On the Roam (2024) s02e02 Episode Script

- Ibrahim
X : @sle1i
Come on.
Boom, seriously.
Julian Schnabel
artist and filmmaker
Look, I made it.
Wait a minute
- Yeah, bro.
I don't even know what I'm doing with him.
I'm just his biggest fan.
I'm ready for it.
Maybe you should take that hat off,
big guy.
Yeah, I'll do that.
This movie changed my life.
- Really?
It came out in '80 When I was 16.
I'm 45 now.
- Were you 16 when you saw it?
When it came out.
It's made in black and white now.
Was it in color first?
- Yeah.
Cool.
You guys are here at the right time,
right?
Are you famous?
- Yes.
The man in front of you made the movie.
- Yeah, him.
I have never
met a celebrity.
I have never met people
this lucky.
We're watching Basquiat in the theater.
How cool is that? So cool.
It's a limited audience and they're
the coolest people in the world.
I realize something from your questions
- You have to talk into this.
You guys can hear me, right?
- You have to talk into this.
That's so dramatic. Okay, fine.
I've made series, directed,
wrote, everything.
I've done everything.
And I'm totally satisfied,
but then again not
because it's different from painting.
He has been painting at a top level
for 40 or 50 years
still alive, and keeps developing.
Julian Schnabel
is a painter and filmmaker.
He walks, eats, and moves art.
These are Julian Schnabel colors.
This is just like a painting.
With a big white stripe through it.
He is definitely
one of my favorite filmmakers
and happens to be
one of my favorite artists, too.
He never had to compromise
on his paintings.
He made them
and didn't have to listen to anyone.
Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo didn't either.
Painters don't do that.
He has this thick book
with all his paintings.
From 1979, the same age as me.
He painted for decades.
Then he tried some movies.
Basquiat, Before Night Falls,
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
How does he do that, transitioning
so successfully to another art form?
Basquiat is
one of my big favorites.
"I can't see what's good anymore."
In the small town of Norwalk, Iowa,
I saw the world.
When I saw Basquiat, I thought:
what is this?
How many people have seen this movie
more than
twice?
You know? I know people
who have seen it 50 times.
Just like my other movies
because you can look at them
the way you look at paintings.
Julian directs the cameras
like a paintbrush with the movements
and you can see that in his films.
All of his work is in my DNA.
I love things
because of what I've seen from him.
He's like an uncle. Someone
you've always looked up to.
But I didn't meet him
until I was 42.
New York, New York
home of Julian Schnabel
How did you meet Julian?
Good grief. My dad. Julian Schnabel.
What a bizarre world.
I was at the Oscars, really cool.
That was the first time, but anyway
I didn't feel comfortable,
so I went to the bar.
I was standing in the back
watching the show
and Julian walked in. I thought:
Don't freak out.
We were standing in the back because
we both felt uncomfortable.
We had some beers and chatted.
Then I told him who I was
The nice thing was that he didn't know me,
which is great.
And we started talking about art.
That's how our bond started.
At the Oscars
you put your arms around me
and I thought: What is happening here?
It was so nice and sweet.
It was really nice
not to be standing with the rest.
We didn't want to be there. I thought:
this is the best moment of
I called you right away:
I met Julian Schnabel, bro.
He felt so familiar.
We barely know each other
but it feels
like we've been friends for years.
Yeah, in a past life.
You were already in my life.
You have inspired me
in so many ways.
I was playing things
I didn't like
and doing a science degree.
My parents were painters
and I saw things differently than others.
He was just the father I didn't have.
I liked everything he liked.
I felt a strong connection with him,
even though I didn't know him.
There are only two or three people alive
who have had such a big influence on me.
Including you.
Cool that you felt that.
I was a taxi driver.
I was a cook in a restaurant.
I did all kinds of things.
My father saw me cooking in a restaurant
with my blonde-dyed hair.
There was all this blood on my apron.
I said: 'It's okay, Dad,
I'm a painter. Don't worry.'
And I thought: Someday they'll come by
when I have a big studio
and they'll see that they don't have
to worry.
I brought out some paintings.
Let's go take a look.
Do you tie your shoelaces like that?
That's what you get when you grow up in Iowa.
Work boots.
From Iowa?
- Inspired by my grandpa's boots.
Hello.
This is great. This mirror too.
When is that from?
- 1850.
Hi.
- How's it going, Jim?
Glad you're helping.
There we go.
Does it go here?
- Yes.
Right in front of it.
- Indeed.
That's all the physical work
you have to do.
I'm going to get the painting now, okay?
You just have to look.
- It's time. Jeez.
Are you ready?
Bro, this will change your life.
Do you see what's coming?
Okay.
Julian, come here.
I haven't looked yet.
Come here.
My goodness, man.
They are so beautiful.
Tell me about this.
You know what's funny about this?
I was thinking about Jean-Michel's hair
when I painted them.
About how he walked by.
A figure
walking by in a landscape.
I made the marks
and painted them outside in Florida.
They were outside, that's why
the burlap got that color.
This is really bizarre.
I've always had a thing for burlap sacks.
All my life.
With brown paper bags and cardboard.
It gives me a certain feeling,
just like the amber color.
I don't know why,
it's always been that way.
My mother wrapped presents in brown
paper, I wrote poems on them.
The colors and textures
make me feel a certain way when I look at them.
It makes me happy.
And even if it made me angry
that's part of art.
Say, Julian?
- Yes?
Because
I want you to teach me this.
Can you?
Yes, but when?
Fine.
- Sometime in your life.
I went to Montauk
for things like this.
I never know what I'm going to make.
I'll come too
and sit in the corner and play.
No, you can join in fully.
I was scared to say at his house:
Let's paint together.
He barely knew me and said: Sure.
You just have to try.
Ask.
Otherwise you'll never know.
It's so beautiful, right?
It's great
to be in a studio
and see all the paint,
to see what he's working on
and what inspires him.
It's in the little things.
I love artists' studios.
Some people hate my work
or think it's bad.
But I try to make things
without compromise.
Distance and height
change everything.
Zoom in.
And keep rolling.
- Yeah.
You can relax.
It can be a bit more dynamic. Ready?
Good, take a small step back
to see what we're looking at.
It's okay if you're shaking.
As Thelonious Monk said:
There are no wrong notes.
They are wooden panels
with beveled edges.
I cover them with boards secured
with Bondo auto body filler.
That's the surface, the blank canvas.
That's what I paint on.
So this is Bondo? Or not?
Yes, this is Bondo. All of this.
Bondo.
- Auto body filler.
And then you push everything onto it.
I glue it down with resin or Bondo.
Have you ever
Warhol and Basquiat
collaborated, didn't they?
Have you ever done something like that?
- No.
Never?
- They did ask me.
They thought I could join in.
I didn't feel like it.
But of course I thought
I was the only one
who bought a collaborative painting
by Basquiat and Warhol
early on.
- Really?
Yes, because people thought
- Tell me you still have that.
I sold it to Gianni Versace.
Years later.
Montauk, New York
Yes, dear?
We'll ask Pablo and call you back.
- Those colors.
It says 'Regarde Mes Pieds Plats',
meaning 'look at my flat feet'.
'Look at my flat feet'?
- Yes.
My mother painted, my father too.
My first love
was Cy Twombly's photographs.
Then came Basquiat and Tàpies.
I love that world
and the art world.
Julian experienced that.
Look at this.
Peter Beard took that photo
of Warhol.
That might be Peter Beard's
masterpiece. Look.
That's Andy Warhol in front of the house
I lived in, with a dead seagull.
Beautiful, right?
- Jeez.
Nothing special, it's just
Peter Beard and Andy Warhol.
Don't fall.
- Okay.
Don't touch it anymore.
His house is basically a museum
with the most extraordinary items
and art. Everything has a story.
I'm very similar to that,
but I don't have a house like that.
Everything is in black boxes
and there's junk everywhere.
Eventually I will exhibit
the items and art
that I've collected.
This is great.
I want a little bit of this
and a little bit of that.
Guitars and motorcycles.
If I ever get a house, it's going to be weird.
Not a bad place.
You can sleep here tonight.
Fantastic.
- In case you get hungry.
Okay?
- Perfect.
We can go down to the beach in a bit.
Shall we put on swim trunks?
Fine.
- I don't know.
We need to go see where you paint.
What did you pour into it?
There's terpenoid in it
and a wax medium.
Can you touch it?
- Sure.
Ready?
Hold it like this.
Like this, okay?
- Like I'm casting a net.
Think of this as someone's
The heart is there.
I think you should do it like this,
like a landscape.
Like a figure in a landscape.
Let the canvas fan out.
Ready? Throw it high enough.
- Yeah, ready?
You have some light blue
I'm working with you.
Or do I think good art
only comes from paint?
No, it comes from joy.
That is wonderful.
There's a quote by Tarkovsky.
He actually wrote
that all art is optimistic
even if the subject matter is tragic.
Because it's a representation of life,
not life itself.
Life contains death.
A representation of life does not.
So it's optimistic.
See?
From there to there,
a flat, straight line.
I'm never washing these pants again.
Not that I ever wash my pants.
This is good.
- Why did you make that bigger?
Why did you do that last bit?
- I thought it was just a little too
You'll see it once it's up.
- But what was the thought behind it?
It was just a little too insignificant.
It's eerie. It's subtle.
It'll look great once it's stretched.
We just made a painting.
That was very special.
You only have your art.
You have to fight for that
when you make art.
Don't compromise.
Is it cold? How is it?
- Not bad.
It's brisk. We can take a cold dip
and then a warm shower.
Where's the warm shower?
- Over there.
Awesome.
Grab some swim trunks.
- These are my 1920s swim trunks.
I'm going off the high dive.
I don't know what you guys are doing.
I just finished painting
and I thought: Yeah, man.
This is wonderful.
The first time I fell right on my nuts.
I've always wanted to paint
and express myself that way.
You just get lost in a creative
space where time stands still.
You play and paint. It feels good.
I should do that more often.
Everyone should.
Be creative,
whichever art form you choose.
And even if you don't know how,
just try it.
I get lost in that creative world.
We have the mussels,
two kinds of sauce.
Fresh tomatoes and mozzarella.
Rigatoni.
This is a fantastic day.
Isn't it great?
We made a painting together.
It turned out well.
You made it
and taught me things. Awesome.
You're doing well, you're a fast learner.
You can do it.
This is so beautiful.
This book is your life's work
in paintings. There's surely more.
He said to me,
when I was shooting Chief of War
He was amazed by everything
I was doing, directing and all
He asked: How do you do that?
I said: What do you mean?
Look at that book.
And your seven films.
And your six children.
Seven.
- Seven children.
New York, New York
I find this special. Everything is pink,
maybe you can look here.
Yes, look.
That is Palazzo Chupi.
It's so weird. We have such a
huge fondness for the color pink.
Maybe
because I grew up with Elvis
or because Julian is such a father figure
but I love pink.
Let's take a look.
This should be a museum.
In this painting,
Hannibal crosses the Alps.
You see Hannibal here, Jason.
He's wearing a chainmail helmet,
or armor.
He has a beard, feathers in his hair
his cloak falls over the horse
and he rides past a frozen lake
and some glaciers.
Or whatever you want to see in it.
I FaceTime everyone. He's older
but Julian FaceTimes me very often.
We ask how things are going.
He's one of my best friends.
Look, these are my drawings.
Maybe you want to film those, Brian,
instead of us.
They look great on camera.
From that side.
You can stand in front of me.
Then you move that way,
and you see how it hangs.
I feel a strong connection to the family.
I call myself the eldest son.
They constantly saw their father
make things
that inspired me.
What is this?
- This is my room.
That's the back.
Look at that drawing.
What's on the other side?
- Show us, Esmé.
And that other one.
I'll help, I'm your assistant.
Ready?
Shall I show it?
- No.
Do you want to do it?
What is it?
It's a cow.
Is it a cow?
And what is this?
A pig.
Does it fit?
- I'm wearing it.
You're wearing it.
- It's just a bit high-water.
No, I think it's fine like that.
It doesn't need boots underneath.
You can just walk around in it
or cut off the sleeves.
- No, those are fine.
What are you doing?
- You know
I was trying on clothes
with your dad.
Take your shoes off.
That's super.
Let's see. Look at that.
Nice.
Do you know what 'momo' means
in Japanese?
'Peach Boy'. That's spot on.
- That's him.
That's The Patients and the Doctors.
That's the first
- My first plate painting.
I was 26 when I made that.
I sold it for 3,500 dollars.
The original? How much is it worth now?
Ten million dollars.
Do you know what you're lying on?
Is that not allowed?
It is, but do you know what it is?
- What?
Watch your boots. It's
the tent canvas
of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.
He was married to Charlotte and
was assassinated in Mexico around 1850.
Awesome.
- This is his tent canvas.
It's velvet.
It's a painting in itself.
I want to ask
what your view on painting was
and what inspired you
to make Basquiat.
When did you think: 'I want to make movies'?
I know you're a huge cinephile.
I always thought I'd be a film fan,
not a film director.
I didn't have a camera.
I knew who he was and knew him.
Other people were very jealous of that.
They didn't know what our bond was like.
I didn't do heroin
with Jean-Michel
or whatever other people did with him.
I was a painter, so was he,
and we had a different bond.
He passed away, and I stayed alive.
I went through a lot of the same things
as him
but my parents were very loving.
Even though they didn't understand what I did,
they loved me.
Because of them, I felt
like I could do anything.
He didn't have that.
He didn't have that stability,
and he was also pretty young
to handle the amount
of attention we were getting.
His death already enhanced
his historical presence
but the film did so all the more.
- That was the beginning.
Because of the film, the sums became huge.
That came out in '96, didn't it?
Shot in '95? I was 16 then.
I had my father
My parents were painters
but I didn't speak to my father
in high school.
We had a
fight, and
But that film
influenced me more than any other.
It's at my core.
You once asked:
Why are you so obsessed with that?
When I'm depressed or That film
That's my movie.
I'll never have it in me
to make that, and that's so
That's why I can't sit still.
There's so much I look up to you so much.
There is so much art to make.
I do it my own way.
I want to inspire people,
even with series
I have so much appreciation for you
and what you've made
and everyone you've met.
How it spread across the world
through you
Honestly, you are truly unique.
As I said last night.
I am very grateful that I
have such a bond with you.
There's a line in Basquiat,
where Gary Oldman says to Jean-Michel:
Your audience hasn't been born yet.
Looking back, I'm 72 now,
and we're sitting here together.
Are you 45? And
You say: 'I've seen your work.
It impacted my life.
It gave me choices I didn't know existed.
I was able to do things
because I saw it
and could make my own version of it.'
That's what it's all about.
That's why it's worth it.
Making art is a utilitarian act.
So you work on something
and if you believe in the transcendental
possibility that you are making something
that, if it's right
and without compromise
they can use, and do something with themselves.
Did I make money from movies? No.
Do I care? No.
Because I'm rich? No.
As Tom Waits says:
Money is something you throw out of a train.
That's right. It comes back to you.
I was raised by the right people.
They call it Momoa math
but it just comes
from Tom Waits and Julian Schnabel.
I make art with friends,
do what I love.
I make things. Awesome.
I never in my life thought
when I was watching Basquiat
that I would paint with Julian.
That we would become friends
and that I can call him.
Now we're buddies
and we'll paint together forever.
He asked me to be in his movie,
that was intense
because it was the hardest script
I've ever read.
He's my idol, so I had to.
He said: It's going to be fine.
He believed in me more than I did.
It worked out, it turned out great.
I'm in his movie.
Director: J. Schnabel
Venice, bitch.
Julian Schnabel, here we go.
I'm leaving my favorite director
behind
for my other favorite
and the Venice Film Festival.
They registered me
at the Directors Guild, pretty cool right?
Can we go?
- Sure.
Three Momoas in Venice?
I have to bring my son and nephew.
Nui is 23, my son 16
and they are going to see
Julian's movie in Venice.
That will stay with them forever.
They need to see things like that too.
Those are great moments for a father.
It was so cool.
It's a dream to make a movie
and release it in Venice,
with that audience.
Bellissimo.
Incredible.
Gee, so nice to meet you.
Why are you shouting like that?
Awesome.
Nice to see you. How are you?
- You have curls.
Nui
Three Momoas
Three Momoas in Venice.
Look, I'm turning it around.
I find it a bit scary.
This is incredible.
Isaac.
- Haven't you done this before?
Certainly not.
- Really?
I'm not used to things like this, sir.
Come on, put it on.
Those toes are great.
My toes? Wait a minute.
With my Birkenstocks and ugly feet,
with nail polish.
In Iowa, you don't have an ocean or mountains.
So you have to be creative.
You have to find niches and little things,
and I think
My mother had movies.
Movies really changed my life.
I never wanted to be an actor,
but that's how I saw the world.
I owe Julian a lot
for his movies.
They aren't that important to him,
but they are to me.
We recently watched my movies.
It's often about behavior.
And thinking that you
can do anything.
Paintings everywhere.
by : ibrahim