Were they conscious choices?
Well, Id love to say there were tons of choices involves.
A lot of times I took what I could get, like most actors do.
Now, I dont know, I have different priorities now.
But Id have probably spent it by now.
Youre doing screenwriting now, too?
Its tentatively calledApple Scruff.
I was actually reading throughThe Beatles Recording Sessions.
And just pulled them off the street and had them sing backing vocals.
Youre quite envious of that…?
I just couldnt believe that it happened.
So what I did was take their stories and its based on real events.
Because they are the only two fans who got to do that.
You said you had a second screenplay too?
Yeah, the second one is much more straightforward.
A romantic comedy, so that needs probably one more revision and its good to go.
And Im also working on a novel.
So youve spent the last years keeping incredibly busy?
And I got some very, very positive criticism from my professors.
They were saying c’mon keep going, the work is good.
So I thought, okay, Im not horrible then.
Do you really think that awards season has come down to something as simple as that now?
Thats what I mean.
Its not that if you send us your film, itll win.
Its that if you dont send us your film, it wont win.
And I do believe that.
And like I said, it gratifies the egos of the outside-looking-in actors.
You know, where are my screeners?
How come I dont get them?
People say I want to thank the Academy.
The Academy is about, yknow, 8,000 people.
The Screen Actors Guild is 120,000 people.
And thats a huge difference.
And everyone in the Screen Actors Guild votes for Best Picture and the SAG awards.
The people who sent the screeners won, and guess what?
We got more screeners.
We gotLittle Miss Sunshine, andThe Departed.
And which two movies did the best during awards time?Little Miss SunshineandThe Departed.
This year, I cant wait to see what were going to get.
Because if theyre smart, theyll send us the five Best Picture nominees.
We should get all five of those, we really should.
That way itll counterbalance the effect that it is.So do you schedule a screening season in your house?
I am telling you right now, thats my next three weeks!
And theres no in-between?
Id suspect that was very different 20 years ago?Yeah, I mean, its very strange.
Its almost like now celebrities can nowleverage countries.
It was just bizarre!
They become much, much more than actors now.
And its just weird.
Its like, Im fascinated by the underpinning voices behind it.
What drives that desire to destroy Paris Hilton?
What drives that desire to venerate Angelina Jolie?
I do understand it, but it still baffles me.
Where would you pitch the responsibility for that?
Well, I think really if you had to explain it it would be this.
And the corporate consolidation has resulted in media consolidation.
Because now the Writers Guild is basically going up against eight people.
And all of this power is concentrated in a very small group of people.
And I think the agenda is to stop Americans and people in general from thinking hard about things.
And to stop people from questioning things.
Because the best consumer is an uneducated consumer.
What is it that your students are aspring to be?
Is it actors or stars?
The students that I have all go to a place called NYU Tisch, School of the Arts.
Which is a very prestigious acting institution.
All the people that I teach are very, very hyper-artistically inclined.
So would they like to be famous?
Do they care about the work?
Theres a very big difference.
And is that one of the things that has tied you closely to New York?
Its one of the things that drove me away from LA.
There was simply not enough.
Theres just not emphasis on wanting to achieve something great.
Seriously: if people could make money showing somebody taking a shower for 90 minutes, theyd make that.
But movies about people taking a shower are nothing, just commerce.
But it just seems like very few are interested.
!, Daniel Day Lewis is just so towering in it.
And thats that you cant let people detemine what you are.
You cant sit around, wondering why people arent calling and asking about my writing.
Its not really a self-promotional vehicle.
Its to talk about art and music and culture, the world and trends.
A slight Internet presence.
Some people have a blog thats, like, today I brushed my teeth.
Who cares that you brushed your teeth.
Okay you brushed your teeth!
Thats so massively egocentric its just ridiculous.
Going back to the difference between the NY and LA culture.
Do you think thats theatre driven?
The worst theatre Ive ever seen in my life Ive seen in LA.
I mean some of the theatre is just dreadful.
And the plays arent any good.
Theyre not doing Arthur Miller, theyre doing what they wrote about being actors.
And its just bad.
And downtown LA has some good theatre.
But why it doesnt have its equivalent of Broadway I really dont know.
It could so easily have something like that, with all the talent sitting there doing nothing.
Are you tempted to do more theatre yourself?
You did some in the 80s?
And I wanted to take some more shots at getting a regular in a television show.
People say to me how come youre not on TV, wheres your TV series?
And it doesnt even have to be why arent I starring in it.
Why havent I played a supporting character on a television show?
And I cant answer that question.
Ive done tons of TV, but its always an episode here and there.
And is that something youre driving for now?
And diet soda tends to be a little bit more carbonated, or seems to be, than regular.
So I could belch like insanely loudly, and Id walk around the set sometimes and let rip.
And people would be like, thats absolutely disgusting.
It was one of the funniest fucking things youve ever heard!
They used a lot of it in the movie.
Do you get repeat fees on it?
My wife even recognises it.
She says oh my God honey, thats your belch!.
She was justifiably proud!
So where for you in the next year or two?
More writing, more acting?
So everythings kind of shut down, and were in a holding pattern.
Because once its resolved, youll see a tremendous amount of work ramp up.
But I dont think thatll be for a couple of months.
Zach Galligan, thank you very much!
