), the L.A. native is eternally interested in creativity.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Youve worked in TV before but primarily have been a feature doc director.
I feel like a feature doc, I would have felt the pressure to tell a more complete story.
Credit: SHOWTIME
This is by far the most experimental thing Ive ever done.
And its been great.
Theres this incredible meta quality to the whole project where you are examining What is this about?
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when trying to help them find their voice.
And I feel like thats what we tried to do.
And so in that way, I think I was produced by Rick too.
So it became an interesting circle in that way too, which I really appreciated.
Because so many have been done.
So how do we approach, it in a way, and I think that was really exciting.
And Rick really had no interest in doing the same old thing either.
He said in the beginning, Im not going to be a talking head.
Im not going to sit down for an on-camera interview.
Im not going to do the things youve seen, because its just been done.
Rick often doesnt know where he wants to go.
He just knows he doesnt want to go back.
So I think he set a lot of limitations.
Of course its a double album, not just an album.Exactly.
Like, Okay, here we go.
Lets figure this out.
Like, Get that theremin working!
But its very much a two-way street.
In the beginning, Rick wasnt even sure if he would be in this.
And it kind of became this grand experiment for us.
I feel like you get a pretty good sense of what his creative ethos is here.
Which was really the goal from the beginning.
Where did the idea spring from to re-enact portions of Rick at different stages of his life?
And we said, Well, lets just come up with these different Ricks.
Each episode has a new Rick in it.
And in many ways, Rick has been a shapeshifter throughout his life too.
So I actually went and shot all of this stuff with the kid without even telling Rick.
And then I was like, Hey, do you want to check something out?
And he dug it.
He thought it was cool.
Another thread that weaves through the series is the concept of artists merely being a conduit for the art.
Theres magic in that.
A lot of people ascribe magic to Rick.
Do you think hes magic?You have to define magic.
Do you think he has something that is extrasensory or extra-special?
I think thats really important, but I think its something anybody can do.
Its something that we can all share in.
But those are things we can all aspire to.
Those are very human things.
Plenty of producers are going to tell you what kind of keyboard to use on that overdub.
But Rick is about trying to adjust something in your life that may affect your music.
And for some people that works; some people need that and other people dont.
And I think thats whats important to Rick.
Its the lack of caring about if you really believe it or if you dont.
If you cant tell if its real or not.
Thats what Rick likes.
One common perception of Rick is as this aloof Zen master.
I think thats whats so interesting is hes not an elitist in any way.
You have to know how to connect with people regardless of how much you have in common with them.
Thats been true for your work also, skipping from Orson Welles to Mister Rogers to Rick Rubin.
I bet you could see similarities among those very different people.Without a doubt, and to me too.
Its something I feel like Ive done so much throughout my career.
Its just exploring creative process.
And creative process is universal.
How you figure out what your voice is and how to express it in the world.
I think a lot of people in the audience might feel that way too.
Its the reason why Im less interested in conventional biography.
I didnt want to makeWont You Be My Neighbor?just as a nostalgia trip for people.
I wanted to speak to people who didnt grow up with him.
Its the idea that you dont have to even care about music and this hopefully says something to you.
Shangri-Lapremieres Friday, July 12, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.
