Keanu Reeves Keke Palmer Seth Rogen Aziz Ansari Talk Good Fortune at Esquire s Table Read

I always wanted to ask you, when you were doing The Matrix, did you think it was going to do what it did? I mean, how could you? No idea. It had an early version of bullet time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, it's like a bullet through. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh! You know, it just... He did a little bit of it! This movie came about... I had this idea of these two guys in L.A. One guy is the guy that's been blessed by the last 20 years. Jeff, the character Seth plays, you know, made a bunch of money in tech or whatever, has this giant house, pool, the whole thing. And the other guy is the guy that's been screwed by the last 20 years, has a lot of student debt. Maybe he lost his job during COVID, who knows? But he's working two to three jobs. He's struggling just to get by. And it's a frustration that is pretty widespread right now in what the country is at the moment and what happens when their worlds collide. I didn't know where it was going to go, but eventually I got to the place where I thought the idea of this angel coming and intervening in his life and kind of trying to show him that having the life of the other guy isn't all it's cracked up to be. And him rejecting that idea would be very fun. And I was very fortunate that I finished it, that you guys all read it and wanted to be a part of it. And it all came together. I know all about you. I know you lost your job. I know you're living in your car. I did everything I was supposed to do and nothing's working out. You know, Aziz, this movie reminds me of those early 2000 movies that were funny, but they were saying something with depth. Do you feel like comedy for you is the best way to handle deep issues? What's interesting, when I started writing the movie, at one point it was not a comedy. It was more dramatic. I hadn't done a comedy in a while. I'd been doing more serious stuff. And I said, I want to be on set and laugh. And it was a fun challenge to say, oh, okay, how do I make this stuff funny? Like this guy's sleeping in his car. It's pretty dark. How do you make that funny? But no matter how rough my life has been, you're always laughing at some point. Like things will not cease to be funny. Yeah, I find personally that levity is a really good way to, first of all, make things real because nothing is just one beat all the time. At some point you're going to laugh, at some point it's going to break. You know, that's just the rhythm of things. But whenever something really hits me, I feel like it really does hit me through that veil. Good choice is what I'm saying. You think because I'm a tech bro, I can't live your life for a little while? I came from nothing. I'm self-made. What did your parents do? My father was an orthopedic surgeon. Hmm, luck. Is there luck in the film? I think Jeff seems lucky in some ways at first because he was born rich and he seemed to know people who were starting companies that he could invest in. That he was placed in an environment where he was more likely to succeed. He was set up to succeed, yeah. So is that luck, when you're placed in an environment where you're more likely to succeed? I think it's fortunate. I believe in like chance, that you were there, whatever, and that something miraculous happened. But I believe at the end of the day, like, it comes from something that you've done or that you've put out there, that work that you've put in. You know, I don't know that you can just get lucky and have whatever you want. So you think it's pure correlation between your deeds? Not between your deeds, but like your discipline. And that people who don't have that can't be lucky? Now wait a minute, are you setting me up? But a lot of people who don't deserve things have them. And you think that might be just they was lucky today? They got lucky, yeah. There's a lot of miserable schmucks out there with great things. That just pissed me off. I personally have seen so many people who've like failed upwards, people who have like no discernible talent who keep getting opportunities. What do you guys think that's about? What's that about? It's about the maelstrom of the universe. That is really crazy to me. Maybe this is like naive of me, but it seems like these rich people who were like, had outsized wealth. It seems like they used to like to have their names on things that were like public, able to be used by the public. You know what I mean? Yeah. Parks, observatories, libraries, museums, you know, things like that. And now it's like, people don't do that stuff anymore. They do, but it's like the Sackler family or whatever, but they also gave us like Oxycontin to get the money to do it. So it's like, I don't know. This is a good trade. It's like a lot of us like open to like a diner in LA, but like you still got to pay to eat there. Like it's not free. He's still charging people for smash burgers. Oh, there's a Tesla diner in LA. Like that should be free. Make that ---- money. You don't need burger money when you're the richest guy on earth. What is that? Free burger? Mark Wahlberg gave us Wahlburgers. Exactly. Mark Wahlberg. I'm sick of these billionaires charging us for burgers. Yo, get your little ass up. You can't be sleeping in no Denny's, man. I'm sorry. And outlets are off. You ain't getting no juice to your phone. Because he's... Why Denny's? Denny's? Why Denny's? I'm trying to... Denny's said yes. Because Denny's said yes. That Denny's is a particularly bleak Denny's. Because it's right across from the prison in downtown Los Angeles. Denny's can sometimes be a refuge. Let me tell you. When me and my family moved to California, we couldn't afford much of anything. Whenever something good happened. Audition, you know, we were able to stay where we were living. We would go to Denny's. We would get the meat lover's breakfast. Cream and broccoli cheddar soup. Yeah. And it was my straws. This is what I'm talking about. No one can say meat lover's breakfast in a funnier way. You know? There's no funnier way to say cream and broccoli. No, man. It's like... Denny's, I will always have a place in my heart. My family, we love that. As you're asking this, I did remember, I did talk to people that said they would go to Denny's because there was free Wi-Fi. And that they were cool and they would let people hang out there if they needed to. And when we were scouting and we saw that particular Denny's, the idea of Keanu being on top of that Denny's, and visually that Denny's was cool for the scene with me and Keanu, which is a big scene in the movie. I love a Denny's. I love Denny's. Denny's is... Denny's can be a safe place. It was always Denny's. It is, for sure. They give you free stuff on your birthdays. My dad knew all the places you got free ---- on your birthday when I was a kid. So there was Denny's, Baskin Robbins. There's a place Red Robin would give you. Red Robin. Wait, Denny's for breakfast? Yeah, exactly. Ice cream and then some Red Robin. You're eating free on your birthday. Birthday Denny's. We birthday Denny's. So yeah, if we were at Denny's, it was somebody's birthday. And that Denny's guy, he knows that Denny's looks good on camera. He knows. He's like, I got a cinematic Denny's. He knows he's got a cinematic Denny's. I know I have a cinematic Denny's. Yeah, you go to make a deal and they're like, how about this much? He's like, you know this is a cinematic Denny's. You know this is a cinematic Denny's. I know, you've seen the composition of my Denny's. You've seen this is a cinematic Denny's. You put a 50 in the back corner of the parking lot and shoot that way in the sunset. You got a good shot on this one. Could you fly? My wings are too small. It's not the size of the wing. Actually, it is. Oh, that's too bad. Before we met, I did a Keanu film festival, which is the greatest thing because you just watch all these awesome movies. Parenthood and Bill and Ted, The Matrix. Bill and Ted was a big one. You remember me from Parenthood? Of course I do. Really? Yeah, Parenthood was really a huge impact. And yeah, and that role. It's a perfect movie. You were so funny. And it was such a cool role. Like you were, you were cool. And is that, that's when Joaquin Phoenix had a different name? Yeah, it was Leaf. Oh yeah. Leaf Phoenix. I watched. Oh, I remember. This is a funny story. I watched Parenthood and there's this kid in the beginning and he has a scene where he's calling his dad on the phone. And he's so good. And he's just, it's a one-sided phone call. He's calling his dad to go visit and then the dad basically said, yeah, I don't want to hang out basically. He's like, oh, okay. Well, all right. Okay. And he hangs up and then the person in the scene is like, what did he say? And he's like, he said he wanted to just do it another time. And he runs off. And I was like, who the **** is this kid? And I look at the credits. It's Leaf Phoenix. I was like, Leaf Phoenix? What happened to Leaf? Where's Leaf? He's like, I've discovered the lost Phoenix boy. There's another Phoenix. I'm going to hire this other Phoenix. There's another Phoenix just floating around. No one's using this guy. I'm going to bring him back. He's telling me to get back in the saddle. Phoenix. And it was Joaquin. It's Joaquin Phoenix. That family can act. And guess what? Everyone knows he can act. Yes. That family can act. But it's incredible that even in that little phone call, not fully realizing it was Joaquin, I was like, whoa, who the **** is this? Yeah. I mean, do you remember? Did you guys interact much? Yeah. Nice. I mean, you had a lot of stuff together. He was the kid that's slapping the salami, right? Yeah, slapping the salami. Yeah, special talent. I always wanted to ask you, I mean, when you was doing The Matrix, did you think it was going to do what it did? I mean, how could you? No idea. There were some test screenings beforehand that didn't go so well. Oh, God. Really? Having that going into the next step of the release really set up like, we don't know how this is going to go. Wow. But you know, as filmmakers, I mean, just starting from an assembly, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You chisel, you film, you go through a process. And that film went through that process. And so we didn't know. Was there a moment where you're like surrounded by like 300 cameras and like you're being asked to flail around on the green screen? Yeah. Were you like, this is stupid? Or were you like, no. No, I mean. You were like, this is cool. Yeah, yeah. I mean, when I first, when I met the directors at first, you know, they had these folios of concepts of what they were doing. And then they had an early version of bullet time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, it was like a bullet through. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He did a little bit of it. I got chills. I've seen it. No, because it's cool. No, you're there, right? And you're doing something that's never been done. You've got the wire on the harness in the back. You've been doing training. And it's so fast, the movement. And you know, like the bullet's going to come this way. And you've got to move in real time. And you're like. And it's hard not to move slow. You can't move slow. You've got to go. And so you work out the choreography. You're like, OK, what would look cool? Like the bullet's coming. I'm like, well, what if I throw this arm? And you want to get just so your back is perfectly lateral to the ground. And you have to do it all when the cameras go. Oh, my God. So you got to just like, and action. And that's it. Keep on it, man. And then you watch it and you're like, ****, yeah. Yeah. That was the coolest. That was crazy. And then so that to me became like a popcorn moment. When I saw This Is The End. Oh. I love that movie. Thank you. It's a good movie. Hey, I died in that movie. That's who dies, it's Harold. I love that movie. Kevin Hart kicks you into a hole. That's the one that Rihanna slaps the ---- out of. Michael. Rihanna slaps Michael Cera. That day was so crazy. That was everybody. I mean, I can't like now like knowing a little bit more of just the logistical nightmares of movie stuff. Like, it's crazy that all those people were there that day. In New Orleans, too. Because we cheered in LA. We flew everyone in New Orleans. It was. New Orleans is a fun place to do stuff like that. It was fun. So that was like sort of part of the allure, I think, is that people knew they would have a good time. But yeah, there were some days on set where I would look around. I'm like, there's like 25 famous people on set right now. And they were all actually there. And like, yeah. On the same day. It wasn't like you cheated in New Orleans. Everyone was actually there. And it was really fun. And I have like some photos from like inside like the tent where everyone was hanging out. And it was like the most random, weird group of people in the entire world. And it's like you and Paul Rudd and Rihanna and Jason Segel and Kevin Hart. I love Paul Rudd. It was like everyone was hanging out. And yeah, it was it was really fun. It was really fun to make. I remember when Matrix Reloaded came out. First off, I was like so ******* excited to see the sequel to this movie. I remember I walked into the wrong screen. And it was at the end of that where you come in, swoop in, grab Laurence Fishburne and the thing explodes. And like everyone is with. And I was like, holy ----, like this is going to be amazing. And I remember being at the premiere of Pineapple Express and just, you know, just having a blast. And Apple Express told me, go ahead. Smoke a little weed. But I think we all love the theatrical experience. And I think especially with comedy, like I think like laugh together. Yeah. To like see a comedy in the theater is it's so much better than seeing one alone. And I think it is like people don't realize how much I think they're missing when you don't see a comedy. And I don't think they've had many opportunities to even do it. So like, I'm glad we got to make this movie and I'm glad that we're putting it in theaters. And there's something of being around other people. It's kind of what makes it a movie. Yeah. Going to the movies. It was always theatrical. I never envisioned it not being in a theater. And you thought about that when you shot it, just the cinematography. Yeah. To make it feel big and feel like, hey, you know. I acted for the theater. I was not streaming acting. I didn't do streaming acting. Which is a choice. It is a choice. My name is Gabriel. I'm an angel. I'm here to save you. What? Who the **** are you? Who would you imagine your guardian angel would be? Whoa. Who do you want to be your guardian angel? Oh my gosh. I don't know, like Mel Brooks. I kind of picture Mel Brooks as being like... Oh my gosh. That would be epic. Just seems about... Just seems right. And mine is 100% Whitney Houston. Yes. Wow. Now you know she's up there getting everybody like... Kiki hasn't smiled at all this week. That is... Oh my gosh, Whitney. Impossible. She's making it possible for me down here. Yes! I want mine to be Kiki. I just want Kiki around all the time. I'm always so happy when I get to be around Kiki. Oh my gosh. We have a fun time. Whatever. Like sometimes you'd be on set. It's just a hard day. Something's going wrong. And then Kiki shows up immediately. Energy boosted. Like my spirits are lifted. You got a special joy out of telling Kiki to say these. There was like a real... I could see like... There were moments I was like, is he really likes hearing Kiki say these funny lines? Kiki's the funnest person to write for because anything you write she's just going to make it funny. It makes the job so easy. So I'm your guardian angel. Yes. Who's yours, Keanu? I don't know. The thing that's popping into my head is some kind of Hawaiian part of my ancestry. Oh yeah. Oh, I love the ancestry. Ohana. Something, you know? Means family, right? Ohana. I got that from Lilo and Stitch. Am I right? Ohana means family. That's what he say, right? Yeah. I had never seen any of these kids' movies. Lilo and Stitch is iconic. You're talking about Secret Life of Pets as well. Oh my gosh. I don't know any of this stuff. Secret Life of Pets is so good. Now let me tell you the other one that's good. Boss Baby. Oh! Boss Baby, yeah. That had my son walking around like he was the boss, baby. I was like, sit your little ass down. Boss Baby got nominated for Academy Award. Sit your little ass down. It got nominated for Academy Award? Best animated feature, yep. It was that good. It really was. Thank you. Guys. That was so lovely. That was so great.