Legendary actor, John Travolta, talks about EVERYTHING! Pulp Fiction, BlowOut, Face/Off, Hairspray, Saturday Night Fever, and most importantly, Grease.
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00:01Please welcome the one and only Mr. John Travolta to our studio.
00:07Good morning John.
00:09Good morning, how are you?
00:10I'm doing wonderful, nice to see you.
00:11You sound good.
00:13I feel good.
00:14I feel very good.
00:15You know what?
00:16As I was introducing you, and I said welcome to Philadelphia, you shot a film here in Philadelphia.
00:20I did.
00:21I shot Blowout.
00:22Yeah.
00:23Which is Brian De Palma, a great movie.
00:25Yeah, thank you.
00:26I agree.
00:27So this movie, we want to talk about The Fanatic, which is, I actually, when we started watching
00:32it, I wanted to go into a cold and it's a big departure for the kind of roles that you play.
00:39It's a horror, suspense, but it also takes a peek inside the world of TMZ and fandom and
00:47fandom run Fanatical, and your character is very unique.
00:52And from what I understand, the character was written with you in mind, is that correct?
00:56Yeah, it was.
00:57Fred Durst from The Limp Bizkit.
00:58Yeah.
00:59He wrote it and he directed it.
01:02And I will say that he is quite inspired as a director and as an actor even.
01:07Right.
01:08And he helped quite a bit.
01:09He would improvise with me prior to the takes and he designed this character and I understood
01:15it.
01:16Because I am a fan.
01:17I'm a fan as much as we all are.
01:19And I think if you don't understand that, whether it's sports or whether it's the arts
01:25or icons or, you know, whomever you admire, you can't do this kind of role.
01:30It's funny because, John, because I collect things.
01:33I have movie, I'm a massive movie fan.
01:35I'm a huge fan of yours as well.
01:37And there's something that, and your character exemplifies in the movies, just to be able
01:44to get the tactile sensation of touching something that a celebrity or, you know, there's this
01:49bizarre thing.
01:50I remember, it's hot as I was watching the movie, I was thinking the story that Gene
01:54Siskel of Siskel and Ebert, it was very important for him to own the white suit that you wore
01:58on Saturday night.
01:59That's correct.
02:00And he owned that.
02:01It was like a holy grail for him.
02:03Yes, and then Jane Fonda bought it.
02:05Right.
02:06And yeah, you're completely correct, you know.
02:09But this particular guy, this character I play, he's a man-child.
02:14Yeah.
02:15He is maybe a little bit on the spectrum, which explains his irrational behavior.
02:19However, that being said, he's picked on and bullied at work, and everyone bullies him,
02:26but he's so used to it that he handles it.
02:28But when his favorite person in the world bullies him, this movie star, he doesn't know
02:33how to handle it.
02:34He gets confused.
02:35And when he gets confused, he does really odd things.
02:39And you'll see in the film that he goes over the line, but so does the movie star.
02:44Yeah.
02:45The movie star goes over the line equally as well, you know, by torture.
02:48And his inability to pick up on social cues, it just takes it down a path where it's like,
02:53oh no.
02:54And I gotta tell you, John, the entire time while watching this movie, I don't think there
02:58was a moment where something on my body wasn't clenched.
03:01Yeah.
03:02Whether it was my hands or my mouth or even my butt cheeks.
03:06I mean, I was just like, it was tense.
03:08Well, cause it's...
03:09The whole thing, you know?
03:10Nothing times up.
03:11Yeah.
03:12The point when you finally get to have this moment with the Hunter Dunbars, his name is
03:15the character.
03:16He has a bad experience.
03:17And you just happen to come upon him at that time.
03:20And everything, it never syncs up right.
03:22So that starts...
03:23That's correct.
03:24It's also a movie about bad timing.
03:25Yeah.
03:26And then some.
03:27Because if he had just been in the right mood and had his autograph, he would have been over.
03:31Yeah.
03:32Of course, then we wouldn't have had a movie.
03:33Yes.
03:34What I thought was brilliant was that you are...
03:36I loved that your character before all that started to happen.
03:40So you almost...
03:41I almost felt bad.
03:42And I was like, well, it's not that bad that he's doing some of these things, you know?
03:46But then it progresses into the movie.
03:48But you really made me love that character before you found out the other stuff.
03:51Yeah.
03:52Thanks.
03:53I wanted him to be loved because I feel like everyone is a little bit of the character Moose.
03:59We all have a little Moose in us.
04:01It's just how far do we take it?
04:03And if we didn't have Moose in us, how would we be, you know, ourselves to create an effect
04:11on others?
04:12Yeah.
04:13I might be in your plane later.
04:14Well, Hunter, Devin Sauer, is that the actor who's playing Hunter?
04:19Correct.
04:20Yeah.
04:21So again, nobody's all that awesome in this.
04:24Everyone's got, you know, even his friends or quote unquote friends are not that good as
04:28far as friends.
04:29Correct.
04:30And I like that because that's sort of real.
04:32But I like also the peek into the side of the people who are out on the street who make
04:36money.
04:37You know, you're dressing up as a Bobby, you know, to pick up some money.
04:41And, and there are these things going on in that world that sort of, for some reason,
04:45Hollywood, when depicted in a, in a seedier fashion always appeals to me.
04:49It's like a Raymond Chandler sort of.
04:51Well, also maybe that's a bit of the truth.
04:53Yeah.
04:54Yeah.
04:55Yeah.
04:56Yeah.
04:57It's sort of enticing to that was, that was our aspect.
05:00Yeah.
05:01I love how LA is depicted in this film.
05:04I think it's very real and, and tragic.
05:07Yeah.
05:08You know, I thought in watching the movie at first and now seeing you today, I probably
05:12know it's not the case, but I thought maybe you would cut your own hair for the role.
05:16No, it was really cool because I said, uh, when I loved the script and wanted to do it,
05:23I said to Fred Durst, what, what do we do about how he looks?
05:26I mean, what are, you know, the Hawaiian shirt was an obvious kind of choice.
05:30There's bad shorts and bad sneakers and all that.
05:32But I said, what about the hair?
05:34Yeah.
05:35And he said, well, what do you think about mullets?
05:37And I said, I don't know.
05:39And it's overdone.
05:40And he said, well, there's a, there's a lot of different kinds.
05:43Would you care to look at, so I looked on, on the internet, but a hundred different types
05:50and boom, suddenly there was this guy, this dude with the exact haircut Moose has with
05:56glasses.
05:57And I texted it to Fred and I said, I found the look.
06:00I found it.
06:01And he said, I agree.
06:02This is the right way to go.
06:04I have to tell you, I was at it.
06:05And when I saw this character of Moose, I told, I've told you guys this story.
06:09I was at a convention one time, one of these conventions.
06:12I am a real fan like this, not Moose level, but, and Adam West was there, the original
06:17Batman.
06:18Adam West.
06:19There was a guy who looks exactly like your character in this knapsack, the whole thing,
06:24the backpack with about 50 cans of Fresca in that, in that thing.
06:29And that same sort of delivery.
06:31And you, you, you work on this character with that, Mr. West, Mr. West.
06:34And he's, you know, sort of that thing.
06:36And so your, your heart sort of, you know, that this is not just a hobby.
06:40It's his life.
06:41And there is a difference.
06:42It's a professional fan that usurps signatures and sells them.
06:46Right.
06:47And then there's the guy that ain't selling nothing.
06:49Yeah.
06:50And is going to keep it.
06:51And that's Moose.
06:52Moose is not getting rid of any of his memorabilia at all.
06:55So how do you detect the difference?
06:57I don't know.
06:58Yeah.
06:59There is a difference.
07:00And, and you're, you're known to be fan friendly.
07:02When, when you, when the opportunity is right and that person does approach you.
07:05Respectfully.
07:06Yeah.
07:07Respectfully.
07:08Do you, you know what you're giving them?
07:09I would think, you know, this is a very special moment for them.
07:12Absolutely.
07:13And I grew up being a fan.
07:14Right.
07:15So I understood.
07:16Right.
07:17Movie star who will remain nameless, but, um, he kind of, you know, just discarded
07:22my, my, this before I was famous and I decided that if I, I ever became famous, I would never
07:28do that.
07:29So I live by that motto, you know, but again, how do you navigate the, the line of privacy
07:34and yeah, it is a tough line because, and again, with, with people who, who, who approach
07:39you and, and, and, you know, you know, we always think in that, listen, where I, we're
07:42on local radio, but whatever the story is, if somebody comes up, it's, you know,
07:47every time the, the edict is you, you shake hands, you say hi, you do the deal because
07:52that's an important, that's an important thing.
07:54And, and, and, you know, sometimes as what, as what's happens with Hunter, the star in
07:59this, he lets his life cloud his remembering.
08:03Cause it starts off with a quote from him.
08:05I'm nothing without my fans, but he doesn't abide by that.
08:08Well, sometimes there are good people that are bad celebrities.
08:11Yeah.
08:12Yeah.
08:13Let's face it.
08:14My cure to that always has been don't go out unless you're in the mood for it.
08:18That's good.
08:19Good rule.
08:20You know, are you in the frame of mind if you go out to dinner to be interrupted, bothered,
08:23whatever, take pictures.
08:24And if you are, go out.
08:25Yeah.
08:26If you're not, that's just part of the very small price you pay for this glorious life
08:30that we have.
08:31Well, uh, case in point in 1996, you met a nice, uh, 21 year old young man in Beverly Hills,
08:36California.
08:37I had a job at the time where I was, I was driving around cars, uh, for enterprise rental
08:41car in Beverly Hills.
08:42And I, and I saw you and my, the only thing that I could think to say was, Oh my God, that's
08:46John Travolta.
08:47And, and you, you came over and, uh, you looked me in the eye, just like you did 10 minutes
08:52ago and shook my hand and said, hi, it's very nice to meet you.
08:54And then you went about your day, but you couldn't have been more pleasant.
08:57And I've heard countless stories of how kind you are to people.
09:00And it's not hard to be nice.
09:01And I think people just lose sight of that.
09:03It's, it's really easy to just be a decent, nice person to everybody else.
09:06Let's face it.
09:07What you resist, you become the more you withdraw from it, the worse it gets.
09:10So just, you know, own it.
09:12Yeah.
09:13By the way, I want to tell you on the shaved head thing.
09:15I, I endorse it a hundred percent.
09:17You look good.
09:18There's a movie that I love of yours.
09:20I don't, a lot of people are not familiar with it.
09:22They should be.
09:23It's from Paris with love.
09:24Hell yeah.
09:25And damn, you are the baddest, bad-ass in that movie.
09:28Preston, you, this movie will rock your world.
09:31Okay.
09:32And John is amazing at it.
09:33Who's the director of that?
09:34That's a fun movie.
09:35That's the guy that did the, the, the, oh gosh, you've tested me now.
09:40Yeah.
09:41He's great.
09:42He's done a whole bunch of stuff that's similar.
09:43Fantastic.
09:44Did you enjoy making that film?
09:45I loved it.
09:46Yeah.
09:47Because they were demanding stunts and action that I've never, you know, had done before.
09:51And I had to do them myself.
09:52And I love the bad-ass character.
09:54He was just whatever.
09:55He, he was bold.
09:56Yeah.
09:57The air morale, is that new?
09:59Yes.
10:00The air morale.
10:01There you go.
10:03Well, I looked it up.
10:04You've saved me.
10:05What would you prefer?
10:06Stunts or dancing?
10:07Dancing.
10:08Dancing.
10:09Come on.
10:10Any day.
10:11Did Pitbull inspire him?
10:12Yeah, he's my buddy.
10:13He's your buddy.
10:14You're in a video of his.
10:15I love my Pitbull.
10:16He's, he's, uh, I met him three years ago just to reach out and tell him, you know,
10:18how much, as a fan.
10:19Right.
10:20And then he's such a brilliant entrepreneur.
10:22He got thinking about it and he said, hmm, maybe I should have put him in one of my videos
10:26dancing.
10:27Cause nobody's dancing very much anymore, you know?
10:29Right.
10:30He does, but.
10:31Right.
10:32Nobody else really.
10:33So I thought, well, hell, I'll join him.
10:35I think Christopher, I'm sorry to interrupt, I think Christopher Walken has danced in every
10:39single movie.
10:40Even, even if it's for just a quick shuffle, shuffle step.
10:43Yeah.
10:44I think in every single role he's ever done.
10:46He's got a Broadway history.
10:47Yeah.
10:48Yeah.
10:49Yeah.
10:50And you danced with him in, uh, in Hairspray.
10:51I certainly did.
10:52Yeah.
10:53He played my husband.
10:54That's right.
10:55I, um, so I wanted to ask you because you, you had three movies in a row that, that I
11:00really loved of yours and it started with Wild Hogs.
11:03I can't believe I loved it as much as, I mean, I was laughing out loud.
11:07It's a funny movie.
11:08It is a funny movie.
11:09It really is.
11:10It surprised me with how funny it was.
11:11I don't know if that's a backhanded compliment or whatever, but.
11:14No, it's a funny movie.
11:15And who would have thought a bunch of old guys in motorcycles would be that funny?
11:18Yeah.
11:19But your character as Edna Turnblatt in Hairspray, and I love that movie.
11:22I have songs from that movie in my iPod.
11:25Um, uh, You Can't Stop the Beat is a really, really great song.
11:28Yeah.
11:29Um, and then followed by Bolt.
11:31And, uh, speaking of, of songs.
11:33He's not kidding.
11:34I'm not kidding.
11:35I, I have, I nearly lost you that you, it was a duet that you did with Miley Cyrus.
11:39I have that on my iPod.
11:40Do you really?
11:41I do.
11:42I really, I, and I thought you sounded great in that.
11:44So this is a long diatribe, but would you prefer singing or dancing?
11:47Ah.
11:48I still prefer dancing, but I enjoy singing because I did both as a, an early professional.
11:55Yeah.
11:56In order to work in New York, you had to sing, you had to act, you had to dance.
11:59Three chances of getting employment.
12:01Yeah.
12:02So I enjoyed all of them.
12:03Yeah.
12:04But I'm most comfortable dancing and then, and then probably acting and singing.
12:08I just, uh, happened to be able to hold a pretty good tune, you know?
12:12Well, I.
12:13And I had a very high, uh, like almost a high baritone or tenor.
12:16You still do?
12:17Yes.
12:18I mean, and, and Bolt in that song.
12:19Yes.
12:20And I, I would ask anybody that, you know, has a, an iTunes account or whatever.
12:24Listen to the song if you haven't heard it before.
12:25It's, it's the song that ends.
12:27He's played it for us many times.
12:28Ah.
12:29Maybe, but it's the song that runs at the end of the movie.
12:32Yeah.
12:33Well, it just seems that my voice is like, for instance, you're the one that I want in
12:38Greece.
12:39Yeah.
12:40And Bolt's song.
12:41There's this high, you know, range that I sing in that, it has to, it's kind of different
12:46than most people.
12:47So, it's, it's kind of identifiable as my niche or something as a singer.
12:53I love the way you sing, you're the one that I, cause you're like, you're the one that
12:56I want.
12:57Yeah.
12:58A lot of yodels in that, in that song.
13:01A lot of yodels.
13:02All right.
13:03So with the career as long as yours, getting back to the, to the fanatic.
13:07It's biblical.
13:08Yes.
13:09You, how have, I mean, it seems, I never hear stories of you.
13:14There never seems to be a situation like a moose ending up, you know, you, you, you
13:19don't seem to draw that kind of.
13:21I don't because I think I, because I embrace my fans.
13:23Yeah.
13:24And I actually communicate with them.
13:26There is not that urge to, I'm not a mystery as much, you know, and I'm, I'm not a can't
13:32have.
13:33Right.
13:34Right.
13:35As soon as you become a can't have, it starts a frenzy, you know.
13:36Do you, do, so some people are calling it a horror suspense, you know, do you, do you
13:41like things of, of the things that make you uncomfortable?
13:44I like the ones I've done.
13:45Yeah.
13:46I love Carrie.
13:47Yeah.
13:48You know, when I was a kid, I did that movie.
13:49Was that your first major film?
13:50Yes.
13:51Yeah.
13:52Yeah.
13:53Yeah.
13:54Yeah.
13:55Yeah.
13:56Yeah.
13:57Yeah.
13:58Yeah.
13:59Yeah.
14:00Yeah.
14:01Yeah.
14:02Yeah.
14:03Yeah.
14:04Yeah.
14:05Yeah.
14:06Yeah.
14:07Yeah.
14:08Yeah.
14:09Yeah.
14:10Yeah.
14:12Yeah.
14:13Yeah.
14:14I haven't.
14:15He goes on about you and just nothing but accolades and, and working with you, but it's,
14:20it's, it's, it's a really cool insight to the moon.
14:22When did this come out?
14:23I'd love to see it.
14:24It's, it's on, it's, I watched it on iTunes.
14:25On Netflix or iTunes?
14:26Yeah.
14:27It's probably all over the place.
14:28Yeah.
14:29Yeah.
14:30Yeah.
14:31Yeah.
14:32Yeah.
14:33Yeah.
14:34Yeah.
14:35Yeah.
14:36Yeah.
14:37Yeah.
14:38Yeah.
14:39Yeah.
14:40Yeah.
14:41Yeah.
14:42Yeah.
14:43I was asking in the fanatic, uh, your character Moose mentions a couple of times, uh, somebody
14:48you've worked with before and that's Jamie Lee Curtis.
14:50Yes.
14:51Uh, and.
14:52She's got two pools.
14:53I, I got, I got a kick out of hearing that because I'm sure you guys are friends,
14:58uh, or have been over the years and maybe it's, maybe it's been a while, but has word
15:02gotten back to her that, uh, or have you heard from her that she's mentioned in that?
15:05Not yet, but soon, soon I invited her to the premiere.
15:08So maybe, uh, she'll learn that.
15:10Yeah.
15:11I thought, was that Fred's idea to include that or, or did he write that?
15:15Yeah.
15:16He wrote, uh, that all the dialogue is, I improvised quite a bit, but, but all the primary dialogue
15:21is Fred's.
15:22Okay.
15:23Cause it seems, it seems, but you, I was reading that you, he was working with you sort
15:27of, um, asking questions to Moose to incite responses so that, so that you started to think
15:34in that.
15:35That's the actor.
15:36Right.
15:37And Fred is, he's a really terrific actor as well as a director, but he, he's the only,
15:40you know, director I've worked with that actually could do this, but he would legitimately
15:45improvise with me as Moose and it got me in the frame of mind.
15:49And then I would go to each department.
15:50I go to the lighting department, the wardrobe, the makeup, the hair, and I'd, I'd be in character
15:55and I'd have them ask me questions and it was like a jogger nut.
15:59And as soon as Fred sensed that I had arrived at the Moose zone, boom, we would do action.
16:05That's cool.
16:06And it was a very, very great way to, there's nothing better for an actor to prep than for
16:11someone to ask them questions about them.
16:14In the character.
16:15In the character.
16:16To think in the character.
16:18Is that classically what we refer to as method?
16:21No, I'd say it's a method.
16:23Okay.
16:24I don't know if it's the classic method because it has more about reliving past incidents
16:28and things.
16:29I think this is.
16:30And you never had a mullet.
16:31And I never had a mullet.
16:32But, but I do think that, that assuming the beingness of a character quickly is where you
16:38want to be.
16:39Right.
16:40When you do a role.
16:41And it helps you to be that when you're asked questions before you, you go on.
16:46Sure.
16:47You know, it's, it's nice.
16:48You didn't have a mullet, but you did have a long hair in Pulp Fiction.
16:51And I get you in my phone fairly frequently when I'm not, when I'm running late to the
16:55gym.
16:56My trainer will send me a text and it's just you doing the looking around me in Pulp Fiction.
17:03But in that role, you, you played such an interesting character cause you, you, you're lost a lot
17:08of the time and you know, you're in this haze, but you're also in this like euphoria.
17:13And where did you, how, where did that come from?
17:16That, that it's a very good question because you know, he's a hit man, but he's also heroin
17:21chip, but they call it chippy, a weekend heroin addict.
17:24And, uh, I thought, well, I have no reality on that.
17:26I'm going to have to find out.
17:27So I interviewed several heroin addicts and, and asked them about how they felt in the,
17:33and then finally one day I said, look, I'm never going to do it.
17:36So you have to help me understand that feeling.
17:39And he said, okay, well I really can't, but if you have to know the little begin, the beginning
17:43of the feeling is get really drunk on tequila and lay in a body of warm water.
17:48Hmm.
17:49And he said that little bit of feeling is the beginning of that.
17:52Did you do that?
17:53I did that.
17:54And of course, I'm not a drinker either, but when I did it, everyone I knew wanted to join
17:59me in the experiment.
18:02Oh, that sounds cool.
18:03When are we doing that?
18:05Wow.
18:06Okay.
18:07We are doing my character study together tomorrow night.
18:10That sounds like fun.
18:11I want to do that.
18:12It was fun.
18:13And then, and then from there I grew.
18:15And then with the descriptions that they told me and, and, uh, I was able to design it,
18:19but that's even Quentin didn't know all the time what I was doing because I, he just trusted
18:26me.
18:27He said, John will, I don't, why he's walking that slow, why he's talking to us.
18:30So I'll figure it out later, but he let you go.
18:32He just let you go.
18:33He just let me go.
18:34Wow.
18:35Because I think the great ones do that.
18:38Brian De Palma and Quentin and Robert Altman and, uh, Mike Nichols, all those guys I worked
18:44with all had that one thing in common.
18:46They hired you.
18:47You're 90% there.
18:4810% is guiding you here and there.
18:50Is that what happened?
18:51So it's Saturday Night Fever.
18:52John Battam was the director.
18:54Yeah.
18:55He let me go because I said, Battam, you're from Texas.
18:57I'm from New York.
18:58I know this guy better.
18:59Yeah.
19:00So leave me alone.
19:01I'll help you with me.
19:02And then I won't interfere with how you direct.
19:04It's gotta be the ultimate compliment as an actor for them, for a director to say, you
19:07got it.
19:08It is.
19:09And it's the smartest.
19:10Yeah.
19:11The actor is trustworthy.
19:12Right.
19:13I, I think it's the only way to go.
19:15Um, because otherwise you get a mediocre performance as opposed to a, a, a kind of a higher end
19:22performance.
19:23I want to ask you, you've worked with John Woo twice, right?
19:25Oh yes.
19:26So you did Face Off and Broken Arrow.
19:28And, and for a guy who's so incredibly likable, you play a incredibly adroit prick in those movies.
19:35You are so evil.
19:36I haven't figured that out yet.
19:37How is that possible?
19:38And that, I, but it seems to me you enjoyed it so much, especially with playing basically
19:44Nicolas Cage.
19:45Yes.
19:46With that.
19:47And you are so hilariously evil in that.
19:51Did you, was that just a joy?
19:53It was a joy.
19:54Yeah.
19:55And, and it was easier for me than it was for Nicholas.
19:57Cause he had to tamp down.
19:58Well, Nicholas really had to find me somewhere and he had a hard time finding me in the movies
20:05cause I, I'm different in most movies, but Nicholas is very specific in his talk and his
20:10behavior.
20:11And so it was a little easier for me to grasp his side of it than it was for him to grasp
20:15my side.
20:16So I wanted to ask you, uh, let's get away from acting for a second.
20:19I wanted to ask you about your planes and your pilot's license.
20:21Uh, what ratings do you have and how long did it take you to get them?
20:24Okay.
20:25You're ready for the long list.
20:26So I have a couple of friends that are, that are pilots.
20:28And so, uh, I'm, I'm a little bit familiar with it.
20:31Okay.
20:32I have 10,000 hours in the air.
20:33Jeez.
20:34That's quite a bit.
20:35I have, um, let's see, uh, 12 jet ratings, 747, 707 Gulfstream, um, Citation, Lear,
20:43um, Hawker, Falcon jet, um, two, three fighter, different fighter jets.
20:50No kidding.
20:51Wait, which, which fighter?
20:52Cause Preston and I have both, uh, flown in fighter jets.
20:55We didn't pilot it.
20:56No.
20:57I went up with the, I went up with the blue angels.
21:00And, uh, did you?
21:01Yeah.
21:02Yeah.
21:03How was the media flight?
21:04It was amazing.
21:05Did they make you sick?
21:06I passed out in Duke.
21:07I won't go with them because I don't want to do that.
21:10I have too much pride to end up, uh, you know, doing that.
21:13Yeah.
21:14It was a FA 18.
21:15You were in an F 16 cause he was with the air national guard.
21:17I wore a G suit.
21:18So I didn't pass out or get sick.
21:20Well, that's good for you.
21:21Yeah.
21:22Well, you have to tell them before you have to say, you know what?
21:24I don't want to get sick.
21:25Please don't make me in them.
21:27Yeah.
21:28My, my, uh, my, you know, and how many years, how long did it take?
21:32Oh God.
21:33I've been flying since I was 16.
21:35Okay.
21:36Really?
21:37It's just, it blows my mind when I see a shot of you sitting in the cockpit of a 707.
21:40I mean, cause I, I know I, my, my, my litmus test has always been, if you've ever locked
21:45your keys in your car, you shouldn't be a pilot.
21:47So, you know, but, but, but to me that you, it requires such a skillset and an attention
21:54to detail.
21:55Uh, and you just legitimately, you know, we know about the, like David Gilmour is a pilot
21:59and there's a lot of people just, just love it.
22:01I, I, I'm, I'm thrilled with the notion, but I would never do it cause I know my own
22:05limitations.
22:06But I mean, when you get behind the, the, you know, when you're flying a 747, you know,
22:11are you white knuckling it or are you just in, in absolute ecstasy?
22:14No, I find that the bigger the plane, the more almost simple it is.
22:18Really?
22:19Yeah.
22:20And less complex.
22:21Well, it's complex in its systems, but it's, you know, there's a lot of booster systems
22:26and boosted systems, I should say, that make it like a power steering, you know, it's kind
22:33of, kind of effortless.
22:34Back, backups.
22:35You don't really feel the size of a plane.
22:38All right.
22:39In the smaller jets, you actually feel it more, you know.
22:42Would there be enough room for me to lay down and cry?
22:44Cause that's a lie about it.
22:45Yes.
22:46You could lay down and cry.
22:47Being famous, you have, a lot of people have the privilege of, you know, having private
22:51jets and being flown all over the place.
22:53When you do get into one of your jets or something, are you flying it?
22:56Yes.
22:57Okay.
22:58For the most part.
22:59Unless I'm tired and then you shouldn't be.
23:01Yeah.
23:02It's good advice.
23:03There was a news story yesterday, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s citation that went off the runway,
23:08caught on fire.
23:09Really?
23:10Everybody got out, everybody was okay, but the plane was a total loss.
23:12Yeah.
23:13Oh, I've got to look that up.
23:14I think you always learn by these things, you know.
23:16Okay.
23:17Yeah.
23:18The FAA and the Safety Administration are looking at it.
23:21Speaking of aircraft, your 707 is getting a, is being donated?
23:25Yes, I'm donating to an Australian.
23:26I've had it 18 years and I've, I loved it, but it's getting, um, you know, antiquated
23:31and it's time to give it away.
23:33So I'm donating it to an Australian museum.
23:36Was this the one we heard, we were talking to Olivia Newton-John and she said that she
23:39had never seen Grease and you had her and her husband come on, or his husband had never
23:46seen.
23:47He had never seen Grease.
23:48And you actually went on the plane and watched it.
23:50Correct.
23:51Yes, that is correct.
23:52If you're going to marry Olivia Newton-John, you better see Grease.
23:56Well, that must've been so much fun.
23:58It was watching his reaction, you know, because then he became the entertainment watching him
24:03watch the screen.
24:04Like I did with my dad, with Mary Poppins when I was 10.
24:07I wanted him so badly to see it that I watched him the whole movie, watch the screen.
24:12There was a screening of Grease last night at the Mann Music Center, which is this great
24:15venue in town.
24:16And they, uh, the Philadelphia orchestra was there to perform the soundtrack and they just do
24:19a phenomenal job of accompanying the live music with, with the movie and people were just
24:24going nuts for it.
24:25I mean, you know, the movie's nearly 40 years old or maybe it's 40 years old at this point.
24:28It is.
24:29And it is a phenomenon.
24:30I, you know, it's, it's really interesting to see how each generation embraces that film.
24:35Cause I remember when I was little, you know, watching Yankee Doodle Dandy or, you know,
24:39watching Wizard of Oz and they all held up, but they were only 20 years old at that time.
24:43Yeah.
24:44This movie's 40 and it's still like, it was as though it were done last year.
24:48Yeah.
24:49It's pretty timeless.
24:50It's really timeless, which I'm proud of.
24:52It's funny though, because I think it, and there was a certain movement time where I was
24:55very aware of silent films and it wasn't like I was around.
24:59Thank God.
25:00Yes.
25:01But they showed them on the four o'clock movie.
25:03Right.
25:04Right.
25:05And, and, and, and you had an appreciation for it.
25:06That's a little harder to get now, but I mean, so for right now, I think a lot of people
25:10to be turned on to the movies of the seventies, the sec, which you are a part of.
25:14Sure.
25:15The second golden era of Hollywood, you know, because it's, you know, these are great movies
25:20that sit there and, and, and when kids or younger people discover them, the light goes
25:25on.
25:26It's like, Oh, because the more timeless they are, the more they discover them.
25:29Not only in a new unit of time, but, but as though it were, they were back then.
25:35Yeah.
25:36It had the same impact because Greece and Senator Peppers seemingly, even urban cowboy to have
25:41the same impact on the new generation that it had on people then.
25:46Absolutely.
25:47For some reason.
25:48Still as profound as ever.
25:49Yeah.
25:50It seems it, do you know?
25:51Yeah.
25:52As a, I, I did musical theater growing up and I'll, and Greece is the one play that has
25:55always eluded me.
25:56And, uh, and I always wanted to play Danny Zuko and as a 44 year old man, that's never
26:02going to happen.
26:03Oh yeah.
26:04At that point.
26:05You're, you're, you're, you're Donald's who go at that.
26:07Yeah.
26:08I think you should do it.
26:09The Fox news group did today.
26:11They did a reenactment of Greece.
26:13Uh, they filmed it, uh, per shot.
26:15Oh really?
26:16Yes.
26:17You guys could do that.
26:18We could do that.
26:19100%.
26:20Absolutely.
26:21You've got all our T-Birds here.
26:22Sure.
26:23I'm the lesser known guy, Baldy.
26:25So, yeah.
26:26It doesn't matter.
26:27Just do the, you know, leather jacket.
26:28You're home.
26:29I mean, we still, to this day, if somebody says, you know, rockin' and rollin'.
26:32And whatnot.
26:33Of course.
26:34It just finishes.
26:35Yeah.
26:36All the time.
26:37Every single time.
26:38Yeah.
26:39That's hilarious.
26:40Well, so, just thank you for, for all of that stuff that you've given us, you know,
26:42over the years.
26:43It's, um, it's a real pleasure actually looking at you in the flesh.
26:48You know, you have beautiful eyes.
26:51Really, yeah.
26:52And it didn't get uncomfortable to the very end.
26:54No, I did that.
26:55Are you kidding?
26:56I'm an actor.
26:57I love compliments.
26:58Please.
26:59Or, you dressed really nice too.
27:03What a watch on you in the pocket square.
27:04Oh, thank you.
27:05Yeah, yeah.
27:06I've decided that we're each other's scenery and that at some point, maybe not for yourself,
27:11but for another person, you have to be presentable.
27:13Presentable.
27:14Yeah.
27:15So anyway.
27:16Good morning, America.
27:17You're making the round.
27:18So, so you were hitting, uh, those guys.
27:20And, and you said something I thought was, it was a great outlook.
27:22And you said, you know, life is art.
27:24Life is art.
27:25So appreciate it.
27:26Enjoy it.
27:27And it's here for your entertainment.
27:28Well, it is because I think so many people don't view life as an art, but you know, how
27:33you spend, who you spend time with, where you go, how you do it, how you dress is all part
27:37of an art.
27:38If you choose to allow it to be an art, it's not just the quote unquote arts of music and
27:44dance and, and sports.
27:46And it's actually how we live, what we're doing right now.
27:49Well, you know, of course, this is an art cause you're on, on radio, uh, performing.
27:53Yeah.
27:54But, uh, it's how we interact is also part of the art, the art of life.
27:59I love that.
28:00I love that outlook.
28:01All right.
28:02Well, if you want to see John definitely in a, in a role departure, unlike he's ever
28:05been in, then you want to see the fanatic.
28:06It's a great movie and it's in theaters on August 30th.
28:09Wonderful to have you here, John.
28:10Thanks so much.
28:11This was probably the most fun I've ever had an interview situation.
28:14This has been awesome.
28:15Excellent.
28:16Thank you so much.
28:17And loved your story, Nick.
28:18And I loved your story, Casey.
28:20Oh my God.
28:21Two great stories.
28:22I love you so much right now.
28:23Let's hear it.
28:24John Tramolto, ladies and gentlemen.
28:25Thank you, John.