The Michael Knowles Show - August 30, 2024


Hollywood Libs Are FURIOUS About This Movie ｜ John Voight & Michael Knowles


Episode Stats

Length

16 minutes

Words per Minute

158.76482

Word Count

2,545

Sentence Count

208

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

5


Summary

John Voight joins me to discuss his role in the new film, Reagan, directed by John Singleton, and why he thinks it s one of the most underrated films of the 20th century. We also talk about his relationship with John Voight s character in Reagan and what it s like to be a spy for the Soviet Union.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 I don't want to take too much credit for things, you know what I mean?
00:00:02.700 But that I was very proud of.
00:00:04.520 So it slipped out with Michael Knowles.
00:00:07.260 Michael Knowles could get anything out of an actor.
00:00:09.560 I love it.
00:00:10.440 That's an exclusive just for this interview.
00:00:12.780 I am joined now by, I think I can say without hyperbole, my favorite actor.
00:00:19.180 Not only for his work on the screen, a man who needs no introduction, an Academy Award winner,
00:00:25.000 but also I would say probably personally my favorite actor, a man with whom I have had cigars,
00:00:30.320 and to whom I must give my Mayflower cigars.
00:00:32.340 That would be the one and only John Voight.
00:00:34.440 John, thank you for being here.
00:00:36.420 Michael, I'd go anywhere for a cigar.
00:00:39.380 John, I just saw you, but you were not there.
00:00:43.100 I saw you at the Nashville premiere of the Reagan movie, which was magnificent.
00:00:49.160 And your role typically was magnificent.
00:00:51.060 And you play a character, probably the most fictional character,
00:00:56.060 though he's a composite of historical people in the movie.
00:00:58.640 You play the KGB guy who's tracking Reagan for his whole life.
00:01:04.760 Tell me a little bit.
00:01:05.860 I mean, you know, really, this is not flattery at all.
00:01:08.420 You are one of the great actors of our age.
00:01:10.800 And you're coming there as this Russian character, you know,
00:01:13.780 bringing much more of a little bit of fiction and art to bear on it.
00:01:17.540 Tell me a little bit about preparing for the role.
00:01:19.480 Well, first of all, the piece, when presented to me,
00:01:24.400 I thought it was a great idea because Russia was very, very, I mean,
00:01:31.280 the Soviet Union, which apart from Russia,
00:01:33.880 because the Soviet Union was something, the evil empire, you know.
00:01:39.720 And Russia is very dear to my heart being an actor because it gives Stanislavski
00:01:45.940 and all the history of art in that country, you know, and the people.
00:01:50.360 I love them, but they were suffering under this tyranny.
00:01:54.260 But anyway, they had, the Soviets had their eye on many,
00:01:59.820 many people that could present problems with them in the future.
00:02:03.000 And this fellow who was an actor from Los Angeles was talking against communism
00:02:08.660 from a very early time.
00:02:10.920 And then he started indicating a talent for the political.
00:02:16.860 And his rise was being tracked by Russia.
00:02:22.180 And we have in this picture, I am the fellow who is the Soviet spy
00:02:26.980 that is assigned to this work.
00:02:29.440 So, and the detail with which I'm focused on him in this job that I'm doing
00:02:36.960 would make it a perfect fellow to tell the story in some way,
00:02:42.700 tracking the most important moments for them throughout his career.
00:02:46.940 And so it worked out pretty good.
00:02:49.500 When I read it, I said, oh, that's a good idea.
00:02:51.920 If we can make it real and present it in such a way
00:02:57.620 that we care about his character as well, it could work very well.
00:03:01.180 And I think it does work, you know, tells the story of the film
00:03:04.940 and gives it something else, gives it a little touch of something else.
00:03:09.860 I think the intrigue and the Soviet system and the thinking of that,
00:03:17.620 I think it melds perfectly because it leads to finally,
00:03:21.600 after Brezhnev and several others, it leads finally to Gorbachev
00:03:26.840 and this meeting between these men at that time
00:03:31.800 and creating the result that was so extraordinary.
00:03:35.480 I love that point you make about the distinction between Russia
00:03:38.480 and the Soviet Union, especially as an actor,
00:03:40.880 because it just occurs to me, as you mentioned it,
00:03:43.220 that modern acting really comes out of Russia
00:03:46.040 and out of the Moscow Art Theater and Stanislavski
00:03:48.120 into the group theater and on in America.
00:03:50.260 And there's this wonderful line from your character in the movie
00:03:54.380 where, you know, the younger spy says, you know,
00:03:59.420 this was the fall of the motherland when the Soviet Union collapsed.
00:04:03.940 And your character says, no, communism is not the motherland.
00:04:08.620 In a way, I guess it would be an aberration.
00:04:11.260 Just that tension, even within Russia,
00:04:13.720 really is, I think, beautifully expressed in the movie.
00:04:16.560 Yeah, I agree with you.
00:04:18.080 I loved saying that.
00:04:19.100 I think I came up with it, actually.
00:04:21.560 Did you?
00:04:22.220 I'm not surprised.
00:04:23.340 Well, I mean, I don't want to take too much credit for things,
00:04:28.200 you know what I mean?
00:04:28.860 But that I was very proud of.
00:04:30.700 So it slipped out with Michael Knowles.
00:04:33.440 Michael Knowles could get anything out of an actor.
00:04:35.740 I love it.
00:04:36.620 That's an exclusive just for this interview.
00:04:38.940 No, I did love saying that because I said to Genev, Tolstoy, Chekhov, you know, that's the motherland.
00:04:47.860 Here's the motherland.
00:04:49.420 It's a beautiful line and really poignant.
00:04:52.720 So this movie has been in the works for, I remember hearing about this movie at a dinner in L.A.
00:05:01.180 Dennis Quaid showed up or was right when he signed on.
00:05:03.500 It must have been six or eight years ago at this point.
00:05:06.380 I know Mark Joseph, the producer, had been working on this thing since, I want to say, 2010, 2009.
00:05:12.380 So what was the whole process of bringing this film through gestation to life?
00:05:20.260 Well, it was a very, you're right, it was talked about many years ago.
00:05:25.260 And it was a dream of Marx and his partner, John.
00:05:31.340 And it was like something akin to what happened with Gandhi, I suppose, you know.
00:05:37.100 A long period before they finally got it to camera.
00:05:43.420 But what happened here is very interesting because it was supposed to open a year and a half ago.
00:05:51.740 But then COVID interfered.
00:05:54.440 And that was, and we were shooting right during the end of COVID.
00:05:57.820 And because of the regulations at that time, someone would get sick on the set.
00:06:03.060 We would wait 10 days for that person to recover.
00:06:08.480 We would close down the set and then come back to work for a couple of days and somebody else would get sick.
00:06:13.680 Right.
00:06:14.700 And that's the way we were shooting, you know.
00:06:17.280 It was very difficult.
00:06:18.960 And finally, too, there was the actor strike.
00:06:22.220 And then there were certain things concerning the script.
00:06:25.340 They wanted to get just right, get the editing exactly right before they went to CGI.
00:06:31.360 And that took quite a long time.
00:06:33.060 And finally, it was pushed to this date.
00:06:36.220 But now it's opening now at this very interesting time that in some ways, because of the difficulty we're facing right now, mirrors somewhat the same things that Reagan faced, you know, at times in his career.
00:06:53.420 And so, to give you an example, our film opens with the assassination attempt on Reagan's life.
00:07:05.040 And this just happened several weeks ago with Donald Trump.
00:07:09.220 Right.
00:07:09.440 So, it's like things are very relevant.
00:07:13.760 His going to confront the students at the university is reflective still as things are happening today at universities.
00:07:22.420 Many, many things are quite the same.
00:07:24.900 So, it gives you a different idea of how somebody else took on those problems.
00:07:32.980 And anyway, I think it's a relevant movie, but it's also a very beautiful love story.
00:07:38.320 That's one of the things about the movie that's quite unique, is the story of the relationship of Ronnie and Nancy.
00:07:48.060 It's a very beautiful portrait by these two, by Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller.
00:07:53.200 Really lovely.
00:07:54.740 And that becomes a very moving part of it.
00:07:59.420 And I have to say that my colleagues did a wonderful job in this, in every way.
00:08:04.520 And certainly the editors, I'm very aware of how they came to play with it.
00:08:09.580 And Mark and John stayed with this thing for all this time, every day on it.
00:08:14.960 So, it's nice to see the movie coming forth in this full bloom and people appreciating it so much.
00:08:21.580 And as you say, the timing is quite providential.
00:08:25.280 It hit me at the premiere.
00:08:26.900 I thought, had this thing really come out two years ago, three years ago, five years ago, whenever, it wouldn't have hit as it does today.
00:08:33.760 It seems as though, you know, in God's providence, things happen, you know, for a purpose.
00:08:39.040 And so, it's coming out now in this extraordinarily fraught political moment.
00:08:43.680 And John, you are one of the few in Hollywood, not only who speaks out and is openly conservative and kind of cuts against the tide in Hollywood, but who has managed to survive that, who has continued to work constantly and remained in the good graces of people who probably detest your politics.
00:09:02.800 So, I would be remiss if I didn't ask you, before I let you go, how you're feeling about the next, whatever it is, 65 days or so until the election.
00:09:12.280 Well, there's a lot of work to do still.
00:09:14.580 There's been a lot of work by many, many people.
00:09:18.020 We're fighting against some very bad behavior.
00:09:20.940 And we have to make sure that, as Stalin said, it's not who votes, it's who counts the votes, said Stalin, you see.
00:09:29.380 Well, somebody seems to be taking that quite seriously.
00:09:32.900 And we have to make sure that the votes are counted.
00:09:37.280 Many, many things are going on.
00:09:39.780 But, of course, I look at this and I see things, tides are changing.
00:09:44.760 There are many heroic people out there, Michael.
00:09:47.880 Your team are some of them.
00:09:54.220 They're doing a great job in many different areas.
00:09:58.300 I look at the women who go and confront the school boards and stuff to fight for their own children's freedoms and health.
00:10:10.160 And I see so many people who are heroic at this time.
00:10:13.760 And then I see some blessings coming our way, which I didn't anticipate.
00:10:18.800 You know, out of nowhere, of course, this film had that journey.
00:10:23.840 I have to say there's God's hand in this in some way.
00:10:26.840 At least it's an answer to my prayers that it turns out to be a good film and comes at the right time and has some relevance and maybe lifts our spirits.
00:10:34.320 Then there's these indications of things happening.
00:10:41.460 You know, the most recent thing being RFK, you know, Bobby Kennedy coming over.
00:10:48.920 This is a big blessing.
00:10:50.160 It's a big movement, you know.
00:10:51.860 And more to come, I think.
00:10:53.720 But anyway, we have to just keep our focus and work hard right till the last vote is counted to see if we can turn the tide here.
00:11:06.200 Of course, there's a famous line in Reagan's life which appears in the movie.
00:11:10.000 It really launched his political career.
00:11:11.980 He was giving a speech on behalf of Goldwater, who everyone knew was going to lose anyway, but it helped launch Reagan.
00:11:16.860 And he said that when great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we're spirits, not animals.
00:11:23.140 And it was a wonderful statement.
00:11:26.040 Yes, and he concludes with it.
00:11:27.700 He says, you know, there's something going on in time and space and beyond time and space which, whether we know it or not, spells destiny.
00:11:33.840 He says, you and I have a rendezvous with destiny.
00:11:36.400 That was the phrase that really launched him.
00:11:39.040 And watching the movie, one feels that resonate even today.
00:11:43.400 John, I know that you are on a blitz of a media tour.
00:11:48.160 And even in this short conversation, I've already held you, I think, double the time I was told to.
00:11:52.220 I was so glad.
00:11:53.100 I was so glad that they said Michael Knowles would like to spend a moment with them.
00:11:59.300 I said, really?
00:12:00.620 I was saying, that's it.
00:12:02.300 That's my buddy Michael.
00:12:03.520 That's it.
00:12:03.860 That's it.
00:12:04.300 Anyway, it was great.
00:12:05.360 You're going to make me blush, John.
00:12:06.620 You're going to make me blush.
00:12:07.440 Next time you are here or I am in L.A., I will be sure to bring you a box of Mayflower cigars, one of many ways to celebrate the Reagan movie, which is out now.
00:12:17.600 Go to see the movie and right away, take your best buddies out to have a Mayflower cigar.
00:12:26.460 I'm going to clip that.
00:12:27.700 That's going to be the biggest commercial for the cigars.
00:12:29.920 John, thank you very much.
00:12:31.480 Excellent, as always, to see you.
00:12:33.500 Great, Michael.
00:12:34.240 God bless.
00:12:34.900 God bless.
00:12:35.280 You too.
00:12:35.400 Welcome to your life.
00:12:39.660 There's nothing a retired governor can do, but a president.
00:12:43.380 Now he can do a thing or two.
00:12:45.700 Everybody wants to rule the world.
00:12:51.340 I will be frank with you that as a citizen, I would not like to see any political party outlawed on the basis of its ideology.
00:12:58.980 Because I still believe, Mr. Chairman, that democracy can handle it.
00:13:02.840 I was a brand new KGB officer, given my first intelligence assignment.
00:13:09.180 A certain actor and union leader.
00:13:12.020 Dutch, there is no purpose for your life.
00:13:15.740 You can run from a bully for so long, but after a while, you're going to have to stand up to him.
00:13:21.360 It's my boy!
00:13:22.700 There's about to be another war right here in Hollywood.
00:13:28.040 The commies on one side, the mob on the other.
00:13:30.780 And you're right in the middle, son.
00:13:32.120 If you put as much work into your career as you do making your speeches, you'd have an Oscar by now.
00:13:41.160 Hello, I'm Nancy Davis.
00:13:42.900 Hello, Nancy Davis.
00:13:43.780 I'm Ron Reagan.
00:13:45.100 I'm curious, Ron.
00:13:46.260 What would you say is the issue of our time?
00:13:48.460 No question about it.
00:13:50.700 Communism and the Soviet Union.
00:13:52.740 Get in the game.
00:13:53.760 Run for office.
00:13:54.440 It's you.
00:13:57.200 I'm running for governor, and I would like your vote.
00:13:59.680 I've forgotten your name.
00:14:00.940 Do his initials help?
00:14:02.460 R-R?
00:14:03.040 Honey, Roy Rogers is here.
00:14:05.780 And he's running for governor.
00:14:08.280 Ronnie, remember when we met?
00:14:10.040 You told me that you wanted to make a difference in this world.
00:14:14.400 You know what you have to do.
00:14:16.200 Governor Reagan again, typically, is against such a proposal.
00:14:20.280 There you go again.
00:14:21.340 But he was not afraid to take us on.
00:14:24.460 There's nothing a retired governor can do about the Soviets, but a president.
00:14:29.340 Now he can do a thing or two.
00:14:31.140 Welcome to your life.
00:14:34.760 I was a lifeguard on a river.
00:14:37.240 There's no turning back.
00:14:40.680 And I learned how to read the currents.
00:14:43.340 Not just the ones on the surface, but also the ones deep underneath the water.
00:14:56.340 I am about to start the biggest war of this century, and I'm not going to fire a single
00:15:00.780 shot.
00:15:01.360 You're going to blow up eight years of diplomacy.
00:15:03.280 Well, if you think that got their undies in a wand, you just wait.
00:15:06.700 What did the president know, and when did he know it?
00:15:09.640 What would you have me do?
00:15:11.540 I want you to fight.
00:15:21.600 Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
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