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:57.359
And so when the sacrament is passed, if he doesn't take it, and like the whole community validates him by everybody else not taking the sacrament.
00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:00.880
And then like the deacon brings it back around to him and he's like crying and takes it.
00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:09.440
It's beautifully done, super low budget, very the camera's never tricky, it's just a very kind of naive camera, just kind of looking at the scene.
00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:15.599
Um and I thought that was actually I I like God's Army, I really liked uh Brigham City.
00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:28.079
Um, and then he was gonna be doing a biopic of Joseph Smith, and then he announced he was leaving the church, and then he made like some kind of horror movie and God's Army 2, and I don't think he's done anything for like 15 years.
00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:29.759
So that's wild.
00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:30.720
He is picking up.
00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:38.640
And also on the site, there was like a bunch of like crappy Jane Austen singles ward sitcom ripoff stuff.
00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:40.799
Wait, Aronta, did you act in that?
00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:42.079
Is that why you're doing this?
00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:42.640
No.
00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:47.279
I've just never heard someone say crappy and Jane Austen in the same sentence.
00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.799
I'm gonna do the Mansfield Park with the lesbian scene.
00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:51.680
There are plenty of things.
00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:53.039
Oh, that yeah, okay.
00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:54.480
We're talking about adaptations.
00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:56.079
Then yeah, that's garbage.
00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:58.319
Every movie is an adaptation.
00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.200
What are you talking about?
00:21:59.440 --> 00:21:59.680
No, I
00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:06.880
I love church cinema.
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:15.039
And so I was, you know, I left the church for, you know, kind of pseudo-left the church for for uh five years.
00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:16.400
And I'm coming back.
00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:30.960
I've managed to stop drinking and smoking, and and I go out to Utah on a pilgrimage, and I uh oh, I I haven't even stopped drinking because I have a shot of whiskey with this dude right before I go into it.
00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:35.759
But um I go we go to the movie theater and we say, What are we gonna watch?
00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:41.359
And Singles Ward is one of the options on this, and I said, Oh, we gotta go watch this film.
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.079
And I I didn't have any idea what it was.
00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:50.079
And we go in and we see Singles Ward, and this guy, you know, has now become an Alistair Crowley follower.
00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:55.039
I think he's he became like a DJ for Burning Man and stuff, a different character.
00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:05.519
But I watched this, and he did not think it was great, but I watched Singles Ward and I loved it, and I still love it.
00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.079
Um, in fact, I love these guys.
00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:16.640
I I'm a fan, and the point that when I find out that the star on Singles Ward married the actress from what was the show?
00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:21.279
Uh uh Vengeance, African-American woman.
00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:26.880
Uh it was such a big deal in its time, about you know, 10 years ago.
00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:29.119
Vengeance, rival, scandal.
00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:30.400
Scandal was the show.
00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:34.319
He married her, they moved to New York, and he's left the church.
00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:37.599
And my heart breaks inside.
00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:39.279
I love this.
00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:42.559
The same thing happened to all these stars, right?
00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:46.799
The the the star of well, not all of them.
00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:48.640
The pre Haborn still gonna be a very good thing.
00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:52.480
From the fame of being in Singles Ward, broke them.
00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:53.359
Yeah.
00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:54.319
The pressure.
00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:06.000
The one that came back to church was the actor on he was on Singles Ward, but he was also on the home teachers, the chubby guy that's really funny.
00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:07.359
I enjoy him.
00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:18.640
Um, he talked about leaving the church and waking up after a cocaine binge and being arrested or whatever, and then it started his life, you know, rock bottom coming back.
00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:20.400
They were living hard and rough.
00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:25.279
There could definitely be a documentary, just like this Nickelodeon one, calling the lies.
00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:27.359
Like washed up Mormon actors.
00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:32.319
What well some of them are you know, Kirby's still awesome, and but Kirby had his low point.
00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:38.400
The butt like we all had to forgive Bradford.
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:40.160
How dare he feed his family, man?
00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:42.240
Like how dare he do that.
00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:48.000
That's how the Marriott's must have felt when they went to apply for their liquor license.
00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:50.799
Yeah, talk to the church about at first.
00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:55.440
Uh, so Chris, with Will Swenson, I actually have a fun experience with him.
00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:59.519
He was the actor you were talking about who went off on Broadway.
00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:09.519
Um, so I was in the acting program of BYU, and one of my teachers told me that if I saw Will Swenson on my mission, I needed to say hi.
00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:18.160
And uh, because I was in New York, my mission president was like, hey, as a cultural experience, you guys can go see a play on Broadway right before you leave, right?
00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:24.079
And so I got to go see Le Miz, and Will Swenson was there as Javert.
00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:35.759
And so one of the last things I did as a missionary is I got to meet Will Swenson after the play and let him know that this BYU professor says hi, right?
00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:43.279
And like it was awesome to have that like final moment of like, oh, they gave me this mission to do as a missionary and like to see.
00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:45.599
And uh, dude, it was cool.
00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:47.440
He he did a really, really great job.
00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:48.799
He's a really good actor.
00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:58.559
Um, it it was really interesting to see, especially for me as a guy who was like studying theater at BYU and thinking, like, hey, uh, where do I want to go with my life?
00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:02.000
What what direction might acting take me?
00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:06.000
And what could I do to use it as a service for people?
00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:07.839
Because that was a really interesting thing that I saw.
00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:22.799
It was like, bro, Will is still serving the audience in this way by like providing really interesting characters that show you like good and evil and their struggles and what happens when you go too far in one direction, right?
00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:24.319
It's a really fascinating thing to see.
00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:25.279
So I don't know.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:36.880
It was really, really fun for me, like in a really meta sense of yeah, the Lord sent me to New York to see like what happens with actors and uh like the highs and lows that that can bring, right?
00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:37.839
It was cool.
00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:38.559
I love it.
00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:41.200
Brad, jump us back in the past, man.
00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:47.519
You uh you are in this, you're the next era of this sort of Latter-day Saint actor.
00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:54.960
And I say that, you know, uh, I named you Mard Servant on here because you're a dashing fellow, my friend.
00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:59.119
I would hire you as the man to any film I'm ever gonna produce.
00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:01.440
I won't produce films, but I would.
00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:01.920
Uh-huh.
00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:02.799
Yeah.
00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:07.839
But uh, but um, you're kind of the next generation here.
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:11.119
You're 15 years younger than most of these guys.
00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:14.160
Um, where did you get involved in acting?
00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:19.599
And uh we got some some roles that you've been in in your career.
00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:22.400
Talk, talk, tell me the story, give them the trajectory.
00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:28.000
Yeah, so actually, funny enough, mine started uh in grade eight.
00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:37.119
I ran for student body president in my school for grade nine um and did a sketch impersonating George Bush and had a ton of fun with that.
00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:45.200
And it was a very Napoleon dynamite sort of situation because I was running against like the most popular girl in school, and for some reason I won.
00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.839
And it was like really weird, but then it was really funny.
00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:51.039
I was like, hey, this was a super fun thing to do.
00:27:51.200 --> 00:28:02.000
And then uh, like, I don't know what was going on with the student government people at my school, but I ended up doing an awful lot of improv because they're like, hey, we have an assembly, we'd like you to like uh run this.
00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:03.599
I'm like, cool, what do you need me to do?
00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:05.200
And they're like, oh, you'll figure it out.
00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:05.920
And I'm like, what?
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:13.279
And then they like literally I got pushed out on stage one day uh and like had no idea what I was supposed to say or do.
00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:18.559
But that was when I started realizing, oh, dude, uh, crowds are very easy to work with.
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:20.720
It's like talking to a person almost.
00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:25.920
Like there, there's an energy that a crowd forms, and you can like work with that crowd and work with it.
00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:36.960
And so uh I ended up doing some really fun theater stuff in like middle school and high school that made me like, oh, this is so much fun and such an interesting thing.
00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:39.599
And so I went to BYU studying acting.
00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:51.440
And um, when I got my mission call to New York, it was kind of like, oh, dude, the Lord really does want me to see like what this is like and what this can do for you in your life.
00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:58.480
And oh yeah, uh, like stage theater, I probably can't support a family while doing that.
00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:00.880
So it was a lot of cool things to learn.
00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:16.960
But I also met like uh um some really amazing actors while I was on my mission, uh, had several of them in my wards and saw that, yeah, no, this is a thing you can absolutely do as an upstanding member of the church who maintain maintains their testimony.
00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:24.160
And it's actually an incredibly Christ-like thing that you can do because you have to love the characters that you portray.
00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:29.279
And a very easy way to do that is to try to see them as God would see them, right?
00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:40.640
And it kind of forces you to think about like, okay, how can I portray this person in a way that um they love themselves?
00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:43.279
Because that's one of the things that I started to realize as an actor.
00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:53.039
I would see people like um the worst acting I ever saw almost always came from people who didn't like the part they were playing, and they like wanted to be something else in the production.
00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:55.039
And I'm like, bro, I can see that.
00:29:55.119 --> 00:30:00.240
I I need to like see that you love your character, and that makes such a difference.
00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:10.480
Um, and sorry, this is getting long, but uh it's ultimately it comes down to a misinterpretation of Second Nephi 2 where like we're supposed to act and not be acted upon.
00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:13.440
I'm like, okay, sick, I'll be an actor, got it.
00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:15.359
I mean love her.
00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:24.000
On that fateful day, the part of the story he doesn't want to tell you was on that fateful day when they thrust him out on stage in front of the assembly.
00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:30.160
He was wearing moon boots, and there was a disco, there was a disco track on the PA.
00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:34.480
It was direct Napoleon Dynamax.
00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:36.480
That was a documentary about my life, actually.
00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:38.000
Straight up, straight up.
00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.519
What a good film.
00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:42.319
So that's that's the Mormon cinema of your youth.
00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:43.759
It was Napoleon Dynama.
00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:49.039
It was a Mormon cinema that I think most of the world didn't recognize as Mormon cinema.
00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:50.640
I I agree.
00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:55.839
R Roger Ebert has written a couple of movie reviews that I thought were just flat out stupid.
00:30:55.920 --> 00:31:03.279
And one of them was the Napoleon Dynamite review, and he his take was this is a mean film.
00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:10.319
The filmmakers are making fun of all their characters, and I thought that is the stupidest thing I've ever read him to say, and he said some stupid things.
00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:14.079
See also his Lord of the Rings review, which was similarly stupid.
00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:27.839
Um, obviously, these guys are making a film about like their own people, and it is a very affectionate film, and Napoleon is a true hero, right?
00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:39.519
And and like this is a story about how a kid whose actual talents are being able to detect a little bleach that has come through what the cow ate into milk, right?
00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:47.440
Uh, and like future farmers of America skills, um that that kid can rise and be a hero, right?
00:31:47.599 --> 00:32:10.079
But but but there was no overt Mormonism, there was something doctrinal, but like the culture of Southeast Idaho, uh you know, kind of sage-billy farmers, small town high school, um was immediately recognizable to anyone who's sort of uh um uh known it.
00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:14.160
Although the superior film is Gentleman Broncos, if you have not watched that.
00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:18.240
I love Napoleon Dynamite, Gentleman Broncos, They're gonna be a little bit of Gentleman Broncos was really cool.
00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:19.359
Yeah, I've never seen that one.
00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:20.480
It's a great film.
00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:20.799
Yes.
00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:22.079
So check it out.
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:36.319
I it speaking of acting, it has two different plays within a play because it's about a kid who writes a novel which is then stolen by his writing hero who's uh has a who's in a um has writer's block.
00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:43.200
Um, and there are two different versions of people making the story into a movie in the movie.
00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:48.240
So there are two plays within a play about this fantastically goofy science fiction novel.
00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:49.279
Yeah, it's really good.
00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:51.200
Well, this sounds this kind of sounds awesome.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:52.079
Is it legitimate?
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:55.119
Like this is this is a film I should go check out.
00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:58.880
Yes, this is a film made by the but yeah, by the same guy.
00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:01.599
Uh it was his next project, Gentleman Broncos.
00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:04.400
Yeah, I didn't get as much like buzz as the first one.
00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:06.480
Almost no disappeared.
00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:14.319
And then and then I was in the music scene heard about it because there was this guy, his name is Isaac Russell.
00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:18.720
He got signed on by Columbia Records, and he was and he was gonna release this big album.
00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:27.599
He was an actor in the film too, so we all like watched it to support him, and then Columbia shelved his record, and then he like went into debt, which kind of sucked.
00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:28.400
Oh man.
00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:33.200
But uh yeah, fall of these Utah County boys.
00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:36.640
Jermaine Jermaine plays the writer.
00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:39.039
There's this absolutely fantastic, he's very pumped.
00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:41.200
I think it's based on Christopher Paolini.
00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:46.480
Um really looks like he looks like Paolini's author photo of a certain period.
00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:50.799
And he's also he's like he does his own cover paintings and stuff.
00:33:50.960 --> 00:34:06.000
There's this absolute if you look at the trailer on YouTube, there's this absolutely fantastic bit where he's standing up in this writing camp in front of all these high school kids, and he says, I I understand that you wish to write fantasy novels, but you cannot come up with names.
00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:11.119
And he's like, he's like it's this list of terminations on the chalkboard.
00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:20.320
You take any name and add anus, ainus, or onius to the end, it becomes a fantasy name.
00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:30.239
And then like when he's stealing when he's stealing the kid's novel, the kid's protagonist is named Bronco, Gentleman Broncos, he's like Broncanus.
00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:33.679
It's just oh I've seen that scene.
00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:36.320
That scene trailer, if nothing else.
00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:39.199
It is a very funny but very offbeat.
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:42.880
If you're expecting like a Hollywood film, you'll be like, This is like this is weird.
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:47.039
The pacing is all absolutely fabulous film, Gentleman Broncos.
00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:52.239
Some some of you are gonna watch this and then like Dave is an idiot, but like some of you will watch it and go, Dave is correct.
00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:53.920
This is a genius movie.
00:34:54.719 --> 00:34:55.199
Awesome.
00:34:55.440 --> 00:35:02.480
Jermaine Clement is I mean, this guy has brought me more joy than very few people in existence, right?
00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:07.360
Flight of the Concords is I've I've never watched a show more.
00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:08.480
Maybe Keim Peel.
00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:11.440
I've watched the same level of Flight of the Concords.
00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:12.320
So brilliant.
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:18.079
Let's watch a clip from a new up-and-coming LDS filmmaker.
00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:23.280
So this is uh Brett Bergen and his wife, Jessica Bergen, their new film, Java Jive.
00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:26.079
Okay, Barrett is brilliant.
00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:32.320
He has done so many, and he actually has given me permission to drop this whole film on my channel in the past.
00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:35.840
So I assume he'd actually be fine with us, including any part that we want.
00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:38.320
But uh, I love Java Job.
00:35:38.559 --> 00:35:46.639
It is his take, uh, he tells me on Jewish cinema that apparently there's some some things he's working with in that direction.
00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:48.639
Maybe we should talk up to him about that in the future.
00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:54.719
But I think of Barrett as a horror film guy because that's what I talked to him about.
00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:58.400
But he's actually, you know, he directs all sorts of small projects.
00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:06.800
Um, and this one is a sort of, you know, do we call it romantic comedy?
00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:08.639
It's a playful drama.
00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:26.559
Um when I when I watched it, it kind of reminded me of like Burn Your Enthusiasm kind of Seinfeld, where the situation lends itself to like just really awkward, tense moments, which and I I by the end of it, I was like sweating and laughing.
00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.280
Like that's how much I enjoyed it, you know.
00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:41.119
My man takes a gentile girl to a coffee shop on their first date and has to play this game, is he gonna drink coffee or not?
00:36:41.360 --> 00:36:42.000
Right?
00:36:42.239 --> 00:36:46.800
Um, and so it's an awkward situation of a Latter-day Saint kid.
00:36:46.960 --> 00:37:03.119
Is he gonna hold on to his morality, his this most important of all virtues, not drinking coffee, or is he going to partake so the girl can fully fall in love with him and not think he's a wacko?
00:37:03.360 --> 00:37:23.280
And so the the clip that I was gonna show, it was gonna be like maybe a minute or two, was the moment where he's about to take a sip of coffee, and then they're sitting on this date in the window seat, and in the distance you see two figures like in the background, and they get closer and closer, and it's the elders.
00:37:23.519 --> 00:37:23.920
Uh-huh.
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:25.760
Um, and they're like, Huh?
00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:31.599
And they're they're catching him red-handed with the coffee, you know, with this girl.
00:37:32.320 --> 00:37:33.119
That's awesome.
00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:34.320
That's hilarious.
00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:38.320
The the kind of pressure that like is so unique.
00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:45.199
And and yet at the same time, there there's like uh something universal in there, right?
00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:53.280
Like uh the trying to impress a girl and if there's something that you wouldn't normally do, but now you're seeing if you can.
00:37:53.440 --> 00:37:54.880
Like it's it's a fun one.
00:37:55.199 --> 00:37:57.199
I think Barrett did a really good job with this.
00:37:58.079 --> 00:37:59.199
It's the old joke.
00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:04.239
Why do you well I think it's originally a joke about Baptists?
00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:05.840
You can tell it about Mormons.
00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:09.840
Why do you always take two Baptists fishing?
00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:16.000
Because if you just take one, he'll drink all your beer.
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:20.800
That's funny.
00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:31.280
So, Dave, I thought about making a short video on this joke, and I I've gotten nervous, but I think I'll clip you there and make the video out of your telling.
00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:33.360
That's very it's a great joke.
00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:34.719
Yeah, it is.
00:38:34.880 --> 00:38:36.480
It is a convert joke, you know.
00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:38.960
So I became a convert at 13.
00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:55.199
My family, alcohol means a great deal to them, and uh so there's lots of alcohol talk in my family, but um as a young convert, I made a super big deal about stuff, right?
00:38:55.599 --> 00:39:01.519
And so my dad was telling last night we were at this, well, two nights ago, we were at this great dinner.
00:39:01.760 --> 00:39:06.320
I ordered bourbon cake for dessert because it's delicious.
00:39:06.880 --> 00:39:12.000
And um my dad said, Oh, how things have changed.
00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:37.360
And then he told me a story about when I was 16, and we were at this restaurant, and I we were having beer battered onion rings, and he remembers this great fear washed over him when we got this, and I read it was beer battered because I was going to, you know, be that anal retentive about this idea of the word of wisdom.
00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:37.840
Uh huh.
00:39:38.159 --> 00:39:44.320
So I I really like the Java Jive playing into that cultural issue for both sides, right?
00:39:44.480 --> 00:39:54.480
Oh, the on the other side is so there's there's some really interesting lore about that film that I don't think has been discussed in other podcasts.
00:39:54.719 --> 00:40:05.440
Um, but the coffee shop where they filmed the the the Java Jive actually has a really interesting connection to the church in a weird way.
00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:08.880
So the cafe is called Taste, it's in Provo.
00:40:09.280 --> 00:40:14.239
You should totally go, it's a really beautiful location, um, and they have really great chocolate.
00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:23.599
But about 10 years ago, the person who supplied the chocolate to taste was none other than the schismatic leader.
00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:26.880
Uh oh, the chocolatier profit guy?
00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:29.039
Yeah, the chocolatier profit guy, Phil Davis.
00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:30.000
Phil Davis.
00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:31.199
Oh man.
00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:32.960
And Phil Davis, oh my gosh.
00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:36.239
So so for those of you who don't know, I'm not promoting him, right?
00:40:36.320 --> 00:40:44.079
But Phil Davis, yeah, um, his story is that as he was making chocolate in this chocolate factory, it just sounds like Willy Wonka.
00:40:44.480 --> 00:40:52.480
He says an angel of light appeared to him, and that um he gave him what's called the baptism of fire.
00:40:53.199 --> 00:41:02.159
And um, and you know, I the way that I met Phil Davis is that I I sit to a barbecue in uh down in Hobble Creep for some friends.
00:41:02.480 --> 00:41:07.280
Um, and uh and I did not invite him, but he showed up anyway.
00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:09.840
And I'm like, I'm like, who is this?
00:41:10.079 --> 00:41:11.920
I'm like, he looks really familiar.
00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:13.119
I don't know who this guy is.
00:41:13.360 --> 00:41:17.519
I start asking around, and then Don Bradley is like, that's Phil Davis.
00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:19.280
Like, maybe don't talk to him, you know.
00:41:19.440 --> 00:41:23.039
I don't know if he's but um we're like, oh my gosh, it's Phil Davis.
00:41:23.199 --> 00:41:32.159
And so I start talking to him, and he's like, Yeah, this angel of light appeared to me, and he gave me a baptism of fire, and he told me to share it.
00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:37.440
And then he told me that at one point the angel asks him if he has any money.
00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:39.360
And I'm like, What?
00:41:39.760 --> 00:41:45.039
And then he just keeps like he said that like nothing, and he just kept going on this story, and I'm like, What?
00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:46.880
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
00:41:47.039 --> 00:41:51.920
That's a very specific, very specific question that an angel asks you.
00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:55.280
Yeah, you can't just drop it.
00:41:55.360 --> 00:41:58.800
Like, like, did you not do you have any money?
00:41:59.599 --> 00:42:01.679
And I'll and so I'm like, oh, I see what's going on.
00:42:01.760 --> 00:42:06.800
This dude is 100% deceived by Satan right now, he just doesn't know it.
00:42:07.119 --> 00:42:10.000
This is not the best part of the Phil Davis story, though.
00:42:10.320 --> 00:42:11.440
Okay, well, no, it's not.
00:42:11.519 --> 00:42:12.320
There are better stuff.
00:42:12.400 --> 00:42:14.559
You play some crazy stuff in there.
00:42:14.800 --> 00:42:17.840
Oh, there's some like all the better story.
00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:31.280
The the the best part of the Phil, I think Phil Davis has the distinction of being the for all of the exciting little pseudo-messianic figures we have dinking around in the sh in the butt shallows around the Mormon Sea, okay.
00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:43.039
For everybody who thinks for everybody who thinks he's the Davidic servant, thanks Avraham Gileadi for creating a category that nobody else has ever heard of, but that every tin pot would-be messiah thinks he is.
00:42:43.119 --> 00:42:43.280
Okay.
00:42:43.599 --> 00:42:45.280
Yeah, they also seem to have read him, too.
00:42:45.760 --> 00:42:48.800
Everybody who is the one mighty and strong they have.
00:42:48.880 --> 00:42:54.480
Uh like I think he's the only one who has exposed himself to his followers on Zoom.
00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:57.280
Oh, you guys know the story?
00:42:57.519 --> 00:42:58.159
Yes.
00:42:59.519 --> 00:43:03.519
Okay, so um I'm pretty sure it's Bill Davis who was on a zoom call.
00:43:12.239 --> 00:43:15.679
Phil Davis, this is this is, and yet he has followers.
00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:18.800
No, when I met Phil Davis, okay, I didn't know who he was.
00:43:18.880 --> 00:43:20.159
I hadn't met him in person after this point.
00:43:20.320 --> 00:43:21.920
I just had heard about his movement.
00:43:22.320 --> 00:43:25.519
But I was like, he, so he first of all, he's an older gentleman, right?
00:43:25.599 --> 00:43:28.480
He's in his 50s, and he's Jack and he's tan.
00:43:28.960 --> 00:43:29.679
Ancient.
00:43:30.639 --> 00:43:32.079
He's Jack and he's Tan.
00:43:32.239 --> 00:43:35.360
And I'm like, this dude is like a charismatic, like, nice.
00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:40.079
And I shook his hand, and I was like, oh, he's like pleasing to be around.
00:43:40.159 --> 00:43:42.320
And I'm like, who is this guy?
00:43:42.639 --> 00:43:45.679
And uh apparently he's not married or anything.
00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:52.480
And I and you know, if you're working out and you're healthy, like, you know, you're you have drives and motivations.
00:43:52.559 --> 00:43:53.840
We'll just say that, right?
00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:59.440
Um and uh and I guess he on the Zoom call, he like
00:44:00.320 --> 00:44:11.039
If you are on video talking to your spiritual followers, and that causes you to want to pleasure yourself, you are doing it all for the wrong reasons.
00:44:11.280 --> 00:44:14.079
You are doing it all for the wrong reasons.
00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:29.679
Okay, okay, now um they so there was so they had this schismatic movement, and then one of the other guys, I can't remember his name, but he he kind of broke off from them because he started to charge tithing from his followers.
00:44:30.159 --> 00:44:33.119
And Phil was like, I'm I don't want to charge people tithing, that's not what I'm about.
00:44:33.280 --> 00:44:43.599
But this guy was like, No, we need to we need to charge tithing because we gotta build the kingdom, and then he ends up getting cancer and dying like the next year.
00:44:43.920 --> 00:44:47.920
So I was like, Whoa, like this is like God smiting these people.
00:44:48.320 --> 00:44:59.599
Um, but then some of these people were like, no, like he's Joseph Smith is gonna come back, and at the hand of Joseph Smith, he's going to resurrect our guy.
00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:01.360
This is a matter of time.
00:45:02.960 --> 00:45:03.280
Yeah, exactly.
00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:04.239
Dustin Smith, yeah.
00:45:04.800 --> 00:45:08.719
I just wish people would stop ruining all of the fun for all of us.
00:45:08.880 --> 00:45:16.960
Like, I want to believe in cool stuff, and everyone is making it so much harder for me because they're ruining it with their nonsense.
00:45:17.360 --> 00:45:18.719
This is why it's great.
00:45:18.880 --> 00:45:25.519
My my favorite, obviously fake messianic character is a fellow I won't name him.
00:45:26.239 --> 00:45:32.800
Is a fellow who claims to be in contact with the ten tribes who are hiding under the polar ice via the internet.
00:45:33.920 --> 00:45:35.039
This is current.
00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:39.440
He also claims to be talking to the the Galactic Federation.
00:45:40.400 --> 00:45:57.760
Uh, he also claims to uh be in contact with uh John the Beloved and other uh people who who have tarried, okay, who he says he used to meet uh in the office of uh Elder Um Holland.
00:45:58.000 --> 00:45:58.880
Oh, yeah.
00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:01.119
Oh, I know who you're talking about.
00:46:01.440 --> 00:46:03.119
And he and he in fact, this is O'Currant.
00:46:03.280 --> 00:46:06.400
This is a guy who's has said this on the internet in like the last three weeks.
00:46:06.559 --> 00:46:09.519
Yeah, and Rad, we gotta make these movies, dude.
00:46:09.599 --> 00:46:11.280
Like we we gotta film this.
00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:13.519
I think that that needs to be a movie.
00:46:13.840 --> 00:46:17.280
Yeah, we know a bunch of this is like the the 12 tribes under the ice.
00:46:17.360 --> 00:46:18.800
This is straight up Mormon folklore.
00:46:18.880 --> 00:46:22.400
Like it's it's exactly the same soup as Bigfoot is KU, right?
00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:23.599
I love it.
00:46:23.840 --> 00:46:26.000
Journey to the Center of the Earth Mormon edition.
00:46:26.239 --> 00:46:30.239
But when someone says it straight up as fact, it's obviously BS.
00:46:30.480 --> 00:46:34.880
So he also said that like his man, his description of John the Beloved is wonderful.
00:46:34.960 --> 00:46:47.920
He said John the Beloved drives a black, I think he said Ferrari, sports cars, I think it's a Ferrari, dresses all in black, has black hair, looks about 30th, uh about 30-ish, and he looks Jewish, except he doesn't have a big nose.
00:46:48.079 --> 00:46:49.599
That's literally what he said.
00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:56.480
Uh so like on top of everything, just a little soup sole of straight up antisemitism, just straight up racism.
00:46:56.719 --> 00:47:02.960
Yeah, and uh um and and and one last thing.
00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:10.400
He said, I wouldn't be surprised if these these people who linger uh are in contact with Pastor Jeff.
00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:13.280
Now, I have not heard from Pastor Pastor Jeffrey or not.
00:47:13.679 --> 00:47:14.960
She's in the mix too.
00:47:15.199 --> 00:47:17.519
Yo, he's competitive.
00:47:18.559 --> 00:47:24.159
Someone needs to ask Pastor Jeff, are you in fact in touch with John the Beloved or others who linger?
00:47:24.400 --> 00:47:27.679
And is it true that he has he looks like he's post-rhinoplasty?
00:47:28.159 --> 00:47:29.599
A Jew who had rhinoplasty.
00:47:29.760 --> 00:47:30.559
That's the discussion.
00:47:30.880 --> 00:47:32.639
What's your comment on that, Pastor Jeff?
00:47:32.800 --> 00:47:34.079
That's what I would like to hear.
00:47:34.320 --> 00:47:34.960
Oh man.
00:47:35.280 --> 00:47:36.960
I feel bad for Pastor Jeff.
00:47:37.039 --> 00:47:41.039
I feel like he's he's got he has gotten so much more than he signed up for.
00:47:41.199 --> 00:47:48.559
Like for anyone who's just wanted to evangelize, that's all he wanted.
00:47:49.519 --> 00:47:52.320
You know, this is the big thing, and it's true.
00:47:52.559 --> 00:47:56.239
We need to have cinema about this story.
00:47:56.480 --> 00:47:58.960
So was it 2020?
00:47:59.119 --> 00:48:01.920
We had that show come out called Messiah on Netflix.
00:48:02.079 --> 00:48:02.880
You guys remember that?
00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:06.079
It was all those episodes.
00:48:06.719 --> 00:48:18.320
It's this messianic figure that's coming out of Islam, but he's the fulfillment of like the second coming, uh, the Mahdi, the original Judaism.
00:48:18.400 --> 00:48:20.079
They're all being fulfilled in this figure.
00:48:20.159 --> 00:48:25.360
And and the president of the United States is LDS at the time.
00:48:25.440 --> 00:48:33.199
You know, they're playing off a Romney figure, and the Messiah appears to him and says, I am the one mighty and strong.
00:48:33.599 --> 00:48:33.840
Right?
00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:35.760
And so he's that in the show.
00:48:35.840 --> 00:48:36.960
Yeah, in the show.
00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:51.440
And so we have this we have a reference to it, but mainly these prophecies are getting associated with you know, you hear about them because the FLDS documentaries play on them.
00:48:51.760 --> 00:48:52.320
And it's tough.
00:48:52.400 --> 00:48:53.760
How do you do a story?
00:48:53.920 --> 00:49:00.480
Because I think most of these prophecies are like about Joseph Smith or about just the second coming, right?
00:49:00.719 --> 00:49:01.280
Yeah, right.
00:49:01.519 --> 00:49:09.440
Or they're just imagined by a scholar who's putting together passages that really aren't supposed to be about a single figure at all.
00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:15.280
They could be applicable throughout the ages, yeah.
00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:16.800
I think we could pitch this though.
00:49:16.880 --> 00:49:19.519
We can make a movie, we'll call it one mighty and the strong.
00:49:19.679 --> 00:49:20.719
That would be sick.
00:49:20.960 --> 00:49:29.679
And then it would be like a film of all these failed mighty and strong guys that just like I issuing a call to Richard Dutcher.
00:49:29.840 --> 00:49:31.199
You're still in Salt Lake.
00:49:31.440 --> 00:49:32.400
Come back, man.
00:49:32.559 --> 00:49:34.159
This is the film for you.
00:49:34.480 --> 00:49:38.559
Make an make a film about one of our tin pot would-be messiahs.
00:49:38.639 --> 00:49:40.239
It's such rich stuff.
00:49:40.480 --> 00:49:41.280
No, no, no, no.
00:49:41.519 --> 00:49:44.480
Brad, dude, we need bread with we need to make our own stuff.
00:49:44.719 --> 00:49:46.639
I I don't need another Dutcher movie.
00:49:46.719 --> 00:49:47.760
Let's make our own things.
00:49:47.920 --> 00:49:49.519
Barrett is an awesome director.
00:49:49.920 --> 00:49:51.039
Yeah, we'll get Barrett on it.
00:49:51.119 --> 00:49:51.920
Okay, I can't wait.
00:49:52.159 --> 00:49:56.239
And he's pulling together some really amazing people to make some really amazing stuff.
00:49:56.400 --> 00:50:02.960
I I think we are so close to making such amazing content here in Utah.
00:50:03.119 --> 00:50:04.239
We have so much talent.
00:50:04.320 --> 00:50:05.679
We just need to start using it.
00:50:06.800 --> 00:50:07.519
I love it.
00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:08.239
I love it.
00:50:10.400 --> 00:50:12.400
Oh, sorry, go on, Mary Magdalene.
00:50:12.880 --> 00:50:45.199
I was gonna say what I love about Barrett too is that he really takes such niche stuff like Java Jive and his horror movie, which is just so crazy, especially if you like know and you're like deep in on the symbolism and the lore, like it is an amazing movie, but those things are also applicable to like non-member audiences, they can easily get something out of it and relate to it on some level, and that's what I like about him because yes, they're like LDS coded, but anyone can enjoy and have an experience with his films.
00:50:45.599 --> 00:50:47.199
Him and Jessica, they're just so cool.
00:50:47.440 --> 00:50:49.119
Yeah, they're super talented.
00:50:50.079 --> 00:50:51.760
Um final plug.
00:50:51.840 --> 00:50:58.320
If you guys haven't checked out Jiva Java or uh Java Jive, go check out that film, it's so good.
00:50:58.480 --> 00:51:02.159
Uh we watched another fun thing, guys.
00:51:02.320 --> 00:51:14.079
Uh, a thing I worked on with Barrett in college, he has a shot for shot remake of the American psycho business card scene um up on YouTube.
00:51:14.480 --> 00:51:21.840
Yeah, and it has a weirdly high amount of views for being a shot for shot remake or something.
00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:25.679
Um, but this is like one of the early things Barrett was working on, right?
00:51:25.760 --> 00:51:27.760
And it was so fun working with him on that.
00:51:27.920 --> 00:51:29.039
It is a lot of fun.
00:51:29.119 --> 00:51:33.440
I just uh shot on BYU campus for a film class.
00:51:33.599 --> 00:51:35.360
It it's a it's a real fun time.
00:51:35.440 --> 00:51:39.039
And then Java Jive, like watch that, then watch Java Jive.
00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:40.960
Barrett's been doing some really cool stuff.
00:51:41.199 --> 00:51:46.719
And I I really do think that we have some really good storytellers in our community.
00:51:46.800 --> 00:51:52.000
I think storytelling is like a part of our blood, it's part of who we are.
00:51:52.320 --> 00:51:58.960
And the more that we lean into it, the more that we just go out and do it, I the better off we'll be.
00:51:59.039 --> 00:52:06.880
I I think I have been fascinated because I've seen so many times people lament the way that the world is going.
00:52:07.039 --> 00:52:09.039
And I'm like, guys, then make content.
00:52:09.199 --> 00:52:17.679
Like, if you're sad that like the buffet has so many poisoned items, you're that's not gonna stop people from going to the buffet.
00:52:17.840 --> 00:52:20.719
You need to put out more things that aren't poisoned, right?
00:52:20.880 --> 00:52:22.800
Like, this is what we need to do.
00:52:23.039 --> 00:52:35.920
And so I I just hope when it comes to like the core thing around LDS cinema and um like how we're portrayed in the media, that we just take up the reins and we start making a difference ourselves.
00:52:36.239 --> 00:52:38.239
All right, with that, that is fantastic.
00:52:38.400 --> 00:52:39.920
Brad, thanks for being here with us today.
00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:43.280
I want you to come back in the next couple weeks if you got time.
00:52:43.599 --> 00:52:52.239
I have five clips of times that Hollywood has portrayed the temple endowment.
00:52:52.559 --> 00:52:59.920
I want us to look a little edits, um, but I want us to look at it and talk about what what this does.
00:53:00.079 --> 00:53:06.079
The sort of, you know, it's a difficulty they're facing to look at LDS material that we'd prefer to be sacred.
00:53:06.159 --> 00:53:09.920
And the same time, they're stepping all over my sacred things, right?
00:53:10.320 --> 00:53:11.920
So there's a question here.
00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:15.039
I want to date, will you come back and and riff on this with us?
00:53:15.360 --> 00:53:16.000
Heck yeah.
00:53:16.079 --> 00:53:16.800
That'd be awesome.
00:53:17.119 --> 00:53:18.559
Oh, appreciate it, brother.
00:53:19.039 --> 00:53:21.039
Till next week, my friends.
00:53:22.159 --> 00:53:22.639
See ya.
