Hollywood Handbook - Hollywood Masterclass S1E5: Table for Two? (with Mary Holland)

Episode Date: December 26, 2023

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This is a HeadGum Podcast. where the fans voted on the best episode of 2023. So make sure to check that out. And today we're putting out season one, episode five of Hollywood Masterclass with special guests, Mary Holland. There's a new free feed for that show, which has every episode of Masterclass on there. And the link for that is in the description. Thanks everyone.

We'll be back with our regularly scheduled programming of this little funny show next week. Happy New Year. I'm Sean Clemens. Welcome to the Nutser Class. Guys, why don't we get right into it today? All right. Great. Okay. You're obsessed with sex.

Obsessed is a strong word. You left the computer on cameltoe.com the other day. Could you imagine if the girls had seen that? That must have been Maria. I knew that hole. I'm a devout Catholic nanny routine was a sham. Honey, we've had four friends in the last year get separated or divorced due to some degree of infidelity. I'm not a cheater.

I know you're not. But I don't want that to be the only reason you don't cheat. Lucy called it a hall pass. I'm giving you one. Freedom to be with someone and it won't be cheating. So you want an open marriage? No, just one hall pass. This isn't one of those you take the kids in the morning expecting that I'll take them in the afternoon deals.

One hall pass for you. And I know how you obsess over things, so you've got one week to use it. Okay. Wow. So, it's a powerful scene. It's about relationships. Engineer Brett, you've seen this film? Yeah, many times.

Yeah. If you haven't seen it, Bang. I have not. It's a film worth watching. Big time. Do you understand? Yeah, our last, we did a scene from this before. Ah, he has been paying attention.

That's right. And so, of course, the feminine, lovely, lilting voice you hear is Marie Holland, who's here to perform with Bang Raj Man, our resident student. And she's been nice enough to come in and sort of coax him through the scene work. It's truly my pleasure. I'm happy to be here. Yes, and what you were doing there, and I picked up on all the little things, even where you pretended to have made a mistake and need to double back,

like you couldn't read. Yeah. And that sort of choice to bring it, make it real in the moment. Humanize it. Yes, yes. And then I go, Oh, I'm not watching, you know, uh, words on a page. I'm watching a person exist. Uh, and that was really powerful. And bang, I wish I could get more of that out of you because to me you were the words on a page. You were the person who maybe hasn't seen this film I'm picking up.

Yeah. I mean, I feel like to do the scene, it would feel weird to watch the movie. It's a film worth watching. Yeah. When was the last time you saw the film, Mari? I saw it last week. Yes. Yeah.

You saw Hall Pass last week before you even knew you were going to do this? Yes. I watch a lot of movies. I guess I just didn't realize it was such a well-known movie. Yeah. Well, and it gives you context a little bit for what you're doing because it can be hard to really understand what's happening in the scene if you haven't seen the film. Do you get it?

I mean, do you think you know what these characters are going through, Bay? Yeah, kind of. I mean, it seems pretty self-evident in the short piece that we read. It seems like they kind of say what the plot of the movie is. They use the title of the movie like three times in this scene alone. And sometimes when things seem so simple, that's when it's actually very complicated. Engineer Brett, do you want to explain a little bit about, you know,

he's sort of, you know, he's a film buff, and this is one of your favorites. Do you want to talk a little bit about, and he's working out. He's making a muscle. So, but do you want to talk a little bit about the moment when she does reveal that he left the computer on cameltoe.com yeah so she is just uh like cleaning up and then she sees the computer

open and she notices and what website is it on? It's on cameltoe.com. Yeah. Yeah, in incognito mode. Just left up on the screen. Yeah, and that, of course, is a website. Look, men, women, creatures of sex, right? Yeah. We all like the way it feels.

We like the way it looks when a woman's stretch pants or whatever are jammed a little bit into the front of her stuff. Okay, where are we going to? We're trying to get you to do the scene effectively. So I'm going to take away some of the, because it seems like you're trying to do a lot. Go ahead. What are you going to say? I think I get what maybe you're trying to get to.

Is that like you want me to visualize the scene more? This character doesn't just exist for this moment where they're on this page. They have a whole life. They don't even just exist for this moment where they're on this page. They have a whole life. They don't even just exist for the length of the film, although if you'd seen the film, you'd know they do some pretty funny stuff during it. They exist both before and after the events of the film take place, and I want you to create a story for them that's more full than what I'm getting. Okay.

And is there anything I could be doing as far as inhabiting or giving him, like, I don't, I'm giving him what I think I can, but. Yeah, no, you're giving him so much. And it's also the contrast. I always wonder if you want to take something off it. Okay. So that he, you know what I mean? It's like if somebody is, if somebody is up five flights of stairs going,

hey, come up here and join me, you can't hear them. That's so true. But if they're up only two flights, then maybe you start walking and then they can keep walking and he can sort of follow the sound of your voice up to achieving a full character. I'll start on the second floor landing and just start making my way up. Because he's in the basement. That's right.

Okay. Okay. Ready? You're obsessed with sex. Obsessed is a strong word. You left the computer on cameltoe.com the other day. Could you imagine if the girls had seen that?

Good, good. That must have been Maria. I knew that whole I'm a devout Catholic nanny routine was a... Stop. Who's Maria? I assume she's our, like, cleaning lady. Okay. I can't. He hasn't seen the film.

This is really tough. Awkward. Yes, very mean, this is tough. He hasn't seen the film. This is really tough. And, you know. Awkward. Yes, very. So we need to really know who Maria is. She's the Catholic nanny, I guess. No. She's doing a devout Catholic nanny routine. We have that information from the page.

She's one of the girls. There's the girls. She's one of the girls. Hello. Marie mentioned the girls. There's the girls. She's one of the girls. Hello. Marie mentioned the girls. What? She said the girls before. Right.

Okay. So think about that. You know what? Maybe we're starting. I think our daughters. It doesn't matter. We're starting in the deep end a little bit. What about this?

What if we just run the lines? Okay? What if we just run the lines? Okay. What if we just run the lines and let's take all the pressure off and let's just straight up run the lines? I love that. That's great. Don't act. Just do the lines. Okay.

But don't be boring. You're obsessed with sex. Obsessed is a strong word. You left a computer on cameltoe.com the other day. Could you imagine if the girls had seen that? That must have been Maria. I knew that whole, I'm a devout Catholic nanny. Bang, stop.

Don't try to run the lines. Run the lines. You know what I mean? Trying to sound like you're just running the lines is also acting. Yeah. Don't you feel that way? Yeah. And you see sort of the way that Mary's just running the lines is also acting. Yeah. Don't you feel that way? Yeah. And you see sort of the way that Mary's just running the lines.

And it's very natural. She's inhabiting, you know, this space. Thank you. And she's just running the lines. But when you run them, you're acting like, I'm a guy running the lines. You know, that's doing something. There's such an awareness. Don't do something, do nothing.

You don't have to try to do nothing, but do nothing. But don't be boring and run the lines. Right, yeah. And back in. Alright, sorry. That must have been Maria. I knew the whole I'm a devout Catholic nanny routine

was a sham. Honey, we've had four friends in the last year get separated or divorced due to some degree of infidelity. I'm not a cheater. I know you're not, but I don't want that to be the only reason you don't cheat. Lucy called it a hall pass. I'm giving you one. Freedom to be with someone, and it won't be cheating. So you want an open marriage?

No, just one hall pass. This isn't one of those. You take the kids in the morning expecting that I'll take them in the afternoon deals. Stop. Okay, what does that mean? Yeah, I feel like he didn't even know what he was saying. Even when you're running the lines, you want to know what you're saying. Yeah. Even if you're just running them. There's meaning behind everything, right?

Yeah. Everything means something, Mary has pointed out to me. Yeah. Everything means something, Mary has pointed out to me. Okay. Because I thought just running the lines was you almost wanted to get rid of all that meaning and you just wanted to get the words right. And if you're trying to get rid of the meaning, you know, what are you really doing? Whose meaning are you putting in, I guess, is what I always ask myself. Yeah. Because everything means something. I mean, Mary and I say that a lot. Okay.

Well, I'm getting a little confused. Okay. You know what I'm finding is I'm talking to you and you're an amateur and I'm giving you stuff that's pretty advanced right off the rip. You're trying to act and do the lines and do the script and be in the scene and be the character. And we haven't even talked about what it is to find a character, to get into character, right? Because getting into character when you really find character, when you really find it, and when you really feel it, it's this. Oh, yeah.

It's getting a hard-on. Oh, yeah. Yep. It's being really stiff. Yeah. And when you get it, it doesn't go away like a regular hard-on would. I love that. You know, you keep it.

It sticks around, yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, you know, what's your hard-on? Like how are you going to find this character? Because Mary's got a freaking rager. I mean, yeah. I'm like, please make it stop.

It hurts. Yeah, Mary's got to see a doctor for what she's got going on because also she's got nowhere to put it because you're giving her nothing. I have nowhere to put my heart on. So you want us both to have a heart on? Yeah. And put it in each other. And both, yeah.

Okay. Yeah, I'll try to get. That's super clear to me. Okay, yeah, I think try to get. That's super clear to me. Okay, yeah, I think I kind of get what the meaning is behind that. Yeah. We'll say it. Tell me. Well, you just want to make choices that excite you and keep you interested in the character.

Hmm, Mary, I think you're starting to understand. Welcome. Good morning. Welcome to the session. Somebody just woke up. Yeah. Jeez to understand. Welcome. Good morning. Welcome to the session. Somebody just woke up. Yeah. Jeez. Finally.

And we'll do it. And, Bay? Yeah. Remember we did some improv last week? I do, yeah. We did improv with Paul. Fuck the lines. Fuck the lines.

They're words. Okay. All right. Yeah. You know? Okay, cool. Get away from the lines. All right. Yeah. You know? Okay, cool. Get away from the lines. All right, so we're just from the top?

From the top, you know? I want the feeling. I want to feel your heart on character. You know something? You're obsessed with sex. Obsessed is a strong word. You left the computer on cameltoe. Obsessed is a strong word. You left the computer on cameltoe.com the other day, Rick.

Could you imagine if the girls had seen that? I mean... Well, that must have been Maria. I knew the whole, I'm a devout Catholic nanny routine was a sham. Honey! We've had four friends in the last year get separated or divorced due to some degree of infidelity. I don't want to screw around on you. Oh, really? I know you're not. I'm sorry.

He threw me off. Yeah, it didn't. What were you doing there? That particular time, that didn't make sense. What were you thinking? I just changed it a little bit. Give me the line that's written. I'm not a cheater.

I know you're not. And then he said, what did you say? I said, I don't screw around. I don't want to. Something about screw around. Just kind of loosening it up. Changes it, I think, to me. I mean, obviously, we don't want the words,

but we want the meaning. Right? Yeah, that was what I was going for. Yeah. Yeah. Marlon Brando used to do something that I do, too, when I'm doing my movies. And he would do this cool move that I do, that I'm doing my movies and he would do this cool move

that I do that I bet Mary's used where he might talk to a total loser on set like a fucking just jerk off loser just a

true you know trash the guy picking up trash and you know or the friggin

what did all the guys with the machines on the movie set? Yeah, the guys who do the machines and everything. The cameraman? The camera operator? I mean, it's a little more, it's a little more general than that. Yeah.

So these guys, and he would just talk to them because that's a real guy. And a lot of times these characters we're playing are real guys. So this character, Rick, who you're trying to sort of get into the heart on of, he is not a movie star. He's not even an acting student. He's a man getting a hall pass. And he's in a marriage. From his wife, who's in a marriage.

from his wife who's in a marriage. And some of these machine guys in the movie are probably also even married or wannabe. And maybe talking to them, you get a little more of a sense. Somebody like Engineer Brett. So let me give you a little taste, and if I could see the script. And so I might do something like this, where you'll just get some of this. So, Brett, how was your weekend, man? What'd you do?

What'd you get into, man? You messing around, doing something crazy? This is amazing. Yeah, just, I didn't do much, you know, just hung around the house. Oh, yeah? What room of the house. Oh, yeah? What room of the house? The living room, mostly.

You know, by the TV. Oh, that must have been Maria. I knew that whole I'm a devout Catholic nanny routine was a sham. Wow. Whoa. Wow. That was, I mean...

Action all of a sudden, right? And right up until action, if you're being a real guy with like a dude and Brett, you were in it. If you're being a real guy with a dude like that, a machine man or engineer, what you'll see is you can just take that into the screen and do it on the screens. Yeah, hopefully they're recording. It's effortless, though, that transition. You do it right up until action. It's effortless, yeah. And it seemed like, oh, now this real guy's talking about his nanny, you know.

What did you mean? Routine. Hopefully it was recording. I mean, just if you pop up the line out of nowhere. Dude, I'm always recording I didn't no offense to you Brett he's a total pro yeah

one punch that's all I need man dude I am not threatening you whatsoever please don't get in range of his arm because we've seen

how buff he is he showed us before I kind of feel like today you are being the most I don't know if it's Because we've seen how buff he is. He showed us before. I kind of feel like today you are being the most, I don't know if it's Mary being here, but you're being particularly hostile towards me. Okay. I feel like he's just trying to get the best performance out of both of us. I love it.

And so now I'm going to pretend to be a real guy, and you guys can talk to me, and then we'll do a line. Okay. And then we'll talk to me, and then we'll do a line. Okay. And then we'll talk to me, and then we'll do a line. And we'll talk to Brett, and we'll do another line. Okay. You know what I mean? Yeah.

And that way, and I'll cue you when to do your line, okay? Yeah, yeah. And Mary, I think, is going to be able to feel it, but bang, I'm going to give you a little guidance. Yeah, okay. That's great. Okay. How's your car? Oh, it's fast. It's so fast. That's your car? Oh, it's fast.

It's so fast. That's awesome. Yeah. You're obsessed with sex. Obsessed is a strong word. Well, no, hang on, because you didn't talk to me or Engineer Brett. Oh, yeah. Before each line, I'm talking to one of you guys?

I don't know, but did that feel good? I mean, that read? No, right? Yeah, I guess not. Felt soft as hell. So, like, let's try it again. It felt, honestly, from my point of view as a scene partner, like there was nothing for me to grip.

It was just... What I'm seeing is basically your big character hard on is picking up this limp noodle and sort of lofting it and trying to hold it up and make it look like it's up, but it's not.

And I'm doing my best. And it's not. And so, bang. You don't have to talk to me if you're uncomfortable with me. You feel like I'm being aggressive with you don't have to talk to me if you're uncomfortable with me you feel like I'm being aggressive with you go ahead and talk to

Engineer Brett but you should talk to somebody okay who's not in the scene with you as part of what we just talked about for five or seven minutes again

hmm ah can you I mean How How much working out do you do in a day? Me? A couple hours, like 10 hours You're obsessed with sex

Yeah You got any plans for summertime? Oh, yeah, I'm going to probably have a picnic every day Obsessed is a strong word Better, better Hey, Brett Yeah How much do you enjoy live music?

Oh, so much it's hard to even explain Is it your favorite, you think? It's my favorite. Okay. It's my favorite ever. You left the computer on camel2.com the other day. I mean, could you imagine if the girls had seen that? Uh, Brett,

you like sports? Why? Go now! Do the line! Go! That must have been Maria. I knew that whole I'm a devout Catholic nanny routine was a sham. Honey! We've had four friends in the last year get separated. Or divorced. Tell him, shut up.

You shut up. You shut up. Tell him, don't disrespect his teacher. Don't disrespect me. And his teacher, too. And my teacher, too. Yeah. And your teacher, too. You shut up. Tell him don't disrespect his teacher. Don't disrespect me. And his teacher, too. And then my teacher, too. Yeah. And your teacher, too.

You shut up. And Ben, get back to that place you were just in. Shut up. The sports place. It's due to some degree of infidelity. I'm not a cheater. Good, good, good. I know you're not.

Shut up. But I don't want that to be the only reason you don't cheat. Fuck the words, you know? Forget the words. You know, I don't want... Hey, I don't want to... What are you doing? I don't...

No matter what, I don't want that to be the... Where are you right now? Where... Who are you? Where are you? I'm Rick. I'm with you in our... Telling your last name.

My last name is Magenta. Tell... You tell her your last name, Rick. My last name is also Magenta. You took my last name. It's her choice, but yeah. We're married.

Ah, Lucy called it a ho. And you sort of lost the talking to Brett stuff at that point, too. Yeah. Okay.

As we were going, which I think was the only thing that really worked about that side of that scene. It was great. Yeah. I felt really. And guys, you know, we're doing this.

We're recording. There's mics. And these are lines from a script. And it probably feels, you know, like a movie. But this is not a movie that we're doing here. Right. Bang. It's this master class thing.

Yeah, well, we're in a podcast recording studio. There are no cameras. And it's not a movie, right? Right. But it's, you know, and it probably feels kind of weird. You know, hey, we're doing this movie scene. Because scenes are in movies. I mean, that's why it feels like it.

And that's what you're doing, right? Yeah, that's what movies are, is scenes. Yeah, so it feels a lot like that, but actually it's this master class thing. Right. I'm aware that's what we're doing. Yeah.

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Rules and restrictions may apply. With Babbel, we can't promise it'll always be easy, but you'll always be glad you did it. Kind of like this podcast, except it is easy for me. What if we confess something a little bit personal, huh? Would that help you, Bang, to actually know each other? Sure, yeah. That sounds great.

Let's get heavy. Yeah. Bang, you ever been in love? Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, with who? Ex-girlfriend of mine. Yeah.

Yeah, it was tough. It didn't work out. How'd she look? Did she look pretty good? Yeah. Yeah yeah she was beautiful nice nice yeah what

kind of stuff you guys do you mean like sexually what I mean sorry okay Bang needs a break

he needs to cool off he needs a cold shower you raised your eyebrows there's a lady in the room yeah you said it in a very suggestive way I just wanted to clarify Mary ever been in love?

oh yeah yeah twice yeah okay how's it feel to hear that Bang you can't like that that's double the amount of times you've been in love. I didn't think of it as competition.

I'm in love right now, too. Oh, wow. Currently. Oh, wow. That's great. That sucks for you, right, Bang? Because you probably thought here, oh, I'm going to do this scene,

and I'm going to be able to parlay this into some sort of relationship. Here we got Mary, great actress, big star, coming doing master class as a favor, right? She sees that you know me, you're thinking, oh, I'm going to be

able to really work this angle, use this. I was not thinking that. She's seeing like, oh, I'm friends with Shank. Yeah. I know Shank Lemons. And so I'm going to be like looking pretty elevated in her eyes.

This is a situation I wouldn't normally be in. And somehow me and Mary are going to wind up, you know, rolling into the hay. And that's what you were planning on. And now that's not what happened right no I because she's in love right now

no I I'm how's the dude look good right yeah very fine yeah that sucks man

that sucks man and you know what he knows Sean Clemons too yeah so yeah well and that's one of the things

in this town is a lot of people do know me. You know, Brando used to have a trick that he would use. Oh, I'm dying to hear this. He would come in to set on a broom. Wow. With a witch's hat.

Wow. And he would cast a spell on the director and turn him into a toad. Oh my goodness. I have never heard that before. Oh really? Yeah. Well maybe that's a good reason you took the class then. Maybe you're going to hear some things you haven heard that before. Oh, really? Yeah. Well, maybe that's a good reason you took the class then.

I guess so. Maybe you're going to hear some things you haven't heard before. Because that's like the well-known. That's what the class is. Well, that Brando did witchcraft. Well, I just told you about how he used to talk to the regular guys around the set. Yeah, that. The machine guys.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I've heard about him talking to the cameraman. Someone like that can't cast a spell? These are little tricks that you can help with an actor. So maybe the director, if that's intimidating you, if you ride in on a broom with a witch's head, turn him into a toad. Okay, now all of a sudden you're a little more comfortable. And I've done something similar in that way.

I bet. I bet, Mary, because we all sort of borrow from the masters. Yeah, of course. That's what the master class is about. Absolutely. Taking these tools, put them in, the belt, you know. Right, it's just impossible to turn someone into a toad. Like, I don't know if you mean, and maybe this is what you're getting at, is, you know, imagine the director is somebody else

so it helps you relax and take some of the pressure off. Well, people are going to tell you it's impossible to do a lot of things. That's right. I disagree. You know,

Ben, have you taken acting classes before? Mm-hmm. This isn't your first one. So what's a piece of advice you've gotten before? What's something you've been told to do?

You know, know your scene partner. I'd say the opposite. I'd say the opposite. I'd say the opposite. You know, challenge that. Forget what you learned. Because Brando would always go,

don't tell me who your scene partner is. He'd say, who are you? He goes, if I find out who it is, I'm going to turn him into a little mouse. And he would threaten that actually with his yeah and then they'd go run off hiding a hole somewhere in the wall on set

yeah now who's going to do the scene the machine man he's not a woman yeah so that doesn't really work so I'd say don't know the scene partner

do the opposite right because Brando had a you know he had a couple tricks like that you be a toad you know or

you yeah you be a toad, you know? Yeah. Yeah, you be a toad. Are you starting to get that? I guess so. Sure. Okay. From the topper. Yeah, let's do this one, and let's – let me put something on this.

Ben, go back to that moment where Mary told you that you just are never going to have a shot with her and that you're like a joke to her. And she was saying how she is in love with somebody and that basically she never would be in love with you. You know? And try to use that a little bit. You know, take that moment. I'm not yours. I never will be yours. Yeah.

And this is your one chance. I'm not supposed to buy you. I, you know. You know? And maybe try to either trick her somehow or maybe you're trying to, who knows, pretend to be, you to be her boyfriend. Maybe he got a mask on, a Darth Vader mask. Okay. Can I take a second and stretch?

Yeah, please. If you remember in Revenge of the Nerds, he wore a Darth Vader mask, had sex with the hot babe, and she really liked it. People kind of frown upon that scene now. Here's a tagline I thought of for Revenge of the Nerds. But if the poster was out now, that maybe would be good. The odds get even.

Because those guys are a little odd, huh? Little bitty tits. Little bitty tits. Little bitty tits. Mary, that's kind of making me uncomfortable. And she's, of course, people can't see this, but she's pinching Bang's chest as she does some vocal warm-ups.

To try to wake him up a little bit. To wake him up a bit. No, it's fine. I'm here, I'm present, I'm engaged. This is a scene partner. That makes me uncomfortable. And vocally, I don't know if I trust Bang to be able to use his whole mouth because I haven't heard him do any. No, I haven't either.

Ah! Yeah. That was surface. No consonants and no, yeah. That was completely surface. So I hope there's no consonants in the scene because he's not going to be able to get around them. And all right, let's do it.

And I might get in your ear a little. I'm going to stay out of it, but I might get in your ear a little bit. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Ha! You're obsessed with sex. Obsessed is a strong word. Tell her a better word that she could use. Obsessed is a strong word. What word should she use?

Obsessed is a strong word. Kind of into is maybe more accurate. Yeah, but that's two words. Just give her one. Like. I like sex. Yeah, okay, good, good. You left the computer on cameltoe.com the other day.

Can you imagine if the girls had seen that? That must have been Maria. Maybe say, like, girls probably have seen that. They're girls. You know what I mean? Because that's who gets cameltoes. Right. You know what I mean? Because that's who gets camel toes. Right. They know what it feels like.

Could you imagine if the girls had seen that? Yeah. The girls probably have seen that. They're girls. Okay, but do it really funny. Can you imagine if the girls had seen that? Well, girls have seen that. They're girls, right?

These are your daughters, so do it with some respect. Well, the girls have seen that. They're girls. Ugh, Rick. Yeah. She's pissed. That must have been Maria. I knew that whole devout Catholic nanny routine was a sham.

Honey. And say something to Brett now. Brett, how's your family doing? Dude, horrible. Did they tell you? Okay, well, don't get after him like that. Let's stop. Let's critique each other a little bit.

I feel like I'm giving a lot of the feedback. Maybe just you guys. Say how it felt working with each other on this. To me, it's like I'm, and this is obviously not personal, but it's sort of like

it's never personal. I'm in a room and it's concrete and there's no windows and no doors. I don't know how I got in a room, and it's concrete, and there's no windows and no doors. And I don't know how I got in there, but there are little spikes in the walls, and I keep running into them. Like, I can't stop running into them. And I keep trying to climb the spikes, or I keep trying to lay down

so I don't run into the spikes. Or is there a stone in the wall that you can press on that'll stop this? Yes. Yes. And there's a stone in the wall and I'm trying to find that stone, but I just keep hitting spikes and, but the spikes are soft and they're not like hard ons. They're like flaccid.

So they hurt, but they're still floppy. So bang. That's what it feels like. You know, like, so, you know, that was a, what a nice sort of generous criticism

of just sort of let you know what it's like to kind of make this art, right? And then how are you feeling, like, personally? Like, you know, if you want to say, like, what the work has felt like today to do it with Mary, who's really bringing the heat. Well, thank you for doing this with me. It's been a really interesting, weird experience.

And she's got a boyfriend, so maybe take it easy. Yeah, I'm not flirting with you. Okay. Yeah, it just started in this way where it was like begging. It was a little intense. Yes, it just started in this way where it was like begging. It was a little intense. Kind of pathetic. Yes, I am busy later. You know, because art's funny, isn't it?

You know, it's telling truth in ways that you normally can't. Right. But sometimes, Bing, I feel like you're telling truths that maybe you shouldn't. Like you're like obsessed with Mary and, you know, she said she's got a boyfriend, so maybe just let the scene be the scene. And speaking of art, Picasso used to have a funny trick he would do, you know, where he would sort of show up to a

gallery and he would say, holy shit, who painted that? Like, fucking, I don't want to fuck that guy. Like, who's like, this guy's fucking awesome. Like, who painted this? He would say, I want to fuck that guy? Yeah, or like, somebody should. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Somebody should. He painted that, right? Yeah, somebody should fuck that guy yeah or like somebody should yeah yeah yeah somebody should somebody know who painted that

right yeah somebody should fuck that guy but it would be his painting and then people started to go like oh that's a good painting reverence for your art in a way it honors the art

uh huh yeah yeah someone should fuck me yeah is what yeah is what Picasso would say

so I would Picasso would say so I would I would say it feels a little bit like we're hitting dead end with some of this do you guys you want to chalk it up

to the material maybe it's you know I kind of would Bang hasn't seen Hall Pass and I think there's been a mental block

now I haven't seen the film either but it's a film that I think is important you haven't seen Hall Pass and I think there's been a mental block. Now, I haven't seen the film either but it's a film that I think is important. You haven't seen it? No. Not in its entirety. I know that

it was an age-appropriate group of friends all gallivanting and whatnot and the devout Catholic nanny routine. That's exactly it. So I've got another script here that maybe we could work on.

Amazing. Great. I'll do stage directions. And this is a cold read, which will be nice. Come to it fresh. And we can just sort of take a crack at this and see if we find something in here maybe that's a little more. Mary's getting loose in Bang.

I don't know if you want to do something, too. But we can hopefully get, and Bang, you read Bang. Mary, you read Mary. Okay. And we'll just see, and this is just another scene without all the baggage of have we seen Hall Pass, have we not? And so let's just hear this up on its feet. Okay. Okay. Okay, great.

I'm dying from having too much AIDS, Mommy. Pause to smoke a vape. I got it from the president. Is there a problem? Is something wrong, Meg? I'm sorry. This is really fucking nuts. Let me go back.

It's the tech. It is. It's some powerful stuff. Yeah, yeah. I get the challenge of it. You're challenging us with a lot of- To tackle some important topics. Yeah.

Absolutely. All right. I love this. So far, I just want to say, Shunk, I love this. Well, I happen to know the writer, you know. Oh, you do? But yeah, I'm curious to hear some. I'll start from the top.

I'm dying from having too much AIDS, mommy. And let me hear you pause to smoke a vape there. Mm-hmm. I got it from the president of USA. Close-up of a nice snail sliming across the mom's prize rose bushes. Take a moment, Mary. Your son has just told you he's dying.

I know, it's awful. The worst. Close-up of a snail sliming across the mom's prize rose bushes. Did you see the size of that friggin' snail? That thing was friggin' fuckin' huge. Ha ha ha. Peng laughs. Thanks for cheering me up, mommy.

Angle on, a pile of big money falls out of Mary's pants holes. Help me hide this money. I stole it to pay for your medicine. Stealing is wrong. Bang starts crying. He punches a telephone pole madly. The phone breaks. I have powers.

I'm dying, too. I smoked expired vape juice from a brand I didn't trust. I should have used Cosmic Fog brand vape juice. Their flavor selection is out of this world. Only Cosmic Fog brand vape juice satisfies my cravings and keeps me safe. Anyone who doesn't use it gets what's coming to them. We see a big bird that represents freedom. He's smoking Cosmic Fog. Fang and Mary start fooling around. I hope you win the Super Bowl tomorrow.

Me too, but I'm scared. A deer falls over and it represents like the big banks or something. Cosmic Fog is number one. All right. Hey, man, can I ask you, is this an ad for, did you just have us read an ad copy? What do you mean? This is a commercial for Cosmic Fog. This is a pretty powerful scene.

We're dealing with what? Corruption in politics. Yeah. Some of these big banks. This is a commercial for Cosmic. This is a pretty powerful scene. We're dealing with what? Corruption in politics. Yeah. You know, some of these big banks. Dependency on, you know, everything. AIDS. AIDS is there.

Okay. And making bad choices, you know, smoking expired vape juice and what that says about you. Yeah. And how and why. And that we should think about. And actually, Cosmic Fog actually tastes pretty great. You are wearing a Cosmic Fog t-shirt

and a hat. And it makes sense in a way, right? That you write what you know and if there's a product that speaks to you, that supports you, that maybe supports

the whole idea of this master class, you know, and has been very supportive. Yeah, I should honor that. Social media feed has been a lot of cosmic fog stuff. I saw you tweet at them asking for free stuff. Well, and so, you know, like, so if I'm asking for free stuff, then I obviously am not doing a commercial for them.

I'm sorry. You're on Twitter when you should be in acting? You should be acting? Uh-huh. Yeah. Where are you on Twitter? And he's exposed. What do you mean?

I'm not on Twitter. I'm acting. Mm-hmm. Okay. A lot of actors are on Twitter. It's not like a crazy. When they're in the middle of a master class? No.

No, I wasn't doing it. When they're doing a master class? During master class. I wasn't doing it during master class. And if you're just joining us, welcome to my master class. This is Sean Clemons with Bang Raj, man of Mary Holland,

doing the Seamwork Master Class. So if you're just tuning in, thanks for coming along. and doing a scene work master class. So if you're just tuning in, thanks for coming along. Let's talk a little bit about the scene. You know, there's obviously stakes. The Super Bowl's tomorrow.

He's a freaking quarterback or something. And there is a sort of sense here of their relationship is a little bit more than mother and son, right? When they're fooling around, yeah, I am getting the hint that maybe there is something else happening. They do fool around. Is this like a challenge as an actor to kind of give us every crazy thing that doesn't make sense? For you it is.

Plus make it. Well, no, I think it does make sense. I do think the script makes sense. I think it's actually pretty good. There's a clear through line. Yeah, so it's... I mean, would it be helpful for you to just see me do the script? I'll be back.

Please. Please. Why don't we just try it? Do you want to do stage directions before we be back? Fine. I'm dying from having too much AIDS, Mommy. I got it from the president of USA. Close-up of a nice snail sliming across the mom's prize rose bushes.

Did you see the size of that friggin' snail? That thing was friggin' fuckin' huge! Bang laughs. Thanks for cheering me up, Mommy. Friggin' snail? That thing was friggin' fucking huge! Bang laughs. Thanks for cheering me up, Mommy. Angle on, a pile of big money falls out of Mary's pants holes. Tell me I got this money. I stole it to pay for your medicine. Stealing is wrong.

Bang starts crying. He punches a telephone pole madly. The phone breaks. I have powers. I'm dying, too. I smoked expired vape juice from a brand I didn't trust. I should have used Cosmic Fog brand vape juice. Their flavor selection is out of this world. Only Cosmic Fog brand vape juice satisfies my cravings and keeps me safe. Anyone who doesn't use it gets what's coming to them. We see a big bird that represents freedom. He's smoking Cosmic Fog.

Bang and Mary start fooling around. I hope you win the Super Bowl tomorrow. Yeah, me too, but I'm scared. A deer falls over and it represents like the big banks or something. Cosmic fog is number one. That felt... Wow. I mean...

Intense. Intense. Oh my God, thank you. Engineer Brett, did you feel that? Thank you. So, bang. Choked up. Yeah.

Would it be helpful for you to give me some notes? Well, I thought it was interesting. It should be a two-way street, right? Yeah, you definitely sounded much more clear and to the point when you were reading this stuff about Cosmic Fog. Ah, yes. The number one

vape juice brand. Keeps you safe but also satisfies your cravings. Yeah. Wow, there are flavor selections out of this world. There really is.

It's number one. To me, it seemed very strange. The character almost can't speak and says President of USA and and says mommy. And then later on, he's very articulate when it comes to this small section of talking about a corporate brand.

Do you feel like the President of USA is on the up and up? Do you think he's on the level right now? Because to me, this guy seemed like he's got some stuff he's hiding. So I think that. Yeah, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying the actual phrase president of USA. You think he's trustworthy? Mm-hmm.

I don't. I mean, if that's your kind of guy, you know, but I've got a feeling, you know, what I'm seeing in this script. Because if you have questions about the script, like what I'm seeing in this script is it sounds like he, president of USA, is giving this guy AIDS. And he's got to tell his mommy about it. I mean, that's pretty wild. That's all that's there for, yeah. Right, yeah, I think you're missing the point. I mean, do you have questions about the script or are you just like telling me what's in it?

I know what's in it. Do you want to know something? Because I happen to know the writer. I think he's pretty talented. I agree. Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of questions, I guess. I think for me, I have too many questions. Well, start with the small ones.

Is it about the big money that falls out of Mary's pants holes? Yeah, why use pants holes instead of pockets? Like, is that what you mean? I've never heard of Mary's pants holes? Yeah, why use pants holes instead of pockets? Like, is that what you mean? I've never heard of the term pants holes. Well, pockets hopefully don't have holes in them. And how would I fit so much money in my pockets? Pants holes are big because your thigh has to go in it. So they're big.

Yeah. There's a lot of bills. What was the significance of the snail? That's actually a fair question. Because we know that the bird represents freedom. Right. We know that the deer was probably representing the big banks or something. What do you feel like the snail represents? He's pretty big, right?

Yes, I see that from the script. It says he's nice. It says he's nice. It says he's nice and he's big. Or Mary says he's, and you have a prize. Friggin' fuckin' huge. Friggin' fuckin' huge. Yeah. I have no idea what he represents, Sean.

Yeah. Well, Rosebush is something beautiful, isn't it? It's feminine. And a snail sliming across something. Yeah. Well, rosebush is something beautiful, isn't it? Mm-hmm. It's feminine. It's... And a snail sliming across something. We traditionally think of that bang as beautiful like a rose. Or is that something grotesque? Desecrate.

It seems a little gross to slime across something nice. I mean, I don't know. Right. I guess you could think of something like... Almost like the frigging quarterback of the Super Bowl getting AIDS from president. That's so gross. Of USA. Yeah.

It seems like an odd choice towards the end to have the deer represent big banks or something. Well, it dies. Like the big banks or something. But it dies. Like the big banks or something. But it dies. Well, hopefully they do because some of these guys, some of the stuff they're up to. I mean, it's disgusting.

Engineer Brett, I mean, you've had some experience with these banks. Isn't it time we fight back? Oh, my God. They're the worst. Brett's been trying to get a loan for a while.

Yeah. For a house. They won't give it to me. Yeah, no, it's not for a house. It's for a business idea that he has. Oh. Yeah. For a house. They won't give it to me. Oh. Yeah. No, it's not for a house. It's for a business idea that he has. Oh. Yeah. It's this app that you use while you

poop. Yeah. Oh. It's called the Zap app and you, instead of flushing your toilet, you zap your duties and they disappear in a blink. I mean, I would download that. I'd pay $20 for that app. Yeah, because of flush waste water. Yeah. And he's like, we've got a light. We've got a camera on this thing.

Can we not somehow reflect the light through the lens and make it zap and vaporize the duty? Yeah. I want it to spray some smell, too. Oh, yeah. Like a beautiful rose. Yes. A beautiful rosebud. Wow.

Okay. Well, then that would be like a new phone that you would need. Are you a programmer? Do you code? Do you know phones and stuff? Do you code? Are you an engineer? I'm not a coder or an engineer.

I know one engineer. Yeah. Easier right now. Stick to acting, dude. Yeah, if you can. It's not going so hot. All right, guys. You know, this is like, I feel like I'm really getting tag-teamed on all sides here today.

Well, I feel like we learned some great stuff because we figured out it's not the scene. Oh, no. It wasn't the material. It wasn't the material. We tried two different, yeah, two different styles, two different genres. two different styles two different genres I mean one thing you know

that you might want to try Bang is big stars a lot of the time will sort of throw a fit and hide in their trailer that's a good way to buy time

to sort of get more comfortable with the material okay because it seems like you're uncomfortable with some of the material you obviously with the script don't you know you are some of the material. You obviously, with this script, don't, you know, you are scared of the snail or whatever was going on for you.

I've just been, I mean, we've been pretty deep into the course at this point. It's just a snail. It's not the friggin' bye-bye man, you know? It's not going to hurt you. It's not going to eat you. It's a nice snail, yeah. I feel like I've really been patient throughout this course, and I've really given it a solid try, and now that we're almost done,

I have to admit I'm not getting a ton out of these scenes. Yeah. And today especially, I mean, this has been brutal. You've been kind of insulting to me. Well, I don't see it that way. I mean, you know. I mean, I'm trying to.

I feel like I'm looking for like the glass is half full in a lot of these exercises and scenes that you've given us. And a lot of the times I feel like I'm explaining what they are to you. Well, but isn't that intentional? If you can explain it, then you understand it. If you can dream it, you can do it. Walt Disney. And Mary's notes are your notes. And your notes are Mary's notes.

My notes are your notes. Brett's notes are Mary's notes. And my notes. You know? Yeah. Her notes are your notes. Yeah, absolutely. So you're going, oh, I'm notes? In my notes. You know? Yeah. Her notes or your notes? Yeah, absolutely. So you're going, oh, I'm not getting all the notes or whatever you're mad about.

You need to listen. You guys have basically been telling me I don't have a hard-on all day. You know what? No, forget it. I don't care. Because I'm feeling like, because, you know, it's all, we're investigating our senses. And I want to shake you up. I want to get you out of your comfort zone.

Yeah. Me right now, I'm tripping acid right now. I'm on LSD. You know, because that's all just chemicals that's in your brain. I didn't take any drugs. But that's just chemicals that's in your brain. So, like, I'm trying to bring some of those brain chemicals to the surface that make you have real experiences, big experiences. You feel that, right, Mary?

Absolutely. Yes. And what does a worm look like right now? It's crazy, right? Bunch of meat. Frigging Beetlejuice Man is over there. Skewers. And it's all, yeah, and the skewers coming for you.

There's my mom, and she's eating a head, somebody's head. Tripping out, you know? That's terrifying. That's heavy shit, right? That's sense memory. Because it's all just chemicals. You look like frigging Slenderman. So it's like that, you know?

Yeah. Think about that. I have been thinking a lot about Slender Man and the Bye Bye Man because you bring it up in every one of our classes. You've brought up the Slender Man, Bye Bye Man. I don't even know exactly what the Beetlejuice Man is because I think I've corrected you on this before. His name is just Beetlejuice. If you're just tuning in. No one is tuning in, Sean.

It's not a radio show. You don't just scan through the radio and start. Look at what we're getting. Look at this. This is real passion. This is it. This is the hard-on we're talking about. This guy is freaking... You've got a rager. He's freaking going to

pop a hole in the table. That's scaring me, right? I'm not like a snail. You know what I mean? See? And are we forgetting something, too? Because we've done the scene a few times, and we haven't once done a round of applause for the crew. Let's give it up for the crew.

And it's not a real movie set, of course. It's this master class thing. But, you know, you think you're tired? Think about for the crew. And it's not a real movie set, of course. It's this master class thing. But you think you're tired? Think about how the crew feels. It's just Brett. Just Brett. Just Brett. I like it because I like seeing the passion.

Before I wasn't sure this guy had a pulse. Now he's got a pulsing boner. It's his character and he's in it. Do you want to do one line from the hall pass scene and one line from this other scene and just kind of mash them together? Sure. I don't know what purpose that serves.

You're obsessed with sex. Did you see the size of that friggin' snail? Obsessed is a strong word. I'm dying from having too much AIDS, Mommy. I got it from President of USA. You left the computer on cameltoe.com the other day.

I'm dying, too. That must have been Maria. I knew that whole I'm a devout Catholic nanny routine was a shit. Fuck the words. Fuck the words. Get it. Do your improv.

Do your improv. You know, it wasn't me. It was Maria. She must have left this on. I know she was lying about, you know, her whole personality. Forget the words, too. Use improv. That's what I'm doing.

Honey, help me hide this money Honey Help me hide this money Help me hide this money Honey They fell on my pants Okay yeah Here's the money We've had four friends In the last year

Get separated or divorced Due to some degree Stop Guys I think we did it I feel How'd that feel I mean How'd that feel?

I mean, we reached a place in the script that I didn't know we could get to. And you're bread. How did that feel? It's really surprising. Electric. Yeah, really good. I believe what you are. Mary, Mary's special.

And Bang, it's not always fun, right, to get there, but I think you see, like, why we pushed so hard. Amazing work, Ben. That felt so good uh i'm talking to a real actor here yeah okay yeah sure and then what do you think about my acting what well i did some reading too you know i just said i'm talking to a real actor but i'd like to hear from peg yeah you, you're good. It's good, right?

You think your agent would think I'm good? I mean, I guess I can give him your email or something. Or even if he listens to this, like he would hear me on this, right? That would be pretty cool. Yeah, I could tell him. Like just the parts where I'm doing, you know? I guess so. That would be weird for him to like skip through

and just listen to the parts that you did. Well, he already reps you, so like he knows what you're doing. I'm just saying, like if he heard my shit, you'd think he'd like it, right? Yeah. Again, I can, you know, send him your resume and stuff. Thank you, yeah. That's what I'm saying.

Just like as a joke or whatever, but like, you know, what do you mean as a joke? This is the second time you've asked me about my representation. You clearly won't. Well, you said that you think they're pretty good or whatever. It's like, good, great, so am I. So let's do it. So if you're just tuning in, this is my master class.

I'm, uh, Sean Clemens and then the bang Raj man and Mary and engineer Brett's here. Um, come back next week. Hollywood masterclass is a stitcher original and a production of mid-roll media. Our executive producers are Chris Bannon and Jenny Radelet. Music and sound by Brett Morris.