So much of Hollywood looks back toward the past instead of ahead to the future. How much did your last movie make? What were last night’s ratings…? Today we are graced to have someone whose career took off by combining the past and future. She has starred in, and directed, a ridiculous number of films and television shows. Of course, if you travel “Back To The Future”, you’ll see her in the role that made her a household name as a co-star of one of the biggest movie franchises of the 1980’s and beyond. This is Still Here Hollywood. I’m Steve Kmetko. Join me with today’s guest, from the iconic film “Back to the Future”, actress and director, Lea Thompson.
This is Still Here Hollywood. I’m Steve Kmetko. Join me with today’s guest, from the iconic film “Back to the Future”, actress and director, Lea Thompson.
So much of Hollywood looks back toward the past instead of ahead to the future. How much did your last movie make? What were last night’s ratings…?
Today we are graced to have someone whose career took off by combining the past and future. She has starred in, and directed, a ridiculous number of films and television shows.
Of course, if you travel “Back To The Future”, you’ll see her in the role that made her a household name as a co-star of one of the biggest movie franchises of the 1980’s and beyond.
Steve Kmetko:
Yes, I'm Still Here Hollywood, just ahead on today's episode. Did you hit it off with Michael J. Fox right away?
Lea Thompson:
Probably not because I was friends with Eric Stoltz who had just gotten fired. I remember being like, he's just a TV star and I'm a movie star. I was in Jaws through dude. So, I think it took me a while to warm up to him.
Steve Kmetko:
Tell me some of your directing credits?
Lea Thompson:
The biggest job I've ever done in the Star Trek Picard, I did two of those. I got to take the Starship back in time, which was beautiful and fun kind of to do because it's such a Star Trek thing to go back in time and the budget was massive and so that was really cool.
Steve Kmetko:
Can you put into words how pivotal back to the future was to your career?
Lea Thompson:
I feel like I had a pretty good career going up to Back to the Future. But it also might be the reason why I never had a great career in my 20s, in my 30s. I never got the career of some of the other actresses that were my age in my 30s and 40s.
Steve Kmetko:
So, much of Hollywood looks back toward the past instead of ahead to the future. How much did your last movie make and what were last night's ratings? Today we are graced to have someone whose career took off by combining the past and future. She is starred in and directed a ridiculous number of films and television shows. Of course, if you travel back to the future, you'll see her in the role that made her a household name as a co-star of one of the biggest movie franchises of the 1980s and beyond. This is Still Here Hollywood. I'm Steve Kmetko. Join me with today's guest from the Iconic Film back to the Future actor and director Lea Thompson. If you'd like to be more involved with us at Still Here Hollywood, you definitely can just visit patreon.com/Still Here Hollywood. You can support us for as little as $3 a month. Then you can see who our upcoming guests will be and submit questions for them. You can even tell us what stars you want us to have on as guests. You'll also get exclusive behind the scenes info picks, video and more. Again, that's patreon.com/Still Here Hollywood. Hi Leah.
Lea Thompson:
Hi Steve.
Steve Kmetko:
Fasten your seatbelt.
Lea Thompson:
Alright,
Steve Kmetko:
Where are you from originally?
Lea Thompson:
I was born in Rochester, Minnesota. Raised in Minneapolis.
Steve Kmetko:
Do you ever miss it?
Lea Thompson:
I do. I do. When I hear someone with a really great accent, it makes me like homesick.
Steve Kmetko:
A…
Lea Thompson:
No, that's a Canadian.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. Yeah. They're all alike.
Lea Thompson:
No, they're not. Not at all.
Steve Kmetko:
My sister lived in Minneapolis for a while and everyone, we took her to see Fargo and we're kidding her, that she sounded just like the accents in Fargo. I do not.
Lea Thompson:
Oh, that's exactly my joke. I talked to a friend once after that and she was like, oy liked it. But no one really tag like the-- we got the same joke. It's going to be great.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. You know, one of the things I'd like to start off by asking you is about Michael J. Fox. Do you see him at all?
Lea Thompson:
I do. I do. Two or three times a year I do conventions with him and so I see him in the weirdest situation ever, which is like in front of 3000 people. And sometimes we go out to dinner. The group of us. That's really nice to see him.
Steve Kmetko:
He's done so much in terms of Parkinson's awareness. It's really commendable.
Lea Thompson:
He's also raised $2 billion.
Steve Kmetko:
Wow.
Lea Thompson:
So, not just awareness, but $2 billion. So, and that's really special to me because both of my brothers were diagnosed with Parkinson's a year ago, which is terrifying. But luckily, they're older, so it's much more difficult when like him, when you get it really young. But you know what's crazy? There's a woman who can smell Parkinson's.
Steve Kmetko:
I've heard of dogs.
Lea Thompson:
No, this is a woman in Scotland who can smell Parkinson's.
Steve Kmetko:
Really?
Lea Thompson:
Yes. That's been proven. And so, the Michael J. Fox Foundation put some money into research for her. I don't, nobody knows how. She is an amazing sense of smell. And she can—they can give her t-shirts. They gave her 10 T-shirts of people with Parkinson's, 10 with people without Parkinson's. They cut the T-shirts in half. Not only could she tell which people had Parkinson's, she could tell which t-shirts went together. And then she, they thought she made a mistake on the 10 that didn't have Parkinson's. Because she picked one of them and they got Parkinson's a year later. It's incredible.
Steve Kmetko:
That certainly is something that sounds like it needs researching.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah, there's a lot of research actually. There are tons of research on her. It's insane. And her husband got Parkinson's and she smelled this weird thing. So, the thing about her and the way they're studying her is the fact that she can smell it before it has it's symptomatic. So, they're actually trying to find the elements that she's smelling so that they can test people without someone that smells. But she could smell other diseases too. She's amazing. It's a coolest story.
Steve Kmetko:
Have you ever seen those dogs that they profile on Animal Channel or whatever where if someone's going to have a stroke or a seizure of some kind?
Lea Thompson:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
They go and lay down next to them. Next to the person.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. Panic attacks too. There's so much we don't know.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah, there is, isn't there?
Lea Thompson:
It's beautiful.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you hit it off with Michael J. Fox right away?
Lea Thompson:
Probably not, because I was friends with Eric Stoltz who had just gotten fired. I had already done a movie called The Wildlife with him. And so, he was a friend of mine. And then I did some kind of wonderful actor. So, I was pro and I remember specifically being really snooty because there was a big division between movie stars and TV stars at that point.
Steve Kmetko:
Still?
Lea Thompson:
It's not as much. That's for sure. I mean, you see that Brad Pitt and George Clooney movie coming out and it's really on tv. They see streaming it's tv. So, it's not the same as it was then. So, I remember being like, he's just a TV star and I'm a movie star. I was in Jaws 3D. So, I think it took me a while to warm up to him. But he was so funny and so fun to act with. Because I had done some scenes with Eric already and then had to redo them with Michael so I could see how they were completely different scenes.
Steve Kmetko:
Another thing I'd like to ask you about, you probably don't get a lot of questions about, and I hope you're not sensitive, Howard the Duck.
Lea Thompson:
I get tons of questions about Howard.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh, do you?
Lea Thompson:
All the time. You know, it's actually a really interesting thing. I was filling out a form for press release for a feature that I'm going to do. And they wanted like Lea Thompson: block whatever. So, I had to put him back to the future and I was like, oh my God, it's 40 years ago. And I've been working constantly since then. I've never stopped working, but it's the thing I'm known for. And then the second would be Howard the Duck, and then maybe the third, some kind of wonderful. Then maybe the fourth Caroline in the city. There's a star right across the street here.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh really?
Lea Thompson:
It says Lea Thompson:, Caroline in the city.
Steve Kmetko:
Maybe we should have done the interview there.
Lea Thompson:
Right there Over My Star. But Howard the Duck is like a famous flop, which is actually really interesting because it actually made its money back, which is kind of shocking for a flop. And they still keep making DVDs about it. Like there's so many fans for it. And I know this because I go to Comic-Cons all over the world and there's so many people cry about how much that movie meant to them and everything. So even though it was a famous flop no one seems to want to forget about it, including you. So That's awesome.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, I just remember I was working here at the time and there was one famous headline and a Duck Cooks.
Lea Thompson:
Duck Cooks. Frank Price's Goose.
Steve Kmetko:
Goose, something like that.
Lea Thompson:
Yes. Boy, we are like the same person. Yep.
Steve Kmetko:
Which I thought was very funny at the time, but my God, you put so much work and preparation into making a film and then for it to just. It was like a legendary flop.
Lea Thompson:
So legendary. Everyone has a flop.
Steve Kmetko:
Like leg Ishtar.
Lea Thompson:
Yes. Oh, I know. One time my husband directed this movie called the Great Outdoors, which is also a fan favorite. But we were waiting for the first review. I hope it wasn't you. And we were sitting in bed and they came on, I think it was local tv and they said, if you have the opportunity to see a double feature of how are the Duck and Ishtar or the Great Outdoors, see the double feature. And Howie and I went like this. Oh my God. They got us both. Yeah. And I don't think Ishtar made its money back.
Steve Kmetko:
No, I don't think so either.
Lea Thompson:
Howard, the duck made like $38 million, which is a lot of money.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. Yes, it is.
Steve Kmetko:
In 1985.
Steve Kmetko:
Do you remember what kind of an impact it had on your psyche?
Lea Thompson:
It was horrible, but in a weird way. I mean, because I had the biggest hit and the biggest bomb basically in a year. And so, I was devastated. So, I had turned down a movie called some kind of wonderful John Hughes movie. I had turned it down and then all these machinations went on and anyway my husband Howard the Duck Howard the husband Howard the Deutsch, Howard the Deutsch was directing it. Then he quit after I turned it down. He quit. They hired Martha Coolidge, then they fired Martha Coolidge, got Howie back and Howie fired the actress in my part and asked me to do it. So, I never would've done the movie because I'd already turned it down. I'd never done the movie unless Howard the Duck came out. because I was like, oh my God, no one's ever going to hire me again. So, I better do this movie. And then I married Howie and we've been married for 36 years and we have two beautiful daughters.
Steve Kmetko:
Good for you. So, good for you. Happily, ever after in Hollywood.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. Sometimes the bad things end up being the good things. Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
What do you remember about doing Back to the Future? And did you expect it? Did anybody expect it to be the huge hit? It was.
Lea Thompson:
Well, it was Steven Spielberg, Spoiler Alert.
Steve Kmetko:
A no name.
Lea Thompson:
And Bob Zanakis, who was a pretty impressive director. And it was a great script. I thought it was a great script when I read it. And they when we were shooting and they shut down or they replace Eric Stoltz with Michael Fox 6 weeks in, I was like, oh, they must like what they're doing. Because nobody does that. That's very expensive. And so, excuse me. So, I had a feeling, but we, no one knew that it was going to be what it was. And they also like, got the movie out 6 weeks after we started shooting. I mean, after we wrapped 5 or 6 weeks after we wrapped the movie was in the theaters. So, they had these—
Steve Kmetko:
That's fast.
Lea Thompson:
Yes. It's very fast. And so, they had all these edit bays everywhere. And they were pushing really hard.
Lea Thompson:
Because I think once they kind of showed the rough cut to an audience, they were like, holy mackerel, we've got something. We need it for July 4th or whenever it opened. But what I remember about it is that it was really hard work. And I have the script somewhere in my house. I have to find it. I remember looking at it. I did so much work. I worked so hard on that part. And everybody always wants to be like, wasn't that fun? You know, that's what people want to hear. And it was a lot of pressure and it was a lot. It was scary business. Especially after they fired Eric Stoltz. You were like, this is not fun in games. This is big business and a big deal. So, it was a lot of work.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you expect your work to be this hard?
Lea Thompson:
You mean as an actress.
Steve Kmetko:
When you got into the business?
Lea Thompson:
I was a ballet dancer, so then nothing's really harder than that.
Steve Kmetko:
No.
Lea Thompson:
So, it seemed like a cakewalk also. I got paid more than $75 a week. So I expected it to be hard. It's, it's still impressive how hard we work. You know, I'm a director most of the time now and directing is, it's so stressful and so many long hours and never days off. And
Steve Kmetko:
Tell me some of your directing credits.
Lea Thompson:
I started directing movies when I did these Hallmark movies called the Jane Doe Mysteries, which was like 18 years ago, 19 years ago. I made about nine of these movies and they let me direct two of them. So, my first thing were TV movies. I did these two TV movies that I was a star of and that was really cool because they were kind of like indie movies, but you didn't have to try to raise the money. So, I really learned a lot. And then I directed Switched at Birth, which is a show I did for five years for Freeform. And then I directed, the first thing I did without being in it was The Goldbergs. I did like 10 or 12 Goldbergs through the years. Eventually they made me act in it. And then I did this other show called Schooled.
I did star, the biggest job I've ever done was Star Trek Picard. I did two of those. I got to take the Starship back in time, which was beautiful and fun kind of to do. Because It's such a Star Trek thing to go back in time. And the budget was massive. And so that was really cool. I've done resident Alien. I'm about to go off to do I've done mom sitcom. I've done Young Sheldon. I'm about to go and do will Trent. I've done Will Trent before. And then I'm going to direct the show that I'm doing right now for the Hallmark Plus, which is called The Chicken Sisters, which just came out. And there's a new show every Thursday on Hallmark streaming, which is a new thing. But next year if they pick up the show, which I think they will, I get to direct that too, which is fun.
I love to direct. I really do. And I've, there's other ones I've done, I can't remember what, but different shows that aren't on the air anymore. And I also did my own movie. I directed my own movie called The Year of Spectacular Men, which was fantastic. My daughter Madeline, she wrote it. She starred in it, she scored it, she sang, wrote, produced five of the songs in the movie. And then my other daughter, Zoe, was in it as well. And I was in it and I directed them. So that was like, that's the only thing I've ever done from scratch, you know, where I took an idea and I got to make it with my two fantastically talented daughters.
Steve Kmetko:
It sounds like it.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. And I really, you can still see the movie The Year of Spectacular Man. It's really hilarious. Because for me, what was really cool about that movie was a journey written by a 23-year-old woman, about a 23-year-old woman. And I realized that all my ANUSH WORK was written by 50-year-old men. And the you know, and what was interesting was some of the reviewers, especially the women were like, why is she whining? They were like so. And I was like, you don't remember being this generation has a really hard time. I can't remember if it's X or Y or G, whatever it is. But that generation is really having a hard time and it's not their fault. It's really not.
Steve Kmetko:
Is anyone ever surprised or is it always known before you get there when you arrive on the set and you're the director? Does anybody say, weren't you in Back to the Future?
Lea Thompson:
I hope by the time that I've hired them to be, or yeah, I mean sometimes, you know, it's an old movie.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. I try not to think of that.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. It's a 40-year anniversary coming up soon. So, there is the blessing that I that they aged me forward in it. But yeah, sometimes people don't get it for a while, you know, then they're all of a sudden, they're like, oh dear, you really look familiar. I think I look familiar to a lot of people and they might not know who I am. I'm certainly not recognized as much as I used to be.
Steve Kmetko:
You said you do a lot of Comic-Cons.
Lea Thompson:
Not a lot, but three or four years.
Steve Kmetko:
In connection with Back to the Future.
Lea Thompson:
You know, Comic-Cons are weird that way. Sometimes I'll go to like horror ones or I'll go to a shark one, but for the most part, a shark one for the most part, people want me to sign back to the future stuff or Howard the duck stuff or some kind of wonderful. But yeah, they're an interesting world. And I've been, you know, it's a much more popular world now than it was when I first started.
Steve Kmetko:
I know. It used to be there was one in San Diego once a year or something, and now they're everywhere.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. And they have Christmas cons. They have cons for people who are YouTube cons. They probably have podcast cons. They have…
Steve Kmetko:
Get on that Jim.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah, exactly. They have like cons for everything, to be honest. And what always surprises me is that people who just do voiceover or have massive lines, people love voiceover cartoon actors. And then, like, I was like at one recently where I didn't have a very good line or, you know, not, and the guy with the line that never ever stopped, he did an he, he re voiced an Japanese anime character. And I was like, he even just re-voiced it and he is got a line, you know, so it's, I love cons because they're full of iconoclasts. And I always felt like even though people don't think of me that way, I always felt like an iconoclast.
Steve Kmetko:
Can you put into words how pivotal back to the future was to your career?
Lea Thompson:
I feel like I had a pretty good career going up to, you know, going up to back to the Future. I was, I'd already done, my first move is Jazz 3D, which is a big universal movie that made money. And then I did all the right moves with Tom Cruise and I got good reviews with that. I did Red Dawn, which is also a big cult hit. So, I had a pretty good career going. But yeah, back to the future was kind of like hyperspace. It was also a great part. But it also might be the reason why I never had a great career in my twenties, in my thirties. I mean, I did Carolina City, which was my CTV and like a 30 share. It was a massive TV show, but I never like played Kevin Costner's wife. I never like kind of got the kind of Kelly Preston or the kind of I never got the career of some of the other actresses that were my age in my thirties and forties that and it probably, I imagine it's probably because back to the Future was so big and I was so kind of known for this fantastic part who knows. But I think it's odd that I never kind of, you know, that I had to just go into TV and never had the other big movie that I might have had.
Steve Kmetko:
Is there a role that you wish you were up for? That you wish you had gotten and, and didn't?
Lea Thompson:
So many.
Steve Kmetko:
Really?
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. So many. But I don't dwell on that stuff very much. Because I feel like really lucky. I mean, I really have been working constantly. You know, maybe not with the pe the, you know, the people that I would just adore to work with sometimes, but, but I've had a great time and I've had a great career. You know, the one I kind of remember so vividly is Steel Magnolias. I think it was like really, I remember exactly the room and everything. It was kind of down to me and Julia Roberts. And I remember the director saying, she's really from the South. And I was like, I know. Okay. And I was like, yeah, okay. But you know, she was nominated for Academy Award. I think that would've been anything like, that might've kept me as a movie star for my thirties and forties. But I'm hoping for the sixties, I'll go back.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay. We'll be back in a moment.
Lea Thompson:
Sometimes when I'm watching the Academy Awards, I think would I rather be up there as an actress or a director? And I think I'd really rather be there as a director.
Steve Kmetko:
What was it like being a member of the Brat Pack?
Lea Thompson:
I really wasn't in the Brat Pack. So, I say I was brat pack adjacent. I wasn't cool enough. I never really wanted to be cool enough to be honest. I can't handle the pressure of being cool.
Steve Kmetko:
You built a substantial career. When you reflect on it, what do you go to first in your mind? What is the thing that, you know, really stuck with you?
Lea Thompson:
I don't know. I don't know. There's so many great memories and so many great things, but I'm most proud of my movie I did with my kids. Because It's my kids and it's mine. And I made it from scratch and I scratched my way, you know, making an independent movie, trying to find that money and everything and like carrying the props in your car like it was and I'm really proud of it.
Steve Kmetko:
And you're responsible on that kind of a film for everything.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. You know how I think sometimes when I'm watching the Academy Awards, I think would I rather be up there as an actress or a director? And I think I'd really rather be there as a director. Because It's more you, you know what I mean? It's more like everything.
Steve Kmetko:
And you get to give people orders.
Lea Thompson:
There's that. Well, it's 42 years. Well, I've been performing for 52 years. I've been in the arts for 52 years. I've been making my living as an artist for 45 years, 46 years. So, I have a lot of experience, not just as an actor or a director or a producer, but as an artist. I was a ballet dancer, a modern dancer. I'm a singer. I've been on Broadway. I have a vast amount of experience so I can use that, all of that when I'm directing. So that's kind of fun. It's not just bossing around. It's like, it's like being able to help the different people, being able to understand where they're coming from. Being able to all the different departments, really understanding how what they need and how to encourage them.
Steve Kmetko:
And at the end of that, it's your vision.
Lea Thompson:
Yes, it's my vision. But also, it's, it's actually an ability to be able to appreciate what other people do. Like, it's funny when I'm, if I do a show and I'm acting in it and then I direct it. It's a completely different thing. I feel so much love for the other actors in a way that I can't as an actor, like I am like, oh my God, you're so good. I can't, I get it. It's an opportunity to be so much more loving, which I like. I could just be so happy and encouraging to everyone and every department, which feels good.
Steve Kmetko:
You said you wanted to talk a lot about the Chicken Sisters. Talk.
Lea Thompson:
Okay. So, I just finished this show called The Chicken Sisters and it's based on a book that was a bestseller, Reese's Book Club Book. And KJ, her name is so hard for me to remember the writer. Anyway, she's lovely. And I'm bad at names. Anyway, so this show is, I've, like I said, I started directing on the Hallmark Channel. So, it's kind of feels weirdly like going home. Because The Hallmark Channel is so women-centric, which is kind of fun. It was kind of the first kind of women TV and which I've worked a lot in. And anyway, so it's just a lovely show with some really wonderful actors, Wendy Mallick, who I've loved and adored forever. So, we get to have, have like a lot of cat fights. So, it's just a story about two warring chicken restaurants in a southern town.
And a reality show comes to, to decide which one is the better one. So, there are two separate kind of families that are completely intertwined in this little town and how they have to, how secrets come out and how they deal with that. And so, there's this just beautiful Schuyler Fisk. And is she Sissy SpaceK's daughter? So, she of course had the Southern thing down and she plays my daughter-in-Law. So, we just had a lovely time with these Genevieve Angelson is the other.
So, there's four women two younger, two older. And it was just really fun. I love doing shows with a lot of women that are lovely. We just had the best time and it seemed at first to me, like, maybe this isn't the right time for like southern women kind of arguing about chicken because of the kind of political situation that we're in. But then when I did the show, I was like, this is such a great show about community. And I think we all are feeling separated by community, right? Like we are all feeling kind of isolated and like, you know, how do you, I think we all want community. So that's what this show's about. Like how do you get along with people in this world right now?
Steve Kmetko:
You know, sometimes I'll talk about it with my brother who's 14 years older than I am about how our parents developed a sense of community. And my father was a Baptist minister and while my brother and I didn't agree with everything he had to say or what he was preaching. There's something about the community church that kept people together and provided a support system. That's what it reminded me of. When, when you were talking about it how did you and Howard meet? Howard the Deutch.
Lea Thompson:
Howard the Deutch, he hired me. First, he hired, wanted to hire me for some kind of wonderful and then I turned it down and then he hired it to. He hired me again after Howard the duck came out. So that exact week. And I said yes. So, I met him on some kind of wonderful, which is a lot of people really love that movie. And we didn't start dating until after the show was over. He seemed very exotic to me, you know, because he was like the ruling class and I was the working class. But we've been together for, we've been married for 36 or 35 years. So yeah, I still love him very much. And today is actually his birthday.
Steve Kmetko:
No kidding.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. Turning 27.
Steve Kmetko:
I won't ask you. Oh, 27 Good for him.
Lea Thompson:
It's weird because we married.
Steve Kmetko:
You like him young, huh?
Lea Thompson:
35 years. Yeah, today's his birthday. And yeah, we have two wonderful kids. My daughter Zoe is opening on Broadway very soon in our town. She's playing Emily in Our Town on Broadway. So really excited for her.
Steve Kmetko:
Will you be there on opening night?
Lea Thompson:
We will be there on the actual opening night, but it's in previews right now. So I'm going to go see her in previews first.
Steve Kmetko:
Will you give her advice?
Lea Thompson:
Probably try not to. She's an amazing actress. She has four movies in the Can right now. Juror number something, juror number eight, I don't remember the name. It's clin Eastwood movie. And then she has a movie where she's playing Jean Seberg in the making of Breathless with Richard Linklater is producing. So, she had to cut her hair really short. Yeah. She's got two other movies. So, she's got an amazing career.
Steve Kmetko:
Does she have to speak French?
Lea Thompson:
She had to do the whole movie in French and she doesn't speak French. Pretty brave.
Steve Kmetko:
Did she have to learn it phonetically?
Lea Thompson:
I think so. She had like coaches and stuff to teach her, but the entire other cast was really French. So, but the thing, good thing was that Jean Seberg did not speak perfect French with a very good accent. So she's right in there.
Steve Kmetko:
She was a beautiful woman. How did they decide to follow in your footsteps and your husbands?
Lea Thompson:
Well, I don't know.
Steve Kmetko:
It was what they were exposed to.
Lea Thompson:
I don't know. You know, there's probably a genetic component. On my side. My mother was an amazing, she was a singer, an actress, a songwriter, a director, a everything sculptor. A playwright. My mom was amazingly talented. And on the other side, my husband's father, he was in the music business all the time. And so she gets it everywhere. Grandpa's, grandmas on the Chautauqua circuit and, you know, everybody was performers. So, I think it's genetic, but I don't know. Zoe wanted to be lots of different things, but I always knew she'd be a great actress. Because She used to cry when she played Barbies. She'd get all involved in the story and tears coming. I was like, what? So, she's and Maddie's just got, she's the one that, you know, wrote, starred, scored, you know, she's just has too much talent.
Steve Kmetko:
Did she go to school for that?
Lea Thompson:
She went to music school in New York. She went to music school. She had all these like crazy awards in high school for jazz singing.
Steve Kmetko:
What do you mean, like scatting?
Lea Thompson:
Well, that's singing. She did no one liked scatting. But she definitely scats. I had to sit through a lot of Jazz. But she's a great singer and a great writer. That's what she's concentrating on right now. We were actually pitching to ABC and NBC yesterday for a show that we're writing together.
Steve Kmetko:
You are a busy woman.
Lea Thompson:
I am very busy. Although, you know, most people say, what has she done since she did Back to the Future? You know how it's,
Steve Kmetko:
So, tell me about your horses.
Lea Thompson:
My horses. I could ride my horse here. I have, I just lost one of my horses. He was 34.
Steve Kmetko:
Wow. How long had you had him?
Lea Thompson:
Nordic 28 years.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh, that was hard.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah, it's really hard putting down an animal. No, no BUENO. Especially when they're that big. He just couldn't get up anymore. Like I, apparently, they died pretty quickly if they can't get up because they need to stand. So that was really sad. But we have three other horses and they're sweet. They're like, it's so pretty in my bathroom. I can look out in the night and that's where they like to stand. In this one canyon by my house, I look out and I see these horses and it always takes my breath away. I've actually lit them this kind of great side light so I can see them standing there. It's like some kind of weird dream.
Steve Kmetko:
What did they do for you?
Lea Thompson:
Ultimate Lawn and ornament. My husband loves them. It's very, I could have like fancy cars. I could have like big gardens. I could have Birkin bags or I could have horses. That's so, I don't know. I have chickens too. And dogs and fish.
Steve Kmetko:
What kind of dogs?
Lea Thompson:
I got two new dogs. They are Belgian Malinois, King Corso and Pit Bull. A strange mix, but they're lovely. And their names are Walter Matthau and Sophia Loren after Grumpier Old Men that my husband directed. Walter Matthau, he is got a big nose and Sophia is just beautiful.
Steve Kmetko:
I interviewed her for that film.
Lea Thompson:
Really?
Steve Kmetko:
Yes. And I'll never forget when she walked into the room, the place stopped. And not only that, she was early.
Lea Thompson:
Unlike some of us.
Steve Kmetko:
She was camera ready. She had a Giorgio Armani Suit On. She walked in and she sat down in the chair and she said, can I have a mirror? And so, her assistant gave her a hand mirror. She went like this. Okay, I am ready. That was it. That was the total. And she was just, she looked smashing, you know? It was so such an honor to sit down and talk with her. And everybody was, couldn't believe it.
Lea Thompson:
I guess that's really bad that I named my dog after Sophia.
Steve Kmetko:
No, it's not.
Steve Kmetko:
I had a dog named Frankie after Frank Sinatra.
Lea Thompson:
She, I remember going to her house and she just casually had a Picasso in there. And I was like, casual Picasso. Thank you. She probably knew him.
Steve Kmetko:
Very possibly. Very possibly. He only passed away in the seventies, which to me is not that long ago. But other people, it might seem long, long time ago. Tell me, what was it like being a member of the Brat Pack?
Lea Thompson:
As is in the new movie that Andrew McCarthy put out called Brats? I really wasn't in the Brat Pack. So, I say I was Brat Pack adjacent. So yeah, I never really made that group. I never made any movies with any of them that are considered to be the Brat Pack.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh really?
Lea Thompson:
I don't think, LA later, I made a movie with Emilio Estevez, which I got an ACE Award Nomination that was called Night Breaker. Some of those movies are all gone. I don't even think they exist on any form anymore, those TV movies. So yeah, I always felt like excluded from the Brad Pack.
Steve Kmetko:
I'm sorry.
Lea Thompson:
That's okay. I wasn't cool enough. I never really wanted to be cool enough, to be honest. I can't handle the pressure of being cool. It's a lot of work. But what is really upsetting is that Ander did that documentary and he wanted to talk to Howie and because Howie directed him in Pretty and Pink. So, we said, we talked to him and I was cleaning my kitchen. So, I did my interview outside and I had to go and I said to Howie, whatever do not do it in the kitchen. And I didn't, I should have stuck around. Of course, he did it in the kitchen and the shot of him is like over the entire pantry was out on the island. It's like a snack orgasm on my counter across him. And I'm very embarrassed because my kitchen is very clean. Usually there's boxes. It's insane.
Steve Kmetko:
Those things happen.
Lea Thompson:
I should, he doesn't think about those things. My husband.
Steve Kmetko:
You're the direct. Oh well he's a director too.
Lea Thompson:
He's the director too.
Steve Kmetko:
I take that back.
Lea Thompson:
Thank you.
Steve Kmetko:
And we'll be right back.
Lea Thompson:
It's a really hard time for Hollywood. Yeah, it's a terrible time.
Steve Kmetko:
Right now?
Lea Thompson:
Right now. It just hasn't come back. You were probably mean to me and I never even knew it.
Steve Kmetko:
I doubt it. What advice would you give to actors, young actors hitting it big today?
Lea Thompson:
Hitting it big? I don't know. I mean…
Steve Kmetko:
Don't believe what you read on social media.
Lea Thompson:
Oh yeah. Well, you have to take care of yourself. You really do. They, everybody can wear you down and you know, you have to just kind of know who you really are, I think. Which is impossible. I still don't know who I am. So, I don't know what kind of, I don't have any advice. It's just really hard. My daughter's one of those people and my daughter Zoe. I think, I think stuff has to roll off your back because it's insane. The amount of exposure and
Steve Kmetko:
And everybody has a platform now.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. Now that there's soon to be all AI everywhere. It's easy to get overwhelmed and just think it's too scary. And so, you don't do anything.
Steve Kmetko:
So, do you spend any time on social media?
Lea Thompson:
I have, yes, I do. I don't, I post, but I don't usually read what people say back.
Steve Kmetko:
The why do you post?
Lea Thompson:
Well, it, for business it's important. It's really important to have a certain amount of followers. And I use, I use my platforms in different ways. I use my Twitter in one way. I use my Instagram and another, and Facebook and another Instagram and Facebook are tied because they're kind of owned by the same people. So, I use my Instagram and Facebook for one thing and I use my Twitter for another.
Steve Kmetko:
What about TikTok?
Lea Thompson:
I haven't TikTok yet.
Steve Kmetko:
I like watching TikTok.
Lea Thompson:
I'm afraid I know how addictive it is. Even my husband's addicted to Instagram stories and he knows nothing about how to run any of that stuff.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. How did the strikes affect you?
Lea Thompson:
The strikes were hard. But luckily, I've been really lucky with both my husband and I have been working. I just did the Chicken Sisters and right before that I did the Spencer Sisters, which was another series I did. I don't know why, if I've done four series in my life that have picked up Caroline in the City, Switched at Birth, The Spencer Sisters and Chicken Sisters like, why.
So, my husband and I have been working and luckily, we took all the work we could and I was like, why are we working so hard? And then the strike happened. So, we've been just really lucky. So, my daughter was really funny and really smart. Zoe was like, the strike's not going away last year around this time she said, the strike's not going away. We're going on the vacation that we never went on as a family. So, we went to Africa and we went on a safari for three weeks. Which was really fantastic. Just my husband and I and my two daughters, no boys were allowed except for my husband.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you have a good time?
Lea Thompson:
We did. I mean, it would seem a dumb idea to spend money on a fancy vacation, which was literally the only one we've ever taken, like a super fancy vacation and it was fantastic. But so, we were lucky. I was like, we will work again. I hope but it's a really hard time for Hollywood. It's a terrible time
Steve Kmetko:
Right now?
Lea Thompson:
Right now. It just hasn't come back. I'm really lucky and my husband's really lucky to be working. And Zoe,
Steve Kmetko:
Is there any story from the back to the future days that you've kept secret all these years and would like to reveal right now?
Lea Thompson:
No, I don't even read the books. Like, there's tons of books that tell the story of behind the scenes and I don't read the books. I don't know much. Let me think if I can think of anything. I have a terrible memory. It helps me a lot. It's how I've survived. I don't remember. You were probably mean to me and I never even knew it.
Steve Kmetko:
I doubt it.
Lea Thompson:
I don't remember any.
Steve Kmetko:
Are you going to write a memoir?
Lea Thompson:
I should, shouldn't I?
Steve Kmetko:
Well, you should take notes as you go along.
Lea Thompson:
I know. That would be smart. I certainly have some people that are like thankful that I haven't written the memoir.
Steve Kmetko:
Names?
Lea Thompson:
No.
Steve Kmetko:
Because you're not good with names.
Lea Thompson:
I'm not good with names, but I know people are like, I'm glad you haven't written the book. If I had, if I was to write a memoir, I'd have to be really specific for a real purpose. And it would probably be to try to be somewhat inspiring in some way.
Steve Kmetko:
That's so much pressure.
Lea Thompson:
You're right. Okay. Maybe it would just be like, I'm mad at all these people and they should know what they did to me,
Steve Kmetko:
Let me get this off my chest.
Lea Thompson:
That's the better one. Right? That's the one everybody you buy.
Steve Kmetko:
Would buy. And the tabloids would take clips from take extracts from.
Lea Thompson:
I love that quote, that writers often say as if people wanted you to write well of them, they should have behaved.
Steve Kmetko:
That's a good one. Anything that you'd like to do that you haven't, anybody you'd like to work with that you haven't?
Lea Thompson:
So many people. I'd like to work with so many. I mean, that's the thing that, I mean, I'm super grateful for all the wonderful work I've done and all the years and years and hours I've gotten to act. But when you get to a certain echelon, you, you know, if I was, I don't know Diane Lane, if I had Diane Lane's career or something like that, then I'd get to work all the time with like the, the very, very best people. So, I have a certain amount of regret about that just because, you know, there's something so magical when you work with someone who's just amazing or directors that are just amazing.
Steve Kmetko:
Maybe you could be Kevin Costner's wife.
Lea Thompson:
Maybe, maybe someday I can like Kevin Costner. So, there's a, there's an endless, but I'm often surprised, you know, some I get to work. I do love the people that I've had to work with, even if they're not like the famous assist. Like all the people who have played my daughters and all the millions of daughters that I've had, I still am best friends with.
Steve Kmetko:
Really?
Lea Thompson:
I just love them. All the girls from Switch ship birth, the girl that I just was in the Spencer Sisters with I call them all the time. My girls will listen to me talking to these people and they'll be like, it's so funny. You have these friends that are like 30, 35 and they're my best friend. So, I am one of the people that I think my life has, has unfolded the way it was supposed to, and I've enjoyed it, even if I would've liked to have worked with some other people. I feel like I've done a lot of things. I've got to sang on Broadway. I did Cabaret on Broadway, so that was amazing. I'd like to do another play. I'd like to direct a great movie. Another one I liked my movie.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you play Sally Bowles in Cabaret?
Lea Thompson:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
No kidding. That's a demanding part.
Lea Thompson:
It was easy for me to sing for some reason. Singing is a very interesting thing because sometimes you think you can sing a certain song and you, you're like, I'll sing that. And you're like, Ugh. And then other songs you just kind of fit in your body. All the songs in that show fit my body and they were really. I sang them for eight months shows. Eight shows.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, people were also paying to see you sing.
Lea Thompson:
Yes. Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
That's a feather in your cap.
Lea Thompson:
Yeah. Singing is so amazing because you can really affect people emotionally so quickly with a great song, you know?
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. There are songs that will take me back to a moment in time in my life. Yeah.
Lea Thompson:
It just takes three minutes and a movie will take an hour and a half, you know? So, singing is something really spectacular.
Steve Kmetko:
Thank you for coming in here.
Lea Thompson:
I really talked a lot, Steve.
Steve Kmetko:
I'm appreciative because I'm not hitting on all cylinders today.
Lea Thompson:
Well, I'm really happy to see you.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh, thank you. What a nice thing to say. No, I'm happy to see you too.
Lea Thompson:
It's good too.
Steve Kmetko:
And I'm not just saying that because you said it.
Lea Thompson:
Well, you know, we're Still Here Hollywood.
Steve Kmetko:
That's a perfect ending. Thank you.
Lea Thompson:
Thank you.
Steve Kmetko:
Still Her Hollywood is a production of the Still Here Network. All things technical run by Justin Zanger Lee. Theme music by Brian Sanehin and executive producer is Jim Lichtenstein.