WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.720 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. Today, we are 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:05.360 focusing our lens on a figure who represents 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:09.619 perhaps the single most confusing data set in 00:00:09.619 --> 00:00:12.140 modern Hollywood history. That's a good way to 00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:14.539 put it. A confusing data set. You know him. You 00:00:14.539 --> 00:00:16.440 almost certainly have an impression of him. He's 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:18.239 the guy, you know, yelling at the golf ball. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.179 Right. Go to your home. He is the guy walking 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:25.000 out of a five -star hotel in basketball shorts 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.359 that look like they were sized for, I don't know, 00:00:27.420 --> 00:00:30.089 a giant? Is a very specific. very loud aesthetic 00:00:30.089 --> 00:00:33.609 it is we are talking about adam sandler but here's 00:00:33.609 --> 00:00:35.909 the mission for this deep dive we're not just 00:00:35.909 --> 00:00:37.570 going to quote lines from billy madison although 00:00:37.570 --> 00:00:40.429 we probably will we probably will but we're here 00:00:40.429 --> 00:00:43.649 to unpack a genuine paradox we're looking at 00:00:43.649 --> 00:00:46.450 a man who has generated over two billion dollars 00:00:46.450 --> 00:00:49.409 in global box office revenue yet simultaneously 00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:55.039 holds the record for some of the most uh It's 00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:57.420 a fascinating disconnect. I mean, if you look 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:00.159 at the raw data, and we have a massive stack 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:02.780 of sources here, everything from box office receipts 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:08.579 to decades of film criticism and financial disclosures, 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:11.120 you see two completely different stories. Two 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:13.099 completely separate careers, almost. Exactly. 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:16.879 In one story, he's a hack, a symbol of the death 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:19.379 of cinema, you know. But in the other story, 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:23.439 he is a savvy business mogul. maybe most surprisingly, 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:26.739 a critical darling of the high art crowd. That's 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:28.620 the part that always trips me up, the duality. 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.500 On one hand, you have the Golden Raspberry Awards, 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:32.799 the Razzies. Oh, yeah. They literally have a 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:34.739 category that feels like it was invented just 00:01:34.739 --> 00:01:36.980 for him. He's been nominated for worst actor 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:39.560 nearly a dozen times. He actually set a record 00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:42.480 in 2012 with Jack and Jill, winning worst actor 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:44.519 and worst actress in the same year. Which is 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:46.920 objectively hilarious. I mean, that's a kind 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:49.280 of achievement in itself. It really is. But then 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:52.209 you fast forward to 2023. He's standing at the 00:01:52.209 --> 00:01:54.510 Kennedy Center receiving the Mark Twain Prize 00:01:54.510 --> 00:01:57.189 for American humor. The highest honor. I mean, 00:01:57.189 --> 00:01:59.569 that's the Nobel Prize of comedy. He is standing 00:01:59.569 --> 00:02:01.530 where Richard Pryor stood, where George Carlin 00:02:01.530 --> 00:02:04.810 stood. How does that happen? And that is the 00:02:04.810 --> 00:02:07.769 hook of this entire deep dive. How does one man 00:02:07.769 --> 00:02:12.090 straddle that canyon? How can you be the antithesis 00:02:12.090 --> 00:02:15.909 of Judd Apatow, as one critic called him, implying 00:02:15.909 --> 00:02:19.360 he's anti -art? Wow. And yet be the muse for 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:21.620 Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the greatest living 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:24.759 filmmakers. Who is like the definition of high 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:27.659 art cinema. Totally. Anderson has gone on record 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:30.900 saying he has an obsession level love for Sandler's 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:33.520 work. It feels impossible. It's like finding 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:35.599 out that a three star Michelin chef's favorite 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:39.460 meal is a gas station hot dog. Right. But maybe 00:02:39.460 --> 00:02:41.460 that's on us. Maybe we've been looking at Sandler 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:43.979 wrong this whole time. That is exactly my read 00:02:43.979 --> 00:02:46.199 on the sources. We tend to view Sandler as this 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:49.620 lucky glass clown who just, you know, stumbled 00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:51.560 into a fortune. Yeah, that he was just goofing 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:53.439 around and fell backwards into half a billion 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:55.479 dollars. But when you dig into the biography 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:57.900 and the business moves, you find a highly trained, 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:00.919 incredibly calculated operator. Okay, let's start 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:02.960 with that training. Because the origin story 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.919 isn't just funny kid from Brooklyn. No, it's 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:09.030 much more academic than people realize. Adam 00:03:09.030 --> 00:03:12.610 Sandler was born in Brooklyn in 1966, but his 00:03:12.610 --> 00:03:14.590 family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire when 00:03:14.590 --> 00:03:17.870 he was six. So he's got those deep New England 00:03:17.870 --> 00:03:20.949 suburban roots. For sure. His father, Stanley, 00:03:21.189 --> 00:03:23.270 was an electrical engineer. His mother, Judy, 00:03:23.409 --> 00:03:25.729 was a nursery school teacher. Very standard, 00:03:25.789 --> 00:03:28.289 supportive upbringing from what all the biographical 00:03:28.289 --> 00:03:31.030 data says. But the spark, the comedy thing, that 00:03:31.030 --> 00:03:34.129 came pretty early. It did. At age 17, his brother 00:03:34.129 --> 00:03:37.050 urged him to get on stage at a comedy club in 00:03:37.050 --> 00:03:39.500 Boston. Just pushed him up there. Pretty much. 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:42.199 And he found he liked it. That he had a knack 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:44.860 for it. But the pivotal moment comes when he 00:03:44.860 --> 00:03:47.439 decides to pursue it professionally. He didn't 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:49.120 just hit the open mics and hope for the best. 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:51.259 Right. This is where it gets serious. No, he 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:54.020 went to school. And not just any school. He applied 00:03:54.020 --> 00:03:56.500 to and was accepted into the Tisch School of 00:03:56.500 --> 00:03:59.120 the Arts at New York University. We need to pause 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:01.500 and underscore that. Because that is, that's 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:04.180 not what you'd expect. Tisch is serious business. 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:07.449 It is the Ivy League of acting. It is method 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:11.750 acting. It's Stanislavski. It's Chekhov. I mean, 00:04:11.750 --> 00:04:14.550 when you go to Tisch, you are learning how to 00:04:14.550 --> 00:04:17.329 strip yourself down emotionally, how to use your 00:04:17.329 --> 00:04:19.850 physical instrument to convey truth. It's not 00:04:19.850 --> 00:04:22.310 a joke factory. And he graduated. Right. He has 00:04:22.310 --> 00:04:25.230 a degree. Graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of 00:04:25.230 --> 00:04:27.250 Fine Arts. OK, let me get this straight. When 00:04:27.250 --> 00:04:29.430 we see him in Billy Madison making gibberish 00:04:29.430 --> 00:04:32.069 noises or doing that weird baby voice. Yeah. 00:04:32.129 --> 00:04:35.139 That isn't just a guy goofing off. That is a 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:39.220 choice made by a technically trained BFA -holding 00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:42.759 actor. Exactly. It recontextualizes everything. 00:04:43.180 --> 00:04:45.579 It means he understands the rules of performance 00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:47.959 well enough to break them for comedic effect. 00:04:48.139 --> 00:04:49.899 It's not an accident. It's a deliberate choice. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:52.199 Yeah. And he was working hard right out of the 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:55.100 gate. While he was at NYU, he landed a recurring 00:04:55.100 --> 00:04:58.319 role as Smitty on The Cosby Show. Smitty. I remember 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:00.920 him. He was Theo Huxtable's friend. Right. And 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:02.800 he played it straight. He was learning the rhythm 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.139 of a multi -camera sitcom. He was on the set 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:07.600 of the biggest show in the world, just absorbing 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:09.899 it all. He was also on that MTV game show, right? 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:12.759 Remote Control. The stud boy, yeah. Yeah. He 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:14.600 was getting his reps in, doing anything and everything. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:17.579 But the big break, the moment that actually changed 00:05:17.579 --> 00:05:20.660 the trajectory of American comedy, happened in 00:05:20.660 --> 00:05:23.079 a comedy club in Los Angeles. This is the Dennis 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:25.279 Miller connection. Tell us about that. Okay, 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:28.459 so Dennis Miller was the anchor of Weekend Update 00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:31.639 on Saturday Night Live at the time. A huge deal. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:34.740 He just happened to catch Sandler's stand -up 00:05:34.740 --> 00:05:37.230 set. And what was Sandler's act like back then? 00:05:37.389 --> 00:05:39.709 Well, you have to remember, late 80s comedy was 00:05:39.709 --> 00:05:42.149 very observational. It was Jerry Seinfeld. It 00:05:42.149 --> 00:05:45.170 was what's the deal with airline food? Right. 00:05:45.269 --> 00:05:48.089 The set up punchline structure. Sandler wasn't 00:05:48.089 --> 00:05:50.470 doing that at all. He was doing the guitar. He 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:53.490 was doing characters. He was manic. He was musical. 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:55.949 He was weird. It was a totally different energy. 00:05:56.129 --> 00:05:59.370 So Miller sees this raw talent. He sees this 00:05:59.370 --> 00:06:02.540 raw energy. and immediately called Lorne Michaels. 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:05.459 And the sources say he didn't just say, hey, 00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:08.240 check this kid out. He vouched for him. He put 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:10.139 his own reputation on the line. And getting a 00:06:10.139 --> 00:06:12.040 recommendation from the Weekend Update anchor 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:14.240 to the creator of the show, that's the golden 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.540 ticket. It gets you in the room. Sandler was 00:06:16.540 --> 00:06:20.060 hired as a writer in 1990. A writer, not a performer. 00:06:20.339 --> 00:06:23.079 Not initially. He had to earn his way onto the 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:25.879 screen by writing sketches that made people laugh 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:28.100 in the read -through. He had to prove his value 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:31.709 in the writer's room first. And that era of SNL, 00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:34.930 the early 90s, it's legendary now. The bad boys 00:06:34.930 --> 00:06:37.910 of SNL. It was a very specific cultural moment. 00:06:38.050 --> 00:06:40.990 You had Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade, Chris 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:44.370 Rock, Rob Schneider. They created a vibe that 00:06:44.370 --> 00:06:49.079 was less about... polished political satire and 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:51.720 more about the chaotic energy of a college dorm 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:53.420 room. And it really connected with a younger 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:55.480 audience. Absolutely. But Sandler's specific 00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:57.339 contribution wasn't really sketches, was it? 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:59.560 He found his own lane. It was the update desk. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:01.920 That was his stroke of genius. He realized he 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:03.480 wasn't going to beat Phil Hartman at impressions. 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:05.860 He wasn't going to beat Mike Myers at complex 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:08.180 character work. So he brought his stand -up act 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:10.379 to the desk. He brought the guitar. And the songs, 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:13.519 the Thanksgiving song, the Chinooka song. The 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:16.040 Chinooka song is honestly a masterpiece of efficiency. 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:18.439 It really is. I mean, think about it. Before 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:23.000 that song, Jewish kids in December had zero representation 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.779 in popular culture. It was all Christmas carols 00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:29.759 all the time. None. And Sandler comes on national 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:32.019 television and just starts listing famous Jews 00:07:32.019 --> 00:07:35.199 in a simple, funny rhyme scheme. Paul Newman's 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:38.720 half Jewish. Goldie Hawn is, too. It was identity 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.379 politics wrapped in a nursery rhyme. It was so 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:43.560 simple and brilliant. It made him a star because 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.120 it felt personal and authentic. But despite the 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:48.699 popularity, and they were very popular. Oh, massively. 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:52.360 The suits at NBC weren't laughing. No. This is 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:54.579 where the business reality clashes with the creative. 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:57.079 The ratings for the show were fluctuating, the 00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:59.759 budget was high, but more importantly, the executives 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:02.920 felt the show had become... Unprofessional. Unprofessional. 00:08:03.180 --> 00:08:05.839 They thought the bad boys were too lowbrow. They 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:08.660 didn't get the humor. There was this perception 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:10.560 that they were just goofing off and breaking 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:12.540 character all the time. Which, to be fair, they 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:14.379 were. They were, but that was part of the charm. 00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:17.920 The audience loved it. The execs didn't. So in 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.759 1995, we get the incident that defines his career. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:26.120 The firing. The purge. NBC fired Adam Sandler 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:28.379 and Chris Farley. It is still mind -blowing to 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:30.420 me. You fire your two biggest breakout stars. 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:33.120 In hindsight, it looks like financial suicide 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:36.159 for the network. It does now. But at the time, 00:08:36.179 --> 00:08:39.840 they wanted a clean slate. They wanted to professionalize 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:41.720 the show again. And Sandler has talked about 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:44.600 this moment, right? He didn't quit. Oh, no. He's 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:46.460 been very clear about this, especially in interviews 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:48.679 with Conan O 'Brien. He didn't walk out in protest. 00:08:49.159 --> 00:08:51.460 His agent called him and said. They don't want 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:54.039 you back. Imagine the psychology of that. Yeah. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.419 You were in your mid -20s, you were one of the 00:08:56.419 --> 00:08:58.700 most famous comedians in the country, and you 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:00.639 just got kicked out of the clubhouse. That has 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:02.679 to create a massive chip on your shoulder. A 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.580 boulder. And that chip became his fuel. He later 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:08.320 said that getting fired was the best thing that 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:09.759 could have happened to him because it removed 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:12.360 the safety net. He couldn't just stay on TV forever. 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:14.679 He had to become a movie star. And he had to 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:17.000 do it his way to prove them wrong. He had to 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:20.100 prove them wrong. And you see that drive in what 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:22.779 happens next. When he finally returned to host 00:09:22.779 --> 00:09:26.279 SNL in 2019, he did a whole song about it in 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:29.159 his monologue. Oh, I remember that. I was fired. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:32.340 I was fired. He completely owned it. And then 00:09:32.340 --> 00:09:35.279 at the end, he did this incredibly moving tribute 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:37.519 to Chris Farley. You can see how much that whole 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:39.700 experience shaped him. And boy, did he prove 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:42.840 them wrong. This kicks off the golden era. From 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:46.879 1995 to 1998, the output is just staggering. 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:49.559 It's an incredible run. Billy Madison comes out 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:52.259 in 95, almost immediately after he gets fired. 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:54.980 Then Happy Gilmore in 96. The Wedding Singer 00:09:54.980 --> 00:09:58.200 in 98. The Waterboy also in 98. It's just hit 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:00.379 after hit after hit. And these are the films 00:10:00.379 --> 00:10:03.000 that defined a generation. And they established 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:05.039 the Sandler archetype that we need to unpack. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:08.340 The Man Child. Yes. But it's specific, right? 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:10.639 It's not just an immature guy. No, it's very 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:13.259 specific. In Billy Madison, he is literally repeating 00:10:13.259 --> 00:10:15.399 grade school. In The Waterboy, he lives with 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:18.159 his mama and talks like a toddler. In Happy Gilmore, 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.879 he acts like a petulant teenager who can't control 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:23.159 his temper. But the key ingredient isn't just 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:25.779 the immaturity. It's the rage. The screaming, 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:29.120 yes. The repressed rage. The comedy in these 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:31.679 films almost always comes from the tension between 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:34.720 his sweet, innocent, almost childlike demeanor. 00:10:34.970 --> 00:10:37.830 And these sudden, violent, volcanic explosions 00:10:37.830 --> 00:10:41.289 of anger. It's cathartic. Why did that resonate 00:10:41.289 --> 00:10:43.370 so much in the late 90s? What was going on in 00:10:43.370 --> 00:10:45.730 the culture? I think it tapped into a very specific 00:10:45.730 --> 00:10:48.909 male anxiety of that era. You had a generation 00:10:48.909 --> 00:10:51.919 of guys, you know, Gen X guys, who felt... A 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:54.399 bit stunted, a bit awkward, maybe a bit angry 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:56.139 at the world for reasons they couldn't articulate. 00:10:56.399 --> 00:10:58.620 And Sandler gave that feeling a voice, a very 00:10:58.620 --> 00:11:01.220 loud, screaming voice. He made it funny. He made 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:04.059 the loser the hero who could, you know, beat 00:11:04.059 --> 00:11:06.840 up the smarmy villain. Or Bob Barker. Or Bob 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:10.480 Barker. And financially, it worked beyond anyone's 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:13.759 wildest dreams. The Waterboy is the key statistic 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:15.639 here again. Yeah, that one really changed the 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:17.899 game. The Waterboy changed everything. It was 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:20.639 released in 1998. It was a weird movie, a football 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:23.220 comedy. where he talks with a lisp and tackles 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:26.100 people with high -quality H2O. Critics absolutely 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:27.899 despised it. I remember the reviews. They were 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:31.019 brutal. Just shredded him. But it opened to massive 00:11:31.019 --> 00:11:34.240 numbers. It grossed nearly $190 million globally 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:37.820 on a $23 million budget. That is Marvel -level 00:11:37.820 --> 00:11:41.000 profit margins. It made him a truly bankable 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:44.059 star. It meant that he could open a movie on 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:46.620 his name alone, regardless of the premise, regardless 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:48.860 of the reviews. The audience had chosen. The 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:51.379 audience had chosen. In fact, he actually had 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:53.519 to drop out of a dark comedy called Very Bad 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:56.299 Things because the Waterboy got so big he needed 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:59.440 to manage the fallout and the fame. He was officially 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:02.899 A -list. So he has the leverage, he has the money, 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:05.879 and this is where he builds the empire. Happy 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:09.139 Madison Productions. Founded in 1999. Named after 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:11.480 the two movies that started it all. Happy Gilmore 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:14.100 and Billy Madison. A great logo, too. That picture 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:16.559 of his dad. It is. And he set up on the Sony 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:19.519 Columbia lot in Culver City. And this is where 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.000 the controversy, or at least the critical backlash, 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:25.299 usually starts. The nepotism argument. The idea 00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:27.299 that Happy Madison is just a scheme to pay his 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:29.419 friends to go on vacation. And if you look at 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:31.679 the filmography grown -ups, just go with it. 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:34.059 Blended. They're often set in resorts. Hawaii, 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:37.889 Africa, Italy. You're not wrong. And he casts 00:12:37.889 --> 00:12:41.049 David Spade, Rob Schneider, Kevin James, Chris 00:12:41.049 --> 00:12:43.909 Rock, the same crew. Critics look at this and 00:12:43.909 --> 00:12:46.389 say, this is lazy. This is a scam. These are 00:12:46.389 --> 00:12:50.370 just whole movies. But is it? Or is it genius? 00:12:51.330 --> 00:12:53.470 Well, from a labor and business perspective, 00:12:53.710 --> 00:12:56.450 it is brilliant. Explain that. In Hollywood, 00:12:56.570 --> 00:12:59.049 most people are gig workers. You finish a movie, 00:12:59.190 --> 00:13:01.289 you are unemployed. You're always looking for 00:13:01.289 --> 00:13:04.490 the next job. Sandler created a... A repertory 00:13:04.490 --> 00:13:07.789 company. A stable. A stable. If you are a writer, 00:13:07.909 --> 00:13:10.549 a camera operator, a set designer, or an actor 00:13:10.549 --> 00:13:13.149 in a circle, you have job security. You have 00:13:13.149 --> 00:13:15.250 a pension. You have steady work. It's like he 00:13:15.250 --> 00:13:18.029 created a union for his friends. Exactly. And 00:13:18.029 --> 00:13:20.210 that breeds immense loyalty. He keeps the same 00:13:20.210 --> 00:13:22.690 crew for decades. That means productions are 00:13:22.690 --> 00:13:24.830 incredibly efficient because everyone knows the 00:13:24.830 --> 00:13:27.350 shorthand. There is no ego on set because everyone 00:13:27.350 --> 00:13:30.139 is part of the tribe. So he prioritized loyalty 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:32.600 over critical acclaim. He prioritized autonomy 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.019 by keeping it in the family. He didn't have to 00:13:35.019 --> 00:13:37.139 listen to studio notes. He didn't have to audition 00:13:37.139 --> 00:13:39.220 new people. He could make the movies he wanted 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:41.080 to make with the people he wanted to make them 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:43.500 with. And get paid a fortune to do it. Yeah, 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:46.019 and get paid a fortune. But just as we had him 00:13:46.019 --> 00:13:48.639 boxed in as the lazy comedy guy, the guy making 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.179 vacation movies, he does the thing that breaks 00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:55.960 the model, the pivot. 2002, Punch Drunk Love. 00:13:56.379 --> 00:13:59.039 This is the moment where the Tisch graduate reemerges 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.460 from the swamp of fart jokes. It's the glitch 00:14:01.460 --> 00:14:05.399 in the matrix. Paul Thomas Anderson, who had 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:08.080 just made Magnolia and Boogie Nights, two of 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:10.200 the most critically acclaimed films of the era. 00:14:10.299 --> 00:14:12.179 Yeah, he was the new Scorsese. He approaches 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:14.700 Sandler. Now, usually serious directors avoid 00:14:14.700 --> 00:14:17.159 comic actors unless they want them to play the 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:19.840 comic relief. Anderson wanted Sandler to be the 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:23.080 romantic lead in a dark, strange, arthouse film. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:25.919 Why? What did Anderson see that other people 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.860 were missing? He saw the anger. Anderson has 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:30.980 said in interviews that he loved Big Daddy. Big 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:33.299 Daddy. Yes. He said he would watch it over and 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:35.820 over. He saw that beneath the jokes, there was 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:38.360 a palpable sense of loneliness and rage in Sandler's 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:41.179 eyes. He wrote the character of Barry Egan specifically 00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:44.039 for Sandler. Barry Egan is such a fascinating 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:46.059 character. He wears that one blue suit the whole 00:14:46.059 --> 00:14:48.620 movie. He collects pudding cups for airline miles. 00:14:48.860 --> 00:14:52.580 And he has these terrifying, unpredictable outbursts. 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:56.480 There is that scene where his sister is nagging 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:58.960 him on the phone, and he just silently, efficiently 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:01.320 shatters the sliding glass door with a hammer. 00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:04.600 It's not funny. It's scary. It's real. It's taking 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:07.340 that man -child -with -rage persona from his 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:09.980 comedies and stripping all the humor away, leaving 00:15:09.980 --> 00:15:12.259 only the pathology. And Sandler was terrified 00:15:12.259 --> 00:15:15.320 to take the role. He was. The story goes that 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.679 he told Anderson, I can't do this. I saw Magnolia. 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:21.600 You're too good for me. He had imposter syndrome. 00:15:21.659 --> 00:15:23.840 He was afraid he couldn't measure up. But Anderson 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:26.899 saw something. Anderson convinced him that he 00:15:26.899 --> 00:15:29.159 didn't need to act in the traditional sense. 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:32.019 He just needed to be a stripped down, vulnerable 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:34.799 version of himself. He saw the potential that 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:37.299 was always there. The result was undeniable. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.399 Even Roger Ebert, who famously hated Sandler's 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:42.220 comedies, I think he called one of them an act 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:44.460 of vandalism against cinema. He really did. He 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:47.179 completely flipped. Ebert's review of Punch Drunk 00:15:47.179 --> 00:15:49.860 Love is essential reading for anyone trying to 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:53.320 understand Sandler. He argued that the film deconstructed 00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:55.259 the Sandler persona. What did he mean by that? 00:15:55.639 --> 00:15:58.620 He said that Sandler had been wasted in bad scripts 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:01.480 his whole career and that this film revealed 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:03.840 that the man -child was actually a tragic figure. 00:16:04.059 --> 00:16:07.200 He called it the key to all Adam Sandler films. 00:16:07.340 --> 00:16:10.360 Wow. He saw that Barry Egan was just Billy Madison 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:13.639 without the jokes. A love -starved, lonely man 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:16.340 with deep -seated anger issues. It earned him 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:18.600 a Golden Globe nomination. It proved he had the 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:22.559 chops. But then... He didn't stay there. He didn't 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:25.240 become a serious actor full -time. No, and that 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:27.779 is what confuses people. He went right back to 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:30.000 making Mr. Deeds and Click. He treated the art 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:32.320 film like a side project, like a one -off. But 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:34.500 he kept divvying back in. It wasn't just a fluke. 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:38.259 Not at all. In 2007, he does Reign Over Me, where 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:40.299 he played a man who lost his entire family in 00:16:40.299 --> 00:16:43.460 9 -11. That was a heavy, heavy role. Just pure 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:45.909 grief. And he was incredible in it. Then the 00:16:45.909 --> 00:16:48.250 Meyerowitz stories in 2017 with Noah Baumbach. 00:16:48.370 --> 00:16:51.549 Another indie darling director. Exactly. It premiered 00:16:51.549 --> 00:16:53.830 at Cannes. Critics there were saying with no 00:16:53.830 --> 00:16:56.169 shtick to fall back on, Sandler is forced to 00:16:56.169 --> 00:16:58.809 act and it's a glorious thing to watch. And then 00:16:58.809 --> 00:17:01.509 the big one. The one that felt like a culmination 00:17:01.509 --> 00:17:04.369 of all of this. The heart attack in movie form. 00:17:04.930 --> 00:17:08.819 Uncut Gems in 2019. Oh man. Directed by the Sasty 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:11.720 brothers, this movie is a stress test. It's two 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.779 hours of pure anxiety. Sandler plays Howard Ratner, 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:17.180 a jeweler in the Diamond District who is a gambling 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:19.559 addict, and he is just making one bad decision 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:22.529 after another. It is the most anxious I have 00:17:22.529 --> 00:17:24.809 ever been in a movie theater. My shoulders were 00:17:24.809 --> 00:17:27.029 up by my ears the entire time. The Safdie brothers 00:17:27.029 --> 00:17:28.970 did something brilliant. They took Sandler's 00:17:28.970 --> 00:17:31.789 natural charisma, that fast -talking, likable 00:17:31.789 --> 00:17:34.750 salesman energy, and they weaponized it. They 00:17:34.750 --> 00:17:37.549 made it frantic and desperate. You root for Howard 00:17:37.549 --> 00:17:40.109 even though he is an absolute train wreck. You 00:17:40.109 --> 00:17:42.410 can't help it. And it's widely considered his 00:17:42.410 --> 00:17:45.089 career best performance. The critical acclaim 00:17:45.089 --> 00:17:47.390 was universal. He won the Independent Spirit 00:17:47.390 --> 00:17:50.329 Award for Best Male Lead. He did, and he was 00:17:50.329 --> 00:17:53.250 famously snubbed by the Oscars, which actually 00:17:53.250 --> 00:17:55.630 created a huge wave of sympathy for him. People 00:17:55.630 --> 00:17:58.410 were outraged. It solidified his status as a 00:17:58.410 --> 00:18:01.170 great actor who chooses not to act. It gave him 00:18:01.170 --> 00:18:04.049 this artistic credibility that money can't buy. 00:18:04.250 --> 00:18:06.849 It proved that Punch Drunk Love wasn't a fluke. 00:18:07.150 --> 00:18:10.009 The talent was always there, waiting for the 00:18:10.009 --> 00:18:12.430 right director to pull it out. And speaking of 00:18:12.430 --> 00:18:14.549 money, let's pivot to the business side again, 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:18.150 because around 2014, the industry changed and 00:18:18.150 --> 00:18:20.750 Sandler was the canary in the coal mine. This 00:18:20.750 --> 00:18:23.549 is the Netflix era. And to understand this, you 00:18:23.549 --> 00:18:26.470 have to look at the landscape in 2014. Streaming 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:28.930 was still kind of finding its footing with original 00:18:28.930 --> 00:18:31.609 movies. The prestige was still in the movie theater. 00:18:31.690 --> 00:18:34.269 Right. If you're a big star, you wanted the red 00:18:34.269 --> 00:18:36.869 carpet premiere. You wanted the box office opening 00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:39.529 weekend numbers. That was the metric of success. 00:18:39.809 --> 00:18:42.529 But Sandler's box office was starting to soften 00:18:42.529 --> 00:18:45.769 a little bit. It was. Movies like That's My Boy 00:18:45.769 --> 00:18:48.029 and Blended weren't the massive hits his earlier 00:18:48.029 --> 00:18:50.990 films were. But Sandler looked at the other data. 00:18:51.230 --> 00:18:53.869 He saw that while his box office was softening, 00:18:53.950 --> 00:18:57.269 his DVD sales and his cable rerun numbers were 00:18:57.269 --> 00:18:59.710 astronomical. People loved watching it at home. 00:18:59.829 --> 00:19:02.390 Exactly. He realized his audience was aging. 00:19:03.130 --> 00:19:05.329 The frat guys who loved Billy Madison were now 00:19:05.329 --> 00:19:08.190 dads in their 30s and 40s. They're tired. They're 00:19:08.190 --> 00:19:10.069 tired. They didn't want to hire a babysitter 00:19:10.069 --> 00:19:12.309 and pay 20 bucks for popcorn. They wanted to 00:19:12.309 --> 00:19:14.509 sit on the couch and watch The Sandman. So he 00:19:14.509 --> 00:19:16.750 saw where the puck was going. He got there first. 00:19:17.390 --> 00:19:20.430 In 2014, he signed a four -movie deal with Netflix. 00:19:20.829 --> 00:19:24.230 A massive deal. And this was a huge gamble for 00:19:24.230 --> 00:19:26.250 Netflix at the time. It was a huge gamble. And 00:19:26.250 --> 00:19:29.049 the first movie out of the gate was The Ridiculous 00:19:29.049 --> 00:19:32.950 Six. Oh, boy. The ridiculous. A Western spoof. 00:19:33.009 --> 00:19:35.710 And we had to be honest here. Critically, it 00:19:35.710 --> 00:19:38.410 was a disaster. Disaster is putting it mildly. 00:19:38.549 --> 00:19:42.250 It has a zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Zero. 00:19:42.670 --> 00:19:46.450 Not one positive review. Critics called it unwatchable. 00:19:46.609 --> 00:19:48.930 They accused it of being racially insensitive. 00:19:49.509 --> 00:19:52.089 The narrative from the media was Sandler is washed 00:19:52.089 --> 00:19:54.319 up. This Netflix thing is a failure. But then 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:56.680 the data came out. And this is the Sandler paradox 00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:58.980 in its purest form. Netflix, who are usually 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:01.019 very secretive with their numbers, released a 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:03.440 statement. What did it say? They said that in 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:05.839 its first 30 days, The Ridiculous Six was viewed 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:07.980 more times than any other movie in the history 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:10.160 of the platform up to that point. That is mind 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:11.819 blowing. The critics said, don't watch this. 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:14.480 And the entire world said, hold my beer. We are 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:16.599 watching it immediately. It proved to Netflix 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:20.019 and to the whole industry that Sandler is completely 00:20:20.019 --> 00:20:24.019 critic proof. His fans do not read reviews. They 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:26.579 are loyal to the brand, not to the Rotten Tomatoes 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:28.960 score. So Netflix doubled down? Oh, they went 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:30.880 all in. They realized they had a captive audience. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.980 They renewed the deal in 2020 for four more movies. 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:36.319 And the money involved here is just staggering. 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:40.259 The 2020 deal was reportedly worth up to $275 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:45.720 million. $275 million for four movies. That is 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:48.730 guaranteed cash. That is the key shift. In the 00:20:48.730 --> 00:20:51.109 old theatrical model, you often get paid based 00:20:51.109 --> 00:20:53.289 on how well the movie does back end points. Right. 00:20:53.410 --> 00:20:55.410 If it's a hit, you get rich. If it's a bomb, 00:20:55.529 --> 00:20:57.990 you don't. With Netflix, he gets paid up front. 00:20:58.490 --> 00:21:00.890 It completely removes the risk. It made him the 00:21:00.890 --> 00:21:03.950 highest paid actor in Hollywood in 2023, earning 00:21:03.950 --> 00:21:07.109 $73 million in a single year. So he shifted the 00:21:07.109 --> 00:21:09.529 entire industry model from high risk box office 00:21:09.529 --> 00:21:12.170 to high reward subscription retention for a streaming 00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:14.910 service. He essentially became his own studio 00:21:14.910 --> 00:21:17.690 system inside of Netflix. And he's using it to 00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:20.410 do everything. Murder Mystery with Jennifer Aniston 00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:23.349 was a massive global hit. Hubie Halloween was 00:21:23.349 --> 00:21:25.789 a huge hit. And he also used the Netflix deal 00:21:25.789 --> 00:21:28.880 to make Hustle. Exactly. A serious sports drama 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:31.539 that got him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:34.299 So he gets to make his broad comedies and his 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:37.099 prestige dramas all under the same roof with 00:21:37.099 --> 00:21:39.539 no financial risk. It's an unbelievable setup. 00:21:39.740 --> 00:21:41.700 He's having his cake and eating it, too. He bought 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:44.220 the whole bakery. Let's talk about the man behind 00:21:44.220 --> 00:21:46.700 the brand. Because for a guy worth nearly half 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:48.619 a billion dollars, he sure doesn't dress like 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:51.569 it. The scumbro aesthetic. Or as some call it, 00:21:51.589 --> 00:21:54.289 the grocery run look. It is iconic at this point. 00:21:54.329 --> 00:21:58.049 The XXXL t -shirts from like a random charity 00:21:58.049 --> 00:22:00.990 5K he did in 1998. The basketball shorts that 00:22:00.990 --> 00:22:04.069 go down to his shins. The Ugg boots. The weirdly 00:22:04.069 --> 00:22:06.450 high socks. It's funny because for years the 00:22:06.450 --> 00:22:08.609 tabloids mocked him. Look at Adam Sandler. He 00:22:08.609 --> 00:22:10.910 looks like he lost his luggage. But something 00:22:10.910 --> 00:22:14.769 shifted. Something shifted. In 2021, Vogue magazine, 00:22:15.150 --> 00:22:17.829 the Bible of high fashion, named him a style 00:22:17.829 --> 00:22:20.849 icon. We have truly entered the Twilight Zone 00:22:20.849 --> 00:22:24.069 when Adam Sandler is a Vogue icon. But it makes 00:22:24.069 --> 00:22:27.150 sense in the context of Gen Z. There is this 00:22:27.150 --> 00:22:30.349 trend called normcore. It's about rejecting the 00:22:30.349 --> 00:22:33.369 polished, curated, perfect look of Instagram 00:22:33.369 --> 00:22:36.269 influencers. And Sandler is the king of uncurated. 00:22:36.369 --> 00:22:38.750 He represents comfort. He represents authenticity. 00:22:39.130 --> 00:22:42.190 His clothes say, I am so rich and so comfortable 00:22:42.190 --> 00:22:44.509 with myself that I do not need to impress you. 00:22:44.670 --> 00:22:47.710 It's a power move. It really is. He told Esquire 00:22:47.710 --> 00:22:49.569 in an interview that he was working that angle 00:22:49.569 --> 00:22:51.250 for years. He joked for a while, I was like, 00:22:51.289 --> 00:22:53.589 please accept me and the way I dress. And 30 00:22:53.589 --> 00:22:56.109 years later, they finally came around. He outlasted 00:22:56.109 --> 00:22:58.769 fashion itself. He did. There are now brands, 00:22:58.789 --> 00:23:01.369 like one called Old Jewish Men, that literally 00:23:01.369 --> 00:23:04.190 sell shorts inspired by his look. That's incredible. 00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:07.839 And it ties into his other obsession. He's a 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:10.000 legitimate hoop head. The stories are legendary. 00:23:10.420 --> 00:23:13.140 He's on tour for stand up or filming a movie 00:23:13.140 --> 00:23:15.640 in some random town. And he just shows up at 00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:18.299 a local YMCA or a park looking for a pickup game. 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:20.819 And he plays in the outfit. He plays in the baggy 00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:23.440 shorts and the oversized polo shirt. There are 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:25.559 hundreds of videos online of him just draining 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:28.880 threes in a random gym. Is he actually any good? 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:31.519 Or do people just, you know, let him win because 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:33.559 he's Adam Sandler? No, the scouting report is 00:23:33.559 --> 00:23:36.640 solid. He's a playmaker. He's known for creative, 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:39.240 no -look passing. He's not going to dunk on you, 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:41.380 but he understands the geometry of the game. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.019 He plays hard, too. Oh, yeah. He has broken his 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:46.500 ankle. He's had shoulder surgery from basketball 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:50.099 injuries. This is not a casual hobby. I love 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:52.119 that image. You go to the gym to get a run in, 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:54.480 and Adam Sandler throws you a no -look pass. 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:58.079 It's so... Un -Hollywood. It grounds him. It 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:00.240 keeps him connected to that regular guy persona. 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:03.000 If he was playing polo or yachting, the brand 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:05.660 wouldn't work. But pickup basketball? That's 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:08.180 accessible. That's relatable. Speaking of grounding, 00:24:08.380 --> 00:24:10.940 his family seems to be the absolute center of 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:13.400 his universe. Absolutely. He has been married 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:16.380 to Jackie Titone since 2003. She converted to 00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:18.339 Judaism when they married. They have two daughters, 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:20.940 Sadie and Sunny. And if you've watched his recent 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:22.859 movies, you know them very well. They are the 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:25.980 stars now. His recent Netflix movie, You Are 00:24:25.980 --> 00:24:28.900 So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, was basically 00:24:28.900 --> 00:24:32.119 a Sandler home movie with a Netflix budget. His 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:34.400 daughters played the leads. His wife was in it. 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:36.839 He played the supporting dad role. And of course, 00:24:36.839 --> 00:24:39.559 the critics screamed, nepotism, baby. They did. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:42.940 But again, does Sandler care? His brand is loyalty. 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:45.460 His brand is family. Why wouldn't he put his 00:24:45.460 --> 00:24:48.339 kids in the movie? It fits the ethos of Happy 00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:50.700 Madison perfectly. He's not just employing his 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:52.440 friends anymore. He's employing his whole family. 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.819 Even his nephew, Jared, gets roles. Everyone 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:58.420 gets a part. It's the family business. One thing 00:24:58.420 --> 00:25:00.660 he keeps strictly out of the movies and really 00:25:00.660 --> 00:25:03.359 out of his public life is politics. This is a 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:06.099 very deliberate and I think very smart choice 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:08.319 from a business perspective. He's pretty private 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:11.160 about it. Very. But the public records show he 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:13.539 is a registered Republican, which is somewhat 00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:16.529 rare in the Hollywood ecosystem. He performed 00:25:16.529 --> 00:25:18.789 at the Republican National Convention in 2004 00:25:18.789 --> 00:25:22.190 and donated to Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign 00:25:22.190 --> 00:25:24.589 in 2008. But you never hear him on a soapbox. 00:25:24.650 --> 00:25:27.230 He's not on Twitter arguing with people. Never. 00:25:27.589 --> 00:25:30.670 In an era where every celebrity feels the need 00:25:30.670 --> 00:25:33.829 to weigh in on every single issue. Sandler is 00:25:33.829 --> 00:25:36.829 a ghost. He doesn't preach. He doesn't alienate. 00:25:36.930 --> 00:25:38.910 He knows who his audience is. He knows his audience 00:25:38.910 --> 00:25:41.529 is broad. He has fans in red states and blue 00:25:41.529 --> 00:25:45.089 states. He stays in his lane. Comedy, family, 00:25:45.309 --> 00:25:48.230 sports. It protects the brand. Before we wrap 00:25:48.230 --> 00:25:50.369 up, I feel like we have to mention the audio 00:25:50.369 --> 00:25:52.690 career. Because before the movies, there were 00:25:52.690 --> 00:25:54.849 the albums. The albums were the proof of concept. 00:25:54.910 --> 00:25:57.029 They were huge. They're all going to laugh at 00:25:57.029 --> 00:25:59.390 you in 1993. And what the hell happened to me 00:25:59.390 --> 00:26:02.490 in 1996? Both went 2X platinum. I mean, they 00:26:02.490 --> 00:26:04.230 were selling millions of copies. I wore those 00:26:04.230 --> 00:26:07.170 tapes out. The Goat, Tollbooth Willie, The Longest 00:26:07.170 --> 00:26:09.630 Pee. They were a mix of sketches and his songs. 00:26:09.849 --> 00:26:11.730 And they showed that his comedy could sustain 00:26:11.730 --> 00:26:14.299 a long format. It wasn't just a four -minute 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:16.839 bit on Weekend Update. He could build a world 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:19.000 with sound and characters that you could listen 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:21.480 to for an hour. Without the success of those 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:23.680 albums, I'm not sure he gets the green light 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:25.940 for Billy Madison. I think you're right. They 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:27.720 laid the groundwork for everything that came 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:30.599 after. So let's bring it all home. We've looked 00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:33.880 at the Tisch training, the SNL firing, the box 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.059 office records, the arthouse acclaim, and the 00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:39.480 Netflix empire. What is the legacy of Adam Sandler? 00:26:40.009 --> 00:26:42.869 I think the Mark Twain Prize in 2023 was the 00:26:42.869 --> 00:26:45.730 capstone. It was the establishment finally admitting 00:26:45.730 --> 00:26:48.089 defeat. Admitting defeat. Yeah. Admitting, OK, 00:26:48.230 --> 00:26:50.950 you won. For decades, the critical establishment 00:26:50.950 --> 00:26:54.509 dismissed him, mocked him, but he outlasted them. 00:26:54.630 --> 00:26:58.069 He built something so big and so successful that 00:26:58.069 --> 00:27:00.369 they had no choice but to acknowledge his impact 00:27:00.369 --> 00:27:03.450 on American humor. He beat the system by creating 00:27:03.450 --> 00:27:05.940 his own system. He hacked it. Most people in 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:07.759 Hollywood have to compromise. They do movies, 00:27:07.819 --> 00:27:09.819 they hate to pay the bills, or they beg for funding 00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:12.240 for their passion projects. Saylor constructed 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:14.460 a reality where he does exactly what he wants 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:17.480 all the time. He split his career into two distinct 00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:20.200 streams. Exactly. He has the vacation movies 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:22.039 he makes with his friends for Netflix. That's 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:24.059 the commerce that generates the wealth and keeps 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:26.579 the lights on for his entire crew. And then, 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:29.839 because he has that security, he can go off and 00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:33.480 do uncut gems or hustle the prestige films to 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:36.019 satisfy his artistic soul and remind everyone 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:38.599 he can really, truly act. And here's the key. 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:43.000 He funds his art with his commerce, but he actually 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:45.460 enjoys the commerce too. That's the part people 00:27:45.460 --> 00:27:48.259 miss. He's not miserable making grown -ups. He's 00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:50.640 having a blast with his buddies on a paid vacation. 00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:54.160 It is the ultimate creative hack. He's never 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:56.660 had to choose. He gets to do both. So here is 00:27:56.660 --> 00:27:58.759 the final provocative thought for you, the listener. 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:01.740 Sandler has effectively created the perfect work 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:04.099 -life balance in the most ruthless industry on 00:28:04.099 --> 00:28:06.140 earth. He makes work movies that are actually 00:28:06.140 --> 00:28:07.680 just hanging out with his family and friends, 00:28:07.900 --> 00:28:10.240 and he uses that to fund his passion projects 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:12.619 every few years. So the question is, is this 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:15.500 the ultimate hack for... creative life, funding 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:17.599 your art with your commerce, all while remaining 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:20.240 the same guy who plays pickup basketball in XXL 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:23.640 shorts. Maybe tonight, go rewatch Punch Drunk 00:28:23.640 --> 00:28:25.960 Love and look for that technical precision we 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:29.039 talked about. Look for the method acting underneath 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:32.640 the blue suit or, you know, just blast the Chinooka 00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:34.440 song and remember how he changed the culture 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:36.680 with a guitar and a rhyme. There is a lot more 00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:38.579 going on under that baseball cap than people 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:40.799 give him credit for. Thanks for diving deep with 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:42.720 us on The Sandman. We'll see you on the next 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:42.900 one.