Starting to shake off joists influence. That vock you lar playfulness, and im less attracted to it now if i really looked at what i think is pure beckett, where he distilled and distilled and paraed away all the fat until are you left with something really potent, this real potent essence. Robert downey, jr. , Robert Duvall, david dobkin and lisa dwan when we continue. Funding for charlie roast is provided by the follo following charlie rose is provided by the following additional funding provided by and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and Information Services worldwide. From our studios in new york captioning sponsored by Rose Communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. The judge of the new film directed by david dobkin featuring awardwinning acker robert downey, jr. And Robert Duvall it tells the story of a judge accused of murder and his estranged son who defends him. Here is the trailer. The infamous hank palmer. Jaded lawyer with no respect for the law. Did that just happen . How does it feel knowing every person you represent is guilty . Fine innocent people cant afford me. All rise. Is there anything either counsel would care to add. My mom passed away this morning. Is this the first time your mother passed away or is this something you do on all the cases you are about to lose. First time. So grandpa palmer said to you. No he said to me, thats like a figure of speech. Kind of complicated. I should go with you. Trust me, nobody wants to go oh gosh. You can barely stand the sight of each other. Henry . Judge . Hank, thanks for coming. I am sure your mother would have appreciated it. Hank palmer. Hank, sheriff, its regarding your father. Biggest mistake of your career, you just happen to run him over. Forensic found blood on your dads car. Sat on the bench in that courtroom for 42 years. This was an accident, period. We need to establish a firm defense. Theres no we here, henry. I wish i liked you more. I cant stay. Where is your father. You leave now, you will regret it. You are signed up with i am going to impail your client on a first degree murder charge and you get a front row seat. My father is a lot of unpleasant things, a murderer is not one of them. I have memories of us, and i dont. Why . Was i tough on you . Yes. I did what i thought was right. My experience, hank, sometimes you have to forgive in order to be forgiven. You and i are finally done. Were to the done. Joining me the director david dobkin and the films two stars robert downey, jr. And Robert Duvall. Im pleased to have all of them here. Tell me how this film began. Is it inspired by personal things . My father was very powerful attorney, and i was the kid that got in trouble a lot. So theres that aspect. But my mother got ill in 2005. And we had had a very tempest just relationship. Tumultuous is better. Negative. Negative. And i you know, being in the position of having to parent a parent was something i was really unprepared for. And kind of shocked me, took me by surprise. An in 2007 after she passed away, the week after that, i started to sketch out a story about a family who was dysfunctional and kind of broken. And the mother passes away and the men in the family are left behind to fill in that vacuum. And what happens after that. And the father is here and a stlaning son is here. These are them now. Tell me about hank. Hank is a guy who has no conscious understanding of the crisis hes in, even before his mom dies. He imagines that all of this worldly success is somehow distanced him from this strained relationship with his dad. Lots of misunderstanding. And he doesnt want to deal it, and es going to go home for a day or two and get back to his miserable life. Yes. And why is the father anson not happy . Why are they estranged . I know of no family in the world in any continent, in any city where families are not complex. And dysfunctional. Maybe you do. I dont know but in this specific case, i mean hes a very successful son, youre a judge an youre in the small town where you grew up, where you mean something, your morality and your prestige means something. Hes in chicago. Hes a famous lawyer. Represents and gets off a lot of bad guys. He said they pay better than the innocence. So it is a very complex relationship. It goes way back. Yeah. We like that. David always said that its kind of like a western, you know. Where its really more about family than it is about the drama of the trial. Yeah. Its a family drama it just takes place in a courtroom on a specific arena of the law. The two very different points of view. One man thats about honor and another man that is about success. When you were writing this, did you think about these two, were they in mind . Yeah, very much so i 4 met robert a year before i started to write the story and i thought it would be exciting to see him in a role playing kind of a normal guy. And just stripped down and seeing the drama. Hes one of my favorite actors. And bobby, i grew up with his movies an i have always loved his work. And they were very brave roles. I mean these roles are very courageous, they play the edge on these characters. And i needed two actors that would not flinch or compromise. Does this attract you, doing something that is not like the avengers, its not like ironman. Sure. Not like sherlock homes. I took off his ironman suit, he came on and did this, which is great. To be many things. Thanks. I think its funny that i havent been on the charlie rose show for over five years. So. I have. Yes, you have. I think it interesting, that bobby has had the career, it demonstrates you can be in movies that are commercial and successful and still maintain a certain cred regardless. And youve been able to do that for as long as i can remember. The biggest movie i have been in since apocalypse now and that is 35 years ago so i would argue, you know, days of thunder, you worked with cruise a bunch, you have done big movies. You have done plenty of movies that have gotten a lot of attention. Thank you for that vote of confidence. Rose the point is having done all those films, does it work different muscles, is it a different kind of or in the end, is acting acting . Acting is acting but i have to say that there was something so satisfy being this process with david, and getting as close as i have with you, the way we had to. Because youre cohabit ace cohabitating in those volatile situation, then were having lunch and dinner and talking smack. Its a shift. This is the first production of team downy, isnt it . Yes. Which is. Susan downy, my better half, has long been a producer and a respected one. David was on her radar and likewise they had worked together on a project before, so warner brothers, you know what happens, actors get production deals and then they blow millions of dollars of some poor unsuspecting studio and they never really do anything. Did you do that, blow millions . No, actually we didnt take too long. But then you know, theres plan b and these other companies that actually wind up making it worth the studios while. And thats our intention. Wass the hardest thing in terms of this venture for you . What was the most difficult part of it. Because you had some reluctance during another courtroom drama unless it had something extra to it. Its funny. I think bobby and i both initially, you kind of go, so sometimes i know im going it to do something if i have a strong adverse reaction to it. But some sort of resistance. I dont want to say fear, but its if im going to go there and really bear my soul, can i trust the environment im going to be in. Can i trust that guy to have my back. And thats a very, a very tenuous kind of sensitive thing to consider. Take a look at this. We start with this clip. Here it is. Is that your new truck out front . Which one . Yeah. Yeah, its not an affirmation a man uses in court. Yes, sir, judge, your honor. Would you give those to mr. Williams exwife then escort mr. Williams to his extruck. You are going to sign that vehicle over to her. And you, maam, are going to go down to duffanny motors and ask for mike duffanny, the father, not the knit wit son, and sell the new truck back to him for whatever they put down on it. This isnt fair one more word, go on. Look around you. Are you standing in one of the last great cathedrals in this country, built on the premise that you and you alone are responsible for the consequences of your actions. We didnt see the two of them together except that one cuttaway. The idea of creating chemistry, you have no idea it can happen like happened between the two of them. You dont know walking in if it will be there. Can you create it, can you do things to make it happen . You can. We took a threeweek rehearsal process at the beginning of this. It was very kind of unusual, these days. And we get to know each other. And we hope that chemistry builds. But when you are casting in your head, you are hoping you see what that dynamic is. And what shows up is something all together its own special unique thing. Some movies, it lights up and the Christmas Tree lights up and some dont. And frankly, this one did. And i feel fortunate that it did. Did it light up for you soon . Yeah, i think, if you go in and once again, if you just Start Talking and listening, and that, nothing more than that, and see where that goes, if you do that purely, then will be rewarded around the corner for Something Better and higher. If you do that on a basic level, you know, its very easy to do that. You pone getting a sense of who he is as a human being, as people, as actors, as people, to the out here, you get it here. So then you know, you just go from there. And if theres chemistry t will build. You know, if its pure in the simplest form, then i think did you feel it early . Well, again, by the time david had bobby and vince and i and Jeremy Strong who plays dale, just a great exciting new young actor, together, basically by the end of the rehearsals, bobby was running the rehearsals i dont want to say running. We were in improvisation, david had set it up so he had dotodo very little, just kind of look and watching. And by the time the improv was over he basically cancelled rehearses because we had hit this critical mass. We were starting to act like a family. This 90 minute deal, 90 minute improvisation, us, bob and ashley actually characters, as us, and let it, see where it went, you know. Kind of a bonding process. Rose you get some of the actors together in the breakfast scene after the mothers death. Hey, hank, do you want some breakfast . Hey, hank, going to breakfast in the diner. When. Right now. Were a family member. Were prepared to offer that. Any of that, sound reasonable. Oh i forgot, todays but. Coffee . So well see you there, hank. Ill be right along. Tell me about the scene in the bathroom. The scene in the bathroom. Everybody asking about that. Why do you think they do . Well, because its pretty graphic, pretty negative and sometimes people dont like to see those things. But you have to show them sometimes. I was a little hesitant to take it at first because you know, stepping on your own crap is not a thing that is so enticing as an actor. Incontinence as an old man. Yeah. And once you decide to do it or commit, then you have to just do it, all out, without intellectualizing, just do it. Im sorry, but just in watching these clips. I look at, its a dumb thing to say but i look when the camera goes close on you, the whole story is told. I dont know how you developed that sort of skill, and then the bigger idea is what sort of risks are you willing to take, are you a natural film actor, and the other is are you brave enough to do something that if it doesnt go well, you can it can be ridiculed for doing something indulgent and graphic and dramatic, you know but like bobby said, that starts with incontinent and ends with a National Hockey league joke. We had great writers, we talked about it a lot. And by the end, its the heart of the movie. It is the heart it is a transition moment. I dont know. I mean hes, you cant hold to your side of the argument when youre so clearly in need of assistance. And then hank is and the way david set it up that way, and the way you were playing t i was just kind of shocked because i was like, all right, this feels really well and real and its not even lunchtime yet. And my god, so i was taken aback. But then its the first time they laughed together in 25 years. And thats kind of the beginning of their healing process in a way, right humor in a situation like that, you have to find the vulnerability and other scenes, offsetting things, you know. And i think this is almost like a theatre piece. I think that the actors have a chance to go big, but by going big, you have to do it within the confines of your own tempment, you cant violate what your temper mment tempment says to do or to the do so what were your objectives when you went to shoot the dean. There was an persons, that scene was probably the inciting incident of the movie. And i just knew that the idea of having to get emotionally and physically close with someone who you had a volatile relationship with was an incredibly it was an incredibly short circuit and people just drop everything and get real . And i just wanted it to be authentic and have integrity and not feel like it was a movie. And i directed it to be shot in an hour and a half which is what we did. We did, you know, three very quick, three camera settups and it just happened. And they were really brilliant and so naturallistic. Kill a mocking bird was 40 years ago, maybe more. There is. I know. Thats the one i forget what you call it, cultural references, we just decided so it was in there naturally, and im sure bill deduke slipped it in there. Nick as well. But bill really was the one who crafted a lot of the dialogue as we wound up seeing it in the movie. So smartly written. The line is Everyone Wants an until there is a dead hook never the hot tub and then you want some mean sob. You want somebody like hank. You want someone who is going to win, if they are a snake, so be it for you today, with all that is the cover story, vanity fair, nice pete, profile of you, of where you are. In terms of the evolution, did you come out of incarceration as a different acker. I wonder i suppose not. The dumb way of putting it is it is kind of like being stuck on the runway except it doesnt take a couple hours, youre just there for days and day and days and you still are heading towards the destination of where you were going so. But i know that in the larger sense, every experience ive had has shaped the kind of artist i have become and sometimes the lousier, you know, the events you overcome or you outlive or theyre in the Rearview Mirror instead of in the midst of them, that becomes a little part of, reference, i know bobby doesnt like talking about the stuff, you know, because there is a lot of different methods on set. But it really comes down to, you know, the experience youve had and how you can bring that forth into your work, so i guess i would have to say yes. There is some bit of great santini came out of your own personal relationship with your father, or to the. In this movie. No, in the great santini. Not some of. My father was very quiet but he was an admiral, wasnt he . He went to the Naval Academy when he was 16, they let him in, way back. Before world war ii. There is another thing you talk about in this piece which i found interesting. You got on the scooter in kansas where your dad was directing a movie and you say thises with a transform difficult moment and i didnt quite understand why. Okay. There was a gal named stacey, hi, stacey. Im sure she is still gorgeous. She was, is beautiful. She jumped on the back of the scooter. I was on a little Honda Express in the middle of kansas, dad is making this movie, of the academy, ralph maccio all these people with huge careers, i gave her a ride from a to b and she pushed that big rack into my back and i felt like a rock star. I felt like steve mcqueen, as long as i didnt dump the bike, i was a stud. There is a great scene in a book, called the long and happy life by reynold price and there is an opening scene just like that. And reynold price was a southerner, great writer, some thought he might be another but thats the opening scene. On the back of a motorcycle youre directing now . A movie. Are you happy with it . Pretty much, yes. But you know, were here to talk about movie but it was very fulfilling, wild horses, and it had james franco who rides a horse can vault and everything. The guy, we call him all state and everything. The only other person i give that to is jimmy kuan. Really . He also it was a great experience but you know you were developing it while we were shooting. And even while we were shooting, i think i got the money and i was like when this movie comes out i think will you have the money to do whatever you want. He goes no, no, i want to do it before my god, we had to recuperate from doing this movie. Bobby took a couple months down and directed the movie. The same movie or another dns we yes, want kate to see it does it gave you the same satisfaction as acting . I think its a continuation of acting. I think theyre linked. So i try to direct the few times ive done it, as an extension of myself as an actor. Behavior, behavior. Where do you put the apostle in terms of satisfaction. I felt satisfied, you know, because i got a wonderful letter from brando on the wall, brando enjoyed it and billy graham enjoyed it so the secular and the religious meet. There you go. You cant do better than that, you can. Yeah. Dow like to direct . I will did it in the future. Right now im just, im seeing folks who have the energy, regardless of years to do both. And then you know, susan has given me this great i had case education in producing, and after doing this, with david, hes encouraging me to do it, but you know, i want to talk by a movie i havent directed yet. If something in a cast like this, what were you looking for, the best actors you could find or a certain chemistry in terms of fitting. I put the pictures it of them on the wall. I put them up and you slowly build the cast an there is something in the chemistry and the visualization of the characters, but im always looking for who somebody is i dont cast people to try to become characters, for who they are and to reveal those aspects of who they are on screen, im looking for behavior and for, you know, facets of what were you looking for in your prosecutor . Fear and billy bob, billy bob who is by the way, a lovely sweet, gentle man, can be an incredibly powerful performer. And i wanted someone that i felt could be toetotoe with robert but in a very quiet and still an unsettling way. I remind the audiences watching this, we are talking about a trial that is taking place in which it is a hit and run. And son trying to help his father in a bad place. Heres part of the dialogue between the two of them. Stop the car. Come on. Stop the god daim car. I n