00:36.6
they still have time to do more speech.
00:38.6
So that's our show would feature backstage cam and behind the scenes camera, stuff like that.
00:45.1
It was just extra. If you really wanted to participate in the Oscars, you can do that.
00:57.6
This podcast episode is brought to you by AB Music Creative.
01:01.7
And the podcast will begin in five, four, three, two, one.
01:07.8
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Augie Max.
01:11.6
Thank you. Thank you to Apako for having me. Appreciate it.
01:15.1
Award winner, technically the first. Oh my God.
01:20.8
Mark, we love you. You directed the Oscars.
01:24.3
Produced. So I produced.
01:25.8
Yeah, I've been involved.
01:27.6
I was producing the digital show for the Oscars.
01:31.9
That's something I did for about seven or so years.
01:35.1
I actually got my start doing the Oscars as a production assistant in 2000.
01:39.6
So you started at the bottom?
01:40.7
Very bottom. Yeah, I started working as a PA, production assistant,
01:45.6
getting dry cleaning, getting food, getting donuts, whatever you had to do at the bottom stages.
01:53.3
So that's where I got my start working at the Oscars.
01:56.4
And then I ended up working as a producer.
01:57.7
I was a producer about 15 years later on the show.
02:02.2
But as the digital for internet presentation.
02:06.0
So where'd you win the Emmy for?
02:07.5
So that was for the Oscars digital, it was Oscars All Access is what it was called.
02:12.6
So it aired on Facebook Live and it was a companion show so that if you're watching the Oscars,
02:19.7
you could also on your Facebook have this up and we'll have the backstage thank you cam.
02:27.3
if they do their speech and then when they come off the stage, they still have time to do more speech.
02:32.9
So that's our show would feature backstage cam and behind the scenes camera, stuff like that.
02:39.5
It was just extra if you if you really wanted to participate in the Oscars, you can do that.
02:44.2
Kaling, whose idea was it?
02:46.2
I mean, you know, I'm not 100% sure.
02:48.2
I think it was just something that evolved just like with with anything in this modern day.
02:53.3
There's always a social component, right?
02:57.2
You're doing a show, there's your tweets and your posting.
03:01.5
So I think this was just a natural progression of the evolution of the Oscars into the digital format.
03:08.4
So I'm not sure who did it, but I got it.
03:10.2
Okay, when was this?
03:11.6
When did it start?
03:12.4
The whole digital thing?
03:14.6
Well, I mean, I got brought on, I think, in 2015.
03:17.4
I think they might have started it the year before that, possibly.
03:21.3
So it wasn't until like the latter, you know, 2010s.
03:25.2
That at least this particular year.
03:27.2
That's when the regular version of the show started.
03:29.2
And that's when they brought me on.
03:31.2
And you've been with the Oscars ever since?
03:35.2
So up until the pandemic.
03:37.2
So when the pandemic came, everything changed, right?
03:39.2
All the show formats changed a little bit.
03:42.2
And so that was one of the casualties, unfortunately, after the pandemic that that show went away.
03:48.2
I still do other things for the Academy, which is the organization that puts on the Oscars.
03:54.2
I produce a show called the SciTech Awards.
03:56.2
And that is, it's not televised as an event to the public.
04:01.2
But when you watch the Oscars, they'll show you a little package.
04:05.2
They'll say, last week at the Beverly Hills, Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, we presented these awards.
04:11.2
And this, that show is for all the technical achievement in film.
04:16.2
So like the green screen techniques, the rain bar that they'll put above your head to create rain.
04:24.2
All the little things you don't realize.
04:26.2
You need to make a film from a technical standpoint.
04:30.2
You know, just software that allows you to share cuts with directors and producers.
04:37.2
That show is all about technical achievement.
04:41.2
And so I produced that for the Oscars for the last six years.
04:44.2
So I've been involved with the organization for the last 20 years in various capacities.
04:50.2
How about the Will Smith, Chris Rock?
04:57.2
I was at home watching that.
04:58.2
And it was funny because we watched.
04:59.2
What was your reaction though?
05:00.2
So it's funny because so I was watching it late.
05:05.2
And so I'm watching it with my wife.
05:08.2
And I start getting these text messages like, is this for real?
05:12.2
Is this what is it?
05:14.2
And I'm like, I don't know what's going to happen.
05:16.2
Something's going to happen in the next couple of minutes.
05:18.2
And then so we finally got to that point.
05:20.2
And they, it looked like they did a sensor.
05:24.2
So I wasn't sure exactly.
05:25.2
I wasn't sure exactly what happened, but you could tell like it was not planned.
05:29.2
This is not a, at least, you know, I don't think it was planned based on what happened.
05:34.2
You still don't think it was planned?
05:36.2
If it's, if it was planned, then it wasn't made aware to a lot of people.
05:41.2
You know, it's one of those things.
05:43.2
Because you remember that Eminem landing, that Sacha Baron Cohen landing on Eminem.
05:47.2
Was that down stage, right?
05:49.2
I think that's the sort of stuff that, you know, you, you, I didn't work on that show,
05:54.2
but I'm going to, I'm going to guess that that was a staged element.
05:58.2
But I don't think that the Will Smith situation was necessarily staged.
06:02.2
I think it was just a really bad situation that, you know, unfortunately happened.
06:08.2
But, you know, it's, it's amazing because that was almost two years ago now.
06:12.2
And so we've moved on so much from it.
06:15.2
Chris Rock's already had his special about it.
06:17.2
And, you know, but yeah.
06:19.2
That's why I was like, imagine a lot of content from that slap.
06:25.2
I mean, you know, that's the funny thing about shows is, is sometimes they don't even
06:30.2
get recognized unless something like that happens on it.
06:34.2
Because like, for example, last year's show of the Oscars, it was great.
06:37.2
It was actually a really well produced show, but nothing dramatic happened.
06:42.2
No moonlight incident.
06:43.2
You know, the la la la moonlight.
06:47.2
So sometimes it's like, you know, you could produce a great show, but nobody's going to
06:50.2
care because there was no controversy that came from it.
06:53.2
So what was your take with regard to controversy?
06:57.2
Oh, I mean, in that case, you know, nobody wants to see.
07:00.2
Listen, I like UFC.
07:02.2
I like martial arts.
07:04.2
I like it in its appropriate place.
07:07.2
It has to be in context.
07:09.2
But in an award show where, you know, you're all dressed in the nines, you're supposed
07:15.2
to be celebrating each other.
07:17.2
It was just a bad decision.
07:20.2
You know, it was a really bad decision for me.
07:22.2
Really bad decision for him, unfortunately.
07:24.2
And, you know, I don't think that situation was good.
07:29.2
But, you know, like, it's unfortunately just what happened.
07:33.2
It was the circumstances that built up, you know.
07:36.2
And luckily at this point, you know, I think for the most part, I mean, he's still kind
07:43.2
of reeling from it, from his career, right?
07:47.2
But, you know, we've all kind of moved on to the next controversies.
07:52.2
Now, being in show business, has this always been your dream?
07:57.2
Like, are you living your dream or?
08:02.2
I mean, I would say I am definitely living my dream.
08:04.2
I don't know if it was something that originally, like when I was younger, I didn't know I was
08:09.2
going to go down the path.
08:10.2
Like, I remember, I think one of the first times I remember even entertaining the idea
08:14.2
of being like a storyteller was when my parents bought a minus one.
08:20.2
You had the minus one.
08:21.2
For those of you who don't know what the minus one is, it's, you know, it's a speaker
08:24.2
with two cassettes.
08:26.2
And it was for karaoke for the most part.
08:28.2
But my parents bought it for karaoke for them.
08:32.2
Was it here in the States?
08:33.2
This was here in the States.
08:35.2
Because I was born out here.
08:36.2
And I remember them buying it.
08:38.2
And I was like, what is this?
08:39.2
And I started kind of playing with it and doing recording.
08:42.2
And I remember doing kind of like, you know, Orson Welles, War of the World.
08:47.2
I remember doing like this.
08:49.2
Just, I was very improvisational and just kind of telling this story of this thing.
08:54.2
And I remember that was one of the first times that I did something like that.
08:58.2
And I was like, this is fun.
09:00.2
This is interesting, you know.
09:02.2
And then I did, then my parents bought, you know, the camcorder.
09:06.2
So they would have me record the batch reunions, the class reunions that they would have and
09:11.2
the family reunions and stuff.
09:13.2
So I got used to using the equipment.
09:17.2
The one that you had to put on the shoulder.
09:18.2
With the VHS you put in.
09:20.2
So I would do that.
09:21.2
And then, so I was like, oh, this is fun.
09:22.2
And then my and I would make home movies.
09:25.2
We used to make, before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we did our own Cinematic Universe
09:32.2
And would always be the star.
09:34.2
And I would be the guy who would get, they would kill at the beginning.
09:39.2
Because there needed to be like a vengeance plot, right?
09:42.2
So he would either be Punisher or Batman.
09:44.2
And I would be the person who, like the security guard who gets killed.
09:47.2
Or the friend who gets killed.
09:50.2
And so then I would then become the cameraman to film the rest of it.
09:54.2
And then my brother would be the star.
09:56.2
And then our friend, whatever friend we could drag into the day, that particular day, we
10:00.2
would make those.
10:01.2
So that was another time when I was like, oh, this is fun.
10:04.2
You never thought about being in front of the camera?
10:09.2
A little bit I thought about it.
10:10.2
I mean, because you've got the looks, you've got the height.
10:13.2
I appreciate that.
10:16.2
When I was younger, my mom would occasionally joke with us and say, oh, you should become,
10:20.2
you look like Tom Cruise.
10:24.2
You know, one of those things.
10:25.2
But it was always like, I just didn't, it didn't, it didn't feel right for me.
10:30.2
For the record, for everybody watching, how tall are you?
10:33.2
I'm 6'1 and 3 quarters.
10:35.2
So 6'2 is what we, I build myself at.
10:38.2
Richard Gomez height yun, bro.
10:41.2
Tall, dark, and handsome.
10:43.2
I mean, you know, I'm taller than most.
10:45.2
But I just didn't think about it.
10:47.2
I also kind of saw, growing up, I saw a lot of the pitfalls that getting into showbiz,
10:56.2
at least from the on-camera standpoint.
10:59.2
But I remember taking a drama class in college when I was, I went to Mount San Antonio College
11:06.2
And one of my drama teacher was like, oh, you're pretty good.
11:10.2
You should look into this.
11:12.2
And I just didn't, it wasn't in my heart at the moment.
11:14.2
I was having so much fun doing the behind the scenes stuff.
11:17.2
Were you born and raised in LA?
11:19.2
I was born in Dallas.
11:21.2
So both my parents came from the Philippines.
11:23.2
And I was born in Dallas.
11:25.2
My mother, unfortunately, she got in a car accident right after she had me.
11:30.2
So they sent me to the Philippines.
11:32.2
So I lived in the Philippines from, I think it was six or eight months old.
11:37.2
They sent me there.
11:38.2
And then I lived there till about four years old.
11:40.2
Wait, your mom just had a car accident?
11:44.2
So both my parents have passed since.
11:46.2
But this was in the 78 when I was born.
11:50.2
She was driving in Texas.
11:52.2
I think it was Black Ice because there's a lot of that sort of stuff over there.
11:55.2
And she, I think she hit like a semi or something.
11:59.2
And so she was just not in the best shape to be raising a child.
12:02.2
So eight months you were shipped to the Philippines.
12:04.2
Yeah, shipped to the Philippines.
12:06.2
And luckily for me, I had a lot of family there.
12:09.2
My dad is from a family or was from a family of 10 kids.
12:13.2
You know, and then my mom's very similar.
12:15.2
I think it was like nine or eight.
12:19.2
So it was like, it was great because I got to go and live with, you know, family still.
12:24.2
It wasn't like, you know, was separated.
12:26.2
But it was just a different experience.
12:28.2
I think it was about four, somewhere around four years old.
12:32.2
And then I came back to the States.
12:34.2
And then we lived in Burbank, California.
12:36.2
And the reason why I'm asking, there are people in the Philippines, in Asia, in the Philippines,
12:42.2
in the Middle East, people watching this podcast who aspire to be in Hollywood, right?
12:48.2
How does it feel knowing full well that this is Burbank and you're just like a mile, two miles, three miles away from the studios?
12:55.2
Did you take it for granted?
12:57.2
Did you feel grateful that you were that close to the kingdom?
13:01.2
Yeah, no, I really, I didn't, I don't think I appreciated it as much until later when I realized, oh wow, I'm right there, you know.
13:10.2
And we used to go to Universal Studios all the time.
13:12.2
I had Universal Studios, they had the Warner Brothers Studios, Disney.
13:16.2
It was all kind of there.
13:18.2
And I got, I remember one of the first experiences I had was seeing, they were taping the A-Team.
13:24.2
So Mr. T is there and he's, it was in our, it was on what's now San Fernando Road in Burbank by the mall.
13:34.2
And at the time they dressed it up to be like, look like the scene from Vietnam.
13:39.2
They were shooting the scene.
13:40.2
And so he was there.
13:41.2
And I remember my mom bringing me there and I saw, I was so close.
13:44.2
He was probably like as far as where, you know, Michael is right now.
13:47.2
And I was like, wow.
13:48.2
Like, it was one of those things where, oh, they're real, you know, they're real.
13:52.2
And so it leveled the playing field a little bit for me.
13:55.2
And then just more and more the exposure, you know, whether it was Universal Studios or whether it was, like for example, one of my classmates had a dad who was a character actor.
14:08.2
And so, oh, he came and hosted our talent show one year.
14:11.2
So it was always getting kind of this additional exposure.
14:14.2
And then in high school, I remember we had a Rick Chambers who was a news anchor.
14:20.2
He came to our school.
14:21.2
So I got to see him.
14:22.2
And so the proximity helps.
14:24.2
It helps because it really makes you at least be more open to like, oh my gosh, like I can, I'm this close to it.
14:33.2
You know, like we, the other day I was, I mean, just a couple of different times I run into like Sebastian Stan.
14:40.2
I saw the other day at some restaurant and Joe Manganiello.
14:44.2
And they're like in proximity.
14:46.2
So it's one of those things where, you know, and that's why I love living out here because you get those kind of random interactions.
14:53.2
So, yeah, it benefits for sure to be here.
14:56.2
It helps with the confidence of like, yeah, I can get in because it's right there.
15:00.2
Now, with that confidence and that mindset of, yeah, I can get in.
15:04.2
When did that thought come to your mind?
15:10.2
It wasn't until college.
15:11.2
So I was here in Mount San Antonio College and I had already graduated high school, but I was, I was a bad student.
15:17.2
So I didn't, you know, have a direction.
15:19.2
I didn't have a kind of the route I wanted to take.
15:24.2
My mom wanted me to because my mom was a nurse.
15:26.2
But it was just not, it wasn't something I was interested in.
15:29.2
And I really, we were latchkey kids.
15:31.2
So we watched a lot of TV growing up, you know, Saturday morning cartoons and just all of it.
15:37.2
Did they have Saturday fun machine over here?
15:39.2
I don't remember.
15:40.2
I don't remember.
15:41.2
Remember we had that Satfuma Saturday fun machine?
15:42.2
Was that in the Philippines?
15:50.2
I'm sure there's a lot of the same stuff.
15:53.2
You know, which is funny because kids don't have that now because they don't do Saturday
15:54.2
morning cartoons.
15:55.2
But that was like, we used to watch TV so much.
15:57.2
So it was, it was one of those things where like, it was always in the back of my head.
16:01.2
And then when I went to, started going to college, I remember trying to, I was going to be a cop
16:07.2
I wanted to take criminal justice and then it just didn't sit with me.
16:10.7
I didn't really like it as much.
16:12.1
And then I took a break, I took like a semester break and I started trying to work.
16:16.8
I worked in computers, I worked in cable networking, like when you run cables through roofs and
16:22.4
stuff for offices.
16:24.5
And I just kind of started thinking about it.
16:26.4
Wait, that's after college?
16:27.8
This was like a semester into college.
16:30.2
I had basically kind of taken general ed and I was just like, I was uninspired.
16:34.2
It was just, I didn't know what I wanted.
16:37.0
And then I took that semester off and kind of just tried to earn some money.
16:40.8
And then I, I was like, I got to go back.
16:43.4
And now I thought about it a little bit.
16:45.1
I kind of remembered all those things that I mentioned to you before, like when I was
16:48.9
growing up, things I like to do.
16:50.6
And so I was like, let me try it out.
16:52.1
I remember looking at the Mt.
16:53.5
SAC curriculum and I was like, oh, there's television courses.
16:56.9
So let me, let me try that out.
16:58.5
So I just went back to school.
17:00.9
I just took TV production.
17:03.1
I didn't take anything else.
17:04.1
I didn't take history, Spanish, nothing.
17:07.0
I just focused on TV production and I did that for like two and a half straight years
17:11.9
and just did a lot of anything I could do.
17:15.9
What did your parents say when you did this?
17:18.2
I think they were just happy I was in school.
17:22.4
Because in high school I did get into some stuff and you know, I remember getting arrested
17:25.2
during like, I think it was like my, between my sophomore and junior year.
17:28.7
So they were, I think they were just like, listen, as long as he's going to school and,
17:33.2
and you know, they, I don't think they were 100% sold on it.
17:37.0
So I think they were a lot more open about it.
17:38.4
They were like, when I was in college, I was a full-time job and I was a part of the film
17:42.0
So I think it was like a big step forward for me.
17:43.0
I mean, I was a part of the film industry and I was a part of the film industry.
17:44.0
I mean, I was a part of the film industry.
17:45.0
So I think that's the thing I, I really, really enjoyed watching it as a career because
17:46.0
just, it's not something that, you know, most of our community kind of pushes.
17:47.0
Which is interesting because I, I look back and I actually have family members who were
17:48.0
on camera town in the Philippines, Evelyn Vargas, who was a comedian.
17:51.4
She's a, she's my, I guess, tita or I'm not sure.
17:54.4
guess tita or oh my god really and then uh i have a cousin uh ray bihar who's uh he's a contributor
18:01.6
in a lot of ronnie ricketts movies so i had like you know these these family members who were in
18:07.6
in front of camera but for whatever reason it just wasn't something that they my family pushed
18:11.7
on me um and then this just happened organically and then you know i was doing it and and next
18:17.1
thing you know by the end of the my school time which was 1999 i got an internship and i just
18:23.8
started working i started driving into hollywood and working on projects so when you got there
18:29.6
was it what you expected it to be was it glamorous um not the first project i worked on the first
18:35.2
project i worked on was docuseries so it was a lot of like the first show i think i did was called
18:40.2
conspiracy theories and it was it was me like literally i was staying up late transcribing
18:46.7
these interviews yeah so you're just you're just typing you know you're typing yeah and so that was
18:53.8
a very not glamorous at all i'm listening to some you know expert tell talk about the jfk
18:59.5
assassination so that was the first gig i did then the next one i did was similar but it was about
19:04.5
were you doing this for srt files like for transfer for closed caption um no it was just more
19:10.2
for uh so that so that the editor no so that when you look at as an editor or as a producer
19:16.2
um you look at the script and you can make cuts easier because it's on paper so it's more for that
19:23.8
so i'm doing that late night and then yeah the next project same thing it was docuseries it
19:28.7
wasn't glamorous at all but when when i finished that project one of the guys i was working with
19:35.4
he had done award shows he had just done a big award show i forget which one and he was like oh
19:40.4
my gosh you got to get on these shows like they they're all dressed up you know you get to see
19:45.4
all the like beautiful he called out leanne rhymes because i think he had a crush on her
19:49.2
or something but he's like yeah leon rhymes and i was like oh this sounds sounds fun you know
19:54.1
and i had already i had already kind of come from a live background because when i was working
19:58.3
and when i was at mount sac we were shooting news sports anything concerts and yeah you gotta you
20:05.4
have to learn it all i mean and that's the thing that's the best time to really decide like what
20:10.4
you want to do is like do everything and and see what see what makes you kind of like oh i really
20:16.1
like doing this you know um and and for me it was i really liked doing everything and then the live
20:23.8
being in the room just transcribing what has been yeah it's there's something about live television
20:29.5
that it's it's its own kind of fix if you're if you're somebody who was like an adrenaline yeah
20:34.9
chunky it's got its thing because you know once that once that the you go yeah once you're on
20:41.8
air once that you're going you're going and and whatever happens whether it's a slap whether it's
20:46.9
a you know misread uh announcement that that's what's happening and and there's something about
20:52.9
that that's very you know that's what's happening and and there's something about that that's very
20:53.8
um attractive for at least a lot of my colleagues and myself because we keep doing it we keep doing
20:59.1
it over and over and over again so but it's fun it's it's fun to to have um a different office
21:06.0
literally every month i'm doing a new project working with new people working with new clients
21:11.9
working with different ip you like it that way i like it that way because it's always different
21:17.5
you know um i i've just never really done anything else so so for me like i i like the fact that for
21:23.8
example right now i'm working on a strike uh benefit show um and and i'm getting to just
21:31.5
research kind of telethons and and and how you do a telethon properly to earn money and raise money
21:38.4
um whereas the last thing i did was miss usa which is a completely different
21:42.3
you know thing a different presentation all that but uh it's just a new problem to solve
21:48.5
so i'm always excited about just solving a new problem so you you're saying every month um
21:53.8
you're uh you're at the new environment so there is uncertainty but you've been used to this
21:59.7
uncertainty is it safe to say that your uncertainty has become certainly securely
22:10.2
yeah i mean it's not i wouldn't say easy to deal with i would just say it's it's um i'm used to it
22:16.5
now um and i i'm i'm confident that i can solve the problems that are usually presented
22:24.8
and I enjoy it. I enjoy
22:27.8
the challenge of trying to solve the problem
22:30.0
of how are we going to get through
22:31.8
this situation that we're being presented.
22:34.0
But how did you get the break to be the problem solver?
22:37.0
How did you come to that?
22:37.8
Yeah, I mean, it took a while. I mean,
22:41.8
process of working my way up to that.
22:43.9
But, you know, I've done it now
22:45.8
on a handful of shows where I'm
22:47.3
either the showrunner or
22:49.3
the final kind of say in
22:55.5
a while. You have to earn a lot of trust.
22:59.6
a lot of confidence in yourself so that
23:01.6
you can be put in those situations
23:03.4
where you're, for example,
23:05.5
this last show, Miss USA,
23:07.9
it's a live broadcast and you
23:09.6
have to get off the air on time.
23:11.7
So they tell you it's two hours, it's
23:13.5
two hours. You don't get two hours
23:15.7
in one minute. Yeah, yeah.
23:17.3
So, you know, we had a very
23:19.2
there was a possibility that if we didn't
23:21.7
get off on air on time, then you don't
23:23.6
see the crowning of the Miss USA.
23:25.8
So that's a challenge.
23:27.5
That's a very interesting challenge. And
23:29.3
it's something that, you know, some of
23:31.5
the veterans in our industry have
23:33.5
been doing for years, but, you know,
23:35.6
not everybody can do it. And so
23:37.2
I watched a lot of the best do that
23:39.7
and I learned from them and
23:41.4
we were able to do it on
23:43.5
our show. But it's
23:45.4
one of those challenges where, you know, it's like
23:47.6
you have to build your
23:49.6
way up to that. And it
23:51.5
took years. I mean, I've been in the
23:53.5
industry 20 years now. So you still have
23:55.5
nerves? Yeah, I mean, to a certain
23:57.5
extent. I mean, there's nervousness,
24:00.0
but it's nothing that is gonna
24:01.4
stop me from, you know,
24:03.8
doing my job. Is it
24:05.4
more nerve-wracking during the
24:07.5
countdown or in the middle of
24:09.5
the show or toward the end of the show where you're
24:11.5
counting down the time? Yeah, it depends.
24:15.6
a show starts, it just depends on where
24:17.5
you're at. Like, depends on like how
24:19.1
prepared you are. If
24:21.0
we've had rehearsal, if we've got
24:23.5
you know, we have room to breathe,
24:25.4
okay, you know, it's alright, we'll get
24:27.5
there. But then if you're like, oh, we didn't get to
24:29.6
rehearse this, we didn't get to rehearse this, we don't know,
24:31.9
then it becomes a little bit more nerve-wracking,
24:34.1
you know. But I think it's one of those
24:35.6
things where if you, probably like
24:37.5
with you with shows now, right, when you
24:39.3
go up in front of an audience, there's a level
24:41.5
of like, you know, nervousness, but
24:43.4
you're like, we've done this before, we're gonna do it
24:45.5
you know, again. So, it's kind of
24:47.5
like that now at this point where it's like,
24:49.7
I've done it before in various
24:51.6
other capacities. So it's like,
24:53.5
it's gonna be fine. Now, how long do you
24:55.6
see yourself doing this though?
24:57.7
Um, gosh, I mean,
24:59.5
until they kick me out,
25:01.7
you know. It's not fun, huh?
25:07.8
you can call it storytelling, or you can
25:09.6
call it content create, whatever the buzz, you
25:11.6
know, I just like creating
25:13.8
content, and it's
25:15.8
fun, it's really not
25:17.7
that physically taxing,
25:21.0
the hours can be draining,
25:23.5
sometimes, but, you know,
25:25.6
I'm not like out there doing a fight
25:27.5
training or anything, you know, it's
25:31.1
just something that I still enjoy.
25:33.5
I'm sure at some point, there's
25:35.6
gonna be a time when they're just, I'm gonna be too
25:37.5
old, and they're not gonna wanna hire me for that,
25:39.6
for the shows that I wanna work on.
25:41.7
But I have, I have like
25:43.4
exit strategy plans, I'm building
25:45.4
on different things, and
25:47.5
I always wanna be able to talk
25:49.5
about it, like one of the things I do now is public
25:51.3
speaking for colleges, and I talk to
25:53.5
students about, you know, my experience,
25:57.7
I've made, and watched other people make,
25:59.8
but also the things
26:01.7
that you should do right to get through, so
26:03.6
that's kinda like, that'll be my transition
26:09.1
calling me, but for now, you know,
26:12.0
I'm doing alright.
26:13.6
How hard are you on yourself when
26:15.4
you make mistakes? Yeah, I mean,
26:18.0
I try not to beat myself up,
26:19.6
I'm a big believer of,
26:21.6
you know, trying to,
26:23.5
to, you know, be positive
26:25.5
and not too negative,
26:28.1
especially when it comes to like
26:29.4
talking to yourself, you know, you don't wanna be
26:31.6
cursing at yourself, and every now
26:33.7
and then I'll get down, but then it's like
26:35.6
I'm also just like, you have to move
26:37.6
forward. But how do you do that? Like
26:39.4
how do you, how do
26:41.7
you let go? Because, of course,
26:43.9
when you're doing a show, it's your baby, right?
26:46.5
And you want everything to
26:47.7
go on, especially if you're the showrunner,
26:51.5
every member of your crew,
26:53.5
to be doing what they're supposed to be doing.
26:55.6
And sometimes there's patience, but there are times
26:57.7
when stress gets in the way, you become impatient.
27:00.9
But when it's your responsibility
27:02.0
and mistakes happen,
27:04.1
when do you let it go?
27:05.8
And if you have a hard time letting it go,
27:08.4
how do you internalize
27:09.8
it, and how do you throw the garbage out?
27:11.9
Yeah, I mean, like,
27:13.7
there are definitely things about this last show
27:15.8
that I did that I would have liked to
27:17.7
have done better, right?
27:19.8
Were they Miss USA? Yeah, so
27:21.7
Miss USA, there was like one instance,
27:23.5
when we were, excuse me, trying to
27:25.6
get down to the final
27:27.5
act. And, you know,
27:29.8
you can kind of put time, certain
27:31.6
amount of time where you wanted to. I wish
27:33.8
like, oh, I could have put more time
27:35.5
at the end when they crown her, and then
27:37.7
they, she comes back, and all the girls
27:39.6
hug her, and then we, I put
27:41.7
too much time on the front end. And it was just kind of
27:43.6
a last second decision, because we only had
27:45.5
literally seconds to make this decision. I said,
27:47.5
okay, put the time here. So then I watched it
27:49.6
later, and I was like, oh, like, I wish I'd
27:51.6
done this instead. But I'm just,
27:57.2
kind of weighed by things
27:59.6
from the past too much. You want to learn from
28:01.5
it, and I will next
28:03.4
time we do it, I'll know, okay, I'm going
28:05.5
to put this much time in that
28:07.5
segment and not take that away.
28:10.3
But I can't let that
28:11.5
drag me down, because if I'm like
28:13.5
sulking about it, and like, oh,
28:15.5
I could have been better, you know,
28:17.4
then that doesn't
28:19.1
do anything for me from a mental
28:21.5
standpoint. Like, you have
28:23.5
to move forward, you have to say, okay,
28:25.3
what did we do wrong? Alright, we're going to fix
28:27.4
that the next time.
28:29.3
So that's just kind of how I think. Now, I try
28:32.4
let myself get down,
28:35.4
depressed about a mistake.
28:41.4
happens. It definitely happens,
28:44.8
have been times in my past where I've made
28:47.4
mistakes where I beat myself up about it,
28:49.6
but there's only so
28:53.5
so you could, like, yeah,
28:55.6
fine, have a level of
28:57.6
like, feeling bad
28:59.8
about it, but don't let it
29:04.0
career that you have,
29:07.4
was the Emmy Award,
29:09.6
was that, that you have, was that
29:11.7
more of like a validation,
29:13.5
a defining moment?
29:15.4
Where does that fit in
29:17.2
into this career journey?
29:19.6
Yeah, I mean, it definitely was
29:20.9
validation for sure, because I had
29:23.5
at that point, by the time I got
29:25.3
nominated, it was 17 years
29:27.4
in the business, so
29:28.3
I was going through kind of
29:31.4
a period of time where I was like,
29:33.3
ah, it's 17 years already in the business, and I
29:35.5
haven't gotten to this level. What am I doing? Yeah, well, you're just like,
29:37.5
I wanted to be at a, I was transitioning
29:40.1
my old job, which was production
29:43.3
supervisor, which was a, it's a
29:45.6
top-level job, but I wanted to be more
29:47.5
creative, I wanted to do more stuff,
29:49.4
and so I was in a transition period,
29:51.3
and for that to happen,
29:53.5
while I was doing that, and for producing,
29:55.9
was very like, oh, wow, this is
29:57.4
amazing, so it was very validating,
29:59.7
but I have so many
30:01.6
moments kind of like that in my career,
30:03.5
where I'm just like,
30:05.5
wow, I can't believe I'm doing this,
30:07.5
I shouldn't be doing this, you know, like,
30:09.5
I like, like, when you say,
30:11.5
I shouldn't be doing, that's the,
30:13.2
that's a version of imposter syndrome that comes in,
30:15.7
right? Oh, for sure, well, just kind of like,
30:17.6
well, the way I think about it, for example,
30:19.3
I got to work in Walt
30:21.4
Disney World for two years on
30:23.5
some Christmas specials, and
30:24.6
growing up, the way I grew up,
30:27.6
kind of like lower middle class,
30:29.7
we, yeah, we got to go to Disneyland,
30:31.5
but I was never going to go to Disney World,
30:33.6
like, we, family is not
30:35.4
going, we're not going for a trip
30:37.2
out to Orlando, it wasn't an option,
30:39.9
so when, for example,
30:41.6
I got this job to work on that show,
30:44.0
in, I think it was 2016,
30:47.7
they're paying me to go out
30:49.5
there, and so it was a very
30:51.4
kind of like, full circle moment where I'm like,
30:53.5
oh, okay, cool, so, I've had
30:55.5
a lot of those sort of moments where it was
30:57.6
something from my childhood where,
31:00.3
for example, I grew
31:01.5
up watching Star Trek The Next Generation,
31:03.5
big fan of Star Trek, my dad put me on it
31:05.4
when I was a little kid, and I was
31:07.4
working on that show for the Academy,
31:09.6
the SciTech Awards, and I
31:11.5
got to book Patrick Stewart as our
31:14.8
for me, as somebody who watched him
31:17.5
on Star Trek Next Generation,
31:19.4
and then eventually X-Men and all that,
31:21.8
to be able to say, oh, I
31:23.5
did a show where I said, hey,
31:25.5
I want this guy as the host, and we book him
31:27.4
as the host, and then I get to sit this close
31:31.5
saying, oh, Sir Patrick, Sir Patrick,
31:33.6
and he's like, call me
31:35.6
Patrick, and I'm like,
31:39.5
me, it's one of those things where I'm like,
31:41.0
yeah, like the imposter syndrome of like,
31:43.3
I'm not supposed to be here,
31:45.8
like, the people who
31:47.5
come from where I come from are
31:49.4
not supposed to be here, and visually
31:51.5
that's what you see too, because when I'm on
31:53.4
set, I'm still the only, one
31:55.5
of the only Filipino people you'll see on a set,
31:57.7
you know, so, I'm
31:59.4
constantly kind of in that sort of mind frame,
32:02.1
but at the same time, like,
32:03.6
I get to experience these really cool
32:05.4
things, and I'm just like, oh, cool, so, yeah,
32:07.6
winning an Emmy, yeah, getting
32:09.5
to work with, you know, my heroes,
32:11.9
getting to fly to places
32:13.3
that I never would have been able to fly to before,
32:16.0
so those are the things that, like,
32:17.9
yeah, you know, I get validation,
32:19.6
but I'm also just constantly like,
32:21.8
this is my dream job, and
32:23.4
I love it, you know?
32:24.6
How does it feel that when you say
32:27.3
you're one of the few Filipinos
32:29.0
in your department, or
32:34.1
then you see all these
32:35.4
Filipinos coming up in
32:37.3
cinema and in music,
32:39.7
how does that make you feel?
32:40.8
I mean, now, it's great, I mean,
32:43.1
it's one of those things where
32:45.0
back in the day, we didn't have
32:47.5
that, we didn't have anything to look to
32:49.6
on the screen that resembled
32:51.4
us, you know, it was either,
32:53.4
you had to look at either
32:55.5
shows, like the Cosby show for me,
32:57.3
it was like, oh, that's the only show I could look at where it's like,
32:59.2
these people look different,
33:00.8
or you would see people like
33:03.5
for, I'm a big pro-wrestling fan, so I used
33:05.4
to see Ricky the Dragon Steamboat,
33:07.3
you know, I'm like, oh, he looks like me,
33:09.4
you know? And so,
33:11.4
of course, Bruce Lee and any
33:12.6
sort of Asian martial arts stuff,
33:15.3
you're instinctually like, oh, like,
33:17.4
you know, they look like me, but for the
33:19.2
longest time, that wasn't the case, and
33:21.1
you know, even up until like the
33:23.2
last decade, it still wasn't the case.
33:25.5
You know, we only had Rob Schneider,
33:27.5
we only had Apple the App,
33:29.9
Nicole Scherzinger,
33:31.0
and then in the last decade or so,
33:33.2
it started blowing up.
33:35.1
Oh, Darren Criss, Vanessa Hudgens,
33:37.7
you know, Olivia Rodrigo,
33:39.2
just more and more and more.
33:41.0
Do you think there's a glass ceiling?
33:43.0
Oh, I don't think so. I mean, I think
33:44.6
it's just like, you know,
33:47.2
Pandora's box is open now, you know,
33:49.1
and I think you're starting to see,
33:53.2
look at our people and the talents
33:55.1
they have, you know, we could do it all
33:56.9
if we're given the opportunity,
33:59.1
right? And so now it's happening, and I'm
34:01.1
loving it, you know, I love seeing
34:02.4
Bruno Mars out there, I love seeing anybody
34:04.9
who'll rep the flag, you know,
34:07.0
you don't have to be born there,
34:09.0
you don't have to be, you know,
34:10.8
as long as you're willing to say, yeah, you know,
34:12.7
this is part of me, and I'll
34:15.4
rep it, so I love that.
34:17.1
I love seeing it happen, Batista,
34:19.3
you know, so many more, I love it.
34:21.2
So that's something that in the last
34:23.2
couple years, it's been really exciting to see,
34:25.2
so I'm all for it.
34:26.6
How about this? When YouTube came
34:29.1
out in 2004, 2005,
34:33.1
of what it was going to be?
34:35.7
And the context of this
34:37.1
question is you being in the digital space.
34:39.3
Yeah, well, I mean, I don't
34:41.4
know if I was aware of what it was going
34:43.1
to be, but it definitely was one of those things
34:45.2
where when you saw it, you're like, oh,
34:47.5
okay, this is a game changer.
34:49.6
Did you think it was a
34:51.1
game changer before Google?
34:53.2
Bought them, or after
34:55.1
Google bought them? I think
34:59.2
fan of tech, and so whenever I see something
35:01.3
new coming, I'm like, oh,
35:02.9
that's interesting, whether it's a Friendster
35:06.8
whatever. With YouTube,
35:09.4
it was definitely something like, oh, look, you
35:11.1
can post your content. Because
35:13.1
for me, I grew up in an
35:15.2
environment where you had
35:16.8
public access television
35:19.0
was the only way to create
35:21.1
content and then show it
35:23.2
to other people, and you would only get your
35:27.3
people don't, you know, kids nowadays
35:29.4
don't really know what that is.
35:31.1
Let's talk about Wayne's World was.
35:33.2
Exactly. Wayne's World, all
35:35.4
those popular... They were spoofing public
35:37.5
access television. Yeah, and it
35:39.4
just meant like, okay, people in that area
35:41.4
who have that cable service get to
35:43.3
watch your show. But it was still somebody.
35:45.2
Now, when YouTube came, it was like,
35:47.5
okay, I'm going to post this video
35:49.2
I recorded at the zoo of a gorilla
35:51.4
chasing, you know,
35:53.2
a chicken or whatever. And you post it
35:55.3
and it can get all of a sudden
35:57.2
this recognition.
35:58.5
And so when you apply that to
36:01.4
okay, I'm creating content
36:03.2
and then you post it and somebody can see
36:05.3
it across the world, like that was when it was
36:07.3
like, oh my gosh. And it
36:08.6
wasn't something that I saw immediately,
36:11.3
but I was involved with a couple different people
36:13.2
who were kind of early pioneers
36:15.4
in that space. And it was like,
36:17.1
oh, okay, like, yeah, like there's
36:19.6
space to grow here.
36:23.1
And as you can see, it's still
36:24.9
growing. Were you part of the minority
36:31.1
mainstream production? Were you
36:33.2
part of the minority that actually said
36:34.9
we have something here in the
36:39.0
Because I know there was pushback, right?
36:41.0
Yeah, I mean, there's still pushback. I mean, you still see
36:44.6
when they look at TikTok, right?
36:47.0
And they look at that sort of content and they're
36:49.0
just like, you know,
36:53.1
that I was, you know, fortunate
36:55.0
enough to win was in that
36:57.2
space. The fact that our
36:59.2
show was broadcast on
37:01.0
Facebook, right? Right, that's big.
37:03.1
That's big. So, like, I
37:05.2
always look at these things and I'm always like,
37:07.4
okay, because this is when
37:11.3
the big thing and TV was
37:13.1
coming in, you had those people
37:15.0
who were from radio like, oh, no, no,
37:16.6
you know, this isn't going to be
37:19.0
anything. And then, of
37:21.1
course, it became the next
37:23.0
thing, right? And then same thing with color
37:24.8
and then, you know, every new thing, there's always
37:26.9
a little bit of kind of pushback
37:29.1
from the traditionalists, the purists.
37:31.2
I've never been, you know,
37:33.0
really like that. I think
37:35.1
the biggest thing I had a problem
37:37.1
with in this transfer
37:38.6
of kind of from going to digital is
37:40.8
people recording with
37:42.9
their vertical, you know, like at first, I
37:45.0
hated it so much. I was like, oh,
37:46.9
I just, you know, you could get so much
37:48.8
more if you just turn it around, you could
37:50.8
see everything. But it's just,
37:53.0
I learned to accept, like, this is
37:55.2
organically how people
37:57.1
kind of hold their phones, so if they're recording
37:59.0
content, okay. And then now, you know,
38:01.1
with TikTok and all these platforms, that's where
38:03.2
that's the way you watch those things.
38:05.4
And can you imagine, we're actually
38:07.1
consuming vertical videos, huh?
38:09.4
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
38:10.8
I mean, again, like, it was
38:13.0
something that I didn't, I hated.
38:15.0
I was like, I do not like
38:16.9
this. But I've learned
38:18.9
to accept it like, okay, this is
38:20.5
it. And now, of course, I sit on,
38:23.0
you know, TikTok for, you know, hours on end
38:25.1
just going down these rabbit holes
38:28.4
algorithm content, you know, depending on
38:30.9
what you're into, yeah.
38:32.8
Which is why sometimes, like, I'd
38:34.9
see a nice video. I mean, I digress
38:37.2
here, but I see a nice video.
38:39.3
It's in a different language, right?
38:43.0
an interesting video. It's a funny video.
38:46.9
different language. Guess what?
38:48.9
TikTok's gonna feed me
38:50.6
a lot of videos from that
38:53.0
Right. So now I have to
38:54.1
automatically just bring it out,
38:56.8
throw it away so that
38:58.6
oh, he doesn't like it.
39:00.4
Yeah, yeah. It's funny how that works, right?
39:02.3
You have to, like, kind of think about
39:04.6
the content you're gonna like so you don't, yeah,
39:06.4
it's funny, my wife sends me a lot of, we have
39:08.7
a little dog, and so she'll send me lots of
39:10.5
chihuahua videos. And now, my
39:12.5
algorithm is like all these
39:14.1
animal videos, which I don't mind,
39:16.4
but it's just funny how the algorithm will just
39:18.6
grab on and start feeding you
39:20.6
content, you know? So is it
39:22.3
is it just you and your wife? You have kids?
39:24.1
Oh, not not yet, but we have a
39:26.1
dog who's been with us for a couple
39:28.0
years. So, and then we're working on
39:32.8
Now, what's, when you said next, what's
39:35.9
what's next for you? Because there is uncertainty,
39:38.4
but there is certainty that you're gonna get something.
39:41.2
But how do you, do you chase it? Do you
39:44.1
attract it? I mean, what's the mindset?
39:46.5
Yeah, um, yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm a glass half
39:52.1
full person, right? And, and right now, we're
39:54.7
dealing with a strike, and I'm, I'm confident
39:57.5
that this Writers Guild has now finished their
40:00.9
strike, and now we're finishing up, hopefully,
40:04.1
the SAG strike. SAG stands for Screen Actors Guild.
40:06.8
Screen Actors Guild, yup, and AFTRA, which is
40:09.1
their, their two bodies that combined, and so
40:11.6
that's actors, and they've been negotiating now
40:14.9
for a week or so. So I think once that's done,
40:17.2
like, it feels like we're gonna get back into,
40:20.6
you know, a groove. And
40:22.1
for me, it's like, I, I put it out there.
40:25.1
I let people know, um, this is what I'm doing.
40:28.1
Like, hey, look, I post, I post content. I let
40:30.3
people know this is where I'm at. This is the
40:32.1
space I'm at. And I believe in the power, the
40:33.8
rules of attraction, laws of attraction. Uh, I
40:37.0
let people know. I have conversations with people,
40:39.0
letting them know, you know, uh, that I wanna work
40:41.5
with them. I, I, I have lunches. I do, just do
40:44.7
whatever I can, um, to just keep top of mind in
40:49.3
front of people sometimes. Uh, and, and,
40:52.1
and then hopefully things start coming my way.
40:56.6
You know, I, I believe in kind of having a mantra
40:58.8
and, and, and, and, and putting positivity out into
41:02.1
the world and, and then hoping the positivity comes
41:04.5
back. So, and it's been working out for me quite
41:06.8
well. So, I keep doing it.
41:08.5
That's, that's, that's, that's the interesting part
41:10.7
because people have a hard time letting go of
41:15.6
something they're sure about.
41:18.1
Unbeknownst to them, they're missing out on the opportunities.
41:21.6
That are passing them by because they're not
41:24.2
paying attention to it.
41:26.2
For fear. How is your fear level? How is your
41:30.6
risk tolerance? And how, how is your, how, um, how
41:37.9
peaceful is your mind?
41:39.9
And how do you keep it at a level where it's
41:41.9
like zen, zen-like?
41:42.9
Yeah, no, that's a great question. I, I, I try,
41:46.8
I've been, I've been reading a lot lately about stoicism
41:50.1
and trying to not let things affect me. I've always kind
41:54.4
of had that sort of mentality, but now I'm, it's, it's kind
41:57.0
of being labeled as, as stoicism. And, and I, I, I
41:59.8
enjoy it. I, I, I believe in, in not, um, you know, things
42:04.6
you can't control.
42:06.6
I, I, I don't let myself get trapped in the, in that
42:11.3
whole thing of, of being stressed out about that, of
42:13.6
being scared of that. I used to, I used to like be scared
42:16.3
of flying sometimes. And, um, you know, at a certain point, I was just like, you know,
42:18.1
at a certain point, I was just like, hmm, what am I gonna do? What's the only thing
42:22.4
I can do? So I, I don't think about those things. Um, I'm confident in myself, in my
42:28.3
skillset, in my ability to communicate with people. So I'm never, I, I'm, I'm not really
42:35.1
scared, um, or fearful of things. I will say this, that during the strike, I mean, it got,
42:41.4
it got scary. I'm not gonna lie. There was, there was, I was having a lot of conversations.
42:45.8
I remember going to, to see my business manager one day.
42:48.0
And I was just like, I don't know what's gonna happen. What's going on? Tell me something,
42:52.8
tell me something good. And, and, you know, he talked me off the ledge, but, uh, the,
42:57.0
you know, um, when things are going and things are going good, um, I'm, I'm confident that,
43:03.2
that I, my skills, uh, will get me where they need to go. And, and not just the, the, the
43:10.1
skills I possess from like, oh, being able to execute, but the skills of communication
43:14.9
and talking with people and, uh, making sure that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that,
43:17.9
um, making sure the right things need to happen, you know, at least in my industry,
43:21.6
like getting, getting things done. That's what a producer is in my mind. You're just
43:24.6
getting things done. So I'm, I'm confident in my skillset as that, so that I'm going
43:30.1
to keep being able to keep doing what I want to do, you know?
43:34.5
Okay. This question that I asked you has everything to do with setting up people who want to be
43:41.4
following in your footsteps, in your shoes, right? Now for, for the person undecided,
43:47.4
like, like, let's go to Augie 1.0 who did general ed, didn't know what to do. You mentioned
43:54.7
a while ago, you took a step back like a semester off just to see where you're at and where
44:01.3
you want to be. How important is it not to force things? Like in your case, did you ever
44:09.0
expect that that one semester off would change the trajectory of your life?
44:13.2
No, I mean, you know, when you, when you're that young, you don't, you don't like, I love
44:17.4
being a student and I'm trying to get by, you know, you're just trying to, you're just
44:22.7
trying to get by, you know? And I think in speaking with anybody who's trying to, to
44:28.2
like find their passion and find what's gonna make them wake up, like when I wake up in
44:33.8
the morning and I tell this to students when I talk to them, I'm excited. Like I'm, it's
44:39.2
a new challenge. I know, I don't dread my job, like, which I know some people, unfortunately,
44:45.4
that's their situation. Right?
44:49.6
because luckily for me
44:50.8
I was able to find something
44:52.0
that I love doing
44:54.1
there's still times
44:56.8
today's gonna be hard
44:57.7
but at the same time
45:04.1
for people trying to get in
45:06.1
and people trying to do
45:07.4
something that they
45:10.4
drive them to that
45:12.1
when they wake up in the morning
45:13.2
they go and do it
45:14.8
like you just have to
45:15.8
you have to take a step back
45:18.3
you do have to evaluate
45:19.7
like the things in your life
45:23.2
the things that you're like
45:25.2
I want to do this
45:26.4
the rest of my life
45:27.1
that's when you need to be honest
45:27.9
with yourself right
45:29.9
and you know like
45:33.5
something like video games
45:35.6
I love video games
45:36.9
I want to keep doing this
45:38.8
you might not be able
45:41.1
video game related
45:42.1
right off the top
45:43.6
we're in this cool time
45:46.3
you can have a day job
45:48.8
when you come home
45:49.7
do your live stream
45:54.4
so if you can't find
45:58.4
and start working in that
45:59.8
space immediately
46:05.2
identify what that is
46:06.9
and so that you have it
46:08.2
in the background
46:11.4
be working on that
46:13.7
so that's still driving you
46:16.1
like in your case
46:18.2
and then you mentioned
46:19.7
you took nothing else
46:21.8
just everything pertaining
46:24.0
you were hyper focused
46:25.6
you were focused on it
46:26.4
when you evaluated yourself
46:28.3
to make that decision
46:30.3
did it take a while
46:32.1
or was it an impulse
46:34.1
and then when you were in it
46:36.6
did you have doubts
46:38.9
this isn't for you
46:41.0
what's gonna happen
46:43.3
what was going through your head
46:44.7
and the reason why
46:45.3
I wanna know this
46:46.7
these are the things
46:48.2
that can help our community
46:50.2
really push through
46:51.1
with what they wanna do
46:56.1
from people like you
46:56.9
sitting on that chair
47:02.7
they're doing what
47:04.3
and here I am going
47:08.1
so now I like what I do
47:09.9
I'm talking to someone
47:11.0
who likes what he does
47:11.8
but the people watching
47:12.8
when you evaluated
47:15.9
was there a moment
47:19.7
I think I made the wrong decision
47:27.9
because when I evaluated
47:29.0
I looked at those
47:30.3
those little things
47:31.8
like that minus one moment
47:34.7
like with my kuya
47:35.8
shooting our movies
47:37.0
I looked at those
47:37.9
it was almost like
47:38.8
the scene in a movie
47:39.5
where I'm just like
47:40.5
I'm just kind of like
47:42.2
having this flashbacks
47:43.3
of all these scenes
47:44.4
that make me feel like
47:44.5
that made me happy
47:47.4
this is what I wanna do
47:48.7
yeah once I started doing it
47:53.6
a couple years in
47:54.4
I remember working on a show
47:55.6
where I was leaving
47:56.4
at 6am in the morning
47:57.5
a couple of years in
47:59.5
a year is 365 days
48:02.3
220 something working days
48:04.9
probably every day
48:06.4
so a couple of years in
48:07.8
we're talking about
48:08.4
more than 700 days
48:10.4
or a thousand days
48:11.7
that's a long time
48:14.8
I think it was one of those things
48:16.0
where like you know
48:17.6
it was so exciting
48:18.6
when you're doing something
48:21.5
you're not counting days
48:23.9
no at first I'm just like
48:26.5
it was just so exciting
48:28.1
I was living in West Covina
48:29.8
I moved to Hollywood
48:33.0
I got my studio apartment
48:34.7
and I was doing that whole thing
48:36.1
and it was just exciting
48:37.1
it was so exciting
48:40.1
I wasn't having those like
48:42.7
oh I made the wrong choice
48:44.9
I think for the first couple years
48:47.7
excitement of like
48:48.7
oh I'm working on the Grammys
48:49.8
oh I'm working on the Oscars
48:51.1
oh I'm working on
48:51.8
it was just constant like
48:54.2
oh the Kids Choice Awards
48:56.0
I used to watch that
48:58.9
the glamour of it all
49:01.2
had blinders on me
49:04.4
a couple years in
49:06.1
I'm working on a show
49:09.9
we were doing a traveling show
49:11.7
we were doing a traveling show
49:13.2
we were in Chicago
49:14.1
and we were in Chicago
49:14.2
and we were in Chicago
49:14.9
and we never got to
49:16.8
because we were working
49:19.4
what's the point of being
49:22.9
and so I was like
49:23.8
I was having one of those moments
49:25.1
where I was just like
49:25.9
but it's good though
49:28.0
you identify something
49:30.0
I don't like this
49:31.4
I don't want to be
49:32.1
in this situation
49:35.2
in that situation again
49:36.2
I don't like this
49:36.9
I don't want to be
49:37.5
in this situation
49:38.3
other people would say
49:44.1
going on through your head
49:46.4
that you didn't want it
49:47.6
and you didn't want to be
49:48.6
in that situation
49:49.5
how soon did you make a decision
49:51.8
to change the trajectory
49:57.4
before 9-11 actually
49:59.0
so it was actually
49:60.0
it was about a year
50:06.0
it was the second leg
50:07.7
so about two months
50:09.3
that was gonna be
50:09.7
about four months long
50:10.6
and we'd already done
50:16.4
I ended up saying
50:20.0
the person who hired me
50:27.3
sending her an email
50:28.1
or talking to her
50:31.5
mentioning mental health
50:33.5
like this wasn't good
50:34.6
for my mental health
50:35.4
and which was funny
50:37.0
we were not talking
50:38.2
that was not a thing
50:39.6
but it was just like
50:40.4
I knew I wasn't happy
50:42.1
just kind of like
50:45.2
they talk about touring
50:47.3
when you do touring
50:48.1
I'm sure you know
50:50.1
you're out all the time
50:51.3
it's a different level
50:52.7
you're drinking more
50:53.8
you're participating
51:01.4
I was getting involved
51:03.0
and I didn't like it
51:06.2
and so I remember
51:07.0
telling the person
51:10.2
my two weeks notice
51:10.9
and so it was like
51:17.8
did you give your
51:24.0
there was a plan B
51:25.6
because I had already
51:28.0
and so I had other people
51:29.1
reaching out to me
51:30.0
and I think at the time
51:31.5
I'd gotten a call
51:34.3
it might have been
51:36.3
or something else
51:39.8
I'll just go do this
51:41.2
I had the benefit
51:44.7
knowing that there was
51:48.5
would you have done it
51:48.9
if there was no plan B
51:53.3
I would say probably
51:55.2
because if there was
51:56.7
I still have to get paid
51:58.2
what would you have said
51:59.2
I probably would have
52:05.3
that's an interesting
52:05.8
question you know
52:06.9
I was young at the time
52:08.8
and maybe I would have
52:11.5
pushed through it
52:12.9
because sometimes
52:13.4
you just gotta push through
52:14.3
and you can get through it
52:17.1
what ended up happening
52:18.6
was 9-11 happened
52:19.8
and then the show
52:21.2
it was a traveling show
52:23.0
and 9-11 happened
52:23.9
and everything changed
52:25.1
the world changed
52:26.0
it's actually better
52:29.4
to do something else
52:32.7
that's where I'm a firm believer
52:38.7
going down the right road
52:40.5
you make a decision
52:41.5
and then that's the decision
52:42.5
you have to stick with
52:43.2
and that's the decision
52:45.0
it worked out fine
52:47.4
let's land this for
52:52.3
if there are people
52:55.1
listening right now
53:00.5
or a fork in the road
53:01.5
what would you rather
53:05.6
what could you advise
53:06.8
the road that will give them
53:11.4
less satisfaction
53:18.5
I think there could be
53:20.4
it really depends on
53:23.5
like how much time
53:24.8
is that taking from you
53:26.4
is it a money job
53:28.3
your weekends available
53:30.8
do your band stuff
53:36.3
your indie film project
53:44.8
your little side hustles
53:47.5
then who's to say
53:50.4
that's what you could do
53:51.8
because some people
53:52.9
might go down the path
53:54.2
but not make any money
53:55.7
and be to a point
53:56.9
where it's detrimental
53:57.6
to their lifestyle
53:59.4
I think there's a
54:00.9
there's a middle ground
54:02.8
it just depends on
54:04.3
everybody's situation
54:12.8
that drives your passion
54:16.3
something that can pay you
54:19.5
you can monetize it
54:20.5
or it's something
54:23.6
that maybe down the road
54:24.8
it could be monetized
54:27.0
I've seen it happen
54:27.8
time and time again
54:32.9
in the social space
54:34.5
and now they're getting
54:36.7
and now they're getting
54:39.2
and things of that nature
54:45.3
if you are lacking
54:46.5
something right now
54:50.4
doesn't drive you
54:52.5
you should find that
54:53.4
find what that is
54:54.6
and if there's a way
54:58.7
try to figure out
55:00.7
whether it's going to school
55:01.9
like I did with Mt. SAC
55:06.2
getting in the industry
55:08.6
going down the road
55:09.6
of being an influencer
55:13.9
that have been created
55:15.0
by certain people
55:16.0
that you can look at
55:18.6
I can be successful
55:21.2
I just think that
55:22.8
you should take some
55:25.8
look at the situation
55:29.6
it's all about execution
55:30.6
because you can look at it
55:32.7
and have the ideas
55:34.5
everybody's got great ideas
55:36.9
are you willing to put in
55:39.5
are you willing to
55:42.9
do podcast episodes
55:45.0
at the end of your day
55:47.6
are you willing to do
55:49.1
stuff on your weekend
55:50.8
that's the sort of stuff
55:53.2
the people who will succeed
55:55.1
and then the people
56:00.1
that you talk about
56:01.3
because you mentioned
56:03.3
that you said right now
56:10.7
how did that high school kid
56:13.0
turn out to be you
56:18.6
I think a lot of it
56:19.7
comes from my parents
56:22.6
back home in the Philippines
56:23.7
I was always driven
56:27.1
because I got to go back
56:28.3
to the Philippines
56:30.1
and every other year
56:32.6
and so I would see
56:34.1
how life was over there
56:36.2
so I was always driven
56:39.7
because I was like
56:41.0
an opportunity here
56:44.1
that some people don't have
56:50.1
what my parents went through
56:51.7
and the struggles
56:52.8
they went through
56:56.6
make good on that
56:57.9
I need to make good
56:58.9
on their sacrifices
57:01.3
even if it wasn't
57:04.0
but it was still like
57:05.5
they made sacrifices
57:19.8
that are my family members
57:23.9
on the other side
57:26.0
as good as I have it
57:39.1
it really drove me
57:44.5
push that as well
57:46.2
if they were here now
57:47.4
what would they be telling you?
57:55.6
how proud they were
57:58.8
even though at first
58:01.1
the path they wanted me to take
58:02.7
even after I think a year
58:05.5
and my mom was still like
58:07.2
so when are you going to
58:08.6
are you still going to
58:10.7
no I'm working on the Oscars
58:12.4
like I'm working on all these shows
58:13.8
why would I do that?
58:16.1
at a certain point
58:20.2
getting more and more
58:22.2
I remember my mom
58:24.0
posting pictures of me
58:27.0
and they start to
58:29.9
like how much it means
58:33.6
your career be that way
58:35.1
even though both my parents
58:36.5
have passed since
58:37.2
like I know that like
58:40.3
they always told me
58:42.0
how proud they were
58:43.1
of what I was doing
58:45.1
even without them
58:47.7
like my huge family
58:49.4
if I post something
58:53.3
I know I'm going to get
58:54.4
like six, seven, eight shares
58:56.4
and just the shares
58:58.5
I mean likes yeah
58:59.3
but like they're sharing it
59:02.4
oh that's my nephew
59:04.6
so that always drives me
59:08.7
they look up to me
59:14.9
I'm fortunate that
59:17.9
not everybody has a big family
59:19.5
not everybody has
59:20.3
and not everybody has family
59:21.5
that's supportive
59:24.4
that's where I've been blessed
59:27.1
and you acknowledge
59:29.2
that's where you feel
59:31.7
having all of those
59:33.7
all of those around you
59:35.1
how important is gratitude
59:41.6
very very high up there
59:44.9
it's part of my mantra
59:48.6
I thank everybody
59:56.0
I went to go find
59:57.0
all the crew people
59:57.8
and shake their hands
59:59.6
outside of the building
60:01.3
go to the video truck
60:03.0
everybody's hands in there
60:04.9
I'm so appreciative
60:10.1
you're working hard
60:11.9
and doing something
60:13.9
that's beneficial
60:18.4
grateful for that
60:24.6
I think it's important
60:27.0
you don't have that
60:30.1
it's such a big part
60:32.6
what I tell people
60:34.0
you have to be positive
60:34.9
you have to be appreciative
60:40.1
earns you so much
60:42.2
not that that's something
60:43.6
trying to you know
60:47.9
when you act that way
60:52.3
in a certain way too
60:55.6
do unto others right
60:59.2
I'd like to be thanked
61:00.2
if I do something
61:02.6
work hard for somebody
61:04.0
I'd love for them to thank me
61:05.4
it's just you know
61:07.1
do unto others right
61:09.0
well there's a lot of people
61:10.1
this is my thank you
61:10.9
ladies and gentlemen
61:15.0
thank you so much
61:21.5
what an inspiration
61:22.8
please don't forget to like
61:24.3
put your comments
61:25.7
send some message of love
61:27.8
to our dear friend
