Yo, does anybody understand how weather actually works?
'Cause this thing seems like a scam, man.
Like, I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theory,
but it seems like a scam, man. It's winter, and then it's hot
all of a sudden-- but just, like, for two days.
Who does that? Why do they do that to us, man?
Especially when you live in New York.
Because in New York, you have to put your clothes-- like,
you don't have enough space to just keep your full closet,
which is a thing I didn't know when I came from South Africa.
In South Africa, we're ready for anything all the time.
In New York they're like,
"Did you put away your winter clothes?"
-What am I? A bear? -(crew laughter)
-♪ ♪ -ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from the heart of Times Square
in New York City, the only city in America,
it's The Daily Show.
Tonight: Drilling down on drill rap.
Klepper in Canada,
and Janicza Bravo.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
Hey, what's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah.
Let's jump straight into today's headlines.
♪ ♪
We kick things off with the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
which, by the time you watch this, has either
started already, is about to start any minute,
or was never going to start at all.
And one reason no one seems to know exactly
what is going to happen is that
Russia is playing all sorts of mind games.
NEWSMAN: As Russia claims it is pulling back troops
from Ukraine's border, a senior Biden administration official
accuses Russia of lying and of moving troops around
while adding 7,000 to the sum 150,000 troops already
near Ukraine's borders.
Britain's military intelligence chief, in a rare statement,
said there have been sightings of additional armored vehicles,
helicopters, and a field hospital moving toward
Ukraine's borders.
There are now questions this morning about why Russia
would claim to deescalate while apparently not doing it.
Propaganda, a play to create confusion,
or deliberate misdirection to hide an attack?
Okay, okay, wait, wait, wait. People, people, people,
can I ask you a question?
Why is America's president always answering questions
in front of a helicopter?
Like, is there not a better solution to this?
And it's not just Biden. Like, Trump, the whole time--
"What we're gonna be doing is, we're gonna..."
And then Biden, (stammering) "We're trying to..."
Like, turn the helicopter off until he gets on.
You're wasting fuel.
And do you know how much gas is right now, Joe Byron?
You are also saying important things.
You don't want people to mishear what you're saying.
Imagine if I was like, "Hey, guys, hey, guys,
"As Trevor Noah, I've discovered something that
will solve all of the world's problems. What we need to..."
(helicopter blades whirring loudly)
"...and that's what will solve the world."
But yes, America's accusing Russia of lying about
pulling troops back from Ukraine
while actually still preparing to invade it.
And I'm not gonna lie, guys. It wouldn't be a surprise
if Russia is being sneaky.
I mean, this is the same country
that hides dolls inside bigger dolls.
You know how sick you have to be to do that?
You-you think you found the final...
You think there's, like, a doll. "Oh, I'm so happy."
Then it's like, there's another doll.
Was I happy enough? Now I feel bad.
Didn't show the gratitude to the first one.
I didn't know it was two d... There's three dolls.
I didn't show three dolls gratitude. Four dolls.
Then I'm like, "How many dolls?" Then I break the last one
'cause I thought there was another one inside.
Now I broke my toy.
But Russia insists that they're pulling the troops back.
That's what they say.
Even though all the satellite evidence
shows that they're adding even more troops to the border.
And people are saying that what Putin is doing here
is really disingenuous, but can I be honest with you?
I really actually understand this move.
In fact, anyone who's ever played Call of Duty
knows what this move is all about.
Right? Your mom calls you down for dinner,
and what do you do?
-(weapons firing) -"Yeah, I'm coming, Mom!
"I'm just wrapping up a mission!
"I'll be right there!
"All right, guys, let's go again.
"This time, stop messing around
on the Buy Station, Nick. Come on."
But America is certain.
They're certain that Russia is still planning to invade.
In fact, today, the U.S. Secretary of State
even said that what Russia might do
to justify an invasion
is launch fake or even real chemical weapons
at themselves
and then blame it on Ukraine.
Yeah.
Yeah. First of all, uh, spoilers. Hello.
Secondly, can you imagine that?
Staging a chemical attack on yourself
to justify your invasion. That's pretty messed-up.
Especially for the Russian soldiers
who have to carry out the mission.
"So, we launch this on ourselves,
but this is fake, yes?"
"Yeah. We will find out when bomb explodes.
Huh? Mystery. Excitement."
And, you know, people, as erratic
as the Russians' actions might seem,
you understand what they're doing right now, right?
They're playing chess.
This is literally what chess is all about.
Oh, I'm moving forward. Oh, I'm moving backwards.
Oh, I'm attacking. No, I'm not.
The horse is going this way. Then it turns.
This is what Russia's doing. This is literally it.
And the Russians love playing chess.
They've been designed for this moment.
Meanwhile, the rest of us, we don't play chess anymore.
We love dumb games now. We're like,
"Uh, I need a five-letter word that ends in D-E."
'Plate'? No."
All right, let's move on from a country
that's trying to take over the world
to a dictatorship that already runs the world:
Disney.
The magical company is known around the world
for its amusement parks, its movies
and for having the fanciest rats.
But now they're apparently moving into real estate.
You see, yesterday, Disney announced
that it will be building planned communities
where residents can be
"part of Disney all the time."
Which I guess means you have to wait in line
for three hours to use your own bathroom.
And look, guys, as much as I'm for decriminalizing drugs,
I don't know if we should encourage people
to take them at work.
Because this sounds like an idea that was inspired
by, uh, something extra, if you know what I mean.
"Like, what if the whole world was Disney all the time?
Like, just all the time?"
"Oh, I love this guy. He's so... He's so great.
"I love it. Disney all the time.
Oh, man, I'm so (bleep) up right now. Oh!"
And, now, look, don't get me wrong.
I love Disney, by the way. I personally love Disney.
I love Disneyland. I love Disney World.
But I think the Disney experience
will lose its magic if you relive it every day.
You can't do Disney every day.
I mean, like, I don't want to pretend I'm a Make-A-Wish kid
to cut lines every day.
You got to do that, like, twice a year max, you know?
Special occasions.
And by the way, if you think this idea sounds creepy,
just, like, living in Disney all the time,
wait until you see the promo video
that they released.
WOMAN: These vibrant communities
will be infused with Disney placemaking.
Picture an energetic community
with the warmth and charm of a small town
and the beauty of a resort.
A place that entices inspiration
and makes every moment more memorable than the last.
A Storyliving by Disney community
is something truly special.
"Communities infused
with Disney placemaking."
Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like a cult?
And I'm not saying it is a cult.
But you saw how it looked and how it sounded.
It feels like a cult, you know? I'm not saying it is a cult.
I'm just saying it feels like a cult. Yeah.
Like, if you decide to live there,
don't be surprised if you get home one day
and it ends with Goofy banging your wife.
(laughs à la Goofy)
I mean, even if it's not a cult, I don't trust it.
You know, a perfect community that just...
feels like an ideal small town?
I saw WandaVision, Disney.
You're not fooling me. I know how this shit ends.
And, by the way, by the way, this isn't the first time
that Disney has tried to invent a town that people live in.
Right? Back in the '90s,
Disney built a community in Florida called Celebration
that also had a lot of hype at first
and then, a few years later,
did so badly that they had to offload it
to a private equity firm.
I mean, so what does Disney think?
They think they can just rehash the same idea with a modern spin
and then people will throw money at it?
It'll never work.
It's just not gonna work.
All right, that's it for the headlines.
Let's move on to our top story.
And our top story is about rap,
the thing your 50-year-old cousin still thinks
he has a shot at.
Rap has been around for decades.
And it's gotten so mainstream
it's now even part of the Super Bowl halftime show.
But now there's a new style of rap that's blowing up,
and it's gotten to the point where the mayor of New York
is so concerned
that he's trying to rein it in.
NEWSWOMAN: Mayor Eric Adams is trying to curb the violence
associated with drill rap.
Now, that's a branch of rap music
that is about the violent side of the streets.
I had no idea what drill rapping was,
but I called my son
and he sent me some videos.
And it is alarming.
NEWSWOMAN 2: Drill rap came under renewed scrutiny
after 18-year-old artist Jayquan McKenley's murder
earlier this month.
Adams made national headlines late Friday
when he called out social media companies
for their responsibility in promoting violence
in drill rap videos,
and he vowed to put a plan in motion.
We pulled Trump off Twitter
because of what he was spewing,
yet we're allowing, uh, uh, music,
displaying of guns, violence,
we're allowing it to stay, uh, on these sites.
O-Okay, okay.
Hold on. Hold on.
It is not fair to compare President Trump to rappers.
All right? Rappers are all about dissing their haters
and banging porn stars
and bragging about how rich they are
even when they're secretly broke.
Does that sound like Donald Trump to you?
You show some respect.
And, yeah, once again,
social media companies are in the crosshairs.
Because, you know, these days,
they're getting pressured to take a lot down.
Right? COVID misinformation, election misinformation,
hate speech, bullying.
They can't keep up.
I mean, soon, the only thing that's gonna be left
on social media is just gonna be cat photos
and things your grandpa accidentally tweeted
while trying to google
"Where did Jeanie and I have our first date?"
But the real question is,
what is drill rap
and why is it even scaring the mayor of New York?
Well, let's find out in another installment
of If You Don't Know, Now You Know.
♪ ♪
Rap music,
A.K.A. hippity-hop.
It's a music form that tackles every topic, you know?
It talks about relationships,
talks about money,
social issues, life on the streets,
balling.
It can even talk about the relative moisture content
of vaginas.
But it can also celebrate gang violence,
and that's what has some people worried
about drill rap.
NEWSWOMAN: The hard-driving beats
and dark, ominous sound of drill
originated in Chicago.
It was also heavily gang-affiliated.
It got a new life in Brooklyn
and was brought into the mainstream
by the late Pop Smoke.
Drill music has been around for more than a decade,
but local activists tell us what's different
is that the music now has a darker tone,
with drill rappers creating songs and viral dances
that celebrate local murders.
NEWSWOMAN: More than the music itself,
NYPD says it's the taunting and dissing in the lyrics
that are rapped and posted on social media
that fuel the violence.
MAN: It's dissing people that passed.
It's dissing people family members.
It's dissing people homies.
And when that happens, their homies,
their family members and their peoples is gonna retaliate.
And it's just a never-ending cycle.
Yeah, that's right. A lot of the lyrics in drill rap
aren't just about street life and violence in general, no.
They're attacks on specific people in rival gangs,
and especially taunting people who were already murdered.
Which, if you ask me, is way over the line, people.
Like, what are you trying to prove at that point?
The person is dead.
Why you got to make songs dissing a dead person?
It's not like God's up in Heaven like,
"We were gonna let you in, but Lil Tre bodied you so hard
"on that track, you got to go to Hell. (chuckles)
"No bustas allowed through the pearly gates.
Ho, ho, they roasted you, kid."
And, look, I-I'm not a rapper, you know--
until my mixtape blows up--
but if you ask me,
a good diss track doesn't need to call for someone's murder.
It doesn't need that. In fact, in my opinion,
I think the best diss tracks
don't even mention the names at all. Yeah.
Look at Taylor Swift.
All she said was that "someone" stole her scarf.
And it ruined Jake Gyllenhaal's life.
Yeah, that dude wishes he was just shot in the street.
But drill rap is getting renewed scrutiny right now, because
two drill rappers were murdered in New York just this month.
And as you can see, the backlash has been widespread,
right, from Eric Adams to the police
to local community leaders on the ground.
Even some of New York's biggest hip-hop DJs--
people who love drill music, by the way--
have said that they're gonna stop playing explicit
diss tracks because they don't
want to encourage any more violence.
And, look, you can totally understand
where all of these people are coming from. Right?
They feel like the rap is making the street more dangerous.
But don't forget, don't forget, this is an argument
that we've heard about rap music for decades.
Gangsta rap has become incredibly popular
and profitable by selling lyrics about Black-on-Black violence.
Now that some of its stars stand accused of doing
what they've been rapping about,
life seems to be imitating art, so to speak.
And the critics are coming out in force--
some radio stations have refused to play
the most controversial rap records.
In the wake of the Rodney King verdict and the civil unrest
in Los Angeles, some police officers across the country
now say they're feeling threatened
by the lyrics of a rap song.
NEWSWOMAN: Radio stations such as KACE in Los Angeles
and WBLS in New York
announced they would no longer play songs
they considered negative.
You have the right of free speech in this country,
but you don't have the right to yell "fire"
in a crowded theater.
They're yelling "shoot" in a community
that is crowded with guns.
They don't seem to see any connection between
the kind of music which they sell for profit, uh,
and the kinds of problems we have in American society.
NEWSMAN: Rap opponents say they're fighting
to save a generation. It won't be easy.
Last night at the Billboard Music Awards in Hollywood,
one of the most foul-mouthed rappers, Dr. Dre,
was upheld as one of the best artists of the year.
Oh, that foul-mouthed Dr. Dre!
What a disgrace. I, for one,
will never buy mid-range headphones from that man.
But, yeah, back in the '90s, people were saying
all the same things about rap music that they're saying now
about drill rap music. And you'll find,
in another 30 years, they'll be saying the same thing
about whatever rap is then.
"These crypto rappers are out of control.
We don't feel safe in our own Metaverse anyone."
And, look, please don't get me wrong, please don't
get me wrong. I am not saying
the backlash against drill rap
is exactly the same situation as the '90s.
I'm not saying that. In fact this week,
Eric Adams actually sat down with a group of drill rappers
to hear their side of the story, which is definitely
not something that was happening a lot back then.
You know? Like, Rudy Giuliani never sat down
for a meeting with Tupac.
And if he did, it was only because he was trying
to find dirt on Hunter Biden.
But still, the fact that we've been down this road before
probably should be a reason to pause, just pause,
before condemning an entire genre.
Because a lot of the people that think drill rap
is the cause of this violence don't realize
that if you ask people in the drill rap community,
they say, "No, it's not the cause of the violence,
it's actually the other way around."
How are we taking a genre of music and saying
this is the problem in the community?
How the (bleep) that the problem?
That's-- yo, that's music.
There's a problem that already existed
before they had this genre of music.
The music is the expression for trauma.
The community is like-- it's-it's-it's like,
there's no hope, there's no opportunities at all.
We're just making music so we can get out of these places.
MAINO: The lyrics are a manifestation
of what is already happening.
Right? They are actually living their reality, right?
So if their reality was different,
then they would rap about different things.
Yeah, you see, from their perspective,
people upset about violence in rap music
are focusing on the symptom instead of the root cause.
Because you want to ban drill rap,
but you don't want to ban income inequality.
You want to ban drill rap,
but you don't want to ban mass incarceration.
You want to ban drill rap,
but you don't want to ban failing schools.
You want to ban drill rap,
but you don't want to ban the things that lead to drill rap.
And, look, this isn't even unique to this issue, right?
Like, attacking the symptom instead of the cause
is as American as arming teachers.
But just cracking down on drill rappers won't stop anything.
They'll just find another way to express themselves, right?
You're gonna end up creating a generation of drill podcasters.
When I'm putting my enemies to sleep,
I always do it on a Casper Mattress.
The point is, drill rappers are like any other artists.
Their art is going to be an expression
of what's around them.
If you want to stop the music, don't emulate the same mistakes
America has been making for 30 years.
Emulate policies from a country that isn't producing drill rap.
Like, I'm-I'm not trying to start a beef,
but there's a reason
that the Scandinavian drill scene ain't shit.
And, yeah, I'm talking to you, Finland.
What you gonna do, give me free health care?
Shit.
And, look, don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong.
I'm not saying it's necessarily wrong
to stop some of these songs
from spreading on radio or on social media.
I'm not saying that.
All I'm saying is that that can't be the only solution.
And who knows, who knows?
Maybe if you actually fix the issues in these communities,
then maybe, just maybe, the rap music that comes out of them
could sound a whole lot different.
WOOD: You already know what it is.
It's your boy DJ Systemic Change.
My neighborhood good, the roads smooth.
The system working exactly how it's supposed to.
I got no beef, nothing to complain about.
Let's go.
♪ Whoo ♪
♪ Why? ♪
♪ Damn ♪
♪ How? ♪
♪ Hey... hey ♪
♪ Free ♪
♪ Nope ♪
♪ What are those? ♪
-(siren wailing) -♪ Wave ♪
I mean, I'm gonna be honest, I really have no complaints.
It's a wonderful neighborhood, I got a great home.
I got a guy you can call.
We could, you know, get you a good Realtor.
All right, when we come back,
what the hell is going on in Canada?
Well, we sent Jordan Klepper to find out.
You don't want to miss it.
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
By now you've heard about the massive truck driver protests
in Canada that have shut down major parts of the supply chain.
But what exactly is it that these protesters want?
Well, to find out, we sent Jordan Klepper up to Canada
to ask them personally, for an international episode of
Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse.
♪ ♪
(horns blaring)
KLEPPER: Three weeks ago, north of the border,
a new kind of protest emerged.
NEWSMAN: The trucker convoy has arrived in Ottawa.
NEWSWOMAN: This city in the downtown core
remains gridlocked. Some residents here say that they
really can take no more.
KLEPPER: So I traveled to Ottawa,
expecting to find some Canada nice.
But their messaging was a bit more coarse.
These trucks shut down businesses and
made roads impassable.
Can I go... can I go around here?
How do I... how do I get around?
But how long were the protesters planning
to paralyze Canada's eighth best city?
-David, how long you been here? -I've been here since day one.
-Holding down the fort. -Pretty much.
-I'm not going anywhere. -I'm coming in from New York.
-I go by Brooklyn's Kindest on the CB. -There you go.
We're able stay here up to two years.
KLEPPER: You're-you're committed
to being-being here for two years?
Yeah. 'Cause two years is nothing.
How are you gonna keep up the energy to be here
-for two years? -Oh, that's not a problem.
-People bring it. -Stimulants?
No. The people bring it. I smoke a lot of weed.
-Yeah. Right? -Okay. Yeah.
But that's just to calm me down and keep me centered.
Are you worried at all with weed? Paranoia?
-That it might creep in? No. No. -No. No.
-Uh... -Do you think the government is coming for you?
Oh, yeah, constantly. They... Their...
Or do, like... Might, uh, little tactics.
They try to, like... They move around.
-They move in. They add more. -Are you paranoid?
-No. -Hmm. Sure.
-What kind of stuff do you haul? -I haul everything.
In 2020, I hauled from food to building supplies
to medical supplies.
Do you have my end table that I ordered from Wayfair,
like, three weeks ago?
It's probably sitting either in Montreal
-or Toronto or on the border. -Are you kidding me?
It's... It would really look great in my apartment.
So, what exactly was the point
of interrupting the supply chain?
-So, what is this all about? -You know what?
Sorry. What is this all "aboot"?
This is about our freedoms.
Could you be any more generic?
You know, if you are vaccinated, you get to do certain things.
If you're not vaccinated, you don't.
I don't think people should be divided.
We should all be together, united.
We're setting up, essentially, a truck barrier
-to keep everybody together so they can be united? -Yes.
-Yes, exactly. -Gotcha. Yeah, we might as well lock them in.
-Yeah. -Sort of like a parent who locks the door and says,
"You guys are in here until the water runs out.
-You become friends or democracy crumbles." -Yes.
And if you're not vaccinated,
you're literally a second-class citizen in this country.
I can't go to a restaurant. I can't go play hockey.
I can't go watch the Ottawa Senators.
We don't live in Germany. We don't live in Nazi Germany.
Those days are over.
"Show me your papers" don't happen anymore.
That's a freedom that everyone should have.
Is the Germany comparison a stretch here in Canada?
-No. -Are you afraid of cultural appropriation?
Probably.
American cultural appropriation,
-'cause we use the German excuse all the time. -Yeah.
KLEPPER: Oddly enough, that wasn't the only thing
Canadians were appropriating.
Yeah, I-I hate to use that slogan,
-but, uh... -I don't know if...
..."Make North America Great Again."
Make North America Great Again.
And I don't mean to use that guy's word, but it's true!
To be honest, it wasn't even his.
-He stole it from another guy before him. -Awesome.
I see the, uh... the "Q" army on your hat.
Isn't-isn't "Q" the American thing,
trying to find JFK Jr.?
Yes.
What "Q" shit is going down here?
Oh, so this is like a Yankees hat.
Okay, the "Q" thing might just be a fashion choice,
but they're definitely reading the same Internet
as many Americans.
What else?
What's Agenda 2030?
Really?
You're afraid the government will sterilize you?
But in two weeks in the cab of a truck,
-pissing in a Mountain Dew can... -(chuckles)
...can't be too good for the sperm production.
(chuckles)
KLEPPER: So, Margaret Atwood audio books are apparently
a thing with Canadian truckers. And while shutting down a city
seems to have many obvious downsides...
Hey, excuse me. Excuse me, Hi.
Hi. Yeah.
Have you seen a Prius around here?
...some see an opportunity coming from literal gridlock.
The truckers are bringing in customers,
they're bringing in tourists from Montreal,
from all across Canada.
Everybody wants to check this out.
This is essentially a tourist boom
-for Ottawa right now. -Correct.
You can feel the tourism in the air, right?
You can smell it. It smells like amphetamines
-and, uh, drifter blood. -Definitely.
KLEPPER: The flood of 18-wheeler-driving tourists
and their Canadian AF outfits
created legitimate tension with residents of city.
-MAN: Go home! Get a job! -And be peaceful.
No one wants you here!
KLEPPER: The downtown was shut,
and there was palpable anger directed at local media.
State TV news has lied. They're still lying, guys.
They're still lying.
KLEPPER: And even at The Daily Show.
(people clamoring, booing)
MAN: Lack of nuance is tyranny.
-(booing) -We're get-we're getting booed over here.
We've been walking around here.
Uh, there seems to be a real distrust of media here.
Oh, for sure.
There's a lot of cameras up in your face.
Cameras on cameras on...
And while Canadian authorities
have finally enacted emergency measures
to try to clear the convoy,
so far the trucks are still there.
And a well-funded, never-ending street party
infused with misinformation and nationalism
feels remarkably possible in our own land of the free.
Where does this movement go from here?
I believe it's going to be worldwide.
-It's gonna come to America? -Yes, definitely.
You think this is inspiring the dickheads in America?
Pardon me?
This is inspiring the dickheads in America?
-It's inspiring people... -People.
...people of America to join together to stand for freedom.
KLEPPER: Okay, if they do come to America,
then maybe I'll finally get my (bleep)ing end table.
Thank you so much for that, Jordan.
All right, when we come back,
I'll be talking to filmmaker Janicza Bravo
about turning a tweet thread into a movie.
So don't go away.
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
My guest tonight is writer and director Janicza Bravo.
She's here to talk about how she transformed
a viral Twitter thread about a crazy road trip to Florida
into one of the movies that everyone has wanted to watch.
-(man laughing) -Then, this bitch was up in my face!
-(laughter, music) -I was like look, booger bitch,
just get your ghetto ass up out my face.
It's not fault you're nasty.
-(man laughs) -It's not my fault I make more money than you!
Clean your butt!
It's not my fault you nasty!
It's not my fault I make more money than you!
-Clean your butt! -On God! Like,
-Turn that (bleep) the fuck up! -Word.
-Worst road trip ever. -(both laugh)
-It's not a good one, yes. -It rea-it really isn't,
but it makes for a fantastic story.
Janicza Bravo, welcome to The Daily Show.
Thank you for having me.
Um, you have done something that nobody has done before.
You turned a viral Twitter thread
into a movie.
And not just, like, a movie. I mean,
I mean, this is a full-on Hollywood movie,
nominated for multiple awards-- congratulations.
You know, just-- it's, like, "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.
Everybody loves the story.
We read Twitter threads all the time, right?
We see tweets that go viral. We see moments.
But it's very seldom that you think to yourself,
"This could be turned into a movie
and turned into a movie well."
What made you think
that you could turn a story of a stripper
meeting up with a friend of hers who's a stripper
going down to Florida
and turning into one of the craziest nights
and weeks of their lives?
How did you think to yourself,
"No, I can turn this into a movie"?
-Did you read the original thread? -Yeah, I did.
It's incredible.
I mean, so electric, so radical,
super stressful, very funny.
So, it was written in 2015
-by A'Ziah King. -Mm-hmm.
And I read it the day it came out.
I'm not on Twitter. I wasn't then. I'm not now.
-Lucky me, I know. I know. -Oh, very lucky you.
-Very lucky you. -It's great. It's a good way to do it.
-And... -If you want to hate yourself, you should join.
-Yeah, I actually don't need Twitter to do that. -(laughs)
-I have my own brain. -Oh, wow. (laughs)
Uh, but... So, I read it the day it came out,
and it was just unlike anything.
I mean, every line, if it isn't...
If there isn't a deep, incredible joke
embedded inside of it,
there is also just the way
she strung text and words together.
It was visual, and...
And I already said it was stressful,
and that's kind of my area. I'm a...
I would say my umbrella is stressful comedy.
I mean, if you said to anybody,
"Hey, would you like to watch this movie
"that's, like, about sex trafficking
"and, you know, women being exploited and...
but it's gonna be a comedy?"
People would be like, "I'm sorry.
Do you understand what 'comedy' means?"
And yet it feels like comedy's the only way
that you could have processed the story,
not just you as the director
but Aziah herself writing the story of what happened to her.
Because wh-when we were reading the tweets,
I remember laughing but going, "This is-- this is ridiculous."
No, it's incredibly bleak. I mean, I just...
Hats off to her for using Twitter as a platform
to exorcise what was--
You started by saying this didn't seem
-like a great road trip. -Right.
I called her today and checked in and said,
"What do you feel hasn't been said about the film,
uh, after having spent the last five years talking about it?"
And also, for her, living with it.
And she said that...
what she hadn't all the way,
kind of, um, maybe processed
is that the film allowed her to close that chapter,
-this, like, sort of nightmare... -I see. Okay.
-...in which her agency was being robbed of her. -Mm-hmm.
And I...
loved being on the receiving end of that,
because that's all I wanted.
I wanted to protect her,
but I also wanted to be able to potentially offer
some kind of solace for some other woman out there
that might find themselves in this situation.
You know, the opportunity to feel less alone,
to feel heard, to feel considered,
to feel that there is value in their life
-and that, you know, they're worth it. -Yes.
And I think we got to do that.
I-I think you did that and more.
When you-- when you're d-directing a film
that is based on a true story,
you know, something that is wild as this--
Because when you watch this, this is like-like
"real life" of what The Hangover was sort of trying to do,
-if that makes sense, you know? -(laughs) Oh, I like that.
-Yes. -Yeah, if you think about it, you're like-- The Hangover
is like, "What's the craziest thing that could happen
on a trip?" And it's-- No, and this was real life.
This is happening. Guns are being pulled on people.
Here you have two strippers, one who's like,
"Wait, I didn't sign up for this.
"Wait, what's happening now?
"Now there's sex, now there's drugs, now--
Wait, what is going on here?"
-Do you know there are no drugs? -There are no drugs?
The world is drug-free.
-I didn't know that. -Yeah.
I think that it feels like there are drugs,
-because the experience, um, is so... -Wait, all those people
are-- You're telling me they're sober?
The world is sober. It's not to say that
the real story was sober, but...
-Okay, okay. -in the thread, she never mentions drugs.
So the characters are eating candy, primarily.
And if they're drinking, they're either
drinking cranberry juice or Red Bull.
So they're dehydrated and they're having, like,
-these sort of candy rushes and headaches. Like-- -Oh, wow.
I always assumed there was just, like,
-drugs everywhere. -No. No.
-Man. -But I think we bring that to the table, right?
-Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. -I think we're bringing...
we're bringing drugs, and the... in-in the film itself,
they don't go all the way to sort of, like, the nth degree,
but it's just enough information so that
we, as watchers,
we start to fill in those blanks and we make it worse, right?
We do. We do make it worse.
Um, before I let you go, I'd love to know
what you're looking forward to doing, you know?
You-you've lived such an interesting life
in terms of your journey, you know, starting off
in costuming and-and styling and then moving up
into the ranks of being a really respected director,
whether it's directing shows like Atlanta, for instance,
and-and a movie that's being nominated
for all of these awards.
Where do you see yourself? Where do you want to go?
What-what stories do you want to try and tell
now that you're in the space of being a director?
Very good question.
So, the next thing that I'm working on right in this moment,
the other reason I'm in New York is,
I am working with the Costume Institute,
I'm working with the Met for this year's gala.
-Oh, wow, okay. -Uh, which is a bit of--
you know, I used to be a costume designer, like you said.
I used to also be a production designer,
so it's pulling from that part of my life
and being able to tell a story through clothing,
through inanimate objects.
They're sort of these life-size dioramas.
I would say it's sort of, long-term, the arc.
I just hope to keep getting to do this, and,
and any opportunity or any chance
to kind of put myself out there makes me feel like I--
the thing I believed about myself is true.
Right? I do, I do have value, I am worthwhile.
And that I hope for, you know, the directors who come behind me
or come after me, I hope that it allows them this--
that it either makes the road a little bit easier for them
or it tells them that there's some possibility or some chance.
I think you're gonna do that and a whole lot more. Thank you
-so much for joining me on the show. -Thank you for having me.
-And congratulations on a great film. -Thank you, thank you.
All right, everybody, don't forget,
Zola is currently streaming on Showtime
and it is available to rent or buy
wherever you get your movies.
All right, we're gonna take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
-I still can't believe there were no drugs. -(laughs)
Well, that's our show for tonight, but before we go,
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Until next time, stay safe out there,
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live every day like Russia may invade,
because they might.
Now, here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
(yodeling)
NEWSMAN: Hundreds of people in Switzerland
are volunteering to go to jail.
More than 800 people applied for the chance
to try out the new facility in Zurich.
Officials will use the trial to test
its capacity and operations.
The chosen ones will be the first to experience
everything Zurich West Prison has to offer.
And they'll try the food, undergo intake procedures,
and they can even opt for a strip search.
No phones or other devices will be allowed.
Volunteer inmates can give a safe word if they can't
handle the conditions and they need to leave.
You have to be 18 and a local resident to volunteer.
I don't think I've ever heard anything like that before.
Are they getting paid, I wonder?
No, they're completely volunteering their time.
Wow.