Director's Cut

light instrumental music

upbeat music

If you had to explain Canada's history to someone in two sentences, what would it be? Unknown. I didn't know there was Canadian history. I did not-- I did not know that. When I was a kid, like, the history books in Canada were published in the United States. Right. There were no history books made in Canada, and so we studied American history. Mm-hmm. Until Pierre Trudeau became prime minister and said, "We should study Canadian history." Hi, welcome to Director's Cut. I'm Pete Schwaba, and that was a clip from Being Canadian, a documentary about a man from Calgary, Alberta-- that's in Canada-- who digs deep into his soul and his country to find out what it means to really be Canadian. We're joined today by the film's director, Rob Cohen. Rob, welcome to Director's Cut. Thank you so much. So that scene-- you and Dave Foley-- was that after just a nutty night on the town, or-- I mean, lots of friends take naps together. I'm not judging. I'm just-- - Yeah, yeah. I love the settings you have. Talk about that a little bit....For your interviews. The Foley interview, the short version is, we had just driven all night from, uh, Nova Sco-- New Brunswick to try to get to Toronto in time. And when we got there, Foley was waiting in the hotel bar. But there was a bomb threat in our hotel, so we had to wait downstairs in the bar before the police would let you go to your rooms, and by the time we got to the room, we were all so tired and had a few beverages, that I just said to Dave, "Let's just do this in bed, 'cause I'm exhausted." And he, a little too readily, accepted. -

laughing

And so we just shot it in bed. Nice. I love it. Um, so why don't Canadians know about their history, especially former prime ministers? What's going on there? I think Canadians are so nationalistic and so proud of Canada, but our history is generally fairly boring. You know, it's like when you say baseball stats to people. You can start rattling off the first two or three, and then you start to think, like, "I think he was, like, Little League rookie of the year." Like, you start to fade. And other histories, like Britain or the U.S.-- you just have huge things, like, "We landed on the moon. We controlled the seas." And we're just bred to sort of not really learn that much about our country-- You're not living in the past; you're moving forward. Well, if we did, it'd be people just looking around staring, because-- You couldn't. It's a young country with not the most vibrant history in comparison to other people. And we learn so much about the U.S. and very little about Canada in school. So what was it like going back there? I mean, you've been in LA now for 20, 25 years. Yeah. - Explain or describe, what was the feeling when you went back to make this movie? Can you go home again? Was it cool, or-- Yeah, it was really cool. It was myself and Colin and Megan, my partners in the movie, and-- Colin's the producer, Megan's the DP, and we're all Canadian, and we went back, and we were all having the same sense of nostalgia for the home that we still love but we missed but also just kind rediscovering those ingrained Canadian things that we'd forgotten about, and-- Like what? Like we-- there's a clip in the movie when we go to a gas station in New Brunswick. And this very nice woman comes over and gives us $7 to help us on our quest, but she needed the money from her husband, who's stuck in the car, but he will not come out of the car, 'cause he's listening to a hockey game on the radio. So, it's like her-- this very Canadian argument about him being rude but him saying, "I must listen to the hockey game." So it was, like, those sort of conversations. That's great. We just laughed our heads off. Do you have-- when you see characters like that, does it make you want to make a narrative, too, about those kind of characters? No, because it's-- like, any country like the States, Britain, any big country, Canada does have a very diverse population. This movie's-- was my goal to answer, sort of, the problems and questions I've encountered since I left Canada. So it's not the tell-all, be-all about Canada, but I just think it's that intangible-- how do you explain a place people don't really think of that much or care that much about, but how, uh, your problem has been because you come from there. Like, it's--it's almost too-- too vague to even wrap your head around. But it's more the vibe of Canada as opposed to the definitive history of Canada. Well, let's take another look at a clip from Be ing Canadian. Why do non-Canadians freak out when they learn someone is Canadian? Being Canadian is definitely something I enjoy... -

laughing

Just because most people don't really understand what a Canadian is, but they know we're different somehow. No matter how many times I said it and said it in print or said it on The Tonight Show, everybody I met-- and I would say, "Well, you know, I'm a Canadian." They'd go, "Really? You're a Canadian?" People were surprised when I tell them that I was Canadian, and like you said, they-- they seemed kind of betrayed by it. Suddenly I'll say one word... - Yeah. They'll pick out, and they'll just go, "You're a Canadian!" Like I've been hiding it from them. I was the social conscience of America for nine years, and I think that the fact that I was Canadian was maybe just too confusing for people. Right. And it probably goes back to the McCarthy thing. They look like us. They talk like us. They move like us, but they're-- but they're other. Because it means we walk amongst you. This club of Canadians that all sort of walk around knowing, like-- Winking at each other. They almost look like Americans, but it was almost like they were Russian spies dressed up as Americans, you know? We look like Americans. Sometimes we can change our "aboots" and our "abouts," and we can talk like Americans. We can wear the same clothes as Americans.

whispering

But you don't know we're there.

eerie music

So I'm watching this film, Rob, and every interview, I'm like, "I didn't know he or she was from Canada." Right. - "Oh, my gosh." Is there--are there-- I mean, everybody is either, like-- I knew all my comedic influences were Jewish. I didn't know they were Jewish and Canadian. Right. Are there any non-famous people in Canada? Uh, well, before the movie, my mom, but now that she's in the movie, she's blowing up. -

laughing

Uh, no. It's-- I just wanted to get a vast selection of Canadians, not all famous Canadians, and we have a lot of man-on-the-street stuff. But sort of the same way Canada is-- you guys are a melting pot; we're a mosaic. And we wanted to represent every type of Canadian, and fortunately, a lot of them were well-known that we contacted, because that helped us with the movie, but we also have some great man-on-the-street stuff. And the guy who runs the secret maple syrup base in Quebec is not famous, but he was critical-- and the therapist and the nutritionist. So we wanted to sort of have the movie represent the country but at the same time balance out so that it wasn't just talking heads. Right, it's funny, because, like, I would say-- and I actually thought-- I'll just ask you. Like, per capita, Canadians are probably funnier than Americans, because the amount of people that come out-- isn't it-- don't they have 35 million people or something like that? Yeah. - That's pretty impressive. Yeah. Does it lend itself to being funny? Maybe the cold, maybe the fact that it's north of America? I think it's-- I don't think one is funnier than the other, but I do think that because we are right above you guys and so heavily influenced by American culture and pop culture, but also, we're very British, and we have a little bit of French in there, and we're just an observer nation; we kind of soak up bits and pieces but then process it through the muted enthusiasm of being Canadian, so you get sort of either SCTV crazy characters, or you get very dry, like, comedy. Right. And so I do think we benefit from being kind of the crossroads of these huge comedy powerhouses. So you took nine days to film, driving across Canada. How long did post take? Was post an ordeal? - Yes. Post took a year and a half. - Wow. We had 120 hours of interviews. We had to cut down to 88 minutes. And then we had to get music and do graphics and all the other stuff. And we were racing the clock to get into our first festival, which was Hot Docs in Toronto, which is part of the Toronto Film Festival, so it was all of that with this ticking clock of submitting it to this festival. And you just told me, like, Rush gave you an hour, and they--were you nervous? You probably didn't know those guys. I'm sure you knew a lot of the comedians-- No. - What's that like? We tried to get Rush for three years, and the answer back was, "They're interested, but they're never in the same city at the same time." Okay. - So we sort of forgot about it. And then I got the phone call from their publicist saying, "They're gonna be in Los Angeles tomorrow night "for the first time together in, like, years. And if you can do it, you can have an hour with them." And I was shooting something that night, so I had to change the schedule. Right. Drove 90 miles an hour to the hotel and just-- the one thing their rep said is, "Just don't get excited that they're Rush. Just act normal." - Nice. So outside, I was like, "Hey, thank you so much," and inside, I'm like...

wails

-

laughing

You bumped Jason Priestley for-- I couldn't believe it. And then they were so nice and so funny. They gave us three hours. - Wow. And we bought drinks, and they were so amazing that I was, you know, I-- my crush on them only increased. Right. And then they invited us to dinner afterwards. Oh, man. And it was--and Neil Peart signed a drumhead for Colin, and it was-- they were so cool. Let's take another look at a clip from Being Canadian. Why are Canadians obsessed with pointing out other Canadians? That's a good point; I think that's true, 'cause I'm always saying that. "Oh, that guy is Canadian." The more you find out who is Canadian, the more you're like, "Yes! Score!" Like Leslie Nielsen-- "Yes!" To them, he's an American icon. To us, he's one of ours. Lorne Michaels. Biggest name in television right now, you know, pretty much controls all of NBC... Mm-hmm. - He's from Toronto. Mary Pickford, you know, America's sweetheart, she was Canadian. Mack Sennett-- he was Canadian. Well, you like Loverboy? Yeah, that's us. Fay Wray is from Canada. Louis B. Mayer--Canadian. The Warner brothers--Canadian. The list--all of them know the list of who did what in Canada. I think Canadians, you know, like to kind of pipe up and say, you know, really, "Look who came from our community." Right. And it comes from our insecurity and our low self-esteem. We want to make sure Americans know that, like, "Oh, we've had impact on this culture also." And it takes us to go, "No, no, no. "That person you like-- yes, he's Canadian as well. She's Canadian. They are Canadian." I mean, it's the same reason that Jews want to point out who's Jewish. And I'm Jewish and Canadian, and so I'm doing it all the time. The word in Yiddish is naches. They have a tremendous amount of naches-- pride in anyone who is Canadian who succeeds anywhere in the rest of the world. Like, an American will come up to me and say, you know, "I love Family Ties," or, "I love Back to the Future" or whatever. A Canadian will always come up and say, "We're Canadian." "Hey, we're from Canada." And I was-- "Where you from?" You know, "I'm from Esterhazy." "I'm from--" Winnipeg, you know. And it's like, "Oh, yeah, I'm from Bruderheim. We have so much in common." Your excitement upon meeting them doubles because they're Canadian. Good to see you. Good to see you, brother. - Canadian? Yes. - Me too. It's that connection. Again, it's that thing that we seek each other out, and-- I don't know why it is important, but it is. So I've known you for a while, but what I didn't know is that you are an NFL owner. - Yes. You own one share of stock in--wait for it-- the Green Bay Packers. - Yes. How does a kid from the streets of Calgary pull that off? Well, you send them $250-- American dollars-- when they have their shareholders'--whatever once every ten years. And so I sent the money in and, uh, wanted to be an NFL owner. So for 250 bucks--I have a certificate at my house-- I have one share of Packers stock. I get invited to all the meetings. Really? Yeah, I don't go, but I would love to go to Lambeau and see how my team is doing internally. Do they consult you on moves? They don't consult me on moves, but I do love getting the letters where it's just clear that they know they have to send these out... To the owners. But it's just, like, ugh. This guy only owns one share. Send it to this idiot in Los Angeles. Were you a fan of the team before you-- I'm a fan of football. I just think it's the only team you can buy into through their stock program, so why not? What's Jerry Jones like? I can't really talk about it. I have to sign an NDA. - You guys are-- I get it. That's fine. - You don't understand, 'cause you're not an NFL owner. - I'm not an owner. It would go right over your head. I own part of a CBA team, but that's not the same. I own six CFL teams... - Really? Which equals half one NFL team. You own the Argonauts? I own the Argonauts, both of the Rough Riders, the Stampeders, uh, the Lions, and the Blue Bombers. Seems like kind of a conflict of interest there, but that's how they do it in Canada. That's your opinion. I welcome it. So I'm so glad you're here because we have a lot of directors, but you are an incredibly talented writer. You've got a list of credits for The Ben Stiller Show, Bi g Bang Theory. Did you write for The Simpsons? Mm-hmm. - Okay, The Simpsons. I mean, what do you-- where are writers on the totem pole in show business? I always feel like they're kind of disrespected. Maybe not in TV so much anymore, but where do you think they rank? How important is the script if you're the director? Well, if you're the writer and there's a totem pole, I think the writers are underground... -

laughing

Acting as the mulch to hopefully stabilize the shiny parts of the totem pole. Okay, that's noble. Yeah, and then they'll replace the mulch with other mulch. Right. But as long as the totem pole looks great, that's all that people care about. Um, I think being a TV writer is definitely-- you have a little more juice now, because there are so many outlets for shows, so they need more shows. But at the same time, you have to just put up with writing something and then handing it over to a process that is very flawed in some areas. And that's one of the big reasons-- like we were talking about-- is why I switched to directing, because it wasn't so much I wanted to control my stuff. I just got sick of writing stuff that then you hand over to somebody and hope it gets made. And I wanted to take stuff, hopefully some of it mine, and make it, because I got into this to make stuff. And so I love the actual making of it-- like, the shooting and the editing. And you can't really do that in the writers' room. Yeah, and especially with comedy-- to the protect the comedy so someone else doesn't have a different sensibility-- Yeah, or just see it come to completion, because you know, scripts sit around forever and ever and ever, and you just wish something got made. But if there's a possibility to be there and help it get made, I think that's the most fun reason to get into that. Word. All right, let's see another clip from Being Canadian. I wanted to find out where our famous Canadian politeness came from once and for all, by taking a detour off my route and speaking to an expert in the field.

orchestral music

Hey. - Hello, Rob? Yes. Linda. - Linda Allan. Thank you so much. - How are you? I'm great. Welcome back to Canada. - Thank you. Thank you. My name is Linda Allan. My company goes by the name of Linda Allan. And I'm an etiquette expert. And do you think that it's an amazing coincidence that your company's named after you? Uh, no. No, not at all. I purposely set out to put my name to my company. Smart. As we discussed before, we're sort of known, correct or incorrect, for being unbelievably polite. Yeah, and we're not "sort of known." We're well-known for being unbelievably polite. You're right. - So expand on that. Like, why do you think that is? Well, I think it goes back, in some sense, to our parliamentarian system. I mean, you know, we hail from British rule. And a difference is, they're, you know, polite. Everybody thinks of them as just amazingly well-mannered. So if that camera were, let's say, the guy at a front desk at a hotel in Spain and he had done you wrong, how would you admonish him? Well, I'd still go up to the counter, and I'd say, "Excuse me, I-I don't mean to be rude, "but I wanted to let you know that my bill is incorrect, "and I'm wondering if you could take a look at this and just see if I'm right." So that's--yeah. - And then if I was-- It's not very aggressive, is it? But then if I was him, and I said in my nonexistent Spanish accent, "No, I think, uh, you did order "300 pornos and all these muffins, so you got to pay." Gosh, I wish I could hit you back with something to say that I would-- Bring it. Unleash the Canadian fury. But I think we would just roll our eyes, shrug our shoulders. We're so afraid to, um... to put someone else down or something else down, because in our culture, that says more about us than the rudeness that was emitted from someone else. Canada was built on an ancient Indian burial ground, and instead of poltergeists... -

laughing

We have apologies. Okay, so since America is so superior... Obviously. Why do we feel the need to denigrate Canadians, since we are so much better than them? Why? You've been here a long time. You got to have some insight on this. First of all, like all Americans, you're absolutely correct. Thank you. And I just thank you for allowing me to have a moment with you just to soak in your American awesomeness. So that's a side note. I speak for all Americans when I say, "You're welcome." It's so great of you to say that. I really appreciate that. - No problem. I'm gonna take that with me forever. I hope so. Learn from this. Oh, wow. Thank you--even more. What a gift. - Right. I think-- what was the question? I have no idea. - Exactly. All right, I'll give you an example. Like, I play video poker, and when somebody-- when people are chatting, they go, "Ugh, you must be Canadian." Like, why-- why do Americans do that? Is it to make themselves-- you're already in America, and you already think it's the greatest country, so what--you know, why do they do that? This is just my answer, and it has nothing to do with my nationality versus yours. I think that the U.S. is so comfortable with themselves as extroverts in any area, like Texans or, you know, California-- you can just say an area of the States, and people have a vibe about it. They go, "Oh, yeah, big cowboys." Or Florida, you know-- sun worshippers. Or California--like, Hollywood, you know, whatever it is. Right. And I think it's so easily identifiable. And you-- no one will ever go, "I love Clint Eastwood movies. You know, he's American." It's--it's not even assumed he's American. He is American. - Yeah. John Wayne is American. But if you go to something that's Canadian, the Canadians are so convinced nobody knows that that it's like, "Well, you know Captain Kirk is-- he's Canadian, right?" He's Canadian, and this guy's Canadian. Because Americans will hear that and be like, "You're lying." -

laughing

Or they'll be so uninterested. They'll be like, "Mm-hmm, great." Right. - And I just think it's-- we are constantly designed to externally be second place... Right. Because we live next to you guys. But internally, we are so, uh, cocky, in a funny way. We know we're first and think that you guys are idiots, so we'll let you continue to act like idiots. That is a generalization. Now I feel really silly for the way I asked that question. No, not at all. - Okay. It's just-- we're quietly superior. Now you're condescending. - No, I'm not-- We're not, but we are the most passive-aggressive people in the world, so it's a lot of, like... this. But I'm not thinking this. And you guys are just like... - Right. Americans are much more clear with their true emotions. Okay, so we got about 30 seconds to our next clip, so I'm gonna ask you-- I've known you for years. Josh Etting-- The great Josh Etting-- - The great Josh Etting. You came to a screening of Th e Godfather of Green Bay, my film, and your aura has grown over the years. So I'm gonna ask you some questions, true or false, about the mysterious Rob Cohen. - Sure. The Milhouse character is based on you... True. - On The Simpsons. Wow. That's cool. Aimee Mann wrote a song about you. Uh, it's partially about me. That's good enough. You can take it. Okay, sure. - Okay. And there's a trading card of you from Austin Powers II. Correct. Oh, wait, sorry--true. Yeah, true. Thank you. Let's see another clip from Being Canadian with the great Rob Cohen. A friend of mine used to describe Canada as the "Hey, guys, wait up" country to the United States. "Hey, guys, wait up. What are you doing?" We've always felt like America's little brother. This, like, little brother who's demanding attention in his own right. It's like being at a party, and your friend tells great stories, and you go, you know, "I like turkey." And it's like, "I had diarrhea once on a plane. "

laughing

Yeah. It was really embarrassing, eh? Yeah." Dude, it's Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. That's what it is growing up next to the States. Let's look at the iconic American motion picture Tw ins, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. If they were Siamese twins, that would really be the story of America and Canada. You are the Danny DeVito dangling loosely from Arnold Schwarzenegger's rib. -

speaking French

If Canada was gonna be a guest on The Tonight Show, how would Carson bring them out to get the crowd excited about Canada? Ah, oh, yes, that's-- that's right--Canada. It's just--just north of here. I've heard of it. As a matter of fact, one time, ah, the U.S. were thinking of buying Canada and using it as a parking lot. I'm yearning for any acknowledgement for them. You're yearning for acknowledgment for them? From the U.S. For Canada? Well, that ain't gonna happen. The Americans know absolutely nothing--we're attached. We're just like-- you can step over the border. It's the exact same thing. The thing that really probably hurt me the most was realizing how little people thought about Canada-- at all. Do you think there's a guy in America like you, like Rob Cohen-- let's say he grows up in Ohio, and he says, "I'm gonna move to Canada and take the entertainment business by storm." I hope there is. - Wouldn't that be cool? Yeah, it's there for the taking. -

laughing

Yeah, you guys all left. Yeah, exactly. It's wide open. I can tell them where the keys are. Yeah. - Uh, no. I think it's-- there's always opportunities. It just depends on what you want to do. And so if somebody wanted to go and do that in Canada, I think they would have a fairly simple time. So did you learn anything about Canada when you were doing this-- stuff you didn't know? Absolutely. - Yeah. Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing was what happens at the end of the film, which I won't give away, but we-- all of us who had left and lived in the States, then went back to make the movie, realized how much Canada had changed in its self-confidence and its pride, externally as well as internally, because we grew up in the same sort of, like, dopey, "Canada is second place," meek, you know, "Sorry." -

laughs

Right. And we were just so impressed and delighted with how confident Canada was, even before--this was before Justin Trudeau got elected, and now that's even risen more, so we were just like, "Wow. Our home-- they're kind of badasses." And we love it. - Yeah. Especially comedically, I mean, Second City, Kids in the Hall and-- I really was blown away by seeing all those people from-- Absolutely, but it was just-- it was such a-- you know, the whole goal of the movie was to make it a love letter to Canada from us and not an anti-anything-else movie. And I think, in sort of the non-sappy way, we all fell back in love so deeply with the country that we loved, but just being there and sort of going through the back roads and making this movie, it was like, "Oh, my God. I'm so glad I'm from here. This is so great." And it was, like, little moments that we remembered as kids, but we were now having this experience with the movie, and it was great. So we have about 30 seconds left. Who are your comedy idols, Rob? My comedy idols are Monty Python, everybody in the SCTV, uh, I would say Kids in the Hall, and then people like Albert Brooks, um, early Steve Martin. - Yeah. Guys like that, who just, um-- you know, like, to me, the greatest of all time are Python and SCTV. No one will ever touch the level those guys were operating on. You left Pete Schwaba off the list, but we'll get to him next time. You interrupted me. Pete Schwaba--oh, sorry. Thanks for being here. It was great talking to you. Appreciate you coming by. - Thank you so much. And thank you for watching Director's Cut. For more information on Being Canadian, please go to wpt.org and click on Director's Cut. While you're there, send us an email or find out how to submit a film. Also, don't forget to like WPT on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. I'm Pete Schwaba, and I am not Canadian. Sorry. We'll see you next time on Director's Cut. Sorry, everyone. Sorry I'm alive. I'm sorry I made it. I'm sorry I'm a success. - Sorry? Ooh, sorry. Sorry. I didn't do that right-- No, there's no wrong-- You don't need to apologize for apologizing. Oh, sorry! - I'm sorry. I'm sorry. - Sorry. I'm sorry. - Hello? Oh, my God. Sorry. I'm sorry I exist. Oh, sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. - Sorry! Uh, sorry? - Sorry! -

speaks French

I'm sorry these people have to listen to us saying, "Sorry." I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but thank you very, very much for watching.