SPEAKER_00: 0:00

You're listening to the Staffa Corner Podcast, a Staffatarian look at entertainment and life with your host, Greg Staffa. My guest this episode is talented actress, singer, writer, producer, and director Carrie Francis. Her newest film, Wake Up Dead Man, A Knives Out Mystery, is now available on Netflix as of December 12th. December 12th also marks the release of her single, You and Me and Everything. Carrie, thank you for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01: 0:50

Thank you so much for having me, Greg. I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_00: 0:53

So tell us a little bit about your upbringing. Where are you from?

SPEAKER_01: 0:57

Totally. So I am from the great state of New Jersey. I'm a big New Jersey fan. And I grew up there my whole life in a very small town with one mile and three stoplights, and everyone knows everyone. It's very much a Hallmark Christmas movie town, which is a great place for a kid to grow up, right? Because it's safe and comforting and familiar. And we were very close to both New York, the beach, Philly. Really wonderful. And I grew up in a very musical household. My mom was a music teacher her entire life before she retired. And she would also teach piano at home. There was always music playing. And I just was born singing. I've been singing since before I could speak and writing songs since before I could write. And I had a constant desire to act and sing and would beg my parents to go to LA for pilot season and things that were I now can see are very uh abnormal for children to know about, even much less create pitches as to why they should go to LA for pilot season. But I wound up, you know, pursuing musical theater since New York was so nearby and falling into that. And that was great. Right out of school, I booked a big Broadway tour that I booked from an open call. And typically the the lore of musical theater is no one books from an open call for a big equity job. And I did. I was the only person out of over 800 people that day that they saw at the open call. And since then, my career just took off and has been running ever since.

SPEAKER_00: 2:27

One of the things I find interesting is people that talk about like you went to school for a musical theater and stuff like that, or actors go to acting school. But yet you look at someone like uh Tom Hanks comparing that to a Brad Pitt, comparing that to someone, there's so much different styles of acting.

SPEAKER_01: 2:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 2:47

What is it that you go to these schools to learn? Because there's hardly an actor that's that's alike. Their approach, their mannerisms, how they show up to study is all unique. And so it what to the layperson, what are you studying when you're going to some a school like that?

SPEAKER_01: 3:05

I think there's a couple different answers for this, but I would say overall, what people why they go to school, uh, first of all, is if they go to school for, let's say, you know, a bachelor's degree or a BFA, they're getting a degree, right? So you're getting a college degree, you have to take your other kind of prerequisite regular college classes. Maybe you want a regular college experience, or you just need to learn how to be a bit more of an adult before being a full-blown adult out in the world. So that can be a middle ground for people in college. But in terms of acting classes and acting school, it really depends on the program and what they ascribe to. And every type of acting program, whether it's college or private or individual training, is going to be different based on those techniques. So maybe you study Uda Hagen's technique or Stanislavsky, or you might study very classical technique or Alexander technique. There's all these different things that have been developed to give you tools in your toolbox as an actor so that when you're working professionally, you can go and analyze a script really well. You can create a backstory for your character. You can maybe combat your nerves by doing some of your techniques or your breath work or anything that you need to do to create a character and be your most authentic and most professional self. However, I think for the most part, people go to acting school because they don't really know what to do. They want an acting career, they don't know the next steps. It's not really a career where there's any type of actual ladder, the way we might see in corporate or really in any other career. If you say, okay, I want to be a nurse, you know the next steps are X, Y, and Z. And everything has its challenges. But for the most part, there are very clear steps in other careers. In acting, I especially I think if you're talking to parents, they might say, Well, my kid wants to be an actor. I don't know what to do with that. I have no experience in that industry, I have no connections. I know, let's go to a performing arts school or a college program or a conservatory and they'll help us. And the truth is, for the most part, it's going to be good training, but it's not going to actually help you have a career because having a career and being in school for acting are very, very different things. I think a lot of why I have a career is because I've been obsessed and fixated and studying the business side of the industry since I was a very small child. And for the most part, that is blatantly ignored in these programs. And so people graduate and they're kind of like, uh, what do I do now? And it's that same feeling. So maybe they go get a master's, or maybe they try for a few months to get auditions and then end up quitting. So I think, you know, there again, there's a different answer for everyone. Me personally, I did not want to go to school to get a degree. I'm glad I have that degree now. But I did not want to go. I just wanted to move to LA. I knew I knew what I was doing. I knew I had talent. But in my case, my mom was very much like, you're not gonna not get a degree. So let's get a degree and then you can go from there. And of course, I'm glad to have that now. But yeah, I think the answer is different for everyone. I know that was kind of all over the place, but you go and you learn techniques, but you have to have so much more beyond just training to actually sustain and have a career in the industry.

SPEAKER_00: 6:15

And let's say you were deemed administrator for the day for Hollywood actors. Is what is a program that you would like to see implemented at these acting schools that is desperately needed?

SPEAKER_01: 6:30

Definitely the uh industry side. I remember by my senior year doing our senior showcase classes, I was teaching my class things. Like I would start answering questions that my professors didn't have the answers to. And that was really indicative for me, like, oh, I know what I'm doing here. You know, not in a bratty way, but in a very confident way. So I would say, yes, that's the most important is to teach the industry side. And a lot of times the programs are being run by people who are no longer in the industry. Maybe they had a career, maybe some of them still have a little bit of a career, maybe they have a very bitter feeling toward the industry, or they're just outdated and understanding. But I think the most important thing is to encourage your students to get out, get in the world, get on sets as early as possible, get internships, meet as many people as humanly possible. And mostly programs are saying, don't work while you're in our program, which you're setting those kids up for failure because they're gonna step out of that program and have no experience and no relationships. And that's what the whole industry is.

SPEAKER_00: 7:30

Interesting. I have found that Hollywood, and this is coming from an outsider, I'm in Minnesota, but one of the things that I've found very noticeable in Hollywood is how you treat the lower people. I think a lot of actors come into it and they're like, Well, I'm an actor, you're just a writer on a show, you're not even a showrunner. But what I've discovered in being a TV film critic is that those writers eventually become showrunners. And they have a memory. And they will remember when I wrote positive things about them and and uh you know said, Oh, I I love it when so-and-so writes an episode. And they remember that, they become showrunners, and then they reach out and say, Hey, I can you check this out, see what you what you think of it. And Hollywood has an internal memory that I don't think a lot of actors fully realize or embrace that the lowly writers today are the showrunners tomorrow, and they're the ones that are directing the feature films the next day. And I think a lot of it is how you treat the the people below you, and I think that's something that doesn't get taught about. So you had your sights early on and becoming an actress. What do you think drove that? Because a lot of actors and actresses that I've talked to, they maybe they're uh an only child that were looking for an escape, and so creating characters was their way of getting you know, creating an escape. Maybe they didn't have a lot of friends, and so they they used that to to harness their imagination. Was there anything in particular, or was it just the art of performing that you love?

SPEAKER_01: 9:10

First of all, I agree with what you just said in terms of being kind. Be kind to everyone you encounter outside of the industry, in the industry, whatever. You don't know what people are going through. But also, you're exactly right. Like, why would we think ourselves better than anyone? Don't think yourself lowly, but be kind to that PA, be nice to the catering team. I find myself just recently, I was thinking about how grateful I am for the janitors that clean the studios at Warner Brothers that let us make this movie. Like we can give thanks and be grateful and kind to everyone. And that's you're exactly right, Greg, going to impact our career so much. So, and something I definitely try to do, and I'm glad you brought that up. In terms of why I felt drawn to the industry, I don't really know. It's just been a part of me since I was very, very small. I've just always known this is exactly what I'm called to do to be a storyteller, be an actor, be a singer, be very famous, very publicly known. I would practice little red carpet interviews in my bedroom as a child. You know, I didn't want to play pretend teacher in school. I didn't want to play pretend, you know, I don't know, nurse or anything else that we see a lot of little girls playing. I wanted to play uh red carpet. I wanted to play movie star. And that's just always been who I am and what I know I'm called to do. And it wasn't even just be an actor. It was very much, I'm supposed to be very, very famous, very well known, a big time movie star. And I love that about me. I love that little Carrie was like, yeah, I know who I am and this is what we're gonna do. So it's fun to watch that evolve as all of the things I've done have always been very, very big. I haven't done a lot of smaller things or built in the way other people build careers. I tend to just be thrown in the deep end, whether it's theater or TV or film. But no, I don't think so. I know I, you know, I always felt a little different. I did have a ton of friends. I've always had a lot of friends. I was on the cheerleading team. I was the student council president, you know, I wasn't, I wasn't like the most popular girl in high school, but I was friends with them. And so um I didn't have any of that. I certainly had insecurities and anxiety that would show up later in life. But um, no, as a child, I was extremely outgoing and always wanted to be singing at sporting events or on stage at things, center of attention. Um and I think that I I just had a calling and I just knew that this was something I was meant to do.

SPEAKER_00: 11:29

Now, were the red carpets that you imagine as your childhood as much fun as the red carpets are now? Or does a harsh reaction? Because I've I've done about probably 30 or 40 red carpets, and I I feel for the actors and actresses to have to do those. They're not, let's be honest, they're not fun.

SPEAKER_01: 11:50

You know, I I really actually do think they're fun in some sense, but I don't think anyone realizes, like you said, how stressful. Um until you're standing there and everyone is screaming your name and all these flashes are going off, you can't imagine what that's like. You don't, you know, there's no context for it in regular life.

SPEAKER_00: 12:08

And the other thing is as a critic, we have two minutes to interview someone. And so the chances of me asking you something that's original or creative, or it's you know, what brought you to this role? And then you go to the next film person and they go, What brought you to this role? And then you get to the next person and they go, Wow, you are great. What brought you to this role? And so I I have a deep sympathy and appreciation for those that do red carpets because is it looks fun, it looks glamorous from the outside, uh, but it's just it's not a creative outlet for anything. It's the questions are new to me and for my audience, but they're questions that given the amount of time, there isn't any chance to to delve deeply. And that's one of the nice things about podcasts, is you can branch away a little bit from the repetitiveness of it.

SPEAKER_01: 13:00

But yeah, you know, and exact part of the job. You know, it I find in real time to experience in that moment, if I can connect with myself and stay present, I'm able to realize I am living my biggest dream in that moment. Very much exactly what I pictured when I was little is happening right now in real life. And that is so special that I try and stay in that energy. But yes, it is definitely stressful in terms of you're aware you want to look your absolute best. And, you know, I think people have this idea if you're in a movie, you must be given a hair and a makeup team and a stylist and a publicist. And that's not true, at least in the beginning. You know, you have to find those things for yourself. You have to decide how much you can invest into these things. I still never worked with a stylist, and I look forward to that. But right now, that wouldn't be something in my budget. And if you're a certain level in the movie, you're gonna be provided a glam budget. You'll be provided that car service. I think what's been really helpful for me is prior to being the person on the red carpet and doing the interviews, my good friend and consistent collaborator Ryan, who writes and directs these wonderful Knives Out movies, brings me and has continued to bring me to events and Q ⁇ As and situations where I can then see and learn, right? So I was learning years before I was even doing TV and film. And that was really, really helpful for me because I got to just watch and kind of be a fly on the wall. But I learned what is it like to have a publicist? What is it like to be kind of, okay, get in the car, get out of the car? You know, what is that night like when you're going from event to event to event? What do you want to look like? How does everyone else act? How does everyone behave? What's the process? And so I've gotten an insight that I think no actors get really. I mean, very few, I think, actors get to experience it from the learning side before they do it for themselves. And that has been monumentally instrumental in helping me feel confident and aware of what's going to be happening that night. The more information I have, the calmer I feel. And I think that's true probably for everybody. And so when I don't have a lot of information, I don't know how the night's gonna go, I can panic. But I just try and call on all of the previous experience, all the previous learning, all the times I've done that with Ryan and remembering, okay, I've done it now myself a lot. I can do this, and this is what I was born to do. And I think that makes everything easier, happier, more fun. That's the whole point, right? We want to have fun, but also this is work. This is part of the job. And the more people that see me publicly and get to know me, the more jobs I'll get. And I always come back to the same thing, which is I just want to act and sing. So if it's gonna get me more work, get me on that carpet, you know?

SPEAKER_00: 15:47

Yeah. And one of the things you kind of alluded to is that I don't think people fully comprehend or realize it's one of the things that I I constantly have to remind myself, as an actress, you know, you got paid for a role and you did that role, but now you're going on doing red carpets, you're doing podcasts like this, you're you're not getting paid for this stuff. It's all kind of in the you know, in the bundle of things. This is what you you do in the industry. There's a lot of work that goes on that you're not compensated for, time and energy that's just part of doing that role, and you can, I guess, kind of figure out into your pay that this is part of it, but there's a lot of stuff that actors and actresses have to do that they don't get compensated for that I think people just don't realize that there's a lot of glimmer and glitz, but there's a lot of work that goes into it. What were some of the biggest misnomers that you found dreaming of being an actress, dreaming of being on the red carpet, so then actually being in those positions that you dreamed about?

SPEAKER_01: 16:54

Oh, I think um, you know, learning how to pose for the camera, definitely learning about the marks, each mark, uh, each place to stand along the carpet. I didn't know about that, or how long you're supposed to stand there. I think there's a lot of misconceptions about what being an actor is, even within my own friends and family. There's constant misconceptions. I think people see it as like it's not really a job and it's just so fun and la la la and easy breezy and you're so glamorous. And there is a lot of that. It is very cool to be flown across the world and put up in a major five-star hotel and have that driver every day pick you up and bring you home, and food is brought to you, and you know, all of those things. That is true. But I think the biggest work for an actor is staying in the mental and physical and spiritual and emotional well-being at your absolute best, best of the best top place you can be, and utilizing tools that you have to go get for yourself, right? You have to learn how do I love to work out and what really works for my body. Well, that costs money. You maybe need to hire trainers, or you have to pay for expensive Pilates classes or a soul cycle or whatever it is that you find that works for you. Then let's say you want to stay in the best mental head game because that is so important as an actor, so that you don't start to say, oh, my worth is only tied to whether I'm working or not, or my worth is only tied to how many followers I have or how many people know I exist, all of those things. And so you have to have a therapist, or you have to have a somatic therapist, or in my case, you have both. Maybe you do body work, energy work. I don't know. It could be a billion things. All of those things cost money, right? And then maybe you want to stay fresh, so you take classes. I personally don't take classes because I find them to be a breeding ground for negativity, actors complaining, talking about how hard things are, how bad the industry is. I don't subscribe to any of that. So I won't put myself in that environment. But I will do one-on-one coachings if I feel like I really need it on an audition or callbacks. That costs money. Voice lessons cost money, speech and language classes. There's so many things that you have to do. And then you have to dress yourself, right? And how you look is going to affect your confidence. So you need to feel really good in what you're wearing. How's your hair? How are your headshots? Your demo reels for voiceover. Like it goes on and on and on. And right now, because self-tapes are sort of the industry standard, which I am adamantly against. I think you need to be in the room to connect with people because that's what acting is is connection with other humans and reacting together. You also have to be an IT tech, an editor, a cameraman. You have to set deck, you have to be the lighting person, the cinematographer, you have to cast your reader, you have to like it is just an unbelievable volume of work. And you're exactly right. Not one of those things are paid. So if I have four auditions today and a couple of interviews. And then an appointment later. I'm not being paid for any of that. And also, when would I be working in a way where I am being paid? Right. So I try and find little freelance jobs I could do at night to make some extra money. I think, really, in general, the industry people don't really understand how it works. And actors, people don't really understand how it works. And I hope that they can find some kind of respect for them instead of tearing them apart online when they have no idea what it's like to be on this side of it.

SPEAKER_00: 20:26

And you basically answered my next question. Okay. But it was a really good question. So I'm going to ask it anyway.

SPEAKER_01: 20:33

Yes, please.

SPEAKER_00: 20:34

And it was really good in the fact that I I want people to hear the question, but you basically did give the answer. And that was to point out, let me rephrase it, I guess, a little bit. To point out that you know you have Knives Out Mystery right now, which is out, you're promoting it, it's you know doing well on Netflix. It was out in the theater for a bit. But it's like having your dream job for five, six months, and that's gonna end, and now you're unemployed, you're looking for work again, and you might find something else. You'll look at an episode of like you had poker face, where you show up for you know a week or a couple days, and then you're unemployed again. And I don't think people realize that it's like a constant unemployment where you're living your dream job and now you're looking again, and what kind of mental toll, and you kind of went through kind of the mental aspects of what you do to to you know calm yourself or or get through those hurdles, but I don't think people realize that it's constantly having your dream job, losing your dream job, and trying to find the next job, hoping that it's another dream job, and that has to take a mental toll. And you kind of alluded to it with your last answer. And I think people just don't get that, and I think people be need to be more aware of what's that like.

SPEAKER_01: 21:55

Yeah, I mean, it is absolutely gut-wrenching. And I think, you know, the first time it happened, I remember after Knives Out came out, I was really sad and and was talking with Ryan about it, and he reassured me this is everybody. This is just something that happens to everybody. But my goal is that I'm working so much and consistently that I don't really have time to think about a loss of a job because I'm already working on the next project. And that I think is probably every actor's goal. You know, right now I'm reading scripts. I don't know for sure what my next role is, but I think it increases a little bit with each new thing that comes out. And certainly doing the podcasts and the interviews and the carpets is really helping to accelerate my career. And of course, working at the level I'm working at with the talent I'm working at is helping very much to accelerate my career. But yeah, um, I I call it the like the release depression, right? Because once something comes out, if you don't know your next job, and also when I wrap a job, I can't really sad. I remember crying on the way home or the way back to the hotel when I wrapped poker face because I was so sad. I love this so much. I love the work so much. It does something for my heart and my mind and my being that tells me this is exactly right. I feel so aligned, I feel so happy, I feel so fulfilled. And then it's yanked back away. And so you really do, like I was saying earlier, you have to have a toolbox. You have to be sure up. After my very first really big job, that Broadway tour that I booked ended. I was gutted. I was very clearly depressed. And I had never experienced that before because it was two years in my life. And then I moved back. And by then, everyone I knew that I had graduated with had already quit the business. Almost everyone had already moved away from New York. I didn't know where I was supposed to live. I didn't know what to do. I was so overwhelmed. And I wish someone had said, hey, this is normal. This is uh, you're you're losing something that feels important and precious to you. And you've spent two years with these people, you build out a family feeling, and it feels sort of like going through a massive divorce or a massive loss of your loved ones. And take a beat, take a minute and figure out what you need and then get back to it. And since I didn't have anyone in my life at that time that was really in the industry to, you know, at that really high level or could help me understand, I think most people in my life are like, what is going on with you? You know, so I think again, if you can apply that to how you see actors and how you see creatives, freelance workers, right? We work really, really hard and we achieve our dreams. And then there is that pause. And I really look forward to the day when I don't have those pauses and I am just being flown out to the next job a week later. That's definitely the goal is to be so busy. I no longer feel that. I just feel happy and excited and aligned.

SPEAKER_00: 24:52

What does it involve as you're looking through you're talking about you're reading different scripts? What is your process of finding the right script for you? Is it that you're you know you're new enough where you're still taking a little bit of anything, or do you have a process where you are able to reject certain scripts? How do you how do you approach when you're handed something?

SPEAKER_01: 25:15

That's a great question. All of these questions are so good, Greg. I feel like you are so on top of your game. Um, I really appreciate them. Thank you. Yeah, of course. So there that's a mixed answer, right? Um, there is definitely still the part of me that wants to say, I'll take anything, just cast me, I'll be the tree in the back. But I'm also now at a point in my career where I'm able to go, I'm really talented, I'm really experienced, I have worked with the absolute best of the best. The list of A-list actors I've worked opposite is really insane. I mean, it's just incredible. And so let me take a beat and not play small. That's the biggest lesson I think I'm learning right now is to not play small just to make other people happy or because I'm scared something else won't come in. And so it's definitely a little bit of both. I'm very excited when I have scripts and auditions and meetings about projects. And I'm really excited. I have this unbelievable writer-director that believes in me and continues to bring me along. I did just pass on writing a rom-com that I was pretty sure I was going to take, but at the end of the day, it wasn't enough money or enough experience from that, from that team that made it make sense. And the way that I got to that place, because initially I was like, I'm I'm on board, let's do it. My manager and my lawyer were really able to help not only go through the negotiations and give me insight, but then eventually both said, this really isn't something that makes any sense for you at this point. And that clicked in my brain. And simultaneously, I was offered to do something in the voiceover world that my voiceover agents were like, this doesn't really make any sense. You're not, you're not at this place. You're not just starting. You're not, you shouldn't be taking a job where these are the terms. And so I think it's also having the right people on your team and the right people in your life that you can bounce ideas off of. Because as talent, I just want to work. I just want to tell stories. I just want to, you want me to come do your audiobook or you want me to come, you know, be a day player on something? Absolutely, I will. I'll do it immediately. I'll come do your short film. And I think I'm I'm at a place now where I'm realizing I need to actually honor where I'm at and notice the things that are coming in that are at the right level. And by saying no to other things, I have the space and the time to really consider these bigger opportunities. And how do I want my legacy to look? And how, what roles do I want to play? What am I dying to do? And realize those things are coming in. I'm not just a beginner. I think that's a really hard thing for an actor because we just want to act, we just want to sing, we just want to perform and do what we love. And so any opportunity feels like I better grab that. What if, what if it never happens again? And really that's not the case anymore. And I think you have to adjust again your mindset and say, okay, this is this is where I'm at. Let me honor it.

SPEAKER_00: 28:10

How does that process work? You mentioned the lawyers, you mentioned the agents, the publicists. Every so often we hear a story about an actor in a breakout role where he says, you know, no one thought I should do it. No one they all thought I'd be a career ender, but then it turned out to be, you know, a multi-million dollar success that spawned off four sequels because someone took a chance and someone said, I I never could imagine anyone else in that role. When you are kind of butted up against those other voices, how does that all play out? Who wins? Who has the do you have the overall, you know, is it your overall decision? How do you because there's a creative process. You're creating a character, you're being asked to create a character that a lawyer might not fully understand or fully not might not develop in their mind. They're looking at dollars and cents. And so how does the creative factor input with the the lawyering that you mentioned or the publicist that says, oh, this might not be the best thing and and risk it turning into something that was highly successful?

SPEAKER_01: 29:19

Well, I think you have to really trust your gut, and that's in everything in life, right? So I notice when I speak with certain people about projects, I get a feeling in my body when it's really not the right thing for me. Um it's like in my stomach, in my hips. I have I've had to learn how to notice the physical sensations I experience. Um, and I've actually had situations where someone has said, I think this is great. You should totally pursue this. And I've had to say, I get that really bad feeling when I talk to this person. And every single time that's been true. So later I'll find out they were not a good person to work with, or they'll do something that shows their true nature, especially when I do pass on something. If someone gets really angry and upset, that gives me that kind of quote unquote proof. Hey, you're right here. Like you, you don't want to deal with these types of people. So something in learning your body sensations. And then the same thing when I, when I just know, oh, I'm supposed to do this. I feel different in my body. I feel lighter. I my energy is different. I feel myself leaning toward the person. So I think doing somatic work and connecting with my own body and my intuition has been very helpful. But also you just, you just trust yourself, right? And and you trust the people you bring on your team. I've had reps in the past that I haven't really trusted that I've had to then move away from. And you start to learn, you know, who speaks your language, who really gets you, and and that it's more and most important to trust yourself. I mean, look, if someone was giving me the role of a lifetime in an incredible project and it really was not a lot of money, but I believed in the project and I believed in the writer-director, and I believed in the team behind it, and I saw the vision for it, and I knew my own ability to help move it forward. Absolutely, I would take that in a second. But if someone's coming to me and they're bringing me a role and it's not exactly a fit, or there's things in it that I'm not comfortable with, or there's terms in the deal I'm not comfortable with, or maybe it's, you know, an unbelievable volume of money, but it's not good people and they have a bad track record. You know, you have to look at your career as the long game. It's not just what am I doing immediately, but what kind of legacy as an actor do I want to have? What projects do I want to be involved with? Who do I want to tie my name to? And yeah, so I think I think it's it's the actor being able to trust their team, but trusting themselves most importantly, their intuition, their their truth, their calling, and being able to get quiet and still enough to hear those things in a very, very busy world.

SPEAKER_00: 31:52

Now you're still relatively new to acting, but you've you've been around enough to see changes. Matt Damon did an interview at some point somewhere that he talked about how he could do uh we bought a zoo, and that would do you know relatively okay on in the theaters, but then it relied on DVD and and uh and VHS sales to kind of boost it up. And that would allow him to do then the Bourne movies, which would be you know hugely financially successful. But now we're seeing DVD is fading away, and so there's that that revenue stream that we're just not seeing anymore. Is that hurting smaller pictures and stuff like that that could have relied on DVD sales to boost up their sales? Are we only seeing blockbusters coming out now? How do you what do you see the future for the industry?

SPEAKER_01: 32:48

Well, it's certainly hard to predict the future, right, for for anyone. And I think there's so many factors involved, like tangible physical media, like you're talking about, streamers. Obviously, we just saw Netflix have this huge bid to buy Warner Brothers, now Paramount's coming in. The more monopolies we have, the less really good projects and less volume of projects we're gonna have for sure. So we shouldn't have monopolies. No one should have monopolies in anything, any business. But I think there's gonna be a call back to physical media. I feel like we're already seeing that with younger generations wanting to have DVDs and VHS and buying VHS players off eBay. I do think there's gonna be a resurgence at some time in the future, just as all things become cyclical. I also think you're right in terms of how that has affected every industry, right? Like artists no longer make any income from selling physical CDs. So they have to learn how to make money now touring or from merch or from doing cameos, you know, little videos where they talk to their fans. You have to kind of adjust and move. But I think I really miss when an independent movie, like let's take Juno. I don't know if you remember Juno. Yeah, like 2005-ish, 2006. I remember going to see that with friends and being blown away and and it even further pushing me toward doing this career. I understood there's something I have to do. That story was so good. It was so well done. I went back to the theater like three more times to see it. Would that movie even get made right now? Probably not. And if it did get made, would it have been so affected by the studio's decisions because they put so much money into it? Probably. Or, you know, I think about TV shows and movies that we definitely wouldn't have now based on the way that networks and streamers pick and choose, and they don't want to offend anyone ever in any circumstance. And I understand why from the business mindset, but we're missing so many incredible projects because of these different stipulations and guidelines. And I just think it's getting in the way of the art and the storytelling and all the movies that everyone loves that, you know, if you ask someone their favorite movies, nine times out of 10, those movies are from like anywhere between the 1950s and the early 2000s. I don't hear a lot of people say, oh, my all-time favorite movie came out two years ago. So I think there's something to be said for learning from the past, learning from the history of Hollywood and sharing the wealth and distributing budgets for smaller projects that are going to be life-changing movies, but not just sticking to major blockbusters and massive, massive blockbuster projects with huge, massive budgets. And so then they can only release a couple things per year. And then give the people what they want. You know, TV and film are supposed to be escapism, they're supposed to be entertainment. Are we really doing our job if we're limiting to only a few things per year based on a handful of people's decisions as to what they think will do well? It just doesn't make any sense in my mind. So I hope we come back to more movies, more TV shows, medium-sized budgets, you know, bringing on people that I can't tell you how often I hear I need to have a bigger following. What does that have to do with being an actor? It's so frustrating. So, you know, I think, I think kind of hearkening back to an older time of the industry, while considering and keeping in mind the safety updates we've had and not putting people in harm's way the way they used to be in decades ago. But, you know, in terms of the budgets, absolutely. I think, I think there's room to play and I think there's so many great stories waiting to be told.

SPEAKER_00: 36:29

Your single titled You and Me and Everything. Tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_01: 36:34

The movie is called Us and Ourselves. But yes, the the movie and the song being uh coming out in the around the same time are really exciting for me. And I also have a Christmas single for Christmas that gets a little bit of a boost this time of year for obvious reasons. So the song is called You and Me and Everything. It's from the rom-com Us and Ourselves. And the writer director of that is also a friend. And he gave me this great part in the movie where it's really centered around my surprise wedding for the weekend. And it's it was just a really fun part and fun movie to film. And he emailed me and said, Hey, I have this track. We're gonna just use it in part of the movie, but do can you write a song to it? And I had never had someone just send me a track to write a song to. Typically, I write my own melodies and music, and I can hear the whole thing in my head. So it was a fun new challenge. And I just top lined it. So I did the lyrics and the melody, and it wound up being sort of an acoustic, raw, almost the way that real, actual love feels. It's not perfect, it's a little messy, but it's just so pure and sweet. And it mimics a part of the movie where the main couple goes on a road trip to this wedding weekend. And I just love that feeling where you're with your person, you're in the car, you've got a cup of coffee in your hand, you've got some music or a podcast or something playing, maybe it's even just quiet, and you're just so content because you're with that person that you can just do nothing with and you feel safe and seen, and they feel safe and seen. And that feeling is so special and precious. And I find it happens a lot in the car. You can just get in the car with someone and drive and drive and drive and feel connected and safe without even really saying a word. So that's really what this song reflects. And I'm excited for people to hear it.

SPEAKER_00: 38:23

You and me and everything, and then also for Christmas, which is curly out.

SPEAKER_01: 38:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 38:28

Wrapping things up, I know we're we're short of time here, but tell us a little bit about uh Wake Up Dead Man and Knives Out mystery.

SPEAKER_01: 38:35

Absolutely. So this is the third Knives Out mystery. I'm so excited to be back after also being in the first Knives Out where I play Sally. Sally and Tammy, my character in this movie, are different characters. And I've gotten that question quite a bit. Are they are they the same? Did you come back as the same character? And this one is really fun. It takes place based around a church and the community within that church. And it is exciting to see Benoit Blanc back doing his thing, solving another mystery, but we see more layers and complexity in this film. The use of light in this film is unbelievable. I think what Steve Yudlin does is insane, and he's just so gifted. And if you follow that light, the light itself tells a story in and of itself. And the actors, of course, top-tier talent. We've got, of course, Daniel Craig back as Benoit. We've got Glenn Close, Carrie Washington, Josh O'Connor, who I think is sensational and what an incredible person. Mila Kunas, um, Andrew Scott, the list just goes on and on and on. And so to be able to play with those people and and learn from them on set is really incredible. I think it's such a good film. I encourage people to watch it more than once because I think the first watch, you're gonna be really invested in the story and figuring it out. And then the second, third, fourth watch, you're gonna be able to find all of these little nuances, these little jokes you might have missed. These little tiny nudges throwbacks to the past movies, um little kind of sweet little hidden moments throughout little Easter eggs throughout the movie that I think are really fun and show the range of everyone's work, especially Ryan's writing work. So it's it's great. It's another great murder mystery, and it's kind of follows along with the pattern of of each one having its own type of mystery, and this is more like that closed room mystery. I just think they're great. I think they're wonderful movies, and I'm so thrilled to be part of them.

SPEAKER_00: 40:33

Great way to escape. I'm just gonna tune into that. So check that out, Netflix. Uh, we're running short time. I just got two more questions, I think.

SPEAKER_01: 40:41

Please take your time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 40:42

One of the things uh that I know that you're big into is humanitarian work. So I wanted to give you a moment just to plug anything just on the spot uh that you want to plug with the holidays coming, uh, any kind of charities that you wanted to promote, just something that I could spread and put a link to.

SPEAKER_01: 41:00

Absolutely. So I'm very big into um dog rescue, into animal work. And I think, you know, if you are going to gift a pet this holiday, make sure the receiver really wants that pet and has expressed clear interest about having another mouth to feed and life to care for for the next 15 years. Don't gift a pet to someone who does not want one. That's um, it's a really big crisis in our shelters across the country come the first week of January when there's an inundation of puppies and kittens being brought to shelters because people did not want them as gifts or children were not prepared to have them. Um, which also, if you're looking for a puppy or kitten, go to your local shelter the week after Christmas. That's a great time. You're gonna find every type of dog and puppy and uh cat that you could possibly want. But I would say, you know, if you have some extra time or money and you can go walk dogs at your local shelter, there's programs where you can read to them. There's a big need for gently used blankets, sheets, towels, toys, uh, food. Almost every shelter and rescue near you will have a wish list or some kind of way to donate. And every single shelter and rescue near you has the pet you're looking for. It's a big misconception that you need to go to a breeder to get a certain breed or a puppy or a kitten. I think if people really dove deep into that world, they would realize they can go get that dream Frenchie right now. They could get that Aussie right now, a corgi, whatever they're looking for, their shelter and rescue is going to have. And I think, you know, knowing that you can go to petfinder.com to find those animals. And I am putting together a film festival that is about dogs, and I'm pairing that with a local rescue here in LA, which hopefully we'll be doing next spring, pending schedules, of course, pending any filming going on. Um, and I'm excited to bring that to other cities as well. Hopefully, we'll be able to do that nationwide to bring support and fundraising to a local shelter or rescue or multiple places, uh, while also bringing in some incredible films, talent, influencers, anything to really get people to attend and donate and maybe even find their next furry friend. So that's big to me. And then um, you know, I think just finding any way to give back this season, but then making that a part of your regular life. Right now, people are flooded with volunteers coming to serve meals. But what happens in January? So I think taking a minute to say, what kind of work am I really called to do in the world? How can I give back? And then how can I implement that to be a year-round thing? For some people, that's money. For other people, they don't have money to give, but they have a lot of time right now. For some people, they don't have money or time, but they have the ability to organize an event with a spreadsheet like you've never seen. So I think it's about really saying, what am I drawn to? What kind of gifts do I have to give back? And how can I make that be something that I do throughout the year, not just at the holidays, so that I can give thanks for all that I have and help others have what they need as well.

SPEAKER_00: 44:02

Well said. And I'll skip to my last question because I know your time is valuable. Thank you. So much of your career now, you know, is is stuff that comes from a PR sheet. You know, you're a singer, writer, producer, director, her flick, you know, knives out is out, and it's all stuff that is in your bio, it's all stuff that we attribute to some work that you've done. But when you get up in the morning and you go into the bathroom for the first time, splash a little water on your face, and look in the mirror, who is it that you see?

SPEAKER_01: 44:35

I see someone who is giving 200% to her dreams, and I see someone that is valuable and worthy. And, you know, I see that little kid version of myself who would just be screaming through the roof that I have this really big movie out. I'm living my dreams, living where I've always wanted to. And I've got this hope and potential for my future that is bigger than I can even grasp, thanks to not only my hard work, but all of the people in my life who believe in me and all of the people I haven't even met yet who believe in me. So I see someone who is really excited, really motivated, and I can't wait to see what we do next. Me and that little kid version of myself.

SPEAKER_00: 45:24

Well, Carrie Francis, thank you so much for coming on. I'm gonna have to have you on again some other day because I have a whole list of questions that I didn't get to. So I need you to do another big film so we can have you back, or even a smaller film. But I appreciate you coming on again. Wake up dead man, Knives Out Mystery is out on Netflix, and your single should be coming out soon, you and me and everything, as well as her already out single for Christmas. Uh, perfect time of year to check that out. So, Carrie, thank you so much for coming on.

SPEAKER_01: 45:56

Thank you so much, Greg. I'm happy to come back anytime and have a happy holiday.