Many times, the most difficult creative process is going to be the most personal one. This year, filmmaker Ben Stiller is offers up a documentary about life behind the scenes in his family. To be clear, this isn’t about what went into Zoolander, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and There’s Something About Mary. This goes back one full generation to focus on his famous parents. The duo of “Stiller & Meara” laid the groundwork for many comedians coming down the pike. But this profound, personal look at the Stiller family shows that it wasn’t always smiles and laughs bringing up two children all while headlining night clubs and other ventures in the entertainment world.
Ben Stiller lets us in on plenty of situations and events he recalls in Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost. Yet the bulk of the elements presented are a combination of archival footage (video from multiple late night talk shows, etc.) and an absolute treasure trove of his parents’ notes, recordings, and memorabilia which Stiller has held onto for decades. In the documentary (which is set to premiere in select theaters October 17, and stream on Apple TV+ October 24) we are also treated to stories from Ben and his sister recounting there experiences growing up in this household.
One thing that has helped Will over the years is that he’s learned not to hold on to anything. Being malleable is beneficial and finding that his work is “not so precious” has been an attribute that’s made him amenable to many pictures. Further, as his frequent collaborator and violinist, Lev Zhurbin, says, you learn to watch out for situations where music has been “measured with a measuring tape instead of by bars.”
The visuals and story are one thing and are impacting on their own, but what helps bring the message home is a wonderfully competent and colorful score from composer Will Bates. We last spoke to Will in 2021 following his work with Mike Cahill on Bliss, an Amazon Studios film starring Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek. Since then Will has been super busy – his studio empire has flourished, his kids are growing, and he’s even sporting a dapper looking mustache.
On today’s episode, we got to chat with Will about working closely with Stiller on a project so close to his heart. Will shares his own experiences about getting started, collaborating with Ben, and the help he gets from his expert team of editors and mixers. Beyond that, we had a bucket of laughs talking about saxophones, debating what constitutes a goatee, and more. Be sure to check out the emotional documentary which drops next month. Until then, enjoy this episode of The GoSeeTalk podcast Experience!
