No Joke

Bill Hader ’ s anxiety was no laughing matter. He talks with David Lynch Foundation CEO Bob Roth about how Transcendental Meditation helped him overcome it.

Bill Hader is one of the funniest men in comedy today. Among his long list of honors and credits, he starred for eight seasons on NBC’ s Saturday Night Live and is currently the co-creator and lead actor for HBO’ s hit show Barry (for which he just won an Emmy Award for best lead actor in a comedy). Hader is also a meditator and strong supporter of the David Lynch Foundation. Here, he sits down with his good friend Bob Roth to talk about how his five-year practice of Transcendental Meditation has helped him overcome a debilitating battle with anxiety and panic attacks, which were undermining a very promising career. BOB ROTH: You once said the first four years at Saturday Night Live weren ’t fun for you. Why? BILL HADER: I was terrified. I had massive panic attacks on every show and I wouldn ’t sleep the night before, because I knew I was going to be live on national television and I felt so much pressure. In fact, when I did the Stefon character, I would put my hands in front of my face because I was so nervous. BR: What did you do? BH: I had some friends who said,

“You should take pills ” or “Smoke this, man, you ’ll be great. ” But I said,

“Uh, I don ’t know. ” So I tried taking Xanax and other stuff. But I had issues coming off the pills. I would be at a Whole Foods with my kids and they ’d say, “Dad, why are you crying?” I was crying! BR: How did you hear about Transcendental Meditation?

BH: I’ m a big David Lynch fan and I happened to be listening to his audiobook of Catching the Big Fish when he talked about Transcendental Meditation. I thought to myself, “I should try that. ” I went to the TM center in Manhattan and met my teacher, Josh Pittman, who is one of the nicest guys in the world. He taught me TM, which essentially is as simple as someone teaching you how to brush your teeth. I took to it really quickly. I immediately felt a clarity and a calmness. The fear kind of ebbed out of me. I still knew all the stakes—that I could still mess up on national television—but I also had the feeling of, “So what if that happens? I’ll be OK, I’ll be alright. ” BR: But did that feeling of calm make you feel passive or less creative? BH: The opposite. When you have a genuine sense of calm, the fun things come out that you weren ’t expecting. You just grab it and you see where that goes. But when you ’ re tight, that doesn ’t happen. To find out more about Transcendental Meditation, visit tm.org.

films Q&A

Matthew Broderick

The two-time Tony Award winner, Gen X icon, part-time Amagansett resident and star of the forthcoming black comedy To Dust, which is screening at HIFF, applies his quirky wit to musings on good times, superheroes and mortality.

DELIGHTS: Who would play you in your film biography?

MATTHEW BRODERICK: James Cagney, of course.

D: What’ s on your nightstand?

MB: An asthma inhaler, change and some batteries. Also John Updike ’ s Rabbit, Run, Philip Roth’ s The Counterlife, Ian Fleming ’ s On Her Majesty ’ s Secret Service and A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza.

D: What advice would you give your younger self?

MB: Slow down, a bit.

D: Thing you do to get out of a bad mood?

MB: Cook, ride a bike, watch a black-and-white movie.

D: If you could be a superhero, who would you be and why?

MB: Superman is good. A little boring, maybe but good. Honestly, The Invisible Man. I realize he ’ s more a homicidal maniac but still, I really think it would be cool to be invisible.

D: Worst job you ’ ve ever had?

MB: There have been several, but I don ’t want to hurt anyone ’ s feelings.

D: What would you change in the world?

MB: End poverty.

D: Funniest thing you ’ ve ever heard?

MB: My friend Garo tried to hold an automatic door closed at the supermarket when we were kids. The sound of his sneakers squeaking as he desperately held on to the opening door still makes me laugh.

D: Best advice you ’ ve ever been given?

MB: After an audition my father said,

“Why do you assume you did anything wrong? Maybe they picked the wrong actor.

D: Food vice?

MB: Bologna

D: Healthiest thing you do?

MB: Bike. Read.

D: When was the last good cry you had (and over what)?

MB: A few days ago. I watched Three Identical Strangers. D: What makes you laugh?

MB: Mel Brooks

D: Favorite thing about the Hamptons International Film Festival?

MB: The setting, and that it’ s still not super big.

D: The thing you love most about the Hamptons?

MB: Produce, the beach, my friends, biking with my whole family.

D: In To Dust, which is screening at the festival, your character is a biology professor helping a grieving widower. How do you feel about death?

MB: I’ m not looking forward to it.

D: What appealed to you about this role?

MB: An ordinary person doing an extremely kind thing. And doing it almost by accident.

D: What did you and co-star Géza Röhrig learn about each other? How did you play off one another?

MB: I enjoyed Géza enormously. We have very little in common on the surface, but we seemed to understand each other very easily when acting. I admire him.

D: What challenged or inspired you about this story?

MB: I was touched by [Géza Röhrig ’ s character] Shmuel’ s desperation to feel better, and to get answers. I think the movie speaks about science and religion, the advantages and limitations of both, in an interesting way.

Life Of Jane Fonda

Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda shines in her riveting HBO documentary, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, which explores the iconic actress and activist’ s eight influential, action-packed decades. Here, film and television producer Paula Weinstein sits down with Fonda and the film ’ s director, Susan Lacy.

Paula Weinstein: Susan, why now? What motivated you to make this film now? SUSAN LACY: I read Jane’s book, My Life So Far, when it came out 13 years ago while doing a series I created, called American Masters, and was always looking for good stories, particularly about women. I strongly believe that you shouldn’t make a film about a great artist if you don’t have the material to tell the story with. There is something in Jane’s story that everyone can relate to, whether it’s difficulty with a parent or child, insecurity, body-image issues or unfaithful husbands. Her candor about these things and unrelenting honesty, including looking at her foibles and mistakes, is such an inspiring journey to self. That’s what this film is about. PW: And Jane? As I look at the film, I certainly admire it a lot. I think it’s wonderful. We’re in a very big moment of transition in terms of the next generation of feminists. This is a perfect switch here. What do you hope young women will take from the film, and was that part of why you decided to tell it after writing your book? JANE FONDA: I wish I had seen a documentary like this when I was younger, because I believe it would have made me think about the importance of not just drifting through life like a waif in a stream, but really putting your oars in the water and trying to determine what direction you want to go in. This film shows that you don’t have to get stuck where you are. You don’t have to settle for what people tell you you’re supposed to be, or how men define you. You can keep moving. But it has to be intentional. I think that’s one of the biggest messages for young girls. Also, that they’ll go after you if you’re an activist, but you can survive. I mean, I’m here. PW: Susan, the film is interestingly structured in five acts. What made you make this choice? SL: The notion of acts is actually embedded in Jane’s book, as she said when she left Ted [Turner] and decided to write her memoirs, she wanted to understand her first two acts. She says it in the film, too, about her third. So acts were in my head and when I started making the film, I realized that often in making portraits of artists, who have really made a major cultural impact, the third act is hard. It’s usually sad and the decline. And I thought, “The act Jane’s in right now is every bit as interesting as the first. ” PW: It’s way better. SL: It’s way better, exactly. You’re [Jane] the opposite of what many of us call the third act problem. PW: Jane, did you have any feelings about it? JF: I thought it was really smart. It’s not how I divided my book, but Susan discovered that it’s a gender journey, so that’s how she divided it up. I appreciate it. PW: I found it very bold. But I want to remark, as a feminist and friend, that one of the things Susan did in the film, is really make it clear that Jane led these transitions. SL: At the root of this story, there is a through line of integrity and bravery. You might have been, as you’ve said in your book, defined by men, but nobody told you to go to Vietnam except you. JF: Yeah, they did. SL: You were encouraged to go, I know, by people to use your celebrity to help bring attention to what was going on, but you made those decisions. You chose your path. And I don’t think you give yourself enough credit through most of the telling of your story.