CraveOnline: Oh! You should totally get on the phone. Can you get George Clooney on the phone? Do you have him in your black book?
Adi Shankar: I actually have met George Clooney, because he was like… he was involved in the worst moment of my life.
Aw.
Oh yeah, true story. Yeah… I don’t know if I should get into it.
“I’m in this weird place where I still feel like an outsider, because I am an outsider.”
It’s your choice, man. It’s your story.
I’m being facetious. It was at an awards party, like years ago. I kind of walked in and I realized like every single person in the room was a household name, to the point where it was very jarring. I was like, “How did I even get in here? I literally do not belong here.”
I go up to the first person, the first friendly face, and it’s Jon Hamm. Who I don’t even know very well at all. We had dinner like a week before that. I was like, “Hey, Jon Hamm!” And then Clooney comes over and starts talking to both of us, and it was like… I remember just feeling like a huge loser. I’m like, “I’m talking to two well-respected men. I feel really lame right now.” I wanted to run home and cry.
And yet, from my perspective, it seems like you’re the hero.
Really?
Well, you make all these cool movies, man! Fucking Dredd and The Grey, these are fucking awesome films.
They’re not being screened. They’re not being screened and I still feel like an outsider, right? You look at The Voices, it’s not like… The Voices is not for everyone. The Voices isn’t being given awards, it’s not being showered with praise.
I don’t know if you read my review, I showered it with praise.
I did!
Well, there you go. It’s not unappreciated, I just think it needs to get out there a bit more. I think it will, man.
Really?
I do. I think it’s the kind of film that maybe is a little hard to market theatrically, but I think it’s going to hit a certain demographic very hard. It just might not do it right away. It might need some word of mouth.
Hmm… You think it’s like the American Psycho type of demographic?
Yeah, exactly. American Psycho was not a huge hit when it came out. Now people talk about it all the time. I don’t know if The Voices is going to be American Psycho in terms of its impact, but I think it’s going to hit that same group of people. That’s my theory. That’s part of my job, to steer people towards good films that maybe aren’t getting enough buzz. That’s arguably the most important part of my job.
Right, yeah.
That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to you. You make films that, for the most part, I really like and respect. It’s a pleasure talking to you and I look forward to the stuff you’re going to do next.
Thanks a lot, man. That really means a lot. I’m in this weird place where I still feel like an outsider, because I am an outsider. It’s really just nice to hear that, you know?
Well, I’m not blowing smoke up your ass. That’s not my job.
No, no. I know. I hear the sincerity in your voice. It really means a lot.
