When you need meal time inspiration, it's worth shopping Kroger for thousands of appetizing ingredients that inspire countless mouth-watering meals. And no matter what tasty choice you make, you'll enjoy our everyday low prices, plus extra ways to save, like digital coupons worth over $600 each week and up to $1 off per gallon at the pump with points, so you can get big flavors and big savings, Kroger, fresh for everyone, fuel restrictions apply. Hello, and welcome to the Movie Podcast. My name is Daniel. I'm one of your hosts today, and joining alongside me today is my old ass Shabbat. Hello, Shabbat. Wow. Hold on. One second here. One second here. Where's my lawyer? I didn't agree to this. It's interesting. Again, I think when we talk about names of films throughout history, I'm going to go out and say that my old ass is one of the best. Oh, absolutely. One of the best names for a movie ever, and I think it's immediately recognizable and immediately asks, makes you ask the question, what is this all about? I need to know more. Yeah, it's a conversation starter, right? It really is. Yeah. It's a podcast today, we're wasting no time. We are so delighted to be joined by writer and director Meghan Park and star of My Old Ass, Macy Stella to talk all about the film. Yeah. Now, if you didn't know what this film was about, do you know what this film is about? I do. I do. I definitely do. You watch that. You watched it into the interview. There you go. Yeah. So. By default, I know what this movie is about. You do. Imagine you went into the forest and you went on some type of vision quest and you had the opportunity to talk to yourself from 20 years in the future. Jeez. Or 20 years in the past. Oh. That's... You know, there's something from both sides. I know what they're doing with 20 years in the past, though. Well, I think that's the premise, right? Like, do you go back and tell yourself, like, certain things like to look out for? Would you stop yourself? I guess that's where I'm leading to in the longest way possible. No. I think every decision you make leads you to where you are today, and that's fine. What about... Would you want to talk to yourself 20 years in the future? Yeah, yeah. Why not? Like, cool. That'd be cool. But would your future self want to spoil anything of what's coming to you? But that also would mean that every decision I make, that led me to that decision, you know? Like... Now my brain hurts. My brain hurts. It all just works. It all just works. But yeah, it's one of those premises that it's such a unique premise to a film. Yeah. And in such a grounded and just really beautiful way, I think my old ass is one of those movies that stays with you. It's like, like, we got to tell Megan and Macy that this was like a movie that people would have in their dorm room as a poster. Yes. And has that end of summer vibe that so many movies that we grew up watching and loving have. Yeah. And it's really cool to see that in a movie like this. Yes. Yes. It's... And I will say, if you haven't seen the film yet, bring tissues. Yeah. And it's an unexpected tearjerker in the best way possible. It really is. And remind me, Shay, you threw out some great references in our interviews as well, too. So how would you, you know, give the vibe of this movie to our listeners, to our watchers right now? They gave me, like, the same kind of tears that my girl did. Yeah. It gave me the same kind of joy that Kings of Summer did. Yeah. So I think if you were to marry those two films together, you kind of get my old ass. Yeah. It sounds like an insult now. You put them together. Yeah. And it's my old ass. My old ass. My old ass. I want to say a huge thank you to our friends at Warner Brothers Pictures Canada for making this interview happen. It was great to talk to Megan and Macy in person in Toronto. My old ass is now playing in select theaters in Toronto and is playing everywhere September 27th. You owe yourself a favor. Go and watch this. And of course, we're the movie podcasts. You could follow us on all podcast platforms, on all social media platforms, on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Letterbox, wherever you are, the movie podcast is there. Make sure you're following us so you can see all of the cool stuff that we are up to. We have lots of reviews, lots of interviews, and lots of discussions coming your way and you do not want to miss it. Even though episodes of our show may end, don't you worry. You could still join our discord and keep the conversation going there. And if you want to see our lovely faces, head over to youtube.com/themoviepodcast. It's Shabazz. Without further ado, let's talk more about my old ass. Please welcome director Megan Park and star, Macy Stella, to the movie podcast. Macy, thank you both so much for sharing your time with us on the movie podcast today. Hey, hey, we're sharing a mic, so we could get weird. It's gonna be a weird, but I mean, like, already, we're off to a good start, I think. It's a good vibes. Congratulations on the movie first and foremost. And we loved it, and I think it's one of those films that like, it's perfect for the ending of summer, but also feels like one of those movies that like, people are going to have as a poster in their dorm rooms, like, it feels like that type of movie, right? Oh my god, that was my favorite thing I maybe heard anyone say about that, a poster in their dorm room. That is so sweet. People still do that nowadays, right? People still put potions. Yeah. Right? I think so. I mean, neither of us want to call it. I know. I'm like, well, I visit my friends at college all the time. There we go. Yeah. Because it has like that. That my girl kind of vibe to it. Hello. And like, I feel like we're saying all the right. We are. We should just end the interview right here. Yeah. My girl was like one of Megan's main inspirations for this movie. We love that. 100%. I was like, be big. That's great. And then we also got like Kings of Summer vibes as well. Wait. Is this another one? Were we in the room with you while you were writing this? Maybe. There's one hangout. Yeah. I think this is kind of what it's starting like right now. Don't leave ever. This is insane. Yeah. I love that movie. Yeah. Fantastic film. I love so much about this movie as well as the name of it. And like I don't know, you know, it makes you feel yourself when you're telling people like, how much fun is it to say like, oh, I'm in my own ass? I think it's it's actually I think like there was a while where like there was two years where I filmed this movie, but like had no proof of it and like no one knew what it was. No one knew if it was real or not, or if I was just like literally like, because I'd seen no footage, I'd seen nothing about it. It was so long until it really came and became a real thing. And so telling people for two years that I did a movie called My Old Ass, it was actually like slightly embarrassing just because it doesn't sound legit. I think for me, literally, I thought it was quite the owner that I named Elliot's character after Elliot LeBran, after the OB/GYN who delivered my daughter, and I was like, wow, she literally brought the greatest gift to my whole life into the world. But then I realized how far I'd taken the joke of the title when I was in her office and I was telling her I named this character after you and she was like, so moved. And she's like, and what's the movie called? And I was like, I was like, okay, hear me out. Yeah, hear me out, hear me out. It's called My Old Ass, but it is and then she was like, is my character like a bad guy? But yeah, I don't know. I was like, ah, I took this joke too far. So that's really good. Yeah. So those of you got hustled all the way through it pretty much like, yeah, like I'm in this movie, it's like, are you really in a movie called that? Yeah, but I am. I really am in the movie called that. I'm a real movie. I think so too, yeah. Very good. I know you were on the soundtrack for the Fallout. Yeah. So I'm just curious, how did you get on each other's radar? How did you come to work together on this? I'm just curious how you go from music side to now, this working movie together. Thanks. Okay, okay, okay. I auditioned for Fallout. I read the Fallout script and it was literally, I was like 17. It was like my actual favorite thing I had read in so long, like I was so moved by it. And then I did a call with Megan and I'm literally 17 so my mom was in the room like while we're on this call and it ended up just being really long and I literally just like fell in love with Megan and I was so inspired by her and I literally got off and started crying to my mom. It's like, she's everything I've ever wanted to me in life. Like, I just was immediately really taken with her and like just was so eager to work with Megan. And then I literally started manifesting in my journal. I have actual like dated pages being like, I'm in Megan's next movie, like I work with Megan Park, like full manifesting. And then yeah, we kind of stayed in touch through that and just bounced things off of each other. But yeah, I was very, because I hadn't worked in like four years, I think to me it was like I knew that Megan was like the right person. Like I was just like, oh, so safe and so yeah, that's kind of how we met. Hit it. No, tell my side. No, it was, I mean, it was, when Maisie read for the fallout, her tape was so good and I was so sad because there just wasn't a role that was right for her. And it was like, oh, because when you find an actor that's special, it was like so hard for me to like, not just write a whole new role to put her in the fallout truthfully because I just, but I knew at some point there would be a role. And then we never met during the whole music side of it because it was during COVID and so those all remote, but we met in person at Maddie Ziggler's house very briefly and because I was in town or something. And we'd finally met in person and she was wearing the weirdest hat ever. It was like this knitted hat with like antenna on it. Am I making this up? It was like a blue striped hat with like two ears that stick up straight like this. It was weird. But there was something about her that was just so cool and grounded, but so heart forward and like sweet and kind and just like, it was just such a unique energy and I hadn't seen a character like that before, like this teenage girl who's kind of selfish and like kind of like a little bit of a shithead at the beginning, but ultimately is like leading with so much love and openness and I love the idea of a character like that. And so she was sort of this muse in the back of my head as I was writing it, but at the same time, I didn't really know if this was any truth's true to your life. And then once you got cast, there was also so many other similarities to the character, but she was always sort of in the back of my mind. Love that. And I mean, where weird hats and you know, maybe great things will come of it too. Yeah, it's funny. I remember wearing that too being like, this is gonna, this is like, remember wearing my outfit. I literally like, no, I'm kidding. I didn't fully do that, but I definitely, that was a cool hat. I missed that. I lost that hat. I know I miss it. Oh, yeah. That would have been, yeah. That would have been a really cool thing in it. Yeah. And the music that Daniel was talking about, like even like right when we heard like Nelly Furtado right in the beginning, I remember just locking into my chair at that point being like, I'm in. I texted Daniel on the day on the movie is starting with Nelly. So we're good. We're in good hands right now. The soundtrack is so good. So good. And it's all Canadian. Yeah. Fully Canadian. I love that. And it's like a mix. Like we tried to find a mix of like, that was such a song from when I was that age. And then also like new artists. She introduced me to Andy Shaw. I didn't know who's now in the movie. And so it was like a mix of really the old ass and young asses playlist. That's a sequel right there. Yeah. When you need meal time inspiration, it's worth shopping Kroger for thousands of appetizing ingredients that inspire countless mouthwatering meals. And no matter what tasty choice you make, you'll enjoy our everyday low prices plus extra ways to save like digital coupons worth over $600 each week and up to $1 off per gallon at the pump with points so you can get big flavors and big savings Kroger fresh for everyone in a few restrictions apply. I was sad, honestly thinking about the idea that there was a time that my whole family had slept under the same roof for the last time and I was like, well, if I'd known it was the last time what I've appreciated it would have ruined it for me. So it's really that feeling of nostalgia was sort of the idea. And then it was like, well, how can I have this conversation? How can I talk about these things I want to talk about? And the idea of an older and younger version just seemed so fun to me. And the mushrooms honestly came later because it was like, this is an insane idea. This is like as insane as like a body swap or Mrs. Doubtfire, this total leap of faith, but the mushrooms actually felt like the most grounded way in a weird way into this idea that you can kind of be like, did that happen, did not happen? So it was like the most grounded buy-in to literally time travel. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, because you buy it right away. You're like, okay, this is a trip. It also feels super real and yeah, just I didn't want to cry that much while watching this movie, but unfortunately I did. Oh my God, we got you? Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. My wife looked over and she's like, you okay? And I'm like, no, just good. Just allergies. Cats in the room I think. Yeah. So I'm curious. Like so when did Aubrey Plaza enter the picture, like when, what was that first conversation with her? Like listen, I have this idea and you're going to talk to your younger self. Yeah, it kind of, it didn't really go that way actually, you know, usually when you're making me be like this, producers would tell you like, here's the movie star that you have to cast around and this is who's playing older Elliot and we had great producers and financiers who really believed in finding the right Elliot, whether that was somebody who was really well known or not because she's an every frame of the movie. The movie lives or dies by her performance and Maisie was just so the right person and the movie does really live and is so amazing because of her performance. And so we were able to kind of curate every other single actor around Maisie, but it was tricky because with the older Elliot, I got so hung up on who looked the most like Maisie and truly came down. I was like, who's blonde? I just, you know, I really was like pretty all these side by side. And then at a certain point, we were two weeks into filming. We still didn't have our older Elliot and it was like, okay, there was a moment where all the producers, we all like, you know, talked in the trailer and it was like, it's game time. And Aubrey's name came up in conversation and I'm a huge fan. I knew that Maisie was a huge fan. And there was something about her energy that I was like, oh, yeah, when that camera pans over on the log, I want to see Aubrey. I want to hear Aubrey be like, what's up, bitch? Like it just made sense in my head and after getting to know Maisie, I felt like they would vibe and the vibe was way more important to me than them looking like. I was like, cool match. Yeah. I was like, I'll write some jokes about how they don't look alike and who cares. We're already literally buying into time travel and yeah, it's already in. It's insane buy in. So this is just one more layer of it. And it was the best decision because the title became funnier. All the stuff about like that she's think she's so old, she's not even 40, it all just made sense to me. 100%. The second Aubrey was attached to everything, like literally everything fell into place. And we were it because what I was saying earlier is like, so many of the people that we were talking about to play older Elliot, like for some reason, just like changed the tone of the movie or like made it much more serious or made it too funny. Like, it had to be someone that can do both, but also that it's like just the right tone because it is such a specific, like I don't know your writing has it, it's so Aubrey. Like it fits Aubrey and she just like suits it the second she was attached, it just like made sense. Also, she's so cool and you're so cool that there was just like this you are and there was like a factor of really, she's like, we're the coolest people I know. And then I cast them. But the first conversation with Aubrey was funny because I was out on a jet ski and the producer had like called me a hundred times, I missed my phone, I got back to the dog and I was literally out for a rip and they were like, Aubrey just read the script, we only send it to her and she read it and liked it and wanted to FaceTime. And so it was like a Saturday and I ran up to my bunkie and my life jacket and we just FaceTime to talk for like about an hour and just totally vibed and she just was and then I got off the FaceTime and I was like, I don't know whether she's going to want to do it or not. I was still wearing your life jacket. And then she was like, I'm in. That's how you get, Aubrey, that's fantastic. I love so much about like the theme of this film is letting life happen and also managing expectations in a sense where like, I know when I was going to university, I'm like, you know, I have everything figured out. This is what my life is going to be. And then you go and things are not that at all. So I just love to know for both of you at this stages in both of your careers, well, what does managing expectations look like for yourselves? Wow. Good question. Really, really good question. You go first. It's interesting. I feel like when I made this movie, everyone was like, Ooh, are you having sophomore album anxiety? Because it's like your second movie and you really have to prove yourself. But the whole time I made the fall out, it was all during the pandemic. It was all very removed for me. Like I never had to sit in an audience and watch the movie and like feel that reaction. And so maybe I had a bit of a naive confidence going into this one with the same. And then when I sat down in the Sundance audience, I was like, Oh my God, there's like, people are actually going to see this movie. This is so scary. So I think I'm feeling a little bit of that pressure seeping in for my next movie, which I already have. I'm working on, and already like, Oh my gosh, I'm feeling the sophomore album thing this time around. And so really it's about me escaping again into like forgetting that anyone cares about me or what I'm going to do next and just really disappearing into it because I think that's essential for me. And it's also one of the reasons I have a hard time being in LA. I think too much and I'm writing because it's so industry centered and I have to just like disappear into the woods and figure out my shit through writing. I mean, I feel similar to be I live in Nashville, which feels very helpful to like not getting swept up and things. It's like no one cares when you're not like you're not you can't like I couldn't have been like a child actor could child start like no one cares there. So I'd be like, I don't know, it's very grounding. But I think managing expectations is is so huge. I mean, when I filmed this, you know, I was attached like so early on and like the project just kept getting bigger and better and like Aubrey's attachment. I was like, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, like what is happening. And then, you know, getting into Sundance, like these are all things that kind of it was just kept growing. But my expectation was always just being a part of it. Like that was really my fulfillment was like getting to touch the script. It was literally that. So I think, I mean, my expectations have been unbelievably exceeded, but yeah, it is important to to manage expectations though. Yeah, love that. That's very vulnerable. Thank you for that. I mean, you're not too far from from Elliot's age. How did you kind of connect with her and what did you really want to bring to this character? You know, I had been working from the time I was eight to 14, and then I had 14 to 18, and I just went back to school. I went to art school in Nashville, and I just did all the things that I had really wanted to do like all the years that I was working and just like lived and was young and stupid and did really dumb shit and also just like learned and grew a lot. I feel like in those years when you're working as a kid, you do forget to grow a little bit sometimes because you're not like actively like thinking that much. We've talked about this so much. I'm like, I feel like when I was a kid, I like, I don't remember what I was thinking. So I feel like those four years was really my prep of Elliot, of finding Elliot before I even knew, but yeah, I don't know. I think find Elliot was written to be so beautifully and was so much on the paper that I think I just, I took a lot of my real life experiences of just being like a normal kid. That was, I had just had my last summer at home before a big life change, and I don't know. I think I tried to just bring any type of like grounded or like depth to Elliot while still maintaining bright. I loved like that there was the lead character that wasn't super like edgy or like, yeah, I feel like brooding, like that's always my, what I watch like coming to major movies, it's usually that is the lead, but yeah, felt, she felt different. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you both so much again Megan Macy. This movie is so funny, it's phenomenal and I really cannot wait for people to watch it because it is that it evokes that memory in the 90s and honestly like just growing up. So yeah, I loved it. Thank you. Thank you both so much. Thanks to you guys. Thank you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. [Music] (upbeat music) (guitar music)
