Animal Instincts with Nathan Fielder & Alexa Demie

Topics covered include: Jane Goodall as Isaiah’s lifelong Patron Saint, a very cheap edition of Tarzan of the Apes that changed a young Jane’s entire world, supportive mothers,The Legend of Ochi as a critique of anthropocentrism, Jane’s first experience watching one of the famed Gombe chimps David Greybeard use a tool for the first time, stewardship versus dominion, controversy around Jane’s first National Geographic cover, using empathy in the scientific method, the importance of anecdotes, inventing a fictional primate for the Ochi, filmmaking’s parallels to science, the possibilities of nonverbal communication between man and animal, a quest to understand if adult male chimps like rock and roll music, the size of a dog’s heart knowing no bounds, Jane experiencing the effects of USAID defunding, a shared determination to heal the world by reaching hearts and enacting change, and the aquatic ape hypothesis. 

Topics covered include: Charles connecting with his dad through his role in Warfare, total immersion, knowing your castmates' meal requests by heart (Noah Centineo: 3 burger patties), sage advice from Alex Garland to “never say yes to anything before you read it,” pinch me moments, impersonating Will's American accent, Charles working with fellow Garland alum Cailee Spaeny on the newest season of Beef, feeling out of continuity with your own life, playing many rounds of Mafia after hours, wild peacocks, Will having an absolute blast with Jenna and Richard E. Grant on set of Death of a Unicorn, Michael Gandolfini as the worlds best storyteller, and Warfare as the most transformative and meaningful experience of their lives.

Topics covered include: Halina learning about ASMR, Pedro’s obsession with travel and sleep schedules, watching The Social Network for the 600th time, anticipating your fears, a discomfort with nesting, Pedro feeling torn open after seeing Babygirl, doorways to vulnerability, refusing to be a moralist, real intimacy as the most frightening thing, traumatic early viewings of Watership Down, wanting to be a miracle child, Pedro lying about starring in Twin Peaks as a kid, unconventional artist parents, playing all of the greatest characters of theatre history around the world simultaneously while writing a movie being a total control freak Scorpio, and Halina’s exes calling her to ask how Pedro dances that well. 

Topics covered include: The strength and fragility of László Toth, chunky old tape recorders, Adrien’s Hungarian grandfather, heavy accents, giant dictionaries, descending from immigrants, the photography of André Kertész, 3-4 hours of prosthetics for Queer, the transformative experience of making The Darjeeling Limited, emotional truths paired with broad f*cking comedy, walking all over India barefoot, digital and analog instruments, loving gear too much, and Jason telling his 10 year-old she can’t come to The Brutalist because she could barely get through Wild Robot.

Topics covered include: Spotting a five month old baby at a screening of Heretic, hitting a wall of cries when filming horror, being film bros, craving lightness, jinxing projects, being a superstitious child, watching a DVD of Bergman's Seventh Seal at age 11, Sophie's (still active) shoegaze Tumblr, having a twin with superior taste, meeting your idols, going to “the evil place” aka Silver Lake Erewhon, Lizzie Grant era Lana, Chloe's dream double feature of Heretic and First Reformed, Mormon pretzel jello salad, and a shared devotion to Taco Bell.

Topics covered include: Harris’s longing to be 40, finding security in insecurity, eternal things, having an allergic response to fame, unsolicited wisdom from Tom Cruise, giving bite-sized chunks of yourself, murky waters, I Heart Huckabees healing a broken heart, wounded bits, embracing scary material, matching Florence’s courage in We Live in Time, soothing the nervous system, avoiding cliché, interrogating performance and desire in Babygirl, Andrew’s memories of shooting the iconic laptop smashing scene in The Social Network with Fincher, Ben Affleck’s actor’s commentary on Armageddon, having trust problems with directors, breaking bones skating and surfing, playing with Tech Decks at home, Harris’s childhood sketch comedy YouTube show, being a chubby boi, basketball as poetry, and Andrew honoring his own grief through We Live in Time.

Topics covered include: Sebastian’s early childhood in Romania, being a reformed introvert, obstacles as a good thing, past lives as Law & Order day players, a certain tenderness that runs thru Sing Sing, the risk and reward in playing real people, Colman being “knocked out by” A Different Man, motherly advice to “get some moisturizer,” living like a monk while filming, 9pm bedtimes, the pains of early 2000s pilot season, a shared stint at an NYC catering company, and dreams of DJ-ing.

Topics covered include: The script as a spell to perform, sneaking around your parents house, career ending movie ideas, the inaugural podcast compliment break, work and savoring as the only true constants, riding the Spook-A-Rama under the influence at Coney Island, the G word, so many boring people, finding equilibrium after a film, Jane’s favorite now defunct Epcot ride that featured Bill Nye and Ellen Degeneres, listening to Elliott Smith on set of I Saw the TV Glow, being a Weird Little Creature, Brig’s advice on how to always prioritize play, becoming a punk singer, and taking time to heal.

Topics covered include: Wrinkly passports, being unable to operate any form of transportation, the Kim’s Video of 90s El Salvador, changelings, teenage obsessions with Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, scholarships for congeniality, night terrors, Julio’s short stint handing out chocolate samples at Fairway supermarkets, never-aired SNL sketches, the true joy of filming Problemista, gravitating towards green, favorite childhood toys, and questioning whether chaos is essential for good art.

Topics covered include: seeing your first movie at the neighborhood theater, the pressures of live performance, the animal that is the audience, parallels between directing and motherhood, abandoning the miracle, autobiographical filmmaking, feeling like broccoli, the Pacific Ocean as the villain in Past Lives, Harry Styles fan-fiction, writing on planes, revisiting The Artist’s Way, avoiding the sophomore slump, Francis Ford Coppola’s directing advice, a shared love of Barry Lyndon and Miyazaki, taking the audience to Mars, and what genre they would like to explore next (sci-fi, westerns, horror!)